At first, her body felt so broken she couldn’t sit up. All she could do was stay on the cold stone floor and fight the delirium. And then someone came to give her water. She remembered that. But what else happened during that time she had no idea. But she saw that Erik was gone and she thanked the gods. They didn’t bother to chain her hands anymore. The only thing that held her in the place was the chain around her ankle.
Bit by bit, she got better. They brought more water and bread. She was weak but she was able to sit up. The water was cold and fresh and it was the best thing she has ever tasted. It gave her strength and a chance for her body to recover. It was brought by a guard other than Uthar and she accepted it gratefully.
The next time she woke up from her nightmares, she heard loud noises, singing and stomping. The footsteps of the guards outside the door sounded different than usual, a bit drunken, perhaps. The voices shouted the songs instead of actually singing them. Not everyone was gifted by Bragi. It was time for the Solstice.
She remembered all the Solstices she had spent in the Hall with Erik and her friends. Every single thought about Erik hurt more than a thousand tortures, made worse by the thought of Harald’s “gift.”
It had been an unfair death. There had never been a second when Harald had considered letting him live. His jealous testimony here in the cell set that in stone. She had been ready to sacrifice herself, but in the end, it made no difference. Erik had been murdered. She had even asked him to lay down his weapons. And there was no one to avenge his death. Except her.
A sudden thought broke through the pain and gave her fresh strength. She had to avenge Erik and Father or die trying. But to do that she needed a way out.
“Think, think,” she whispered into the darkness.
Her mind was clear. Every bit of her energy was focused on looking for a way out. She hadn’t heard Uthar today. In fact, she hadn’t heard him for longer than that. Maybe he was joining the celebrations in the town. She could fight any other guard perhaps, but she wasn’t sure if she had enough strength to fight Uthar.
In time, the singing died down. She listened carefully. All she could hear was maybe two different guards moving around. It wouldn’t surprise her if Harald had left the prisons less protected during the sacrifice ceremony. No one could escape this place anyway. No one would expect anyone to try.
Someone passed right by her door.
“Hey, you!” she shouted.
The steps froze.
“I know you’re there. I need to talk to you.”
“I have nothing to talk to you about, woman,” the man bit out. “You’re a curse.”
She smiled, glad to find out that she was still feared. “I am only a curse to my enemies. But for you, I have an offer, an offer you will not be able to resist.”
Silence.
“An offer that will make the gods look down on you with admiration.” She could only hope that he was just drunk enough and that she was playing her cards right. The door opened and she was blinded by the torchlight.
“What kind of offer?” the guard asked, keeping his distance.
She stood up slowly, leaning against the wall for support. He was a strong but short man. If she was smart and quick enough, she might have a chance.
“What is your name, warrior?”
“Hagen,” he squared his shoulders and kept his left hand on the head of his axe.
“Hagen.” She repeated his name seductively, looking the man in the eye. “A good name, a name worthy of respect.”
“What is this offer of yours, bitch?”
“Let me go. Let me go and I’ll reward you generously.”
His laughter filled the cell from the ceiling to the floor. “Reward me? You have nothing, no jewellery or riches. And there is no one out there to help you, either. You are a dead and worthless thing.”
She knew the game he was playing. This man wanted more than riches. She could see it in his eyes. She had once been the Commander, a woman of power wanted by many men, a woman lusted after by the King. And in spite of all the months of imprisonment, she was still a woman and she was still unbroken which made her desirable. She really hoped he would bite onto her hook.
She let her tunic slide off her shoulder. “I do not have riches to offer to you, Hagen, but I do have something else, something better. And I know you want it. I can see it in your eyes.” She lowered her gaze to his groin. “And elsewhere.”
His eyes glazed as they travelled up and down her body. “And what is it that I want?”
She reached for her other shoulder and let the tunic fall on the floor, leaving herself naked and exposed to him. “Me.”
There it was. A mad desire burned in his eyes. But there was genuine fear in them, too. This man obviously believed all the rumours about Thor and curses and bad luck.
“You can trust me. I need you, Hagen, so why would I hurt you?” Her voice was like honey as she reached out her hand. “Come closer. I want to see more of you. I suspect you’re quite a man, maybe even more to my liking than the King.”
He hesitated, his drink clouded mind conflicted. “If I let you go, the King will kill me.”
She gave him a reassuring smile. Irena would be proud of her right now. “Not if you come with me, Hagen. We can escape together. You and I. I’ll need a man to protect me and I don’t see why that man couldn’t be you. I have friends in the Celtic lands who will reward you handsomely. You’ll be a very rich man.”
He was nearly convinced. She could see it in his eyes. “And I’ll tell the gods about the brave man Hagen who saved me from an unfair fate. I’ll tell them that he deserves to drink at the table of Odin himself. The gods listen to me.”
Hagen smiled. He did like what he heard. He hung the torch on the wall and came closer. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
She was starting to tire of this performance, but she had to keep going if she wanted to break free. “I’m sure a man like you would see right through me. I wouldn’t think of trying anything foolish, not with a man as smart as you. I want you, Hagen, and it’s been so long since I’ve had a real man.”
