Extra 1: Mikah's Diary
The sun has yet to rise and Mikah wakes up to see everyone still snoozing. She takes a look at Marcus, who had fallen asleep on the stump while sitting down. She gets up and walks to a secluded spot, where she takes out a booklet from her pouch and writes down.
We are on our way to Regna Ferox and Marcus has already fallen asleep, so I felt that this was the best time to write this. I feel like if any one needed to know the full story, then now would be the time.
I have a confession to make, several, to be honest. I've been keeping secrets, secrets that not even Anna and Marcus know. I'll just say one straight out, I have met Marcus before.
Actually, more than met, I've been acquainted with him at one point.
I was never just a craftswoman, I only picked up the hobby two years ago. Back in Europe, I wasn't Mikah, I was Mary Charlotte, the child of a prestigious French noble in Guines. I was born to a blind mother and a very caring father. I was a happy child, but that all changed when my mother died. I was only seven years old and I lost her. The loss took its toll on my father, who became very angry and temperamental at home, naturally I followed his example.
With a childhood of getting whatever I wanted, I was bratty, spoiled and selfish. I never wanted to associate myself with servants or people of lower blood. I was never really liked either, and the only people who I could talk to were my father and other nobles.
At one point when I was thirteen, my father wanted to go to Canterbury, to pay respects to a newly inducted Templar, who was the son of one of their closest friends. We had planned to stay there for a month, while our advisors would watch over our domain in Guines. Naturally, since the trip would be long, I had to come with them. The ship ride to England was rather short and we arrived by noon at the port of England. By nightfall, we had already arrived in Canterbury, where the newly inducted Templar resided.
I soon learned that the knight's name was Sir Julian, but at the time I didn't care. I just did whatever I wanted, insulting servants and humiliating peasants. One day, I wanted to go out to the forest, but my caretakers wouldn't let me. So I snuck out one night and simply frolicked about. But soon enough, I fell and sprained my ankle, I called for help but no one came, I was so scared that I cried.
That was when I first met Marcus. He came back from hunting and had heard my cries for help. He immediately gives me a piggyback and brings me back to the settlement. That was the time I developed a crush on him, I mean who wouldn't fall for their handsome saviour. I decided to hang around him, but due to my poor social skills, I couldn't do as much as talk to him. So I just stayed in the shadows, watching him from afar. It was inevitable that he would finally notice me and talk with me.
My first conversation with Marcus was… less than ideal. Without anything to say, I ran away in shame. In my desperation, I consulted my caretakers, who were genuinely surprised at the effort I was making to socialise. I asked them about Marcus and how he was like.
They told me Marcus was the son of a disgraced noble, who had redemption by training under Sir Julian as his squire. He was rather fascinating, I often watched him train, how he wielded his blade with skill and power. He would often nap
But one day, I saw Marcus with a girl, a peasant girl named Alice, to be exact. Marcus was clearly enjoying her company and was unusually shy around her. I secretly followed them around to find out that they were inseparable. I saw Marcus confess his feelings for her, which broke my thirteen year old heart.
I did not even wait for an answer, I just ran, back to my quarters, to my father and wept. After that, I couldn't wait to leave. I wasn't running, I was angry, that I couldn't get what I wanted and I was determined to be an admirable noblewoman no matter what.
As soon as I began to grow more mature, my father thought it best to finally educate me in courtly matters. I was taught etiquette, speaking skills, how to manage the servants, how to watch over a household, how to write letters and literature. Archery, cooking, dancing, singing, you name it.
As time passed, I grew my hair out, putting in a large braid that I wrapped with a bonnet. My confidence and social skills grew, and I was no longer the introverted, spoiled brat of before. My beauty had already attracted many suitors, and my father was still looking for good candidates for betrothal. I was finally getting ahead and I finally would have a normal life. Marcus hadn't even crossed my mind once.
However, when I turned sixteen, it was time to confront my past once again.
A siege in Al-Karak had prompted the kingdoms to send in a small army to relieve the forces at Kerak. The aforementioned knight, Sir Julian, was to be sent to the Middle East under the Pope's orders. So before Sir Julian would leave, he would hold a week-long feast for all his friends and families, and my father was invited. I saw this as an opportunity, that place only reminded me of my first heartbreak, so why would I go back?
