Chapter 14
Meinrad steps out of the mound, blotting the door behind him, and ignores Ishild's cries as best he could. The villagers and their chief would have to go through him first before they take his love away.
The dwarfs were hiding behind their snow-mounds with weapons in their hands. "Do not harm them, unless they pose a threat," Meinrad orders them.
The lights from the torches were edging closer and Meinrad walks a few steps and then, the humans appear and one of them cries, "My God!"
Meinrad growls at the humans, his yellow eyes beaming, and he stomps on the ground. The humans look at the creature, arrows drawn, and the chief shouts, "Where is Ishild?!"
Meinrad refuses to answer and instead, roars at them, causing the horses to rear up. "Chain it!" the chief orders. Ishild hears this and begins to look for a new way out. She then starts to dig through the snow and then, a bow falls on top of her.
It was Meinrad's bow and there was the quiver. Ishild takes them and resumes her digging.
Outside, Meinrad fights to get the chains off of him, but the humans had lassoed his arms and his neck. He snarls, but then, the humans pull tight on the chains, forcing him to the ground.
The dwarfs were ready to fight, but Meinrad shouts at them, "Don't!"
Chief Randulf gets off his horse and takes his sword out. He raises it over Meinrad and shouts, "This is for-" Suddenly, an arrow hits his sword and it falls out of his hands.
"Get back!" Ishild demands, showing herself and draws another arrow. "Don't you dare kill him!" she shouts at the chief.
"Ishild! You're alive?!" Adalhard exclaims. Ishild does not answer and looks at Meinrad. He looked surprised and stares into Ishild's eyes.
Just then, Gerhard pushes his way through, having gotten out of his bonds, and takes the chief's sword. He pushes his daughter out of the way and raises the sword over Meinrad. "NO!" Ishild screams and takes a sword from a guard.
She blocks her father's blow. "Ishild, are you out of your mind?!" Gerhard shouts at his daughter, but Ishild kicks him to the ground.
"I will not let you kill Meinrad," Ishild said and everyone stares at her. "Listen to me, the stories Oda told us are true, but Meinrad is not the creature you should be hunting for," Ishild explains to them.
Just then, the dwarfs emerge from their hiding places, some jump on Gerhard, and held up their weapons. "All of you! Calm down!" Ishild orders and they stand down.
Gerlach steps forward and shouts, "You are with this monster?! And its minions?!"
"Meinrad is not a monster!" Ishild shouts back at her brother, "You're the monster!" she adds and that made Gerlach angry.
Just then, a noise was heard and everyone looks to see a big brown bear, the mother bear! "Big mama bear!" a dwarf cries out. The bear looks at the humans and sniffs the air.
"She's looking for her cub!" Ishild said to everyone and that's when the bear charges at them. The humans and the dwarfs fight back, but the bear prove to be very powerful and strong.
Ishild looks for her brother as the bear scatters the humans and the dwarfs. She finds him scurrying away from the fight and grabs him. "Where is her cub?!" she demands.
"I have no idea what you're-" Ishild slaps him and tightens her grip on him.
"Tell me or I will feed you to the mother bear! You are behind everything! The cruel pranks! And father let's you do whatever you want!" Ishild shouts in his face and reveals the burn marks on his hand. "Now tell me!" she angrily shouts.
There was fire in the boy's eyes and they were flames of hate. Ishild stares hard into his eyes and refuses to loosen her grip. "In my room, he's under a blanket," Gerlach finally speaks.
"Helmold! Hartwig! I need you! NOW!" Ishild calls out for the dwarfs and they appear. "Go to my hut in my village, go to my brother's room and you'll find the cub. Bring him back here and hurry," Ishild explains to them.
In a flash, Helmold and Hartwig started to dig through the snow and were gone.
The bear continues to fight with the humans and the dwarfs, but then sets her sights on the chief. "Come on you! I'll take you with my bare hands!" Chief Randulf shouts at her.
