Winter's chill had began to fall, turning the land into a sea of pure white. My little brother's giggles filled my ears as my father swung his little body in the air. The flakes of snow landing on his blonde hair, his piercing blue eyes full of pure joy as he clung to my father's arms. My mother's frame left the hut, her arms curling around my father's waist as she planted a gentle kiss on her husbands check, my little brother's hands reaching out for her touch.
"Olyvia! Tyr! What are you two doing?" Asa, my mother, shouted as she turned to the two children sat in the snow. My older brother turned to me, a wide grin on his face as he gently bashed at my arm.
"Nothing, mother!" I replied, showing her a small smile with a wave of my hand. Her head shook as she disappeared around the corner, returning with two wooden swords.
"You should not be doing nothing, my son and daughter will be warriors!" She chuckled. Her hands threw the two twigs in our direction, my eyes watching as they landed at our feet in the snow. My mother was the shieldmaiden of our village, she was a skilled warrior and had frequently joined my father in battle. It was my parent's wish that i too would become a shieldmaiden. A dream in which i shared. My brother snatched the swords from our feet and gently handed one to me before he jumped to his feet. His hands swung the sword at his waist as he waited for an advance.
"Come on, Olyvia, attack me!" Tyr sighed. My body quickly lunged forward, smacking his stick to the side with a blow. A laugh left his lips as he brought his blade back into position, i attacked again. Taking his attention away as her leg snapped out and forced the child's body to the ground. His frame curled around, kicking the feet out from beneath me as he leaped onto me and help the wooden blade at my throat.
"Careful Olyvia, just because the opponent is down, does not mean he is dead." He whispered. A force leaped onto my brother, forcing his weight onto me with giggles tricking through their lips.
"Nikolai!" I laughed as i saw my little brother's piercing eyes above me. He clung to our bodies like ivy to a tree.
But screams tore out joy away. My brother rolled away, pushing Tyr onto me with his fingers curling into my hair with whimpers of fear.
"Children, into the house!" My mother ordered. Tyr snatched my hand as i held Nikolai close to my body, dragging us to the house. My mother followed close behind with my father just behind her. "Whatever happens, stay close to us." She continued. Her attention shot to a small chest in the corner of the room, her body gliding to it with urgency. From inside the chest, she withdrew weapons. My father's longsword, my mother's axe and two large knives. Father held his sword tight in hand while my mother forced the knives into our grip.
We could smell the burning. We could hear the screams. I could feel the tears dropping onto my shoulder as Nikolai wept. The sound of shuffling filled our ears, we could hear the snow crunching from outside. Men began to fill out tent, my mother and father battling the intruders with bravery.
"Tyr, take your brother and sister and go!" My father exclaimed. My head began to shake, staring at my mother with pain in my eyes. My older brother snatched my wrist, tugging me back as i called my mothers name. My father turned his head momentarily, glancing at his children, before his body began to fall to the floor. A cry slipped through my lips as i watched my father's body begin to fall to the fall, the tears falling freely from my eyes.
"Tyr, go!" My mother wept. With a forceful push, my body fell through the doorway with Nikolai weeping in my arms. The whole village was burning. I could see the perfect snow turned red from my friends and neighbours. Reaching the centre of town, our bodies froze. We could see enemies coming from every direction, all looking at us with fire in their eyes.
"Stop moving, children." One man growled. His sword held towards us with a large number of children behind him, all tied together by their wrists.
"We'll take these with us." Another man snapped. Arms engulfed me, snatching my little brother from my grasp as another man began to tie my brother to the line.
"What should we do with this one? He's too small to tie." The first man groaned, looking at my little brother.
"Tie the girl on by her waist, she can carry him." A man growled. The rope clung to waist, the men tightening it till i could hardly breathe. And in my arms, my little brother held close to me with his fingers tangled into my hair.
The snow was falling heavy when they dragged the line of children into the small village. We had been walking for weeks, fed the bare minimum to keep us alive. Some children had died on the journey, some from the temperature and some from the lack of food. Nikolai was barely clinging to life. The men forced us into a large hall, lining us up with a large crowd watching us.
"I'll have the child... Five gold coins for the young one." One woman announced. Her hands pointing towards the boy in my arms. A large man with tattooed arms appeared in front of me, his fingers curling around the child as he stole my little brother from my arms. I cried out, trying to reach for my brother as the woman dished out the gold coins in exchange for my little brother. I could feel my older brother tugging at the rope, trying to fight free to retrieve our brother.
"Stop pulling!" A man growled, snapping at the rope with a hiss. Tyr continued, shouting my brother's name as the little boy screamed mine.
"Wait, i'll take the boy." The man in a kingly chair shouted. Tyr froze, turning his head to see the man. "We have been unable to have our own, we need a strong male heir. And it seems these two are family, lets keep them close." The man announced. I froze, watching the men untie my brother as my body calmed slightly. I was the only child alone. I could feel Tyr's eyes on me as he was placed beside the man.
"Next village, Slaves." The man shouted. Their hands pulled at the rope, dragging us out of the room. I could hear Nikolai crying my name, forcing the tears to trickle down my face as i tried to calm myself down.
It was another week till we came across the next village. The town hall filling with crowds as the final children were forced into the room. I could feel a couple's eyes on me as they whispered between themselves.
"We'll take the young, blonde girl." The woman announced. The two walked forward, the man looking my body up and down. Placing a few coins in my captor's hand, another man began to untie me. The woman's arms reached out to me, pulling me into a warm embrace.
"You won't just be our slave, you will be our daughter." He whispered. His smile was warm and gentle, something about it reminded her of her father.
"What is your name, girl?" The woman asked, her arm wrapping around me as she pulled me out of the hall. The man joined her side, taking her free him inside his with a gentle smile. They seemed like a lovely couple, but they did not seem like the kind of couple who could defend themselves from attack.
"Olyvia." I whispered. The smile on her face grew, her head nodding in acceptance at words. We walked with frequent questions being asked, the man and woman taking full interest in me. We paused at a small hut near the ocean's tip, simple thatched roof on sturdy walls.
"This is your new home, Olyvia." The man muttered. This did not feel homely. It felt like a cage, like a prison. Somewhere, my brothers were living within reach of the other. They could still live and play together. I, on the other hand, was alone.