Hi there! My name is Hannah and I'm the authoress of this story! I usually write in 3rd person, so I'm sorry if this is a little hard to follow. It's also my first Vikings fanfic, so there's that. Please feel free to review and leave constructive criticism. Please, I need it. I'm going to try to update as often as possible, so please enjoy! I do not own Vikings or any characters I use except for those who do not show up in the original canon.

I stand on a cliff, alone. The ships are making their way into the fjord, and even from my perch on the faraway rocks, I can hear the villagers in Kattegat cheering. I smile widely; My husband is home. My smile quickly fades however, when I realize what news I have to tell him. That he does not have a son. Or any child for that matter. We had tried the night before he left on the raid, just like we've tried a hundred times before, but as usual, I am not with child. I'm beginning to believe that I cannot have any. Maybe I've been cursed.

I turn quickly and begin to make my way down to the village. The cheers grow almost deafening as I draw closer, almost bounding down the steep slope. However, they died down quickly as people retreated into the hall. Stepping over a medium-sized rock, I trot to the hall with the others.

Calder, my husband, is nowhere to be found. I just can't find him. I've asked twelve separate men, including Ragnar Lothbrok's brother, Rollo, and all they do is look at each other, then shrug. I'm almost done looking for him, if he wants to come home later, he can, but I will not go searching for him like a lost puppy.

"Sorry Alva." Another one says, this one didn't go on the raid, so his lack of knowledge is understandable.

"No matter." I reply, backing up. I bump into a giant of a man, and am swept up by the people mingling, waiting for the Jarl to begin speaking. The vast, dark room is filled with villagers, I can barely move without bumping into another person. Eventually, I am bounced backward into a captured man with dark hair, who mumbles an apology before being pulled along. I'm usually not so clumsy, there's just too many people in the room to move properly.

I decide to stand in one place before I hurt someone, like myself. Turning myself toward the Jarl, I nervously finger a lock of my blonde hair. Tuning the men out, I examine the room.

I know every crevice of it, but I really don't care who gets what property, so the only alternative is to stand quietly and look around. I can't see much over the heads of the others around me, but I can make out the torches lining the wall, and the roof looks sturdy, far better than the one on our farm. I'll have to remind Calder to fix ours. Suddenly, I hear a collective rumbling from the others in the room.

I try to get a look at what happened, but all I see is Ragnar pulling the captive I ran into toward the door by a rope. Each man after that leaves with a piece of either gold or silver. The hall clears out quickly, and the fresh air washes over me like a cool wave of seawater. I search around for Calder once more

"Excuse me?" A voice says behind me, and I turn to face the woman.

"Yes?"

"Are you Alva?" She asks quietly. I don't know why she's so meek.

"Yes. You are Ingrid?" I reply, I'm certain she is. I've seen her before. Nervously, she winds her finger in a fiery curl and knits her eyebrows together.

"Yes, I am. My husband said yours is..." She trails off, murmuring the last word or two so quietly that I cannot make it out.

"Where? He is where?" I grip her arm lightly.

"Dead" She whispers sadly, looking down at the hem of her dress. The word means nothing to me at first, but slowly, as I realize what she has said, it begins to carry more weight.

"What?" My world is crumbling down around me, and I don't believe it, I don't want to believe it. Calder is dead. He's gone and I'm a widow. We married only two years ago, and now he's dead.

"I know. I'm sorry." Ingrid pulls me close, wrapping her skinny arms around me. I don't move. "I truly believe he went to Valhalla." I nod sadly, pulling away.

"Thank you for telling me." I whisper, holding back the tears. We exchange our goodbyes, and I begin the long trek home.

I'm sorry it's so short, the next one will be longer, I promise. Please, don't forget to review!