The Last Warrior Queen

Chapter 15

Luckily the next few days were uneventful, but unfortunately we were forced to camp each night since there were no towns or villages along the way. I prayed that the weather would hold until we reached the north.

Halvor made me ride with Gunnar each day and I couldn’t figure out why. Perhaps he had already tired of me and planned to get rid of me once we reached his kingdom. Today Gunnar said his horse needed a rest too and told Halvor that I should ride with him.

Halvor glared at Gunnar and called Eric over. “Eric, the queen will ride with you today.”

Eric looked confused, but quickly offered his arm to escort me to his horse. He helped me up and took his place behind me. I gloomily thought about why Halvor didn’t want me riding with him, and none of my reasons were reassuring. Everything came back to the fact that Halvor didn’t want me as his wife and was just waiting until we crossed into his territory to get rid of me. I wonder if he was angry when I killed those men?

Eric soon interrupted my thoughts.

“My Queen, can I ask you about your time at the nunnery?”

I nodded “You may.”

“How come you didn’t become a nun?”

“Some women are sent to nunneries until they reach of age to marry. For various reasons their families cannot support them, usually due to political issues within the family, so they are sent away to learn to be good wives for their future husbands.”

“So not all women who go to a nunnery become nuns?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And a woman who is training to be a wife at a nunnery is free to choose her own husband?”

“Well, no. The woman’s father will still decide the match for her. Her father summons her when it is time to wed.”

“Oh, I see” Eric replied sadly.

I frowned at his response. “Eric, do you know someone who went to a nunnery?”

He nodded and said “When I was younger, before I became an elite warrior, a man came to our border looking to hire some men to escort his daughter to a nunnery. He said he couldn’t trust his men to do it, something about betrayal. He paid well for the task and all we had to do was travel a few days to this nunnery in a castle. He didn’t tell us how beautiful his daughter was. I fell in love with her over the three days it took to make the journey. But I sadly never saw her again. Once I returned to the north I was thrust into training and became an elite warrior. After so much time had passed I forgot the name of the nunnery and how to get there.”

“Eric, what did this girl look like?”

“Ah, she had beautiful long curly hair, deep red, like the color of a sunset. And bright blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. She was sweet and thoughtful and had a graceful way about her.”

I gulped. “Eric, what was her name?”

“Ann.”

Oh for heaven’s sake. This couldn’t be a coincidence. My best friend at the nunnery fell in love with Eric? She arrived at the nunnery when she was thirteen - quite old for a bride candidate. And I remember her talking about how she had fallen in love with a man who brought her to the nunnery and that she knew that he would come and rescue her. But eventually as the years passed she stopped talking about him. The sad realization that this man would never come had finally set in. My heart ached for her all over again now that I knew Eric was this man.

Now that I recalled, Ann often spoke of how she would become a nun. I would remind her of how beautiful and capable she was, telling her that any man would be lucky to have her as a wife. She must have known. Her father probably was getting her out to safety before he was killed by the man or men that betrayed him. That’s why he couldn’t have any of his men escort her. And that’s why she lost hope once Eric failed to appear and retrieve her.

Her being a bride candidate was just a ruse for her protection and I just left her there. I left Ann all alone in the nunnery without any hope and without any friends. I had to go back and get her.

“Eric I know the name of the nunnery and how to get there.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Ann is at the Nunnery of Saint Patricia. I know because she was my best friend while I was there. And now she’s all alone. We have to go and get her.”

“But you said that her father will choose her husband. We can’t kidnap her, we’ll start a war.”

I shook my head. “Ann was never really a bride candidate. She pretended to be in case any travelers passing through were looking for a nun who had recently arrived. Anyone out to kill her would be looking for a nun, not a bride candidate from a wealthy noble family. Now that enough time has passed, she will enter the nunnery permanently unless we can take her away from there.”

“s**t. I had no idea. If I had known I would have come to get her long ago.”

“When we stop for the night we need to tell Halvor and try to convince him to make a detour to the nunnery.”

Eric nodded.

“Eric, do you think Halvor will agree?” I asked, suddenly concerned that Halvor would laugh and tell me to stop acting like a fool.

Eric shrugged and said “If you tell him I’m sure he will.”

I laughed. “Me? What would I do? He clearly doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. Why do you think I’m riding with you and Gunnar every day?”

Eric chuckled and said “My Queen you have much to learn about men.”