Journey of Vengeance

Chapter 2

I awoke to an oddly quiet house. Usually, Mother is up making food, washing clothes, or sitting in a circle with other village women who are still struggling with the role change. Something just felt very wrong.

I slowly stood up and walked to my mother's side of the room. I pulled back the curtain wall to find her bed empty but not made. Mother always made her bed, maybe she was in a hurry this morning. I walked back to my side and got dressed. I put on black leather pants, a sheer white blouse with a black bodice, and my favorite pair of beaten-up black boots. I grabbed my shoulder bag and walked to the door.

As I stepped out, I noticed everyone rushing to Calder's Fortress. What the hell is going on? I fall in step with the crowd. As I get closer, I hear Calder talking. My feet start to pick up speed and I break through the front of the crowd to see my Mother kneeling in front of Calder. My heart sank. No! No, this can't be happening.

"Ingrid Fredrikson, you have been accused of Treason." He yells, "Therefore I sentence you to death!"

"NO! You can't do this." I yell. "You have already taken my father, don't take her too. I'll do anything, just please don't kill her." I beg, hoping that deep down there was even a little shred of humanity left inside his cold, dead heart.

"Ah, Miss Freya, how delightful to see you again. Unfortunately, your mother has committed treason against me and the village. You see, my son Erik told me about the little gathering that your mother puts on at night for all the village women. How she helps train them in secret. I made it very clear what happens if people were to disobey. But I am willing to show mercy to your mother on one condition." The smirk on his face made my blood boil. How dare he stand up there and act like he's being courteous. First, he killed my father and now he wants to kill my mother. I am not going to let him win.

"I'll do anything to save my mother," I say through gritted teeth.

"Very well, the noose will still be put around your mother's neck." He smirks, "Your task is to hold her up, so she isn't hung, 'til I see fit, of course." All I want to do was climb up there and rip his head from his body, but I keep myself planted. "As for the rest of you, under no circumstances, may you assist Freya with this task. This includes giving her food and water. She must bear this task all on her own if she wants her mother to survive." He finishes.

Before I could wrap my head around what Calder said, his guards rip mother off her knees and drag her over to the noose. They force her to stand on a small wooden box with her hands tied behind her back. The guards took the noose and slid it over her head. Calder then motioned for me to go over to her. I could feel my hand shaking as I took a hesitant step. I realized I couldn't show any fear or hesitation, or he would surely kill her.

As I walked towards my mother, holding my head high, I started to realize with each step that brought me closer, the reality of my situation became clearer. If I wasn't strong enough, then my mother would surely die, and it would be on my hands, not Calder's. I start to feel myself panic. All my own negative thoughts were being spoken out loud throughout the crowd. I could hear people whispering about how this was unfair or how I was being set up to fail. I know that this is just a game for him, but this is life and death for my mother. I can't start to panic now, my mother's life depends on me and me alone. I need to be strong and keep her alive. Once I reach where mother is standing, I take one brittle glance back at Calder, who gestures for his guards to move back to their original posts.

I look back to my mother, her face stricken with an expression of love and admiration, but also complete and utter faith in me and my abilities. But when I looked into her eyes, I saw that she was okay with death if that's what it comes to, but I won't let that happen, I can't. I thought I had also seen sadness lingering on her features but I shook the thought away, I must have been seeing things.

As I closed the last bit of distance between us, I started to realize that I didn't have a plan and started to panic more. Everything was happening so fast, and I didn't even think about a plan. Mother's number one rule in any situation was to have a plan and standing here, I realized I had fucked that up. What am I going to do? I have to have a plan, without one she dies, and I'm left in this world alone.

"Freya, deep breaths, you can do anything you put your mind to, but I need you to stay calm." My head shoots up at my mother's voice, "Just breathe, no matter what happens I am proud of you, now and forever."

I walked up to my mother and squatted in front of her. "Put your legs on my shoulders and I'll hold you up and then we'll figure out the rest as we go." I say, "I know that this isn't the best plan, but I'll think of something I promise, I'm not going to let you die." She does as I say and now all I have to do is hold out. This will test me in more ways than one.

a/n- I will be trying to upload a new part ever week or so...Just depends on how much I can get written and edited. The next part should be ready to go in about a week or two because it is going to be slightly longer than the rest. Thank you for being patient. 

-Luckygirl