Eight long years being separated from his family, and still he is no closer to finding them, Gunnar muses as he steps off the ship into Wessex. It’s going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack in this place called England. His daughter could be anywhere, if she’s even still alive.
When Gunnar arrived in Kattegat after so many years presumed dead, everyone looked at him as if he was a ghost, risen from the dead. A draugr. But he assured them he was very much alive, and he has the scars to prove it.
Queen Aslaug was the one to inform him that his sons and daughter left Kattegat years ago in search of a new home in England. Her tone and mannerisms showing her disinterest subject. He can’t say that he expected any less from her. She always disliked the friendship he had with her husband, Ragnar. Most likely cause he spoke out against her many times, telling Ragnar that he was a fool to let go of Lagertha.
Gunnar was surprised that Revna would leave with her brothers, knowing that they didn’t treat her well given the resentment they held towards him for taking another woman as his wife. Skari and Koli often belittled Revna, treated her as if she was beneath them. He remembered many times his daughter would come home with bruises on her arms and legs anytime she was near them. The warrior’s heart hurts with worry of what they may have done to her without him near to protect her.
“Your daughter trained with Lagertha to become a shieldmaiden…” Gunnar looks back at the door, a scowl coming to his face as his ex-wife Kalda strides into the Great Hall.
“A shieldmaiden?” Gunnar asks in surprise, his eyes going to Aslaug for confirmation. The Queen gives him a short nod with a look of annoyance in her eyes.
“She took to it quite well, although, I guess that shouldn’t be surprising. Like father like daughter…” Kalda steps nearer to Gunnar placing her hands on his chest. “She left with her brothers to join the Danes near Wessex.”
The warrior shirks back as if burned by her touch. To think, at one time he thought that he loved this woman, but she turned out to be cruel and bitter. Gunnar will admit, it’s his fault, but he doesn’t regret for one moment falling in love with Gyda.
“What about Ragnar? And Lagertha and Björn?” Gunnar asks the women even though he sees the resentment flash in Aslaug’s eyes.
“Ragnar hasn’t been seen for a few years. After the failed second attack on Paris…” Aslaug replies bitterly shaking her head. “He has abandoned his people.”
“Lagertha and Björn sailed to Irland last spring and they haven’t returned. I don’t know, perhaps they found a new home…” Aslaug shrugs as if it’s of no consequence to her. She doesn’t mention that she received letter from the new King of Ulaid involving a marriage pact between Björn and his son. She placed it in the fire.
Gunnar looks at Aslaug with surprise in his eyes. Everyone he knows and loves is scattered in the wind. Kattegat has not been the homecoming he was hoping for after years of torture and imprisonment. Giving the women a short nod, Gunnar strides out of the Great Hall. As much as he would like to search for Ragnar, his priority is his daughter. He will stop at nothing to find her. She is his family, his little raven.
After arriving in Wessex, Gunnar secures a horse to begin his search for Revna, hopeful that she found her own path away from her brothers. It may sound cold to think that, but he has no doubt that his sons have been cruel to her. He prays to the Gods that she has found some happiness in this new land.
Traveling from village to village around Wessex, it’s disheartening to find that no one has heard of Revna or knows her whereabouts. Some men in the alehouse suggest he travel further north, into Daneland. Perhaps the Danes there will have heard of his daughter, or at the very least his sons.
Crossing the border into Daneland, Gunnar stops at the first village he comes to. He asks again if anyone knows his daughter or sons, but most of the people just shake their heads. Gunnar knew this was going to be difficult, to find one woman in a sea of people.
Heading to the alehouse, weary and hungry, Gunnar finds an empty table. A barmaid comes over to ask what he’d like and Gunnar orders a mug of ale and a bowl of stew. Some other warriors take notice of the Northman, joining him at his table. Gunnar gives them a wary look, his dark imposing presence keeping the men from getting too close. That, and his battle axe resting on the floor beside him.
“I haven’t seen you around before…are you new here?” One of the men dares to ask.
