The Ice Dragon King & The Slave-Queen

Chapter 11 - "I am the Varangian Queen"

“Your Grace,” General Stig greeted, slightly breathless as he approached Taryn’s side.

Taryn was already waiting for General Stig in the waiting room for quite a while. She was waiting for him just like the past few days so that he could accompany her on her walks that afternoon. Taryn had become quite used to having General Stig's company, listening to him talk about the kingdom, their Gods and many other interesting topics with Taryn. At the same time, she also started to learn some Norse language, hoping she could impress the king one day.

Taryn looked up at General Stig and smiled, her face openly friendly, like always. General Stig was a little more guarded that afternoon, however, recalling what he had seen the day before — how Taryn’s eyes and demeanor had changed drastically when she saw the king with another woman. He had to admit that the scene between King Einar and his former paramour yesterday was not very pleasant, especially for a spouse. The thing was, General Stig still wasn’t sure if what he saw yesterday was real or if it was just his imagination. Whatever it was, he just didn’t want to take any chances.

“How are you this afternoon, Your Grace?” General Stig asked as he purposely walked a few feet away from Taryn, stealing sideways glances at her before they both stepped out of the castle’s main door.

“I am doing very well, General, thank you. How about yourself?” Taryn asked chattily, not recognizing the subtle changes in the General's walk and talk.

“Very good, Your Grace,” he answered softly, his hands behind him as he looked up at the sky, glad to see that the sky was clear and blue that afternoon.

Last night, immediately after Stig arrived home, he opened a bottle of beer that he had kept only for special occasions. He downed the whole bottle in a few short gulps. After that, he just stood in the middle of his small house for a very long time, drenched from head to toe like a drowned rat, listening to the drip of water from his trousers and his beard.

On the evening before, after General Stig had paced outside the king’s bedroom for a long time, he decided to walk back home in the heavy rain. By the time he arrived home, the General hadn't even realized that he was soaked to the bone. His mind was trying to repeat what he saw behind his new queen's eyes when she saw King Einar with that other woman. He wondered if King Einar's queen was a witch. Were there many witches in the Celtic kingdom? He knew that the Celtics were Christians, but did Christians have the power to control the weather and bring forth a storm? Later that night, as General Stig sat in his large rocking chair with a fresh beer bottle in his hand, he just stared long and hard into the burning fire in his hearth. General Stig knew that he couldn’t have conjured such an imagination even if his life depended on it.

General Stig Torstenson was a simple man. Born in the same year as King Einar, General Stig came from a family of Karls, simple and regular. For generations, his family had only been either blacksmiths or swordsmiths. So, it was no surprise to know that General Stig was the only child of a swordsmith named Torsten and his wife, Göndul. In the Norse language, his father’s name meant “Thor’s Stone”. His mother, on the other hand, was named after a Valkyrie, but both his parents could not have been any more different than their namesakes.

General Stig’s father was an established and a well-known swords-maker, one whose work was commended far and wide and sought after by many in the Varangian kingdom. When he was but an apprentice, General Stig's father had made a sword for the new king, King Asger, one who had appreciated the swordsmith's work so much so that he ordered another sword to be made — one that was used by King Asger until his last breath. King Asger named the sword Gunnlogi, which meant Battle Flame. However, even though General Stig's father had made swords and weapons for many Jarls and even the King, he always managed to stay humble. General Stig's father is the type of man who speaks very little, even to his wife and son, but when he does speak, it is often filled with great advice that everyone would end up following. The General's mother, Göndul, on the other hand, even though she was named after one of the maidens who served the god Odin and who went to battlefields to collect worthy souls to guide them to Valhalla, was actually a very soft-spoken and timid woman.

There were three things that General Stig's parents believed in and taught him as he grew up. It was that in life, one should be hardworking, loyal, and good. And so, General Stig was raised with those beliefs and, as he turned older, he quickly became the favorite companion of the young prince, who, after losing his father at a young age, expeditiously became the young king of the Varangian clan.

Many conveyed their envy when General Stig became King Einar’s General and First Commander as soon as the young king was crowned. Even though his family had wanted him to continue the family's legacy as a swordsmith, General Stig's heart was not in it. In truth, General Stig was hesitant to become the King's General and First Commander as well. The title and responsibility wasn’t something that Stig coveted, for, in his heart, he was a voyager and a wanderer, just as his name meant. But alas, during the king's lowest point in life, the king requested him to be his General and First Commander and, as a person who would always stand by his king and best friend, General Stig accepted his new king's demand.