It was enough. But he was quicker than she expected. He crossed the room and pushed her against the wall, his hand cupping one of her breasts. His heavy breath reeked of mead. She had to stay strong.
“You can have me right now, Hagen, but on one condition,” she pushed his hand away, pointing at her ankle. “Release me. Release me and I’m yours. I want to be able to satisfy you fully as you deserve.”
He thought about this for a moment but bent down to unlock the chain. It was all she needed. She hit him with an elbow straight between his neck and shoulders and he fell to the floor. She grabbed the axe from his belt and sent the fatal blow to his neck. One man down.
She slid back into her tunic and put the man’s belt around her hips. Now, she had a dagger as well. For a moment the world spun around her, but she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and next time she opened them, she felt stronger.
There was whistling from the outside. It didn’t become louder or quieter, so the whistler wasn’t moving around. She tiptoed to the door and slid through it. She saw him. There was a man sitting at the table at the end of the corridor. A large pitcher of mead was next to him and he sat with his back to her, so he wouldn’t even notice his death coming.
If she failed with this one chance, she would never be able to escape, so she needed to act fast. She sneaked up on him quietly, but at the last moment, he looked over his shoulder. Luckily, his reaction was too slow and he ended up with his throat cut. She grabbed the pitcher and let the strong drink go down her throat. She needed all the strength she could get.
Finding the old caves wasn’t hard. Harald hadn’t even tried to block the entry to them since the last escape. But he didn’t expect her to try to escape. To him, she was lying broken and half dead in the cell. Oh, how wrong he was.
She couldn’t help but think of the last time she walked these caves with Erik, H
elgi and the others. All these people she had held so dear were gone. But no matter how much it ached, these thoughts kept her going.
There was the moment when she had to stop because the world started to spin, but remembering these people and what was done to them kept her on her feet. She just hoped that she would have enough strength when she came eye to eye with Harald.
But she wasn’t prepared for the impact of the memories when she walked out into the glade. It was a shock that sent her to her knees and took away her breath. Tears started to stream down her face as that day played itself out in her mind’s eye yet again.
All this time in the prison she hadn’t had a chance to scream or cry to let the pain out and it wasn’t the right time to do it now, but it was nearly impossible to fight these powerful emotions. She looked at the place where they had all died and a groan from deep in the core of her heart tore from her.
With fresh rage running through her veins, she stood up and walked toward the town. There was no hesitation in her step. She hadn’t escaped to run away and hide. She was on a mission to kill Harald. Even if it was the last thing she ever did.
Chapter 27
The ground was covered in a light dusting of snow and lazy snowflakes danced down from the skies. Her bare feet were freezing and she had to keep moving fast.
It wasn’t hard to sneak into the town while the celebrations were at their highest. It gave her a chance. She knew every corner, every secret and hidden entrance in the town. She also knew that the best time to make her way into the Great Hall was when the sacrifice was being made and the Hall was empty.
She hid behind one of the houses and looked around the corner. Everyone was there. A large bonfire was lit at the entrance and people watched the human sacrifice performed by Harald himself. She had maybe a couple of minutes.
Staying low, she crossed the distance between the house and the side entrance to the Great Hall. It was a relief when she managed to slide through the door. Now she just needed to get to the King’s room. There wasn’t a second to waste.
After the sacrifice, he would come to his room to change his clothes. That was when she would strike. She crept forward till she found the door she was looking for. No one was standing guard and the corridor was empty. She slipped through the door and closed it behind herself quietly. Gripping her dagger, she tiptoed down the corridor.
And there it was, the door that led to the King’s room. It was half open. She stopped to listen for sounds from inside, but there was only silence. Harald’s voice could be heard from in the Hall. He would be here soon.
She took a deep breath and slid through the door, afraid to move it even a hair’s breadth. Harald could notice the difference, although attention to such details would depend on how drunk he was. She looked around the room. It was a mess. So Irena hadn’t been there for a while. Her stepmother would have demanded order so this was good news.
The sound of heavy footsteps started down the corridor, so she rushed to hide behind the door. She withdrew her axe and gripped the dagger tighter. The door opened wide, almost crushing her, but she didn’t make a sound. She watched him enter the room. The familiar flames of hate rose high. It was the man she hated more than anything in this world. The man she must kill.
He dug through the tunics in one of the great wooden chests, while she closed the door as quietly as possible. The loud voices in the Great Hall masked the noise. She watched him change out of his bloodied robes and into a new tunic, gripping her weapons tighter.
“Are you going to just stand there?” Harald turned around, his eyes stopping at the axe in her hand. It made him smile. “At last.”
She stared at him not blinking. He wasn’t surprised. Was this another trap? Had he known she was coming? She wasn’t sure she could stand against all of his armed guards.
“Oh, don’t worry,” he smoothed his new tunic with great care and smiled, seeming to read her mind. “It’s just you and me. Everyone else is feasting.”