Giving the man a wary glance, Gunnar nods his head. The barmaid returns with a mug of ale and the stew he requested. Gunnar takes a grateful sip after giving the woman a couple of coins, before returning his gaze to the men.
“Are you with Knut’s men?” The man prods further. “I hear he’s planning on taking Dunholm in the spring. Gathering men to go against Ragnar Ragnarson, and claim the fortress for himself. Before turning his sights on Bebbanburg. Knut wants to rule the north.” The man chuckles.
Gunnar shakes his head no at the man. He has not heard of any of these people the man is speaking of. He can’t help but be curious if his sons or daughter are amongst the men that are being gathered.
“I just arrived from Norway…” Gunnar cautiously says. “I’m searching for a shieldmaiden named Revna. We hail from the same village.” Not knowing these men, Gunnar chooses his words carefully. He has no idea what Revna’s life has been like since coming to these lands, and he doesn’t want to say or do anything that could put her in danger.
The men shake their heads not recognizing the name. “I have not heard of her, but then there are a lot of Northman and Danes spread out. Perhaps she was with the brothers Sigefrid and Erik. They were Northman…I don’t know where their men spread out to after the fall of Beamfleot.”
“What about her brothers, Skari and Koli? Have you heard of them. They traveled here from Norway together.” Gunnar asks.
The men shake their heads again, and Gunnar feels that familiar pit in his stomach growing with each passing day. He wants to growl out his frustration, but he doesn’t want these men to know how important it is to him that he finds Revna. She is his beacon of light. She is the one that gave him strength to fight against the torture and abuse he suffered in Paris. She has been his heart since losing her mother in childbirth. Gunnar stares into his bowl of stew, suddenly losing his appetite.
“I know this woman you speak of…” a woman’s voice cuts through his thoughts.
Gunnar’s head snaps up, his eyes landing on one of the whores as she approaches him. She places her arm familiarly across his shoulders, siding up to him. Gunnar holds back the urge to shirk her off, desperate for any news about his daughter.
“She killed my man, Halver….” The woman continues bitterly. At her words, Gunnar’s hand trails down to his dagger, resting on the hilt. “It’s her fault I have been reduced to selling my body for coin.”
“Uh…do you know where she might be?” Gunnar cautiously asks, trying to hide the surprise in his eyes at the woman’s words about Revna.
“She was supposed to be executed, for killing one of our own. We had her, tied up to a tree awaiting execution…” Yrsa’s lip curls into a sneer. “…but then her husband, an Irishman, rode in and rescued her. His people decimated the village. I barely escaped with my life…” the woman pouts.
Gunnar can feel his heart pounding in his chest. Revna is married….to an Irishman! Each little tidbit he learns about the time he has lost with his daughter surprises him. She became a shieldmaiden. She’s married. Does she also have children?
The woman shrugs her shoulders quickly becoming disinterested in the conversation, offended that Gunnar is more concerned with Revna than her wellbeing. “Last I heard she was…but that was over a year ago. If I ever run across her again, she won’t be.”
Gunnar clenches his jaw at the woman’s threat, but he reminds himself to remain calm. This is the most information he has received since arriving in Wessex weeks ago. The warrior feels a flicker of hope flare out in his chest. “Where did this happen?” He dares to ask, hoping that it will bring him one step closer to finding his daughter.
“In the North of Mercia…east of a village called Rumcofa.” Yrsa answers, before trailing her hand down Gunnar’s chest, hoping to draw the man’s attention elsewhere. Perhaps upstairs to her room.
Gunnar forcefully takes the whore’s hand off his chest, before abruptly standing. He takes a deep drink of his mug of ale before grabbing some bread for later. Picking up his axe, he slides it into the loop on his belt.
“I have to go…” Gunnar moves the woman aside.
“…but, but I thought maybe you’d like to come upstairs with me.” Yrsa tries to bat her lashes at the warrior.
“No!” Gunnar growls out as he strides away.
Securing his horse, Gunnar rides north to Rumcofa, hoping that it will bring him one step closer to his daughter. At least now, he feels he’s on the right track.
@revnashieldmaiden @thedarkprinceofulaid