For years now, General Stig has held an important position within the king’s council. His task was to assist the king with the ruling of his kingdom and lighten the king's burden on matters of state, if there were any, along with his other best friend and the king's Second Commander, Vali Svendson.

The three of them, born in the same year and only a few weeks apart from each other, had been joined at the hip since they were babes. It is with great honor for General Stig to fight and protect his king, even if it comes to the point where he has to lay down his life for him, no matter what the situation and condition.

However, General Stig could not deny that, on the day the king announced that he would discuss a peace treaty with the Celtic king, the General did not like it. None of them truly knows who or what the Celtics are, apart from the land in their kingdom that was highly desired by many of the Jarls in the kingdom. And now, as he walked next to his king’s new wife, the wife who was supposed to be the key to the peaceful relationships between both kingdoms, General Stig could not deny that there was a mixture of feelings bubbling inside him. He had to admit that he was confused and slightly afraid of the little lady, one whom he believed quite strongly was a witch.

“General, what is happening over there?” Taryn asked, snapping General Stig out of his reverie.

General Stig looked at where Taryn was pointing and replied, “It is the training grounds, Your Grace. Most men train there in the early mornings.”

“Most of the men? Do you mean not every Varangian man trains?” Taryn asked, genuinely curious.

“That's right, Your Grace. You see, everyone is different and everyone has their own strength. Not all men are built for battle. There are different hierarchies in Varangians' lives. Some men are more suitable to be farmers, tradesmen or blacksmiths. Some are born with the strength and the power to wield swords. It depends on how and what their preferences are,” General Stig explained.

Then, he continued, “In His Grace's kingdom, it is compulsory for young boys to get regular training as they grow up, but when they come of age, they will be able to choose what they want to do with their lives. Usually, these young men would choose to become a soldier and then they would train hard daily to prepare themselves supposing that there would be war. On another hand, if the young man is not cut out for fighting, he will learn other skills that do not require any physical or field training.”

“That’s interesting. Can women train too?” Taryn asked, interested in what the people at the training grounds were doing, especially when it seemed like they were using real weapons as they practiced fighting with each other.

“Do you mean to ask if women can train to fight in battle? For war?” General Stig asked, just to be sure. Taryn nodded, her eyes excited.

“Well then, yes, they do, Your Grace. Throughout history, there are women who have trained for war too. They will be known as warriors. A warrior female can fight and claim lands from other warriors, becoming chieftain in those lands. We call the chieftain, Jarls. The Varangians have had a few female chieftains throughout history,” General Stig replied.

“Really? That's very interesting. It is definitely different from where I come from,” Taryn said, clearly intrigued. She turned to look at General Stig and asked him to elaborate.

“You see, Your Grace, for many centuries, our women have had many rights to their names. As Varangians, women have almost equal power as men. In fact, Varangian women could own their own property or land, either handed down from their father or their husband after death. These women would have full custody and responsibility to run and manage their lands. This means she would have the power to manage all the families and menfolk living on their land too,” the General said.

“Does not all the land belong to the king?” Taryn asked, confused.

“This kingdom is King Einar’s kingdom. He charges a levy on his people living in his kingdom annually, but the land does not belong solely to him. The people living in his kingdom are not his serfs but are more his subjects. There may be many things that we need to answer him, since we all must live according to the rules and regulations set by the King since his ancestral time, but the king does not hold the ultimate power over us. By wearing the crown, he is first and foremost our protector, not just a feudal lord,” General Stig explained.

Taryn was amazed as she listened to General Stig’s explanation. She never thought the Varangians, whom her people dubbed as barbaric and primitive thinking, would have a more open-minded perspective when it comes to ruling and even the distribution of ownership — for both men and women.

Back where she came from, everything in the kingdom belonged to the Celtic king. He would appoint men that are his favourites to become the 'minister' or the 'lord' of different parts of his land. Every quarter of the year, the lord of the land will collect a stipulated levy from the people living there, either in the form of silver or gold, crop yield, or livestock. The collected levies would be taxed by the lords first before they were sent to the castle, which later would find their way to the king’s coffers. Most of the time, the levy requested by the lord of the land is more than what the crown demanded — because the lords would pocket some of those levies themselves.

