/Master of My Sea


First and foremost, I hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe. The pandemic has really burnt me out, because I am an essential worker, and haven't taken a single day off, working five days a week, since it was officially announced. That is why it took so long for me to publish this. Just, a lot happened in a short amount of time, and I spent most of my free time vegetating.

I want to thank all my supporting returning readers, and their patience and reviews :) I wish I could respond to them all individually, but that would take too long. This chapter is a lengthy one, and it has a massive trigger warning you will see in the title. Remember, this is the chapter in which the rating of this story goes from T to M.

** A brief chapter synopsis will be provided at the end of the chapter for those that wish to skip this chapter. **


chapter seventeen:
THE WOLF DEN

TW: Graphic violence, descriptions of blood and gore, and sexual themes.


After breaking fast the next day, Thorvald and the shieldmaidens got to work with aiding the village in making fortifications on their livestock enclosures, as well as creating traps in key points. Kára was helping a chicken farmer with reinforcing his coops when Thorvald walked up to her.

"Make sure the panels are all secure," she directed the farmer's young son. She wiped her brow with the back of hand, fingers still gripping the hilt of a hammer. It was hotter that day than it was the day before, but she suspected it was because they were now in an open field with no trees to shade them.

"Good work," Thorvald said when he approached the farm and looked over the fortifications of the farmer's property. "Do you have experience in this sort of thing?"

Kára gave a laugh, catching the ranger off guard. He lifted an eyebrow at her, and she shook her head, "It's a long story."

"Sounds like an amusing one," he observed. "Perhaps you'll tell me someday?"

"Perhaps on our way back home," she turned around and walked over to the table of tools, which was situated farther away from the labouring civilians.

Thorvald followed shortly behind her, and once he was out of earshot of the others, his tone became serious. "Hrut doesn't want anyone to know that the attacks may be by someone rather than something," he started.

"He should," Kára sighed, "We're wasting resources and time making traps for animals."

"We still don't have proof that it's not an animal. There were no men's prints in the soil."

"Just because there are no prints, does not mean there is no trail. We have to follow the wolf tracks into the forest to see where it leads."

"Svana had the same thoughts," Thorvald said, looking over at the blonde across the field on the other side of the wheat farm. She was planting bear traps around the property. She wasn't too thrilled with wasting time on the farms, either. And Ljota agreed with her, but there was no surprise there. "I told her we need to finish here before leaving the village. We can go first light on the morrow."

"Have you told them that we may be hunting a man?" Kára asked, looking over at Svana as well.

Thorvald shook his head, "No. I will when we retire for the night, when we are alone, so we can strategize our plan."

Kára nodded, but remained quiet. She was not used to working with other people; it was always just her. She was the one that strategized her plans and executed it by herself. She worked as a lone wolf her whole life, and upon entering the world of sisterhood that was the shieldmaidens, Kára was taken off guard how much she needed to rely on her sisters in arms.

In her opinion, if this was an issue of wolves, the situation could be resolved with a hunting party, not a team of shieldmaidens. Which led Kára to believe that Lagertha and Thorvald were already in some kind of prior knowledge that this could possibly be an attack by a non-animal before they recruited shieldmaidens.

Come to think of it, there had to be a reason why Lagertha chose the girls she did. The four shieldmaidens did have contrasting talents they excelled at. Svana was obviously a good archer, Ljota was swift and agile, Gunnr had brutish strength, and Kára… Well, Kára was the only experienced hunter, which meant she was best at tracking. If Thorvald was positive that there were wolves in the forest, he would have requested a team of Hedeby's best hunters, not shieldmaidens. That meant he already suspected the attacks might not be the cause of wolves, or at least wanted to prepare for the possibility. The diverse party of shieldmaidens were chosen specifically to utilize all talents in case of all possible outcomes. If it was a single person Svana and Ljota would be able to take him down with ease. If it was more than one person, Gunnr and Thorvald would be able to serve as the brute force for battle.

And Kára was the key in finding the antagonist, be it man or beast, and therefore be able to identify who it really is. Thorvald and Lagertha must have been counting on her in deducing the threat before action was taken place. Judging by the evidence and tracks that were left behind, even Thorvald, an experienced ranger, was having a hard time figuring out what or who was attacking the village.

