Chapter 11 - Lost in the Dark

Chapter 11

He had fallen asleep completely dressed on a blanket by the fire in the early afternoon. Stirring my stew I watched the light of the flames dancing on his relaxed face.

It had been a hard and exhausting lesson and I spotted countless red bruises on his forearms and hands. But he had done well. Smiling I ran my fingers through his hair, wondering again how weirdly normal it felt to be so close to him. Samu Haber. I would have never imagined ending up with him. God, he looked gorgeous, even better now with the breastplate and the small axe on his baldric.

Completely worn out myself, I leaned back against the wooden bench behind me and closed my eyes. Today had been a turning point for both of us. There had been a trial and an execution on our behalf. And all of a sudden we were accepted. We were no longer captives and the change in all of their behaviour felt like a change of room temperature. Suddenly we were welcome. Idun had given a small dagger to me for my own protection. Even though she remained grumpy and loud most of the time, she also seemed relaxed in our presence. And she had allowed Samu to carry weapons for his own safety as well as mine.

Suddenly Samu moved beside me and opened his eyes with an astounded sound. Rubbing his face, he sat up, trying to rearrange his inflexible brown breastplate. Then he yawned deeply, nodding at the large bowl in my hands. “Would you mind sharing?” he asked, moving closer to me on the warm floor in front of the fireplace.

I nodded immediately, handing the bowl and my spoon over to him. Hungrily he scoffed half of my stew, smiling apologetically. “Sorry.” He mumbled, offering the bowl to me again but I shook my head and patted his leg. “Eat up, I’ve had enough.”

With a sigh he leaned back again, gobbling down the rest of my lunch extremely fast. Accepting a drinking horn with a nod and a smile, he sat up straight again. “I wanna shower.” He simply stated, grinning wearily. “At my place I got one on those big rain-showerheads. I could stand or even sit there for hours and simply enjoy the hot water on my skin.” His sigh came straight from his heart when he took my hand. “You should have seen it.” He gave me a faint smile. “God, I will dream about this for the rest of my life. Having you in this shower, in my apartment, in my life.”

Moving closer I rested my head to his shoulder. “I am in your life.” I said with a very low voice, feeling his arm around my shoulders and his lips on my forehead.

“At least that.” He whispered back and lifted my face to meet my lips in a gentle kiss. Then he suddenly broke away, lowering his arm. “I’m sorry, I… I got carried away, I really wish that I could take a shower right now.” Carefully lifting his arm, he sniffed around his armpit, frowning in disgust. “God, I smell like a well fucked boar that has been dragged through shit for a few days!”

Giggling I cuddled closer to him again, ignoring his comments. “You smell fine.” I objected. “But if you insist, you could ask Idun if we are allowed to take a walk down to the river and wash.” Slowly I ran my hand over the leather of his breastplate. “There are a few things I need to talk to you about anyway.”

He nodded immediately, cautiously getting back on his feet. Giving a short whimper of pain, he grimaced and moved his head slowly from side to side. Thorbjorn was sitting on a chair right next to us and started to laugh. Raising his horn in Samu’s direction he yelled: “Hail Thor!”

Grimacing again, Samu did the same. “Hail Thor.” He repeated and emptied his drink. “You killed me!” he pointed at his new friend, making the huge warrior break into laughter and playfully pat Samu’s back at his attempt of speaking Norwegian.

We found Idun in deep conversation with two men of the Jarls household guard. She gave us a quick gesture with her hand, ordering us to stand aside and wait.

It was fascinating for me as an ethnologist to observe the way she took matters in her hands. For the last days I had almost kept her under review, sometimes wishing for a pen and some paper to make notes at least. The thought of asking her about it crossed my mind, but I scrapped it right away. As far as I knew, paper was a more than limited good. Maybe I could ask her when we moved to the Black Castle in Wicklow. There was a monastery and the church had always been well supplied with writing materials.

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt and I had to force myself to remember that I didn’t intend to stay here. This wasn’t my place. Neither my place, nor my time. And in no more than a week they would all gather and most probably kill me by trying to get my intrauterine device removed.

Rubbing my upper arms from the sudden chill, I threw a look around. As much as this whole place fascinated me, I couldn’t stay.

Idun waved us closer and nodded at Samu. “Alive?” she joked and I chuckled.

“He is.” I answered in his stead. “Are we allowed to go down to the river before nightfall and wash?”

“Of course.” She nodded at the door. “Feel free to take a walk, but return before the sun sets.”

I nodded thankfully, bowing my head in her direction. “We won’t be long.”