If the people living in those lands could not provide the specified amount given by their lords, they would fall into debt. Oftentimes, as the debt increases, none of these people will be able to pay back what they owed and in many cases, those people will end up being slaves, like herself. There can never be a way out for poor people like her, having been in debt to the crown for years, and some for generations. Once you are in debt, you will, more often than not, become slaves in the end. It is a very sad outcome to many people. If only the Celtic king would be more generous and advanced-thinking like the Varangians, she thought.

“If I would like to learn to fight, can I train with them as well?” Taryn thought out loud.

General Stig was surprised. He turned to look at her and asked, “You would like to learn how to fight, Your Grace? But why?”

“Why not?” Taryn asked him back.

General Stig was curious. He wanted to test the young woman who was married to his best friend, the king. He wanted to know the type of person this young woman was. So he asked, “Your Grace, you are a Queen. You are married to a strong man, a feared man, a man who is also a warrior in every aspect. King Einar is well respected by his people and feared by his enemies. Why would you want to learn to fight when you have a man like King Einar by your side to protect you?”

Taryn didn’t look at General Stig. She kept quiet for a while, then turned on her heels and walked toward the edge of the cliff, and General Stig followed closely behind her. Taryn stood there as she looked out at the horizon, her eyes on the clear blue sky. She noticed birds flying high in formation as they spread their wings wide, enjoying the wind through their wings. She closed her eyes for a moment and, in a split second, she thought she saw the raven in her dreams behind her eyelids.

Taryn tilted her head slightly at General Stig but her eyes were still trailing at the birds. She wished she could taste freedom such as that. She wished she could fly too, looking down at the world and the humans below, too far up to care for the pain and suffering of humans. Taryn answered the General's question softly, “I know I am married to a powerful man, General, and I am grateful for that. But it is not his power or his fame that I want to rely on. It is my own. Because from the moment I am married to him, I am the Varangian queen.”

General Stig’s eyebrows shot up. A newfound respect for Taryn swelled in his chest. He looked at the small young woman standing next to him, the top of her head not even reaching his shoulders. She was a petite young woman, looking dainty in her dress as she stood there near the cliff, the wind blowing some of the loose tendrils of her hair this way and that. But it was the clear determination in the way she stood, her shoulders thrown back and her chin pointed a little higher that allowed General Stig to see her in a new light.

She may be young, but she has the potential for greatness. Maybe she would be good for King Einar, General Stig thought. Then, the General smiled.

“I'll tell you what. I can help you with training if you’d like, Your Grace. Or, I can oversee your training with the younger boys and you can slowly progress as time goes by. Who knows? If you are very good, maybe you could fight me too,” General Stig suggested, his voice slightly teasing but his face very serious.

Taryn laughed, a beautiful sound like the soft chime of bells coming out of her before she nodded. She reached out her small hand and General Stig took it in his. They shook their hands as a sign of agreement.

Taryn’s laugh disappeared quickly, however, when she saw the same woman from yesterday, the one who had touched her husband in a too-friendly way. She saw the woman walking toward the same longhouse where Taryn was married more than a week ago. Her eyes narrowed on the woman, disliking her instantly.

“General, may I ask you something?” Taryn asked, her eyes on the woman’s back.

“Yes, Your Grace?” General Stig saw the woman too and was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He looked up at the clear sky, wondering if the queen would make the storm come again.

“Who is that woman?” Taryn asked, not even pointing at the woman but only following her with her sharp eyes as the king's former paramour entered the longhouse. The smile Taryn had earlier was completely wiped off her face.

“Her name is Tove, Your Grace,” Stig answered, not wanting to further elaborate on the woman.

Taryn turned to look at General Stig, her light blue eyes now beginning to turn stormy. At that moment, the General had his answer. He was sure now that he was not imagining it. He didn’t know how she did it, but he was compelled to know what it meant. Then, he saw her eye color darkening and, at the same time, he saw a roll of dark clouds appearing ahead.

“I think it is best if you ask the king about that woman yourself, Your Grace. I am not in the position to say anything more about her. It is a personal matter best discussed between a man and his wife,” General Stig said in a calm voice, hoping to distract Taryn and neutralize her anger.

