The Lost Valkyrie Ch. 09

Author's note: This fantasy story contains very little sex, and the sex it does have is more romance than erotica. There is no sex in this chapter!

This chapter is longer than the others, so far. When I first wrote this story, I had some incentive to keep chapters as short as possible. This chapter is several such related chapters put together.

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It felt like a long, slow, trudging walk from a dark place, down a dark hallway, towards a faint, distant light, one that grew gradually larger and brighter as he moved closer. That was the good part. The bad part was at least as bad as the good part was good: the closer King Ulf got to the light, the more his whole body hurt until he was groaning in aching pain with every step.

After what seemed a long time, the light was big and bright enough to hurt his eyes. But he knew he must walk into the light or stay in this dark place forever. The King could not say how he knew this, but he was certain of it.

It was a tempting choice in its way. Life was hard in Bollurgard, and the demon attacks had made it much harder. But the pain of living was still better than dwelling in the twilight, and the Gods would not have provided him a way out of the dark if they wanted him in Valhalla, now. King Ulf had tasks to complete.

Taking a breath to steel himself, the King took the final step, his body disappearing into the light.

**************

When he woke, the light in the room was nearly as blinding as in his dream. The first thing Ulf saw was his sister, Thyra, looking down at him anxiously as his recollection of the demon attack started to return.

Was the demon still attacking??? The King tried to get up, but his sister resisted. And it hurt to move. By the Gods, it hurt!

"Lay still, brother," she soothed. "The demon is gone. This shieldmaiden defeated it. She might have even killed it. Your people are safe."

Ulf looked where Thyra gestured... and saw a young woman, yes. She looked little more than a girl to him. "Who is she?" He looked at the girl curiously.

His position on the floor, laid out on his back, made for a poor vantage point, but he could see a few things about her, nevertheless.

For one thing, she was standing alone, looking uncertain about what to do in the aftermath of the fight.

And she was bleeding.

And finally, the girl was pretty. Pretty enough that the King found himself wishing she'd look in his direction.

"Is she some sort of goddess," Ulf asked himself as his sister retold the tale of all that had happened with the demon fight.

Just then, the Captain returned with the Physician, who hurried over to the King immediately.

"My Lord, lay still please, I must check you for injuries," the old man began.

King Ulf submitted to this. The Physician was wise, and they were fortunate to have him. But he had one thing he had to do immediately, Physician's orders or not.

"Captain, go see that the girl, there, gets bandaged and checked over. The shieldmaiden. I'm told she defeated the demon, and we're letting her stand there all alone, bleeding from open wounds."

****************

"Oh, she's a shieldmaiden, is she," the Captain asked. "And SHE defeated the demon when the men could not," he continued in some disbelief as he strode over to the girl, who looked up at him as he approached.

As he got closer, the Captain - like Ulf - could see that she was lovely. So lovely the Captain found himself just speechless a moment, taking in the sight of her.

Beautiful blonde hair framed her face, which was set off by deep blue eyes and very fair to look upon. Her hair was long and carefully styled if a bit messy following the presumed battle she'd just been in. Her garb was one of a warrior, but not any warrior he'd seen before! Her armor showed off the curves of her form freely, for one thing.

And those curves were many. The Captain had never seen a shieldmaiden dressed in such a way. By the Gods, this woman was a vision!

For another thing, the girl seemed to give off some sort of glow! Or could it be his imagination? The demon had hit him on the head, as well as the King, and maybe he wasn't completely OK, yet.

Whatever she was, the Captain could hardly take his eyes off the young woman, and he felt a familiar stirring in his loins.

But he approached gently, hands out solicitously, unsure how she was doing.

"My Lady, are you well? You are bleeding; did the demon hurt you?" He pointed to the girl's arm and thigh where she'd gotten raked with sharp talons.

The girl looked at him wordlessly as he spoke, and then looked down at herself, at the injuries she had. Finally, she looked back up at the Captain. She seemed a little dazed, and the Captain spoke to her again.

"May I tend you, my Lady? You're injured, and it seems we owe you our thanks."

When the girl didn't respond, the Captain felt pity for her. Hadn't he heard the young woman talking to her sister minutes ago? Yes, he was sure of it! But now she appeared listless.

