Hey guys.
There are two things I want to go over before you read this chapter.
One: as most of you are aware I've been out of writing for some time, so my skill may be diminished, if you guys have any tips or notice any errors in my writing then please let me know, as I'm always ready to hear constructive criticism.
Two: with the nature of Redo Of Healer, I don't feel comfortable setting the story in the world of the series, so this story will be set in a completely different setting with only Flare's character being taken from the series.
With all that out of the way, enjoy!
It is within the quiet of peace, that war creeps in, no different than a snake sneaks into a garden to poison an unsuspecting victim.
Times were good in the kingdom, trade was fruitful and crops grew with an exceptional bounty, all while the royal family reveled in love from a devoted people, none more so than Princess Flare, who was seen as a shining beacon of charm and kindness, the people not knowing the harsh personality behind the seemingly sweet girl.
But good times often precede dark times, and dark times did come with a cold tide one evening, coastal towns noticing a large fleet of unfamiliar ships in the distance.
When dawn broke, all that remained of the towns was burnt ruins devoid of all valuables, an unknown force had sacked the towns and proceeded inland via rivers.
This force was a fierce army of savages and barbarians from a distant land across the ocean, they using raw power to take whatever they desired and leaving nothing but burnt villages.
Soon, the once bountiful kingdom was reduced to chaos, with refugees of the barbarian army's attacks retreating to the capital city for safety, looking to the king for answers of what to do.
But all the king's plans and soldiers fell to the barbarian horde, their great ships never returning from the battlefields that were once villages.
Eventually, with all offensive choices expired, the king sought out peace, and upon reaching to the barbarian army found that they were strangely receptive to the idea.
The leader of the barbarian army, their 'Jarl', was to meet the king at his castle on the shore, the barbarians coming from the sea.
The king and Princess Flare watched the calm waters for what felt like ages, until a watchtower guard yelled out.
Guard: Boats your highness! Hundreds! Coming from the sea!
Through the fog the king did indeed see a massive force of unfamiliar ships.
King: My god...they've more men than we do arrows...
Flare defiantly spoke up.
Flare: They are still savage pagans father, we will crush them in time.
King: Do not think of war my child, for I don't believe we can win this one.
The massive fleet of ships shifted course for a slightly larger ship, which carried the skeleton of a whale across it's hull, signifying it's role as lead.
The lead ship came to shore, and a group of unclean warriors of both genders disembarked, some wearing armors, others furs, and some without shirt to protect against the cold.
At the front of the ship stood the barbarian Jarl, wearing a long, thick fur cloak that hid his body from the king and Flare.
Flare whispered in disgust to herself.
Flare: He is so weak to the cold that he wears such thick furs. How could someone so weak lead these idiot foreigners?
The Jarl dropped from the ship with a heavy thud, and took off his cloak to reveal his true form.
There, in the faint torchlight stood a giant of a man, muscular and scarred from battle after battle, his armor a broken set of chain mail and cloth.
Both the king and Flare stepped back from the terrifying presence of the beastly man, his mere walk shaking their resolves.
With the barbarians seemingly prepared for bloody combat, their eyes were set on their leader, his words the only thing that would dictate the near course of events.
Looking at the king with a seeming disgust, the Jarl stood silent as the king gathered his words, Flare hiding behind him.
King: You are the leader of these heathens?
A barbarian spoke up.
Barbarian: Mind your tongue when speaking to Jarl Bloodkiss! Lest he take it from your mouth and feed it to your servants!
FYI, you are Jarl Bloodkiss.
Flare jumped at the sheer brutality of the barbarians as Bloodkiss rose his hand to silence his soldier.
Bloodkiss: So here we stand...us, who have taken from you everything you so selfishly horde for your own people, and you, a king so desperate to cease the cries of his people that he is willing to have audience with his enemies. I can't tell whether you or the dirt under my boots are more pathetic.
The barbarians let out a large laugh, taking joy in making the king squirm.
King: Please...we beg of peace.
Bloodkiss: What do you offer for peace, king? There is nothing we have not already taken from you.
King: So you say, yet I have something to tempt you.
The king signaled for two men to approach, they carrying a large, ornate box which the king opened to reveal a finely made sword.
King: This sword is the only of it's kind, made for our Saint Fabio by a great blacksmith who cut off his own hands to never see another made, it is this sword I offer to you in exchange for peace.
Bloodkiss took the sword and looked at it, and then proceeded to hand it to one of his soldiers.
Bloodkiss: Tell me warrior, is this edible?
Both the king and Flare tilted their heads in confusion.
Flare: Edible?
The barbarian sniffed the sword and answered.
Barbarian: Nope, just another sword for the pile.
Bloodkiss: Very well.
The barbarian took the sword and tossed it into a nearby chest filled with similarly ornate swords.
Bloodkiss: You are not the first to offer me a legendary weapon for peace, you and the lords I've slain seem to miss that it is food we request.
Flare spoke up.
