Conqueror Queen

Chapter 2

It had been nearly a month since Ragda's departure back to Norway, leaving Aiya behind to learn all she could about the landscape where they would be fighting their war.

Most of Durham was made up of dense forests, fields for farming and rivers. Aiya figured the river Cam would be their best chance at invading York. She had sent Jaril and a few of his men to scour the river for settlements that could alert the Northumbrians to their presence. They needed the element of surprise on their side, so the Christians couldn't prepare themselves for the attack. They needed to go unnoticed for as long as possible.

Aiya and Esma had been using most of their spare time to learn combat skills for which they were equally untrained in the matter.

One of Jaril's men by the name of Gunnar was a well trained Viking. He was not gentle about his instructions, nor did he accept any weakness for that was not the Viking way. He was large, not only tall but built like stone, made by the Gods themselves.

He had covered himself in ancient rune marking's, the most noticeable being on his neck, moving up behind his ear and around his partly shaven head. It was that of a large wolf biting at the heels of a beautiful woman as she raced up his skull trying desperately to escape the terrifying creature. His remaining brown hair was cut short on top of his head and he often combed it back away from his face, slicking it down with his own spit. He had braided his unruly beard in two parts, placing two wooden beads at the end of each strand. His most noticeable feature were his eyes, a bright cobalt blue.

They were alarming in their intensity against his darker complexion. Aiya imagined them being the last thing many of his enemies must have seen before he sent them to Valhalla, and it sent a shiver up her spine.

"You must always be a step ahead of your opponent, Aiya," He yelled before knocking her to the ground with his heavy leather boot.

She hit the dried grass and dirt so hard she lost her breath, gasping for a moment but she knew she had to get back up. In her fall, her ax had flown from her grip, landing a few inches to her left. Rolling, she reached for it quickly before Gunnar's boot could find her chest again. Standing, she readied herself once more. He circled around her, his bright eyes burned into hers and she knew he would attack again, listening to his words she attacked first swinging her ax high above his head, forcing him to defend himself.

Their axes collided in the air and she saw an opportunity to hit him low. This time it was her boot against his chest but the force of the impact was too strong for her, it sent her flying backward. She worked hard to catch her balance and ready herself again. She had knocked the wind from his lungs and she could see the pain on his face for only a moment. He stood tall again and laughed.

"Good, you are learning,"

He dropped his ax on the ground and sat next to it, resting his arms on his knees. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to him, standing above him she smiled down at him smugly. With no warning, he grabbed both of her ankles and pulled her feet out from underneath her, she landed hard on her back and again found herself gasping for air.

"Then again, maybe you aren't,"

She sat up slightly on her back resting her weight on her elbows and looked at him angrily.

"I thought you yielded!"

"Never assume you've won, when your enemy still has breath," He stood, patting her mockingly on top of her head, she jerked her head away, before picking up some dirt and flinging it at him playfully.

The sun was low in the sky and the clouds were becoming dark, the sea was loud and rough slamming against the shores.

"A storm is heading our way," Aiya said to Gunnar, she was not looking forward to the rain.