The Nephilim & The Maiden

H v i t s e r k

"Where have you been, your highness?" Ulf sneered at me.

I swung my leg over the side of my horse and hopped down from the saddle stirrup. I glared in his direction, hating that he made a point of calling me 'your highness' or 'queen' every time he saw me since the night of the feast.

"None of your business, Ulf." I snapped and led Idunn to her stall and started to take off the saddle and bridle.

Ulf chuckled. "Just curious as to what the almost queen does now that she's back to being a peasant."

I snatched the pitchfork from the corner of the horse stall and swung it around, pushing the sharp ends against the skin of Ulfs' neck.

"Leave me alone." I growled.

Ulfs' lips turned up into a wicked smile and in one swift move he grabbed the handle of the pitchfork, taking it from me. He let it fall to the ground and then stalked towards me, closing the distance between us, pinning me against the wall behind me.

He took a lock of my blond hair, twirling it between his fingers a few times before he wrapped it around his fist and used it to pull me closer still to him. "I don't think I will. I enjoy watching you squirm."

Thinking fast, I brought my knee up with as much force as I could muster and brought it into his groin. Ulf immediately let go and doubled over, grabbing at his manhood, coughing.

I side-stepped out of the way and went to make a run for it but he grabbed my wrist, holding me in place. I let out a yelp of pain when he yanked me towards him, his eyes on fire with rage.

"What's going on here?" A gruff voice spoke, stopping Ulf.

Ulf let go of my wrist and righted himself, smoothing out his tunic. "Nothing that concerns you." He answered the man who was now standing behind me. He didn't even make eye contact with him, instead he kept his gaze on me.

There was a long moment of tension between us until finally he walked away, leaving the stable. The moment he made it outside I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and started to shake.

"Are you alright, girl?" The stranger asked.

"Y-yes. I'm fine. Sorry for the commotion."

I spent the rest of the morning taking care of Idunn and trying to shake the feelings of what happened with Ulf. It was made clear that he did not like me the night of the feast but I was no longer tied to Ivar, Ulfs' master, so why was he still bothering me?

When I had finished brushing, feeding and filling Idunn's water trough I made my way to the market to buy something to eat.

I picked at my smoked fish and bread, regretting sitting at the tables that were set up in the market. Everyone who passed by made a point to stare at me or point in my direction as they whispered to the person next to them.

"More mead, Highness?" A warrior laughed and messily filled my cup. I recognized him as one of the men who was in charge of guarding me when I first was able to walk around Kattegat after being healed from the battle. His comment was purposefully made loud enough so that everyone who heard it laughed.

"Leave her be, leave her be!" Svends' voice broke through the laughter.

Thora slid onto the bench next to me. Her posture was night and day from when she was a serf in the great hall. Before she used to hunch over, trying not to be seen but now she sat straight as a board and held her head high. I smiled to myself, I loved seeing her so happy.