Forget what you look like

Focus. It was the only thing keeping her mind of her actual goal. Even sleep didn't seem capable of that anymore. If she wanted to relax, she picked up her bow, her quiver and sought a place so quiet she could hear her own blood flowing through her veins. A place where it was just her, the view over the sharp, iron far end of the arrow and whatever prey she had within backsight. In this case, it was a beautiful orange, like the sunset, and blue with spots like the few stars showing at young dusk. The Kingfisher sat still, probably hunting itself, the only paradox being it didn't know it was being hunted. Vigdìs had a perfectly clear shot of this colourful bird. For a mere second, her mind drifted off. The sight of this bird took her back to a few years ago when she had shot that great snowy owl. It was the last time her shot hadn't been perfectly right. Her arrow hit her victim, but the shot couldn't succeed to kill it. Attempting to save its life, she brought it back home. She thought her father must have known a way. Which he did. But snapping its neck wasn't exactly the plan Vigdìs had in mind. 'Be a better shot next time,' was all he had to say to her. And he was right. She had been a lousy shot, that was all the problem had been. Some people grew older without realising they did. Vigdìs knew exactly what moment had turned her into an adult. From the second her father's hands had been laid around the hurt and exhausted animal, she knew she had to stop being a child. And her she was, an adult now, dedicating her life to searching for something she didn't even know she'd be able to find it. She felt like a foolish crusader sometimes, looking for an unknown faith that wasn't theirs.

A deep, silent breath rolled over the arrow, as she closed one eye, relaxed her shoulders and moved her weight to her feet. She was ready now. Vigdìs tilted her head. This Kingfisher would better make a tasty meal. Right before she shot the arrow, she heard the familiar noise of a twig snapping underneath one's feet. In the blink of an eye, the archer had turned around and with a swish had gotten another arrow out of her ammunition. In a late afternoon, she was pointing her weapon at a stranger's face in the middle of nowhere. And somewhere behind them, the bird flew away.

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Vigdìs could see she had startled the stranger. Good. She took the moment he needed to realise what was going on to observe whoever just distrubed her in her hunting. The boy had innocent, brown eyes and wavy black hair that looked like he had only just stepped off his horse's back. Vigdìs pinched her eyes half shut as she watched him open his mouth. He should be careful picking his next words. Even though he seemed young, Vigdìs wasn't in that good of a mood today. 'Don’t shoot me, I do not intend to harm you,' the boy attempted to speak calmly. The Princess of Uddevalla had to hide a grin behind the arm she had stretched out to him. She could see that, that he didn't mean to harm her. Or probably anything. He seemed too soft, she had thought to see in the short moment she had been reading his eyes. With another glance at him, she lowered her weapon. 'But you did just ruin my supper,' she started off, 'How will we solve that, hmm?' Her tone revealed she was clearly irritated. Not only did he scare away her pray, he had also made her waste an arrow. At home that wouldn't have been a problem. But here, where everything she owned was either on her body or on her horse, her arrows were way more precious. When she was little she used to come to Skaggerak and the other villages, and the Royals where she would stay would provide her everything she needed. This was different. For this mission, it would be threatening for the rulers of the village in question to know Vigdìs was snooping around in their territory, looking for those who had had the guts to have raided Uddevalla's Mansion. For political reasons, it was safer for her to travel off the radar, without any formal visits to the King -or Earl, in this case. 'What does a pretty face like yours do in a wild place like this?' she then asked, considering to keep asking him question until he would reveal some useful information. Deep down she knew it was a long shot -too long. But that knowledge was kept hidden far, far below a thick layer of perseverance. She knew neither her nor her father would be able to rest again before she would catch the brutal intruders that had taken her brother and her mother from them. She slowly put the arrow back into the quiver, locking eyes with him in case he would consider doing something stupid. She didn't notice that action made her sleeve roll up, revealing the golden Huskarl bracelet she had tucked underneath it.

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After her question, she kept contemplating wether or not lowering her weapon had been a good idea. She looked at him in scrutiny, deciding it would be too soon to let her guard down. Actually, it would never be the right time to let her guard down, Vigdìs had to remind herself. She had to survive, but she couldn't trust anyone. That combination got to her at times, ready to tear her apart. Like right now, when the young man she had encountered seemingly had the perfect solition for her food-to-be that he had accidentaly saved from being speered to death by her arrow. 'I found a rabbit in one of my traps earlier today. If you want, you can have it,' he offered. It sure wasn't out of generosity but merely to save himself. Vigdìs knew she had to refuse his offer, even though she hadn't eaten for hours and was starving. She ignored her body, that was on the verge of speaking for her and let her brain do the work. She had to think it through. 'No thank you, I'm not supposed to take food from strangers,' she thus replied with a dark grin.

Since she wasn't welcome at home anymore until she had found what her father was looking for, she decided to rely on the resources handed to her. And right now, that was him. A little small talk wouldn't hurt, she reckoned. Not when she might just get a little information out of it. 'I was on my way to the hot springs to take a swim.' Vigdìs didn't really care for this sort of information so the words weren't the thing she was paying attention to. She followed his gaze. The bracelet. She quickly tucked it back under her clothing. Clearly, it had raised his suspicion -or he was so soft that he was actually interested, whatever it was, he decided it was his turn to begin the questionnaire. 'Are you on your way to the village of Skagerrak?' She looked at him, wondering what his deal was. She wasn't the best at reading people, maybe that was why she hadn't really wondered about his rank before. But now, seeing his expensive garment, a frown came about between her eyebrows. He still seemed too benevolent to be of a warrior rank, but he had to be high up for sure. Blacksmith family perhaps? 'Actually, I was looking for...' It only then hit her. He had to be a Royal. The way he was 'going to go for a swim', that couldn't happen if he had to work hard for the priviliges Vigdìs noticed he had. She froze. '...Someone.' She hadn't recognised him, but had he recognised her? One thing she was sure about, there was no way she could let him know who she was. Her head started spinning with possible fake identities, motives and names. She could only hope that he wouldn't find out that the Princess of another village was sneaking around in their territories.

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