<div class="floatleft">(http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j480/Erion2451/Vikings__Lagertha-katheryn_zps3e6d4893.jpeg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Aldis Fallenbrook<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Queen's reception hall<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Open<br/><hr/><br/>Aldis Fallenbrook, wife of Asgrim, slain in their wedding bed, daughter of Geitir, beheaded for supposed crimes against the crown, stood amongst the best The Sisterhood had to offer Queen Alveena.  The wheat haired woman stood with back straight and head held high, like a living statue, relaxed and unmoving.  Her white chemise, scratchy as it was, covered her chest and shoulders  but left her arms bare.  Her sword belt accentuated her distinctly feminine hips, as if she had been born with it, and divided the white cloth into top and bottom, which barely fell to mid thigh.  Aldis wore the squalor piece of clothing with indifference.  It didn't matter if she appeared in wool, leather, or silk.  Concerns such as those were for softer souls than she.<br/><br/>Aldis had not moved since the group had entered the ornate hall, filled with servants and slaves, women too weak to lift a sword and too timid to use a dagger.  Her blue eyes stared forward, though she saw plenty from the corner of her vision.  She watched as her sisters, women who had come from wealth and privilege, revealed their nervousness or partook in the offering of food.  Some of these women were here by choice.  Others were women discarded by their families, or given as payment to The Sisterhood as homage to crown and country, betrayed by their kin in a hope that their clan would retain its status.  Bizarre customs for a people who claimed to be free.  A fitting custom for a people without honor.<br/><br/>Many had tried to convince Aldis of their, so called, nobility since she'd been ripped from her wedding bed and sold into slavery in recompense for her village's "crimes".  She had eventually killed the men for their ignorance.  A bloody trail that had led her to The Sisterhood's attention, and delayed her execution.  She had assumed the Sisters were as shameful as the other southerners she had come to know.  An assumption that had been quickly corrected.<br/><br/>After years of lessons and training, Aldis found herself honored to be counted in The Sisterhood's company.  She came to accept their beliefs and adopted their customs, even if that only came after she acknowledged that the only chance she would ever see her home again was to become a Companion and win a prince his throne.  She longed for the cool, crystal clear streams, the smell of dew upon the broad birch leaves in the forests, and the sound of the gentle crash of waves upon the beaches even though she knew there was nothing left of her village and or those who had once dwelled there, men, women, and children who had been left as a feast for the crows, or sold into slavery.  Yet, briefly, when she slept, she could feel the sting of ocean spray upon her face, as if she stood at the bow of a longboat, and taste the saltwater on her lips, at least for a moment, before blood and fire turned dream into reality.<br/><br/>Being here, in the company of her sisters, some of whom had earned her respect, others her animosity, was only a single, first step toward fulfilling her desires.  She had to but gain the Queen's approval and she would be one step closer to her home.  A task that could prove more difficult than all of her training or preparation to this hour.  Amidst a room full of the Queen's countrywomen, Aldis knew she could easily be overlooked, something she silently vowed would not occur.<br/><br/>Aldis' reputation for keeping her word was well known throughout The Sisterhood as well known as her skill with a blade.  Two things which had undoubtedly brought her to Queen Alveena's hall.  The Sisterhood as a whole was known for their loyalty and honor, and there were many women within the hall that had a reputation with blade.  Aldis's mind wandered even as her body remained still.  She would need to seize upon opportunity when it presented itself.<br/><br/>Opportunity which presented itself when Queen Alveena entered.  As if one, many of the Sister's bowed head and bent knee.  When her sisters bowed and scraped, Aldis stood tall, unwavering.  Her steely eyes focused into empty space ahead of herself.  Her hands rested by her side, away from the pommel and grip of her sword, in order to show she had no intent to move against the queen.  She had sworn loyalty to The Sisterhood and would swear her life to the prince, if she was selected, but she would bow to no one, be it King, Queen, or former Companion.  She was here to be a bodyguard, after all, and how does one protect from a position of weakness, like that on bended knee.<br/><br/>