Page 5 of Chosen

Chapter Four

Nineteen Years Later

Sig

The horse thundered along the coastline, spraying sand and water alike as we moved. My long, blond hair was braided, or it would have no doubt been whipping behind me. It was my last long ride of freedom before I’d board the boat to my future.

My mother had been crying for days. She thought it was terrible that I was going to marry a former slave. I didn’t mind my intended’s status; it was the fact that she’d been owned by both my uncle and my father that unsettled me. She was obviously older than me and I could only imagine the type of women she must have been to have survived them both.

I was about to marry a boar. I just knew it. The horse slowed and fought for breath. I slid from it and stroked its long mane. A stable hand waited nearby to take the beast over and I grudgingly permitted it. He was my favorite steed. I’d miss him.

Father and mother stood near the docks with everyone gathered around them. Mother’s lip quivered, but she managed not to shed any more tears. Father had already threatened to leave her at home if she ruined the mood.

“Come on, Siggy. We have to leave if we are going to be ahead of the seasonal storms,” Father bid.

Many of the elders nodded in agreement. A few slave girls scampered forth to tearfully hug me goodbye. Some I had played with since childhood. A few I had explored in the hay lofts. I would miss all of them, too.

But nothing would keep me from that crown.

“You will give it to me? As soon as I marry her?”

Mother scoffed and headed to the back of the boat.

“You will be crowned together,” Father assured while helping one of the slave girls onto the ship.

“Really, Sven?” Mother hissed, stopping in her tracks. “You can’t part with your plaything for the length of the trip.”

“My plaything?” He looked back to the slave and shook his head. “She is a gift, for Siggy.”

He shoved the slave rather flippantly. She landed across my legs and awkwardly wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

“Do you have a name?” I laughed and ducked back, when she tried to come in for a kiss.

“Vaela,” she whispered against my neck and licked her way to my earlobe.

I jerked my neck away from her, never really having been fond of the overeager ones.

“Be still, or I will feed you to the sharks.”

She instantly stiffened and looked over my shoulder, no doubt seeking advice from my father.

“Throw her overboard while she still has a chance to swim back.” One of the men laughed.

Father joined him.

I hated to be laughed at. I could feel my temper edging, so I stood and did just that. I grabbed the slave by the arm and hurled her into the fjord.

“Sink or swim. If you make it to shore you are a free woman!” I called after her.

“Sigurd!” my mother cried.

My father laughed long and hard. He was a warrior, a king, and my hero. He was the closest thing to a god that I’d ever met. Ever since I was a wee lad, I wanted to be just like him. I wanted them to write stories and sing songs about my adventures and successes. I was no fool, however, I knew that no such tales would ever be written if I stayed in Thor’s Ridge. I had to set out and meet the world.

And so, I boarded the boat destined for my father’s former slave and waved goodbye to my homeland. My father stood beside me, beaming proudly with his axe in the air.

“When you see my son next, you will all hail Siggy, King of the Bay and perhaps more. May the Gods be with him!” he shouted as the boat started to sail.

He smiled and hefted me into a hug. When he pulled away, he kept his palms on my face and stared into my eyes.