by Quinn Loftis
The leather pants fit close against my skin. They allowed easy movement without being cumbersome. The jerkin I had on came to mid-thigh. Over that, I wore a thick leather vest with several straps and pockets, mostly for holding daggers. On my forearms, I wore leather cuffs with silver rivets running up them. In a real fight, Freya said I would also wear light chainmail under the leather vest for added protection. Moving without awkwardness in the new clothing took some practice. Moving quickly and efficiently in the contorted ways often required for battle, well, that was next to impossible. But I’d better make it possible in a hurry. Otherwise, I was in for a lot of pain…or worse.
The short sword Babs had given me was familiar. Torben and I had trained with it for hours. In the evenings, he would teach me the correct way to wield it outside our hut. Though it exhausted my sword arm after only a few minutes, I’d known I was growing stronger and more capable. Holding a sword was one thing, but actually swinging it around and hitting things with it took an amount of strength I didn’t yet fully possess.
Just as I lifted the sword, Freya roared and lunged at me. I got my blade up just in time to meet hers as it stopped inches from my face with a loud ringing and reverberation I felt all the way to my shoulder. I pushed back as hard as I could, throwing Freya away from me. She took a couple of steps back, then began circling. My feet moved in tandem with hers as I tried to watch for the infamous tell Babs spoke about. I felt the chances of finding it were about as high as Torben learning to do needlepoint.
“Freya,” Torben rumbled.
“You aren’t doing her any favors, Jarl,” the shieldmaiden leader snapped even as she continued to circle me.
“Torben, I have to learn,” I called without taking my eyes from the warrior across from me. “I doubt a real enemy would back up and let me catch my breath…or wait until I get the grip on my sword just right.”
“I understand that better than you know, Princess. But that doesn’t mean Freya has to put any slashes on you. You can learn without being put in real danger.”
Freya lunged forward at the same time she yelled, “Wrong!”
I was so caught off guard I had to backpedal quickly to avoid the jab of her sword. As soon as I had my footing and she stopped her forward attack, I hoped to catch Freya unaware. I stepped toward her while slashing with my sword. Surprisingly, the maneuver almost worked. Frey blocked my stroke only just before it hit her shoulder.
Freya smiled. “That’s more like it.”
“Damn it all,” Torben muttered. “By the gods, woman, you will be the death of me.”
I didn’t so much as glance his way as I responded. “Only if you annoy me too much. I rather enjoy the marriage bed activities, and it would take a lot for me to give that up.” I hoped my words would shock Freya and possibly distract her. They did.
Eyes widening, Freya inadvertently lowered her sword. Only a slight movement, but it was enough. I rotated left, turning my body in a complete circle while shuffling closer to her. In an instant, the point of my sword rested at her neck.
“I’m not sure what has made me prouder…” Freya said. Smiling, she knocked my sword aside as if it were an annoying fly. “The fact you finally bested me, that you used a dirty trick to do it, or that you joked about your marriage bed activities in front of your husband and our jarl.”
“It’s okay to be proud of me for all three. It’s a big moment.”
When I glanced over at Torben, I found him gazing at me as if I’d grown a second pair of breasts, equal parts awe and lust.
“I am in awe of you, Princess, and I am most definitely in lust for you, second pair of breasts or not,” he said through the mental connection our anchor bond gave us.
“That’s a good thing, Northman, because a second pair of breasts will never happen.”
“Never say never, my love. Not when magic exists in the world. Miracles do happen.”
My eyes widened as I stared at him. “Miracles?” I sputtered “Umm, even if magic could make that happen, I would never concede to it. Maybe you should have a pair attached to your chest, then try swinging a sword or running in a tight jerkin. They quickly go from asset to liability.”
“I, along with the entirety of the male population on every continent in the world, would disagree with you…most ardently.” He flashed me a wicked grin.
