Chapter One
Across Norska’s frozen ground, they heard the wolves howling in the dark.
Wrapped in the animals’ long silver hides, Ulrich and Gunther held their spears clenched in their fists as they sat beside the fire that was keeping the wolves at bay. One of the rare giant eagles flew above them, too high for their weapons to reach.
With their free hands, they clutched the haunches of the bear they had recently slaughtered and then roasted over the flames.
In the dim light, Ulrich looked almost like one of those savage creatures surrounding them, as he tore the meat with his teeth. His short-cropped white-blond hair was almost the color of the wolves’ pelt, above his high white brow, his pale, piercing blue eyes and his square, jutting jaw.
He was not thinking about the wild beasts surrounding him, though. He had more pressing problems in mind.
“That foolish woman will marry our enemy’s ruler, and then he will govern us all,” he growled, between bites.
“That woman is our Queen,” his companion reminded him, as he savored the roasted meat more slowly.
“Yes, and we are the warriors who defend her kingdom for her,” Ulrich retorted. “Yet she would surrender it to our enemies even before war is declared.” Angrily, he tossed the bone away, pulled the mead flask from his belt and drank deeply of the potent brew.
“Queen Freydis insists that is not so,” Gunther replied, as he chewed thoughtfully. “King Torvald has promised that they will each rule their own lands, as they do now.”
“He promises!” Ulrich shouted, so violently that the wolves bayed even more loudly in response. “She would take his empty vows of peace in return for her hand. As though there ever had been peace between us!”
Tearing at the meat with his powerful jaws, he added, “Has she forgotten that the Old Earth rulers sent us here, to keep us from spreading our constant wars all across their world? It is the natural state of men.
“Savages, they called us, when they gave us our books of Viking lore to guide us. But we knew we were men of strength and courage, just like those bold sea raiders themselves, while the Old Earth governors were as soft and weak as our Queen!”
Thinking of her made him even angrier. “Before all the gods of Valhalla, if she were here I would use this belt to beat that nonsense out of her.” He briefly touched the wide leather strap at his waist.
A thin smile came over Gunther’s dark face, without reaching his cold black eyes. “If she were here,” he pointed out, “We would still be sworn to protect her.”
His leader grinned in response. “But who could defend her from her protectors?” he demanded. “Our men are the ones who keep her on the oaken throne, and they have sworn obedience to me.”
“The people love her, and most of them share her views,” Gunther objected. “They would all rise up against us if we tried to take her place.”
“We would soon put them down again…with these!” he shook the spear in his hand, before putting the flask to his lips once more.
“And what an opportunity that would give our enemies…to attack us as we fought against each other,” his friend pointed out.
“I suppose so,” Ulrich reluctantly admitted, relaxing his grip on his weapon. “But there must be some way to stop her foolishness while bringing our followers together.”
“I have thought about that often enough,” Gunther told him. “Indeed, there is someone who could do that very thing. Having a husband would stop her from marrying anyone else, and he would rule over her.”
“But she does not have a…” Ulrich started grinning again, as he realized what the other man was suggesting.
“Exactly! And we still follow the warrior law allowing us to capture a bride. Even a Queen.”
“Would that make me the King?”
“You would still be her Warlord, true. But if you were also her husband, you would rule over her in your home, even if she still ruled the nation.”
Gunther grinned even more broadly, as he added, “That would give you the right to rule her backside, with your paddle or strap or whatever else you needed, to make her obey you in all things.”
“Obviously, you have thought this over carefully,” Ulrich said, grinning wickedly in return. His smile faded as he went on, “But you seem to have forgotten one thing…Haryat. Haven’t I promised to take your sister as my wife?"
“Haryat is loyal our forces,” her brother replied. “She has healed so many of our wounded men, she knows what sacrifices we warriors make. She will surely be willing to make this one, for our nation’s good.”
Ulrich thought for a moment more, then he nodded agreement. “We must go at once, before the Queen leaves for our enemies’ capital,” he decided.
Throwing their dinner remains to the howling wolves, the two men mounted their white panthers and sped back towards their city.
* * *
She is an attractive woman, or at least she could be, Ulrich thought in some annoyance, as he bowed briefly across the fire pit at his Queen. Yet she insists on wearing those thin shabby pelts, because they came from animals who died naturally, rather than falling to our spears.
But never mind, he assured himself. Once she is my wife, she will dress as befits our rank, in the finest furs I can bring her. If she still refuses to accept them…well then, she will learn to accept my leather belt instead, right across her skinny behind.
She is entirely too thin and pale everywhere, he added silently. You would think a strong wind would blow her away.
No wonder, since she insists on living only on fish, berries, bread and wine, so the wolves and bears will be free to roam throughout our planet without being slain. Never mind that they may soon outnumber us, even more than our enemies do. Well, I will cure her of that nonsense, too.
Once she has tasted the flesh of beasts and birds, she will wonder how she ever gave them up, he felt sure. It certainly wasn’t her mother’s doing, since the old Queen was as great a hunter as I am myself.
Her father was a fine warrior, too. The Valkyrie surely carried him up to that eternal feast in Valhalla, when those ten enemy attackers slew him. No doubt she would rather have seen him die in bed. He could barely keep from sneering at the thought.
But even her foolish principles would allow her to comb her hair, he thought. It flies all around her thin white face like some pale yellow bird’s feathers. No doubt she will not take the time to let her ladies arrange it, since she is too busy planning our surrender to our foes.
She need not worry about that either, he assured himself with a secret smile. I will be taking those affairs of state off her hands soon enough…as soon as I make her my wife.
That last word made him think of Haryat, whom he had promised to wed. She was almost the complete opposite of this pale, thin, unsmiling creature.