Upon this realization, Kára stopped what she was doing and turned to Thorvald silently. He had his hands on his hips and his eyes narrowed as he peered into the forest in the distance. He appeared to be deep in thought, which somehow confirmed Kára's epiphany, but she wasn't going to say it, not now at least.

X X X

Svana wiped off her forehead and stood up after placing the bear trap in place. She had a permanent frown on her face since the moment she woke up. When she learned that they would be creating traps on the local's properties instead of going out in the forest to hunt down these wolves, Svana nearly protested against Thorvald's wishes.

Svana had always fancied Thorvald ever since before she had her first bleed, which was not uncommon to most of the women of Hedeby who've met Thorvald. However, Svana's advantage was that she came from a respected family line, she was talented, and one of Lagertha's favourites. Thorvald came back to Hedeby regularly to bring news to Lagertha where her shieldmaidens may be needed, and Svana had been patiently waiting for that day where she would be chosen to go with the ranger for one of those quests. It finally came, but much to her chagrin, she was being overshadowed.

Her eyes wandered over to across the field where she could spot Kára's obnoxious orange head quite easily. Thorvald was talking to her, and while Svana couldn't hear what was being said, she had a guess as to what. Ever since the first night, Thorvald and Kára had been going ahead of everyone, blatantly flirting with each other. She heard them talking in hush voices during last night, probably doing more than just speaking. It made Svana's blood boil. She put too much work and time into being where she is today just for some outsider to come and swoop in on her territory. Svana heard that Kára's mother was a witch, which would explain how easily she was able to snare Thorvald's attention.

Growling, Svana wiped her hands with a dirty cloth and began marching out of the field towards the farm they were residing. Ljota, always hot on her heels, followed behind her after.

"Svana, where are you going? We're not done here."

"This is a waste of time," she barked. "We should have tracked down the wolves long ago if we left this morning. We wouldn't be using up resources and time out here putting in useless traps."

"But Thorvald advised we should go on the morrow after preparing-"

"I am prepared! I've been prepared since we left Hedeby!" They reached the barn and just before she opened the door, she turned to her friend. "Thorvald, Gunnr, and that red headed witch can waste their time fortifying chicken coops and goat dens, but I won't. I'm going to hunt down those wolves. Are you coming with me, or are you gonna sit around twiddling your thumbs, too?"

Ljota looked apprehensive at this. She looked around at the village, alive with people preparing for another possible attack, which she admitted would not be necessary if they had got rid of the problem that day. She also knew Svana for quite some time, and the girl had always impressed her at how head strong and determined she was. Svana always saw a job to a swift completion, which always exceeded everyone's expectations. Svana had always been right, until recently. Ljota wagered it was because of what Kára had done in the training yard the other day. It had shook her friend, and perhaps that is why Svana was trying so hard to show her competence, even more now that Thorvald was present.

Ljota pursed her lips at her old friend, not sure if this was a good idea, but there was that part of her that ignored those red flags of Svana's behaviour as of late. And should she say no, and something ended up happening to her, Ljota would never forgive herself knowing she could have prevented it.

"I'm coming with you," Ljota decided. "We will be the only two to come back to Hedeby with wolf pelts."

Svana smiled wickedly and clapped her friend on the shoulder, "Not just any old wolf, Ljota. But god wolves."

X X X

Kára was splashing her face with water from a barrel that sat next to the barn. She dunked her hands in and cupped them to pour water on the back of her neck. It had been a long day, but now that the sun was lowering, people had begun to wrap up their work. Gunnr came up next to her while she was pushing hair out of her face.

"Hrut invited us to sup at his house," she replied. "Tell Ljota and Svana."

"They're not in there," Kára spoke as she pulled her ponytail tighter.

Gunnr looked confused, "Are you sure? Because I couldn't find them in the village."

The two of them looked at each other for a moment before both turning to open the farm door and looking inside. Gunnr called out their names, thinking they may have passed out in a bale of hay, but there was no answer.

"That's odd," Gunnr said.

