It was dreadfully cold. Ish woke shivering and feeling damp under the rowing bench of the longship. Her breath clouded in front of her face and she rubbed her eyes with her cold fingers. It was still quite dark, it could not be very late in the morning. The young woman pulled herself out from under the the sleeping furs and hurriedly pulled her coat over her clothes, quietly as not to wake any of the slumbering Vikings. She walked past Wulfgar and could not help but smile, the big man looked entirely innocent in his sleep.

Ish carefully picked her way to the stern and sat at the side of the railing, enjoying the gentle movement of the ship and the stillness. There were men on nightwatch, but otherwise there was no one else awake and she cherished those moments with her mind free of thought. The air was clear but mist swirled low over the waves of the baltic sea and encroached on the nearby coastline.
If anyone had told her years ago that one day she would find herself on a ship and enjoyed it too, she would have laughed at such a ridiculous idea. But instead she had not sat on horseback since her abduction, had not held a sword unless to clean it and had found herself amidst a band of Vikings and about to marry their leader. It was almost like one of the Vikings sagas.
Wrapping a blonde strand of hair around her finger, she laughed quietly. Slowly, men began to stir and life returned to the ship. Her eyes found her betrothed, awake and talking to Ulric and she smiled. Life was enjoyable this way.