Word count: 4261.

Warnings: Swearing, blood.

❝𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎.❞ 

♔

The tall girl was making her way through the busy morning market. Her eyes were traveling over the crowd and different market stalls. The sky above them all was becoming a more clear blue color, as it had been the previous day, however, white clouds painted it this day. The sun had made its way up, shining on all of the people of Björnheim. People were congratulating her since it was her big day. Today was the day she turned eighteen summers. Butterflies formed in her stomach when she thought about it. A lazy smile was formed on her lips, as her arms were crossed over her chest. The tall girl kept on walking, greeting her people, stopping every now and then to talk with them. Her morning had been going smoothly so far.

She had breakfast with her family, who had woken her up with tight hugs and showers of congratulations and kisses. Then she had bathed and prepared herself before leaving their shared hut to seek out Sigmund. The thought about him made her a bit unsure of how to approach him. She knew what she had seen the previous day. How he had helped her instead of coming to check up on her. Perhaps it was selfish of her to think that way, but she had wanted Sigmund's comfort at that moment and was instead met with a sight she didn't expect. Maybe she was just overreacting. 

She hoped that she was just overreacting and that Sigmund was going to laugh at it and not be bothered about her concerns since that would be the best outcome. She thought mindlessly as her legs automatically carried her in the direction of the blacksmith's working station. As she walked, she failed to see the hurrying woman who rammed into her with such power that it made the taller girl stumble backward, almost losing her footing in the mud. She let out a strange sound, her eyebrows furrowing as she saw how the woman cried out desperately. Her items were dropped on the ground, no one bothering to help the woman out. The taller girl snapped out of her trance and began apologizing for bumping into her. She bent down and began helping the woman out, however, she froze in her movements when she saw who it was. 

It was Iðunn's mother. Solfrid gulped, looking at the woman in front of her. Iðunn's mother went to thank the tall girl but stopped herself when she saw who it was. The woman's expression went from a grateful one to a rather angry one. The woman snatched her items back from Solfrid, before hissing something at her, which Solfrid wasn't able to catch because Iðunn's mother stormed passed her. Solfrid was left looking after the woman, wondering what had just happened. Solfrid closed her eyes, sighing deeply. She wouldn't allow this little rude incident to ruin her day. 

She refused to and she knew she was stronger than that. The tall girl shook her head and continued to walk towards the blacksmiths. In her opinion, Iðunn's mother had all the rights to be mad at her, or that's what she thought at least. Solfrid had more or less caused Iðunn to get uninvited and also had both the queen and king of Björnheim come, personally, to their home to cuss them out for their daughter's behavior. She snapped out of her thoughts as a familiar voice greeted her.

"Hello there, princess. What brings you here, on your special day?" The gruff voice boomed through the station.

Solfrid began smiling brightly as she met eyes with the old blacksmith. She had known him for a long while, seeing as it was him who made her weapons, and how it was him who was the mastermind behind her double-sided axe. She placed her hands behind her back, tilting her head slightly as she watched him work.

"Hi, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" Solfrid greeted him, "Is there any chance Sigmund is here?"

The blacksmith stopped with his work for a split second, looking at the princess. Then a smug grin formed on his face, revealing a missing front tooth and wrinkles on his rough face. His eyes got that knowing glint. He too had been young once and had also had a special person that he liked.

"He's in the back" The blacksmith teased, which made the tips of Solfrid's ears become warm.

"Thank you" Solfrid piped, before rushing to the backroom of the working station.

The booming laughter of the blacksmith sounded through the work station as she left him behind before she heard the sound of his hammer hitting the anvil once more. Solfrid pushed the door that leads to the backroom open, peaking her head inside. There Sigmund sat, having an apron made out of leather on, as he was sewing back something on what looked like a piece of heavy chest armor. It most likely belonged to one of her father's Berserk warriors. She watched him work and admired how focus he looked, how his face was completely blank, and how smooth his movements his was. 

