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The sword stumbled out of her grasp as Freydis fell to her knees. Kåre's lifeless expression stared back at her from where his head had rolled. Ragged breathing filled the room as she watched his blood smearing the floor and her pants. Some of her own painting the room, as well.
The Christian had not gone down easily at all. In hindsight, letting anger get the better of her could have turned the confrontation disastrous for the shield-maiden. But she could just not help it; the wave of rage that overtook her at the sight of him, standing there, proud and waiting, a knowing air around him. All she could see were Yrsa's empty eyes as she hung from the ceiling, Toke's breath slipping, the healer and all the people of Upsala, who paid dearly for helping her. She could hear Harald spewing words of support for Kåre and conversions after swearing loyalty to Jarl Haakon.To her.
But her anger had been righteous, and the Gods had favored her.
Freydis took hold of her weapon and used it to push herself to her feet . Her eyes were watery and she felt a throbbing pain near her temple, where her face had met the handle of Kåre's sword only a little while ago. The blood rush was still loud in her ears, but if she managed to concentrate hard enough, she could still hear yelling and the clashing of swords through the thick, wooden walls.
Even so, the city walls had been breached and its leader, killed. Perhaps the battle was done the moment those arrows struck Estrid. Though they fought bravely, Freydis saw many of her fellow shield-maidens fall alongside their jarl. Her only hope was that Leif had managed to hold off the christian army at the harbor. She dreaded to think about the alternative, or anything happening to her brother.
They had come so far into this new world, only for it to end so quickly.
She managed to catch her breath as she staggered to a sideways entry. She narrowed her eyes to the outside light, her suspicion confirmed; many were still fighting. But even more were laying lifeless on the ground, both her people and her enemies. As she stuck close to the longhouse walls, it became clear to Freydis in whose favor the balance was tilted.
Even with that madman dead, another one still remained. Olaf's mind was a lot more clear than Kåre's had been, which made him even more dangerous.
He used the Christian cause to raise his army, though his personal motivations had more to do with greed and a desire to become king, from what Harald had said. Seems to run in the family. Her face screwed up at the thought and she pressed her lips together. Leif had done his best to try and justify Harald's poor excuse for a plan, saying that he managed to learn of his brother's plan and force. He went quiet though when she argued for the reason as to why Harald had gone behind their backs. Freydis felt more struck by his apparent betrayal than she would have liked to admit. She wished she could say that her anguish had been because his war prowess was valuable for Kattegat's defense, but if that were true, she probably wouldn't have regretted the hurtful words directed at him, or ignoring him. And probably wouldn't have gone back to him after her initiation.
Before she could further analyze her own motives and feelings, she reached the marketplace. Warriors, as well as civilians, were running all around her, screaming, carrying as many belongings as they could and dragging their children along. Smoke from the structures ablaze merged with a cloud of sand created by the commotion made it difficult to orientate.
Leif had said to go north in case their plan failed and they would find each other after. She looked around for a horse let loose, but stopped dead in her tracks.
For a second she pondered whether the blow to her head did more damage than she initially thought. Freydis watched frozen, mouth agape as Harald sat propped up on a fence, his arm clutching his side. When her eyes met his equally stunned ones, she was sure it wasn't her brain playing tricks on her.
Horse snickers to her side removed her from the trance. Freydis turned and hurried towards it, walking stiffly, jaw locked, trying not to avert her eyes. The people running chaotically were too busy with their own survival or plunder to engage her.
She grabbed one of the horses' reins with one hand, the saddle with the other, and even put her foot in the stirrup, before stopping. She closed her eyes and sighed.
He brought this upon himself...
She let out a grunt at the thought, yet turned and reached for the reins of another horse, and started leading them back to the injured prince. As she drew closer, a breath caught in her chest, and the thought of having taken too long crossed her mind when she saw his still form and hanging head.
She didn't have any additional time to worry, as he must have felt a presence, and his hand snapped quickly to raise the axe laying to his side. However, he stopped mid-motion when his eyes landed on Freydis.
"We must go..get up.'' she murmured and she leaned forward to grab his arm and put it over her shoulder.
She struggled to get him to his feet, and he struggled even more to maintain that. She barely managed to get a glimpse at his wound as she helped him up onto the horse, but the bloody, torn armor and his panting told her enough.
She willed the horses to trot, afraid that a faster pace would worsen his state or make him fall off. They headed out the eastern gate, then up the hills surrounding Kattegat. She pulled the reins of the horse to look back. The gray of smoke and ash wrapped the not-long-ago resounding city. She could make out small figures still running in disarray and rooftops still flaming. Freydis took a deep breath in then pursed her lips. Her new world ending. The place where she arrived only some months ago but quickly came to call her home.Where she accomplished her mission and regained her honor, where she found purpose and comradery, where she met him... whatever he was to her right now.Ablaze and gone in less than a day.Along with her friends.
"It's over, Freydis."
No.
It has just begun.