Happily Dead Ever After
Chapter 10
Early 10th Century
"Good, Leif. Just like that. Block the downward thrust of the sword with your shield," said his father. "Yes, that's it. Watch your stance son. Keep your balance. Now step around slightly to bring Eirik into your range. Good. Very good. Watch your grip. Remember your movements must be like flowing water. Fluid. That's it. No, don't hold it so tight. Find a good balance between tight and loose."
"Now Eirik, you see how Leif is a little hesitant about lifting his shield? Study your opponent, look for weaknesses in his fighting style. It can mean a loss of a limb or your death if you don't size up your opponent as you fight with him. Holding the shield loosely will give your opponent an advantage. If a person was holding his shield in such a manner, you could hammer your sword down repeatedly and either break or force him to drop the shield. If he drops his guard, you can blind his right eye with sword or spear and then his shield will be useless to him because he can no longer see out of the eye that was visible, and his shield covers his other eye. Now there..."
"But, Father, I am not weak," said Leif, indignantly.
Thørir, playfully poked his shield to Leif and gave him a little push. "Oh course not, son. I merely meant that when either of you fight someone else. Look for things that might give you an advantage in battle. Learn from each other, son."
"I want to fight Leif, Father," said Per, excitedly.
"In a moment, Per. You will get your turn."
"Me too, papa. I wanna fight too. Pwease," said three year old Tova, her curly, blonde hair frizzing around her chubby little face as she stood on the tips of her toes in the grass.
"No, little Thunder, you are too young to play such games. When you are older, we can train you, if you like. You will be my little shield maiden," he said, picking her up and handing her to Hanne who had come chasing after Tova. "Off you go," Thørir continued and leaned over, giving Tova a little kiss. She pouted a little but went unprotesting with Hanne.
"Now," he said, getting back to the matter at hand. "As I was saying, if you blind a man in the right eye while he holds his shield in his left, you have the advantage. Eirik, I want you and Leif to hold up your practice shields in fighting stance. You too, Per. Now close only your right eye. Tell me what you see."
"The back of my shield," said Eirik, comprehension dawning in his eyes. "I see what you mean now. He can no longer see if he holds his shield up. So, if a man, holds his shield in his right hand, then you would go for the left eye."
"Very good. Yes," Thørir encouraged. "Now, Per, I want you to challenge Leif. Leif, let him attack you. Protect yourself from this new opponent." To Eirik, he said, "Eirik, over here. Let's work with the spear."
Eirik obediently set down his sword on a wooden stump, picked up the spear with the blunted end and walked toward his brother-in-law with confidence. He'd been practicing and knew he was getting better. Though he was strong, and already tall for his age, he knew that he would need to be taller and stronger to best Thørir.
They butted shields and began circling each other. Thørir pressed toward Eirik with his spear held in his right hand and plunged it down over the top of Eirik's shield, and Eirik anticipated the move, bringing his shield up and deflecting the blow. Thørir forced his shield into Eirik's and pounded against it until it went down a fraction. He quickly moved in and touched his blunted spear to Eirik's neck.
"Where was your spear? Never lose your shield advantage. Again," said Thørir forcefully. "Come at me this time. Attack me."
Eirik got a determined look on his face and moved forward. Holding his shield in front of him, he tightly gripped the spear for an over shield thrust. He thrust his spear toward his opponent and moved his arm down. Thørir blocked his thrust with his shield and used his spear to knock Eirik off balance. Eirik went down like a stone as Thørir moved in and poked the end of his spear to Eirik's thigh. "I have just marked you in one of the spots we spoke about. You will be dead within minutes." Thørir turned and walked away from Eirik, strutting a little bit.
Eirik lost his temper, grimaced, and was on his feet in a flash, sans spear, rushing his opponent. He plowed into Thørir, thrusting all his weight into his practice shield. Thørir whirled in surprise and lost his balance as Eirik pounded his shield with his own. Eirik's ferocity astounded Thørir. Eirik had grabbed the spear away from him, pointed the spear at his neck and stood over him, panting from his efforts. "Looks like you are going to join me in death!" he said through his teeth.
Thørir did something unexpected then and started laughing. "Help me up, boy. Not bad for a man dying from a leg wound," he said, still laughing as he stood up. "And you are learning to fight dirty. Good for you. Let me warn you of one thing. Never, ever, lose your temper like that in a battle. Your opponent will use it against you. But good, very good, lad."
Eirik grinned from ear to ear.
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'Tonight was the night,' Eirik thought to himself.
It was on a night of the full moon that eight year old Eirik noticed that Hanne would slip out of her pallet and move carefully to the door and out into the moonlit darkness while everyone in the household slept. Something had awakened him one night and he had seen her leave. He had kept a watchful eye out for a month or two and noticed that for a few days each month during the full moon, she would slip out of the house. Where was she going? Who did she meet? What was she doing? Being the curious and adventurous lad that he had become at that age, he decided to follow her the next time.
