Figurehead

by Tannis Mills

Did she regret it?

Estrid gazed below. Her husband on the dock, arms crossed, cold, as always. Refusing to meet her eyes, even knowing it would be the last. The ropes tightened across Estrid’s chest and hips.

She looked left. Her lover similarly lashed to the ship’s prow, eyes blazing. “I will follow you across the nine realms into eternity!” he thundered.

No. No regrets.

As the longboats took to sea, Estrid raised her head. The icy waves pounded her body, stealing her breath—salt spray tore her skin, until her bones slipped from the lashing into Njord’s watery domain.

Tannis Mills

Tannis writes strange fiction in a cottage by the sea. She is equally obsessed with drabbles and cats.