Samu’s steps were still a little stiff when he followed me. “Aren’t we gonna take some fresh clothes or towels or soap with us?” he asked a little puzzled and I couldn’t help chuckling.

“You brought your sponge bag with you then?” I teased, breaking into laughter when he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“They are on a foray in a distant country. D’you think that their most important task is soap boiling right now?”

“But they…” Samu fell silent, looking around the hall. “They are not as dirty as I expected. They change their clothes regularly and they also clean their teeth. I expected some kind of curd soap at least.”

In the end he had been right after all and to my surprise I was actually carrying a piece of brown soap to the river. We had decided not to bring fresh clothing because we didn’t want anyone to allege an attempted escape. There was still warm sunlight around us and from what I calculated it was May already. Taking a deep breath from the fresh air, I took Samu’s hand in mine.

He smiled down at me and bent forward to kiss me. “Don’t look right away, but I think we are being followed.”

I nodded and kissed him back. “Of course we are.” I whispered in response, slowly swaying our hands. “Idun needs to make sure that we are safe and also that we are returning to the village. I think she still expects us to run.”

“She should.” Smiling he closed his eyes, taking a long breath himself. “The question is only when.”

“Soon.” Lifting my dress a little, I walked around a large puddle of mud. “Oddgeir talked to me this morning and he has plans for me that make it impossible to stay any longer.”

Samu lifted his eyebrows. “Continue?”

“He … this man somehow knows that I have an intrauterine device and he wants to remove it so that the two of us can start a new dynasty with a symbolic child.”

The man by my side stopped short, looking at me completely perplexed. “Come again?”

“They want us to…”

“I understood what you said!” he interrupted in agitation. “But how does he plan on removing it? I mean, it… it is in your uterus!”

“That is the point.” Shivering slightly, I interlaced our fingers. “There is a … well some kind of a return string. It is palpable and can be taken hold of with pliers I guess. But the T-like shape it the real point of fear for me. I have no idea if it can actually be removed that simply. My cervix is not wide enough, it needs… well, … a lot of things they don’t have around here. Point is: I might lose my reproductive organs and most probably my life if we wait for them to carry out this procedure. So this means for me that I have to leg it within the next days.”

Samu nodded slowly, absorbing the news. Then he looked at me again. “Wherever you go, I will be with you.” He said hoarsely and gave me a tight hug. “God, with all the fun and the fighting today I almost forgot that we have to find a way out of here!”

Letting out a shaky laughter, I stared walking again. “Well, we should.” I took another deep breath, making my way over the small wooden landing stake.

It was still pretty cold, not more than 18 degrees Celsius, and the wind was chilly, but I needed to wash so baldy, that I simply pulled my dress over my head. Samu was quick to do the same, but he remained standing on the stake naked and with his dagger in his hand. Thoughtfully weighing it a little, he threw a look around. Then he grabbed his baldric and attached the blade to it, before wrapping it around his upper thigh. “Better safe than sorry.” He simply stated, putting his hand on the back of my neck before throwing another gaze around. “Come on, let’s wash.”

My teeth were chattering when I climbed out of the icy water with Samu’s help. Quickly I slipped into my clothes again, wrapping my underskirt around my wet hair.

“A fire, a fire, my kingdom for a fire.” Samu gave a citation of Shakespeare and I giggled.

“Are you aware that William Shakespeare won’t be born for another… well, 800 years?”

Samu looked at me confused, then realization flashed over his face visibly and he shook his head. “I tend to forget that we are stranded in the ninth century.” Pulling up his pants, he took his baldric between his teeth. “So what are we gonna do next?” he mumbled.

“We’re going back, we play nice and one night we run. Through the window and into the forest.”

He gave me a long look, slowly shaking his head. “Think it through.” He said and wrapped his waistcoat around his upper body. “We run away but we don’t find our way back. Maybe we are stranded here for good. And as soon as they realize that we have escaped they will hunt us down and we will no longer be their sacred guests.”

I hadn’t even given this possibility a thought and started playing with my lower lip. “What d’you suggest instead? We can’t stay and we can’t run. So one way or the other, I die?”

“Would you please let me think about this, woman?” he hissed at me, grabbing my arm to pull me along. “We will figure something out and no one has to die, alright?”

For the rest of the evening Samu remained close mouthed. With a mug of Ale he walked around the room, leaving me pondering over our situation alone by one of the smaller fireplaces.

I was almost ready to go to bed on my own, when he suddenly sat down next to me with a fresh mug. Mutely he offered it to me and starred into the flames.

“Maybe I got an idea.”

Looking up astounded, I sipped his drink. “What did you come up with?”

“We can’t leave this place in a hush-hush operation. But we are still sacred, aren’t we?”

