Chapter 1
It was a warm day outside and Inga was enjoying herself while out in the woods. The birds were chirping and the snow was melting off the trees. Flowers were making an effort to bud and the sun was projecting its biggest 'smile.' Everything was at peace and everything was nice. And with all the happiness that bubbled out of Inga, you would've never know that she was a slave.
At just 16 years of age, she had sold herself into slavery after her mother died. She felt as though she had no purpose and no way to make profit to survive. And while slavery wasn't a very exciting opportunity, it gave her food, clothes, warmth, and a shelter.
Her job was to serve the Lothbrok family (which consisted of Queen Aslaug, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar). But, she loved it all the same.
Out in the woods, Inga sat gathering herbs. It was a job she was very good at and she was often praised for. Often times, the Queen would even let her skip out on serving dinner and let her go out and pick flowers for decoration and herbs for food. She knew very well that the other girls were jealous of all the attention she got, but Inga didn't mind, she didn't really enjoy the company of the other slaves.
Most of the girls just sat around washing laundry and talking about the princes. They often bickered about who was the best of the four, an annoying game that could never be won, and a game that Inga particularly hated. The woods gave her solitude and kept her away from all of the girly conversations revolving around the princes, for she knew that her opinion on the Lothbrok boys would certainly make the others laugh.
Out in the distance, she could hear the Lothbrok brothers training. Usually she stayed and picked herbs close to where they practiced in case something were to happen, but most of the time she did so because she found their conversations interesting, and the brothers made her imagine what it would have been like if she would've had siblings of her own.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. The scent of the forest and herbs mixed with the scent of the air after a fresh rain. She could hear them fighting in the background, the sounds of their training melding in with the sounds of all the animals. After a while, things settled and she could sense them taking a break. She opened her eyes and decided to go check and see if they needed anything.
She walked through the forest, winding through the trees and found herself running right into Ubbe. She let out a squeak and hit the ground.
"Are you okay?" He asked helping her up. She nodded and brushed off her clothes.
"Oh yes, I am fine. I was just surprised."
"Good. Is there something you need?"
Inga smiled, "I was just coming to see if any of you needed anything, it is my job to serve the 4 of you and make sure that all of your needs are met."
Hvitserk grinned, "It's good to hear that, but we don't need anything at the moment."
She nodded her head and turned to leave, but something tugged at her leg. She looked down and saw Ivar staring up at her.
"I need something."
She nodded lightly and awaited his answer, he let the silence hang in the air before answering to her approval.
"I want you to go and grab me something from the blacksmith, it is a new sword that I had forged, and I want to try it out."
Inga smiled and politely agreed. "If that is what you wish, then I shall do so."
She turned and headed back through the woods. Her trip to the blacksmith would be a short trip and in no time she would be back on her own. In the solitude. Just how she liked things to be.
"That was horrible!" Hvitserk exclaimed, "I thought you knew how to throw knives, Sigurd!?"
He chuckled, "I guess I need more practice," He said trying to shrug off the feeling of failure.
Ivar smirked and looked up at his brother devilishly, "You really do need to improve, brother. I can throw better than you, in fact, I can do most things better than you."
Sigurd grumbled something and glared up at Ivar, "This isn't a competition."
Ivar chuckled, "Sure it's not."
Ubbe frowned, sensing the tension between the two brothers, "Don't start arguing, just relax, both of you."
Hvitserk, "How about we just take a break from training. Inga will be back very soon with your sword, Ivar, we can just sit and talk until she gets back."
"A conversation would be nice…and since you mentioned Inga, let's talk about her."
"Why her?" asked Ivar, raising an eyebrow, "Do you like her?"
Ubbe laughed, "I must admit, I really have the eyes for Margarethe, but when it comes to looks, Inga is a whole new story."
"Her eyes are as green as the trees and her hair is red as fire, and her skin is as pale as a snow storm. If I know anything, her look is the definition of beauty," Sigurd exclaimed.
Ivar rolled his eyes, "I don't know why you all find her so beautiful, I find her quite plain. She sold herself into slavery, she likes serving others, her hair is just red, and plenty of people have green eyes. And why is she always out in the woods? Don't any of you ever wonder a thing?"
Hvitserk snorted, "Well you definitely seem like you have a grudge against her, and she's been nothing but nice to you. She does everything that you tell her, she never looks at you pitifully and I guarantee I know why she stays out in the woods."
"Tell me what you think then."
Hvitserk grinned, "I think she likes you, I think she is always so polite because she's fascinated with you, although I don't know why she would be."
"And either do I, so it just proves that you're wrong. No woman would ever look at me and be interested, most women just pity me or look terrified, I don't know why that makes her any different than the rest of the slaves."
Suddenly, Ivar heard a rustling out in the bushes. The four brothers froze. It was Inga.
"I brought the sword, Ivar," She said while pushing through the bushes.
He hoisted himself off from the log he had been resting on and crawled over to Inga. She handed him the sword and turned away to leave, but before she could, Ivar spoke up.
"Thank you."
She turned around, surprised to get a "thank you" and she nodded, "I am always at your service, every great warrior deserves respect, so I give you that. If any of you need anything, I will be willing to help."
"Is that so?" Ubbe grinned.
Inga nodded quickly.
"Then I offer you the chance to stay and watch us practice, I'm sure that it gets lonely sometimes when you're in the woods alone."
She blushed, "Not really…I like the solitude. The other slaves spend too much time talking."
"About what?" The four of them seemed to exclaim at once.
Inga giggled, "They talk about you. And not that I don't find you all interesting, I just don't like to share my opinions."
"Opinions?" Sigurd asked.
"Yes. About who is the strongest or the handsomest. I don't like to choose sides."
"Is that so?"
Inga nodded at Ubbe, "And not just that, the others don't take their work seriously all the time. I take pride in what I do. It is the reason that I am still alive."
Suddenly everyone fell silent and only the cawing birds could be heard.
"Well…do you have a favorite?" Hvitserk asked slyly. He glanced over at Ivar, who was trying his best not to pay attention to the conversation.
Inga blushed, "I…I don't know," she stammered, "I would have to take a lot of things into consideration. And you are all special for different reasons. If you want to hear someone's opinion, ask one of the other slaves, just not me. I prefer to keep my opinions to myself."
They all nodded. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you my opinion. I just don't think that it would be proper for me to say. I wouldn't win their affection anyway."
"Too many girls to compete with?" Ubbe said smiling, as though he thought that it was him that Inga was attracted to.
"Perhaps. Or maybe I'm just not good enough. I find myself rather boring. I probably annoy you all with my words about service, I guess that I am just too much myself."
Sigurd smiled, "Then so be it. Be who you are, isn't that right, Ivar?"
Inga watched as Ivar flinched at the sound of his name and he irritably lifted his head up.
"Sure. Whatever you say, brother. Whatever you say."