The Skabelse

Lana

Rowan's sapphire eyes bulged from lack of air and fear, and she began to panic as black spots flaked her vision. She kicked her feet at his stomach in hopes that it would spare her a few more moments. Suddenly, she felt her boot kick him between his legs and his grip immediately loosened and she fell onto the ground, sprawled out and gasping for air. Her lungs burned with each deep breath as she stared up at the darkening sky.

Looking over, she found the man curled onto the grass and shouting curses at her, gripping his stomach. She did not know why it had affected him so much, but took no time crawling over to him, picking up her dropped dagger in sward during the process.

With one last look from the brute, tore her eyes away from his face and slammed the sharp edge into his throat until his skin touched the base of the handle. He gurgled, blood spouting and bubbling from his mouth. "You were right. Almost," she said, mocking his words, then yanked the dagger towards her, creating a gaping hole. She watched as blood pooled around his body and the life slip from his eyes before standing up. She nudged his body with her boot, then collected her blade that lay a few feet away.

Being fueled with the pain of losing two Sisters, and possibly more, she set out again in hopes to mercilessly take lives.

To her right, two women fought and Rowan recognized one of them to be a women from the Wayland Wood who would soon lose her battle. Rowan gripped her sword and ran over, impaling the traitorous woman through the back just as she was about to take the Wayland's life.

The Wayland woman panted with wide eyes and gave Rowan a thankful nod before moving on.

For the next few moments, the Gladeswoman marched around ruthlessly, saving her allies from close encounters or picking fights with those who dared not to, coming out mostly unscathed.

As she cut down a dark skinned woman with a fringed mohawk, a familiar grunt and a flash of raven tousles caught her attention. Bjorn.

She whipped her head to the left to see him taking on four brawny men who used axes and curved swords that looked very lethal. He had managed to disembowel one before beheading another, but the other two were quickly closing in.

Rowan watched as the one that stood behind Bjorn reached over his head with his axe, pinning him against his chest. Bjorn dropped his blade and pushed against the wooden shaft but it wouldn't budge. Leaving him with no choice, he threw his head back, slamming it into the man's nose. He cursed but did not let go, and the other man grinned as he stepped forwards, caressing the curved blade.

Rowan sprinted as fast as she could, then slammed into the man, knocking him to the ground. The man who held Bjorn stood still in shock as he watched Rowan bring her silver blade upwards before slamming in into his skull, making a sickening crushing sound.

Bjorn took advantage of the man's shock and gripped hold of the wooden shaft once more, this time managing to twist it from his grasp, then sunk it deep into his neck.

Blood sprayed out with each fading pulse and he dropped to the ground with a satisfying thud.

He turned around, grinning widely as he took her in. She was breathing heavily as she wiped of her sword on her trousers. "You look...lovely," he teased, assessing his Gladeswomen. Her silver hair looked pink as most of it was covered in blood as well as her face and body. The cut above her brow trickled a steady stream of red liquid and she wiped it again with her shoulder automatically. When she returned her smile, her teeth were brilliant against her splattered face. God I love this woman. The sight of her so primal and malicious stirred something inside of him that no other woman could. She was a ruthless warrior and looked like a Valkyrie and he absolutely loved it.

"You aren't so bad yourself," she said, eyeing him as well, for he too was covered from head to toe in the thick red substance.

He gave her one last quick smile before noticing a burly man approaching from behind. He sprinted forwards and blocked his attempted strike on Rowan, then placed the sole of his boot on the man's chest and kicked him backwards.

The man stumbled but quickly regained his footing, then unleashed an assortment of strikes on Bjorn, who parried and countered each one. Finally, when the man overcompensated a blow and lost his balance, Bjorn expertly swiped at his ankles with his leg and drove his claymore into his heart.

As he stood and turned around, he found Rowan cutting down another adversary as well with a clean cut to the throat. A short woman screamed at the top of her lungs and charged Rowan as if she were crazed. Rowan watched her with narrowed eyes as she came closer. The woman had two long knifes slashed furiously, screaming like a banshee.

Rowan danced out of the way of each attempt, dodging each distraught assault. She realized that the man must have meant something to her and a pang of guilt hit her.

As the short woman tried to cut her again, Rowan caught her wrist with her left hand and shoved her blade into the woman's abdomen. The woman's eyes twisted between shock and sadness and finally nothing as they glazed over.

Before Bjorn could say anything, Rowan gave him one last look before running off once more.

The battle continued, each side fighting with all of their might. Rowan couldn't tell who was winning as there were still too many left to count. The Gladeswoman had managed to cut down a dozen more enemies and save a few allies in the process when a distant scream rang familiar in her ears as she parried a combatants strike. Mother?

Clenching her jaw, she finished the tanned man in front of her and ran in the direction of the scream. Her eyes scanned the mass of bodies on the ground and array of battles that were ensuing when finally she spotted her mother.

She was on the ground, crawling backwards with a large abdominal wound that stained the front of her tunic and armor with a red sickly color. A muscular man with a long, dark braid stalked towards her, twisting his axe in his hands.

"No!" Rowan yelled out with wide eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able to reach him in time and if she didn't act quickly, his axe would soon end her mother's life. Without thinking, she snatched her knife from her side and threw it with as much force as she could muster. She watched it somersault through the air until it sunk into the back of his skull. His axe dropped to the ground and he fell on top of Queen Lana, who gritted her teeth in pain.

Rowan sprinted over to her, bending down and rolling the man's corpse off of her. "Rowan..." her mother gasped, blood staining her teeth. Rowan's face twisted into a mixture of sadness and anger, for she knew that was a bad sign.

"My Queen...mother...." said, trailing off as she took in her mother's wounds. She gently pushed back some of the shredded fabric to find a deep gash in her abdomen, and with each breath her mother took, small bubbles pooled from the wound. "Oh my God..." she said as her eyes began to water.

Queen Lana gripped her daughter's hands. Rowan looked down to see her nails were caked with dirt and blood while her mothers were almost completely clean aside from a few splatters.

"Shh, its going to be okay. You're going to be okay," Queen Lana said, barley above a whisper. Her light eyes were watery and her face was tightened as if each word pained her.

"Please don't leave me mom, I can't...you can't leave me," Rowan said, blinking rapidly as her tears began to blind her.

Lana smiled, then slowly brought up a hand and caressed the side of her daughters face. "You are so beautiful. You make me proud, you know."

Tears slide down the side of her face, washing away dirt and blood as she cried silently and shook her head, loss for words.

"I wish I could see you live the long life you deserve. Take care of yourself, Rowan. I..." she said, trailing off. Rowan had to bend forward to hear her faint whispers, but when her mother didn't finish her sentence, she pulled back quickly. Her lips quivered as she studied her mothers still face. She was gone.