Kára looked over at the cots and pursed her lips, "No it isn't. Their effects are gone."

Gunnr bit her lip and cursed under her breath, "I'll go get Thorvald."

Kára bounded in the barn where she left her things and began to gear up, "I'll go ahead. Tell him I'm following the tracks from Thorballa's."

"You can't go out there alone, it's dusk. What are you going to do when you encounter a den of giant wolves?"

Kára turned towards her on her way out, and gave her a half smile, "I am Kára Ulfsdóttir. I'll be right at home." She gave her a pat on the arm before taking off at a light jog towards Thorballa's farm house.

When she got there, she noticed that there were new tracks in the area. Hrut made it a point that no one disturb the earth around, but there were obvious human tracks that followed the direction of the canine tracks. The footprints were slender, and there were two sets of tracks. Of course Ljota would follow her.

Kára looked over at the setting sun, and then back at the forest. Sighing, she skipped over the tracks and followed them to the woods, hoping she found the two shieldmaidens before anything or anyone else did.

X X X

"This way," Svana directed as the tracks lead them further into the forest. "They're heading south. I think we're close."

You said that an hour ago, Ljota wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. They had been following these tracks for a while, but Ljota was starting to believe they were going in circles. At a certain point, Svana lost track of them and started to rely on moss on the trees to direct them to their original position, but Ljota had noticed that a lot of the trees had moss on all sides. Now, they were losing light, which would make seeing the tracks even harder.

"Maybe we should turn back," Ljota gently suggested as she crawled over a fallen tree.

Svana was crouched next to another tree, holding a stick and poking at something at the ground. When Ljota got to her, she noticed she was cutting apart a pile of scat; wolf scat. Ljota didn't know whether or not to be relieved or dismayed.

"It's fresh. They should be close," Svana smiled and pulled out her bow, preparing herself for the best hunt of her life. "This way," she jogged further south.

Ljota sighed through her nose and pulled out her own bow and followed shortly behind. She couldn't help but feel this uncomfortable knot in her stomach like something was wrong. "Svana," she called as she followed shortly behind. "We should mark the area and head back to Thorvald and the others. We shouldn't do this alone-"

Ljota stopped when she saw that Svana came to a complete halt. She came behind her and looked at what she was staring at. There was a wall of stone that crossed their path, covered in thick tree roots and shrubs, but hidden in the elbow of the structure was a large opening. It could have been missed, had the shrubbery grew thicker around it, but with the heat, the greenery was more brittle and sparse. There were no more tracks, since the ground was covered in leaves, branches and grass, but the cave appeared to be cleared of debris, indicating that it's been used frequently.

"This is it," Svana whispered as she took her bow and knocked it with an arrow. "This is the den," she looked over her shoulder at Ljota. "When I give you the signal, make noise to coax them out, and I'll shoot them before they get to you. Get ready."

Ljota tried to swallow the lump in her throat, then nodded at Svana, and knocked her own arrow, should she need it. With her eyes trained on the den, she watched the blonde in her peripherals move closer to the wall. Just as she got within three metres to it, a loud cracking sound interrupted the silence, and suddenly in a swift motion that Ljota couldn't properly register, Svana was swept off her feet, with her bow and arrows falling onto the ground.

Svana made a loud yelp of surprise as she hung upside down from her ankle, suspended at ten feet above the ground. Ljota was so surprised by what happened, her eyes were now on Svana as an instant reaction. This, as she would soon learn, was a mistake.

X X X

Kára was primarily following the footsteps of Svana and Ljota, who had diverged quite a few times from the canine tracks. They obviously got lost, which they wouldn't have if they had a proper tracker, which is what Kára was in this group. By now the sun had almost completely set, giving only just a small amount of light to give off some shadows. By now Gunnr would have alerted Thorvald, and the two would have gone after Kára, but she wondered if they would take the same detour that she had tried to track her, or followed the canine tracks in hopes that that's where they'd be.

