Hello, here is the second of two chapters that I promised. My ideal planning is to give you two chapters at once. One from Astrid's position and one from Keera's position. Let's see how long this pattern will last. Again, I apologize for the lateness of these next two chapters and thank you for being patient. College will be over soon and I will be able to return to free-writing very willingly as it is much more entertaining than writing a four page paper on a Chinese dynasty.
Thanks and please provide some feedback,
Disclaimer, I own nothing.
~Soldier78~
The Viking and the Slave
Chapter 4
"We're under attack!"
Aed and Keera separated but were still in each other's arms once they heard the cry. Suddenly, there was fire outside of Keera's window and the two made a break for the opening, processing the situation.
"The Vikings." Aed breathed.
"Where're me father's men?" Keera asked frantically. Aed looked out again.
"I see a few out there." Aed pointed out with his dirty finger. "Shit, they're outnumbered."
Keera huffed and headed towards her night table. She opened up her closet.
"Keera, there's no time fer gettin' dress!" Aed shouted.
"Yeh want me to fight wit' only a sheet on?" Keera scoffed as she pulled on a pair of trousers and messed with a tunic.
"Where the 'ell did yeh get those?" Aed questioned, stunned that his master's daughter turned into a peasant, until he recognized the rip on the side. "Did yeh take those from me?!"
"Yeah, gotta a problem wit' it?" Keera said as she sheathed her dagger into her belt and searched under her bed, pulling out a quiver of arrows and her yew bow.
"Nil, I must say yer pretty in me garmen'." Aed said as he opened the door.
"Yeh can kiss me la'er, Serf." The girl retorted as she rushed out the door. She notched a bow and Aed quickly snuck up behind her and stole the dagger from her hip.
"I should be armed as well!" Aed argued when the noblewoman stared, surprised at his closeness. She headed towards the door leading to the stairs when she saw some fire from the stainglass window.
"Shit," Aed cursed as he hid behind Keera. Keera pulled on his hand.
"This way." She gestured. They slipped into another corridor and hurried down the hall. Aed got in front of her this time and held up his dagger as they searched the hall for any of the invaders. It wasn't until a door swung so abruptly and knocked Aed right in the nose that Keera was ready to fire.
"Don' shoot! Don' shoot!"
Keera lowered her bow at the voice of Mona who entered the corridor. She shut the door and looked at the damage down to Aed's bleeding nose.
"Oh dear." She gasped.
"Look, we gotta git outta 'ere Mona. Is there a way out?"
"Don' worry, Ma'am. Needn't to fret about getting' out. There is a nice cellar downstairs." She started to hurry her charge down the steps, leaving Aed behind.
"Wait, wha' 'bout 'im?" Keera asked, pointing to her best friend.
"Oh, don' worry 'bout 'im, 'e'll be alright. Won' yeh lad?"
"Go on, 'Ra." Aed prompted. Keera took a few steps towards Mona's location but as she slipped through the door. However, she stopped suddenly and ripped her hand out of Mona's grasp.
"Lady Keer-"
"Look, yeh can do down there yerself. I need t'stay behind-"
"Surely yeh are not goin' back fer tha' Serf are yeh?"
"Need I remind yeh tha' yeh are also a servant?" Keera inquired, brazenly.
"Lady Keera, why-"
"I love Aed." Keera confessed, defiantly. "If 'e dies, I die wit' 'im."
Mona shook her head and reached out to grab Keera's wrist again which Keera pulled away to refuse the contact.
"Lady Keera, please, stop actin' like a child an' come wit'-"
"Yer not me mother, Mona. Stop actin' like yeh are an' leave me be!" She had demanded. Mona furrowed her brow and snatched her wrist. Keera, fueled by frustration, swung her hand around.
Slap!
Keera seethed as Mona touched her raw cheek. The girl pointed a finger at her.
"Know yer place, Serf." She reprimanded coldly before taking off, leaving the older woman there, stunned and on the verge of tears. Needless to say, it was the last time that Mona would ever see that girl again.
Aed dashed down the hall. At random times, he skidded past an opening and would peer out the window, only to see those pillagers piling into the village, slaughtering families by the handful.
He ran to the furthest end of the all and skidded to a stop. He could see a light getting closer and closer. He breathed heavily. The light split into several and he gasped. He looked around desperately for a place to hide. He took off for the other end, finding a door to hide himself in. He jiggled the handle.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." He grunted. He heard the click and quickly threw it open just as he heard the door down the hall swing open. He slid inside and shut the door, hoping it didn't draw any attention. Aed held his breath when he could see the flame drawing closer through the crack. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of the dagger he stole from Keera. He heard voices just outside of the door. The flames had just stopped moving, at a standstill flickering dangerously. Aed backed up as far as he could as he heard the biting tongue of the foreigners.
