Stealing the Valkyrie

Swan Maiden

"Perhaps she is just speaking the truth," she said, unable to stop her thoughts from pouring from her lips.

"It is true Rollo has lain with many women," Lagertha agreed, as she continued to unbraid her hair where Tyra had left off. "But-" she paused, "he's never married any of them. Rollo likes to have what is not easily taken. You were meant for a King and now you will be his ."

Marrying a Prince and becoming Queen of Northumbria had never excited her in the way it might have excited others. It was duty and nothing more, any power garnered by the match would belong to her Father. While she would be a wife, just as she would be a wife to any other man of power and position. "So I am just a prize for him?"

"I thought so at first. But not anymore. Only the blind cannot see how deeply he cares for you. Do you care for him, Edithe?"

"I... I don't know," she admitted, knowing how selfish it was to crave his loyalty while holding onto hers so tightly.

Lagertha smiled, "by the end of the day, we will be sisters. You can come to me or Ragnar for anything you need or if anyone is ever bothering you. Including Rollo."

Edithe returned her smile and soon after, Ama beckoned them over to the tub.

When the bathing was finished they moved to an adjoining room to dress her in the gown Haedde had made. For her hair, they left it loose and flowing, decorated with tiny white flowers. Reminding her of the daisy chains she'd made for Nessie last summer.

Her little sister would have loved being part of this, would have revelled in the girlish attention and the beautiful dress far more than Edithe ever could. She was a romantic and a dreamer and would probably have forgiven Rollo for all his sins the moment he smiled at her.

"This is your wedding crown," Ama said, presenting her with a beautiful headdress of silver vines interwoven with wildflowers. She recognised their colours from the meadow and wondered if Rollo had picked them himself. "Crowns are passed from mother to daughter. One generation to the next. But Rollo had this made for you and any daughters you might have."

From the way the women reacted to the sight of the crown, she could tell it was not usual to have such a thing made new. Perhaps, not even usual to have a crown made with such fine materials.

"It's beautiful," Edithe admitted, admiring it before Ama placed it on her head. The finishing touch to a morning spent transforming her into a Viking bride.

She wondered what her mother would have thought seeing her dressed like this. Or what it would have been like if the Vikings arrived peacefully at her village and her father gave her hand to Rollo. But such musings were only cause for melancholy. So as soon as they crossed her mind, she pushed them away. Focusing her attention on Hilde and Tyra who were once again sharing stories of their husbands while Dagmar raced across Kattegat to see if Rollo was ready to begin the ceremony.

"He's waiting for you," she said, upon returning and s uddenly the room felt too hot, the air too thick to breathe.

Edithe actually welcomed her first steps outside, as if they weren't bringing her closer to that which made her suck down the fresh air like a drowned woman.

"The sky is clear, that is a good sign," Ama noted and the others agreed while Edithe concentrated on breathing in and out and placing one step in front of the other.

She had never been the kind of girl to succumb to fragile nerves but she felt faint now. Her limbs detached from her consciousness. As though she was in a dream, drifting through the deserted streets of Kattegat to the pounding rhythm of distant drums.