The Legendary Inge

by Kate Stradling

  “I can return to my room by myself. You don’t need to worry that I’ll try to run away.”

  His face took on an expression of mock surprise. “Is that what I was worried about?”

  “Why else would you have to escort me all this way?”

  “Why else indeed?” At Inge’s sour glare, Raske’s brow arched again. “You’re not the only one who knows how to avoid answering questions, Your Highness.”

  Inge silently seethed. She had reasons not to answer his questions about her past. He kept things from her for no reason at all!

  At least, she assumed he had no reason.

  The atmosphere between them weighed heavy on her shoulders. Raske didn’t seem to mind at all, which only annoyed Inge further. She halted in front of her door, her eyes trained upon its knob. “My father taught Gunnar and me,” she said curtly. “I started when I was eight or nine, so it’s been about ten years. Don’t ask any more questions about it, please. It’ll only cause trouble for us.”

  She chanced to look up at him and caught a glimpse of a startled expression. It disappeared just as quickly as it came, replaced by his customary indifference. Then, “King Halvard has ordered that you always be guarded when outside your quarters,” he told her. “You probably shouldn’t ask any more questions about that, but I suspect the truth will become apparent soon enough.”

  “It’s not just because he thinks I’ll run away?”

  A telling expression crossed Raske’s face, confirmation that there was more to this charade than she had originally suspected.

  “What is going on?”

  Raske leaned past her to open the door. “Didn’t I just say you shouldn’t ask any more questions?”

  Inge scowled. He remained impassive. With a huff she entered her room. The door shut behind her. Beyond, Colonel Raske’s footsteps retreated down the hall.

  She was entangled in a true mess, if she couldn’t ask simple questions and get even the vaguest response in return. She felt unpleasantly like a pawn in a game of chess. What position Raske played, she did not know.

  Chapter 7: The Siblings Commune

  Gunnar was understandably nervous. He had abandoned his post for the second time in as many days and, like an idiot, he was going straight to the person most likely to exact punishment. It wasn’t to be helped, though. He had to speak to Inge, and his only known route to her lay through Colonel Raske.

  He would just have to beg the colonel’s forgiveness from the start. These were extraordinary circumstances, after all.

  The markings on his uniform proclaimed him to be one of Raske’s men, so he met no difficulty while traversing through the castle grounds toward the barracks. He tried his best to keep his nervousness from showing, but when he rounded a corner to discover his colonel speaking with Captain Bergstrom further down the hall, he instinctively retreated. Raske had seen him in that brief moment, though Captain Bergstrom had not. Heart racing, Gunnar took a couple of deep breaths and mentally rebuked his cowardice.

  The conversation up the adjoining corridor ended and Captain Bergstrom continued on his way. Gunnar heard footsteps approach. With a stiffening of his nerves, he turned the corner again. Colonel Raske stopped short and waited expectantly.

  “Colonel Raske, sir!” Gunnar said, standing at attention.

  “Lang, walk with me,” his commanding officer ordered. He passed Gunnar and continued up the corridor. Gunnar scrambled to follow.

  “I don’t recall sending for you. What brings you to the castle?”

  “I apologize for disobeying orders, sir,” said Gunnar, his heart pounding with every step, “but I need to speak with my sister—um, that is, I need to speak with—”

  “I wonder that you didn’t steal directly to the Prince’s quarters,” said Raske with a sidelong glance.

  Gunnar stopped short. “I… I didn’t think of that, sir.”

  “Better for you that you didn’t. Come along.”

  Confusion descended over Gunnar as he fell in line again. He did not understand why his commanding officer would make that suggestion and then rescind it. He also didn’t know where they were headed. In fact, he didn’t know his way around the castle at all, which was the main reason he had not sought out Inge on his own.

  “Your father was a charcoal-burner, wasn’t he, Lang?”

  Gunnar jumped at the abrupt question. “Sir, yes,” he said with a pang of guilt. It wasn’t entirely a lie.

  “Did he ever serve as a soldier?”

  “No, sir. Why do you ask, sir?”

