Reine des Anglais

If I lead the Danish Army

          Isabeau watched as the duel between Thorfinn and Askeladd unfolded in front of her. It was wildly different from when she had seen knights duelling in Normandy or Luxembourg. They were more raw, more unfettered, more genuine. They were also simply more skilled.

I suppose that's why they're so successful all over Europe- they're just better fighters than anyone else. They train them to fight for honour and their gods- not for a king they've never met.

She raised her head as she heard them start conversing during their duel. They were speaking too softly for her to be able to hear or understand them- but Thorfinn's agitation was clearly displayed on his face.

He's going to lose this duel if he lets Askeladd goad him like that, she thought. Now she just had to hope Askeladd didn't kill him.

He didn't seem to be taking this duel very seriously- which she supposed boded well for her as Thorfinn was her bodyguard amongst the vikings.

While Thorfinnwas clearly extremely skilled, Askeladd seemed for the most part to know what to expect from him. He had only looked surprised once at the very start of the duel- and after that moment he had steadily maintained the upper hand.

Thorfinn shouted in pure fury and rushed Askeladd, only to be flipped to the ground. A sickeningly deep pop was audible and Askeladd dropped his arm. He stepped away from the younger viking and brushed his hands off on his clothes as he began to walk away, saying something to Bjorn quietly as he did so.

Isabeau sighed and walked over to her protector and knelt down, carefully touching his shoulder to feel if Askeladd had broken or just simply dislocated it.

"Get off of me!" Thorfinn shouted at her.

"I can relocate this if you'll calm down." Isabeau said, sitting back on her heels and looking at him with an even, calm expression.

"You know how to relocate a shoulder?" Bjorn asked as he stood over them.

"My beloved husband had no shortages of battles and skirmishes. That's why he married me, in fact." She responded as she stood up on her knees and took Thorfinn's arm carefully. She felt his shoulder again to see how she needed to move it. There was another pop and she released his arm before standing up again. "I was dragged from battlefield to battlefield until I became pregnant. He once called me his 'Queen Militant' for all the battlefield medical knowledge I gained."

Thorfinn rolled onto his back and sat up, rubbing his arm.

"If you want proof, I know how to wrap and sling his arm to guarantee no further harm comes to his shoulder." Isabeau said, folding her hands into their usual place just in front of her.

"I would, actually." Bjorn said with folded arms. "Then you may actually be of some use to us- not a burden we keep around to sell you back to your sister."

Anger flashed in her eyes. "Glad to hear it." She said with a false sweetness to her voice.

Askeladd was right, she's smart. Bjorn smirked slightly.

"Do I have a say in this?" Thorfinn snapped as he stood up.

"No." Bjorn turned to look down at him. "Come on. We'll head back to the main building here in the village." He gestured for Isabeau to walk ahead of them. She clearly understands the danger she's in here, but she isn't outwardly reacting to any of it. She also seems to be the only person that has any amount of good rapport with Thorfinn, which could be useful to us.

As they reached the row house, Isabeau slid a ribbon from her pocket and tied her hair back carefully. She knew if she didn't do this well, her position with these viking pirates would become even more perilous. There was still always a chance they could choose to sell her as a slave- or to a wealthy man as a wife- or worse, do what vikings did and force her to bed. She'd rather just be dead instead of living through any of that, because if any of those options came to pass her path back to her son would vanish in front of her like a candle being blown out.