Bothvar

Ragnar 3

Small drops of water splashed onto Ragnar's hung head. The water had started as refreshing but soon turned to pain. Ragnar knew they did it on purpose to torture him. A guard sat in front of him.

"Pretty nice, that, innit?" The guard asked rhetorically.

Ragnar stayed silent.

"We got the idea from one of your stories." The guard mocked.

"In our stories, it's a snake and it drips venom." Ragnar rose his head.

"Ya want me to get one for ya?" The guard threatened.

"If you tried, you'd be bitten by the fucking thing." Ragnar retorted.

"D'ya want me to beat ya?" The guard rose from his seat.

"Try not to tickle me this time."

The guard brought up a stick and readied to hit Ragnar with it.

"I'll do it." The guard threatened once more.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The guard hesitated when he swung.

"That's it?"

The guard began to shake nervously and swung more rapidly and nervously. By the end, Ragnar was covered in more red marks, some had already begun to turn purple with bruising. The guard sat down, panting heavily. There was a rattle of chains from the other side of the room. The guard looked back nervously.

"She's not who you're guarding. I wouldn't worry about it."

"But you're a monster!" The guard shouted.

Ragnar chuckled. The guard reached for the stick once again. Ragnar continued to chuckle, until one more drop of water landed on his forehead and he seemed to go numb. More drops fell and Ragnar was frozen solid. He wanted to scream, the water hurt more than the beatings. The guard approached Ragnar with the beating stick in hand.

"I bet you'd like me to hit ya. Take your mind off that water." The guard mocked.

He put the stick in front of Ragnar's eyes.

"If you want me to hit ya, just say something." 

Ragnar wanted to speak, but he couldn't. It was as if he was frozen in ice. He opened his mouth to speak but no words emerged. Tears welled up in Ragnar's eyes but he did not cry. He moved his mouth as if he was speaking but there was still nothing. One more drop of water landed on Ragnar's head. He began to scream in pain. He screamed as if he were stabbed, screamed as if his torture would end if he did. He screamed so hard that the guard pressed his hands to his ears, there was also the rattling of chains washed out by the screaming. The water continued to drop. Ragnar screamed until he could scream no more. Then the tears released themselves from his eyes, running down his cheeks like the water that torments him. The guard smirked and sat back down in his chair. Ragnar stared at the guard, wishing in his mind that the guard would die. As Ragnar cried in his place, the unmistakable sound of warning bells and siege horns began to emanate from the castle. The guard heard the sounds as well.

"If ya think that because we're under siege, I have to leave ya alone here, you're dead wrong." The guard mocked further.

Ragnar stared at the guard, still wishing with all of his might that the guard would die. He leaned forward to get closer to the guard, even if it was limited due to the chains. Then there was a swift rattle of chains and a rusty, brown chain was suddenly wrapped around the guards neck. The guard gargled and clutched the chain, writhing in place as the chains grew tighter and tighter around his neck. His face went red and soon blue, saliva spewed from his mouth as he gargled. He went limp, the life drained from his eyes.

The chains loosened from his throat. The door to Ragnar's cell opened from a shadow. The shadow moved into light, revealing a thin woman with a sharp face and large eyes, cheeks hollow with rich bones and her eyes bluer than the sky. Her hair was short and messy with a brown-blonde colour. She made her steps silent and unnoticeable and moved toward Ragnar as if she were a cat. She pulled a knife from her worn belt and plunged it into the lock that contained Ragnar. Ragnar stood for the first time in a long while. He laughed and embraced the woman. She pushed him away.

"Come on, we do not have a lot of time." Her voice revealed that she was Maeve.

Ragnar stumbled toward the exit behind Maeve.

The two prowled around the castle, looking for the armoury. The stone floor was cool against Ragnar's bare feet. There was a constant ringing of warning bells and men shouting. The armoury was empty and stank of wine. Maeve slunk into a room with an unreadable label. When Ragnar did not follow, Maeve hissed at him, he jumped a little and followed. The room kept all of the prisoners' belongings.

"Find your things, but only bring what you need." Maeve ordered.

Ragnar searched through the items dumped about, finding a hand axe he was sure was his, he grabbed some boots and slipped them onto his feet and readied to leave when he spotted the book Fenrer had left him. Maeve put on a long overcoat that scraped the ground as she moved, boots up to her shins and hid knives where she saw fit. The sound of people talking began to grow louder and louder. Ragnar could not understand what they were saying. Maeve urged him to leave, she watched him grab the book and the two made for the exit, but were intercepted by two soldiers who were equipping themselves. Ragnar did not hesitate to plunge his axe into one of the soldiers, right between the shoulder and neck and with a gurgle screech he sunk to the ground. Maeve made short work of the other soldier and retrieved the knives she threw at him with pinpoint accuracy.

"Follow me, I know a way out." Maeve whispered harshly.

They ran back through the prison block when the fortress began to rumble, men screamed and soon the sound of metal clanging echoed throughout the castle. At the other end of the prison block was a door to the outside. Ragnar followed after Maeve, the cold air stung his bare chest at first but it did not bother him. Before the two was a staircase made of stone that scaled up the mountain. As they ran up the stairs Ragnar looked back to the castle and watched for a moment as trebuchets launched flaming boulders over the walls and men fell dead by the sword and arrow. The staircase lead to a cave, the two nervously entered the darkness.