The Lost Valkyrie Ch. 10

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, but there are some mildly sexual elements.

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"The thing to remember about demons," Tyna (the name Rune picked for herself after losing her memory) intoned to the group of men, "is that they are stronger, faster, and more aggressive than you are."

They stood in the common area of the village, the area the folk used for combat training, with chickens cluck-clucking around them, as well as the 'baaah' of goats. Not a few of the villagers were watching, too, interested to see what a shieldmaiden had to teach their fighting men.

Tyna might not remember that she was a Valkyrie. Now, everyone just assumed she was a shieldmaiden, including her.

But she'd not forgotten a thing about demon-fighting that she'd learned while fighting with the other Valkyries.

"Just hacking away at it will NOT work for you."

The men nodded as she spoke. That was good. She'd worried this speech would not go well with a bunch of tough warriors. But this group had experience with demon-fighting. They knew.

"Fear not, I have good news. You can beat a demon if you use your head as well as your skill. A demon will always think it is better than you are, and it will be overconfident. This is the nature of the demon. It cannot help itself."

This drew soft laughs and agreement from the men. Tyna smiled and went on, pacing slowly back and forth in front of them.

"When you engage a demon, let it think it has the advantage, and wait for an opening to strike. The longer the demon must fight you, the more frustrated it will get. Its overconfident impatience is what will expose its weakness to you."

As she moved in front of them, Tyna surreptitiously took the measure of each of the 12 men standing nearby. When she was ready, she stopped pacing.

"You," she said, pointing to the biggest, strongest-looking man in the group. "What is your name?"

"I am Hans, my Lady," he replied politely.

"Come and spar with me, Hans."

Hans looked embarrassed. "My Lady, I don't mean to insult you, but... " He paused as if considering how to say what was on his mind. "...I don't fight women. Even a shieldmaiden. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt you."

Tyna smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Hans, I promise you won't hurt me."

"My Lady, I beg your pardon. You're literally half my size." Hans had been brought up his whole life to protect women, not fight them. Tyna noted many of the other men nodding at his words. Most of them felt the same way. They barely had shieldmaidens in Bollurgard at all.

"Yes, I am half your size. Are you not much smaller than the demons you've already fought?"

This response brought a grudging, general murmur of agreement from the men. The girl was right, and they knew it.

Finally, Hans came out, looking nervous, but ready. "Very well, my Lady."

"I want you to attack me the way you imagine a demon would do it," she instructed as she got ready to spar. "Don't hold back, please."

The man nodded, and then lunged at her, bringing his wooden training blade down on hers with a mighty crash and followed that up with furious attacks meant to overwhelm his smaller opponent. It was a pretty good approximation of the average demon attack: all fury, aggression, and hate!

"Good," Tyna called out as she gave way slowly before the warrior, getting a feel for his style and ability, such as it was when he was playing this role.

After letting Hans attack her for a couple of minutes, the young woman turned the tables and went on the attack, upping her fury and aggression to match his own. The clacking of their wooden blades increased in sound and rapidity as the two circled each other, having at it.

But as time went on, Tyna seemed to tire, her strength flagging and her attacks slowing. The man's superior size and power seemed to be taking their toll on her, and the group of spectators watched closely. Could it be that their fighting trainer had bitten off more than she could chew, right from the start?

The big warrior seemed to sense her weakness, and he closed in intuitively, pressing his advantage and elevating his fury as he tried to complete the win. In the heat of combat, his concern for his smaller, female opponent was finally gone. He'd seen she was skilled with a blade, and now he wanted to WIN.

As he lunged at Tyna, she appeared done, her energy spent holding off the bigger, stronger male opponent. All the other men leaned forward in anticipation of the end of this match.

Nevertheless, when the end came, they were completely surprised. Suddenly she'd turned his blade aside neatly, stepped smoothly inside his defensive reach, and had her blade at his throat in a moment.

The match had gone from looking hopeless for her to over in a matter of two seconds.

"Now, in a real fight, I'd probably have cut his arm off. Since demons fight normally with talons, one less arm is a big loss for it, and a big plus for you," she said, seeming barely winded as her opponent was fighting to catch his breath. "But I think you understand what I did."