  “You and the new prince are both adept enough with the sword that I thought your father might have been a military man at one time.”

  Gunnar lapsed into silence, and Raske seemed disinclined to disturb it. They walked on, through the twisting corridors and up a flight of stairs, but it wasn’t until the colonel stopped at a particular door that Gunnar actually wondered where they were going. Even as he opened his mouth to ask, Raske rapped his knuckles sharply against the door.

  A muffled voice commanded entry. As Raske twisted the handle, he leveled a stern look upon Gunnar. “The royal family will be congregating for dinner soon. Your time is limited. Use it well.”

  Then, he shoved Gunnar through the opening, into a large bedchamber. From a small sitting area off to one side, Inge stared back at her brother in wide-eyed dismay.

  In that instant, all of Gunnar’s thoughts distilled into one pressing issue.

  “Inge, your hair!” he cried as the door shut behind him. “What imbecilic notion possessed you to sell off your hair? And all of it! When Einar said you cut it, I thought he meant a few inches, not a whole foot and more!”

  “Who’s going to buy a few inches, Gunnar?” Inge retorted, wrath upon her face.

  “Well, no wonder they mistook you for a boy! You look like one now!”

  “Keep your opinions to yourself! It’s none of your business if I want to cut off all my hair!”

  “It is my business when it gets you into a scrape like this and I end up having to look after the rest of the family!” He thought he made a fairly good point. Inge must have thought so too, because she immediately turned a shade redder and snapped her mouth shut. “And while we’re on the subject of foolish choices,” Gunnar continued, “what could possibly induce you to have the Demon Scourge of the military go look in on the kids? Did that night-walker jar something loose in your brain?”

  Her anger turned to skepticism. “Demon Scourge? Are you talking about Colonel Raske?”

  “I am talking about the most feared man in the king’s military,” Gunnar hissed, and, in sudden apprehension, he stepped closer to her. Was the colonel still at the door, or had he left the siblings to speak in private? If he had stayed, could he hear their conversation?

  “Raske is the most feared man in the king’s military?” Inge asked incredulously.

  “Keep your voice down,” Gunnar warned as he dropped into the chair next to hers. “Colonel Leiv Falk Raske is the most terrifying soldier ever known, and that’s no small feat considering that his father was Colonel Lukas Falk!”

  “Lukas Falk?” she echoed. “I’ve heard that name before.”

  “Dad knew him! Everyone knew him! He was the stuff legends are made of, and his son is twice as fierce! Haven’t you ever heard of Colonel Raske and his malevolent sword, Bloodfang? He thrives on battle, and you, like an idiot, sent him straight to our house! Do you have any idea what he might’ve done to Eirik and Einar?”

  Inge scowled. “Why would he have cause to do anything to Eirik and Einar? Honestly, Gunnar, I don’t know about any of these rumors, but I think you’re overreacting. You talk about him like he’s some sort of uncontrollable juggernaut, and the worst thing I’ve seen about him is that he’s tight-lipped and likes to laugh up his sleeves when he thinks no one’s looking.”

  “He only smiles when he’s thinking about dismembering something,” Gunnar replied fervently. “Heaven forbid he should ever laugh, because that’s the l
ast thing you’ll ever hear!”

  “He’s your commanding officer,” Inge said in wonder. “How can you possibly believe all of that?”

  “I’ve seen him in battle, that’s how! Him and Bloodfang both! They don’t call him the Demon Scourge because he scourges demons. He is the demon, and he scourges anything that gets in his way!”

  To his great chagrin, Inge said flatly, “I don’t believe it. He might be a very good warrior,” she added when Gunnar started to protest, “but he’s human like the rest of us. I don’t see why I should have to be afraid of him, or afraid to have him look in on the children when no one else would listen to a word I said. They’re all still alive and well, I assume. Is that all you came to yell at me about?”

  It took a moment for Gunnar to pick his jaw up off the floor and gather his wits. “No, it’s not,” he said when he was able. “I came to find out where you sent Nea so that I could bring her back.”

  “I’m not telling,” Inge stubbornly replied.