I nodded confirmatively, moving a little closer to him.

“So we might need a place to pray or exchange some words with the Gods that created us, right?”

Looking at him again, I suddenly saw his idea and nodded eagerly. “Indeed. We need a place to meditate, we need to speak with our creators and offer up a sacrifice.” Thoughtfully I sipped his Ale again. “But they won’t let us go alone.”

“They won’t have to.” Samu grinned. “Do you remember the fog? It was so thick I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. If we managed to reach this bewitched forest and the fog, we might have a chance to run and hide. If we actually find our way back, we will be gone and on our way home. If we don’t we can still simply tell them that we got lost.”

Slowly I nodded again, thinking about the idea. It sounded simple, but there was one variable he had not taken into account. “What about the shaman?” My eyes were scanning the room, finding the old man by the biggest fire with a blanket on his frail legs. “He will know.”

“Don’t let him see it.” Samu squeezed my fingers. “The only thing on our minds should be their weird Gods right now. Tell him that you want to offer them a sacrifice and he will be pleased and allow us to leave. We won’t raise suspicion if we don’t take anything with us but the sacrifice and a blanket, don’t you think?” He got up and winked at me. “And now come along, lass.” He reached out his hands towards me. “The bath has cleared my head given me some strength that I would love to spend on top of you.”

“Always in for a little plunder and a hump, hum, Northman?” giggling I put a strand of his hair out of his forehead and he bent down to meet my lips in a passionate kiss.

“I could put on my cuirass again, if it turns you on, Mylady!” he offered teasingly and I grabbed his shirt to pull him down again.

“I’d love that!” grinning I took his hand and guided him through the rest of the Vikings. “Maybe your axe could come to use in some way as well.”

Chapter 10 - Lost in the Dark

Chapter 10

The next morning started far too early for us. Completely her old self again, Idun stood by our bed only a few hours after we had finally closed our eyes. She repeatedly kicked the bed with the heavy wooden sole of her leather shoe. “Up, up, lovebirds. Ask, outside with me, Embla, downstairs, Oddgeir wants to talk to you.” She threw an armful of clothes down on us and stormed off again.

I was almost too tired to open my eyes. When would somebody finally invent coffee?

Samu grunted something vulgar and turned around to wrap his arm around my waist. “It’s not even dawn yet!” he mumbled and yawned deeply. “What did she say?”

“I have to go talk to Oddgeir and she wants to meet you outside.”

“What on earth am I to do outside right now?” again he yawned, but from the tone of his voice I could tell that he was alarmed.

With a lot of effort I sat up. “Let’s go and find out, shall we?”

“We shall not.” He pulled me back into the bed and simply rolled over to lie on top of me.

“Get off her!” Idun sounded angry but also a little amused. Throwing a leather breastplate down next to the open fireplace, she gestured between Samu and the cuirass. “Get dressed, for the love of all Gods! You’ll be back on your woman when the sun sets!”

Impatiently she remained standing in the doorway. With a shirt and a pair of pants in his hands, Samu got up. He threw a look at her and back at me, pointing at the clothes. “I might sound stupid, but can you tell me what they are wearing under this?”

Sitting up as well I rummaged around the pile of clothes, finally bringing a linen under-short to light. “That one might fit you.”

Grumbling he took the piece of cloth and slipped it over his legs. “What next?”

I couldn’t help chuckling. He looked ridiculous and he knew it as well as I did. Grinning he grabbed my hair and pulled me in for a kiss.

“So?”

“This.” I handed some vest-like garment over to him and helped him pulling it over his head. “Now the pants and the shirt and you’ll be fine.” Carefully I picked up the leather breastplate from the wooden floor, turning back at Idun. “I might need your help with that.”

She nodded with a smirk on her lips. “Let’s get the sacred man dressed like a proper Northman.” She joked and winked at me.

With her help I managed to close all the small leather straps around Samu’s waist and shoulders. I had to admit, he looked terrific in almost full Viking armour.

“Put your hand on my shoulder.” Idun pointed at his arm. “Your hand, man!” impatiently she grabbed his wrist, lacing a leather arm protector around his lower arm. “You have to learn how to speak our tongue, Ask!” she stated insistently before patting his cheek. “Now come with me.” Turning on her heels, she waved at him, stopping halfway as usual.

“Does he have any skills?” she asked, giving Samu an appraising look.

Astounded I broke into laughter, pulling my underskirt over my head. “You might by now be a reliable witness of his skills.” I answered, making her snort with laughter as well.

“Beside those. They are not too helpful in combat or battle, trust me!” she gave Samu another long look from head to toe. “Axe, speer, maybe horse riding?”

