The cripple and the shieldmaiden

// 15 //

Her head still pounded even after sitting for hours in the dark, locked ... chained. The chains chattered when she brought her hand up, feeling the headwound. 'You need a healer.'
'I'm fine Ubbe.' She reacted rather coldly. He had repeated himself for hours now, concerned about her health while she was thinking about a way out of here.
'Did Ivar said anything for the two of you separated?' He asked after a little while. Torhild turned her body out of the corner and looked at him, with a desperate look. 'We are getting out of here Torhild, you know your brother will come for you.' He encouraged her. She smiled sloftly and stared at the little window to the gray sky.
'King Ecbert played all of you, we have nothing now.'
'We don't know if it's true.' Ubbe reacted. Torhild nodded and looked back at him. They both were covered in blood, blood of their enemies, Ubbe luckily didn't got badly hurt so his mind and body were sharp enough for the both of them.
'He wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. Ivar suspected nothing?' She thought at least the youngest and skeptical brother of them would suspect something.
'Ivar wanted to Blood Eagle Ecbert, no deal, no settlement, just dead. Maybe we should have listened.'
'You should listen more to your brother. This wouldn't have happened if you listened to Ivar.' She defended the youngest brother. Ivar and the others where in a settlement were they don't had a claim on, or at least, not an official claim.
'Since Sigurd died he didn't act with the right mind Torhild. Every choice he made leaded to disaster at some point. We couldn't trust him anymore.' Ubbe told her softly. He was with his thought somewere else and Torhild thought of the dead that Ivar caused. Would it have been different if she was there to stop him?
'He didn't change that much for me.' She murmuled, Ubbe laughed softly.
'You are amazing with him Torhild. I know your mother doesn't approve of you being with him but in my oppinion you stop a whole lot of bloodshed just to stand right next to him.' His words brought a light blush on her cheeks, lucky because of the darkness he wouldn't notice it. 'He need your counsel more than us.' Ubbe followed. Torhild nodded slowly thinking of the look Ivar gave her just before she had to go with those soldiers. It was a loving look, reassuring her that he would get her out of the mess she caused. But it was better to have Ivar there than in here.
'Why did you say to that king that I'm a daughter of Ragnar?' She asked.
'You have a better change of survival. He don't know you, he will pick you as the weak one among us.'
'I am.' She agreed. She was the youngest, her skills weren't that perfect, her stories never been told.
'No you're not. It would surprice you Torhild but being with Ivar all the time gives you some advantage.' He smiled amused. She narrowed her eyes, pulling one eyebrow up. 'What I want to say is that you have a lot of potential, think with the right mind and you can be as deviant as my brother.'
'I'm not really hoping to turn out like your brother.' She smiled in return. Ubbe chuckled and focusted his attention back on the chains, hoping that he could out of them on a way.
'There is nothing wrong with Ivar,'
'Oh hush, there is plenty wrong with Ivar.' Torhild intterupted him. Ubbe smiled in thoughts and looked up from the chains.
'But you love him, more than you love Hvitserk.' He noticed. The smile fadded on her lips while she looked down to the filthy ground.
'Yes. It's wrong from me to have Hvitserk in a game while he seriously wants to marry me.'
'You're viking Torhild, he understands that.' Ubbe grinned. But before she could get further on the subject the door cracked open and two soldiers came in followed by king Aethelwulf.
'We have a feast tonight, I would like to invite you as a guest.' He invited Torhild. She looked slowly aside to Ubbe who sat on the other side of the room.
'Why?' She asked slowly.
'To discuss the situation at hand.' Aethelwulf smiled. She saw Ubbe nod in her eyecorner so she nodded to. 'Good, prepare her.' He orded his men.