The tall girl was too focused on admiring her lover that she had failed to see how he briefly put down his work, looking over at Solfrid with an amused look on his face. Sigmund waited for a couple of moments, to see if she reacted at all, but it seemed like she was completely out of it. Sigmund only shook his head as he chuckled, before clearing his throat, grabbing Solfrid's attention. Solfrid snapped back to reality, looking at Sigmund, who clearly had caught her staring at him. She felt a blush rising on her cheeks before she awkwardly scratched her neck.

"Am I interrupting your daydreaming, Sol?" Sigmund asked, lightly teasing her.

He went to put the armor away before standing up, wiping his hands on the apron before approaching her. She giggled before shaking her head, smiling up at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare" That was a blatant lie, she could watch him work all day if she wanted to.

"I hope I'm not disturbing your work" She said.

"Don't worry, you could never disturb me when I'm working" Sigmund shook his head, his hands settling on her hips, pulling her close.

She smiled, her face warm, and she could easily get lost in this moment with him.

"Are you sure?" She asked and he nodded.

"I love seeing you when I work. It makes it a bit easier than having to stare at the same piece of armor all of the damn time" Sigmund jokingly said, his voice soothing.

Sigmund bent down, leaving butterfly kisses against her skin, making her giggle. She was ticklish and Sigmund was well aware of it. Before she could react, he was tickling her full-on, making her laugh out loud. She squirms underneath his touch, making him laugh as well. Solfrid was able to wriggle out of his grip, backing away from his merciless attacks. 

Sigmund began chasing her all over the back room, and in the end, was able to catch her from behind, lifting her off the ground, making her shriek in joy as she laughed. Giving her one last kiss at the crook of her neck, Sigmund let her down, turning her around so she was facing him once again. He placed his hands once more on her hips, as the two of them calmed down. In the moment, everything was perfect. He was perfect.

"How's your arm?" He asked, his voice laced with worry. She gave him a warm smile.

"It's fine for now. It doesn't hurt as much as it did before" Solfrid said and he nodded, looking relieved.

But then it hit her and she remembered what she was here for, and her smile slightly dropped. Sigmund noticed that, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What's wrong?" Sigmund asked, his thumbs mindlessly rubbing circles on her hips.

"Can I talk to you, somewhere more private maybe?" Solfrid asked him, nervously meeting his eyes.

He looked worried and for a split moment, he also looked completely panicked, like something was wrong. All the previous joy being wiped off his face. But that looked was gone within a moment, so fast it almost felt like Solfrid was imagining it. However, she was pretty sure she knew what she saw. Sigmund brushed it off, remaining calm.

"Sure" He hummed, leaning down to kiss her forehead, before letting go of her.

Sigmund took off his apron, hanging it on one of the hooks. Then he turned to her, offering his hand, which she gladly took. The two of them walked out from the back room, grabbing the attention of the blacksmith.

"I'm sorry, but I'm stealing Sigmund away for a while if that's okay" Solfrid said, to which the blacksmith nodded to.

"Just bring him back in one piece, thank you" The blacksmith joked, making her laugh.

"I promise" Solfrid said, waving at the blacksmith before leaving with Sigmund.

The couple walked out in the busy market, with Solfrid leading Sigmund down towards the lake. She knew that they would get more privacy and space to talk down there. The tall girl could also feel that the grip Sigmund had on her hand was harder than usual. His touch would often be soft, and so would it be when they held hands, but this time she couldn't sense any of his softness. Rather a tense feeling came off from Sigmund. She wondered why he had changed his mood so quickly and how he could have done it. 

He had never done it before, so why did he do it now? Neither of them said anything as they walked, passing more people who congratulated her. Solfrid would thank them and smile, their comments make her feel good. However, she failed to see how grim Sigmund looked every time someone mentioned it. Darkness washed over his face, but it disappeared as soon as Solfrid looked at him with that smile of hers. 