Suddenly a loud shriek broke the silence of the forest, making Kára's skin ripple with goosebumps and the blood drain from her body. This was not a fox's scream, it was a human scream. A woman's. Kára put her hand on her belt where the hilt of her dagger was and rushed into a sprint, moving through the forest ground with familiar ease. The more she ran towards the direction of the scream, the more sounds could be heard. Screams, pleading, crying, growling, snapping, snarling. Kára's heart pumped louder and louder in her head with the sound of her desperate breathing.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP! THORVALD, HELP! SOMEONE!"

Kára quickly pulled out her bow and fisted a handful of arrows. She hopped on a fallen tree and launched herself in the air and into the clearing. The first thing she saw was blonde hair being snapped at by a trio of growling wolfdogs. She pursed her lips and whistled loudly, getting the wolfdogs' attention. When their heads turned was when Kára shot her first arrow before hitting the ground, successfully getting one between the eyes. She fell into a barrel roll, and quickly knocked another arrow and hit another wolfdog in the chest as he made a leap in her direction. The third was now on her soon after, and she quickly reached for her dagger in time for the animal to jump on her. She put the arm of her bow between his snapping jaws before it could reach her throat. Kára twisted her face as the animal's drool hit her eyes and face, all the while struggling under his weight and muscles. She wrestled with the animal for a moment before she could have the opportunity to raise her arm with the dagger and sink it into his throat. With a short yelp, she could feel the wolfdog tense and relax in his last moments of life. His body laid limp on top of her.

With a grunt, Kára shoved the animal off of her and began to inhale and exhale feverishly. She pulled herself up on her elbows and then slowly raised onto her feet, her body feeling like a sack of rocks at this point.

"Kára! Thank the gods," she heard Svana cry out as she dangled from above.

"Mind your head," Kára spoke, as she tossed her now broken bow and grabbed Svana's fallen one and an arrow. "I'm going to let you down."

Svana covered her head and braced herself to be dropped. Kára loosed an arrow, successfully cutting the rope. Svana allowed her body to go limp as it fell, while covering her head in an attempt to reduce damage on her body. It still hurt when she hit the hard ground, but after what she just saw, the pain was secondary on her mind.

Kára rushed to her side and bent down, "Where is Ljota?"

At the name, Svana's face twisted in pain and she crumpled onto the floor, her face buried in the dirt in shame. She was crying something that Kára couldn't quite make out, but by her reaction, it wasn't good. The blonde began to lift her trembling hand in the direction behind her, and that was when Kára became aware of her surroundings.

They were surrounded in utter carnage; aside from the three bodies of the wolfdogs that laid at her feet, there was blood everywhere. Kára's hand went up to her mouth in shock as she saw the mangled and pulled apart body of her fellow shieldmaiden; her sister in arms. Her chest was completely torn open, and the bottom half of her body was pulled apart and completely dismembered from her torso. The only thing remotely human left of her was her pale face, frozen in fear and pain in her last moments of life.

Kára tore her eyes away from the scene and hunched over and began to vomit until she was only heaving. Svana cried profusely next to her, her body crumpled on the floor. They stayed like that for some time, as the reality of their surroundings overcame their minds and hearts. Not even Kára had seen such butchery, not to that agree, even if it was by an animal.

These were not wolves. These were wolfdogs, trained to attack, not to defend. No wolf would have caused this amount of indiscriminate bloodshed even if it was trying to protect their cubs. Had these animals been loose in the village when children were free to roam, it would have been over. Kára didn't want to think about that possibility; she kept on telling herself that won't happen anymore, now that they were dead. But there was still one last matter to be dealt with, and that was the owner. The man behind it all.

Kára didn't know how long she stayed hunched over, but she became aware of something, and that was the silence. Svana had stopped crying hysterically. Her muscles tensed at this. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and her fingers twitched once the adrenaline began pumping again; the need to survive tripled. Her eyes flickered over to the wolf she stabbed, her dagger protruding from his neck right next to her. In a flash, she reached for it and flipped over, but immediately froze at what she saw.

"Don't. Move." He spoke.

X X X

Thorvald, Gunnr and Hrut had rushed into the forest the moment Gunnr found him and relayed the news. He was fueled with anger and worry, especially after Gunnr had said that Kára went on alone to find them first. A completely idiotic choice for all three of the shieldmaidens. None of them should have gone without back up and a proper plan.

