She had been there when he was told about Siggy's death. She had also been Siggy's friend and was just as affected by her absence as he was.
Rollo stared out over the water and the pain was etched into his face.
She hesitantly approached and stood beside him. She could feel waves of anger and grief rolling off of him and the intensity of his pain unsettled her. He was more deeply affected than she had thought he would be.
"Rollo," she said gently, "I am so sorry that you found out about her death this way. I wish that I was the one to tell you. She would have wanted that."
He briefly glanced at her before returning his gaze to the horizon. The wind rushed by and whipped his dark brown hair before his eyes. Her equally dark hair blocked her vision for a moment and she had to push it aside.
"I'm not familiar with you," he said gruffly.
"I am Siv Sigurðardóttir," she said, "I was a friend to Siggy. We both served Lady Aslaug."
He glanced at her once more and quickly looked away.
"She spoke fondly of you," Siv said, "I believe that she did truly love you."
He tensed at her words and she wondered if it had been a mistake to mention anything about Siggy's feelings for him. She turned her gaze back to the water and watched the waves lap at the shore.
"She died saving Lady Aslaug's children," she continued, "And she did not die in vain. The boys are safe. She died a valiant death. She will be welcomed in Hel along with Baldur."
She could hear him take a deep breath. She knew that to continue to speak was like angering a wild bear, but she knew that he needed to hear the details of his lover's death. She wanted him to know that Siggy died a hero.
"Lady Aslaug, Helga, and I have mourned her death with each day that passes. The hall will never be the same without her sound wisdom and her soothing voice."
Siv felt the pricking of tears behind her eyes and blinked furiously to subdue them. She risked a glance at Rollo and noticed that he was watching her.
Rollo watched the young woman beside him try to blink back the tears forming in her eyes. Her green eyes shined in the dimming light and at that moment he was reminded of Siggy. His chest ached once more as he remembered the woman that he had loved so dearly. He felt betrayed at her death. Had the gods taken her to punish him for betraying Ragnar in the past? Siv's hair blew in the wind and caught his eye. It was dark like wood and came down to her waist. The way she held herself reminded him so much of Siggy that it pained him.
"Has she been buried?" he finally asked.
"Her body was lost to the waters," Siv replied, "I am sorry, Rollo."
Another pain wracked his chest. Siggy didn't even have the chance to be buried.
"I wanted to dive in and retrieve her body," Siv said softly, "but Helga and Lady Aslaug wouldn't allow me to."
He glanced at her and saw a tear roll down her cheek.
"She was my dearest friend."
Rollo felt a connection with this young woman. They both had lost someone dear to them.
"Would you like to see where she died?"
"Yes."
Siv led Rollo through the wilderness to the lake where Siggy had drowned. She thought back to the events leading up to her friend's death and the strange visitor in particular. She had found him to be suspicious just like Siggy. She knew that the man had something to do with her friend's death, but he had vanished shortly after she drowned. She vowed that if she ever saw him again, she'd take revenge for her friend.
Siv stopped once she reached the edge of the lake and Rollo stopped beside her. She pointed out into the middle of the lake.
"There was a hole in the ice just over there," she said, "Lady Aslaug's sons fell in there and Siggy dove in after them. Something prevented her from climbing out."
Rollo felt his legs move on their own accord. Something was pulling him towards the lake. He stepped into the water and pushed his way towards where Siggy had died. He heard Siv call his name, but he didn't listen. He had to retrieve Siggy's body.
Siv stared in shock as Rollo sloshed through the lake. She took off her green cloak and tossed it aside before going in after him.
"Rollo! Rollo come back! She's been dead too long!"
He kept pushing onwards. The water was up to his chest and Siv had to resort to swimming after him. He dove underwater to search for Siggy's body and Siv dove in after him. His cloak pulled him down, but he didn't care. If he was lucky, he'd be able to join Siggy. The lake's bottom was dark and he could barely see. His chest tightened at the lack of air and he hoped that the gods would grant him a painless death. Just as his head began to grow foggy, he felt arms wrap around his chest and start dragging him towards the lake's surface.
Siv surfaced and struggled to pull Rollo's head above water. She kept one arm around his chest and used her other to grab his hair and pull his head back, so that it would be above the water. She heard a faint gasp for breath and felt relief flood her body. Ragnar never would have forgiven her if she had let his brother die. She used all of her strength to swim back towards the shore. His weight threatened to drag her back down, but she managed to stay above the water. She reached the shore and dragged him onto the sandy bank.
Rollo coughed as Siv turned him onto his side. He could feel the woman's green eyes glaring at him for forcing her to go in after him, but he didn't care. She had thwarted his attempt to die.
"Do you wish to die, Rollo?" she asked in between pants for breath.
He didn't answer and he heard Siv sigh.
Siv grabbed her cloak and draped it over him to keep him warm before rubbing her arms.
"You still have a chance to die from cold even if you didn't drown."
He snorted and looked up at her.
Her hair dripped water on the sandy bank and her green eyes were studying him carefully. Her woolen dress was soaked and was no doubt chilling her to the bone. Yet she had still given him her cloak.
"Thank you," he said softly.
She seemed caught off guard by his gratitude, but gave him a small smile that caused her eyes to light up.
"You are welcome," she said, "But I do hope that you refrain from seeking to drown again. I'm not sure if I would be able to save you again."
He smiled and leaned back to look at the darkening sky. Perhaps the gods had compelled Siv to save him. Maybe they had something in store for him.