“I’ve missed something, and I feel, perhaps, I shouldn’t be present for this conversation,” Freya said idly. “Yet, I also feel the need to stay. I’m sure it’s bound to become even more hilarious.”
“We should stay,” Babs said. “In case the princess decides to attack her mate with that long arse sword she’s wielding.”
“Is training over for the day?” Torben asked, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Afraid not.” Freya sighed, though I knew she wasn’t a bit remorseful. The sadist loved torturing me. “We still have endurance to work on. Some hill sprints should do the trick.”
Groaning, I threw my head back. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one. A collective moan came from the surrounding shieldmaidens.
“Quit your whining, you lazy milk jugs,” Freya yelled. “You won’t be upset about the hill runs when you’re able to stay upright after hours of battle. As females, we are naturally weaker than most men. That means, when we fight them, we must find other advantages. We need to be able to outlast them. Fatigue makes a coward of the strongest man. That is when they show their weakness.”
“She’s right,” Torben agreed. “Endurance is one of the things that makes shieldmaidens so dangerous. It’s as important, if not more so, than wielding a heavy weapon.”
No one seemed particularly heartened by their words. With much muttering, we shuffled over to a storage barrel and unceremoniously dumped our weapons into it. Then we marched, panting, with heads bowed, to the hill, a steep mound of earth that rested ominously about a kilometer away. I’d dubbed it the Devil’s Anvil because it never yielded, and it made my life hell. The other shieldmaidens seemed to appreciate the moniker. This hill had become the bane of my existence. I even had nightmares about it.
“Wait,” Freya hollered. “Don’t forget your shields. Wear them on your backs as you run.”
“She’s trying to kill us.” Astrid huffed.
“We’ve been trying to tell you that for years,” Taina, one of the twins, said.
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Astrid said. She smiled at the twins, who I noted were rarely far apart from one another. Didn’t Torben tell me Talia once had a fling with Brant? Wonder if Taina hung around for that?
It was torture, but I knew Freya wasn’t trying to kill us because she never ordered us to do any training she didn’t plan to complete herself. In a few minutes, she’d join us on the hill with her shield and probably her sword as well. And that was why I respected her as a trainer and leader.
The next hour was filled with much sweat, burning lungs and leg muscles, as well as few bouts of awful retching. I’m happy to report, however, no one passed out. When Freya finally called for a halt on our last run, each of us collapsed where we stood on top of the hill. I rolled onto my back, staring up at the darkening sky. I could hear the labored pants of the other shieldmaidens that matched my own. Though my thoughts were fleeting, I realized Freya’s training was doing more than hardening our bodies and sharpening our skills. It was forging us into something greater than our individual selves. There was something about straining and suffering alongside another human being that formed a bond not easily broken. The mutual misery was like glue. I realized then, because of what we were experiencing together, that each of these women would lay down their lives for me, and I for them.
I grumbled between gasping for breath. “I’m pretty sure…there are parts of…my body…that hurt, which are definitely not meant to hurt.”
“Can you walk?” Babs asked.
“If I say yes, does that mean I will have to do more training?”
“Maybe,” she answered. “Depends on Freya�
�s mood.”
“I’m too tired to listen to any more bellyaching from you slugs,” Freya barked. I realized the sound came from somewhere above me. She was the only one left standing. “Let’s call it a day.”
“Thank the gods.” Astrid sighed, and several around her echoed her prayer while trying to shamble into upright positions.
“Need help up?” Lakin asked. I was finally beginning to learn all their names. Now, I didn’t feel like such an idiot from continually having to say, ‘hey you’.
“That would be great,” I said, placing my hand in her outstretched one. She pulled me to my feet with ease. “Okay, now I feel even worse because you just lifted me as if I were a child and you haven’t been training all day.”
“You’ll get stronger,” Lakin assured me. “You will probably get stronger than you expect because you have much motivation to do so.”
