“What do you mean?”
“Freya’s ass, Kilda. Just tell the truth. Is it that hard?”
Ylvin’s ass, more like.
“Fine, I don’t want you to control where I put my eyes simply by strolling around naked. It’s not… fair.”
“Perfect!” she shouts, pointing eagerly at me so her breasts jiggle. “That’s what I want to hear! Power! The constant game! Never fold!”
I grin, proud to finally stand for myself. She goes on.
“But also, fair? Really? You’re a slave girl for stealing some stupid man’s shit and you still think the world is fair?”
I gape at her words as she smiles.
“Quite naive, my dear.”
“You… You’re right,” I say. “The world isn’t fair.”
Ylvin is right, of course. I am a slave for as long as Sigurd wants to own me. My children, if I am allowed to have them, will be slaves. And then their kids too. If I am not allowed children and get with child, it can be taken from me. Sigurd can deny me sleep. He can deny me food. He can deny me taking a shit until I shit myself. He can use my body anytime he pleases for anything he pleases. All that for a fucking knife.
Don’t even get me started on my mother dying young and my father being a gambling drunk. Life isn’t fair. Accept it. Deal with it. Do the best you can.
Ylvin’s hand lands on my shoulder, shocking me out of my reflections.
“I see you thinking, little girl.” She grins as she touches my forehead with her other hand. I push her arm away with a laugh.
“You got me to think, I admit,” I say.
“You might just be ready to start your training.”
“I thought we had begun?”
“We’ve begun cracking your shell, darling. You haven’t touched Seidr yet.”
“Can we start? Please?”
She takes slow steps toward her colossal stack of furs.
“You tried enchanting with Groa? Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Did you feel anything?”
“No.”
She bends over. Her womanhood shines in my direction. Every instinct in my body tells me to avert my gaze. I don’t think that instinct is bad. It’s respectful and decent. Important qualities. But I am here to break these boundaries, to become a Volva. I keep my eyes on her like I’m staring into the void. I’ve never really seen a woman from this angle. I wonder how I would look from behind. It’s quite beautiful, really. A flower. A holy flower.
Ylvin turns suddenly, her eyes shining mischievously.
“Are you staring right at my slit?”
I break in an instant, laughing nervously.
“What, no, I thought?—”
She howls in laughter, her breasts bouncing with each release. The furs cover her shoulders. A woman, a wolf.
