Claimed by the Viking

Chapter 2 : Trial and Error

The following day, Adelheid was still in the cabin. She had walked in circles, gathering her thoughts before finally deciding to try and get out... to end up staying inside because the door had been locked. She had stamped around for some more time and even rummaged the chests to find something useful, but she had no idea what could be and ended up back on the bed, wrapped in some thick furs, worrying about her future.

She had been brought a meal and some fresh water in a basin, which she used to wash her face and body as well as possible, getting rid of most of the remaining ashes on her, but her hair remained dirty and tangled since she had no way to wash it, and her skin was still sticky and brownish as the water had become dark very fast.

She had tried to study the maps on the desk to know where they were and where they would be heading, but it was not very efficient since she knew nothing about geography. She felt completely useless and regretted not studying such subjects more back when she had this possibility.

At the end of this day, she had gone to bed, still exhausted, hoping that the Viking would not try to force him onto herself during the night.

Her hopes had been heard. Or at least partially.

When she woke up, it was because a hand was caressing her naked shoulder, revealed by her shirt which had slid down during the night, exposing the top of one of her breasts.

"Wake up little goddess."

The voice was raspy but warm and gentle, just as the fingers which were going further down her naked skin. Still half-asleep, Adelheid did not protest and even let out a low purr against the warmness of the comforting touch against her body. A chuckle responded her and that's when Adelheid realized that it was not a dream.

She jerked out of the touch and saw the Viking kneeling down next to the bed, an amused smirk on his lips.

"Well, it seems like a man's touch doesn't disgust you so much in the end. And there I was believing your little act of being a pure girl. I now sure know that being my concubine would not be such a repulsive idea to you."

Adelheid was utterly embarrassed by his words. Why had she reacted that way? It must have been the first time a man had touched her so intimately and she had not even flinched. She gathered her shirt and readjusted it on her shoulders to cover her chest, revealing her thighs more in the process. The Viking laughed and she finally used the furs on the bed to cover herself completely. He appeared very amused by this little scene, causing a rush of anger to rise in Adelheid's throat. She was embarrassed and furious that he had seen her in such a way, furious against herself for not immediately rejecting him. He might have been the man who burned her village for goodness' sake!

"You only took advantage of my numb state! How can you joke around and be so light-hearted when you destroyed everything that I knew?" She told him in a dry voice, clearly unhappy.

"So that's what you think? That my men and I are the ones who completely ruined a village of farmers and poor people for no reason?" He answered dryly after losing his amused smile.

"You are a Viking. And the ones who did that were Vikings. Aren't you all the same?" She spat out, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Jarl looked at her coldly as he rose to his feet, no longer even slightly amused.

"My Clan would have never destroyed a village and killed innocent and unarmed people for no reason. We only saw smoke rising in the sky from the ocean and we thought it might have been another Viking's clan doing. We are currently chasing a Clan who dishonor our gods by killing innocent people. I only found you in the middle of those ashes and took you away from the hell that your village had become. But since Vikings are all the same, maybe I should behave exactly like those scavengers surely did with the women from your village. Tell me. Did you not hear agony screams and pity-begging cries during the plunder? These men rape women. They don't take them on their boat except for tying them to poles and letting their men use them as whores until they die of hunger. Do you truly want me to behave like them?"