He would smile down at her too, managing to make it look convincing. They passed the last market stalls and came onto the path that leads down to the lake. Luckily it was large enough for them to walk side by side, as Solfrid sneakingly glanced up at Sigmund. Compared to how calm and the good mood he was in then had shifted to something else. It worried Solfrid, but she didn't mention it. When she looked forwards, towards the lake, she began to feel calm. The sunlight reflected on the water's surface, creating a beautiful sight. When the two of them reached the lake, they began walking down the beach towards a secluded area, where they would get all the privacy needed. 

As soon as they got there, Sigmund let go of her hand, making her look up at him. He wasn't looking at her, he was staring straight ahead, seeming deep in thought. Solfrid went to stand opposite him, looking at him. She took a deep breath, readying herself. But it felt off, maybe it wasn't the best moment to bring it up. Yet she had to do it, it was bothering her and she knew that nothing would change if she didn't do anything about it.

"So, about yesterday.." Solfrid began carefully, watching him.

His eyes snapped down to hers in a moment, watching her like a hawk. There he went again, his face and posture tensing up. Solfrid internally cringed, but since he didn't say anything, she continued.

"I.." She said, "I'm just going to be blunt with you. Why didn't you come to check up on me?" Solfrid asked, trying her best to not visibly cringe. She hated conflicts, especially with the ones she held dearly.

"What do you mean? I did" Sigmund said, trying to play her off.

Solfrid furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head.

"No you didn't Sigmund, I saw you helping Iðunn–" Solfrid tried, but was quickly interrupted.

"I didn't do that. You should watch what you're saying" Sigmund said lowly.

Thoughts swirled in Solfrid as she took a step backward. Why was he suddenly so upset? She was speaking the truth, why was he reacting like this? Why would he deny it?

"But you did, Sigmund. I literally watched you help her up and how you talked to her. Now, I don't mind you talking to other girls and you know that but–, why didn't you at least come and ask how I felt?" Solfrid stammered, her voice becoming slightly weaker at the end.

Sigmund's face twitched with anger as he took a step forwards, making Solfrid take a step back again. She had never seen him this upset before. Before Solfrid could react, Sigmund lunged forwards, grabbing her arm, exactly where the bandages were, making her briefly yelp in pain as he squeezed it. His eyes were completely narrowed, anger radiating off him. Solfrid was absolutely terrified, this was a new side of Sigmund she hadn't seen before. 

She began wondering if he always had been like this. But she couldn't think of one moment where he had reacted like this. Solfrid whimpered in pain as he continued to squeeze it, harder than before, while digging his nail into the wound. It was like he was doing it intentionally. Before she could stop herself, tears began forming in her widened eyes. Sigmund didn't notice it though.

"Sigmund, let me go– you're hurting me" Solfrid sobbed, trying to jerk her arm out of his steel grip.

"Listen here you little–" Sigmund growled, "I did no such thing, and do not tell me otherwise. Why are you lying?" Sigmund harshly said.

Why was he making it such a big deal? Why was he accusing her of lying when she damn well knew what she had seen? Fear spread through Solfrid. A few tears rolled down onto her color drained cheeks as she successfully yanked herself free from his grip when he tried to reach for her other arm. She hugged herself, backing away from him more, putting space between them.

"Why– I– Sigmund why would you do that?!" She asked, her bottom lip trembling as more tears rolled down onto her cheeks.

"It's wasn't a big deal, I just wanted to get some sort of explanation.." She went to wipe them away as she stared at Sigmund.

".. You didn't have to react this way" She shakily said.

It was silent for a while. The two of them just staring at each other. Slowly realization dawned upon Sigmund and his eyes widened and his face softened, but Solfrid's guard was up and she stepped backward when Sigmund tried to reach for her again. It looked like he was trying to come up with some sort of apology, but Solfrid was still hurt. She tried to hold the tears in as she let out a shaky breath.

"I'm so sorry, my Sol, I didn't mean to–" Sigmund tried but she put one of her hands up, cutting him of.