I couldn’t argue with her there. Battle was coming quickly. If I weren’t prepared, the Devil’s Anvil would be the least of my worries.
“I am incredibly thankful I have found Allete and that she was destined for me. However, I wish we’d met in a time of peace. I want to protect her from the horrors of war at all cost, but the cost of not going to war could be too great.”
* * *
~Torben
“Are you worried Freya is going to put your bride out of commission?” Delvin asked as he lunged forward with his sword. Allete and the shieldmaidens were currently laboring up the Devil’s Anvil. Freya’s muffled shouts at them could be heard even from this distance. Once the women had cleared the training area, I’d ordered my own men to the corral. Not because we needed the additional drills, but because I had to take out my frustration on someone who wasn’t the captain of my shieldmaidens.
It was true Allete needed the training in the worst way. Growing up a princess, she had no clue what real battles were like. For her, they were something that happened far removed from her castle walls, carried out cleanly and dutifully by her father’s soldiers. She couldn’t fathom the horror that might await her. The sights and sounds were terrifying. The screams of dying men—the vision of their heads severed or entrails removed. The thick of battle wasn’t a place for a princess. But Allete wasn’t a princess anymore. Now, she was the queen of Clan Hakon. As a northern queen, she couldn’t afford to be squeamish. Despite this understanding, I still tensed up every time Freya’s sword connected with Allete’s shield or Freya’s boot connected with Allete’s midsection. My bride would be covered in bruises, and she would groan in her sleep tonight.
“I’d advise against asking about my wife being in or out of commission, Delvin,” I snarled, whirling and arcing my sword over my head, then bringing it down with a two-handed grip atop my sparring partner. Delvin got his own sword up just in time. The metal clanked loudly, and my arms shook with the force of the connection. We both took a step back, eyeing one another.
“I meant no disrespect, Torben.”
“I know, Delvin.” I shook my head. “I’m just a little stressed right now. Seeing our clan so decimated…our homes destroyed…my mother gone…” I lowered my sword.
“You know we will do anything you ask of us, right?” Amund said as he stepped toward us.
“I do, and I appreciate you all.” When I shifted, I saw the others circling me—my six closest and most trusted warriors. I met each of their eyes, hesitating for several seconds upon each one. “I have a feeling I will be asking much of you very soon.”
“And we will answer your call,” Kjell offered.
“I’m tired. You don’t have to butter me up to get me to call an end to the training.” Chuckling, I re-sheathed my sword.
“Told ya he was getting old,” Siv said. “Now that he has a woman, he can’t even spar past dusk anymore.”
“Shut yer mouth, Siv,” Brant growled. “If you want to stay out here and freeze your nuts off, then fine, but don’t expect the rest of us to hang around.”
“You’re getting old, too,” Siv teased. “Pretty soon, I won’t have any competition with the women. With Torben taken, Brant aging, and the rest of you lot dragging your feet, I’ll have the pick of the bosoms.”
“And when you finally do settle down,” Amund said, “I am going to take great pleasure in regaling your future bride with all your conquests. I’m sure she’ll appreciate hearing the stories behind each and every one of those notches on your bedpost. Let’s see…first, there was Ingrid. That was the lass—”
“You’ll be long dead before I settle down,” Siv barked. “You’re even older than Torben and Brant.”
“You boys are giving me a headache,” I muttered, stretching to rub the back of my head.
“Luckily for you, I see Freya has finally called an end to the shieldmaiden’s training,” Brant said. He pointed toward the slowly dispersing crowd of women.
“Finally. Get some rest. Don’t stay up drinking all night.” I directed my comment specifically at Siv. He would be the one who would most likely have to be carried to his bed.
At one time, the warning would have been given to both him and Brant. But Siv was right about one thing. Since Dayna had come into Brant’s life, his carousing days were all but forgotten. I wasn’t entirely sure if this was a good or bad thing. Before, Brant had been like a mountain of balled-up energy. He’d had no purpose, like a ship without a rudder. His lack of focus led to a shiftless mind and idle hands. This, in turn, led to countless fights in the mead hall, along with brokenhearted women scattered throughout our clan and many others.
