A World Turned Upside Down

24/6/969 AD 

Last night, after Irene and I admitted our feelings of "like" for each other, we ended up falling asleep on the beach. I slept the most peaceful sleep I'd ever slept that night, perhaps because Irene was there with me. Perhaps it was because I was so close to the water. Regardless, it was a beautiful slumber. Anyway, after we awoke, Irene and I went our separate ways. We both had to get home quickly else our parents would worry. 

The sun had barely begun rising when I'd returned home. I slowly crept up to the door, placing my cold hand on the door handle. I pulled the door back slowly, making sure to be as silent as possible. The door did indeed open silently, but what I didn't foresee was that my parents were awake. As I stepped over the threshold, entering the cozy house I call home, my eyes met Cordelia's. "Oh, uh. Mother, you're awake! Good morning!" I scratched the back of my head nervously as I stood in place, staring at her. 

For a few moments, she stared blankly at me before breaking into a sob "I'm sorry Aslerta! I'm sorry for giving you such a tough time last night! I should've believed you straight away, you would never lie to me!" 

"Oh, it's alright Mother. I've recovered now!" I placed my hand comfortingly on Cordelia's head. 

"But still! We're all going to die one day and you're going to be left all alone! It's just so sad," she continued to sob. 

"It's okay, Mother. This is my problem; you don't need to cry over it. I'm not crying about it anymore, am I?" I ruffled her blonde hair soothingly. 

"O-okay. I think I'm better now," Cordelia wiped away the last of her tears before looking up at me with her bright green eyes. "Just remember Aslerta, we'll always be there for you! Even in death..." she smiled brightly, spreading the positive mood over to me as well as my mouth also morphed into a smile. 

"Now, now, boy. Just because you've fooled your mother, doesn't mean you can fool me! You will be receiving a punishment for the way you behaved last night!" Harald's voice boomed from behind me. I spun around and spotted Harald standing in the doorway behind me, holding two big logs of wood on his broad shoulders. "Oh yeah, I also know about your little outing last night," he whispered cheekily in my ear. "Don't worry, you won't be punished for that. Rather, that earnt you my respect," he smiled. 

"O-oh, thanks Father!" I responded, my face showing signs of developing into fiery face syndrome. 

"Now, Aslerta. Your punishment shall be as follows: For the next week, you will only be permitted to eat dinner. No breakfast and no lunch. You will also be working the fields from the crack of dawn till the moment the moon rises!" Harald declared with authority. My eyes filled with despair for a moment before I nodded obediently. 

"That's quite the harsh punishment, dear," Cordelia's small voice spoke from behind me. 

"Well, that's his punishment. There'll be no convincing me otherwise! Now, off to work Aslerta, you've got a long week ahead of you!" Harald's commanding voice exploded within my eardrums. 

1/7/969 AD 

It has officially been a week since I received my punishment. I haven't had any free time this past week. It's really sad, I haven't been able to see Irene in forever! Fortunately, though, today is the final day without breakfast or lunch, it's very exciting. The sun has barely risen and I'm already out fetching water for the animals. At least there's one positive of this last week, being that I'm now strong enough to carry the buckets of water from the river back to the animal pens. After dealing with the animals, since it's July now, it's time to harvest the summer crops, consisting of peas, carrots, tomatoes and many other vegetables. It was vegetable season. 

So, for the rest of the day, until the sun disappeared over the horizon and was replaced by the pale white moon, I harvested crops. By the end of it, I had a few boxes worth of vegetables, but there was still many left to harvest. This harvest would most likely take us a few weeks to complete. As I felt the warmth of the sun leave my skin, replaced by the cool feeling of the night, I stopped what I was doing. I took all the boxes of crops I'd harvested earlier that day and took them to the storage room. The storage room was just a small wooden box that was enlarged to fit a couple of adults. It could probably store 50 or so boxes at complete, full capacity. Meaning, there'd be boxes stacked to the roof! After I'd placed my measly 5 boxes of crops in the storage room, I shut the door to the storehouse and marched back out into the moonlight. The pale white light shone down on me, making my white skin appear even more pale than it already was. It also proved to dim the colour of my short golden blonde hair, making it less distracting. My feet moved me across the cool, rocky road that followed the fields, all the way back to my house. Upon opening the door, my nose was met with a maelstrom of scents wafting over from Cordelia. She was cooking something. "Good evening, Mother, I'm back," I greeted my mother politely before moving to sit down at the wooden table we ate dinner on. "Oh, you're back!" Cordelia exclaimed, a tender smile taking up her face. 