"Don't. Please don't" Solfrid said, her voice cracking at the end.

"I will let you cool down and just... I will see you later, goodbye Sigmund" Solfrid muttered, walking away.

Sigmund tried to reach for her, but she brushed him off, continuing walking. Sigmund was left standing there, looking at Solfrid's back. His face twisted with a thousand emotions before he groaned, smacking his forehead. A couple of birds flew past him, screeching as he just stared at Solfrid. Sigmund had really messed it up now. He kept muttering under his breath about how much of a fool he was, as he started to pace back and forth. He hadn't meant to snap at her like that. Now worry began growing deep down in him, as he was scared his plan wouldn't work now, and what would happen if it didn't. When he thought about that, he stopped, screaming angrily out loudly. 

Sigmund could never let Solfrid find out about his plan. Never. Iðunn just had to be the one thing that would give something away. Sigmund had really thought that he was being sneaky, as he thought that Solfrid would be busy paying attention to her brothers and friends, rather than focusing on him. And now he had hurt her too, which only made him feel more horrible about himself. He blamed himself for letting her fall this hard for him. It was all his fault and some really important people would not be so happy with him if they found out about what just had happened.

"Fuck!" He cursed before turning around and making his way towards the market again.

Solfrid had already gotten ahead of Sigmund. She was shifting between running and power walking, her tears falling freely at the moment. The tears managed to blur her vision as she quietly sobbed. She brushed some of them away, not wanting anyone to see them. Because if they would, someone would notify her father and then another shit show would start. So when she neared the village, she stopped in her tracks, brushing away all the tears, rubbing her eyes. Her chest heaving up and down at a faster pace. She didn't know what had gotten into her. Solfrid didn't mean to cry like that, and truth be told, she felt pathetic. But in the heat of the moment, she couldn't hold them in and Sigmund had actually scared her.

How could a person go from being so joyful to so angry and upset in that short span of time? Now Solfrid almost found herself dreading the evening and the feast where she would have to meet him again. Solfrid groaned as she continued power walking through the market. She tried her best to smile at the people, but it was hard when she thought about the events that just had happened. She glanced down at her bandages and saw how small, tiny drops of blood started to run down on her arm. She cursed, and rolled down her sleeve, hoping it would cover it at the moment. She pushed through the crowd and practically ran past the blacksmith's work station to avoid having any questions asked, before finally making it to the large hut. 

When she got there, she let out a breath of relief, opening the door and closing it behind her. The entire hut was mainly quiet, except the small noises that the wolfhounds were making in the kitchen area. No one had seemed to notice her coming in, as her brothers and father most likely were in the Great Hall preparing for the evening's celebration. She didn't know where her mother was at. She then quickly walked over to her room. Once she got inside her room, she gently closed the door, before turning around and sliding down against the door until she was sitting. She dragged her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She rested her chin against her knees and soon got lost in her thoughts.

Solfrid sat there for what seemed like hours, just overthinking what Sigmund had done, and what she had done to trigger than in him. It really was her fault and she couldn't stop blaming herself. She had just gone and ruined her own day, and it was her fault. She mentally applauded herself for being so stupid and for messing things up. She closed her eyes and let herself sink away, her heart heavy and her cheeks tearstained. Time went by and soon everything became black.

"Solfrid?" A soft feminine voice called from the other side of the door.

Solfrid snapped awake, as she looked around confused. All the crying had made her a bit tired, resulting in her falling asleep against her door. Quickly, she stood up, brushing herself off as she brushed some hair out of her face. She hoped she looked somewhat presentable as she opened the door, revealing her thrall, who stood there with her dress that she was going to wear for the feast, as well as combs and hair beads.

"Have I interrupted you, my princess?" The thrall, named Signe, asked carefully.

"No, not all Signe. Please come in" Solfrid said, stepping to the side, "Did mother send you?"

"Yes, my princess" Signe said and Solfrid nodded.

