The steward was very good to Olaf, and soon grew to love him as
his own son, guarding him from all harm, speaking with him whenever
chance brought them together, yet never betraying by word or act
that the boy was other than a mere thrall, whom he had bought with
other chattels during his journey through the king's dominions.
Neither did Olaf whisper, even to his foster brother, any word
of his close kinship with their new master. Thorgils, who had not
forgotten the name of Queen Astrid's brother, might indeed have
discovered Olaf's secret. But it so chanced that the king's steward
was spoken of only by his title as the Hersir Sigurd, and not as
the son of Erik of Ofrestead.

For many months Olaf fulfilled his little duties very meekly, and
no one paid great heed to him, for he still bore the traces of his
rough work. Sigurd was well satisfied that his secret was safe, and
that Valdemar would never discover that his steward was breaking
the law. But soon the lad's fair hair grew long and bright, his
hands lost their roughness, and his growing beauty of face and
limb attracted many eyes. Then Sigurd began to fear, for he knew
the penalty he would be forced to pay if it should be discovered
that he had wittingly brought a king born youth into the land.

This danger grew greater when it chanced that the Queen Allogia
took notice of young Olaf, for the queen was in some sort a spae
woman; she was skilled in foretelling the future, and she quickly
perceived that the boy's beauty had come to him from some noble
ancestor. It seemed that she was bent upon knowing his history,
for she besought many persons about the court to tell her whence
he had come, and to discover for her the names of his parents. But