''Some women fear the fire, some women simply become it.''
Evellíne embarks on a journey with her parents to England, as a request of Queen Judith and her son, King Alfred. They barely met and the connection between them is so strong that in a blin...
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With her legs to burn and her lungs to ache, Evellíne still struggled to run even faster, leaping over one of the countless rats crawling out of the gutters of the dark street.
With her hands trailing along the stone walls as she writhed and turned down the narrow alleys, the girl glanced back to make sure that Hvitserk was following her and he was. With a sword in his hands, he was covering her, looking around carefully to keep them safe from being caught. If anyone dared to try to stop them, he would kill whoever crossed their path.
Ivar would never forgive him for such treason but Hvitserk felt a strange relief from all this. Evellíne was a hostage, but he also felt like a prisoner. As they both ran aimlessly trying to get as far away from Kattegat as possible, he paused to take a deep breath. He had never felt so free as now.
It was late at night. The darkness and the certainty that most of Ivar's soldiers were asleep ensured that the plan would work.
After endless hours of walking, exhaustion took over the princess's fragile aching body, panting, leaning against a dry tree trunk.
''Wait ... Wait!,'' she called for Hvitserk, who at that time was well ahead of the girl probing the area, almost paranoid.
"We must continue," he replied.
Stubborn as she was, Evellíne decided to ignore him, and sat down on the floor, almost stretched by fatigue and limp in her legs.
"You go on, then. I'll stay right here, "she confronted him.
Hvitserk rolled his eyes.
"If you were so independent like that, you would have escaped by yourself, wouldn't you? If you needed me, it was for a reason.''
The princess thought she could take care of herself in almost any situation, but his presence brought her a sense of peace. And in fact, he was right. She could never get away without his help.
"Well ... I guess this is the part where I should thank you?" the girl mocked.
"You will not have to. To be honest, you ended up helping me too. So... there are no debts between us.'' He confessed.
"I'm surprised you've been holding on for so long. You two are so different from each other. I asked you once and I repeat: why did you join him, and not your other brothers?''
Hvitserk sat down beside her, the expression on his sweat-drenched face showing fatigue.
''It was a mistake. Maybe the biggest mistake I ever made in my life.''
"You still have time to fix things, I told you so, and I'll say it again... Ubbe... he will accept you back, I assure you.''
Hvitserk nodded.
"How are your wounds?" He asked, trying to change the subject.
"It's just a scratch..." She lifted the bar of her filthy garments, revealing a piece of her purple bruised thigh to Hvitserk, who looked away, avoiding certain kinds of thoughts. "That cage and handcuffs are almost as cruel as your lunatic brother.''