Solfrid closed the door behind Signe, before turning to look at the thrall. Signe was a couple of years older than herself, and even for being a thrall, she knew how to carry herself and not let others step down on her. Signe put the dress down on her bed, as well as the combs, before turning to Solfrid. She motioned for her princess to come closer, which Solfrid did. Then Signe gestured her to undress, which she also did. She stripped out of her boots, under-tunic and pants, and was left standing in her underwear. Signe looked over Solfrid, her eyes landing on the bandages on her arm, as well as the dried blood. Without saying anything, Signe unwrapped it all and went to get a soaked cloth to wash the blood off. While Signe did that, Solfrid inspected her wound. She could still see the faint markings of Sigmund's nails, which only showed how hard his grip actually had been. It made her cringe, but she didn't have time to think more of that before Signe took her arm and gently started to wash away the blood. Solfrid let Signe clean the wound and reapply new bandages.

Signe then went on to put away the cloth and grab the dress. The dress was a long dress with long sleeves, being a deep red color. It had fine detail and was overall fit for a princess like her. She watched the dress with awe, well aware that her mother had it custom made for her. Before she could take it on though, she had to put on a pair of stocks that would prevent her legs from showing if she needed to lift the dress up. They were black and secured with a leather strap just below the knee. Solfrid carefully folded the top of the stockings over the leather straps and when she was finished, Signe helped her putting the dress on. It was a perfect fit, it hugged her body nicely and it made her feel special.

When the dress was on, Signe guided Solfrid to sit down on a nearby chair, as Signe directly went to work on her hair. She undid the hairstyle Solfrid already had and began to comb through her hair, preparing it for a new style. While Signe fixed her hair, Solfrid put on three different rings she had gotten from her father. Rings that once had belonged to her grandmother, the previous queen of Björnheim. When she got those on, she put on her Mjölnir necklace. After that, she leaned backward, relaxing as she felt Signe working through her hair carefully. Signe was great at braiding and made the most beautiful styles. Solfrid closed her eyes, letting her body relax as she heard Signe's quiet, soft humming of a familiar tune.

A little bit over two hours later Signe was done and Solfrid opened her eyes again, smiling at Signe. Signe watched over her work, satisfied with it as she went to grab a round, polished piece of metal where Solfrid could see her reflection. Solfrid gasped quietly when she saw how her hair looked. It was beautifully braided, all of her hair. It was pulled into her usual half ponytail, except this time there were even more braids with even more details, some were bigger and others were smaller, all decorated with the beads. She didn't look like herself. Now she truly looked like a princess and she couldn't help herself from smiling.

"Thank you Signe, it looks amazing" She said, to which Signe only nodded with a small smile of her own.

The last touch to her look was the eyeliner, which Signe helped Solfrid apply with the black kohl. Now Solfrid was ready, just in time as a knock could be heard on the door.

"Come in" Solfrid called out.

In entered her father, dressed up for the feast in the colors of the kingdom and his jaw dropped when he saw his daughter. It took him a couple of moments before he regained himself, clearing his throat.

"Are you ready?" Asbjørn carefully asked and Solfrid nodded, standing up.

She ran her hands over the dress, correcting it, before smiling at her father. She twirled around once, giggling slightly. Pride shone in her father's eyes before he offered his arm to her. Solfrid walked over to her father, taking it.

"What do you think of the dress?" She asked.

"It fits you very well," Asbjørn said, "Let's go then" He finished.

Solfrid nodded, before waving goodbye to Signe, who gave her a small wave. The king and his princess exited their home and made their way towards the Great Hall. She had completely forgotten about Sigmund, but as they were walking towards the Great Hall, she was once again reminded of him. When her father saw her worried expression, Asbjørn reassured her that everything was going to go well. Soon enough they stood outside of the doors to the Great Hall, and Solfrid took one deep breath before pushing them open, warmly greeted by the people of Björnheim.

She smiled, as her father called out behind her.

"Let the feast begin!"

♔

― 𝚎.𝚛