  “I told you not to lend her out in the first place! Who do you think is going to take care of the kids while you’re cooped up here?”

  “I don’t know. Not Nea.”

  “It’s not like you two to fight.”

  “We didn’t fight. I sent her away for her own good. She can work and earn some money while she’s at it.”

  “And speaking of money!” Gunnar cried. “What on earth have you done with all the money I sent home? Eirik and Einar don’t know where it’s stashed, and you couldn’t have spent all of it!”

  Inge heatedly rose to her feet. “I paid the rent,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Rent wasn’t that much!”

  “It went up!”

  “What are you talking about? It can’t just go up! I made a contract with Ulfred!”

  “Where?” she demanded. “Did you write it down? Did someone witness it?”

  The urgency in her voice stood his nerves on end. “What’s wrong? What’s been going on? Ulfred came to the house yesterday. Does it have something to do with that?”

  “Did you pay him the rest of the rent?” Inge asked, stricken.

  “He didn’t ask for it. He said you wanted him to mend the garden fence or something. What is going on?” he asked again when Inge suddenly dropped back into her chair.

  She buried her head in her hands. He waited for her to speak. At long last, her quiet voice cut through the taut silence.

  “Can you find us somewhere else to live? I don’t know how long you’ll be here, but can you do that? I’ve tried, but no one will deal with me, because I’m a girl. Or because Ulfred told them not to. I don’t know which it is.”

  “What’s wrong with where we live, Inge?”

  She raised tired eyes to his face. “He doubled the rent three months ago, and then again last month. I tried to protest, but he said he was within his rights as the landlord. I even went to the neighborhood constables, and they agreed with him. Sassa wasn’t well—I didn’t want to risk moving her, so Nea and I went to work to cover the extra expenses—we took in laundry, sold bread and eggs, and did whatever odd jobs we could find. Then, suddenly, no one would hire us anymore. At first I didn’t know what was going on, but Eirik and Einar came home with rumors that Ulfred had told people we were untrustworthy and not to give us work. A dog got into the coop and killed all the chickens one night, and the garden I planted was trampled the next. I was careful with the money you sent us, Gunnar, I was! But the family has to eat! And when Sassa’s illness got worse, it was just one more expense—”

  “Why didn’t you write me?” Gunnar demanded.

  “What could you have done from the border?” Inge retorted. “Besides that, by the time things got really desperate, I couldn’t afford the courier’s fee anymore, and I didn’t trust the letter not to be intercepted anyway. They’re all in Ulfred’s pocket, everyone in that neighborhood!”

  Gunnar rubbed his forehead to clear his thoughts. “Why would Ulfred do any of this? Did you do something to him?”

  “No,” said Inge flatly. “I thought at first that he had figured out who we were, that he was trying to extort Dad’s legacy—”

  “You didn’t!”

  “Of course I didn’t! Part with our father’s life-work to such a filthy, disgusting pile of dog-puke? I would never!”

  The relief that descended upon Gunnar was tempered with the shock of hearing his sister’s descriptive epithet. “That’s not what he was after?”

  “No,” said Inge. “I don’t think he knows about it. He’s just a sick old man trying to take advantage of two defenseless girls with small children to protect. He told Nea and me that if we couldn’t afford this month’s rent, he would gladly arrange a different form of payment.”

  “What different form?” Gunnar asked in utter confusion.

  Inge spared him a baleful glace. “Use your imagination.”

  He tried, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything beyond their father’s legacy, and Inge had already denied that Ulfred was after that.

  Lightning-quick, she delivered a kick to his shin. “You blockhead! He owns a brothel! He told us that we could pay with our bodies, all right?”

  The pain in his leg was instantly forgotten. “He—he didn’t actually say that to you, did he?”

  “His very words,” Inge replied bitterly. “Why do you think I sent Nea away? I only had enough money for half the rent this month. He gave me until yesterday to come up with the rest.”

  Gunnar was rapidly piecing everything together. “Do you mean to say that when he came by to see you yesterday afternoon, he was going to—?” Inge’s mouth had set in a thin, stubborn line, and wrath finally descended in full upon him. “I’ll kill him!” he cried, and he wrenched himself from his chair.