Just before he could throw a punch, the mother bear slaps him, sending him to the ground. Ishild shoots arrows at the mother bear, but she does not die, and charges at Ishild.
The mother bear roars at Ishild and she lets out a scream. Meinrad, with all of his strength, lifts himself off the ground, and breaks loose of his captors, but the chains were still bound to him.
Meinrad charges at the mother bear and roars at her. The bear roars back and the two creatures began to fight. Meinrad pushes the bear away, but the bear claws at his coat, and scratches his face.
"Meinrad!" Ishild cries out, but the two continue to fight. The mother bear tries to break through and get to Ishild, but Meinrad prevents her from doing so.
Suddenly, the bear slaps Meinrad to the ground, close to Ishild, and Ishild draws an arrow. "Mama bear!" a voice calls out. Everyone turns to see Helmold and Hartwig riding on Willahelm, with the cub.
The cub cries out for his mother and she turns to see him. Forgetting about the fight with Meinrad, the mother bear walks up to Hartwig, who carried the three-legged cub to her. He lets the cub go and the poor baby limps over to his mother.
The mother bear takes her cub by the scruff of his neck and calmly walks away and disappears into the early morning light. Ishild and Meinrad look at each other and everything was quiet, until Runa shouts, "Look out!"
Ishild and Meinrad turn to see Gerlach, a sword in his hands, and he prepares to strike at Meinrad. "NO!" a cry was heard and Ishild steps in front of her brother. Gerlach strikes, the blade plunges into Ishild's side, but she refuses to stand down.
"ISHILD!" Meinrad cries out and he strikes at Gerlach, sending him flying through the air, and he hits the ground.
"Bind him!" the chief shouts, pointing to Gerlach, and the guards tie his hands.
"Let me go! It was not my fault! She stepped in front of that beast!" Gerlach shouts, but then, a guard gags him. Gerhard, having witnessed what his son did, falls to his knees, and begins to laugh.
"He's lost his mind," Adalhard said and the guards bind Gerhard, too.
Meinrad holds Ishild in his arms, she was bleeding heavily from the wound, and blood streams out of her mouth. The blood began to stain Meinrad's coat, but he didn't care; the love of his life was dying in front of him.
The chief looks at Ishild and at Meinrad. "Get out!" the creature orders, "GET OUT!" he shouts, again at the guards and the chief. They begin to leave, taking Gerlach and Gerhard by force, and Meinrad looks at the boy who harmed Ishild.
Gerlach had a face full of hate and Meinrad growls at him before they disappear into the forest. The first rays of dawn touch the sky and the snowy ground, Meinrad looks at Ishild, her eyes glued to his. She was still alive, but she will not be for long.
"Why Ishild? Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?" Meinrad asks and the dwarfs began to circle around them.
"I believe... you know why," she replies and Meinrad's heart skips a beat. Everything he had done to protect Ishild had failed and she had paid for his mistakes.
"I don't want you to die," Meinrad said, tears flowing down his face.
"As I said... all things...die...eventually..." Ishild coughs, spraying blood all over Meinrad's coat. He places a claw on her cheek and watches the light fade from her eyes. Meinrad gently closes her eye lids and kisses her dead lips.
He gently lays Ishild's body down and sees the bow she had given him. His heartbreak turned to fury and he takes the bow and hits it against a tree until it breaks into pieces.
Meinrad claws at the bark of some trees and attacks the ground, sending snow and dirt into the air. The chains rattle with his every move.
Runa, Hartwig, Helmold, and the other dwarfs watch as Meinrad lets out all of his rage until he collapses to the ground. He then lets out a bloodcurdling cry that could be heard for many miles.
Meinrad lets out his breath in labored snorts and the cold air freezes it. His mind flashes with images of the one person who killed Ishild, his love. "Gerlach," he whispers and he growls in a rage.
From the author: Please, don't hate me! There is a reason for Ishild's death and I hope everyone understands why. There's plenty more on the way! Please leave reviews.