Signy was an orphan raised by the renowned boat builder Floki and his wife Helga. Growing up, she was best friends with the sons of the great Ragnar Lothbrok. However, when her half sister is to be sent to get married and Signy steps in to swap plac...
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In the previous year, things had been going exactly according to my plan. It seemed as though the world had found its colour once more. Though I could never be the sweet innocent girl that I had once been, my wounds were beginning to heal and shine with light instead of oozing out darkness. I found myself smiling so frequently now over the littlest of things.
Though my loneliness was ever present, it hardly affected me. I'd spent most of my life in solitude and in this wonderful place I was surrounded by liveliness. Though I was separate, watching the world around me thrive was one of my greatest joys.
I'd never forget the friends and family that I'd left behind in York but they were no longer at the forefront of my mind. My life was something so vastly different now. I was something so vastly different now. I felt that I'd lived more than nearly any man or woman I'd met before me. I'd felt enough pain and anguish for three lifetimes, and enough joy to match. So much had happened in this crazy world of mine. And, for the first time in my life, I felt at peace. I felt satisfied with my accomplishments. I knew that no matter what happened, I would die a Queen. I would die proud. And that's all one can truly ask for.
"Your majesty, boats have been spotted approaching our shores. What would you like us to do?" Thora approached me as I sat upon my throne.
"Send scouts. These may be the armies of King Harald coming to take more land." I answered decisively.
Thora shook her head slightly, "We have already sent them, my Queen. The scouts reported no sign of Harald. There was only one they recognized."
I raised my brow, intrigued by this development, "And who exactly would that be?"
"Your ally, my Queen, Prince Hvitserk."
It was no lie that I already knew of the developments between the Ragnarssons and Queen Lagertha. I knew all too well their family dramas and wished dearly to be left out of it. I never wanted to have to fight Bjorn or Ubbe, to me they were brothers. But I knew that if I was ever involved in this conflict, I would choose to fight beside Ivar every time.
So, when news of Hvitserk's arrival reached me, I dreaded it. I prayed to the gods that this was a social visit, that he wasn't here to ask for my help as he had done those years before. The idea was detestable. Moreover, I knew full well that fighting beside her husband would be the woman I'd sworn to protect since I could utter such a promise. My own sister. Still, I could never fight against Ivar. It was an impossibility. I'd rather die.
I sat in my throne, awaiting the arrival of my friend. When the doors crashed open, the gentle summer breeze blowing inward with them, I stared at the incoming figures with daggers for a gaze. I held such power on my throne, no question in whether or not I should be there. I was born to rule and all who saw me knew this. And when Hvitserk walked inside, setting eyes upon his old friend, he stopped in his tracks.
"Signy." He said, eyes not moving from my harsh gaze.
"Hvitserk, old friend, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Fake warmth filled each syllable as I masked my icy tone.
"I think you know why I'm here." He answered with a casual shrug.
"Do I?" I questioned, my eyes narrowing ever so slightly to emphasize the bitter feeling in my soul.
"I've come for your help." He announced. "My brother, Ivar, is assembling forces to kill the woman who usurped our mother. He is too proud to come here and seek your assistance but I am not."
"My assistance?" I asked with false ignorance.
Hvitserk nodded, "We need your help, Signy. They're killing us. I was sent to gather Rollo's armies but I'd rather you helped."
"You wish for my assistance in a war that has nothing to do with me?" I chuckled slightly.
"We just need your armies and we'll leave you alone." He answered, a slight hint of desperation oozing from him.
"Was that a threat?" I quirked an eyebrow up. Hvitserk instantly tried to remove his words from existence but I only held my hand up in dismissal. "They're my armies and they go where I command them, Hvitserk. As much as I love you and your brother, I cannot lend them to you. They are needed to protect my alliance and home from invasion and to grow our colonies. I'd love to gift them to you but my goal is too important."
For a moment, he seemed so dejected. I didn't wish to be this cold but I also didn't wish to involve myself in such a gruesome feud. The choice was to fight against a woman I'd admired my entire life as she led an army containing two of my best friends and my sister, or to join them and betray the man I loved again and fight one of the few people in the world that I truly felt understood me. I couldn't fight Hvitserk and Ivar, it wasn't a possibility. However, I couldn't fight Lagertha's army either. But seeing him there so sorrowful, it broke my heart. There was one way I could join them without risking my troops. And it meant I would not be giving one side a considerable advantage over the other. Instead if sending my soldiers to fight, I would fight.
"I, on the other hand, have already set my mission out. I am not needed here anymore. Instead of risking the lives of my men, I will fight beside you. Should you succeed, you will find a valuable ally in my people. Should you loose, you could join us in my alliance and be protected against attacks from Kattegat." I decreed. And so, Hvitserk agreed.