Their language was callus. He couldn't tell what exactly they were saying but the tone was rough.
Suddenly, there was the handle to his hideaway jiggling and he sucked in a breath. He wrapped all five fingers around his weapon and licked his lips in anticipation. The door creaked open and he withdrew his dagger. The torch lit the entire closet, revealing the Serf. Before long, Aed shot forward and stabbed the first Viking he saw. The man fell to the ground, dead in an instant as Aed stole the sword from his hand. He swung his arm around, the Viking sword digging into the shoulder of another Viking and then he stabbed the man right in the gut.
Just as he was thrown roughly onto the ground, taking a bloody nose and almost a blow to the neck from an axe, the Viking above him slumped forward with an arrow right in his heart. The sudden projectile stunned the marauding crowd temporarily enough for him to roll out of the way, retrieve a weapon and get to his feet. He saw another arrow and another hit two men, leaving there only one left.
Aed decided to take care of the last one, he slammed his sword against the sword of the other and the man tried to force his blade off, only the Irish kicked with much vigor and quickly aimed the blade for his neck, sliding it in mercilessly and pulling it out just as quickly. The man fell dead and Aed stared at the lifeless body.
"Aed!"
He turned around, blood trickling down his face as he saw the appearance of his beloved Keera running towards him. In shock, he dropped his sword.
"Keera?" He croaked. The light weight of her body jumped onto him. Aed embraced her back but was pleasantly surprised when she sprung a passionate kiss onto his lips. However, the ominous noise coming from the outside broke the kiss. Aed, panting, looked at her and brushed her bangs to the side.
"Wha' are yeh doin' here?" He asked. "I thought Mona-"
"I'm goin' to fight, I can' hide an' do nothin'. I want to fight wit' yeh or die wit' yeh, Aed." She vowed, solemnly. Aed chuckled.
"Yeh're an idiot sometimes, yeh know tha' right?" He said, pressing his forehead to hers. Keera released a short chuckle.
"Aye, yeh 'ave tha' effect on me." She told him, placing a hand right on his cheek. Her thumb caught some of his blood and she smiled, sadly and removed it. "We 'ave t'git movin' though."
"Aye." Aed agreed. "Not much 'ere but a closet an' those Northmen are jus' at tha' end o'er there."
Keera looked over his shoulder and then glanced at him. She bent down and picked up two weapons. Aed looked at her as she handed him the sword.
"Right then, we'll go the o'er way."
Aed looked at her with some sort of look of admiration, taking the sword by the hilt as she hoisted the axe on her back.
Carefully, Aed led the way out of the hall. They raced down the winding steps in a flurry but they stopped quickly at the horde of torches headed in that direction.
"Ach, c'mon." Keera muttered, agitatedly. Aed craned his neck around to look for some sort escape.
"We're gonna have to barrel through." Aed said. "'Ra, 'ow many arrows yeh got left?"
"Only one, Aed." Keera answered him. Aed gave a small nod and looked at the Viking horde heading towards them.
"'right, I count three." He observed from numbering the shadows. He nodded again and looked at Keera. "When I tell yeh, fire yer arrow at the center."
Keera nodded and notched the arrow in preparation. Aed took his position just slightly behind his companion. Keera faintly shuddered at the closeness of his breath that tickled her ear. She set the axe to rest against her leg as she adjusted her final arrow. She steeled her eyes however, comforted by his close presence and tightened her hand on the wood. She patiently waited.
Aed's estimation was only short by one but he gave his nod to Keera. She raised her arm fully and aimed at the center man. The four Northmen were just at the archway of the corridor when Aed whispered the command in Keera's ear.
"Fire."
In just a split second, she released the arrow and the projectile slammed into the face of the middle man. He fell dead within seconds and Aed burst forth in speed, swinging his sword. Keera chucked her bow and picked up the axe. It was heavier than she anticipated when she swung it. It was so heavy that she missed her mark and suffered a gruesome slash from the Viking sword right across her eye. It would've been worse if her reflexes weren't quick in motion. She narrowly missed decapitation from a quick duck. Yet, the tip of the blade skimmed her eye and she cried out in agonizing pain. Aed saw this right as he managed to sink his blade into the stomach of the Viking in front of him.
He pulled it out, laborious from the weight of the weapon and he turned to his next target. Keera had no strength nor vision to properly swing the axe so he came forward and fought the Viking straight on. He gently pushed Keera aside and swung the sword against the Viking's with both hands on the hilt.