Taryn cast her eyes downward, looking a little sad. She may be naïve, but she was not stupid. It is not uncommon for men, any men who could afford it, especially kings, to sleep with other women before marriage. In fact, she knew that it is also not uncommon for men to sleep with other women even after marriage. It is usually women who are more restricted when it comes to being promiscuous. It is frowned upon if a woman sleeps with multiple men, and it is especially not allowed for a woman to do so after marriage, because of the issues with children — or to put it more plainly, the children’s legitimacy.

However, now that Taryn had truly known how intimate the act between a man and a woman in the bedroom was, she was having a very hard time to accept that King Einar might have been with another woman — even if that woman came into his life before her. She didn’t like how she was feeling at the moment. She didn’t like the sour taste in her mouth when she looked at the woman with the dark brown hair walking in that suggestive way by herself toward the longhouse. She recalled the time she saw her leaning on the king and linking her fingers through his. It made her heart hurt.

General Stig was right, she thought. She should ask the king about the woman called Tove herself.

As Taryn calmed down, General Stig noticed that the dark cloud that was almost above their heads started to clear too and, once again, the sunlight began to penetrate the thick clouds. At that moment, General Stig’s heart was beating hard, he thought he was about to have a heart attack. He had heard of magic before, in the histories or the legends of the Norse, but he had never seen one happen right in front of him. The way the weather changed immediately according to Taryn’s mood was instant and not coincidental.

Magic was not something shocking in the Varangian community. Even though their current generation does not practice magic anymore, magic has always been a part of their blood — because of their strong faith in the powers of the Norse Gods and Goddesses. It is well known that their ancestors used to practice sei∂r, a type of magic that is both the telling and the shaping of the future. Centuries ago, those who practiced magic had the basic principles that were thought to underlie the workings of the cosmos rather than against them. The Varangians, especially the females, are more adaptable to magic and could easily manage or enhance its uses. For a moment, as General Stig looked at Taryn, he wished there were sei∂r practitioners in the kingdom.

As General Stig walked next to Taryn toward the castle, he thought that maybe, just maybe, the new Varangian queen didn’t even know about her magic abilities. She seemed too innocent and untrained. She didn’t even seem to notice the rolling of the dark clouds as her mood changed. General Stig wondered if he should tell the king about this. He had never kept a secret from his king, but, what benefit could there be if the king knew?

***

Taryn waited for the king patiently so that she could have dinner with him. But she was left to wait for a long time and by the time the king came into his bedroom, his tunic and trousers were slightly wet, even though there was not a drop of water from the sky.

“My lady, what a surprise,” King Einar said, a smile spreading on his face when he saw Taryn standing near the adjoining door of their room.

Her hunger was forgotten the moment she saw the king entering his room with wet clothes. Taryn frowned and asked the obvious question, “Why are your clothes wet, my lord?”

King Einar quickly averted his eyes from Taryn and that raised suspicion in her mind. Her thoughts quickly ran back to the woman named Tove. She didn’t want to think that the king’s wet clothes had anything to do with that woman. But, she needed to know.

“I went to take a swim in the bay,” King Einar replied, looking slightly embarrassed.

Taryn didn’t immediately reply. She knew how it was the custom of the Varangians to bathe daily, but to swim when winter is upon them, especially at night, was like inviting death. She had noticed that the king never wore thick clothing outside, even when everyone else was wearing two or even three layers of clothes to protect themselves from the cold wind. She thought it was quite strange, but since everybody behaved like this was natural for King Einar, she didn’t think it was very odd.

“Do you know how to swim?” King Einar asked as he took off his wet tunic in front of her, his actions completely natural, as if he had undressed in front of a woman many times before.

Taryn didn’t like where her mind was going.

“No, I don’t, my lord. I shall like to learn how to swim one day,” Taryn replied softly, noting to herself that she would learn to swim, just like how she was going to learn to fight.

“Would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?” King Einar asked with a grin as his hands went to his trousers.

“Wait, my lord,” Taryn stopped the king, her voice a little too sharp for her liking. The king heard it too and his eyes snapped at her face. King Einar stopped what he was doing and cöcked his head to the side.

“There is something that is bothering me. I would like to ask you about it so that I can quickly get it out of my mind,” Taryn said directly, the same way the king had asked her the night before.

