godless « VIKINGS

I. VIKINGS

I. VIKINGS

  "Bring me water, girl." The head monk grumbled out, his head deep in a book.

The child's hands worked fast but sloppily, she didn't try enough.

She poured the water into a metal goblet and turned to the monk.

The girls hair fell into her eyes, as a scowl emerged into her features. The head monk had her running around all day, she was drowning with boredom.

She had just turned four when she was left on the steps of Lindisfarne monastery. She was just an unwanted child.

When a couple of monks took her in, they made a deal to keep her as a slave, not wanting to leave the child out to die.

Women weren't allowed even to visit a monastery, let alone live there. The monks who took the girl in promised to keep her secret. She could not leave, if she would, people would see her and banish her.

So now in the in the eyes of the monks she was just a slave girl. To most, she was useless. She talked to much and did too little.

They mostly ignored her, didn't even bother in naming her. So there she was, in a monastery filled with men of God, nameless and lonely.

Once she put the water bucket back, she wiped the scowl off her face and look back to the head monk. "May I be dismissed?" She tried to ask politely, already couldn't wait to leave the old monks room.

It smells of death here, she thought.

"You may." He dismissed, not looking away from the book.

She smirked to herself, and hurried out of the room.

She padded down the cold steps of the monastery, her hair and the over sized rags she was dressed in were flopping behind her.

The girl strongly disliked living in the monastery.

But she knew that she shouldn't complain. She was fed and had a warm place to sleep. The monks were promised to be celibate, so not even danger faced her.

She entered a certain room, where a single monk was seated. He wrote and colored in a large paper.

The girl snuck up on him, "Heill vinr, hvat kinð ór kennslustund á munu þú gefmikr í dag?".

Athelstan looked up with a smile. "You are getting a lot better." His warm blue eyes met her's. Athelstan had already thought her Frankian and now all that she had to perfect was norse.

He had always seen that she had a keen eye for learning new things, so he tool out a few hours in his weeks to help her. God only knows what would only happen if her only entertainment was taken from her. So in order for this to maintain, the pair had to keep this a secret.