[To be titled viking story]

TEN

Kadlin

"This is it? Not many of them."

That voice, I thought as my cousin's face flashed in my mind. I jerked my head up to see my cousin's older, blood spattered face looking over all of my fellow slaves.

"Yori?" I asked in surprise, unable to keep my mouth from speaking his name. I never really expected to see my family again. In complete honesty, I never expected to be living four years after I was taken from them.

Yori's eyes scrutinized me as I sat on my knees. I had been silent, not looking at any of the men. It was the smart thing to do. I had been told I was pretty for a slave and I didn't want to be raped by an old clansman.

I could see the confusion on his face as he looked over me. He didn't recognize me. I had bright blonde hair last time he saw me. Now my hair was matted with dirt and filth, no matter how many times I ran my hair through the stream.

"Bring that one here," he commanded.

I was grabbed roughly and put to my feet. My hands weren't bound because I wasn't one of the fighting men.

I needed to convince my cousin of my identity. I couldn't let him do to me what my captors had.

I couldn't help but smile at him. He was the cousin that I had grown up with. Seeing his once boyish face transformed into the face of a man made me very proud to call him my family. He was blessed to have turned out so strong a fighter at 20 years old. He was a month older than me.

The pain of my homesickness was felt in my chest. I would finally get to go home! Whatever that was like now. Standing in front of my cousin, my strength and hope was renewed to see home again. He was taller than me now. I came up to his shoulders.

"Yori, I—" I was pushed forward by one of the men as a rope was fitted over my neck before I crashed into my cousin's hard chest. He smiled down at me and took control of the rope. He had a smile that I had learned to fear from men.

I pushed back from him, but he grabbed my wrists and held them together in one of his hands, stopping me from getting away. Yori was going to kill me if I didn't start talking and trying to convince him. Slaves weren't granted the right to speak unless they were spoken to. I knew this, but the prospect of going home was too tempting. I'd rather die now than become my cousin's slave.

"Yori, listen to me," I pleaded.

Yori yanked on the rope, causing me to fall onto my hands and knees in front of him. The pain was familiar as it was something I had experienced on a daily basis being a slave to a cruel man. I used my hand to put some distance between the tight rope and my neck.

I looked up at my cousin and knew there was only one way to get him to listen to me. I had done it a hundred times when we were children.

I prayed that I was still fast enough.

When Yori looked at the other men to laugh at my expense, I made my move. I sprang to my feet and jammed my shoulder into his stomach, knocking him down onto his backside. I landed on top of him and did my best to hold him down.

The problem was: we weren't children anymore. He outweighed me and outmaneuvered me. He was a seasoned warrior and I was a slave girl who shot arrows at rabbits.

He tossed me off and used his body to pin me to the muddy ground. "You're a feisty little bitch."

I swallowed my fear. I had to go through my cousin. When I felt the blade against my neck, I froze. I had scars on my neck from the last time a blade was pressed against me. I was instantly back in that moment, feeling the blade as it effortlessly tore my skin open as Taf did what he willed with my body.

"That's right," he said breathlessly against me. I could feel the heat from his breath against my neck. I felt all my rage from the experiences with Taf boil to the surface.

I snapped out of my head and brought my hands up at the same time my knee found the sensitive and tender flesh that rested between his legs.

He scrambled to get off of me, but I managed to get him again. He fell to the side, clutching his favorite appendage in pain.

I stood up and looked around. The men were looking at me with amused smiled on their faces. It wasn't often that a slave fought against their captors.

I took the rope from my neck. I wasn't an animal to be herded.

"I think he's listening now, girl." The men all started laughing.