The men murmured in response, some appreciatively, others not as much.

"Good fight, Hans," she told the man as he walked back to the group.

"You tricked him," one of the other men said, seeming not to appreciate the value of the tactic as he shook his head. "That might work once or twice, but won't the demons catch on and change their approach?"

"It won't catch on if it's dead," Tyna responded. "Also, the more you hurt a demon, the more enraged it gets. It is their nature. I don't think they can help it. YOU might adapt because the Gods gave you a mind to think and plan and reason. The average demon cannot."

"You can't know that for sure, shieldmaiden," the man persisted with a scowl on his face.

"You are the strongest warriors in your kingdom. You're used to overwhelming your opponent, but this is your biggest weakness when fighting the demons. You can't just beat them down. You need to use the advantages you have," the Valkyrie replied, trying to make the man see reason. Being in the right didn't hurt her case, and she spoke with passion and persuasion.

"I'm not convinced, girl," the man told her, scoffing. "I see no value in this training, 'my Lady.'" And he pronounced, "my Lady" in a mocking tone.

Some of the other men seemed to agree, and they even seemed like they might disperse.

Tyna just smiled at them, and then she focused on the group's spokesman. "Come and fight me then. I'll play the infernal beast, and you show us all how it should be done. It should be easy for you since I have neither the size nor the strength of an actual demon."

"I don't fight women, shieldmaiden," he said derisively.

"Oh, come now," the girl retorted. "Come, show me how it is done. If you win, you can be the trainer, and I will listen to you politely."

In contrast to how she'd treated Hans, now the Valkyrie let her disdain for him be evident. He wasn't getting off the hook for his disrespect in front of the whole group. How many demons had HE destroyed?

And so, Tyna smiled grimly as the man looked at his fellows, most of whom were now taunting him, daring him to put the shieldmaiden in her place.

"She's right, you can't tell her she's wrong and also refuse to show her what's right..."

"Look at how she handled Hans, man..."

"Show her how a warrior fights..."

"After you've bested her, take her to bed and show her a woman's place. That's the only training that one needs..."

"You can do this. Let's end this silliness now. I have work to do at home."

Tyna knew what he'd decide. And he did, walking into the sparring area and getting his training weapon ready.

"Fine," he said, preparing to fight. "But don't expect me to hold back or show you any mercy at all, girl."

Tyna made herself ready.

"Don't call me 'girl.' I am the demon, now, fool," she said to him, and she let out a blood-curdling scream of rage that was startlingly similar to the sound a demon made.

The cry echoed around the village, and several of the men watching stepped back involuntarily, looks of horror on their faces. Chickens squawked away in fright as the girl leaped forward, her wooden blade crashing down on her opponent's furiously.

For the next several minutes, Tyna rained blow after blow after blow down on her opponent at a pace and with a level of power none of the men had ever seen before - never except for when they fought a demon. And she'd let out more of those terrifying demon cries as she steadily pounded her disrespectful student into the dust.

At first, the man tried to meet her power with power. But he gradually started to see she was more powerful than he was. And as he finally began to tire, forced to resort to pure defense, the Valkyrie began to taunt him.

"Demons don't GET tired!"

"Demons don't STOP!"

"Demons hate YOU much MORE than you hate THEM!"

"DEMONS WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IF YOU TRY TO MATCH THEIR POWER!!!"

And she brought her wooden blade down once more, the mightiest swing of all, and it shattered the man's blade, crashing down on his shoulder and upper arm. He fell back with a cry of pain and lay in the dirt, panting and exhausted. And bleeding! If they'd sparred with metal blades, his arm would have been severed. Anyone could see it.

As if it wasn't enough, the girl was, once again, hardly winded. In fact, later several of the men would swear they'd felt power emanating from their instructor in waves. And a glowing heat. And that she seemed to get only STRONGER as the fight had continued.

As Tyna stood before them shining in her triumph, to the men she was absolutely lovely to behold. And they loved her.

One of them knelt before her, one of the scoffers from earlier. "Teach us to fight the demons, my Lady!"

And the rest of the men joined him kneeling.

"Whatever you tell us to do, we will do," one said.

