A Viking's Rage

Chapter 2

"Kill the Heathens!" Hemming shouted, and without warning, he unsheathed his sword, bringing it's weight down across Noah's chest, cutting deep into his flesh.

"No!" Aiya screamed. She dropped hard to her knees as she watched him fall from her; his expression of pain piercing her soul.

"The penalty for aiding a criminal is death!" Hemming called out to all the witnesses who had gathered, as he wiped Noah's blood from his sword with his rich, burgundy robes. Dirty, sadden faces, looked on in horror at the young man's body and the poor girl who cried for him, but before anyone could act, the village was under attack.

Hemming was quickly escorted back into the castle, as a group of guards surrounded him. Screams of terror echoed through the hold, as arrows of fire shot from the heavens and covered the ground with flames. The single guard holding Aiya was hit, releasing his hold on her as his body became engulfed in flame, and his blood curdling screams vibrated in her ears . Without a moments hesitation or fear of death, she ran to Noah, falling to her knees beside him.

"Noah...Noah open your eyes!" She begged. Casting her eyes to his wound, she could see there was no hope. "Please don't leave me." She whispered, as tear's flooded her vision.

Noah's hand came to her cheek, she clutched at it as though it were the only thing holding her to this world.

"Aiya..." Noah's voice was weak, but he was still with her.

She sobbed hysterically as she watched the light in his eyes flicker. "I cannot fight this world alone Noah, stay." She clutched at her chest, sure that the pain in her breaking heart would kill her. Noah's hand fell from her face to lay still on the ground, his eyes looked on her blankly and she knew he was gone.

"No...no...no." She shook his body, hoping he would stir once more. When he did not, her body slumped down next to his, as she moved her finger's over his eyelids, closing them to world and her forever.

As the chaos continued all around her she began to fall into a blackness she did not want to escape from. She laid, silently, next to her friend, as her eyes grazed the sky above them. She did not care that people were dying around her; she didn't hear their screams, or the sound of metal cutting into flesh and bones. She only saw Noah, his face with her favorite smile. As she closed her eyes, her thoughts returned to a better time...

"Noah, what are you thinking about?"  She asked.

She sat in a clearing of trees, Noah lying beside her; staring into the heavens. That day had been a rare beauty, one hardly seen. The sun had been shining all day, creating golden beams of light through the trees, and landing on Noah, causing his dark hair to show streaks of golden, brown highlights. Aiya was only eleven, Noah was not yet thirteen. Earlier that day he had saved her from a beating from the cook for spilling milk on the floor. She was grateful; her life would be unbearable without him.

As she sat beside him, she couldn't help but notice his features, with eyes like the sea she wished to explore. A different shade of blue than her own, but still dark and everlasting. For a young boy, she already knew what a handsome man he would make. She focused on a scar above his eyebrow, a pock scar from when he was a small child. She remembered how miserable he was, and how scared she had been that the fever would take him. Such a tiny reminder left behind.

"Noah, did you hear me?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He answered lazily, his eyes still closed in bliss.

"What are you thinking about?"  She asked, again.

"Do my thoughts interest you?"  He said, coyly.