“Martial arts?” I stepped into some woollen pants. “Samu? Do you have any fighting skills?”

“You are gonna laugh your asses off when I now tell you that I once attended Capoeira-classes.” Slowly he shook his head and put some strands of hair behind his ears. “The usual, I guess. Fighting with wooden swords. I am pretty good with bow and arrow though. Darts and air gun at the fun fair if that counts.”

“I’m afraid, it doesn’t.” Pinning my hair back, I shook my head in Idun’s direction. “Give him a short axe and a shield that is not too heavy.” I told her. “He needs the basic techniques. Our weapons are different from yours. He is by all means good with swords, but you don’t use them, do you?”

The other woman slowly shook her head. “A short one maybe, more of a long dagger. He seems fit and strong, I think we should start with an axe and see about the rest.”

“Would you mind returning him in one piece?”

“Of course not, Oddgeir will have me skinned if I lay a finger on him!” grinning she winked at me again before she gestured towards Samu. “Come, come.” She said. “Time for a little fighting lesson.”

I held him back when he started walking after her.

“Listen to me. She will get an axe for you to practice with it. The shields in the movies often appear very small, trust me, they’re not. And they are heavy as fuck. An axe is also not the lightest of arms and it is an impact weapon. Try not to get hit too hard, draw back if you can and lower your shield arm whenever you get the chance to relax it, alright? The fight with axes differs from sword fights. Blades are not as heavy, you have a guard for your hand and you are quicker. Fighting with an axe is like fighting with a sledgehammer, so don’t take this too easy, alright?” Quickly I pecked his lips. “Look after yourself, promise?”

He stared at me with a puzzled expression. “I will.” He then said, kissing me back. “They won’t kill me, you know it is forbidden.” Jokingly he cocked his eyebrow.

“Maybe they won’t kill you but the will sure as hell test you and it will be their greatest pleasure to bruise you as good as they can.” I kissed him again and nodded at Idun. “Don’t be too hard on him.”

“Go talk to Oddgeir, I’ll do my best.” She grabbed Samu’s arm and pulled him along.

Only a few minutes later I made my way downstairs. Oddgeir and a handful of others sat around the big fireplace in the middle of the room. I was beckoned over and someone handed me the usual mug of warm Ale. Sipping it, I wondered whether I would ever get used to drinking it without shivering in disgust.

“Embla.” The old shaman bowed his head in my direction. “Idun tells me that you and Ask are quite fond of each other.”

Someone chuckled before I could say something and I felt my cheeks blushing. Oddgeir threw a deprecating stare around the fire.

“I have meditated over you and your connection last night. It seems deep and strong. But there is also a deep connection between you and Tyr.” With his walking stick he pointed at me. “He is strong inside of you, I can almost feel him. He makes his influence felt and I am by now pretty sure that you are unable to conceive.”

Completely taken off guard, I stared at the old man. What the hell was he talking about?

“What d’you mean?” I asked carefully, trying my best to hide behind the mug in my hands.

Again the seer pointed at me. “Tyr is blocking you. I can feel him, almost see him inside of you. He blocks your womb from conceiving.”

Still out of words I tried to make up my mind. This man saw Tyr in me. Tyr, the God of war. Tyr or ᛏ.

Was there a possibility that this man could actually see something inside of me? Something no one in this time could have ever seen or heard of, because it had not been invented until the 21^st century? I was unable to conceive, but it wasn’t because of Tyr or any other God. The simple reason was my intrauterine device. It was indeed shaped like the rune for Tyr but it had as sure as hell nothing to do with him. But how was I supposed to explain this to him?

“His … the ᛏ was placed inside of me.” I tried carefully.

“Did he do it himself?” Oddgeir bent forward in my direction. “Who did it?”

“Healers?” I answered evasively and he nodded as if he had known it all along.

“It needs to get out. If the God has not placed it inside of you himself, we have to remove it.”

“Excuse me, I don’t think it would…”

“You may keep the rune itself, make a necklace with it.” He nodded encouragingly and gave me a smile. “We just have to remove it because you are meant to conceive the first child of the new era. Our era in this country. And you, Embla, are gonna be the mother of our first and symbolic child.” Ceremoniously he smiled at me again and I was about to get sick.

Remove it? They seriously had no idea! The whole equipment, surgical tools and left alone cleanliness! No one in this fucking time would remove my loop as long as I had air in my lounges to protest against it!

“We only have to wait for another week, your bleeding will start and it should be possible to find a midwife to remove it from your womb.” The shaman simply continued enthusiastically and I sat up straight.