But the one thing that could always focus my best friend’s energy—battle. While wielding his great war hammer, Brant was a man possessed. All that restless energy, that power, was redirected to a single destructive purpose. And woe to the poor soldiers who stood against us. No one could stand against Brant when the bloodlust of battle was upon him.
Now, given a new target for Brant’s attention, would he still be the same ferocious warrior he always was? Or would he lose his focus? Would Dayna be a distraction, one that would cost us in the most crucial of times? Shaking my head, I tried to push the anxiety caused by Brant and Allete’s sister out of my mind.
Without another word, I took off at a trot, searching for a limping princess. As soon as I spotted her, I rushed up behind her and swooped her into my arms. Her laughter rang out into the purpling dusk sky, and it brought a smile to my weary face. Holding her lithe form was never a burden, not even when I was exhausted. I began marching toward the river.
“I need a bath,” I said.
“You know where the river is,” she replied.
“I do, and that’s where we’re going.”
“I don’t see why I should go.”
“You don’t smell so sweet yourself, Princess.” I nipped her ear playfully as I walked. The river was more of a glorified stream that ran alongside our village. It wasn’t terribly wide or swift, but it did contain a few pleasant pools deep enough for a proper bath.
She took a heavy sniff. “I can’t smell myself, so I don’t really care. Put me down.”
“Can’t do that, Allete,” I said, continuing to march. “I cannot let you into our bed while you smell like a dog that’s wallowed in the carcass of a three-day-old dead animal.”
Her brow drew down, her lips tightening. “That’s a little extreme. Surely I don’t smell that bad.”
“You wouldn’t know. You just said you couldn’t smell yourself,” I challenged. The river was growing close now. I could hear the water bubbling over the rocks. A few more strides would bring us to its banks. Allete’s face grew flushed with irritation. She didn’t realize how attractive I found her when she got all worked up. I probably shouldn’t mention I often aggravated her for that reason alone. I was taking her to the stream for a bath whether my bride wanted it or not. Despite her protests, she’d feel better afterward, even though the bath itself would be quick. The evening air was crisp, and the water would be frigid. Even the hardiest of warriors couldn’t t
olerate the water for long this time of year. Still, there was nothing in the world better for tired, sore muscles than icy water.
“You better make it quick,” she sniped. “If important body parts freeze off, I will not feel sorry for you.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that bellowed out of me. Allete never ceased to surprise me. Just when I thought I had her figured out, she would make an outrageous remark like that. If she would have said that in front of anyone else, she’d have blushed as red as a ripe apple.
“It will be the quickest bath you’ve ever had,” I said.
“You mean the quickest bath you’ve ever had. I’m not getting—eek!” Her words were cut off by a squeal as I dropped her out of my arms. Flailing and gasping, Allete hit the surface of the water. She came up sputtering and cursing. There was murder in her eyes as she struggled, cold and soaking wet, back onto the bank.
I reached down, grabbed her hand, and helped her out of the water. Her breath came in gasps. “I’m…going to…cut you. You’ve…been warned.”
I tried not to laugh. I really did.
“I’m serious,” she said, recovering. Her beautiful body shivered, and I couldn’t help but notice how nicely the wet clothing clung to it. This was going to be fun. “You won’t know when it’s coming,” she continued. “Might be tonight. Might be a year from now. I’d suggest you sleep with one eye open from now on, warrior.”
I helped her undress even as I tried to suppress my smile. I didn’t hurry. I was pushing my luck, but seeing her golden hair wet, plastered against her body, and the little goose pimples forming on her supple skin was doing something to me. I wanted to savor this moment. “Okay, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to toss you in fully clothed,” I said, frustrated when I tried to peel the pants from her damp skin.