Escape to the Forbidden Isles

Chapter Four: A Very Informative (And Sad) Meeting

Thora was right about Skye's intentions. Directly after breakfast the next morning,  Skye marched right up to the boy her age and boldly introduced herself. Within the hour, Skye was playing pirates with her new friend Dustin and the three-year-old triplets - Kirk, Kerr, and Kirby - who seemed to follow Dustin everywhere. While Skye led her new friends and the other children on fantastic and daring adventures on the high seas, Thora and the young man from the other boat attended the meeting Leif had called to organize and unite the two groups.

Leif explained that they had been banished by their leader, but omitted the reasoning behind it, wisely avoiding his own family drama. Following suit, the leader of the other group stood and explained their situation. Three years ago, an evil and formidable warlord had overpowered their ruler and forced them into servitude. They worked hard, rested little, and had barely enough food to keep them alive. After three long, grueling years, the labor and the frequent beatings from their captors had been too much for them to bear. The enslaved Vikings started a revolt. Most of the rebels were killed and many others were injured. To discourage any future rebellions, the warlord took the family members of those who had been killed and shipped them off to die. His own wife and children, the speaker said, had died. His companions had all lost their spouses, children, parents, or brothers and sisters. All the children on this exile were orphans. 

Iona gasped quietly. Thora looked at the happy children. Those adorable triplets, and Dustin, orphans? She looked at the teenage boy. Him too? He bit his lip and looked down. Thora felt awful for those poor people. Not only had they been forced into servitude, beaten half to death, starved, banished, injured from fighting, but they had all lost people close to them just a few days ago. Thora felt lucky. Maybe Torolf wasn't so bad after all.

When the stories were over, everyone introduced themselves. When it was the teenage boy's turn, he stood and said, "My name is Thorvaldr."

Thora looked at him incredulously. Thorvaldr? she thought. Him? The name meant "Rule of Thor," one of the mightiest of the Norse gods. The name inspired the fear, respect, and might. This boy was thin, weak, and malnourished. He had a sort of rugged handsomeness about him, but no one would find him intimidating.

He must have seen her expression, or at least expected one like it, because he followed up with the words, "They call me Tove."

Ok, Tove, Thora thought. That sounds more fitting.

Leif concluded the meeting with an invitation to the leader of other group to officially join them. He turned to the crowd before him.

"All in favor of the merging of our tribes say 'Aye'." A chorus of "Ayes" sounded.

"All not in favor, say 'Nay'." The only noise came from the ongoing pirate game at the other side of the boat.

"Welcome, everyone, to our new tribe!" Leif announced. Cheers rang out. As she stood up, Thora noticed Tove looking at her. She glanced at him and he quickly looked out to sea. Thora did too, a small smile pulling at her lips. The visibility was much improved today and something was appearing on the horizon. 

She squinted at it. It was just a blur for now, but her father instructed his makeshift crew to sail toward it. The wind gave a great big puff, and – whoosh! – the boat sped happily on toward the speck. The speck on the horizon grew until it had green, gray, and brownish coloring. Skye screamed past, yelling something about buried treasure, with Dustin following behind her with three identical little boys and an odd assortment of other children following him. Thora walked to the front of the boat and looked at the ever-nearing islands. Quite nice, really. Already the lush green grass and the towering rock formations were visible. Leif and Iona watched the island too.

"Such a beautiful place. This can't be the Forbidden Isles, can it, Leif?" Iona asked. "It doesn't seem menacing. It seems too perfect."

"There could be a reef surrounding the island, or some similar hidden danger," Leif answered, uncertainly. "We're in the right place. There aren't any other islands around here for miles."

These isles looked perfect. The name HAD to be wrong. But it wasn't.