Hrut volunteered to come immediately after hearing what happened. Thorvald only agreed because he knew the woods better than he. There were obvious human tracks in the forest, which for a moment went in circles. Thorvald strayed from the tracks to follow the canine tracks that came from Thorballa's farm. Hrut had an idea where these tracks were leading, and had suggested a shortcut. Gunnr and Thorvald followed Hrut's guide, finding themselves climbing up a steep hill where the trees became thicker and less condensed.

"There is a rock formation not far from here," Hrut explained. "There's a cave there, back in the day the kids would play in. Thorballa, her brother, and the rest of the village kids would camp in it for a night or two during the summer days."

"You think it's a wolf's den?" Thorvald asked.

"To my knowledge, it's been empty for some time. No one will allow their kids in this area anymore, especially now with the threat of wolves. It's larger inside than it looks. The cave has a back entrance, it should be somewhere here."

It didn't take long to find it. It was a narrow space between rocks, easily hidden if one didn't know how to find it. Hrut was about to lead them through, but Thorvald told him to get between him and Gunnr, should they find something inside. They pressed their bodies against the wall and shimmied through the cave, with Thorvald and Hrut having to duck their heads at the low ceiling. Eventually the narrow hallway began to widen, and the dim light of a fire could be seen at the end of it.

"The cavern must be near," Hrut whispered.

Thorvald still had his back pressed against the wall, given his wide frame couldn't fit through the passageway still, but the stone hall widened more as the light came closer, and closer. As the light grew stronger, so did a putrid smell that he immediately recognized as the stench of death and decay.

The three collectively made an audible sound of disgust and covered their mouths. Gunnr pulled her tunic over her nose, "What is that?"

Thorvald's lips were in a firm line as they at last approached the cavern. It was bigger than it looked like from the outside, about the size of a reasonable hut, but not bigger than other caverns that Thorvald had found in the past. Though it was big enough to make a home for someone. The place was lived in; there was a bed of furs, a hearth that was situated under the one opening of the cavern on the roof. The hearth was dim, but it lit up the cavern bright enough for everyone to see what was inside, and where the stench came from.

Carcasses everywhere. Blood everywhere. Bones picked clean were piled in a heap near a bed of hay, dead grass and leaves. An obviously a resting place for the wolves or hounds that lived here with their owner. Immediately Thorvald spotted the goats that had been stolen the other day, butchered on a wooden table, being prepared to be cooked. But what shocked everyone the most, even Thorvald, was the main source of the smell.

"Is that?" Gunnr spoke from behind him, squinting in the dim orange light at the form laying on the bed of furs.

"A body," Thorvald pulled out a piece of cloth from his belt and tied it around his mouth as he approached the bed. The body laid in filth, and had been decaying for some time. This body was far beyond the first moments of decay; it was now in advance decay. All that was left was skin, bones, hair, and maggots. The eyeless face was sunken, aside some holes created by the feasting insects, it was otherwise intact.

"This has been here for over a month, at the very least," Thorvald examined the clothes, at least what was left of it. It was a man; that was clear since he wore no shirt, and his chest was exposed, where he could see a large wound where his heart was. His pants were rags, and he was barefooted. "No signs of teeth marks, so the wolves didn't try to eat his body."

"So they were trained?"

"Even trained dogs will eat their owner's body if they are starving," Thorvald turned around to the others. "Someone was protecting the body."

Hrut remained as far away from the body as possible, but when he snuck a peak at it, the fire glinted on something silver around the dead man's wrist. It was an armring. He took a rag in his back pocket and pressed it to his mouth and nose as he slowly approached the body, and once he was close enough, he could see the shape of the arm ring. He's seen that design before. He knew it well. Slowly, the old man looked up to the face, holding his breath as he embraced the possibility of the worst.

"Oh, Freya, preserve us," Hrut immediately shut his eyes, turned away and went to brace himself on the wall. Despite its state, he could see the man underneath the decay. His body shuddered, and for the first time since he was a boy, he felt the sting of tears in his old eyes.

"That's Jorund. Thorballa's husband."