"Something smells good. What are you cooking?" I asked as my nose danced joyfully around within the cloud of scents. 

"We're having beef, pork and chicken today!" Cordelia squealed excitedly since we generally didn't get to eat much meat. 

"Oooh! That'll be tasty!" 

"Indeed, it will! So, thank your father when he gets back!" Cordelia nodded happily as she returned to cooking. 

"Oh, right. Where is Father? Usually, he'd be home by now?" I queried; slight concern evident in my tone. 

"He's been out at the markets all day. He's been selling some of the hay, that's how we could afford all this food!" she made a wide gesture to the array of dishes she was cooking. 

"Aren't the markets over at this time? The sun's already gone down," 

"Oh, don't worry. He'll be back soon. He wouldn't dare miss such a feast!" Cordelia responded reassuringly. As though he were waiting for those words, Harald barged through the front door with a bright smile on his face "Is the food ready?" 

"See, what did I tell you," Cordelia looked at me with a proud smile before answering Harald's question "It's nearly finished, dear. Why don't you go sit down with Aslerta while you're waiting?" 

"Soon, I just have one last surprise," he poked his head back outside and whispered something quiet enough that I couldn't hear. Then, I saw a familiar face appear in the doorway. It was Irene! "I-Irene! W-what are you doing here?" I blurted as my face caught a severe case of fiery cheek syndrome. 

Before Irene could answer, Harald's cheery voice boomed "I thought this could be your prize for lasting the week! I knew you weren't able to see her at all last week, so I thought I'd bring 'er here!" Harald marched through the doorway, towards the wooden table at the centre of the house. He took the seat opposite me, quickly followed by Irene who sat down next to me.  "Ooh! So, this is the infamous Irene I've heard so much about! My son does indeed have good taste," Cordelia stared in awe at Irene, nodding proudly as she said the last part. "Well, now! Are you guys ready for a feast!" Cordelia beamed as she began placing dishes full of pork, beef and chicken on the table. As soon as the first plate was placed on the table, my hand shot out and grabbed a piece of chicken. I devoured it in mere moments. 

"You're rather hungry, aren't ya! Must've been because of all the work you've been doin'!" Harald chuckled lightly as he too devoured a chicken wing. 

"Leave some for me and Irene, boys!" Cordelia exclaimed as she hurried over to her seat beside Harald. 

"Come on, Irene! Why don't you have some? It's not every day you get to eat this much meat!" my hand grabbed up a piece of pork and stuffed it in my mouth. 

"Oh, well. We normally have more food than this at home," Irene spoke quietly, evidently disappointed with how little food we had, even though the table was covered in plates that had stacks of meat on them. "Whaa?!" Cordelia and I said in unison. 

"I expected you to already know this Aslerta! She's the daughter of Eadberht Alder!" Harald spoke matter-of-factly. 

"Who?" I asked dumbfounded. 

"He's the richest farmer for miles!" Harald couldn't stress this fact enough. "That's why it took me so many hours to convince the man. What sort of rich man would trust his beloved daughter with peasants like us?! I'm still surprised he even agreed!" 

"Ah, well, maybe Irene will have to treat us to dinner instead some time," Cordelia grinned at Irene as she took another piece of chicken from the table. 

"I didn't know you were rich! You're so lucky Irene!" I looked at Irene in pure wonder. 

"That's why you ought to marry 'er, bud!" Harald cackled as he saw my face turn bright red. 

"W-we're too young for that!" Irene and I exclaimed, each of us bearing a pouting expression. 

"Pffft-Hahahahahaha! Your thoughts are already in sync!" Harald broke into a laughing fit. 

"Calm down, and eat, you three!" Cordelia commanded as she looked around the table at each of us with a glare. 