“There is a good chance that my uterus or my cervix will be destroyed during the procedure.” I objected but the old man only smiled.

“You have the God of war to protect you. And Thor himself will hold a protecting hand over you as well, Embla.” He insisted. “They sent you and they sent a suitable man for you. They will keep you safe and you will conceive a summer child within the next weeks. It shall be born one year from now in our new home, the new safe place of this clan.”

Entirely out of words I felt my blood racing in my veins. I had to talk to Samu right now. The risk was too high. This procedure would most probably cost my uterus, if not my life. And I didn’t intend to let anyone manipulate my inner organs. Slowly I got up, feeling the world around me spin.

“I shall meditate about the removal. If God… if the Gods decide in favour of it, I shall obey their orders.” I heard myself say, wondering how crystal clear I sounded.

Oddgeir seemed pleased with my answer. He gave me a warm smile and got up as well, to touch my forehead with the handhold of his stick. “You bestow honour on your life and your clan.” He said in a solemn tone and bowed again. The others around us mumbled something similar and I made my exit, leaving them piously silent.

With a few large gulps I emptied my mug on the way outside. This was insane. I had to get away from this place within a week. We had to find a way to escape. Now that they trusted us and left us alone without any guard, the chances for a successful escape had increased. We could easily pick a horse from one of the stables, pack a few things to eat without anyone noticing and then ride off into the proverbial sunset. Taking a deep breath, I opened a small side door of the house. From what Oddgeir had planned for me, we had a week. It was definitely possible to plan and carry out our getaway within the next two or three days. Maybe we didn’t even need a horse. If we had actually perambulated time, I was almost certain that it had something to do with the fog. The forest wasn’t far, maybe a few kilometres through the glen and up the hill. We would travel light and I was sure that I would find the right path for us even through the woodlands of those bad times.

The cracking of wood and another loud thump interrupted my thoughts.

“Shield up!” I heard Idun’s voice, followed be another loud crack.

“I fucking give you shield up!” Samu sounded winded when he imitated her sentence. “Come here, you bastard and I will fucking shield up your arse!”

Idun laughed and applauded, and I caught the sound of breaking wood. Quickly I made my way around the house and found Samu with a broken shield, completely covered in sweat and beating up one of the other men with the residues of his formerly round shield. Suddenly the Northman he was fighting fell backwards, laughing his head off.

“Enough, sacred man!” he gasped and rolled over to sit on his knees. “Well done, you didn’t back down!” reaching out his hand to a red faced and completely enraged Samu, the other man smiled and gave him thumbs up.

Confused Samu grabbed the arm that was presented to him and helped the bigger man back on his feet.

“Get him another shield!” yelled Idun over her shoulder and clapped her hands. “Good.” She patted Samu’s chest. “Good, good. You understand good, right?”

Breathlessly he nodded, wiping his face before he put the residues of his shield down and massaged his arm.

“Embla!” Idun smiled and gestured towards Samu. “There are some skills, but he is not as strong as I had hoped.” She took his upper arm between her hands and massaged it a little. “He looks strong but there are no strong muscles in his arms and legs.”

Samu’s gaze flashed over me and he cocked his eyebrow questioningly. “Am I doing alright?”

“Seems like the muscle factory has not built up the right muscles.” I teased, walking around him to take the small axe from his hand.

“Well, I have been trained to dance for the last eight or nine years.” He defended himself, obviously a little huffy. “I could dance them into flight or maybe sing!”

“At least it gave you stamina, didn’t it?” I handed his axe back to him when one of the other women brought him a new shield. “Go ahead.” I squeezed his tensed upper arm. “Let the axe do the work, don’t wind up too high. Dance around him and draw back when he tries to hit your shield. You have endurance for a long dance. And remember to always lower your shield arm right away as soon as you take a step back!”

Idun had listened to our conversation with interest, even though she didn’t understand a word. Suddenly she tilted her head, grabbing another axe from the ground. “Show me what you got, Embla.” She simply stated, handing me a small round shield.

Staring down at the weapon in my hand, I shook my head. “Not without protection.” I protested and she was quick to hand me a breastplate. It was heavy and it took me a lot of effort to pull it over my shoulders correctly. With my heart beating in my throat I watched Idun closing the clasps.

The axe she had handed me was well balanced and I weighed it in my hand, carefully swinging it a few times before I stepped back, raising the shield.

Idun gave me a mischievous smile and jumped right on me without warning. I managed to draw back just in time, parrying off her first attack, but she didn’t waste a second before she raised her axe again. Fending off another series of blows, I felt my arm hurting. Idun’s smile grew wider. She took pleasure in my weak attempts, gloating over me when I stumbled.