"Teach us to save our families," another added.

From the shadows beside one of the nearby village houses, the Captain smiled as he observed Tyna work. In fact, he'd seen the whole encounter.

"This is going to be good," he said softly to himself as he watched the girl.

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The day was over, and the men had made a lot of good progress. And they'd agreed to come back the following day for more training!

Now the shadows were getting long, signaling the approach of another dusky twilight in Bollurgard.

Tyna was pleased. The warriors were listening to her every word, and as she picked up her training gear, preparing to go back to the King's house, she barely noticed the Captain approaching at first. When she did, she was happy to see him.

"Hello Captain," she greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Great work training the men," the Captain told her, returning her smile with his own handsome, devilish one. "But I think you forgot something."

And he took up a sparring position, waiting for her.

Something about the Captain gave Tyna a fluttery feeling almost every time she'd seen him. Today it was that rakish smile. Like he knew something secret about her. And she blushed even as she tried to remember what it was she'd apparently forgotten.

She'd seen the Captain watching the training a few times throughout the afternoon. No, he hadn't been watching the training. He'd been watching HER, she realized. This made her blush MORE.

But to him, she only said, "And what have I forgotten, Captain?"

The man stood up straight as he answered. "To train my men, you have to beat ME at sparring... My Lady." And he resumed his fighting stance.

Again, with that rakish, assured expression of his. Tyna was used to fighting snarling, bloodthirsty beasts and - to a lesser extent - drunken, lumbering brutes who looked awful and smelled worse. The Captain was neither of those things, and as she examined his form, the young Valkyrie could see how well-muscled he was, how good his fighting form was, and how confident he seemed. She imagined he might easily be one of the younger warriors of Valhalla! It was attractive in a man, she immediately felt. And exciting!

She wasn't sure how to approach the situation. Clearly, the sparring contest was not necessary, so she tried that even as she smiled back at him.

"There is no need, Captain, the men learned a great deal, today. You saw it, yourself."

The Captain stood up from his fighting stance again and nodded, still with that smile as he looked her in the eye, then let his eyes wander appreciatively over the Valkyrie's shapely form, before returning to look her in the eye again. "Oh, yes, what I saw was AMAZING."

Tyna had limited experience being around other people, and even less experience being around men. But she immediately grasped what the Captain was saying. And the relatively harmless innuendo made her blush even more in response as she mentally pictured him watching her spar all afternoon. Seeing herself through hungry male eyes. The Captain WANTED HER.

It was flattering to the young woman, and the realization made her feel tingly and more fluttery all of a sudden.

The Captain waited a moment, watching the shieldmaiden's reaction to his forward comment and look... and then continued.

"...But I'm afraid I'll still need to examine you more closely. To see if you are TRULY as great as you look." And he resumed his fighting stance, waiting for her.

Tyna's last experience with a man had been with Asger. And while she couldn't quite place it, she had an instinctive aversion to any boorish man's stinky, sweaty leering and pawing. A hazy memory that was almost just a feeling she couldn't shake, it was nevertheless powerful for the girl.

Not only had it been a complete turn-off, but even more, it had been loathsome. And if she couldn't remember the details, how it FELT was absolutely clear in the Valkyrie's mind.

This situation felt different. And it also felt different than the more tentative experience she'd had with the young Bjorn's kisses in the other village. The tall, handsome Captain was forward enough to dare her to respond, but also subtle - gentle - enough to make her WANT to respond. At least a little. To see where this might go.

Not that she had much choice. In her mind, the girl automatically pictured him "examining" her "more closely," her imagination filling in the details as his big, strong, hands first took her firmly in his grasp, and then roamed over her body.

It was a powerful image, and it made her giggle a little, involuntarily, and blush again, turning quite red, this time. She looked away.

"What's the matter, my Lady? Do I make you... nervous?"

There he was, daring her again. She'd handled the doubters amongst the men earlier like they were children. Now the Captain was handling HER.

The young woman felt completely unbalanced, but she wasn't so lost that she didn't respond.

"Of course not. I'm not nervous around YOU," she said with a little bit of venom fueled by her frustration. And she assumed a fighting pose. "I'm ready when you are, 'my Lord,'" she replied in a mocking tone.

