Noma

Intruders

PLEASE LET ME WORK FOR YOU!" Noma pleaded. She had knocked on almost every single door in Dubhlinn to find work. The pregnant woman sitting across from her, stared at her not saying a word. Noma grew impatient as tried to convince her that she was more than qualified to help care for her and the baby after it was delivered. "My mother was a healer and a midwife. She trained me to deliver and care for babies and I have done it for the families back home."

The woman remained silent. She finally took a deep breath and smiled, "alright, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the end of each month to accept your payment." Noma grinned as she nodded in agreement. "You can sleep in the servants quarters." Noma jumped out of her seat to assist her mistress, who gave her a tour of their home.

It was larger than most of the houses in Dubhlinn, but Noma knew she would be paid and well fed here. Once her mistress had finished the tour, she gave her first orders to help their cook prepare supper. The cook approached them and showed Noma to the kitchen, where she began to cut and peel the potatoes and carrots.

It's only temporary, Noma told herself as she carefully scraped the knife's edge against the rugged orange skin of the carrot. She was only working here to save up to build a new home for herself. Her thoughts started to drift and soon she was building a completely different world in her mind; a house big enough for her to hire her own servants, a man that treated her kindly and helped create a big family with her.

By the end of the first month, she held only two bronze coins in her hand. She didn't complain, it was a start and the more she worked the more she would earn. While Noma was out in the marketplace, she spotted a beautiful necklace hanging from the top of an elderly woman's tent. She admired the dark thread that was wrapped around the top edge of the cerulean blue-colored stone, noticed something engraved on but it was too small to see. Noma walked away from the butcher's tent and stopped in front of the necklace. She carefully took the gem between her fingertips and studied the rune carved into the stone.

"It's björk," the elderly woman croaked as she lifted her head to take in Noma. "The rune for growth and rebirth." Noma glanced at the woman, who lifted a crooked smile.

"How much for it?" Noma asked.

"Four silver," the woman replied. Noma looked down at the silver coins in her hand. The money was given to her by her mistress for the food she was expected to return with. She stared at the six silver coins in her hand and felt the weight of four of them increase. You'll buy it someday, but not today. Noma thought to herself, and then clenched her hand into a fist, squeezing the coins tightly within her grip.

"Sorry, maybe another time," Noma walked away from the woman and back to the butcher, she dropped the coins into his hand and took the pieces of meat back to her mistress.

Noma walked in and handed the meat to the cook, she began to help prepare her mistress and master's supper. Her mistress stepped out from her chambers, her hands caressing her stomach that was growing larger with life. Noma wasn't surprised she was wed and with child, she was definitely a beauty. Her wavy, dirty blonde hair fell on top of her shoulders like a waterfall. Her porcelain skin was like milk, Noma wouldn't have been surprised if there were numerous men that sought out her hand. "Did you buy the food?" She snarled.

"Yes, mistress. The cook is preparing supper now, mistress." Noma replied, continuing to play with the burning sticks to make the flames bigger.

"Excuse me, can---AAAHHH!" Noma jumped to her feet when she turned to the entrance of the house and noticed four beastly looking men standing before her. Her mistress tried to warn them off by announcing her husband's importance, but Noma could tell by the evil smirks on their painted faces, they knew very well whom her mistress was.

Noma's grip tightened around the handle of the poker. She watched the four men carefully as they remained where they were. Are they natives? She asked herself. She studied them, noticing they didn't dress nor physically look like the Norsemen. Noma gulped as she tried to find the right words, "please we don't want any trouble. What is it you wish?"

One of the strangers turned his attention away from her mistress and focused on Noma. His dark brown eyes narrowed at her, and his lips lifted under his beard and mustache, releasing a growl. He took a step closer towards her, he spoke but Noma puzzled at him, not understanding his language. Seeing in her expression that his request wasn't clear, he stretches out his hand, his empty palm facing up.

She turned her head and said to her mistress, "I think he wants money, mistress. Give him some money and maybe they'll leave."

Her mistress's face curled in disgust, "absolutely not! My husband's money is for his family! Run off before he returns and puts all your heads on a spike!" Noma felt her heart rate increase as the strange men clearly knew what her mistress had said. The man in front of her growled again. "Take her instead!"

Noma's eyes widened in shock as she spun around to gape at her mistress. "What?!"

"Take her! You can have her but that's all I'll give you!" Her mistress cried. The only thing Noma could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears along with her mistress's words echoing in her head.

The sound of the other servants running to save their mistress became muffled in the back of Noma's mind. The intruders stabbed and ripped the other servants apart then started rampaging the house for valuables. One of them grabbed Noma's arm, but before he could move another muscle, Noma lifted the burning poker and pushed it through his gut. She watched his expression shift into a painful surprise. She pushed him to the ground and saw one of the intruders standing in front of her mistress. She pleaded for them to stop and spare her. Her mistress noticed Noma still standing a few feet behind the intruder. Her eyes wide with fear and pleading for help.

Before she could cry out one more time, the intruder swiftly swiped his knife across her throat. She wrapped her hands around her throat trying to stop the excessive bleeding until her entire body collapsed. The man turned around and stared at Noma.

Noma gulped and immediately ran for the door, she could hear the men shouting to one another as they chased after her through the neighborhood. Noma cried out for help but it only caused some people to run inside their homes in panic, while others hid out of sight. She kept running until she turned around a corner and was stopped by a sharp blade at her throat.

The stranger pinned her arms behind her and held the sword at her throat. The other men were right behind her and stopped when they noticed one of their own men had caught her. Noma stood there, terrified, as they spoke to each other in their native tongue. Her capturer began to push her towards the woods until she felt a rope bound her wrists together behind her back. She glanced over her shoulder and watch Dubhlinn grow out of sight the deeper she was dragged into the forest.

She sat up against a tree, her wrist were now tied together in front of her, connected to a branch a few feet above her head. She replayed the nightmare that had taken place a few night ago in Dubhlinn. Her mistress was dead, and now her hopes of starting a new and better life for herself was dead as well. Yet the sound of her mistress's voice pleading for the intruders to take her rather than take her own money echoed in the back of Noma's mind. She felt a chill inch it's way up her spine as she could only hear her say "take her!" over and over again.

One of the strange men walked up to her and kicked her leg, she slowly lifted her head to see the tall, young man staring down at her. He knelt down to her level and held up his hands that were cupped together filled with water. She looked up from the water and gave him a baffled expression. He stretched his arms out further until his hands were an inch away from her lips.

She shifted herself and leaned forward to sip the water from his hands. Once she was done, she leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. But not for long. One of the men began untying the rope from the branch and started pulling her behind them as they continued through the woods. "Where are you taking me?" Noma managed to say.

The man who brought her the water, turned to look at her, "Weisfjord."