A Whisper to the North

Chapter XLIII ✠ Return to the Sword

Una could not figure out why she was so nervous. The sword had been the only friend she had that has stayed by her side. It never faltered once. It never betrayed. It was loyal to Una's strength. Now, she holds a blade in her hand. It felt heavier than she remembers her own blade being. Had she grown weak of the body? Or was it her mind?

"This is a strange sight." Gareth laughed.

Una looked around for Wilona. She was nowhere to be found again.

"It looks pretty normal for me." Laurel laughed, walking up to Una.

Laurel was of CornWealas, a region of the Celts. He had seen many female warriors before, but they never handled swords. They used spears and were usually archers since they were smaller and nimbler than the men. Even though many women from Snowdon looked like Una. The girls from the south of Bryttania were often short and petite. They lacked the brawn and brains that the northerners had, which is why they feared them so much.

"Don't listen to them." Laurel put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper.

"Show these Saxons what us Celts are made of!" He laughed.

"Um, good day to you all." She hesitated.

Una was confident in her strikes, but she was also bashful sometimes with her words, especially in crowds when she spoke. When her heart called out higher than her head, that is when Una became profound with her words and could unite miles of men with her speech. This day she felt foreign, and because of this, she felt small and weak. She knew everyone was scratching their heads at her. How was she a queen? Una didn't look prepared. Her dress was still dirty, and her hair disheveled. She wore no armor, no long tunic, no boots to help her grip the soil beneath her feet. She looked like a peasant standing there barefooted and dirty.

"Who are ye?" One of the men laughed.

There were at least ten men there, no more than thirty.

"I already told you. Despite her appearance, she is a terrifying woman."

Una felt her eyes squint in embarrassment, and she looked up at Laurel for help.

"It's okay. They'll love you. Show them what you can do!" Laurel insisted.

Una looked around for any familiar face for comfort. She could see Alaric and Ingrid in the crowd, but their faces were as confused as all the other men. Una turned back to look at Laurel.

"What do you want me to do?" Una said, hunched over with the longsword in her hands.

"I don't know. That's why I brought you here. I want to see your techniques. I've seen them on the battlefield, so now I can see them up close. How do you train? How long do you do it, intervals, random spurts? I don't know, you tell me!" He laughed.

Una felt her ears turn red. All eyes were on her.

"Oh my. Well, do you have anything that is not sharp and silver?" Una laughed hesitantly.

"You don't want to try the sword?" Laurel asked.

"I usually train with wooden swords, slightly heavier than the real thing so that you'll be swifter with a silver blade."

"Ahh! I see. We have wooden poles if that would suffice?" Laurel said.

Una looked down at her shaking hands. She was so nervous standing there in front of everyone. How could they look up to her?

"I'll go get them." Laurel patted Una on the back and took the sword from Una's hands.

He could feel her jittery hands.