Gritting my teeth, I stepped back once more, regaining my balance. Her biggest mistake was that she seemed too certain of her victory. I was no worthy adversary in her eyes. Maybe this was my advantage over her. Hiding behind my shield, I faked another stumble and she screamed with glee, lifting her axe.

This was my chance. With two quick steppes I managed to close the gap between us, ducking my head. Her strong blow dashed into nowhere and I ran right into her unprotected side, blowing her off her feet with her own power.

She landed face down in the mud and rolled over to her back with a surprised yelp.

“Again?” I asked and bowed in her direction with a grin.

She struggled to her feet and spit out a mouthful of dirt. Returning my grin, she raised her shield. “Of course!”

For another few rounds we were the main attraction on the village square. We were hard on each other, no mercy, no breathing pause.

And when I finally lowered my shield and put my axe down to show my surrender, she took me in her arms and patted my back. Grabbing my hand, she lifted my arm. “The Godsend daughter of a Northman!” she yelled enthusiastically and laughed. “You’d be a bride worthy of the mighty Thor himself!”

Chuckling I returned her hug. “As well as you, sister.” I heard myself say, wondering for a second how close I felt to her all of a sudden. Even closer than during the night before.

She rested her forehead on mine, putting her sweaty hand on my cheek. “Yorick should consider espousing you, Embla. You are worthy of a Northman, a Jarl even.” With that she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “A drink for my sister and me!” she yelled jubilantly.

When we shared Ale from a large drinking horn, Samu suddenly touched my shoulder. He seemed surprised. With an amazed expression on his face he wiped a few strands of wet hair out of my forehead.

“That was remarkable!” he stated and massaged a few swollen spots on the palm of my right hand. “Where did you learn to fight like this?”

“As you know, I studied the Vikings and I also studied their ways of fighting. I am a teacher for kids and also give intensive training for adults with sword and shield. The axe is my weak spot, but I never stopped trying my best to improve.”

“You are doing great!” slowly he shook his head. “Mylady, I have to admit that I am really turned on right now.”

I broke into laughter, kissing him passionately. “We could surely have a few private lessons later on.”

He grinned broadly, winking at me before he lifted his own shield again. “I really wish I could promise you another great night, but I’m afraid I might fall asleep in my own dinner after a few more rounds with …?” he looked at the broad shouldered warrior he had fought before. The other man gave him a grin. “Thorbjorn.” He said slowly, pointing at Samu with his axe. “Ready to go, Ask?” he yelled jovially and Samu nodded, limbering up his shoulders.

“Ready to go.” He repeated the Viking’s words and winked at me before he stepped closer to his opponent.

About those Labels....

Dear Readers,

you might have noticed by now that I tag every post and give it a few lables. Such as - citing Lost in the Dark as an example - Samu, Vikings, Violence, Long Story and so on. If you go to the bottom of the post, you will see all the lables. I really like them because by clicking on one of them, the Blog gives you all the fics that have been labled with that specific topic.
So if you ever ask yourself what to read, you can click through the lables and chose your liking.
Now have a great day, I hope you enjoy the next two Chapters of Lost in the Dark.

Cheers, Lina

CHapter 9 - Lost in the Dark

Chapter 9

We were still sitting on the roof top when everything around us was silent again. Samu held me close to his chest and I was surprised, just how warm he still was despite the cold air. Without wanting it we had only minutes ago witnessed the carrying out of a death sentence. We had been so involved with each other at first but then all of a sudden the doors below us had opened and we had been stuck because they could have easily spotted us. And so we had stayed, wordlessly holding each other until it was finally over.

Then suddenly Samu helped me up. “Come on, love.” He whispered, pulling my shivering body along. With a lot of effort he managed to climb down to the small window again, giving me a hand and in the end even his arm and torso to scramble back.

I felt his hand on my back. “Go to bed.” He whispered into my ear, but I turned around to wrap my arms around him and cuddle my face to his upper body.

“They made an example of him. A warning for all the others.” I whispered into the soft hair on his chest and felt his hand running over my back.

“I know.” He answered in a very low voice and kissed my hair. Silently he held me for a few moments, suddenly stepping back with a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry, I know this is totally inappropriate, but …” softly he kissed my lips, his fingertips finding their way over my naked breasts. “It is extremely inappropriate, but I really need to finish what we started outside.” Looking down at me with a questioning look in his eyes, he cocked his head. “Or should I rather step into the cold water over there and wash?”

I felt a giggle escaping my lips and shook my head. “I really wish you’d continue.”