Flare: Then why not make your own food you filthy peasant!?
The entire shore went silent with Flare's disrespectful outburst, Bloodkiss looking at her with an intrigued look.
Bloodkiss: How is it that one princess has more strength in her than the king and all the lords of this land?
The king took a pain to Bloodkiss' comment, but within that wound to his pride he saw an opportunity.
King: If you find her strength so impressive, perhaps she would be better as your...wife?
The shore went silent once again, the surprise of the king's offer striking everyone with bewilderment.
Flare: WHAT!!!?
King: Look at our odds child! It is either all of us or you!
Flare: So you'll sell me to a foreigner and his band of uneducated twits!?
Barbarian: Hey! We have a renowned poetry group in our army!
Bloodkiss: Do you sincerely wish for your daughter to be your peace offering?
The king did not hesitate.
King: Take her and leave my lands.
Flare: Father...
Barbarian: Cool! We have a Queen! So now if Jarl Bloodkiss says no to something she might say yes!
The barbarians cheered.
Barbarian Army: TWO AUTHORITY FIGURES!!!
Bloodkiss: Such a strange thing to be cheerful over.
As the barbarians cheered, Bloodkiss took Flare and threw her over his shoulder.
Flare: Put me down you filthy animal! I'll gut you!
Bloodkiss: I like you already.
Bloodkiss boarded his ship with Flare, who tearfully watched as her home disappeared across the horizon and her father, who betrayed her to barbarians, watched her leave with heartless eyes.
The journey across the ocean to the barbarian homeland was long, and with each passing day Flare's anger grew at Bloodkiss.
Eventually, the fleet reached the barbarian homeland, which was freezing cold and covered in knee high snow.
The crew disembarked to the hugs and cheers of their families and friends, with Bloodkiss steeping of with Flare, who wore three jackets to protect against the cold.
Flare: How do you live in these conditions?
Bloodkiss: Fire. Lots of fire.
Bloodkiss offered his hand to Flare, but she hatefully walked past him.
Sensing a chance to annoy Flare further, Bloodkiss called out.
Bloodkiss: My people! Say hello to your new Queen! Lady Flare!
Flare looked back at you in anger.
Flare: Don't tell them that!
Soon a crowd gathered around Flare, all barbarians of different ages, genders, and jobs.
Child: Are you really our Queen?
Blacksmith: About time Bloodkiss got married.
Tavern owner: Oh, I'm going to need to order twice the ale for the celebration.
Old Lady: If only the Jarl's father were here to see this now.
Flare was taken aback from the kindness and brotherhood of the barbarians, as she only heard of them as merciless pagans.
Flare: Um...hello...I...
Bloodkiss spoke up to the crowd.
Bloodkiss: Brothers and sisters, allow the lady to become accustomed to us at her own pace. tomorrow I will bring her up to the Jarl Stone and have our names inscribed upon it, then we will have a ceremony.
The barbarians cheered as Flare looked upon the new people she would rule, and deep within her she felt oddly at home.
Timeskip, Bloodkiss' Room
As tradition for the barbarians, a great feast was held to commentate the return of the Harl and soldiers, with all but Flare attending as she preferred to be alone with her thoughts in Bloodkiss' room.
Flare sat on Bloodkiss' bed, soft with exotic furs and warned by many torches, and tugged at the waist of her nightgown in anxiety.
Flare's worried thoughts were cut short by Bloodkiss entering his room, a plate of food in his hands.
Flare pouted.
Flare: As I told the three messengers you sent, I'm not hungry.
Bloodkiss: And yet I could hear your stomach growling from the next room.
Bloodkiss put the food down on the table, and brought a piece of bread over to Flare.
Flare, though still spiteful of her situation,took the bread and nibbled on it, expecting it to taste awful.
But to Flare's surprise, the bread was delicious, even more so than the bread back home.
Flare: Wow! It's...
Flare looked at Bloodkiss, who now sat cross legged across from her on his bed.
Flare: Acceptable.
Bloodkiss: I'll take that.
Bloodkiss looked across his bed.
Bloodkiss: So our only options for sleep are either sharing a bed or one of us in the floor.
By the time Bloodkiss finished his sentence, Flare had already climbed underneath his covers and greedily took the entirety of the bed, all while looking at him with a challenging look.
Bloodkiss: I'll sleep on the floor then.
Bloodkiss took a pillow and laid in the floor in the side of the bed which Flare rested, her eyes set on him as he relaxed in the hard floor.
Flare: Enjoying the cold floor?
Bloodkiss: It's comfy, do you enjoy your husband's bed?
Flare glared at Bloodkiss with fury, but her anger was interrupted by the sounds of a terrible wind outside.
Flare: What was that!?
Bloodkiss: A snowstorm, or a Frost Giant fart depending on who you ask.
Flare: I've never heard a snowstorm like that!
Bloodkiss: They are fierce around here, some of the villagers like to put together makeshift kites and attach them to their backs so that they can fly with the wind gust.
