They did as they said, and more. Put me in the metal belt, made me fetch them mead, catching me in their arms and giving me sips from their cups before setting me on my knees to suckle them.
They both smiled, relaxed, almost jovial together.
As the moon reached her zenith, Leif gathered me up. In his arms, I sank into sleep like falling into deep water. The men murmured to each other, laughing, fighting no longer.
I dreamt I stood on the lake and stepped across the water. Did I walk? Did I fly? I was a white-winged bird, fleeing across the black expanse to shelter on the island. When I landed there, I was not alone.
Under the willow tree, a woman sat dressed in white, her black hair tumbling down her back. She seemed familiar. Her face was young, but her eyes were timeless.
She beckon