I needed to prove to myself that my past was finally behind me, that I could finally walk in the streets of Canterbury and not be saddened. I immediately wore my best dress and my finest perfume and accompanied my father to the settlement in Canterbury.
The party was lively, with the bands of music and the tables of delicious food, but in this world of nobles, I didn't feel out of place. Even more noblemen were courting me, but I ignored their advances and stayed by my personal guard for safety. Sir Julian had personally invited me to sit near him as we began talking about many things. But I did notice a rather odd detail, there was a tall, handsome man, very clean and groomed. He was sitting outside the banquet, avoiding any contact with anyone and no one seemed to bother. I didn't mind him and simply enjoyed myself.
That night, I had gone alone outside, to the same spot where I sprained my ankle when I was young. I looked around in nostalgia to see nothing has changed. But that moment was interrupted by someone suddenly grabbing me. It was one of my suitors, who could no longer control himself and attempted to rape me. I was helpless as he ripped open my clothes and nearly succeeded in violating me.
But a savior came, in the form of a tall, handsome man, grabbing my assailant and throwing him off me. The rapist quickly becomes angry and agitated at his failure and attempts to stab the man with a knife. The man simply grabs the knife and kills the nobleman, and throwing his corpse away. The man left without any word, I tried to call out to him, asking his name. The man simply replied.
Marcus.
That's when it all came back to me, hearing that name brought back the memory of the thirteen year old boy I crushed on. But I still couldn't believe it. The Marcus I remembered was caring and warm. The man I saw was cold and brutal. But I had decided to save it for the next day.
I had decided to talk to Sir Julian about Marcus. Sir Julian was surprised that I even could remember. He had told me of what happened when I was gone.
The settlement was raided by a band of brigands who were looking for more loot. While they were successfully repelled, there were casualties. One of them was Alice, the peasant girl that Marcus fell in love with. Alice had died from a stab wound and Marcus cradled her in his arms. Sir Julian had said that something in Marcus had died that day, and from the corpse, a cold-hearted, steely man was born. Marcus had forcefully forgotten about that day, and whenever someone asked him about Alice. He would often respond, "Who's Alice?".
I never wanted to, but I suddenly found myself being interested in Marcus once again. After the week-long feast, I wanted to talk to Marcus, but things don't pan out like they always do. It seemed that Marcus forgot who I was. The moment I approached him, he gave me the cold shoulder and said, "Don't speak to me noble."
For some reason that really seemed to hurt, and I couldn't help but run into the forest in sadness. I ran, I ran, and I ran, until I couldn't run anymore and started crying.
That was when everything else got crazy.
I was set upon by bandits, who heard the sound of my weeping. They attempted to assault me, but I was saved by a red-haired girl, wielding a lightning sword. Seeing such powerful abilities had made me realize that I was no longer in England, or in Canterbury.
So, I'm stuck here. And it's all Marcus' fault.
Mikah sighs as she looks over the horizon.
"Will we ever make it back?"
XXX
XXX
Extra 2: The Sunken Scandinavians
The wind was strong that day for the Viking travellers, who were crossing the sea to land in Scotland. The waves beat against the longboat, which seemed to creak with every slight movement. But the platinum-blond, thick bearded man on the front held no fear, and stood strong. One of his subordinates shouted.
"Chief Hagen! The wind is too strong!" he said while covering his face from the incoming rain. "We will sink if this continues!"
"Do not be afraid, God is merely testing our strength!" the Chieftain shouted.
Their brief conversation is interrupted by another Viking screaming.
"Wave!" he pointed.
They all saw gigantic wave headed their way, threatening to swallow their fleet. The Chieftain walks to the deck, where he shouted.
"Fear not men! Brace yourselves!"
They all held on to either the railing or the masts of their ships. Some men had already fallen off, but the resolve was still strong in Chief Hagen's men.
The towering wave got closer and closer, until everything went dark for the Danish Marauders.
The boats move through the thick icy sea, shining a torch around for any signs of life. One of the sailors shouts.
"See anything?"