"Alright, alright. I'll stop teasing them," Harald let out a long sigh as he calmed down. The muscles in my face relaxed as the table finally calmed down. I reached out for more food when I noticed that Irene still wasn't eating anything. So, instead of taking and eating the piece of pork, I handed it to Irene "Come on. Don't be shy! Eat some!" 

Irene took the piece of pork with a shy smile "Thank you, Aslerta," 

For the rest of the night, we feasted away at the piles upon piles of chicken, pork and beef. It was the greatest meal I had ever had at that point in my life. Eventually the night came to an end. And then, the next morning rolled around. Whilst I still had work to do, I also got eat breakfast and lunch as well as have some free time. And that is how I would spend most of my days for the next few years. 

23/6/975 AD 

Today is my birthday. My 15th birthday to be exact. I'm finally 15! Hooray! 15 is such a great number. My body has really changed over the last few years. I've grown a bit taller; I'm now the same height as my mother, Cordelia. I've also grown a bit of facial hair. Only really a slight moustache, but at least I look more like a man. I also feel more like a man. My arms and legs have developed a considerable amount of muscle. My arm strength is almost comparable to that of most adult men, whilst my leg strength remains unmatched. 

Right now, I'm preparing for lunch after a long morning of work. Currently, it's nearing the end of hay crafting season. So, for the past few weeks, I've spent most of my time baling hay and taking it to the storehouse. This time of year is honestly the most boring and uneventful part of the year, apart from my birthday of course. "Aslerta, Harald! Time for lunch!" Cordelia's voice was shouting from just outside the house. Stopping everything I was doing, my eyes brightened, and my mouth began to water as I heard the word "lunch". I immediately broke into a sprint back towards the house. I needed food. "Calm down, Aslerta! You've still got an hour's worth of break. The food's not going anywhere!" Cordelia reassured me as I burst through the door, into the house. 

"I have plans," I answered blankly. "Now, where's the food! I require nutrients immediately!" 

"Oh, uh. I have it in this box here," she held the box up to me. 

"Thanks, Mum!" I shouted as I grabbed the box and sprinted back out the house, right past Harald who had just reached the door. 

"What's up with him?" Harald asked, rather confused. 

"I'm not sure. He just said he had somewhere to be," Cordelia shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, here's your food dear," she placed the other box of food she'd prepared for Harald on the table. 

"I bet he's out doing something with Irene.  They're at that age now," Harald smirked cheekily as he took his seat at the table.

*** 

My strong legs pounded against the grass as I sprinted up the hill our house was on, towards the river. I could see the forest clearing growing nearer as I bolted towards it, my food box swinging around in my hand. It wasn't long before my feet fell upon the loose dirt of the riverbed. A storm of dirt was lifted in the air as I landed on the riverbed, coming to an abrupt stop. "I'm here," I sighed as I looked around, trying to spot the person I was looking for. I looked to the right and all I saw was the river, bordered by a long line of trees, continuing off into the distance. But when I looked to my left, I spotted her. Her beautiful, long, golden hair hung down her back as her eyes, the colour of the sky, gazed out across the river. "Irene!" I yelled, waving frantically as I ran over to her. 

"Oh, you're finally here! I was wondering when you'd show up," her sweet, gentle voice travelled through the air, filling my ears. 

"Yes, lunch came a bit later than usual," I was breathing heavily as I took a seat beside her. "Here, here's some food," I placed the box of food down, in between us. 

"You seem exhausted," Irene spoke with concern. 

"Yes, you should've seen how fast I was running back there. But don't worry, dying should do the trick!" I answered, still panting out of exhaustion. 

Irene's face shrivelled up in horror; she didn't seem to enjoy my sense of humour "Don't joke about killing yourself like that!" 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I spoke urgently, trying to calm her down. "So, do you want to eat now?" I asked as I opened my food box, revealing a few pieces of a dark coloured bread. It wasn't much, but our main feast of the day was dinner anyway. "No, I'm fine," Irene shook her head, looking down at the bread with clear disappointment. 

