Page:The North Star (1904).djvu/315

Rh as yet that her child’s heart can hold no such love as thine. It is all a sore puzzle. No man can find what he seeks. My Gyda’s heart and mine beat together, and she left me. We love but once, and I have loved. As thou wert speaking of thy own disappointment and showed me that thou hadst not found all that thou didst seek, came to me this sudden resolve: I will wed Queen Thyra. She is a royal lady. I will give her a shelter and a place beside me over Norway. She is a Christian, and she will aid me to bring all my land to Christ.”

“My King,” said Thorgills, “I fear me thou wilt but gain the hatred of Sigrid and Sweyn.”

“I fear the hatred of neither man nor woman,” replied Olaf, and they parted.

The months of the year 998 that followed King Olaf’s marriage to Queen Thyra of Denmark were busy ones for the great viking. The fame of his prowess kept the enemies of Norway in a respectful attitude. Within his own dominion, however, a swarm of enemies had begun to arise. In the province of Viken, where Aastrid the mother and Lodin the stepfather of the king resided, a small rebellion had broken out. It was headed by Gudrod, one of the murderers of Olaf’s father and the last surviving son of Erik, Blood-Axe. Lodin and his kinsmen had defeated the forces of Gudrod after slaying their leader. This seemed to put an end to any open opposition to