Ch. 2 The Viking

One frantic thought after another entered my mind. What did the vikings want with us? Why was a Viking posing as one of my mother's guards? Why did he treat my burned hands with care, only to kidnap me now? "Val!" My mother's voice snapped me out of the daze I'd been in, staring up at my captor. I shoved him away, pushing out of his arms and gracefully landing on my feet. His eyes twinkled with excitement and he smiled. I turned my head to the side- just enough to glimpse my mother. She wasn't being held any longer... she was standing beside one of the men. I searched her face for a split second, noticing a strange lack of fear.

"Valkyrie. Calm yourself. We are out of danger now." She moved forward to touch my arm gently. I held onto her sleeve and backed away from the viking in front of me. "What is happening?"I asked, my mind still not grasping what had happened in the last hour. I shook my head in an attempt to clear the confusion. "What do you want from us?" The vikings snickered. The man in front of me took a slow step forward, palms towards me like he was approaching a scared animal. "Stay back! Or I'll...." I looked around for a weapon with which I could protect myself, but came up literally empty handed.

"Or you'll want, Little Red?" He smiled down at me, not in the least bit threatened. My breath caught in my throat. I had no weapon, no escape route, no way to protect myself much less my mother. Yet I was trying to go head-to-head with a viking? My mother stepped between us. She placed one hand on my shoulder and the other holding up her pointer finger, signaling the viking to wait. "She knows nothing. Give me a moment to explain." Her words added to the fog I was fighting to see through. I stared at him and back to my mother. She took a deep breath, I could feel her nervousness. I watched as she swallowed, trying to stall for time. "Val... This is Eirik Ivar. You don't have to be afraid. He came here to help us." I stared at her in disbelief. "He posed as one of your guards, him or his men set our food storage on fire, and they kidnapped us on horseback... how is that helping?" At that, Eirik's eyebrow rose and he cleared his throat. "So she knows absolutely nothing. You've kept it all from her?" He looked truly puzzled as he took a step back. He turned to his men, "Go feed the horses. Check the perimeter, make sure we are secured. We are in for the night. Except for Ivan... send him to check in with our men in the village. He will sleep there tonight and update me in the morning." The men were dismissed, leaving only my mother, myself and the viking Eirik.

"Somebody better fill me in on what's been 'kept' from me. " I glared at the viking and then at my mother. He laughed softly, like I was amusing. "Little Red has a temper! I guess what they say about red heads is true. You better tell her, quick, or we are in for it!" By then my temper was raging, I was scared, confused, and hurt. What had my mother kept from me? Why would she withhold information? After all, I was training to take my mother's place as the village leader. I didn't appreciate Eirik mocking me for anger. I looked him in the eye, taking a step closer and poking him in the chest. "I am completely justified in my anger. Who the hell are you to judge me?" My mother let out a small gasp. She tried to situate herself between us again, but Eirik was too fast. He slid his arm around my waist, pulling me to him. With his right hand, he held me there, despite my struggling. With his left, he tipped my chin upwards. Leaning down to my face (just centimeters from my lips!) he whispered, "You're future husband."