Keera removed the hand that covered her eye and looked at the scarlet liquid. She cursed under her breath and noticed Aed taking on the Viking who was certainly overpowering him. Her heart fluttered for just a second before she regained composure and looked around for a different option since she had no strength nor aim to swing an axe.
She saw the torch which had fallen while they engaged these blood-thirsty marauders. It was still burning next to one of the bodies. With a steel jaw, she picked it up during the chaos between Aed and the warrior. Without a single shout to Aed, she charged forward and pushed the man to the ground in a surprise attack. She used speed over brute strength to shove the fire into his face. The fire burned and he screamed in agonizing pain.
"Mark me an' I mark yeh!" She shouted at him. The fire ate away at his face which gave Keera the time to put it to the end with her sword in his chest. As he drew his final breath, an out-of-breath Keera rose to her feet and felt her knees wobble from the adrenaline of the fight.
When she turned to Aed, all she saw was shock on his grimy face. The light from the other torch ignored, illuminated his expression. She couldn't exactly tell if his emotions were positive or negative until he dropped his sword and embraced her once again.
"Good God, 'Ra." He whispered into her neck. Keera felt tears come to her eyes as she pressed her face into his tunic.
"He almost killed yeh, Aed." She muttered into his chest. "I'm sorry."
The sounds of fighting outside tore him from his next words which were in praise of Keera's warlike mentality.
"Look, we need t'get outta 'ere." He said to Keera as he gently pushed her off his chest but still held onto her forearms. He lifted one hand and gently brushed her bangs aside to get a good look at the gash across her eyes. He could barely see that blue iris because of all the blood that kept her eyelids shut. Yet, relief that it was this instead of a headless body radiated from him. "Stay by me."
She nodded at his request and he took her by the hand. He picked up the sword and pushed it into Keera's other hand. He soon took the axe and they raced to outside of the manor.
It was carnage outside. In disbelief, they saw the bodies of serfs and freemen strewn across the pastures. Animals joined the carcass count as well. Keera's eyes searched for one particular person.
"Aed…" she said, shaking his hand to get his attention. He looked down at her. "I don' see me Da."
Aed carefully scanned the terrain.
"'E might be inside, 'Ra….we should go tha' way an'…" he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed an afflicted look on his beloved's face. He looked in the same direction and gasped, those pillagers had her father cornered but he was putting up one hell of a fight. He could tell that Keera was going to charge forward and risk her life to try and save him.
"Da!" she shouted mightily. She jerked forward in attempt to go but Aed threw down his axe and caught her by the waist.
"No, Keera!" he blurted. He held onto her with a vice grip.
"Lemme go, Aed." She squirmed. "They got me Da."
"An' they'll 'ave yeh, too." He warned against. He still felt the opposition but he quickly calmed her down by turning her around. He gave her a firm shake to break her from her tormented high. "Listen, don' go in there."
"But me Da-"
"'e's not alone out there, Keera." He soothed her. He glanced up. "I see sev'ral other soldiers o'er there, ready t'help 'im."
Keera was about to look over her shoulder but Aed kept her face from turning by pulling him very close to him.
"We've gotta git outta 'ere, 'Ra." He suggested urgently.
"But me Da-"
"Will be okay." He promised. "Please, jus' stay by me."
"Yeh've said tha' twice now-"
"Aye, where yeh gonna do it the first time I asked?" He tried to be comical and his remark earned a brief grin and giggle from his master's daughter. He gently pushed her off of him again. "C'mon, I see a-"
And once they turned around, they were cornered, too. Aed kept a firmer grip on Keera's body, holding her close to him as they advanced.
They spoke in their biting tongue. Within seconds, Aed lifted the axe and swung dangerously at one of them. He was apprehended within seconds and the axe fell to the ground. Keera shouted his name and went for the fallen weapon. She tried to pick it up and swing it but it fell short. The Viking had the axe by the handle and ripped it out of her grasp. He flung it away and the three other men pressed forward. One of them spoke, it sounded like an order and she was suddenly handled by the lot of them. She was separated from Aed. She kicked and squirmed.
"Nil! Nil!"
It took very little time for Keera to be torn from her home and away from Aed. In little time, she was tossed onto their boat with rope tied around her wrists. She was on her knees, blood still trickling down her cheeks. Along the way, Keera had saw the fate of her father while she was hauled away. He had fallen to the feet of the Vikings, most likely dead.
On the boat, she looked for any signs of Aed but when no miracle appeared, she accepted the grim fact that she was truly alone.
To be continued.
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