X X X

"You killed my thildren," The man hissed with a lisp through his crooked teeth, or what was left of it.

"Your children killed my sister," Kára barked back. The man still held onto Svana with a crude looking knife to her throat. He was rather short for a man for his presumed age, with muddy hair that could have been blonde at some point. It was strangely and dreaded, with debris stuck in its tendrils. His face was just as dirty, right down to his lips, and his teeth were brown with decay and gums red with bloody sores. He was wearing a sweaty tunic that was obviously worn to death, and trousers that were being held up by a frayed rope. But what Kára immediately noticed were his shoes. It was the middle of summer, but his feet were covered in sheep's wool, even underneath. That was how he was able to hide his tracks this entire time, and why he was able to approach without making a sound. Kára would have applauded him for being clever, but right now all she wanted to do was rip his head off of his shoulders.

"They were jutht babieth!" He growled, jerking around Svana in frustration. His blood shot eyes were watery. "And you thlaughtered them…"

Svana flinched, feeling the stick of the rusty knife tug into her neck, "Stop pissing him off, Red!"

"All right, all right, I am sorry," Kára raised her arms in a show of surrender. "I was defending my family. I am sure you would do the same."

"I am doing the thame," he replied with a curled lip. "An eye for an eye." He made a motion with his knife arm, intending to slice open the blonde's neck.

"Wait, wait!" Kára shouted. "If you do that, then you know I will have to kill you, too. As you said, an eye for an eye."

The man twisted his face at that, his eyes spilling an onslaught of tears. Hysterically he shouted, spit spraying everywhere as he did, "Kill me! I welcome death!" Kára watched the moment his fingers became loose around the knife as his breakdown resumed. With a crackling voice, he continued, "I am alone now. My thildren are gone... My love ith gone... I have nothing to live for."

Kára glanced at Svana, who looked down at the man's hand and back at her shield sister. The blonde's blue eyes widened and shifted over to a rock near her. Her lips moved, mouthing the words "keep talking."

"Uh," Kára scrambled. "Listen… You're not alone. My name is Kára; I'm a shield maiden from Hedeby. This is Svana, my shield sister. What's your name?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, his lips curled in a snarl, "You do not care who I am. No one careth about me! Only he did!"

"Hey, look at me," Kára bowed a little bit so she could catch his eye. Her hands were still up in the air. "I know how you feel."

"No you don't! How could you? You're a thhieldmaiden... I am jutht... no one."

"I wasn't always a shieldmaiden. I grew up alone with my mother in the forest… No one knew who I was, for the longest time. My mother was the only person that cared about me… not until I met someone else… someone who I cared for, and who cared for me. Just like you, and your love. You miss him… I miss my friend, too, very dearly, but I won't ever see him again. I understand your pain."

By now he was crying profusely, and Kára was slowly walking towards him with her arms in the air. His grip on the knife was now loose and nearly forgotten. His eyes were nearly closed as his tears and hysterics overcame him.

"I mithth him, tho muth," he cried.

"I know you do," Kára crept closer. "Why don't we sit down and you can tell us all about him."

It took a moment, but Kára watched the realization of what was happening dawned on his face. However, his reaction wasn't fast enough now that his senses were hindered by raw emotion. Before he could move back into an offensive position, Svana grabbed his hand and bit it, causing him to scream and drop the knife. Kára quickly picked up the rock and cracked it across his face, sending him flying to the ground. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect of rendering him unconscious. It instead made most of his remaining teeth break off, and his nose break so badly it pointed in the other direction. The girls scrambled to find things to protect themselves as he slowly began to pull himself on his feet, his face so red it even glowed in the dark of the night. The false light of the moon reflected against his wet eyes, highlighting the madness behind them.

Kára reached for her dagger that was left in the wolfdog's throat, and Svana scrambled to get her bow and an arrow off the ground, but fumbled to knock it. She wasn't fast enough.

"You lying whore!"

The mad man screamed as he charged at them, bloody mouth agape, and eyes ablaze with tears and rage. He had gotten within feet of them, and just when Kára prepared her body for a rush attack, an axe came from the side and swung with such force and precision, it cut the man's head clean off. Blood splattered across Kára and Svana's face, forcing them to cover their eyes and turn away. It all felt like time had slowed down in those moments, and all she could hear was her heart beat in her head, and the echo of the man's raging scream.