Though he was tired from all the practice earlier, Eirik had crawled fully dressed into his pallet bed near the wall on one side of the raised wooden flooring. Leif and Per were sleeping nearby.
He slipped out of bed as soon as Hanne had gone and snuck through the door to the outside. As he crept around the side of the dwelling, he spotted the guards and crept by them as he did on a regular basis to their great dismay, smiling as he went. Shivering a little in the cool night air, he saw Hanne heading off to the woods and trailed behind her for some time, keeping track of where he was as he went so that he could find his way back.
His foot stepped on a twig and snapped loudly. He froze, silently cursing his stupidity. As she started to turn to look back, Eirik looked wildly around him and ducked behind a nearby boulder. He breathed heavily, his heart racing, as he molded himself to the stone. After a minute or so, he had enough courage to chance a look at her. She was still walking forward again, away from him. He took a deep breath, pushed away from the rock and followed her.
She stopped after a time, and with her back to him, she lifted the hem of her dress up and over her her head, and let it fall to the ground. She stood there a moment just looking up at the moon and began to run.
Eirik was a little shocked at her disrobing but was running after her anyway. She shimmered and turned into a dog and kept on running. He stopped in his tracks, stunned into immobility. It was the same stray dog that often followed him when he snuck off by himself. The dog skidded to a stop and turned around, growling at him. She barked and moved toward him.
"Hanne? Is that you? What are you?" said Eirik.
The dog barked back, then turned and ran the other way. Eirik stood staring after her, then turned around and went back to the house the way he had come.
Back at home, Eirik's mind raced as he laid there. Should he tell someone what he had seen? Should he confront Hanne? Should he be afraid? He eventually fell fitfully to sleep though his thoughts weighed heavily upon him.
He hadn't heard her come back in. She stood, looking thoughtfully at him as he slept.
The following morning was difficult for Eirik. He couldn't look at Hanne, and she noticed that he was avoiding her gaze. She was going to have to deal with this and soon.
After ax practice, Eirik snuck off again and walked toward the woods. It was a matter of honor and pride now that he could outwit the guards every day and get some time to himself. Carrying his hunting knife, he walked for a mile or so, stopping for a time to practice throwing his knife. He was already quite good with throwing both ax and knife. He heard a little bark behind him and froze.
He turned around slowly and saw his dog friend standing a short distance away. She barked again and then chased her tail a couple of times. She plopped down and laid her head on her front legs and looked up at him with her sad eyes and whined at him.
He sat down quickly, rooted to the spot, never letting his eyes leave hers. She crawled forward a little, and he held still. He swallowed heavily and asked, "Hanne? Are you Hanne?"
She raised her head and barked and inched forward more until she was two feet away from him. She panted, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth and then plopped down and rolled over onto her back, yawning.
Eirik laughed. She rolled around in the grass and looked over at him. She got to her feet and came submissively forward then plopped down and put her head in his lap. She had done this before. Before he knew that she was Hanne.
He hesitated a moment, then reached his hand down and scratched her behind her ear. She reached up and licked his face, taking her paw and touching his arm with it. She gave a little 'woof', got up, and started walking away. She stopped and looked back and barked. Apparently, she wanted him to come with her.
He followed her until they got to the very boulder he had hidden behind the night before. He saw her dressed folded neatly on the stone. She looked at him, turned completely around in a circle, and then looked expectantly at him. He got the hint and turned the other way.
He started when he heard her come up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Eirik, do not fear me," said Hanne.
Eirik slowly turned around and looked up at her. "What are you, Hanne?"
"Shall we walk and talk a bit, Eirik?" she asked. He nodded quietly.
As they walked side-by-side, she said, "I am a shape-shifter, Eirik. I can change into many animals."
"Really? Like what?" he asked, incredulously.
"Oh, a deer, a wolf, a horse, a bird. A dog. Many animals."
"Are there others like you?"
"Yes, there are. There are also some people who can only change into one specific animal. They call themselves weres."
"Why don't most people know about this?"
Hanne stopped walking, looked at Eirik and put her hand on his shoulder. "They would hunt us down and kill us all. It would not be the first time. We are not a threat to them but they are scared of us because we are different. Know this, Eirik. I would never harm you. In fact, I watch over you children when I can. To keep you safe."
"Well, maybe I can keep myself safe. I'm getting good at fighting."
"Yes, I see you are progressing well with your training."
"It's okay, Hanne. I won't tell about you being...you know. It'll be our secret."
"Thank you, Eirik,"she said. "We should get back. They will be looking for you."
"Very well," said Eirik. They turned and walked back toward the house.
TBC