He'd seen this before after a demon attack: people seeming stunned and wandering around aimlessly. It made him sad. Sometimes people like this got worse and worse until they died.

Slowly, the Captain moved his hands to her shoulders and pressed her down to sit - on the King's throne, as it happened. Normally, that would have made the Captain chuckle. But not now.

"Please sit down so I can help you," he said gently, not wanting to frighten her. And she nodded back at the man, allowing him to help her sit and seeming to settle in a bit as he started cleaning her wounded arm.

Responding seemed like a good sign, and the Captain smiled at the girl as he worked, trying to engage her. To keep her focused.

"Do you have a name," he asked her, but she didn't respond.

"I have a name, but everybody just calls me 'Captain' or 'the Captain.' Sometimes I don't even remember what my real name is, anymore," he joked with her.

This line earned the Captain a soft laugh from the girl and a smile. She had a gorgeous smile, and the Captain had to work not just to sit and gape at her like an idiot.

Somehow, he managed to stay casual, and while he worked on the girl's arm, the Physician worked on the King. Seeing her watching what was happening, the Captain commented to her conversationally, "That's King Ulf over there, and his sister Thyra with him. I'll let the Physician take a look at you when he's done there, would that be OK with you?"

She nodded as he finished bandaging her arm.

"Now, I need to look at your leg. Is that OK, my Lady?"

The wound was to the girl's bare upper thigh, and the Captain didn't wish to seem inappropriate with her.

But she nodded, still looking around at people, and the Captain smiled. Being near this girl was intoxicating, and any excuse to be close - and get closer - was welcome, and he drank in every drop of her radiant presence.

But as he knelt to start cleaning the girl's leg wound, Liv, one of the household women, bustled over to them.

"I'll take care of her, Captain, thank you for your help," the older woman said in a tone that brooked no debate over the matter. "Perhaps you can see to the village's defenses in case another attack happens!"

And so she took over the job of tending to the girl, putting herself between her and the Captain. He found himself abruptly dismissed.

The Captain frowned, not happy to be told what to do by some woman. Liv acted like he was taking advantage of the girl, or something!

On the other hand, she was right about the village needing his attention - he was in charge of the Kingdom's defenses, after all - and he reluctantly headed off to check on the town, calling for men to come and repair the broken-down doors, first.

Soon, the Captain was up to his elbows in setting up a watch in the village and getting repairs to their fortifications underway. But he promised himself something.

"I'll go check in on her and make sure she's OK. Maybe she'll tell me her name!" And that made the man smile.

**************

It wasn't long before the Physician finished examining King Ulf, and he was smiling. Thyra breathed a sigh of relief.

"You must have a skull made of iron, my Lord. To have escaped any major hurt from that demon."

The King chuckled, and Thyra agreed, saying to the Physician, "If only you knew how hard the King's head really IS. You could use him as an example to teach your apprentice."

Everyone laughed, and the King stood up, both groaning in pain over his bruised body and simultaneously professing that he felt fine when the Physician urged him to be careful.

Thyra shook her head. "Let him go, we'll know if something is wrong when he falls over."

Everyone laughed again. She could see they all realized how close to disaster this fight had been. The feeling of relief was palpable!

Thyra got up, too, taking the chance to go thank the shieldmaiden, who was still getting her wounds tended. The King's sister felt excited just to meet her! The girl was a hero, and when Thyra looked at the other girl, she felt like she was seeing everything she wanted to be herself.

As she approached, she said to the girl, "You saved our lives, you know. You have our thanks. I am Thyra, sister of the King. Is there anything I can do for you, my Lady?"

The warrior didn't respond, and she looked at her more closely. "Are you OK, my Lady?"

Looking at the older woman bandaging the shieldmaiden's thigh, Thyra got a doubtful shrug in return.

"She was nodding at first when I talked to her. But now she's not responding at all." Liv looked worried.

"Get the Physician," Thyra ordered, taking the woman's place at the shieldmaiden's feet as the woman hurried off to obey with a "right away, my Lady."

The King's sister took the other girl's hand in hers as she waited.

"Help is on the way, my Lady," she said.