"Right, you must have a lot of food at home. Well, more for me then," I chuckled as I picked up a slice of bread and bit into it. It was rather tough to chew and annoyingly bland. It was nowhere near as good as the white bread the rich people got to eat. "Hey, Irene," I said in an attempt to get her attention, which was rather easy considering I was the only other voice here. She turned around to look at me, her sky-blue eyes latching onto mine. Overwhelmed by her beauty, I choked on the bit of bread I was chewing. Clearing my throat, I asked "Ahem! Considering you're rich and all, could you perhaps spare me some of your white bread?" 

"No, father wouldn't allow it," she responded bluntly in a sorrowful tone. 

"W-why not?!" I asked, shocked. 

"Well, he doesn't even know that I meet with you in my spare time. And, if I randomly ask him for a bunch of bread to take with me one day, he might get suspicious," 

"Ah, well, it was worth a try," I grinned at her as I started on my last piece of peasant bread. Splitting the piece in half, I held the piece in front of Irene's mouth, "Come on, you've got to try at least a little bit! It'll be a good experience; learning what us poor folk have to eat," 

"F-fine then," she wrinkled her nose in disgust as she grabbed the piece out of my hand. She held it up to her mouth and stared at it for a moment before hesitantly taking a bite. Almost the moment it had touched her tongue, she spat it out "That's disgusting!" 

"Hahahahaha!" I cackled as I enjoyed the hilarious display she'd just put on. 

"It's not funny," she mumbled, looking away to hide her bright red face. I finished off the last bit of my lunch and moved my lunchbox out of the way. I wriggled over and plopped myself down, right next to Irene. I gently grabbed her chin with my hand and turned her head, so that she was facing me. I leaned in close enough that I could feel the warmth of her breath tingling on the surface of my face. She was as red as a tomato at this point. "W-what are you doing?!" she exclaimed, her hands pushing my shoulders weakly. Undeterred, I brought her face close enough to mine that our noses were practically touching. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against hers. Irene's eyes widened in shock of what was happening, but she soon came to accept it. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. Our lips clashed and parted repeatedly for a while as we focused on one another. I could feel her hands grabbing aggressively at my neck and shoulders as the kiss became more passionate. Soon, we became exhausted, and our lips finally parted. We were breathing heavily as we stared deeply into each other's eyes. Irene let go of my shoulders and sat back against the tree we were sitting beneath. "T-that was amazing!" I beamed as I licked my lips hungrily. "Let's do it again!" I exclaimed like an excited toddler. 

"I admit, that did feel amazing. But no. We can't," Irene looked at me sympathetically as she shook her head. 

"Why not?!" I asked, disappointed. 

"M-my father...  He's already arranged my marriage and, I can't be doing such things with someone else," she began tearing up as she announced the terrible news. 

"W-wha?  Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" I questioned frantically. 

"B-because, I didn't want to hurt your feelings," she burst into a full sob as she looked down at her hands. 

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," I spoke warmly, placing my hand comfortingly on her shoulder. 

"R-really?" she looked towards me for reassurance, her charming blue eyes overflowing with tears. 

"Yes, really," I whispered as I pulled her into a hug. I gently stroked her, my hand gliding through her soft hair and down her back. I could feel her heart calming down as I held her. Her crying eased and all that was left to be heard was her breathing. It was a calming moment. I could feel her chest rise and fall as she took deep breaths to calm herself. 

These times of peace, however, were about to come to an abrupt end. A strong smoky scent filled my nose as I saw a plethora of smoke plumes appear overhead. Something was burning and, it was coming from the village. "Irene. Do you smell that?" I shook her urgently. 

She lifted her head off my shoulder and looked at me in confusion, her eyes, still wet from crying, glinted in the sunlight "Smell what?" 

"Never mind, just look up," she pushed her body away from mine and looked up into the sky. Her eyes grew out of shock and fear as she spotted the smoke that was flooding the sky, hiding the sun and the sky. "T-that's coming from the village!" she observed, her voice stuttering as her mind began to fill with fear. 

