A girl's worth

Chapter 5

  On the way home, most vikings just ignore the crying girl, not wanting to feel the wrath of their chief. They all know she's not at all in his good graces right now and it's never a good idea to mingle with someone in her position. Truly, their chief is ruthless. The only reason why they didn't leave the girl to burn with the rest of Berk is because she's the chief's daughter and only child. He needs her to be his successor or to at least give him a successor that does know how to listen and be obedient to his wishes and way of thinking.

Eventually, Thyra wipes her cheeks on the shoulders of her tunic, seeing her childhood home coming into view. It stands on the hill of one of the bigger islands in the archipelago. Around it is their actual village. It appears like slaves looking up at their master which is basically what it's truly like when living in their tribe.

"Welcome home, dear daughter," her father, Erwin the Cruel, says, walking up to her. He pats her on the shoulder in a way that could be seen as almost fatherly if it hadn't been so forcefully done. She has to grind her teeth on her gag, trying not to show how much it hurts. "You'll see that not much has changed since you were taken away."

'I went away willingly!' Thyra wants to scream at him, preferably at a safe distance.

Ever since she was little, she's been afraid of the man who calls himself her father. The man has been drilling her to be just like him ever since she was old enough to hold a weapon. Other fathers would be gentle in training their children, but her father never was like that. From their first training, he'd come at her with full strength, teaching her from an early age that you can never trust anyone, that you can only trust yourself and the weapon in your hand.

Such a thing would make any child fear her life that's yet to come, but instead it inspired Thyra to live her life to the fullest, living every day like it could be the last. After all, if it was up to her father, it very well could be her last free day. He was quick to start finding a possible suitor for her. Someone strong yet loyal, courageous yet submissive towards him. It was always somehow more about him than it was ever about her.

It never occured to Thyra to run away, not even when she first started rebelling against her father and tribe by setting free confined dragons at night. Her tribe always used caged dragons in bloody arena games. The dragons that ended up there never made it out alive again and she just couldn't bear it anymore. She just went with the flow, being the obedient daughter at day and the dragon savior at night.

This all changed when she met Gaoth. She saved the Windslicer from a new trap, almost getting caught, only to be saved in turn by the great dragon. At first, the dragon tried to drop the girl off somewhere safe but as Thyra seemed to hear her thoughts, they ended up talking and flying all night. It was the beginning of a great friendship and nights filled with laughter and freedom. It truly was the highlight of every day for Thyra.

That is, until her father came to her with the notion that he'd found her a husband. At this point, fifteen-year-old Thyra's world came crashing down. Especially when details of the arrangements of the wedding found their way to her. The festivities were to take place on the day of her sixteenth birthday.

That's when the plan started to form in her mind. The night before her world was to turn upside down, she asked to spend some time alone to reflect on everything and to contact the gods to ask for their guidance and blessing. Making sure she was in a field far enough away from everyone but close enough so that many would see, Thyra let Gaoth swoop down, picking her up like she's just a simple sheep ready to be eaten as dinner.

She never thought anyone would find out the truth of the matter, but she forgot about her father's determination. If he only had a little doubt about what happened, he'd keep looking until he found her which obviously has happened in the end. It truly had been a rookie mistake which now cost her everything and everyone she holds dear.

Eventually, the ship enters the harbor and everyone starts to unload. Surprisingly, Erwin takes out Thyra's gag and undoes her binds right before they reach the village. "Don't try to run again," he threatens, grabbing the twenty-year-old's arm tightly enough to surely leave a bruise. "Just smile like you've been rescued. If you do that, maybe your punishment will be less severe."

Her eyes become a thundercloud of emotions, thoughts swirling around in her head though one stands out. Did he really have that much nerve after all that he's done to me?

"What else will you do to punish me? You already killed all my friends," Thyra sneers, finding the nerve somewhere to talk back to the man. "There's not much more you can do to make me feel even worse than I already do."

"Trust me, daughter of mine. What happened on Berk is only foreplay compared to what I can do to you as punishment for staying away for so long. Do you honestly want to test me on this?"

Thyra's mouth suddenly goes dry and she shakes her head. "That's what I thought," Erwin says, dragging her off the ship after everything else is empty.

Thyra quickly rushes along with her father, not wanting him to have to drag her as that would only hurt her arm more. She puts on a small smile, nodding at villagers who hadn't been at the raid/'rescue'. She goes through their little charade, playing along with her father's lies about what happened to her. It goes on all the way to their home. Only as they get inside, does her father let her go.

"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" her father snaps as soon as they're alone. Thyra quickly steps back, needing some more space just to be able to breathe and organize her thoughts.

"You should've just left me on Berk," the girl says softly. "I don't belong here. I belong with my dragon and my friends."

Her father rushes up to her, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling her head back roughly, earning him a cry of pain. "I suggest you stop talking like that."

Involuntarily, she yelps. It was my weakness that put everyone at risk. She feels herself bite her lip to keep from thinking about the pain that her father is trying to inflict on her. He wants to believe that he can control her through fear, that he is the owner and she the slave. He wants to make her one of them, and she has to make sure that her next move will not only take back her freedom but destroy him while protecting those she loves in the process.

Erwin scowls as he pushes his daughter away from him. Her eyes are focused and almost seem as if she understands her position. If only he knew her true thoughts, he wouldn't let that wicked smile be so tamed. "Besides, daughter," his acid spewing tone becomes soft and almost gentle, "their deaths will be a cornerstone for what makes you the most powerful person in our tribe, after me of course, especially after I'm done with you. The fear that those fools will have will be something that even the Gods will speak of and shudder. I am only..." he pauses as his smile fades and his eyes become as cold as the winter ice. "I am only training you to become a legend that will carry my name for eons and beyond."

Thyra listens intently, lowering her eyes to the floor. She says nothing as there isn't anything that he will understand. He is no idiot. That much is obvious or he wouldn't be in the position he is now, but he is a power hungry fool, which will be what puts him in an early grave.

She smiles and sinks into a low curtsy. Thyra isn't sure about the bowing part, but it feels most appropriate for the moment. "You do know best, don't you?" Her eyes stay cast to the ground as she smiles gently, though the warmth never reaches her eyes.

Her father pats her head, believing he has won once again. "I do indeed," he says, raising her head to make her look him in the eye. "I take it we understand one another. No more running away, that's not the daughter I raised."

"No more running away," Thyra promises. I will never again run away from a fight. Just you wait, father. I'll show you what kind of daughter you raised.