The Lost Valkyrie Ch. 10

"My Lord, that beast was enchanted by the demon, somehow. It's much too dangerous for one man to hunt, even the Captain."

The King spoke kindly to her. "You let us worry about the bear. You need the attention of a healer, and now."

The man's tender concern was both touching and frustrating to her.

"My Lord, there might be more than one of them. Please, send the Captain assistance, at least."

Now the King got a concerned look on his face. He hadn't thought of that!

"You're right, my Lady. And wise. We shall send more guards out. With our dogs. But we must first still get you home. Can you ride with me?"

As he spoke, Ulf finished her bandage - rudimentary at best, but better than nothing - and stood up, taking his tunic off and slipping it gently over her head, her good arm fitting neatly through one armhole, while her injured arm was safely tucked inside.

"I can ride, my Lord," Tyna replied, grateful to be covered up. "And thank you. I'd hate to arrive back in the village naked."

The tunic was long enough on her to almost be a short dress, and he went to retrieve her clothes and weapons from their spot by the pool.

And he laughed as he stowed her gear in a pack he had on his mount.

"I doubt anyone would mind you arriving naked, my Lady," he told her with a smile. "I'm sure many feel as the Captain does...."

He paused to help Tyna onto his horse, seated in front of him as he joined her. In a moment she was nestled up to him, her good arm around his torso, her head leaning against his broad, muscular chest. The shieldmaiden could hear his heart beating as they started to ride.

Finally, King Ulf continued his thought.

"And what did the Captain do to deserve the face you gave him, my Lady?" he asked in a tone that was one part good humor and another part meant to disguise his level of interest.

It seemed to Ulf he'd caught the Captain and the shieldmaiden in the middle of some romantic encounter! Now that the immediate excitement of the bear attack was over, the King was starting to ask himself questions.

"Did the Captain make inappropriate advances? Had he tried to force her? If so, why was she also naked? She'd not be the first girl the man had seduced...." And so on.

As she rode with Ulf, Tyna considered his question. Should she tell him what the Captain had done? If the bear had not arrived, she felt pretty certain she'd have had to fight the Captain off.

Not that she worried she couldn't.

Still, it wasn't right, what the Captain had done.

"Maybe I should just tell Ulf all that happened," she mused to herself.

No. The Captain had risked his life to protect her. She was not going to punish him for it.

To the King, she replied, "It was a misunderstanding, my Lord. I pray, think nothing of it. Your Captain is brave, and he thought only of my welfare as he protected me from the bear."

As they rode back towards the village, the King frowned. Tyna's answer was clearly leaving much unsaid.

Was the girl protecting the Captain out of gratitude for how he'd fought? Or was she interested in the man and now having second thoughts about having hit him? The King wondered.

"Very well, my Lady," was all he said back to her as she remained pressed against him. He was almost cradling her in this position atop his stallion, and she felt safe. The man smelled good, and she smiled as he seemed to accept her answer. Now she could try to relax and rest a bit. And she needed to: the bear had hurt her rather badly, and painfully.

She couldn't see the King's frown, and he couldn't see her smile as he made his way carefully back to where he could get the Physician to tend her. It wasn't long before Tyna had fallen asleep.

As Ulf carried Tyna safely, he made a decision. He was going to confront the Captain about what he'd done, whether she wanted it, or not. If Tyna DID like him, at least she deserved the best version of the Captain she could get. Not some scoundrel.

With that, the man felt a little better. Arriving back home, he called immediately for the Physician, and then he called for the guards to go out and help with the bear hunt.

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

As the Captain tracked the unnatural bear into the gloom of the deeper forest and hillsides, he found himself deep in thought too.

He'd been THIS CLOSE to taking the nude shieldmaiden into his arms! And what a vision she was! Despite her resistance, the man felt sure he'd have been able to soothe her into allowing some intimacy, at least.

That damned bear! Where had it come from? And what kind of bear was it?

"It's not natural," he muttered as he moved carefully along the path the bear left for him.

Still, it wasn't all bad. The bear had given him a chance to show the Lady how brave he was! No woman could fail to be impressed by that, he knew.

And he smiled.

As he replayed the events in his head, he found himself stuck on King Ulf's sudden and timely rescue. Where had he come from? Why had he too followed them out from the village? The images raced through his mind...the King there with the shieldmaiden by the waterfall, his hands all over her naked body, her gentle and wanting surrender to his touch. The timing was perfect. Perhaps too perfect. Surely this couldn't all be marked up to chance. And then another thought slipped into his mind.

"My FRIEND the King is trying to STEAL my GIRL!" And he wasn't going to stand for it. Tyna was HIS.

The King was his lifelong friend. And now he was betraying the Captain. But the Captain would make him PAY.