A Queen Named Victory

Chapter Seven

He cleared his throat to hide his laugh. He was much taller than I remembered and more menacing. Twinkling lights from his magic cast shadows over his forearms. He pulled a rope out of thin air. I immediately shoved my hands behind my back.

"You're mad! How dare you treat me like livestock?"

"It'll be hard to piss if I tie your wrists behind your back," his voice suddenly appeared from behind me. I twirled around quickly to face him. He waited patiently with a pleased expression and the dangling rope.

"I'd hate for you to get lost or snatched. Now, come here."

"You will regret this," I promised.

As I expected, the waning moonlight greeted us at the mouth of the cave. He remained in the shadows as I exited into the forest. It was one step close to freedom. I followed my ears to the faint dribbles of a small stream and nearly jumped with joy. "Gods, please don't fail me now. Kindred spirits, please guide me back home," I recited quietly. I pushed through the thick wildberry bushes closer to the stream. My body suddenly jerked back from the tension. That was the limit he was willing to let me go.

Shitty monster and his shitty magic.

"Will you let me shit in peace!?" My shouts sent songbirds off their perches.

He returned with a teasing echo, "I thought you had to piss!"

"The sight of your ugly face scared the shit out of me!"

My throat rasped from our yelling match across the eerie forest. Just wait, Dimikyr. I'll rip this rope to shreds. I grabbed a rock big enough to wedge between the rope and my wrists. Blood dripped from my fingertips but I kept pushing with my legs until it made more space to squeeze one hand out. I tied the rope to a tree before I ran with the stream without looking back over my shoulder.

Lower thistly bushes shredded my nightgown, snagged my wool cloak, and cut my ankles until they were red and raw. My wobbly legs lept over fern-covered fallen trees. I dodged the jagged boulders and low-hanging branches outreaching to stop me. The familiar terrain urged me to move onward. I tasted the salty tears of relief when I tumbled past the forest edge onto the outskirts of my father's land.

"Little wolf, Little wolf!! You have to go to Grandmother."

Ingrid sat up from her bed with droopy eyes. My urgency was the only answer my siblings needed to push them into action. Their trust in me guided them to move without hesitation. The blessed golden rays of the morning sun peeked from the mountain.

My jolly song graced our sleeping equine companions as I prepared the most sturdy mounting rings for their sudden journey. Heidrun mirrored my mood with a playful whinny. She tugged on the only braid left intact from my wild nightmarish experience. I pressed my forehead against her muzzle.

"Run like the Northwind and take them to safety, my friend."

My sister's expression pleaded for answers to explain my appearance, but I left her unanswered. It happened so quickly. I said something I shouldn't have and made a deal with the devil. But there was an opportunity amid the chaos, leaving me with the ability to get something out of it. I was not going to go down without a fight. I finally gave my siblings some insight when I bid them farewell.

"You must flee this place and never return. Father is dead to us all now. Do not look back." Ingrid blinked rapidly with so much pained confusion.

"What about you?"

I put on my bravest face before I answered, "You will have answers when it is time. Right now, I need to know you are both safe." I tapped Heidrun's rear without saying goodbye. Unna and I watched her carry the most precious people in my life further away.

"Who goes there!?" Halvar's booming voice sent my heart out of my chest. He kicked open the wooden door as I pushed the last cow out of the stall. His herd scattered over the broken fence posts into the hills beyond. Gunni, our herding dog, lifted her head to see all the commotion. She decided that it was not worth her energy and rested her head back on her paws. Halvar bellowed over the noise of his fleeing wealth.

"You thief! I'll have your head on a pike!"

I bent over in time to miss his swinging fist and rushed to close the byre door. Dinah and Judith both waited by the entrance, frozen in shock.

Judith puzzled, "Sigrid?"

"You know this wretch? To whose home does she belong?! Answer me, Judith″ Dinah shook Judith. Her lip quivered, but she could not manage to find an answer.

"My apologies, go back inside, Judith and Dinah. You will not remember this moment when you rise again."

"You're too late," I crowed triumphantly once I sat atop Unna.

"Am I? Unna, would you like a treat?" The Dimikyr stood beneath the evergreens with his cloak hood over his face. He held out his palm, revealing a handful of sugar cubes that made the horse's ears perk. I tightened my grip on the reins and pulled back to give us distance from the forest, but she stayed with her eyes locked on the treats. The Dimikyr's throaty laugh rang in my ears.

"Unna, come to me."

"Don't you dare do it," I said through gritted teeth to both the horse and monster. Unna strode closer, ignoring my commands and clicks. It was hopeless for her, but not for me. I thrust myself off the moving horse. My lungs screamed under the pressure of the fall. I gasped and coughed while I rolled on the floor. A few curse words slipped my mouth between heavy inhales. I pulled away from the figure who rushed to my side.

"Stay away! Take your loss and go back to that hellhole you crawled out of! I'm a free woman now!" I coughed again.

"Not in that condition," he argued stiffly. "Let me help you."

"Over my dead body," I chuckled at the blinding light.

He watched me struggle to stand. Once I caught my breath and steadied myself, I raised my hand with stretched fingers. "I have five conditions. Accept them, and I will go with you willingly. Deny them, and you will lose the human bride you're so keen on."

"You could have left with your sister."

"I can leave right now if I wanted to," I agreed.

"You know I will come for you again at nightfall."

"Ah," I turned to face him. "I have until sundown. That is plenty of time to go where you can't reach me."

"I own all the darkness touches. There is not an inch of land I can't retrieve you from," he snorted confidently.

"What about the land of the dead?" I lifted the knife to my neck. He flinched when I pressed it to my throat.

"Let's make a deal," he yielded.