A girl's worth

Chapter 7

  That afternoon is another training session with her father. Thyra gets changed into a loose fitted outfit before moving to the training grounds where her father is already waiting for her, the man holding two swords, the setting sun reflecting off of them.

"Good to see you're on time for once, daughter," Erwin says as she walks over to him. "Did Birger tire of you already?"

"He would never," Thyra says lightheartedly, greeting her father with a quick curtsy. "I just didn't want to keep you waiting as you're already so sweet to allow me to spend tonight with him at the Games instead of me having to stay with you."

"Didn't he tell you? You two will obviously stay with me on the podium," the man says, watching her closely to see if anything in her demeanor changes. "I just thought you'd like some more company for tonight's special event."

"What's so special about tonight's game?" Thyra asks casually, having perfected the art of keeping her feelings hidden. Having both her father and Birger with her on the podium? That can only be a trap waiting to be sprung. It has to be a test, but how? Isn't every Game a test? What could be different about this one?

Ignoring his daughter's question, Erwin gets started with the training of the day. "Ready yourself, daughter, today we will spar. I want to know how well you've trained on your own and if you have been paying attention thus far these past months. What did you remember from your training so far?"

Erwin throws one of the swords on the ground in front of Thyra but before she even has the chance to pick it up, he starts attacking already. His sword slashes the air only an inch from Thyra's face, making the girl flinch and stagger back.

"Go on, grab the sword," her father challenges her, his eyes darken in anger. "Don't tell me you can't bend down and grab something."

Thyra grinds her teeth, lowering her point of gravity as she keeps her eyes on her father. She loosens up her arms by shaking them, already preparing herself for the next attack. She steps back a few paces before suddenly rushing forward. As soon as she sees her father move his sword arm, she falls to her knees, allowing herself to slide across the ground while throwing her top half back to be able to move under the cold steel unscathed.

She uses the momentary confusion to grab the other sword from the ground and stand up, turned to her father. "What's wrong, father? Did I surprise you?"

Erwin growls, narrowing his eyes at her. Thyra only has time to sidestep as he comes at her, sword ending up slicing her arm. "Didn't you think I was keeping an eye on you?" he sneers, starting to attack viciously, giving her only enough time to defend herself. "You're not going anywhere, not even after you get married. You're going to stay right where you are so I can keep an eye on you. Don't believe for a second that I've forgotten about your betrayal."

Thyra bites her lip, faking moving right before going left, stepping away from her father though keeping her sword up. "I'm just trying to be a good fianceé," she says innocently. "I thought he'd appreciate having some time alone together. Birger will make sure I won't go anywhere. He can hardly keep his eyes off of me."

"I noticed," Erwin hums satisfied. "But he doesn't know the truth about your past, now does he? No, you're going to say right here in the village. First in my home and as soon as you're married, you will move in with Birger. I expect you to take as much care of his home as you did of mine and if I notice you're doing anything other than what you're supposed to be doing, we'll be right back where we started, with you being confined to your home and your home only."

Thyra nods, trying not to think too much about the bloody cut on her arm. "I understand, father," she says, trying to look remorseful while also keeping her guard up in case he decides to attack again. "I'm just trying to show that I've changed. I will bring honor to our name. To you."

Erwin nods. "Good girl. Now, we will go for one more round before you have to get ready for the Games."

This time, Thyra is ready when he advances on her. She uses his momentum against him by stepping aside and grabbing his arm, pulling it back to make him fall. She makes sure to stumble and roll over as well, not wanting him to know her full strength yet.

"Very good, but still sloppy," Erwin critiques as he gets up first, standing over her with his sword pointed at her chest. "When will you learn to listen to my advice?"

With the flick of his wrist, the sword nicks her cheek, a sign of her defeat. A small line of scarlet appears on her cheek but Thyra hardly flinches. She just gets up and hands her sword to her father before walking back up to their home, only clutching her wounds when she closes the door behind her, finding herself all alone.

Tears gather in her eyes, making everything go blurry. Still she forces them back as she moves to her room where she takes off her training gear and washes up, cleaning the cuts with extreme care. She looks at herself in the mirror. The girl staring back is covered in bruises and barely healed scars.

Thyra sighs. It has to be soon. If she wants to get out of here and make sure her father doesn't come after her again, she has to be quick or she'll be forever stuck in his grip. "I have to do it," she tells the girl in the mirror. "I have to challenge him to a duel. Tonight while everyone's watching. It's the only way."

With this in mind, she gets dressed again, dressing her cuts before walking over to the arena where Birger is already waiting for her. As soon as he sees her, he pulls her into a demanding kiss which she has no choice but to return.

Together, they move over to her father's podium which has the best view over the whole arena. As soon as everyone is gathered, Erwin stands up from his chair to perform his speech to the tribe. "My dear Barbarians," he starts, earning loud howls and cheers from the crowd. He waits a moment for everything to die down before he continues. "As a treat for all of your hard work these last few months, we have a treat for you. You see, a few days ago, we've found an intruder." The crowd calls out in anger but Thyra stays silent, watching her father closely who obviously enjoys the reactions he gets. "This intruder didn't come here on his own. He's had help... from a dragon."

To this, Thyra gasps, looking down at the arena where various vikings from their tribe are already gathered, armed with swords, shields and all kinds of other weapons.

"This dragonrider has come from Berk to capture Thyra once more." At this notion, Birger pulls the girl close and she has to work hard once more not to fight her way out of his arms. "But we've caught him, along with his dragon. And tonight, for your very eyes, they will get the punishment they deserve. Tonight, they will die in the ring!"

To loud cheers, a great fence is opened and a young man is pushed out, quickly followed by a bright red dragon.

Thyra rushes towards the edge of the podium, gasping as she looks down at the arena below. "Snotlout," she mutters, looking from the boy to his Monstrous Nightmare. She then turns back to her father, seeing the satisfied look in his eyes. This is it, this is the punishment she was yet to get. Her father knew the Berkians lived and now she can't do anything but watch as one of them is slaughtered in front of her. If she looks away now, she's done for, but if she doesn't do anything, Snotlout is done for.