The Cripple and The Shieldmaiden II

// 18 //

'Enjoy your stay princess.' A rough voice said. She heared the click of a lock closing before they jerked the bag from over her head. Torhild squeezed her eyes togheter against the light and looked to the room she was in. Her hands were tied up, with chains to the wall. The man walked out, laughing and Torhild looked how they shut the door, walking away through a hallway.
'Princess?' Torhild startled from the sudden cracky voice. Her eyes traveled around in the room, to spot a old lady sitting in the other corner. Her hair was a mess, grey strains hanging in front of her eyes while she crawled out of the little bit of shadow that surrounded her. 'Are you the future queen, the viking?' She asked as soon as she had a clear sight over Torhild.
'Torhild.' She introduced herself.
'Torhild yes, I'm Marion.' The old lady greeted her. Torhild looked to the chains, stood up and look how far she got with them, not that far. 'You can't escape here.' Marion stopped her attempt from pulling out those chains. Torhild groaned and looked to the little window outside. Raynor would probarble be looking for her, Ase ... Ivar. The name lingered in her head while she tried to recognize something, some sounds, some smells but their was nothing. She sighed and turned back around, the old lady was looking to her.
'Why are you here?' Torhild asked her friendly.
'I stole something from the Lord, something that wasn't his. Two years ago.'
'You are down here fort wo years already?' Torhild asked stunned. The woman only laughed softly, like it presented nothing.
'There are others with bigger problems than me. Lord Cameron isn't a good Lord from time to time.' She tried to weaken the bad repurtation that Lord Cameron had and Torhild didn't understand why.
'There are others down here?'
'Yes a lot.' Marion replied. Torhild started to look to the door, to whatever in the room she could use to get out. And if she didn't got out, somebody would get in, possibilities enough. She needed to get back to Raynor, she needed to get back to the settlement. But she wouldn't leave without this woman, or the others.
'Cameron will die.' She said to herself.
'Why makes yo uso sure of that?' Marion asked. Torhild smiled and sat down again, gazing over her surrounding.
'That's what we vikings do, you die or live. They will come looking for me.' She tried to sound strong but it didn't represented much.
'You're the queen, offcourse they come. There isn't a diplomatic way to get out of this, you need to do it with force, you need to take your throne with power.' The woman encouraged her. Torhild looked to the woman and nodded slowly, she was right, in some kind of way. Torhild her words only delayed the eneverable, a strike of forse was needed to win this. Torhild heared footsteps again and the door shoved open, one of the soldiers came in with a plattern food. He putted it down before Torhild, didn't said a thing before he left again. Her eyes went to the food, good food, a full plattern of the best. She remembered her what Cameron had said. This wasn't about her, she needed to stay here long enough for Ivar to come, he was the first direct target they wanted dead. So she needed to get out here.
'I need to get out.' When she looked up the old lady was watching her food. Torhild pushed the plattern as far as she could. 'Eat, I'm not leaving without you.' She smiled encouragable. The woman hessitated for a moment but went for the food.
'Thank you my queen.'
'I'm just a young woman, nothing special.'
'You are more than that.' Marion smiled. Torhild pulled on the chains but nothing really moved. She turned her wrist and looked into the locks.
'Do you have childeren?' Marion asked after quite some time.
'Yes, a boy, Raynor, he is four.'
'And is the father around?' She asked curious. Torhild smiled, looking down to the dusty floor she sat on while she thought of Ivar. She should be thinking of Hvitserk but she didn't and that said just enough. It hurted a little and the woman saw that in her eyes.
'I was here four years ago to, I fell in love, got pregnant but King Aethelwulf did something and it drove us apart. I sailed back to Kattegat, he never knew that I was pregnant.' She looked down to her hands. Saying it loud out, with everything she felt know, it broke her down. Not only because she knew it was the wrong choose then but because she felt scared now. 'I married back home, because I needed to and I thought that I was happy. Until I needed to come back here and I thought Raynor needed to at least meet his real father.'
'He was surpriced.' Marion guessed. Torhild looked up, smiled a little before she looked back down.
'I came here pregnant again, I lost the child by your lord and my husband never got over it. He slept with somebody else. In the meantime Ivar,'
'Ivar the Boneless?' She asked curious. Torhild looked up and softly smiled while nodding. 'He doesn't come that far north here but I heared stories about him. Isn't he going to marry?' She asked.
'Yes, to Lady Elisabeth.'
'And you?' She asked further.
'I will marry a lord to keep the peace.' Torhild answered, looking up to Marion who was eating. She enjoyed the food and Torhild felt good that she even in this conditions could something good.
'What about your happiness? Everything you do is for others. You can't be happy like this.' She said softly. Torhild looked down again, knowing what the woman said was true. She all did this to please others. She married Hvitserk to please her mother, she came back to England to please Ivar, she was willing to marry a lord for the happiness of the people. 'You should follow your heart Torhild. In this way you will never grow old with love around you. If you get out here, just remember what I said, at least I have the honor to advise a queen.' She smiled softly. Torhild wrapped her arms around her knees and let her head rest on it. For the time being she only could think about what that old woman said to her, about her happiness. Kattegat was her home, she needed to be there. But on the other side, she had something to stay here to.