Torhild had three servants who cared for her, they looked after the wound, cleaned her up and braided her hair in something even her mother couldn't do. It was a way for Torhild to have a look inside this castle. The room she was prepared in was a large bedroom, with a huge mirror in front of her, everything with nice decorations and soft fabrics. They even got her a dress, a black dress without sleeves and golden details on the upper half of it. She looked like a real princess now, with earrings, the dress, the attitude she tried to put in her face expressions. She followed the servants to a great hall were a man stood aside the door. 'Princess Torhild, daughter of the great Ragnar Lothbrok.' He accounced her. The whole hall felt silent and she walked in, head high, her eyes on the king directed. He looked at her before he stood up, smiling, walking over to her and offering his hand. She took it, he guided her towards the table.
'A princess deserves to be recognized as one.' He said while he took a golden crown and putted on her head.
'Thank you majesty.' She bow polite. If she had to get her, Ubbe and the others free at least she had to play this game for a while.
'Can I say, for a fierce vikingwoman this suits you verry well.' He pointed towards her dress before offering her a seat. A servant gave her a cup and she looked at the wine before sitting down.
'Back home I have a rather big collection in dresses, I'm just to it.' She smiled friendly towards him. She noticed the woman and the two kids again, the one kid a big resembling to Ragnar.
'That is your half brother. Magnus, come here.' Aethelwulf demanded the kid. The little boy walked over, bowed a little. 'This is Torhild, she is your half sister.' He said to the little boy. Torhild looked at him, smiled a little, thinking about the chestpiece Ivar had showed her short before departure to Engeland.
'I've heard about you.' She spoke to the boy.
'But we didn't heard about you princess, how is that?' Aethelwulf asked while he sended the boy away. Torhild looked away from the little man and forced a smile on her lips.
'Woman aren't always so important as men, I didn't grew up in Kattegat because of my mother living in another town. I left for two years, to become a better warrior so I guess there wasn't much to talk about.' She explained detailed. The more she said about herself, the more he would believe her innocents. In the meantime her eyes gazed over the people, they all looked at her on a weird way, like she wasn't a complete stranger.
'Your brothers did a lot of damage.'
'Yes well,' she felt silent and looked at him, with a false grinn on her lips. 'so did you and your father.' She replied. He laughed, nodding while drinking again. Torhild rolled her eyes behind her cup while she drinked to.
'You know the stories.'
'Yes, your father gave us a settlement before and you destroyed it as soon as my father left. Now we give you a second change in good faith and you betrayed us again.'
'In good faith.' He laughed loudly. Torhild didn't know how long she could pull this act of without doing something stupid to silence him. 'It was the heathen army who forced us to that betrayal.'
'It was you and your men who killed my father.' She hissed softly, her eyes turning coldy. Aethelwulf looked at her, amused by the sudden change in her expressions.
'It was your father who came here in the first place, to raid my fahters villages. Is it really the past that you want to dig up princess Torhild?' He asked, still amused. Torhild looked away, drinking her cup empty before she nodded at a servant asking for more. She looked how he poured the wine in before she turned to the king again.
'What is it that you want King Aethelwulf?' She asked, polite again.
'What do you think I want Torhild, you seem to be a smart young woman yourself.' He leaned a little in on her, his cup in his hands. She looked forward a moment, in the hall, to the other people.
'You wouldn't send us home because what would stop us to come back later. So I think you want to make a deal, wouldn't be a surprice if you had some enemies somewhere here in Engeland. A great heathen army would be a show of force against everybody who wants to defies you, isn't it?' She said, leaning in a little bit more  to. He started admiring her, she saw it in his eyes, the way he looked. He liked her thinking, her looks, she would be a nice addition to his kingdom.
'Yes.' He nodded. 'Would you agree with those terms?'
'Wich onces?' She asked.
'I gave you the settlement for your people to live in. We contain your boats, command your armies and you live here, in the castle.'
'What about my brothers?' She asked immidiatly.
'I allow two of them to lead the heathen army, share in us defenses. The others stay captive, especially the cripple one.'
'Scared of a cripple?' Torhild asked amused. That Ivar had so much impact on this men maked her proud somewere.
'I heard stories princess.' He answered with a promesing look.
'What if we don't accept those terms.' She got back to the negotiations. King Aethelwulf smiled and sat straight again, Torhild still leaned over a little.
'Than we make an example out of your brother Ubbe, I will defaet your heathen army and we will conquer.' He said without hessiation. Torhild smiled a little before she drank from the wine.
'You all figured it out, don't you.' She asked, smilling.
'Yes, I have.'
'It isn't good to be so confident my king.' She advised him.
'And why is that? I have two childeren of Rangar here, hostage, they wouldn't do something reckless that the both of you could get killed.' He grinned. Torhild took a knife that laid aside a plate. She pushed it against her hand and looked at him, her fingers closing to a fist.
'Because we are viking, sacrificing our lives to the gods in order to get victory is what we do,' she slitted the knife out of her fist and holded her hand open over her cup, showing him the blood that dripped out of the wound in her cup. 'I would be honored to give my life for my gods if it meant that my brothers could win this fight.' She spoke before taking the cup, drinking from the wine that was mixed with her blood. Aethelwulf looked at her, a little dazzled by the words, the actions she took.
'I underestimated you princess.' He whispered.
'I'm viking, did you thought it would be easier with me?' An almost loving smile spreading over her face.
'So it's a no?'
'That was not my answer. I will discuss it with my brothers, if you let me go at least.'
'Why would I do that?' He reacted. She leaned in on him again.
'Did you rather have a heathen army before your door? They will come, if you kill us or not. At least now I giving you some time to prepare yourself. Let me go and I will discuss it with my brothers, keep me here and you will find out soon enough how true those stories are.' She smiled devilish.

Note; I really loved writting this part ... don't know why but I love Torhild's mind in this. Hope you all do to, leave a comment! What should they do, take the deal (and find another way to defaet the king) or not?