Flare: That's insane!
Bloodkiss: Which is what makes it fun.
The snowstorm began beating against the roof of the bedroom, scaring Flare.
Flare: The roof will cave in at this rate! Get up here and protect your wife!
Bloodkiss: Oh? We're married now? I thought you said we weren't.
Flare: Forget what I said and protect me!
Bloodkiss: Well, if you insist.
Bloodkiss climbed into his bed, not bothering with the covers or pillows as Flare had taken them all to create a safeguard against the storm outside.
Bloodkiss: You really are overreacting.
Flare: And you're under reacting!
Bloodkiss: I've lived in these lands since my birth and I've felt the cold beneath my feet since I could walk. Trust me when I say that the safest place you could be is in this village and in this bed.
Flare raised an eyebrow.
Flare: Protected by a big, strong barbarian?
Bloodkiss: If you'll allow me to protect you.
Flare went quiet for a moment as Bloodkiss stretched on his bed, and she soon spoke.
Flare: Very well, seeing as I am now bound to you and this village, I shall allow you the honor of protecting me, your wife.
Bloodkiss: So we are married?
Flare relented slightly.
Flare: Don't get coy, we may be married but my feelings for you are far from romantic.
Bloodkiss: Outright disdain it feels like.
Flare: For your first task as my protector, I order you to protect me from this terrible storm.
Bloodkiss: And I would do that how?
Flare: By putting me in your arms, and holding me tightly in your big, strong...scarred...toned...
Flare blushed as she seemingly went off into some kind of trance, she seemingly admiring your physique.
Flare snapped back.
Flare: So protect me as your wife.
Bloodkiss: Very well, just don't snore.
Flare snapped back at Bloodkiss.
Flare: I don't snore.
Bloodkiss went under the covers, and just as Flare asked, he wrapped his arms around her in a protective hold.
Bloodkiss: Would her highness prefer this as our sleeping accommodation.
Flare maintained her royal demeanor even though she ran her hands across your ripped chest.
Flare: It is acceptable.
Bloodkiss: Which is all I need it to be.
Flare began to ease into your hold, a sign that while she was still hesitant of you, she was willing to trust you lightly.
Bloodkiss: Whenever you are ready, we shall go up to the highest mountain and endocrine our names on the Jarl Stone to announce our marriage to the gods.
Flare: Jarl Stone?
Bloodkiss: Yes. It is an artifact gifted to my ancestors by Odin himself after they aided in capturing the great wolf Fenrir, it is a message Stone that connects my people to Asgard, and to the dead in Valhalla.
Flare: Your gods sound so strange.
Bloodkiss: As did your religion when we came to shore.
Flare closed her eyes in thought of the events that lead to her in Bloodkiss' bed.
Flare: When you came to shore and ransacked the villages.
Bloodkiss: We had no choice, what little trade we had was stopped by your kingdom, any who were hungry were now starving. I had to do what I must to protect my people.
Flare looked at Bloodkiss.
Flare: We all do selfish things to please the ones we love, don't we?
Bloodkiss rubbed his hand across Flare's back.
Bloodkiss: it is in human nature.
Both Bloodkiss and Flare nooses off to sleep, Flare dreaming of the new gods that seemingly watched over her.
Timeskip, months later
Many months had passed since Flare became Queen of the barbarians, and in that time she shed her old pride and grew to be a wise co ruler with Bloodkiss.
And, as the barbarians excitedly exclaimed on the day she left her home, Flare would often say yes to things Bloodkiss would refuse, such as the invention of the pig catapult which did exactly as the name entails.
One night, as stars glistened against the white mountain range, Bloodkiss and Flare arrived at the Jarl Stone.
Bloodkiss commanded a horse as Flare held into his waist for support, and upon disembarking she allowed him to lift her off of the steed.
Flare: Thank you dear.
Flare and Bloodkiss walked hand in hand to the Jarl Stone, which contained a tree like set of inscriptions, Jarls and their queens who came up to the mountain like so many others to prove their love to the gods.
And now it was Bloodkiss' and Flare's turn.
Bloodkiss looked at Flare with the purest of affection.
Bloodkiss: Once we set our hands onto the stone, it will carry our names up to Asgard so that Odin and the gods will know of our love.
Flare: Ours will certainly be an odd story for them to hear, but nonetheless beautiful.
With a tightened grip of each other's hands, you both extended your free hands onto the stone, and with a faint glow emitting from under your palms, you saw upon removing your hands that your names were inscribed onto the Jarl Stone.
Just a moment later, a small light shot up into the night sky, and upon coming contact with the clouds, the sky cleared to reveal northern lights above.
Bloodkiss: I believe the gods have given us their blessing.
Flare: then let's celebrate.
Flare reached her lips up to Bloodkiss, who took her cheeks in his rough hands and kissed her with the passion of a forge's fire, the light snow and lights above as pure as the love they have.
It's good to be back guys!