ＴＨＥ ＱＵＥＥＮ [KING HARALD FINEHAIR]

CHAPTER ONE

Soft pained moans filled the room. A small candle was lit in the room and in distance pleasure filled moaned could be heard. The pained moans came from Gunhild. She kept moving in her bed, bad dreams filled her sleep as usual and the other women in the room were used to her tantrums as they liked to call it when mocking her.

Gunhild had been raised by Ragnhild, a farmers wife and her husband Erik Sturson. She had been raised side by side their other six children, four boys and two girls. As long as she could remember she wanted to be a boy, she had always preferred to play with boys. She had always been to restless to do chores and knit. When she had turned fourteen her adoptive parents had sold her.

They didn't have the money to keep her, Erik being a drunk and loosing customers. He had always kept her at a distance, not allowing her freedom. He never accepted her as one of his own. He'd treat her more and more as a servant. Ragnhild had been more accepting, yet when she had been playing with the other children and they had gotten hurt; it usually ended up being Gunhild's fault.

Since the age fourteen she had been sold to various of different men, being their slaves or thralls. Her tasks included to keep her masters pleased at all times no matter what it took for her to make that happen. The idea had grown in her stepfathers head whenever his drunken friends had visited, noticing how the men kept ogling the young woman, even as a child. He had heard that a girl like Gunhild would bring Erik a lot of money when sold. She would bring him fortune.

She had been raped and abused, that nearly came to a daily basis. Especially as she grew older, as her body took the woman form with slightly more wider hips and a fuller bosom. Her face had high cheekbones, full pink lips and a smaller nose. Her appearance were skinny, due to the lack of food in her current family. She wasn't the only thrall in her current masters home. Her Earl Egilsson had five women keeping up on him. One of them being Signhild, a slightly older woman that tried to protect Gunhild and the other younger women who was brought to the earl.

Gunhild's dreams of being a fierce warrior, a shield-maiden as she had heard had been crushed. She never had time for practice or someone that would've helped her. Ever since she had been sold for the first time she had heard that her solely purpose in life was to serve and not be served as well as not love or be loved. She was an object created to please and not be pleased.

As the other women slept deeply, Signhild awoke from her light slumber. Signhild walked over to Gunhild, never having the guts to let the young woman sleep through her nightmares. She started to gently shake the sleeping woman, the young beast with the beast nightmares. Signhild could feel the sweat almost soaking Gunhilds thin nightgown.

"Gunhild." Signhild began without luck and she started to rock the sleeping Gunhild even more roughly as she repeated her name louder. Gunhild quickly woke up, body shaking and lungs gasping for air. Her pale skin were covered in sweat and her pale blue eyes roamed around the room until the met the calm yet worries eyes of Signhild.