The Norse Of the North

Embrace the change

   The shield maidens are rushing to the hall leaving their shields at the bottom of the table as they pretend to be feasting. Igor and his army are moving quietly closer to the door. He looks around and spots the lack of guards on the entrance "Those fools they don't know what's coming for them" He gives the signal and breaks the door as his army marches in front of him creating a V shape. The shield maidens grab their shields and start attacking them.

Arne has reached outside of the hall with his soldiers ready to barge in, the foreigner is behind him as Torsten is following them. Arne gives the signal and Harald's army starts attacking them from the back. The battle was a breeze for Harald's army, Igor's soldiers were all killed and him and his brothers were tied up and held hostages.

While all this mess was going on the King is running to the hall with the queen only to see his mortal's enemy's sons be handed to his own hands, and as for him he didn't even have to sweat about it. The queen is covering herself with her jacket as she keeps looking around trying to figure out what has happened. The king is making a few steps closer to his commanders.

"What happened in here, what's the matter with all the blood and the bodies?"

Arne is wiping the blood off his mouth and takes a breath. "They attacked us, the foreigner spotted them on the woods, we got prepared and we ambushed them."

"You were right Arne I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to disrespect you I just thought no clever king will march so quickly after what happened to his army" The king acts astonished but on the contrary he is relieved, the last people that could avenge him from now on were Gorm's sons and he had them all tied up in front of him.

The queen is handing a sword to Arne, he takes it and starts raising it up waiting for the King's command. The eldest son starts begging the king to spare them, his tears are running down to the floor making the queen's heart hurt. She could never have her own children and at that moment she wasn't thinking as a Viking Queen but as a woman that wants to be a mother. She is not able to stand this, she doesn't want to witness the murder of a young child so she turns her back hoping the king shows mercy for one time in his life.

Sadly the king nods to Arne as he turns around walking back to his chamber. The foreigner stops his knife and starts arguing with Arne. "They are more useful to us alive than dead, stop!" Arne is looking at her frustrated as he can't understand where all this sentimental feelings are coming from. "Stop playing it holy, you chopped off their father's head you don't get to tell me what's right or wrong"

The king turns around and for the first time he makes the correct decision "Both of you stop it! Arne move them to the cell I will decide tomorrow about their fate."

"What! Are you serious right now, what could change in a night's time? How these idiots that get ambushed on their own ambush can be useful to anyone? Especially to us, the greatest Viking army."

He keeps following the king in disbelief "Harald, Harald I said! Ugh do not ignore me!"

Everyone lives the great hall as the foreigner stays behind with the prisoners. Igor cocky and frowned as he is, he splits on her showing her his disgust and disrespect.

"So after everything I did to save your butt that is your thank you? So polite" she says ironically

"You bitch who told you I want to be saved huh? I would die proud that I got killed by the enemy while fighting. Odin would open his arms and welcome me as a true warrior and now just because of you I have to stand Harald's humiliation and pity" he looks away while he murmurs.

The eldest son Odger speaks up defending the woman in an attempt to show his gratitude. "Stop talking like that to her, she had nothing to gain from saving us, she didn't even know us. I am sorry for my brother's behavior he never had any manners. Thank you so much for saving us I am Odger and that is Frode and Igor."

"Well you are welcome but I think you misunderstood things, I did prevent Arne from slaughtering you but that doesn't mean I am being thoughtful. I do have a lot to gain from this situation." She says as she is trying to create a believable lie.

The fact that Harald's army had to gain a lot from them staying alive was true Igor might got captured and defeated but his advisor was still back and in a few months he could lead an attack to revenge all Gorm's family. That was not a hard thing to expect but what was different this time is that she stopped Arne's sword instinctively. When she prevented him from killing them she wasn't thinking of the advantages that they could bring to Harald's kingdom but the fact she wouldn't be able to let a few kids get killed in front of her eyes, and that was only the beginning. She wasn't cold anymore or selfish. After a long while she felt her heart filled with some emotions, they might be minimum but they were there she could feel them.

This situation would seem like a good outcome to most people but she was not like most people. The mask of protection she had built started to scatter into pieces. She let her feelings affect her judgment and according to her fears that was the worst thing that could happen to her so far. She had taken a decision to change her country, ran away and live as a stranger, act by logic and be as cynical as possible. And now this plan has failed not only because she stays in a place that she engages with people on a daily basis but also because her emotions are blurring her vision at the most uncomfortable moments.

She exits the hall moving to the port and sits on the sand, the night seems so peaceful while the blue sky color is hugging the entire landscape. The moon is so beautiful formed in a weird shape that looked like the front of a castle's gates. It has an intense sand paper color that fades out darker in the edges and lighter on the middle. Torsten sees her sit there and he decides to come talk to her, he never saw her so peaceful.

He sits next to her "What's up big warrior what troubles you?"

"Oh me? Nothing everything its fine." She says trying to act casual

"Then what are you doing here? Why are you not sleeping" he laughs

The conversation kept on with a few silly questions and even sillier answers. Suddenly the conversation got led into her past. In the beginning she told him his curiosity will kill him and that those things belong to the past. After a while she started opening up more about her thoughts and her emotions

"I loved to do this back on my country, looking at the moon always calmed me and filled me with positivity. My brother always made a fool of me that I am too romantic for this world. Who knows maybe at the end of the day genuine feelings are the ones that save us from the complete downfalls and differ us from the animals"

Torsten as clueless as he is he asks "So what I don't get it, what differ us from the animals?"

"The will to be merciful, our ability to act with emotion rather than need. That is the ultimate difference between animals and humans. The queen inside was desperate when she saw that the king was going to kill the sons of Gorm. You know why? Because for once she wasn't fulfilling her role as a Viking but she was thinking as a woman, as a mother that wouldn't stand her own children to be killed by another man that didn't comfort them, a man that never show her pain while she was giving birth them, a man that would never have feelings for them." She says as she is looking directly into his eyes.

Those words coming out of her mouth sound so real and sweet. As for Torsten he is more than surprised. Not only because none talked to him like that before, but also because he just saw right in front of his eyes the image of the great warrior crashing down and transforming into a kind and loving woman. The way she talked reminded him his mother that died on a few years later after his birth in a war.

They talked until really late as the moon started to go down touching by its edge the sea and creating the perfect scene for them. Torsten was already in love and he knew it. But what about her? Yes she did show emotions but most of them were to a human level, none could guarantee that she felt something for him. And that was the difference between them. Torsten was searching for a lover when she was searching for a friend. They fall asleep on the sand with the hope that tomorrow won't be so hard on them...