different kind of danger { ivar the boneless } ON TEMPORARY HOLD

TWENTY

For the next few hours, Thela helped Ivar practice on his crutches before eventually slipping off to find Elene. She found the girl looking disinterestedly at the child in her care as she sat in a secluded corner, well away from prying Viking eyes.

"Elene!"

The girl looked up, her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously as Thela approached before nodding curtly. "Thela."

"Did Hvitserk show you to your quarters?"

"Yes. The women there weren't too pleased."

Thela rolled her eyes. "Nevermind them. How is the child?"

"I fed him and he stopped crying, but I don't know what else to do with a child." Elene frowned at him. "I don't even know its name."

"Then rename it," Thela said with a shrug. "You may as well make it Saxon. Meanwhile, you need to come with me so I can get you into some clothes that won't make you an instant target here."

Thela walked onto the ship which she had travelled on and rummaged through the small storage compartment which was below deck for some clothes for Elene, who watched anxiously from the riverside as the men who guarded the fleet glared at her. News had begun to spread about the Saxon girl rescued by Thela Stillheart, and along with the confusion over it, there was a fair bit of resentment. Why should her life be spared? She was not good at childcare, wasn't to be treated as a slave and couldn't fight, so she was just using their precious resources and wasting space. Elene knew this, of course. She wasn't stupid. She could sense the hostility in the eyes of the men who stared at her and understood the truculent body language of the female servants. All she hoped was that Thela could actually provide the protection she promised.

Finally, Thela returned from the ship holding a dress in her arms. She handed it to Elene and took the child from her arms. "Get changed."

"There are men around," Elene whispered in protest.

Rolling her eyes, Thela turned to the guards. "Please close your eyes." Once they did, she turned back to Elene with an expectant look on her face. "Now, if you will."

Once Elene was changed, Thela smiled and nodded in approval. "Now you don't look as Saxon. Did you think of a name for the child?"

"Aieken." Elene said. "It means oaken, like his brown hair."

"Aieken it is. Tomorrow, there will be a battle against a huge Saxon force. I hope you won't try to escape." She stopped walking and turned to look at Elene. "When we recapture you, I can't promise you will have the same treatment as you have received up until now."

Elene nodded. "I wasn't going to try and escape. I know I am lucky to have been chosen from the others; there isn't a chance I would ruin my luck."

"Smart," Thela said. "Do you know how to fight?"

"How to fight?" Elene asked, looking positively horrified. "How can you expect me to fight?"

"I don't. But you need to know how to if you're going to be living with us Northmen; not all of them are as friendly as I am."

"I heard that women fought in your armies. Is it true?"

Thela laughed and pulled down the sleeve of her shirt to expose the bandage which was wrapped around her shoulder. "A Saxon soldier through a spear through my shoulder a few weeks ago. Of course women fight. Often better than the men, too."

Elene's hand rose to touch Thela's shoulder, but she pulled the shirt back into place before the girl's hand could get too close. "I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself. Put Aieken down near that tree."