When sound came back to her, Kára wiped the blood from her eyes and looked to see the broad and tall figure of Thorvald. His jawline was hard and his mouth in a straight line, and his face was covered with blood, tinting his light hair that framed it. His eyes were alight with a rage, too, but unlike the mad man's, it wasn't lined with insanity. Then, those eyes were on her, and the anger remained.

"What. In Hel's name. Were you two. Doing?!"

Kára and Svana swallowed simultaneously, but the former spoke for them both.

"Hunting wolves."

X X X

While the rest of the night felt like a blur, it also was the longest night of Kára's life. After the dust was settled, the man was identified by Hrut as Torfi, Thorballa's brother. It had become clear after information was shared what was going on here. Thorballa's husband, Jorund was murdered, according to Thorvald's deduction of the cause of his death. He was stabbed in the heart some time ago, possibly around the time they left the village. According to Torfi, Jorund was his 'love', but they had no proof if the feelings were mutual. However, Hrut had said it was possible, as he knew Jorund to be a strange boy, particularly around his male companions.

Kára wondered if they had went to this cave, specifically to have sex before returning to thier journey to trade in Kattetgat, and Torfi found the abandoned pups in the den. That the cause of him murdering Jorund was that he refused to stay with him and raise them like a family, since Jorund had a family of his own. She will never know the truth of it all, but perhaps it was for the best.

What was decided before they returned to the village was to fabricate what had happened there. They decided to tell the village they had fought the wolf, and bring back the carcass of one of the wolves with them, and not mention anything about a man in the forest. The first thing they did was put Torfi's body in the cave next to Jormund, and sealed the entrance and exit with rocks and clay, so no one could find them. Then, when the sun rose, they turned to Ljota's mangled form, and prepared her burial.

They chose a willow tree next to a babbling brook, and buried her with the two other wolves. After, they lined her grave with white stones in the shape of a boat, and decorated the mound in wildflowers. She was buried with her sword and shield, but the necklace she wore was removed, with the intention of returning it to her remaining family.

As morning came, their state of dress became apparent. They all smelt like death and were caked in dirt and blood. Kára desperately wanted to cleanse her skin of all that happened, so she went off alone, following the brook until it ended at a small waterfall that fell into a wide spring. Without thinking, Kára stripped off her clothes and slowly walked into the water. The sensation of the cold water felt nothing to her nerves, even to the contrast of the humidity. She fully submerged herself in the water, and stayed under the surface for some time, as the events of that night replayed in her mind like a bad dream.

'I miss my friend, too, very dearly, but I won't ever see him again.'

'but I won't ever see him again.'

'... won't ever see him again.'

Kára jumped back to the surface and gasped for air. Breathing hard, she wiped at her lashes to free them of water, and that's when she realized she wasn't alone. Thorvald sat on a rock, bare chested and untying his boots. He looked just as surprised as she was when she came to the surface.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered. "I didn't realize you were here."

Kára was still breathing hard through her mouth as she stared at him openly. His chest was lightly covered in dark blonde hair, right down to the line below his belly button. He was dirty with sweat and earth, but that only served in his favour. He was glorious, especially how the sun caused the sweat on his body to glisten like oil. Kára ran a hand over her mouth and began to climb out of the spring and walk over to him, completely nude. This had taken Thorvald further by surprise. His mouth opened as he leaned back on his hand and looked up to her. His lips were parted, but nothing but air came from it. His chest rose and fell as much as hers. Neither of them spoke a word, but knew the moment their eyes met.

- Short Lemon Scene Begins -

Her body over his; his hand in her hair; chest and lips pressed firmly together as they tangled themselves in a knot of lust and pleasure. Soon he matched her state of undress, and then they gradually found themselves partially submerged in the water, pressed up against the rock with her legs wrapped around his waist and his hips bucking into her pelvis. Slow at first, as the pain was immediate but it gradually slipped away, and then the movements got faster. Their lips were hovering over each other as they breathed the other's hot air; he inhaled every moan and whine of pleasure coming from her lungs. Her toes curled and her nails dug into his shoulders as she could feel the sun rise in her stomach. She arched her body and pulled her head back with her eyes tightly closed. He nuzzled her neck until the very last stroke; until the very last moan of satisfaction.

