No one paid attention to Unnr the following day. Lagertha had gone to Björn and Áslaug would rather sit in her high seat with a cup of honey wine. As such she left the hall to explore the town and marketplace. There was sun today, which wasn't always a guarantee even in summer, so she walked slowly to enjoy it.
"Who are you?" A boy stepped in front of her and his friend joined him, blocking her path when she wandered away from the town center.
"I am called, Unnr," she answered. "Please let me pass." There was little time to process what the proper move would be. Who were they? What would be the consequences if she harmed them; if she didn't? She was armed with only a single a knife and wore a dress which was never ideal for fighting. They looked about her age, but one was average-sized and the other larger.
The big one scoffed. "We don't care what you're called. We want to know who you are and what you're doing here."
"Apparently, I'm not doing shit," she sighed and turned around to go back the way she came when she felt a hand on her arm, stopping her. She spun around, leading with her fist. It connected with the smaller boy's jaw, causing him to stagger backwards.
"You bitch!" He shouted and tried to return the blow, but she blocked it and hit him again in his stomach.
The larger boy tried to intervene, but ended up on the ground. Ivar was over him, his fists connecting with the boy's face over and over again. Unnr had no idea where Ivar had come from, but he was decimating his opponent. She drew her knife and feinted at the boy she had been fighting. It had the desired result and he fled. Meanwhile, Ivar had the other boy's head in his hands and smashed it into the ground. Once. Twice.
"Ivar," Unnr spoke.
He let go and looked up at her. "Nobody wants a weakling," he sneered at her. He looked at the boy choking on blood beneath him and decided he had played his part.
If it wasn't for the bubbling blood, Unnr would have thought he was dead. Unsure if she was meant to follow Ivar, she stayed for just a moment to make sure the boy was alive, and in that moment, Ubbe and Hvitserk appeared on either side of her.
"What the hell happened?" Ubbe asked.
Unnr was quite sure Ivar wouldn't suffer consequences for his actions as the son of Ragnar and Áslaug, but it still seemed wrong to place blame on him when he had so valiantly rescued her. "He threatened me."
Hvitserk scoffed. "And where does Ivar come in?"
Unnr's eyes widened.
"When you've spent enough time here, you'll see it to," Ubbe explained.
"See what?" Unnr asked.
"What our brother is."
Unnr began walking towards the hall and the brothers escorted her. "Do the four of you train together? Spar?" she asked.
"Can you fight?" Ubbe asked in return.
"Já, Lagertha trained me," answered Unnr. "I have asked for two years now to raid. Instead she brought me here."
"Björn raids every summer. I leave with him in a month," Ubbe replied. "You'll be welcome to join next summer, I'm sure. And in the meantime, you're welcome to train with us."
