Emer's Quest (Manannan Trilogy) by Michele McGrath

fur. Emer plaited her hair and Kolla tied a fabric band around her head, to hold the square linen hood in place. 
    “There, that is good,” Kolla said when she had finished.
    “You look like an elegant lady,” Freydis said, with a grin. “Much better than when you arrived here.”
    Emer laughed. “I looked like a scarecrow then, didn’t I ? I left some nice garments back in my home, but I ran out of the door without any of them, not even shoes or a cloak.”
    “Perhaps you can get them back one day.”
    “Perhaps.” Emer knew she sounded wistful. It was not the clothes she missed but her family and friends. “I certainly feel warm,” Emer said, changing the subject.
    “In here, yes, but you won’t out on the sea. Take these with you.” Kolla gave her a heavy woollen blanket, one of fur and another made of cloth that had been tarred.
    “You will still get wet , but these will protect you from the worst of the weather. It will be very cold though, so you will need all the protection you can.”
    “Thank you for your kindness.”
    Kolla smiled, “Not kindness, but orders and common sense. Do what you are told on board ship and you’ll manage. It’s unusual for any of our ships to venture so far out in winter, although it does happen. It’s not a pleasant journey although sometimes, when the wind drops and the clouds roll back, the sky is beautiful. Ice blue in daylight and at night the nordrljos dances like spirits in the air. ” She sighed.
    “You ’ve been there then?” Emer asked in awe, looking at the older woman.
    “Several times , when I was young. Knut was a traveller, not a shipwright at that time. I did not look after Atli’s household for my mother was still alive. I will never see the northern seas again but there is splendour out on the ocean, where the stars spit living fire.”
    “Do you wish you could come with us?”
    Kolla laughed. “I’m far too old now and my blood would curdle in the cold. Those days are past for me but it is true I envy you. Knut’s ships were always well made but they were small and often uncomfortable. Rolf’s ship is stout and he is an excellent sailor. He has made several such journeys before.”
    “I was surprised when Rolf agreed to go after the storm we’ve just had,” Freydis murmured.
    “And I, but the soothsayers say the weather should stay fair enough, with a steady wind and dry. They think you will be able to return before the next storms are upon us. Atli told me to prepare your wedding festivities while you are gone, so make sure you come back in one piece to enjoy them.” She smiled and left Emer and Freydis packing the clothes and blankets into a small tarred chest.
    That night, Emer found it as hard to sleep as she had when she set out on her first journey. The hours seemed never ending, but they passed at last. In the grey dawn, Emer climbed into the largest trading ship she had ever seen. As Kolla had said, it was sturdily built. For all that, it was speedy enough. It flew down the inlet and turned north-west, pointing its prow towards the endless ocean.
    Emer sat in the small shelter that had been made for her. Atli, Rolf and Hari were busy about the boat and she was alone. In daylight, things seemed less frightening and her mind leaped back unerringly to the other part of her dream. Her grandfather had warned her not to tell this to anyone. She let her mind wander, trying to remember the details that had frightened her so.
    She had been taken to a beach, just as darkness was beginning to fall. A ship lay ready, stripped of any goods and with wood piled upon it. A man’s body rested on a bier on top of the woodpile, his shield and weapons lying on his breast, covering him. The night wind stirred his hair but he made no other movement and she knew that he was dead. When she looked more closely she recognised Atli. There was no mistake, although all the lines had been smoothed from his face and he seemed much younger. At first she stood