Chapter Three:
A New Reality.
Tears of joy and of disbelief fell freely from the wide, amber eyes of Lofn. The elder woman rubbed soothing circles of protection on the back of her beloved granddaughter. It had been far too long since she had last seen her and she recalled a different face, one far more round and innocent. over ten years without her shining little face and eager disposition to learn all she could teach her, to prepare for a destiny yet to be realized. Runa silently praised the gods for their grace on the young woman, her Lofn had grown into a beautiful young woman, inheriting the best of both sides, exotic to their standards of women here but, a Dane for certain. The older woman wiped the tears from her eyes and touched the round, defined cheeks of her most treasured kin to make sure she was a part of this reality.
"Amma," Lofn whispered, "I am dead then? I must be."
The question caused a frown to curl downwards on the old healers face, she was serious in her tone, holding her granddaughters face between wrinkled hands.
"No, no my sweet Lofn. You are very much alive and in the place you truly belong."
Runa watched with slight amusement at the shift in the young woman's visage. She was perplexed and utterly awestruck, the two emotions battled for dominance inside and fighting it out on the surface.
There was a knot budding her stomach, a blocking cluster of strangling panic reaching her throat. Lofn needed air. She had only experienced two panic attacks in the entirety of her 22 years on earth, but this burgeoning flame of dread had set the tips of even her toes on fire. Her grandmother tried to hold her steady, but she pushed her hands from her face and moved to push out trough the heavy doors.
Lofn tried to inhale slowly and deeply and, she staggered onwards following the scent of salted sea. The Ocean always brought a great sense of relief when in great distress and her legs moved towards the calming waves with no help from her preoccupied mind.
How could this be?
How could her long deceased grandmother have been standing in front of her, holding her and drawing soothing patterns on her back as she did in life? Absurd was the only word to describe it in this moment, but once past its preposterous nature, a looming cloud of mourning cast a bleak shadow over her heart. Her legs had made it to the shore and collapsed onto her knees into damp sand. Lofn would never laugh with her friends again, never finish nursing school or hear her fathers lightly accented voice in person or over the phone when her day had been terrible. Lofn released a raspy lament of melancholy across the waters, hoping that whomever brought her to this place would hear it and know their mistake.
Her breathing began to steady and she inhaled the essence of briny waves. They must have thought her a great fool to have run out like that in such a state of personal chaos. They would all deem her a lunatic for sure. In her defence, the sight of a long passed and much adored relative would be difficult for even the sanest of human beings to comprehend.
Lofn could hardly appreciate the full scale of beauty the moon reflected on the bay, her eyes were glazed by hot tears and her mind focused on solid inhaling and exhaling. The light footstep of her grandmother went all but unnoticed if not for the jingling of beads danging from her neck. Lofn refused to look up, forbidding herself from legitimizing her words.
The warmth of furs covered her shoulders and ceased the shivering she was unaware of.
"I brought this for you, with some clothes to get you through, winter is fast approaching."
Runa stood beside her, gazing at the moon. She smiled wistfully to herself, thinking on the times she taught Lofn how to pick the right rocks for runes and dig for shellfish in the low tide. How the dark haired little girl would squeal and giggle when a clam would spray sea water from its tiny hole in the sand. She was not that little girl anymore and twelve long years had passed since Runa's sudden departure from that plain into her rightful one.
Lofn's hands instinctively grazed the ground in front of her, feeling for smooth, flat stones and her fingers gripped onto one tightly.
"I know this is difficult-"
The young brunettes head snapped to face the one she still considered to be an illusion and interrupted her words.
"Difficult?" She scoffed and shook her head, "This is far beyond difficult Amma, this is impossible."
In the shadows of the shore, Ivar, his brothers and Torvi had hidden themselves beneath the arches of the docks. They were all puzzled by the sudden outburst of the mysterious young woman and desired answers without having to really ask.
It was Ivar that paid most mind, his eyes focused on the sheer ferocity of Lofns tone and the beaming moonlight that cast an ethereal glow on upon her. She stood up, paying no mind to the muddy sand caked on the lower part of her gown, the fur had been discarded when she rose.
"Not impossible. Have you forgotten all my lessons? All your father taught you?"
At the mention of her father, Lofn let loose the flat stone with an audible, pained grunt.
"Folk tales and basket weaving?"
Runa was becoming more frustrated with her grandchild's denial. She expected hesitation yes, but not a complete wall of built of brick and stubbornness.
"You are a ghost, an illusion." Her voice broke, the dread and rage had been replaced by a great sorrow for she knew in her heart her words were not true.
The old woman grabbed onto her forearms and held her tightly. " Do I feel like an illusion Lofn? Look at me"
She forced her gaze and new tears formed when Lofn stared into comforting grey eyes. Eyes that were very real and present but questions still arose as if she knew what she was about to ask, Runa replied.
"The Gods brought you here, where you truly belong. Look inside your heart my sweet girl. You know this to be true, you have always known it."
The young woman allowed those words to coat her psyche. It all came crashing down into a thunderous storm of awareness, like the feeling of ease even when she had woken naked in a field of azaleas. Or the countless dreams plucking her from the modern comforts and bringing her into this world. The runes found in odd places, the manner she had learned to cook, the endless tales of lore and past events. Lofn had been drawn to it all, books would all but leap from shelves into her hands, the pages turning themselves and willing her to memorize every written detail.
She fell into her grandmothers arms, holding onto her for dear life as she excepted her new reality with all the strength she could muster. She could cry no longer, her body tired and will ever enduring and instead held onto her onto her Amma and she helped her silently back to the longhouse to settle her into a guest room.
The others had looked onto the beach with wide, astonished eyes but Ivar heard the words spoken and internalized those thoughts as if they were a second skin. Not one word had shocked him, if anything they brought clarity to thoughts and reverie that were years old. He stayed behind on the docks to watch her leave and admire her figure against the dying light of the torches.
A cold shiver ran down his back. The uncertain sensation trickled from the base of his neck to the end of his spine. He was being watched, being surveyed by a messenger of the gods. He craned his neck, turning his attention east. All but faceless, the seer gawked with a discerning look upon his crackled, eyeless face.
Ivar Lodbrok was being summoned.
He cringed at the thought. He simply wished to follow his gut, to pursue the foreign beauty handpicked by Frigg, by Odin, Thor, Ein and perhaps, even Loki himself, but he hoped this was all no trick. He would travel across the plains, stalk through Valhalla and enter the Jotunheim to rip out the heart of the trickster god, if this was all meant to be a game. Ivar understood battle, he lusted for blood and victory and vengeance but the hearts of women were a deep mystery. Even the most seasoned man in tuned with the flesh of a woman could not work out their emotional needs and Ivar was intelligent enough to know that he could not simply throw Lofn over his shoulder and carry her away.
It was all much more than that.
From the very moment he gazed upon her, he wanted her no matter the cost and no matter how many lives would be taken nor how many countries he had to conquer, she was meant for him. He would decimate and vanquish the entire world, turn kingdoms into ash if it meant she would belong solely to him.