"I know," I muttered as I too began to worry. "Wait here Irene, I'm going to check it out," I stood up confidently and walked cautiously to the edge of the forest. What I saw was truly terrifying. I saw the streets full of blood, I saw houses crumbling beneath a massive fire that was spreading rapidly. As I looked around, my eyes finally spotted my house. I could see a thin stream of blood flowing out the open door. The fire was spreading fast and was about to reach my house. Without a second thought, I exploded into a sprint. I ran faster than I'd ever ran before, completely ignoring my exhaustion. At that moment, the only thing I could think was 'Are my parents alright?'. I ignored the mutilated corpses of my fellow villagers that I passed. I needed to get home and check on my parents. 

I was now only a few steps away from the small little house I'd called home for the past few years. The fire was creeping along the grass outside the house, about to latch onto the house. I took a step inside of the house. My eyes darted around frantically, searching for them; searching for my parents. I felt my body tremble as I finally spotted them. They were both lying, lifeless on the floor. Harald seemed to have his arms over Cordelia as though he were trying to protect her. He must've tried hard to protect her in his last few breaths. "No! Father, mother!" I screamed out in anguish, falling to my knees beside them. "Wake up! Please, wake up!" I shook the body of Harald desperately. But he showed no signs of waking up. He was certainly dead. "N-no..." tears streamed down my face, falling onto the corpse of my father. "Mother. Y-you have to be alive, right?" my voice trembled as I gently pushed Harald's body to the side. My hands, stained red with Harald's blood, clutched my mother's head. "P-please," I murmured, my head resting against the cold head of my mother. Her clothes were all shredded, exposing her entire body. Blood stained the edges of her white dress, turning it a dark red. "N-no! This can't be true! There's no way you'd die on me this early!" I shook my mother's body roughly, but she too showed no signs of life. They were both dead... "No!" I wailed as I held Harald and Cordelia's bodies close to me. Tears fell down like a flash flood, covering my mother and father in water. The tears turned red as they mixed with the blood and travelled down their bodies before pooling on the floor. In the midst of my anguish, I failed to notice the light steps of someone approaching me from behind. My body shook as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back, my vision blurred from tears, and could barely make out two bright blue eyes and long golden hair. It was a woman, that much I could tell. "Calm down, Aslerta," her soothing voice filled my ears as she gently stroked my back. My tears began to fall less and less as my inner turmoil gradually calmed. "I-is that you Irene?" I looked at her again, my vision now back to normal. I could see the worried expression that had taken over her face. "Yes, it's me," her sweet, gentle voice calmed me as I fell back into her arms. My eyes fluttered as quiet words flowed out of my mouth "I was right... Humans are evil,". "Don't worry. Mother, father, I will kill the ones who did this to you," my face bore a light, exhausted smile, very unbefitting of the message I was conveying. The world around me went dark as my eyes fluttered shut. I just wanted to sleep; I wanted to rest. I didn't want to have to deal with this pain anymore. But I knew that eventually, I would wake up and eventually, I would have to deal with this pain... 

*** 

My eyes opened to the view of massive trees reaching over me, into the sky. I could hear the calming sounds of water flowing. I slowly sat up and took a look around. I was next to the river. "Oh, Aslerta. You're awake," Irene's voice spoke from somewhere awfully close. I turned my head slightly and found her sitting cross-legged where I was lying just before. I looked down at her lap before looking back up at her eyes "Was I lying in your lap?". She smiled gently in response, nodding her head. Normally, my face would've caught a serious case of fiery cheek syndrome, but right now, I couldn't care less. I seemed to lack all those other emotions. All I could feel was a strong sense of anger and hatred. I wasn't sure what those emotions were doing taking up my mind. That's when I remembered. My mind flooded with memories of what had occurred only a few hours ago. Memories of my parents' mutilated bodies lying dead inside of my small house. I remembered me clutching their bodies and crying. "That's right. Humans are evil. They could never be trusted in the first place," I muttered in a low voice, my face furrowed in anger. "I was right," I spat, remembering what I said a few years ago when I was living with Laboon: "I don't know, they sound kinda evil to me.". "That's right, young me. They are evil," I declared as I stood up from where I was sitting. Irene was looking at me with a worried look "What are you doing, Aslerta?". 