With a broad smile he pulled me over to the bed and simply made me sit on his lap again. Soon we were once more completely involved with each other and I didn’t give it a second thought, that I was actually capable of having sex with Samu right after watching an execution.

Suddenly someone patted my arm. “Hold this.” Idun offered a large drinking horn to me and simply walked over to the fireplace to pull her leather cuirass over her head.

Completely stunned I looked down at Samu. He had lifted his head, watching the other woman taking off her clothes. Then he looked at me again. “What is she doing here?” he whispered, slowly moving under me.

I tried to supress a little moan, turning my head to watch her as well. She looked tired, almost exhausted when she stepped into the small tub and sat down in the cold water, washing her blood spilled face with a cloth.

“Drink.” She suddenly said and a smile flashed over her face. “And also continue, there are a few unpleasant pictures on my mind right now and I would love to replace them.” Nodding at us, she poured water over her head.

Putting the horn on my lips, I gulped down a large mouthful of what tasted like whisky. I coughed and drank again before I handed the horn over to Samu, slowly moving my hips. “She tells us to drink and she wants to watch.” I said and his eyes became round.

“What weird place is this?” he whispered back, drinking from the cold liquor again. “She wants to watch us having sex?”

I nodded, still moving on top of him. “She’s the daughter in law of the Jarl and he rules those men with a rod of iron. As long as he or her husband is not around, it is her duty to carry out.” Sipping the horn again, I managed to give Samu a smirk. “I don’t mind her watching, there is a little bit of an exhibitionist inside of me anyway. And be honest, even though she scares you, you wouldn’t mind letting her join us, would you?”

He suddenly sat up, taking me in his arms. Kissing me fervently, he held me and ran his fingertips down my naked back, before looking at me closely.

“Actually, she scares the crap out of me.” He whispered against my lips. “And I also had my share of threesomes during our wild youth with Sunrise Avenue. But I guess when she tells us to dance, we dance, right?”

“Pretty much.” I let my fingers travel through his tousled hair, feeling his hands on my hips, slowly moving me up and down on his lap.

“Are you sure? At the risk of … well… you will never look at me the same again when you have watched me sleeping with her. What if…”

I silenced him with a kiss. “We belong to each other and we depend on each other.” I whispered close to his soft mouth. “Nothing will ever change that.”

He nodded slowly, taking another deep gulp from the horn before he handed it back to me. “Then I’d suggest we drink up. Many things happen to become a lot more easy and of less consequence when you’re drunk.” He grinned sheepishly. “So many things that I have learned during the last years in a Rockband!”

I chuckled and took a hit myself. Feeling my head spinning already I got up from Samu’s lap, carefully making my way over to Idun. She gave me an interested look from head to toe and back before she reached out her hand to take the drinking horn.

“You are almost scarless.” Getting out of the water she emptied the horn and started to towel herself off without taking her eyes off me. “The Gods must love you, girl.” Carefully she stepped closer, reaching out her hand to run her fingertips over my neck. “The colour of your skin is …” fascinated she touched my tanned belly before cupping my breast that was white from wearing a bikini most of the time. “You are different from any woman I have ever seen.”

Her fingers left a trail of goosebumps on my skin. I had never been touched by another woman even though I would have never categorized myself as pure straight. Drawing a deep breath, I reached out my hand towards Idun. The alcohol had given me Dutch courage and I couldn’t resist touching her messy chignon hairstyle. She didn’t shy away, simply kept watching me closely. Then she suddenly cocked her head and scrutinized Samu over my shoulder. “Does he like to watch?” she asked me with a cheeky grin and I turned around, looking at the naked man that was still sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I am not sure yet.” I admitted. “He doesn’t like to be interrupted and as far as I can tell he might still be ready to go.”

Idun laughed in surprise and for the first time since we had met, I caught a glimpse of the woman she actually was. Under layers and layers of warrior and duties. Buried deep below responsibilities and the pressure of representing the Jarl in his absence. The execution had gotten close to her. The burden of ruling and representing had given her a hard shell, but there was still a young woman inside, that was most certainly younger than I was myself.

With another small giggle, she stepped aside. “Unfortunately Oddgeir decided for you to be untouchable for any man.”

Moving closer, I wrapped my arm around her hips. “Any man maybe.” Gently I pulled her along. “Suit yourself, you might as well just watch.”

Looking at Samu, I still saw tentativeness in his beautiful eyes. He got up from the bed, looking down at both of us.

“You sure that this is a good idea?” he asked cautiously and I let go of Idun, wrapping my arms around him instead.

“More than one reason.” Softly I kissed his lips. “She wanted you before and she will get you, whenever she asks. Tonight is your chance of having her without sharing her bed with the hulk. Other than that, she should not be alone after carrying out an execution.”