The warrior looked at her but made no indication she understood. Then, she abruptly passed out, falling forward, off her makeshift perch atop her brother's throne and into Thyra's not-entirely-surprised grasp.

"Brother! Help me," she cried as she tried to support the girl's weight.

Her brother was there in a moment, helping catch the unconscious girl.

"She needs to rest," he declared, "Let's put her in a bed."

The Physician rushed over, too. "There are people sick and wounded all over the village, my Lord. I don't know what bed we can use for this one," he replied doubtfully. "We'll figure out something."

"Put her in my room," Thyra interjected. "I can share until the shieldmaiden is better."

"Very well, sister," Ulf said, seeming to like the idea and sweeping the girl into his strong arms to carry her like her weight was nothing. He started for Thyra's room immediately as Thyra rushed ahead to make sure the way was clear, the Physician in tow.

"Make sure this girl gets the best care possible, please," Thyra instructed. "If not for her, we'd all have been killed. You should have seen how she fought! She is fierce!"

She spoke passionately and with such conviction that her brother looked over at her in surprise as they moved into her bedchamber. His sister seemed quite impressed with the young warrioress!

The Physician nodded. "It shall be done, my Lady," he said as the King laid the girl in Thyra's bed.

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Rune lay unconscious in Thyra's room for several days, and Thyra tended to her faithfully, rarely leaving her side. The girl grew steadily more anxious as the shieldmaiden did not wake.

The Physician was well-meaning, but he could offer little to allay Thyra's fears.

"I've seen this demon sickness before," he told her, the King, and the Captain as they stood just outside Thyra's room. "Sometimes when a man fights a demon, a malady overtakes him, and he falls into a deep sleep. Such men usually waste away and die over the course of several days."

"But her injuries are healing well," Thyra protested.

"It is not a sickness of the body. It is a sickness of the soul. Somehow the demon curses its victim with dark magic," the good Physician said helplessly. "Prayers to Odin would help as much as anything I could do, now."

Thyra was dismayed, but the Captain put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"But sometimes the man recovers, does he not?" he asked the Physician.

"Sometimes he does," the older man agreed. "And after 3 days in bed, this girl has not gotten worse. It is a good sign. She may recover. She is young, and she is strong. And she defeated the demon to start."

With that, the Physician hurried off to help his other patients, leaving Thyra, the Captain, and King Ulf there.

The young woman turned to her brother. "You're very quiet. What do you think?"

The King took a moment to look inside Thyra's room at the girl there. He looked intrigued, but he could only shrug. "I hope she lives. I am curious from whence she came, and why. How did she know the demon was attacking us, and how did she get here so quickly to fight it?"

All good questions, Thyra thought, but she said, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, brother. Whoever she is, and however she came here, she saved us."

Ulf sighed. His sister had a great point, but it was not that simple, either. He moved on. "But honestly, I have more on my mind than one person, even if she did save us." And with that, Ulf excused himself. "I need to check to see if our neighbors have replied to my proposal we ally against the demons."

But the Captain had a funny look on his face as the King walked off.

"He likes her, you know," he whispered sidelong to Thyra as he watched Ulf go. "I can tell."

"What? He does NOT," Thyra retorted, pushing the Captain away from her in annoyance as he'd let himself into her personal space. Something he did too often, and had been doing for a long time. It was like having ANOTHER big brother.

"Yes. He does," the Captain said, allowing Thyra to push him away from her, but he still had that funny look on his face.

The girl scoffed. "You're the one who likes her." And she spoke in a mocking imitation of him. "Oh, My Lady, let me bandage your thigh..."

She laughed as the Captain glared at her, and then said, "Besides, Ulf hasn't even talked to her. You're jealous of something that hasn't happened."

Liv, the household maid, bustled up at that moment. "You'll keep your hands to yourself, Captain, do you hear me? Or the King will learn of it."

Liv had no patience when it came to the safety of "her girls." For his part, the Captain frowned and walked off, muttering.

Thyra went into the room with Liv to help the older woman give the injured shieldmaiden clean bandages, wondering why the Captain seemed so annoyed. Usually, he could take some good-natured ribbing about his more lustful habits.

