[To be titled viking story]

NINE

Svarti

My head was splitting when I awoke.

Too much ale. I groaned in my head as I sat up.

One of the girls moved beside me, naked as a babe. I pulled on some clothes and stretched. Kadlin would never accept advances from anyone in this village. We were the ones who took her away and made her a slave.

I could hear rustling and quick steps. I pulled back the drapery to look out of the window.

Raiders.

I quickly woke the girl and told her to get somewhere safe before grabbing my shield and axe.

It was early in the morning. The previous night's festivities meant that we were ambushed and it was likely that we were going to lose this battle.

Kadlin

I made sure to come out of the house holding my hands up, looking at the ground, and wearing something that would make my station as a slave evident.

I wasn't going to fight these men. I would be on the losing side and I wanted nothing more than to see the people in this village burn.

One of the men roughly grabbed my arm and threw me to a crowd of people sitting in surrender.

Not many of the slaves, they probably ran away at the first sight of the raiders.

I didn't see their boats. They had probably brought them to land at one of the coves and walked here. It was a good way to catch them off guard.

Fury came through me when I saw Taf and his family surrender. I wanted Taf to be one of the people who died in the assault.

I kept my eyes, unblinkingly, directed to the ground. This wasn't the first time I had experienced a hostile takeover of a village. Even all these years later, I could still hear my father's cries as he tried to fight back against the men who took me. I couldn't move, couldn't say anything to help him.

I blinked hard and pushed the memories back. I couldn't let these men see my fear. I wouldn't be considered a weakling again. I was a full grown woman and I could fight. All those practices with Svarti had to pay off.