I felt him shiver in my arms and he shook his head slowly.

“She scares me. Maybe that is also a little turn on, but she scares the crap out of me. Ah!” he flinched and I suddenly felt Idun’s hand between our bodies, running down Samu’s chest.

“No scars!” she whispered in my direction. “Goodness, they created you so perfectly.” Throwing a little gaze at me, she pointed at Samu. “May I?” she asked and I nodded, putting my own hand to the nape of Samu’s neck to pull him down and softly kiss him.

“Lay down.” I whispered to his lips and he swallowed hard. Doing as I told him, he lay down on the bed, watching us sitting down next to him. I could tell for sure that the thought of being with both of us aroused him, but I also saw fear in his eyes. Comfortably I lay down by his side, kissing him again until I felt him relaxing in my arms. He didn’t flinch anymore, when Idun started touching him and I felt his grip around me tighten, when she suddenly bent down to take him in her mouth. Looking down at the blond woman that kneeled between his thighs, he suddenly grabbed me and pulled me up to sit on his face. Hungrily he started licking me and I could feel him bucking his hips in the direction of the other woman. Suddenly her hands were on my back and she turned me around to face her. She had straddled Samu’s hips and softly massaged my breasts, watching me with a cautious look in her eyes.

All of a sudden Samu moved below her. He grabbed Idun’s hips and turned her on all fours before he took hold of my foot and pulled me down to lie under both of them. Breathlessly he grasped my hair to kiss me, before he got up on his knees as well, placing himself behind the blond woman. She moaned in surprise when he entered her again with a few deep thrusts. At first it felt weird to lie below them with Idun’s small breasts in my face and the feeling of their thighs around me. But suddenly I felt Samu’s fingers. He definitely knew what he was doing when he plugged two fingers inside of me, almost instantly hitting my g-spot. Grabbing Idun’s arms for support, I felt a moan escaping my parted lips. To my surprise the fingers were removed abruptly and Samu pushed Idun away slightly to lie down on top of me instead. Groaning in frustration, Idun took his hand to put it between her legs again and he was quick to turn on his back with me on top of him this time to have better access to her wet slit.

Feeling him moving deep inside of me and listening to the soft and wet sounds of his fingers right next to me, put me over the edge quicker than I had ever climaxed in my whole life. Samu smiled down at me completely out of breath, kissing me deeply, before he sat up and pulled Idun closer to make her sit on his lap again. Suddenly her hand was on my arm and she bent down to kiss me fervently. Her fingers travelled over my body and I felt a shiver, when she touched the still pulsating spot between my legs. Spontaneously I returned her kiss and widened my thigs when she slipped her finger inside of me. Samu obviously tried to suppress a groan and sat up, to pull me in his arms and kiss me. “I can’t …” he whispered breathlessly, sucking in a breath when Idun stared to move faster. She was close to the edge as well, but I didn’t want Samu to come before her. Crawling around them, I kneeled down right behind the other woman, wrapping my arms around her. She rested her head on my shoulder and gave a loud groan when I stared rubbing her clit. Only a few seconds later she climaxed as well and her head sunk down on Samu’s heaving chest.

“My turn.” He whispered and wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead before he kissed me. There was a glint in his eyes, when he sat up again, taking me by the hips. “I want you from behind and I want to grab your hair.” His teeth grazed along the skin of my back and I let out a little shriek of surprise, when he simply pressed me down into the blankets. I felt his hot breath on my neck and his hand that was grasping my hair, pulling hard. “I only want to come inside your tight little pussy.” He rumbled huskily and I could feel his dick becoming harder and hotter inside of me with every thrust. “You are mine.” With a loud groan he pressed himself inside me as deep as possible and I felt his strong body sinking down on me.

Feeling sticky, sweaty and exhausted I turned around, pantingly taking him in my arms.

He bent down to kiss me with his salty lips, smiling and softly shoving my hair out of my forehead. “You’re mine.” He repeated with his deep voice and I couldn’t refrain from a little smile.

“Sounds a bit archaic for my taste, but right now, I don’t mind.” I whispered back, making him chuckle.

Suddenly he lifted his head. “Where did she go?” he asked surprised and I pointed at the curtain that still swung a little.

“I think she feels better and went to bed.” Cuddling closer to him, I rested my head in my hand.

He nodded thoughtfully and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “We should get some rest as well. I seriously have no idea what tomorrow will bring for us.”

Pulling up the largest blanket, I lay down again. “I don’t care as long as I am with you.” I smiled up at him and rubbed his cheek.