The Berserker

5

Freya. That is her name. Tormad inform me, they were once together and were to marry. It still made little sense why she showed such disdain toward me. I have never spoken to her, other than to say thank you when she delivered my food. But according to Igor, I needed to watch my back.

"We leave in five minutes," Tormad belts out. Everyone murmurs a response as they stood to get to their places. I went to make my way to where I am meant to be, which is next to Igor. My eyes widen then tear up, when I spotted my father limping to the middle section.

"Father,"

"He is getting loaded onto the cart," he tells me. My father takes a seat on the edge of the cart. I notice no one else joins him. "You're walking up front with me." He tugs me to the front. Just when I thought I could be close to my father, Tormad pulled me further away.

The two men who flanked Tormad, stood either side of me, and Tormad took the lead. I feel small standing next to these men. I had thought Igor and Tormad were large, but they both easily tower the two. I wonder if they were stronger than Tormad. My eyes observe Tormad and how he took lead. He would walk a few steps ahead, and scan around before moving a few more. The men flanking me had their hands wrapped around the hilt of their battle axes. The muscles in their twitch, waiting to be used at a moment's notice. I find myself scanning the area feeling on edge.

My feet are hurting, but I didn't let that stop me from walking. The cloth feels sticky with each step. When I glance down, I see they are soaked in blood. The cuts from the night before, have opened, and the walking has made them worse.

Someone barked out a word, causing Tormad to halt and me to walk right into him. The line split, and walking up the middle was Igor. Tormad's front was pressed up against my back. Igor shouted something in their mother tongue and pointed to my feet. Before I knew it, I'm being lifted and carried by Igor.

"We don't have much further to go," Tormad tells me and spins around taking the lead. Igor follows his brother, the two men flanking me, now moving closer to Tormad.

I wriggle from Igor's arms, but he only held me tighter. He grunts, almost like a laugh and my feeble attempt to break free. I finally settled, and succumb to being carried. The sway and warmth of Igor's body causes my eyes to droop and a yawn to escape. I haven't had a decent night's sleep; that is what I'm putting my sedated state down to.

My eyes flutter to muffle voices. But my body didn't wish to do more than stir. I'm no longer swaying, but there is still a warmth surrounding me. When I open my eyes, I see a soft glow of light from a lamp hooked by a door. I sit up and scan the room. The door opens and the friendly face of Helga enters.

She doesn't look at me and walks straight to the end of the bed and begins unwrapping the cloth wrapped around my feet.

"Where am I?" I ask her. Hoping she would understand and answer me. But she doesn't talk. She places a wet cloth around my feet. The sweet smell hits my nostrils. It's the same scent as the last time she did this. I wonder what it is. She stands and turns to leave.

"Wait!" I call out and try to get off the bed. She quickly makes her way over and pushes me back down, shaking her head.

She points to my feet and shakes her head again. I take it this is her way of telling me not to move, but I couldn't just lay here not knowing where here is. Helga pulled away. Thinking she was leaving, I sat up again.

"Please don't leave!" I reach out to her. She may very well snap me like a twig. However, something told me she wouldn't. She was sent to me to help heal my wounds. Helga scrunches her face and glances down at my hand. She holds her hand out and walks over to the other side of the room. I stretch my neck to get a glimpse of what it was she was doing. My curiosity dimmed when Helga turned around holding a cup. She hands it to me and urges me to drink.

Her hands lightly touch her mouth. "Drykkja."

"Drykkja?" I repeat. Helga nods and tips the cup up.

The liquid was tangy but Helga kept her hand on the cup, pushing every last drop down my throat. Once it was gone, she took the cup and placed it back on the dresser. Her figure blurred and my body grew heavy. I blink, trying to fight the fuzz, but when I go to open my eyes they refused.

I stir to voices beside me. One of them I didn't miss, belonged to Tormad. He must have noticed me moving and called my name. "Kari."

Something warm touches my face. It was tender and reminded me of how my mother uses to tuck the loose strands behind my hair. Her face appears, and I'm transported to the hill overlooking my village.

"I will explain everything to you one day when you're older," Mother whispers, as she tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. She looks over her shoulder to see my father walking up to greet us. A smile plastered on his face. I glance up to see a matching one on my mother.

"Remember Kari, our little secret." She places her finger against her lips. Sealing the deal.

I open my eyes to see Tormads steel ones glaring back. He steps away from view and his face is replaced with Helga. The last time I saw her, she was making me drink something. I flinch away.

"It's ok, Kari," Tormad says, coming over to my side. "She needs to check if you're ok."

"Ok!" I gasp out. I point at her. "She tried to kill me."

I stared at Helga; wondering what it was I had done to her. Then I remembered, I haven't done anything. These people came to my village and slaughtered my people. They aren't my friends. That's when I notice how close Tormad is to me. I shift from him. "Stop touching me."

Tormad holds his hand up. The door opens and my eyes land on my father. He rushes over to my side, and clasp my face in his hands. "You're alive," he says, relief in his voice.

I think my father has aged more since I last saw him. "What are they doing to you?" I run my hand over the purple marking under his eyes. My father takes my hand and presses them to his lips.

"I've been working in the fields."

They sent him to work straight away! "This is just one day of work?" I look at his scared hands. Some look fresh, but most have started to heal.

"No Catherine," my father lowly says. He glances around the room, before turning his amber eyes on me. "You have been asleep for a while."

"On a bright note," Igor pipes. "At least we know what to use for next time you hurt yourself."

My father glares at Igor. "Anyway," Tormad says. "Helga can help you to bathe and change your clothes."

I turn to face Helga and see her head is down. Guilt riddled through me, as I accused her of trying to kill me. I still hold a guarded approach. "I would like to bathe myself."

Tormad sighs and scratches his chin. "You can bathe unassisted, but watched." He counters.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Igor steps in. Tormad jerks his head up, making Igor chuckle.

"Ah, no one will watch me." I go to stand, but my legs seem too weak to hold me. Strong hands quickly wrap around my waist. I knew they belonged to Tormad.