She had to kill him. She had to use this chance. But there were weapons in the room and she had to be quick. She raised her axe and went on the attack. Harald quickly grabbed a shield to protect himself.
“Oh, how I’ve missed this!” He ducked, avoiding her next attack.
She was already breathing hard. “Missed what, my trying to kill you?”
He grabbed an axe from the wall. “Yes, I’m amazed that you still can fight after I left you to rot in that cell. You are very hard to break.”
“You will never break me.” This time their axes collided.
He had a shield. That didn’t help her because he was able to protect himself. And she wasn’t as good with an axe as she was with a sword. Harald went on the attack. She had to step back and duck down to avoid it. One cut would be deadly to her. Another strike followed and this time it managed to wound her in the arm. It was a minor wound, but he pushed her deeper into the corner and she had to do something about it.
She raised her axe but aimed her knife at his stomach where the shield didn’t protect him. Harald had to jump back and she used this moment to press him into the corner. She attacked him again and again and all he could do was to step back and hold his shield high. And again she tried to stab him, but this time he hit her hand so hard with the shield that her knife flew across the room. Her fingers went numb and she had to take a step back.
“I can do this all night if you like.” His grin was smug and cruel.
“So can I!” But she wasn’t so sure. Her hand ached terribly now, but that wasn’t her biggest worry. The room was starting to float before her eyes and she started to feel weak. She was using more strength than she actually had. She just hoped that it would be enough to kill Harald. But until now, she had never fought him with weapons of war, and he was stronger than she had expected.
He threw his shield aside. “I’ll make it easier for you.” Now, he had only his axe.
She raised her axe and the fight became a kind of a macabre dance. Neither of them had any thought of quitting, but she started to lose her balance, tripping over the carpets and things that were strewn on the floor. She was close to exhaustion.
And then she lost her axe. The strike from Harald was so strong that it almost broke her arm. In the next instant, she received a heavy hit to her head and the room went black. She fell on all fours, trying to fight it away. But Harald kicked her hard and it made her collapse. She had lost the battle. She knew it. She grabbed the fur on the floor looking for support to stand up but got kicked again. This time it stole her breath.
Harald’s words seemed to come from a great distance. “See, whore? I am always stronger and smarter than you are. Always.”
She tried to get up again when she felt something under her, something cold. It was her dagger. She wrapped her hand around it and fighting to her feet, she thrust it where Harald had been. A loud howl echoed through the room. She had done it.
But then she was thrown to the other side of the room. Her head hit the wall and for a moment she passed out. When she opened her eyes again and blinked the mist away, she saw Harald clutching his left side. Her dagger was in his hand.
She tried to get up but slid back down. Her legs wouldn’t respond.
“You have made a terrible mistake, bitch.” His words were spoken as a low and dangerous growl.
He stood in front of her and threw the knife at her feet. “Stand up and fight.”
She grabbed the knife and forced herself to her feet, using the wall for support. She had to fight. She had to win. But in her heart, she knew she was at his mercy now. With her last strength, she went on the attack, but he grabbed her arm and bent it behind her back, unarming her. The knife was in his hand now.
He shoved her onto the table. His axe pressed her face against the wooden surface. She could feel the splinters from the table painfully cutting into her cheek. She knew what would follow and as the agonising pain thrust deep inside her, she found shelter in darkness.
A set of st
range sounds brought her back to consciousness. She wasn’t sure what it was. It was loud and dull at first, but then it grew louder and clearer, voices and music and there was the smell of food. Food. She was so hungry.
She opened her eyes with great effort. They seemed stuck with something, blood perhaps. Everything around her was in a white fog. She blinked hard till things started to take shape. And then the sound returned in all its strength.
She was in the Great Hall, lying on the floor. People were dancing and singing and drinking. Why was she here? Had she awakened from some kind of a dream? Maybe this had all just been a nightmare. She had always had nightmares, after all, bad ones. Or maybe she had simply passed out from too much mead after a great victory. But the pain now returning to her body crushed this theory.
The music stopped and the Hall sank into silence, except for the sound of one familiar voice.
“Look what we have here, my good people. Look who has honoured us with her presence.”
She tried to sit up, but her hands were tied behind her back and it was doubtful that she could have accomplished it anyway. Harald’s face floated above her. His voice was full of mockery and the dark gleam in his eyes was something she had seen far too often.
She was so tired, tired of all the humiliation and the fighting. She just wanted to die. But Harald wouldn’t let her do that, at least not yet. Whatever horror she was about to experience, she hoped it would be enough to kill her at last.
The King grabbed her by the hair and raised her to her knees so that everyone in the Hall could see her. She didn’t look anyone in the eye but kept staring somewhere behind them. She didn’t want anyone to see her broken, even if she felt that way.
Harald leaned down and spoke into her ear, making sure it was loud enough for all to hear. “I’m glad you decided to join us, Fljótdís. We were afraid you would sleep the night away and this town isn’t the same without you. Right, my friends?”
He waited for loud shouts of agreement and excitement, but instead, there was a deadly silence. No one moved or said a word.
Fljótdís- Daughter of the North Page 30