Torhild had luck, thanks to Marion with some inspiration in lock picking Torhild was being able to use a hairpin to open the locks around her wrist. 'You need to ran south, there is a forest and a cabin.'
'Aren't you coming?' Torhild asked, looking fast over her shoulder to the door while she tried to get Marion her locks open.
'I'm staying, if Ivar comes, I tell him where you are.'
'If he comes.' Torhild murmered concentrated. She was here for three days already, it took her already a day to get those locks open, she didn't eat hardly a thing, she gave it all to Marion. It wasn't the perfect situation but she needed to get out of here.
'Don't take the obvious way, if you run in the direction of Lord Gregor his kingdom the soldiers will know.' She advised her. Torhild looked at the woman, that old lady who was here all for two years. 'I will be fine Torhild, I serve a queen.'
'I will come back for you.' Torhild said. She laid her hand on the old woman her face. Marion looked up from the lock, soft green eyes looking in those brown one of Torhild. 'Thank you for everything. I needed this, but more than ever I need to get back to my son.'
'Than you have to go my child. I hope that I can see some happiness in your future.'
'I will come back for you.' They jerked their head around when she heared something.
'It's time, go.' Marion insisted. Torhild returned to her spot and looked to the door. She wasn't ready for this, she couldn't leave Marion but on the other side the thought of Raynor kept her clearheaded. The door went open and a soldier came in with food. When he sat it down his eyes felt on her wrists. Torhild grabbed him with his hair and pulled him against the ground. She grabbed for his sword. He tried to knock her down, pressing all his weight on her body. Marion grabbed his feet, tried pulling and Torhild crawled from underneeth him. She took the sword and killed him. Panting from the struggle Torhild turned to Marion.
'Go, I will tell your men where you are if they come.' She smiled. Torhild looked at the door douthing her own choise before she ran out. Getting out was easier than she thought, but the dress was something else. She slipped out through a little door Marion pointed her to. Torhild started running, away from the castle to the south. And even when she was already far enough she still heared the bells, what meant they found that dead body. The first forest she saw she ran in to, her dress sticked after a branch, tore it apart. Torhild looked over her shoulder again, unbottemed the first layer of her dress so she was only in her black underdress. Much colder but a lot easier to run. She trow it away and kept running, trying to get away from the dress so she maybe could lead them away. The longer she ran the more tired she got, she tript over a fallen tree and stayed on the ground. It was hours now, she didn't saw the cabin and it was dark already. She had know idea where she was running to and the cold of the night terrorized her body. She heared the thunder in the sky from a coming storm.
'Why are you doing this to me!' She yelled to the dark sky, drops of rain slowly falling down. The loneliness in the moment, of the past days maked her body weak inside. She pushed herself up and started walking again, no idea where to, only hoping that somebody would find her, or she would find somebody.