Page 3 of Song and Sword
“Well, I think we’ve found them,” said Huw in a dry tone.
“Hakon, Gunnar, don’t be ridiculous,” said Brynn curtly. “We don’t want to hurt the girl. For Odin’s sake, she’s Huw’s daughter!”
“You want to send her away,” said Hakon.
“Hakon, lad, listen to me,” said Huw calmly. “I’d sooner lose my hand than see Sif hurt. But surely you can see that she needs help. That boy was what…seventeen?”
“Old enough to know what he was about,” shot back Gunnar. He turned to Brynn. “Alvar was going torapeher, Father! If Sif hadn’t killed him, I would have!”
“I know, Son, I know,” replied Brynn. “Nobody is disputing that the boy was in the wrong. There were witnesses who saw him seize the girl. His parents are not even demandingwere-gild,” he said, referring to the payment that could be demanded in the event of a wrongful death.
“Nor should they!” said Hakon hotly. “What Alvar did was unthinkable! They were friends, though Inever liked him. There was a darkness in him, even when we were children. Sif did nothing wrong ridding the world of a person like that!”
“You won’t find any disagreement from us, lad,” said Huw. He took a step forwards but stopped as both Hakon and Gunnar lifted their swords in Huw’s direction. “Careful, the two of you. Let’s not see anyone else hurt. We’ve been worried about all of you, understand? Your mother has been weeping with grief for the past two days!”
Brynn also took a step forwards, pretending not to notice as Hakon’s blade shifted his way. “What is your plan here, boys? Take Sif and live the lives of outlaws? You’re too young, and I’m hoping that you’re both smart enough to know it. I won’t have my sons lose their lives to the first band of ruffians they come across, let alone give my best friend’s daughter up to that same band’s cruelty!”
Huw took another step forwards. “You know that your mother was raised by the Ironwood. You’ve known that your whole lives, just as you’ve known that Sif’s mother was raised in the same place! They grew up healthy and safe, and knowing how to use their powers. Sif needs to learn how to use hers. Lads, my daughter’s magic is stronger than anything that Astridor your mother have ever seen. If she doesn’t learn how to use it properly, who knows what could happen? Sif’s already shown that she is going to cast magic, whether she wishes to or not. Doesn’t she deserve the chance to learn how to use her gifts safely?”
“My father is right,” came a voice from above, from the branches of the great oak tree Hakon and Gunnar stood in front of. “I can’t risk it. I don’t want to hurt anyone by accident.”
Hakon was warrior enough not to take his eyes from his opponents, even as he spoke to Sif. “I don’t want you to go. They won’t let me come with you, Sif. They’ll split us apart,” he said.
Sif descended the tree and stood behind Hakon, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I know they will,” she said softly, “but only for a time. If the Fates mean for us to be together, there is nothing that can stop us.” She moved her hand to place it on Gunnar’s forearm, gently pushing his sword arm downwards. “Your father is right,” said Sif, “we are too young. Go, and strengthen your abilities, while I go and strengthen mine. If our destinies are what we imagine them to be, no one can stop them, they will unfold. Fate is fate.”
Hakon gave a deep sigh and sheathed his sword. “Fate is fate,” he echoed. Gunnar followed his lead and sheathed his own sword.
Brynn stepped forwards and put his huge arms around his sons’ shoulders. “So it is, my sons. It’s a hard rede to follow, but there’s none truer.”
***
When the slender figure on the outgoing longship could no longer be seen, Hakon turned to Huw, his uncle in all but blood. “I know I should tell myself that she will be coming back, but I have a confession to make, Uncle.”
Huw raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yes?”
“Yes. I don’t want to think or act reasonably or logically. I want to get drunk until I don’t feel anything at all.”
Gunnar grunted. “You rarely act with your brain where Sif is concerned.”
Huw laughed and clapped a hand on his nephews’ shoulders. “Come with me, lads. If your father tries to stop you, I’ve a few stories I can unleash from the treasure chest of memory. That being said, something tells me he will not be trying to stop you tonight.”
The three walked towards the old-timers’ favorite inn, the Wanderer.
***
The salt water hit Hakon’s face like a ringing slap. “Gods above and below!” he cursed. “What in the nine worlds was that for?”
Gunnar set the bucket down, grinning at him. “You don’t remember, do you?”
Hakon pushed his soaking hair out of his face. “Remember what?”
Gunnar laughed and gestured to their father, who came walking up. “That’s a silver piece you owe me,” he said. Hakon was becoming uncomfortably aware of his surroundings, noting the abundance of hay beneath him and the smell of manure. His mouth was terribly dry, and his head ached.
“Best make yourself ready, my boy,” boomed Brynn, and Hakon winced. Had his father always been this loud? Sensitive to the pounding in his head, the young man murmured, “Ready for what, Father?”
“We’re shipmates, you and I,” said Gunnar as he grinned. “Got a place in the longship of Thorfin Sigurdson.”
Hakon stood up, trying to settle the lurching in his belly. He blinked in confusion as he tried to process this information. “But Thorfin goes…”