"Nothing so far. No Plegian impersonators!" a female voice shouts.
"Good. Those cowards made a mistake trying to attack us.'" the captain comments.
"If I ever get my hands on one of them, there will be blood." another sailor states.
They all laughed, but it's interrupted by another sailor.
"I'm seeing debris!"
They all rushed to where the sailor was pointing, holding out their torches. They look in shock to see two capsized boats, badly broken. They see many pieces of wood litter the water, but to their further horror, there were men hanging on to the debris. Some of the men were visibly breathing while the others were still hanging on to debris
"Get those men out of the water! They might freeze to death!"
The men went out and brought the bodies to the boat. They counted about twelve men, still with a strong pulse.
"Okay everyone! Looks like our patrol has yielded some fruitful results, let's get back to port and report this to the East Khan!"
The sailors pondered on the strange clothing of the men as they sailed back to the port of Ferox.
"Where do you think they come from? They ain't one of ours." one sailor asked.
"They clearly aren't Plegians, just look at that muscle! Damn, I'm honestly wishing that they're one of ours!"
"And they're obviously not Ylissean, no Ylissean soldier wears that type of helmet."
"And the coat of arms is really strange too."
"We'll have to wait and see."
Chief Hagen was extremely groggy, and tried shake himself awake. He looks around to see his fellow Vikings, still unconscious. He looks around to see that he is in a dark cell.
"Where in Valhalla am I?"
"You're in a Regna Ferox clinic, for prisoners." said a mysterious feminine voice.
Hagen looks to see a dark-skinned woman with blond hair, she stood at the other side of the cell, together with a heavily armoured blonde and a tall, shirtless man wearing a full helmet. The chieftain immediately goes berserk.
"Where did you put my other men!? I only see twelve of them, I remember sailing with thirty!"
The heavily-armored woman nearly retaliates, but the dark-skinned woman stops her.
"Calm down. We didn't do anything to your men, we found you off the west coast of Regna Ferox. We only found twelve of your men still hanging on. In fact, you should be thanking us."
The chieftain only sneered.
"I'll thank you when I get rid of this damned headache. Gods above, feels like I've been hit with a thousand damn hammers." the man claimed while clutching his head. "You got any mead I could drink down?"
The dark-skinned woman then laughs.
"I don't know who this guy is, but he's already speaking our language."
Hagen laughs and then rests on the bars again.
"Okay then missy."
"You will refer to her as khan!" Raimi reprimanded.
"Whatever." the chieftain said nonchalantly.
"What are we in for? Why are you still keeping us here?"
"Simple. The sudden appearance of your little ragtag group has raised a lot of questions, such as 'Who are you?', 'Where are you from?', and 'Why are you here?', but I'll just get straight to the point."
The chief raises an eyebrow at this.
"Do you know how to fight?"
Hagen didn't even hesitate to brag.
"You know damn well I can! My men and I have been proud carriers of the Viking way!"
He then takes off his helmet and his tunic, showing many scars throughout his body.
"I've dealt with many warriors, barbarians, knights, swordsmen, footmen, you name it. Each battle has left a scar that I brandish with pride. I was even given the opportunity to join the Varangian Guard. That has already proved my prowess."
Flavia whistles at the looks of Hagen's muscular body, tainted with various scars of various sizes. She then grins as she raises her fist in victory.
"My luck could never have been better." she says.
Hagen gets visibly confused.
"I have a proposition for you and your men."
"What?"
"How would you like to fight for your freedom?"
XXX
XXX
Here's a little treat for you guys, so do enjoy!
Here are the review replies for now:
UnitedOsprey991 - You're close, read the chapter to see the difference.
Sugouxxx - Vikings are completely necessary. And Mikah won't be stealing the spotlight next chapter.
Greyjedi449t - Thanks for the praise. Cordelia and Say'ri are definitely a part of my choices for Marcus.
Rainsfere - Thanks for the positive feedback, I'm sure you'll come to like Mikah soon.
Now I know that some or most of you are dissatisfied with my choice of pairing, so I'll just leave you with a random fact.
Did You Know? - Most childbirths during the Middle Ages would result in the death of the mother.