Chapter Four Eadwold 875AD
833 Words
My heart raced, my breathing short and uneven. I felt like I couldn't breathe at all, I had no idea what to do with myself. Do I run, abandoning Bertha and her loaded cart, or do I stop and talk to this fascinating, yet terrifying woman, that was sat before me.
She studied me, her dark eyes alight with a curiousity and intelligence I did not think the heathen scourge capable of.
I had heard talk of a heathen woman, that fought with more savagery and ferocity that even the men she fought along side looked to her as almost an equal. That she must have made a deal with Lucifer himself to be as capable as she was on the battlefield.
No woman should be able to fight as I have heard she can, or to enjoy such savagery. But the woman sat before me, did not look like the one described to me. She did not have black eyes, that you could see the red embers of hell reflected in. Her hair was not black as night, or braided with the flesh and bones of her victims.
In fact her eyes, where a rich and warm brown and her hair was also brown, though dark and dripping with water, from her swim, I could see blonde through it, bleached by the hot summer sun.
My lord please forgive me, for noticing the beauty of this heathen that sits before me. Though I glanced upon her naked form for but a second, the image of her had seared itself upon my mind. She was a beauty to behold and I will beg forgiveness and understanding in my nightly prayers.
She continued to study me silently, her head c****d to the side. She had a confidence and forward nature, that was most unusual and unbecoming of a woman. But on her, it was a confidence that added to her beauty.
I realised that she was waiting for me to speak, but I felt my tongue to be tied and I was unable to form words, but only to stammer at her. I knew her heathen language, I had studied it with my fellow brothers. We learnt it with the aim of sailing to their savage land and preach the word of God, in hopes of saving their souls.
"Have you lost the ability to speak? Perhaps I would have better luck, speaking to your donkey?" She glanced towards Bertha, a wicked smile played on her lips.
"N..N..No." I managed to stammer. Eadwold, you fool, this is your chance to help this woman. You did not spend so many months learning the heathen language to stammer uselessly at the first chance.
She arched an eyebrow at me and smiled that same mocking smile. "I..I" Taking a deep breath, I tried again. "I learnt your language to better try and teach your people about the true God and steer you away from the false gods you currently worship." I let out a breath and waited for her reaction. I knew what became of some of my poor brothers that travelled to the north to spread the word of God.
A slow smile spread across her lips. "Now I recognize your clothes, I have seen a man like you back home." Her smile turned wicked and her eyes lit with a dark humour. "he was dragged by his legs from Sven's horse until he died." She erupted in laughter.
I stared at her in horror, how could a woman and one of such beauty, be so savage and brutal, enjoying the pain of another so. She sighed and wiped a tear from her eye, as her fit of laughter abated.
A frown creased her forehead, as she studied my face. "I upset you." It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. She sighed again and sat up. "My apologies, I didn't mean to upset you. you are nothing like any man I have met before. I'm sure you, like the rest of your people, think me a horror." She chuckled and shook her head, looking at the ground.
Her expression was unexpectedly sad, as she frowned, studying a blade of grass, she held between her fingers. "I wasn't laughing at the man's death, you know." She looked up at me, with such intensity in her eyes. If I didn't know better, I would have thought this savage woman, truly cared for my opinion.
I didn't know what to say, as I looked at this strange woman that sat before me. I opened and closed my mouth multiple times, without uttering a single word. She had started picking at a thread on her sleeve, the silence dragging out.
"I must go, I don't want anyone to come looking for me." She leapt to her feet, grabbed her weapons and marched off down the road and out of sight.
What a strange encounter. Made even stranger still, that I was more sad than relieved, that she had left.
- Writer