Liv was having none of it. "You be sure to keep that man out of here, young lady," she instructed the younger woman as they worked. "He has nothing good on his mind about this girl."

Thyra was used to the woman's overreacting. "It will be fine, Liv. Of course, I won't let him hang around in our room. I can handle him. He's harmless."

"See to it," Liv went on, almost like the younger woman hadn't spoken, continuing in the same vein... "That man is trouble. Mark my words."

Thyra sighed. She adored Liv, but why did the woman have to be so dramatic?

***********************

As Ulf moved away, the others could not know the Captain was much closer to the truth about him than the women suspected. The King had been immediately smitten with the stranger as he watched her laying in bed, seemingly asleep.

He'd watched her breathing, had seen how her flowing blonde mane lay over her shoulder and draped on her chest. The curves of her body could not be hidden by her clothing.

The girl was a beauty! Imagine how she'll look when she's awake! Ulf could hardly tear his thoughts from her.

And he could tell his best friend, the Captain, was also enthralled with the girl. Who wouldn't be? Even his sister seemed enchanted!

As The King hoped the girl would awake, a different thought came to him.

"If I want that girl, I'm going to have to take her from the Captain."

He frowned. He wasn't accustomed to feeling jealous of his friend. Of course, they'd competed all their lives - including over girls. But it had always been good-natured. It had pushed both of them to be better.

This felt different. There was a note of bitterness to the line of thought. Plus, it was presumptuous in assuming the girl would belong to either of them, the sort of attitude Ulf's parents had never accepted in him, future king or not. It wasn't right, and Ulf tried to banish the idea.

"A wise man learns to govern his thoughts," the King could hear his father telling him. "A good king is wise, above all else, my son."

"Yes, Father," Ulf said to himself as he strode down the hall and out his front door, the sound of his boots hitting the wooden floor a reflection of the energy of his rule. He was headed to the aviary.

Messages were passed by carrier birds, and he had sent word to his neighbors about his alliance plans. If they banded together, they could resist the demons much more effectively. He even had a plan to take this war to the demons. To be on offense, finally!

The strange thought about the girl and the Captain was soon gone from the King's mind as all the pressing concerns of ruling covered it over. And good riddance.

**************

Several days passed.

Most of this time, Rune was completely unaware of anything. She was in a dark, dreamless state as the demonic malady tried to waste her away to nothing. The demon was strong, and its spell was powerful, but the Valkyrie was Gods-created, and strong too. The girl's body and mind resisted the attack with all she had, even unconsciously.

After a few days, the young Valkyrie started having dreams, and times when she thought she could hear people talking around her. Though she couldn't respond, she was aware. Then she would drift off again, and dream once more. Dreams of dark moonless nights, but with hopeful dawn on the horizon. The two powers seemed to fight each other inside her for supremacy.

********************

And so it was, after another couple of days, that they all were just hoping their patient would recover. It was a frustrating, helpless feeling!

Thyra was coming back from some chores around her family's farm. She wanted to check on the shieldmaiden's condition to see if anything had changed. If nothing had, she'd go do some more farm work and return after that to bathe her charge. The girl's bandages had been removed the day before, and now, no trace of the injuries remained on her patient's utterly flawless skin.

Which was amazing, to say the least. Thyra continued to be fascinated with the girl. She so wanted to ask her a million questions about how she learned to fight, and if she could learn from her, too. Waiting all these days had been hard on the young woman - even more so than the others - but she was trying to be patient.

Arriving at her room, she found the door open, and she wondered if Liv was inside tending to the girl. But as she entered and looked around, she saw that no one was there.

That's right! NO ONE was there in the room. Including her patient! The bed was empty! And the trunk where Thyra had placed the girl's clothes, armor, and blade was open, all the things missing from it.

"Oh my Gods," Thyra gasped. "Liv! LIV!!!" she called, and then turned and rushed from the room, still calling out to their faithful household maid.

"LIV!!!! LIV!!!"

The woman emerged from the kitchen, all worried. "Calm down, young Lady, what's all this uproar? I've got the evening meal to prepare..."

"She's GONE," Thyra interrupted. "The shieldmaiden is GONE! Did you see her?"

Liv's expression went from mild annoyance to panic in a moment or two.