- Short Lemon Scene End -

As the air came back into the lungs, they sunk further into the water as their bodies became lead, but remained tangled and molded together.

Kára opened her eyes as if for the first time. The sky seemed more blue, and trees more green. Everything was going to change after this point, she quickly realized. She left Hedeby a girl, and she was going to return as a woman.


Chapter Synopsis:

The group begin the day with fortifications of the village and traps for animals, but Kara and Thorvald believe it is a person doing the attacks. With intentions to go find the culprit the next day, they continue working. Svana disagrees with this, and believes that they should have gone hunting for the wolf right away. Without telling anyone, she and Ljota go into the woods to track down the canine prints. They get lost. Hours later before dusk, Gunnr and Kara realize theyre missing. Gunnr leaves to go tell Thorvald, and Kara goes a head to track down the two girls, as night was starting to come.

Svana and Ljota finally find the wolf den, and prepare to lure it out to kill it, but it was a trap. Svana stood on a snare trap and was pulled upside down in the air by her ankle. In that moment, the wolves attacked. When Kara came, the wolves were nipping at Svana's hair as she dangled above them. Kara shot all three wolves and then freed Svana. Then she saw the mangled body of Ljota. The two took a moment to cry and puke and process over the sight of their shield sister, and in those vulnerable moments, a Mad Man captured Svana and put a knife to her throat threateningly.

At this time, Thorvald, Gunnr and Hrut were tracking the girls. Hrut led them to a short cut to the cave he suspected to be the wolf's den, and came up from the rear end. When the three entered the center of the cave, it was filled with animal bones, a hearth, a bed for the wolves, and a bed of furs where the body of a decomposed man lay. It was Thorballa's husband, Jorund.

Outside the cave, Kara did her best to distract the Mad Man and coax him into letting go of Svana. In this moment she learned that the wolfdogs were treated like his own children, and that he had a lover who just died. When the Mad Man figured out what she was doing, he attempted to react, but Kara and Svana reacted quicker. Svana bit his hand, and Kara bashed his head with a rock, but it didn't knock him out. It gave them enough time to scramble away from him, and grabbed weapons. But the Mad Man rushed them, giving them barely enough to react. Thorvald and the others were out of the cave just in time, and Thorvald saved the girls by swinging his axe and lopping of the man's head.

It was revealed that the man was actually Thorballa's brother, Torfi. They suspected that Torfi and Jorund were lovers who stopped in the cave along their journey to Kattegat to make relations and found the abandoned pups in there. Kara believes that Torfi killed Jormund when he refused to leave his wife to live in the woods and raise the dogs as if they were their own children. They decided not to tell the village of the truth, and instead bring back one of the wolfdog bodies as proof the wolf was dead, and then bury Jormund and Torfi's body in the cave, sealing it with rocks and clay. They then buried Ljota's body with the two other wolfdogs in her grave, along with her sword and shield underneath a willow tree.

Kara went to bath down at a small lake next to the babbling brook. In her grief of the tiring events, she washed away the dirt from her skin and emerged from the water to find a surprised Thorvald getting ready to go for a dip as well. Neither were aware of each other being there until they saw each other. Something took over Kara, and she felt compelled to approach him. In the heat of the moment, after little words spoken, they made love in the lake. Kara lost her virginity that day, and symbolically left her girlhood behind her. She returns to Hedeby a woman.


I hope the chapter was worth the wait. It was long to write. The next chapter will take place in the future, and I'm hoping I can get it out sooner rather than much later. I'm getting closer to the point of the reunite, and I just want to make sure I set it up properly so the wait will be worth it.

Be sure to check out the pictures for this chapter in the pinterest, which is linked in my profile, or simply search catherine _ braganza (without spaces) on pinterest. The icon will be the same as this account.

Be Safe, and Happy Readings!