The man laughed. "This is going to be fun," he said, and he launched an attack.

His laugh further annoyed the young Valkyrie, and she met his attack forcefully. She'd teach him NOT to take her lightly!

Tyna fought hard, but as they sparred, circling, pressing forward, moving back, thrusting, and parrying, she found herself unfocused. He fought very well, for one thing, and she could easily admire his form as he moved around the sparring ring with her. His muscles bunched and flexed, and the way his hips moved...

His movement was so fluid, so casual. She could feel his power.

And yet, it felt like the Captain was toying with her, somehow. Yes, now she could feel that his attacks seemed almost lazy to her.

This man was TOYING with her!

It made her all the more frustrated. "FIGHT BACK!" she demanded and leapt at him furiously.

It was a mistake; just the sort of mistake she'd told the men to let impatient demons make.

The Captain slipped under her two-hand downward-arching strike and met her moving body firmly with his own. As he slipped a free arm around her waist to steady her, Tyna was caught firmly in his grasp, her body pressing against his.

The young Valkyrie gasped involuntarily at the sudden intimacy as his big, strong hand slipped from the small of her back down to her ass, pulling her firmly against him more, and letting her feel the man against her.

His arms were under hers, and she had little leverage, only allowing her to indignantly demand, "let me go!" as he pushed his hips at her.

"Maybe we should stop sparring and dance, instead, my Lady," the Captain told her, a twinkle in his eye. "You're well suited to it, I must say," he continued casually as he kept her trapped against him, now using both hands to hold her firmly in place. "Or maybe we could do this."

And he kissed her.

Tyna sputtered in rage as his lips covered hers, following her as she tried to pull her head away, his hands lifting her smoothly and effortlessly off the ground while he walked her back to the wall of the barn, effectively pinning her even as he kept kissing her.

The man was gentle but firm and insistent as he kissed, his rougher lips catching hers, stimulating the young woman and trying to tame her to him as he steadily ground his hips into her body.

For Tyna, it was like the man was doing to her just what she'd imagined when he'd said he needed to examine her closely, and she found herself weakening as he continued. She could feel his hardness against her now, down there at her hips, the stiff bulge reminding her of his wanting.

The Captain pulled his face back a little, his breathing heavy as he gazed into her eyes. "Do you yield, my Lady," he whispered gently, for her ears only.

"Never," she replied, just as softly as she looked back up at him.

This time when he kissed her, Tyna met his kiss with her own.

"That's better," the man growled through their kisses as she laughed. Slowly, he let the Valkyrie slip downwards in his grasp until her feet were on the ground again, still kissing the whole way.

"So, did I pass your test, Captain?" Tyna asked a little breathlessly. "Am I fit to train your men?"

The man grinned at her. "How could I refuse? You're much too fun to watch," he answered before moving in for more kissing.

When he eventually broke their kiss, her eyes stayed closed. "You're very bad, my Lord," she chided him, half seriously, but she was waiting for more kisses.

Only the kisses didn't come, and she opened her eyes to see the man moving away, starting to pack up the remaining sparring gear.

"Why did you stop," Tyna said a little plaintively, surprised.

"I think I like leaving you wanting more, my Lady," the Captain told her with a roguish wink and smile, turning to leave her still leaning against the barn wall.

"You're a bad man, Captain," she repeated, calling out after him, feeling a mixture of chagrin at being manipulated so easily by the man, along with a yearning for more of his intoxicating kisses, but also feeling happy as she turned to go back to the King's house.

As the sun set, and the shadows deepened to overall darkness, all else was silent in the village, the people all getting ready for their evening meals. The night watchman would be coming out shortly to begin keeping vigil through the long nordic night, ready to warn the village should any foe appear, whether man or demon. But it wasn't quite time.

Tyna opened the door to the King's house and entered, closing it behind her to keep out the night chill.

As the silence seemed to grow to match the dark, a dim figure appeared from the gloom next to the metal-working shop, coming out from just beside it into the main village center, watching Tyna leave. As he came into the last remaining light, his face became clear. It was King Ulf, and he'd surely seen at least the end of the "sparring match."