he put an arrow through my heart
Cursed, she was cursed.
Every time she thought she was close to happiness, wrapped up in Björn’s embrace, some cruel twist of fate pulled her away. Sometimes it was her own folly. Sometimes the want of another. This time it was a storm, not unlike the one she’d risked wandering in all that time ago, when there’d been nothing good in her life, and no desire within her to keep living.
Björn had found her.
He’d saved her.
And on the shores of the Inlet, when they’d been reunited after the war had torn them apart, Tigerlily,
Tígrisdýralilja, had made him a promise. No matter how far they were cast by one another by the whims of Fate, she would find her way back to him.
She’d fight the
Norns themselves, if she must.
- - - - - - - - -
“Where are you?”she murmured ‘neath her breath as she roamed the borders of the Meadow, her blue eyes distant and searching. A rolling fog carpeted the ground, a prelude to the winter that would be upon them before long. She’d lost count of the number of days she’d waited here, and longed to resume her search. But the season of heat made it dangerous for her to roam alone far afield, especially on the Crossing. But with enemies in the Inlet, and strangers in the Ridge, where else would Björn think to find her?
Except at their Beginning.
A muttering on the wind had Tigerlily picking up her pace and moving on. She was not looking to socialise, had no need for companionship of any except one. Her heart ached fiercely within her breast, but it was still beating, and it would
always be loyal. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to the hazy Commons, and in the distance, a figure lingered, shrouded from sight, little more than a silhouette.
“Bjarndýr Konungur?” she called, hope ringing clear in her voice as it cut through the swirling mists. That strange figure stopped, and seemed to turn back to her, and Tigerlily was helpless against the hope that blazed in her heart like fire. Abandoning sense in the face of what might be a long-awaited for reunion, Tigerlily left the safety of the fringes of the Meadow, and forged her way recklessly into the Commons, the shroud of mist parting before her and swallowing her whole.
“Björn?” She came to a halt, disoriented and having lost sight of the shadow in the mist. As the fog settled on her skin, Tigerlily couldn’t help but shiver, and she hesitated, and thought better of this venture. But even as she backed up, the buckskin found herself bumping into a figure that loomed behind her.
“I'm s-sorry, I -” even as she turned, she felt her hope wither, and with it, her soft voice.