Northern Legends

Chapter 3

Cassandra was dreaming. A dream of a breathtakingly beautiful man carrying her across a field in bloom. He held her tight in his arms and vowed to love and protect her for all eternity. Happily she put her arms around his strong neck and snuggled up tightly to him. Her thoughts were like a mist, as if no one could reach or disturb her.

But unfortunately not everything seemed to last. Cassandra felt rough, calloused hands stroking her back and a warm breath on her neck. Her senses suddenly awakened and tried to make the situation clear. This was no dream!

Frightened, Cassandra tried to release herself from the embrace and looked into the face of the man who was holding her in his arms. A wild looking man, admittedly an incredibly attractive specimen, looked at her. His face was striking and marked by small scars. The thick, black hair fell down to above his shoulders, underlining his untamed appearance. He wore a truncated beard, which gave him something rough, but also looked irresistible. The grey eyes, which reminded Cassandra of liquid mercury, continued to stare at her as if they wanted to devour her.

Something stirred in her chest and her body also began to react to this man. The last time she had slept with a man was too long ago; there was no other way Cassandra could explain her violent reaction. The stranger raised his right hand and stroked her cheek with it and bent over to kiss her.

Before he moved any further, Cassandra instinctively raised her fist and slammed it into his face.

"You damn..." she exclaimed and quickly started to wriggle out of his arms. The man cursed his bleeding nose, but got Cassandra by the ankle as she crawled away.

"Damned woman! Is this the thanks I get for saving you?" he shouted at her. It sounded clearly swollen, which was normal with his broken nose.

What was he saying! He saved me?, Cassandra asked herself. Her last memories shot through her head like lightning. Scotland, the storm, her fall. What the hell had happened, and above all, where was she?

The stranger didn't look very trustworthy either, as he held her with an iron grip while she lay on the ground. In her fucking underwear. Had the bastard stripped her down to get at her? This seemed to be the first time Cassandra had come up with the obvious solution, since he had made arrangements to kiss her earlier.

Suddenly she heard a threatening growl. Frightened, she turned around and saw two huge wolfhounds moving into attack position with their teeth bared. Should this be the end of her? Not only did she first fall off a cliff into the roaring sea; now a wild man threatened her with his wolves?!

"Fenris, Hjalmar! Calm down!" the man shouted to them. The animals reacted immediately and looked at their master calmly before they lay down again.

"And now to you!"

Cassandra's flight instinct was still wide awake. Fiercely she tried to free herself from the clasp, but the man got her other foot to grab before she could kick him in the face with it. But the man smiled amusedly and pressed her body down with his while kneeling over her.

"What is this? What do you want?!", she screamed in his face. Which didn't sound very convincing, since her voice was still very rough from all the salt water.

"What do I want? Maybe first an apology for breaking my nose. Is that how you say thank you in your country to your rescuer who saved you from drowning?"

The blood from his nose dripped into Cassandra's face, but seemed to bring her back to reality. Apparently, she had nothing to fear from this man. But he was right in his demands. With gritted teeth she said, "All right. Please forgive me for breaking your nose. And now, please, will you let me go."

"Well, that sounds better." He started walking away from her. Cassandra was still half-naked and looking around. She quickly spotted the fur and reached for it to cover herself.

"But that doesn't explain why I'm almost naked."

Her eyes glared at him angrily, but the guy did it with a simple wave of his hand.

"What could I do? You were soaking wet. "If I hadn't undressed you and warmed you, you would have frozen to death long ago."

It was obvious. Cassandra looked down in shame and pulled her fur tighter. For the first time, she could look at her rescuer properly. She was amazed to discover that he was not wearing a shirt. But she couldn't tell if there was an advantage or a disadvantage. He had grown tall and was probably in his early thirties. While the light of the fire danced over his body, she saw his chest, which was covered with thick strands of muscle and covered with fine dark hairs. His arms must have been so well-shaped after years of training. His leather trousers snuggled tightly around his firm legs until they ended in calf-high boots. And this face to boot! Cassandra found it hard to hide her reaction. He really was a picture of a man and she was insufficiently clothed. She hoped fervently that he would not have seen her reaction and would dismiss her red cheeks as a sign of her recovery. Cassandra took one more deep breath before turning to say, "Thank you for saving me and please apologize again for the blow. Today wasn't exactly a good day for me."

The man looked at her with his penetrating eyes for a long time before answering, "It's all right. It wasn't the first time my nose was broken and it probably won't be the last. But I'd be more interested in who you are and how you got washed up on my beach?"

"Washed up on your beach? Since when does that belong to you?"

He didn't seem to like your question because his eyes darkened as he crossed his arms in front of his muscular chest.

"Since my ancestors claimed this land hundreds of years ago. It was given to my family by the then king Ragnar in gratitude for our service in the war. "These beaches and forests belong to Cielon, my birthright and my dominion.

"So you are something of a lord?"

"Don't call me lord. It's the name of the aristocratic bootlickers in Soleia. I am an Earl. "Jarl Hraerek Thrandson," he said most emphatically.

Cielon and Soleia? Cassandra had never heard of such lands before. What was that fellow saying. She must still be in Scotland. It's not possible that the current could have carried her that far.

"This all seems new to you, as helpless as you look."

Could he still read minds? Cassandra ran her hair through her head and shrugged in pain. No, the bump from the collision was clearly felt, so this could not have been a dream. Was it all reality? Did she end up in some kind of parallel universe or what?

"Are you hurt? Let me see."

He stood up and crossed the distance between them with a few steps before reaching out for her. Cassandra backed away quickly.

"No, please don't," she whispered, but that was enough to make him stop.

"If you don't want that, at least tell me your name so I know how to address you."

Cassandra hesitated. Was all this really true? It couldn't be. But the cold ground beneath her bare feet and the warmth of the fire on her skin felt too real to be a pretense. And it so happened that this man, Jarl Hraerek Thrandson, was her only chance to help. She swallowed and replied:

"Cassandra. My name is Cassandra Heyner."

Translated with the help of DeepL.