“Of course,” King Einar replied, his demeanor instantly solemn.

Taryn was not sure how to begin. She had planned to confront the king when she met him, but now that he was standing in front of her and waiting for her to speak, she was beginning to regret her plan. She wondered if she had been too carried away. Even though in the eyes of the kingdom she was his queen and even though he took her as his true wife, she must never forget that she was a fraud. She should not have allowed the intimate experience she had with King Einar or her own jealousy to cloud the truth that only she and her two lady companions knew.

“My lady?” King Einar prompted as he took the few steps to where Taryn stood, closing in on her.

Taryn was distracted by the display of her husband’s naked chest in front of her. But as swiftly as she was reminded of the feeling of his hard chest and torso under her palms, she was also reminded of Tove and how overtly familiar she was when she leaned on King Einar.

“I know I do not have the right to ask this but I had to know,” Taryn began.

King Einar raised his eyebrows.

“Who is the woman named Tove to you?” Taryn blurted out.

King Einar blinked hard one time before he looked into Taryn’s clear blue eyes. She was staring at him, her eyes appealing to his quietly. He thought to himself, she was looking more beautiful than when he first set eyes upon her. But more importantly, he acknowledged her confidence, something that was more pronounced now, compared to when they first met.

King Einar pulled Taryn to his bed. He let her sit on the side of the bed before he sat next to her, leaving a small gap between them so that she could see his face clearly when he answered her question.

“I shall be honest with you,” King Einar began and paused. “Tove was a woman I bedded before I married you,” he said.

Taryn looked straight at him. For a second, he thought he saw pain slashed across her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"Was she the reason you were gone for three whole days earlier this week?" Taryn asked again.

"No," King Einar answered. "I have another pressing matter regarding the safety of this kingdom," he continued.

King Einar looked into Taryn's blue eyes and said firmly, "I did not spend the three days with her nor with any other woman at the time."

“Would you be bedding her or any other woman again?” Taryn asked, trying to keep the torment from her voice.

“Would you allow me to bed her or any other woman?” King Einar asked, raising his eyebrows.

Taryn thought about it for a while. Where she came from, it was a custom for men of power to have mistresses or bed different women once in a while. Back then, she had never seriously thought about this matter, thinking that it was the norm and many women accepted it because it was the custom.

Right now, however, faced with the idea of another woman being intimate with her husband, thinking of him doing the same things he did to her on other women brought an agonizing pain in her heart, a feeling so raw that she thought cutting her heart out with a knife would’ve been the better alternative. She had never felt anything like this before. She didn’t like being vulnerable, but she also didn’t want to be sick with jealousy.

“Tell me,” the king commanded.

She decided to be honest. Even though they hadn’t communicated much since they married, she had a strong feeling that the king was a man who would appreciate honesty, which was the opposite of what he despised most — lies and deceit.

“I would rather you not be with any other woman after me,” Taryn replied, shyly.

King Einar watched her closely.

“Honestly, I didn’t like the idea of you being with another woman before me. However, I understand that that was beyond my control,” Taryn stopped and cleared her throat. “As a matter of fact, I do not want you to bed any other woman ever again. You can only bed me,” she whispered, then her eyelashes fluttered shyly before she quickly stood up from the bed.

King Einar’s hand shot out in a flash and grabbed Taryn’s wrist.

“If that is what my lady wants, then that is what my lady shall get,” King Einar replied.

It was not common for kings in any kingdom to refrain from taking mistresses or bedding other women just because their wives requested it. But, the Varangians appreciate their wives and women. Varangians believe that women have similar, if not the same, authority over their bodies and their partners as do men. Since his wife has voiced her opinion on this matter, then he shall oblige her. Truth be told, since they made love last night, she was the only woman he had been thinking of the whole day. The idea of being with Tove or any other woman was far away from his mind. However, the idea of making love to his wife right now seemed like an exceedingly good one.

King Einar pulled Taryn to stand in front of him, locking her in between his strong thighs.

“Right now, it is you that I want, wife. I want you,” his husky voice whispered clearly into her ear, sending chills down Taryn’s spine.

A moment later, engulfed in King Einar’s strong arms and warm embrace, Taryn forgot about everything else except the delectable sensations of being one with her husband.