  She bolted after him. “Wait! Gunnar—!”

  He wouldn’t have listened to her, would have stalked straight from the castle to Ulfred Rikardson’s home, except that the moment he flung himself out her door into the hallway beyond, a hand clamped around his arm. Gunnar looked up to face the calm green eyes of his commanding officer.

  “Lang,” said Raske in pleasant greeting.

  Gunnar’s insides nearly turned to water. “S-sir, please—”

  Inge hung on the door jamb, relief in her eyes. “Don’t let him go, Colonel.”

  “Actually, it’s time for him to go, Your Highness,” Colonel Raske replied. “A page just came to summon you to the king’s table for dinner, and Lang needs to return to his duties.” When Gunnar’s mouth set in a determined line, Raske solemnly added, “I’ve overlooked abandonment of your post twice already. Are you going to try your luck a third time?”

  Gunnar remained resolute before the man he feared most in the world. “A monster is preying on my family. Would you have me do nothing?”

  “Now is not the time for revenge,” Raske replied. “Under King Halvard’s orders, your family is to be relocated to one of his royal estates in the countryside. A doctor will be sent along to see to your sister’s needs,” he added when Inge began to protest on Sassa’s behalf. “Captain Bergstrom informed me of this just before I met you, Lang, and the move is to be accomplished this very afternoon.”

  “So quickly?” said Inge, suspicion thick on her voice.

  Raske spared her a sidelong glance. “Your family knows who you are and thus poses a liability to the king’s plans. The chosen estate is only a few miles beyond the city. Besides, removing them gives you greater incentive to stay put. They’ll be well cared for, I promise.”

  Gunnar overlooked the minor detail of the castle using his little brothers and sisters as hostages to keep Inge in line. A different, more pressing matter still weighed heavily on him. “That still doesn’t solve the matter of Ulfred.” He spoke his landlord’s name with the deepest hatred.

  “You don’t have to solve the matter of Ulfred,” his sister retorted. “If the others are safe, that’s enough for me.”

  Her words onl
y infuriated Gunnar all the more. “What were you going to do, Inge? When he came yesterday, if you had been there instead of me, what were you planning to do? Were you going to give into his demands, for the good of the family? Were you going to just let him—”

  “I don’t know!” she snapped. “I don’t know, Gunnar! I don’t know what I would’ve done! I knew he was coming, but I had nothing to appease him and no recourse against him! I’ve tried for days to think what I could do, but to no avail! And then, in some grand twist of events, suddenly everything is fine! You’ve come, and the others are safe, and I can’t ask for more than that! Oh, I knew you would overreact if you found out!”

  Gunnar stood immobile as she finished this diatribe. Next to him, Raske seemed no less stunned at her outburst. Inge righteously huffed in the doorway, a scowl on her face but a newfound composure hovering around her.

  “You think I’m overreacting?” Gunnar asked, incredulous.

  “I’m sick of watching you fight,” she replied. “That’s why we came to the capital in the first place. Ulfred is too well connected. You’ll be buried if you go after him, so forget about it and worry more about retrieving the you-know-what before the king’s men cart the children off to who-knows-where!”

  “The ‘you-know-what’?” Colonel Raske echoed in sarcastic wonder.

  To Gunnar’s horror, Inge glared at him and said, “I told you not to ask any questions. If I’m a prince, can I order you to send Gunnar back to the house to retrieve something?”

  “You can order him yourself.”

  “I’m just his little sister. He might not do as I tell him.”

  “What am I ordering him to retrieve, then?”

  “He knows what.”

  Two days as a pretend royal had already gone to her head, Gunnar thought. “Inge,” he interrupted petulantly, “where are we supposed to keep them? I can’t very well hide them in the barracks, and I’m not about to send them with Eirik and Einar—who knows what they would do?”

  Inge shifted a nervous glance toward Colonel Raske, wary of his presence. “Bring them to me,” she said quietly. “There’s nowhere else to take them.”