"You, human. Where did the Vikings go!" my voice bellowed in a tone so dark, even I was surprised I could speak like this to Irene. 

"V-vikings?" she stuttered, pushing herself back up against a tree in an attempt to escape? 

"Well, who else would've attacked the village?!" I yelled angrily. 

Tears began to spill out of Irene's eyes as she trembled in fear "I don't like this you. Could you go back to the normal you?" 

"Pfft. That me died, along with my parents. Now, tell me where they went! I must slaughter every last one of those foul Vikings," 

"I-I d-don't know," she stuttered, looking away from me. 

"Tell me!" I roared loudly, which seemed to really scare Irene as she had begun trembling violently. "P-please..." I murmured in a quieter voice as tears fell from my eyes. 

"D-do you h-have to kill them?" Irene asked, cautious not to anger me in this volatile state of mine. 

"How else do I silence this terrible hatred I'm feeling," I whispered in a voice of fluctuating emotions of grief and anger. 

"W-why don't we live our lives together peacefully? We could get married; we could have children! We could lead a peaceful life!" Irene urged, trying to speak some sense into me. "If you keep hunting them down for the rest of your life, will you ever be able to rest? Is that really the life you want?" 

I stared at her blankly. My mind had somewhat calm down, but I could still feel the anger and hatred chewing away at my sanity, somewhere deep within my mind. I would break again, eventually. And, by then, I doubt there'd be any chance at stopping me. "I'd like that," I smiled as I sat down beside her. I grinned to myself as I came up with something to lighten the mood, "I guess you're all mine now, Irene. Your father can't force you through that arranged marriage anymore," 

"I guess that's true," she chuckled but I could tell she too was grieving for the loss of her parents. We were the only survivors of our home village. "S-so, what are we going to do about food?" Irene asked, her voice calmer now that she didn't have to worry about me lashing out anymore. 

"Don't worry about that. I'm quite proficient at surviving in the ocean, so I'm sure I could catch enough fish for us eat!" Irene seemed reassured by that as the tension held within her body disappeared and her muscles loosened. "I'm tired," she yawned as her head fell sideways, onto my shoulder. Her eyes closed and she fell asleep on my shoulder. "I'm sure you are," I spoke in a warm, calming voice. I watched her for a while; I watched how calmly she slept against me. I could see her chest rise and fall with each breath; I could feel the warmth of her body as she snuggled up against me. It was odd how one could be so at peace in such terrible times. Regardless, her peace was contagious as all the painful thoughts that took up space in my mind were drowned out by this feeling of peace. 

24/6/975 AD 

I woke up surprisingly well rested that morning. I would've thought I'd have been tormented all night by my thoughts, considering the events that transpired yesterday. I guess Irene's peace really did infect my mind. I looked down at my side and found Irene hugging my arm, lost deep within her sleep. A sudden urge overcame me as I pushed her golden hair out her face, revealing her pale white forehead. I leant in and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, "Good morning,". I saw her eyes flicker beneath her eyelids, her lips breaking into a smile. "Good morning," she answered rather groggily. Her eyelids peeled back and revealed her stunning blue eyes that looked as beautiful and vast as the ocean. "It's time to leave, Irene," I whispered in her ear. 

"Huh, we're leaving?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. 

"We can't stay here anymore. This village is... Well, done for." I paused, collecting my thoughts, "We'll follow this river further inland. There's sure to be another village somewhere along it,". "Hopefully, they'll let us live with them," I smile confidently. However, beneath this confident display I was putting on, my mind was in chaos. A small voice deep within was screaming out in pain and anguish. I don't think I'd be able to keep my sanity if I lost Irene too, so I must try my very best to protect her, no matter how much death it takes. Shaking my head, I stood up and held my hand out to Irene. She grabbed it eagerly, "Who wouldn't let such a skilled farmer such as yourself live with them?" I pulled her up onto her feet. 

Looking back over at the old, dilapidated village we'd once called home, I shed a few tears, "It's time to say goodbye to our home," 

"Indeed, it is," Irene nodded solemnly as she too shed a few tears. 

Once we'd said our goodbyes, we turned around and departed, following the river, deep into the English countryside.