The Pagan Goddess

Chaper Six

It was a day and a half ride back to Rumcofa. I stopped along the way for a couple of hours to rest and feed Erik's horse. I ate, myself, a couple of the times we stopped, but I didn't want to eat all the food I brought with me. The horse needed it more then I did.

When I came closer to Rumcofa, I spotted black smoke coming from within the fortress. My heart started pounding faster as I made the horse run faster. Something is wrong. I hear people scream and cry out for help.

I slow my horse and dismount when we got a little closer to Rumcofa. I lead the horse behind the the fortress and tie him to a near by tree. I sneak my way into Rumcofa by my secret exit I made. I had to push a little hard because of the boxes I covered the hole with. The room was empty when I entered, but the screams grew louder. I did not bother to cover the hole back up as I drew my sword ready to fight if need be.

"Freya" I hear a female voice whisper behind me. I quickly turn and see Astrid with Ivar close to her chest. Her eyes red from crying. The top of her head was bleeding and she shook with fear.

"Astrid." I whisper coming to her side, dropping my sword next to her. I grab a fur on her shoulder that was to keep her warm so I could clean the blood from her face. 

"You have to leave." Astrid gasps out pushing my hand away.

"I will not leave you here." I say bringing my hand back to her head.

"Danes raid looking for you."

"Me?" 

"Yes, the pagan goddess."

I stop and narrow my eyes at her. I shook my head and thought she must have really hit her head hard. "Listen to me, there is a horse tied up on a tree outside. Take the horse and find my brother."

She try's to protest, but I put my hand up and smiled, "you and Ivar need to get to safety. You are all Bjørn has left."

After a few minutes, she obeyed and crawled out the hole with Ivar tied to her chest with furs. I quickly covered the hole with boxes and grabbed my sword. I slowly go up the stairs and look over the entrance of the fortress. Men, Danes, fight each other, kill each other for a pagan goddess? Why must people die? Tears form in my eyes when I spot Bjørn kneeled on his knees with a sword to his throat and his hands tie behind his back.

"Put your swords down or your Lord will die!" The rather large man holding the sword to Bjørn's throat screams. This man was older with grey hair all throughout his once dark hair. Dark eyes narrowed as he awaited Bjørn to give the command for his men to surrender. The man grabbed Bjørn by the hair making him grunt in pain.

"Stop!" I scream making myself seen. A large gust of air made my voice grow louder and echoed in the air. I slam my fist down on the ledge of the stairs and scream louder when no one stopped the first time. The stairs begin to crack and wood falls to the ground. Tears ran down my cheeks as everyone looked up at me. Bjørn's eyes grew wide at the sight of me. He tries to come to me, but the man pulled on his hair tighter making Bjørn scream in pain.

"Who are you?" The man asks narrowing his eyes toward me.

"Say nothing!" Bjørn yells out. The man pushes him to the ground and puts his sword to the back of his neck.

"Tell me or he dies." The man says, evil in his voice and eyes.

Hilda and Alfric approach the stairs with their sword drawn. Alfric shakes his head and pleads me with his eyes to stay quiet. "Freya." I say pushing pasted Hilda and Alfric. "Freya Eriksen."

Whispers begin to be heard over the crowd, even some of Bjørn men looked at me with wide eyes. "Now let him go." I stay sternly while slowly walking toward him and Bjørn.

The man kicks Bjørn aside as two of the man's men grabbed me from behind. They locked both my arms in theirs making it impossible for me to escape. My sword fell the the ground and the man walked right up to me, "so you are the pagan goddess."

I look to Bjørn who is being held down by another man with a sword to the back of his neck again. "Do not hurt him!" I scream with tears still falling from my eyes.

"Do not worry," the man in charge spoke, "he will not be hurt as long as you behave."

Just then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The man in charge started throwing orders around to his men. I was thrown into a cage that was attached to a horse. The man in charge told his men not to leave for another few hours giving him time to get as far away as possible so Bjørn and his men could  not tract us. The man mounted the horse my cage was attached to and made the horse run out of the gates. I screamed Bjørn's name as he tried to fight off the men that held him back. I seen tears fill his eyes before the gates closed. I was soon knocked out by a blow to the back of the head making everything go dark.

4 years has passed since I last seen my Bjørn. The man that captured me calls himself Karten and he keeps me in a cell downstairs in his fortress dungeon. Everyday he comes down and asks me to give him a miracle. Everyday I tell him I do not know what he speaks of. They call me the pagan goddess, but no one tells me of the prophecy rumors. When Karten gets angry with me, he will send in guards to give me a beating hoping that would change my answer, but it does not. There have been days where Karten is more frustrated then usual with my normal answer and he would take his frustrations out on me by forcefully humping me in the night. Those days I did not eat nor drink for the rest of the week.

Last week, I experienced one of those days and have not ate for days. I lay on the cold floor curled up with a single fur Karten gave me when he was feeling sentimental one day. My body hurt as I still healed from the last beating I got. I have not been able to cry for a long time as my body needs to safe the nutrients, but I would if I could. Everyday I pray Bjørn would save me and everyday I lay here on the cold floor. I begin to think he may never come for me.

There was noise coming from upstairs making dust and small wood chips fall on my face. The sounds were muffled and I was too weak to raise my head to look. "Lord, she's here!" I hear a women's voice scream. If I remember correctly, that sounded like Hilda's voice or maybe Astrid. I try to speak, but my throat was dry as I could not say words.

"Shh, Lady, do not try to speak." I hear the women whisper as strong arms gently lift me off the floor. I grunted in pain as I was picked up. The women covered me with another fur as I was naked under the small fur I was already under.

"Lady, I am going to cover your eyes." The women's voice says gently as she places the fur over my head. The strong arms carry me outside where the sun beamed down. I could feel the warmth under the furs. I slowly open my eyes to try to see who carried me, but my eyes could not adjust to the light. I grunt in pain with every step and I tried to focus on the man's deep breathing and his heart beat. Soon I close my eyes and unknowingly I drift off into a deep sleep.