Haryat always managed to seem lively and cheerful as she cared for the wounded men, in a way that lifted their spirits…yes, even the captured enemies. No matter how long she had been working on them, her long black hair was always neatly combed around her face, rather than flying around like the Queen’s.
The thought of her made him lower his eyes in shame. How could he betray her this way? But she loves our country as I do, he reminded himself. She will not shrink from the sacrifice, when my messenger brings her my plans.
But the Queen must be starting to suspect what they are, he realized. She is hardly a stupid woman, even if she is an incredibly foolish one. How could she possibly have no inkling of what I am going to do to her, when six strong warriors stand behind me and we are all clutching our spears?
She is trying to seem calm as she stands before her carved oak throne, with the fire pit between us. But she can’t stop glancing behind her, obviously wishing she had more of her own personal guards than the two who are standing there. And she has clasped her hands in front of her bosom, as though she could protect it from me that way.
“Welcome, Warlord,” she finally said, obviously trying hard to keep her usual soft, steady tone. “Have you come to congratulate me on my betrothal to King Torvald, and the chance of peace it brings?”
“He is the one who must congratulated,” Ulrich replied coldly. “You would make him our ruler as well.”
“Not so,” she answered, as her voice started to rise nervously. “He has sworn we will continue to rule our own lands separately, while we work together for a lasting peace, in place of these constant battles.”
“And you believed him?” her Warlord almost shouted. “Truly, your good and trusting nature has blinded you to the truth.”
Now her voice soared to almost a squeak. “We must start to trust each other’s promises, or we will never live quietly together.” She clenched her hands even more tightly, in front of her meager breasts.
“We will never do that at any rate!” his voice rang out, making her flinch. “Our enemies surround us, and we must go on driving them back from our borders, until the gods return for the final battle that will end the world.”
“I cannot believe it!” she answered, facing him boldly again. “We must find a way to share our planet together.”
“Is that what you told him, when you accepted his marriage offer?”
“He made no proposal,” she informed him. “I was the one who sent the message to him, asking for the alliance.”
For a long moment, he was speechless with outrage. “You asked him to marry you?” he finally demanded. He seemed so angry that her guards stepped towards him, obviously fearing he was about to strike her down. “A woman made the marriage offer to a man?”
“A Queen made the suggestion,” she objected. Ulrich ignored her words.
“Have you no womanly modesty left at all?” he exclaimed. “Have you torn off every shred of decency? No wonder our enemies despise us!”
“I would do much worse than that, to stop this endless fighting.” Her tone was commanding now, as she asked, “How can you compare a mere marriage tradition to our hope of peace?”
“Woman, we have no hope of peace!” he howled, slamming his spear against the wooden floor. “Our enemies grow stronger every day, and we dare not wait until they are powerful enough to attack.”
“I am not willing to live this way, and neither are my people,” she cried, matching his angry tone.
“And I am not willing to see our men slain and the women turned into slaves…unless you have forgotten what King Torvald’s men do to our females when they capture them.”
“I am all too aware they practice slavery,” she answered reluctantly, lowering her pale blue eyes. “Perhaps we can persuade them to stop it, once we are living in peace. Perhaps I can even convince King Torvald to free his own captives, once I am his wife.”
“That you will never be!” The fury in his voice sent her backing away from the fire, until she bumped against her throne. The guards behind it stepped forward again to protect her, until he was glaring straight into their eyes.
“How can you say that?” she demanded, her voice rising again. “I have given my word to marry him, as Queen.”
“But I am here to claim you as my own wife, under our marriage laws.” The men on both sides clasped their weapons even more tightly at his words.
“I know your brave soldiers would fight to the death to defend you,” he added, more quietly. “But how can two of them hold out against seven, including their own Warlord?
“If they did, would you want to see us shedding each other’s blood? Would you not rather have us bring our own followers together, to face our common foe?”
* * *
Now she could only stare at him silently, her eyes opening wide in dismay. At last she managed to stammer, “But what of King Torvald? Will he not take that as an act of war?”
“He knows our marriage laws,” the Warlord replied, with a shrug. “They are the same as his own. We both have the right to capture our wives.”
His thin lips spread into a wolfish grin, as he added, “If His Majesty demands a battle, though, we will be glad to provide it.”
Before she could object, he raced on, “He cannot call it any surprise attack. We have been fighting as long as anyone remembers and will doubtless continue to do so until the gods themselves come down from Valhalla to lead the last battle.”
Valhalla, she thought. Yes, I could see him there, making war against the gods themselves. Her eyes closed briefly as she imagined the scene.
They soon flew wide open again, as she felt him pull her into his muscular arms and press his hard, thin lips against hers.
Never, she thought in outrage, had any man dared to embrace her that way! To her even greater horror, she saw that he was grinning down at her.
Then he insulted her even further by saying, “If you try to deceive me by pretending to surrender when you are really planning to flee…remember, six of my men will be guarding you, and I will be doing the same. I would not enjoy being tricked that way…and I will make sure you relish it even less.”
To show her how he planned to do that, he held up his hand and showed her his broad, hard palm. She felt herself blushing, as his threatening gesture sent a rush of desire spreading all through her, down to her secret place.
Sternly, she reminded herself that she had a duty to perform. She must never let her own desires stop her from doing so.
* * *
“Please sit quietly, Madame,” her maidservant Helga urged. “I can’t arrange your hair properly if you fidget around that way.”
“Your work will be hard enough as it is,” Queen Freydis answered, with a sigh. “I know I have not had time to pay it much attention. I merely chopped it off when it fell into my eyes.”
“I can see that,” the girl answered wryly. “But soon it will be lovely enough to enchant our Warlord.”
“That is hard to believe, considering how many beautiful women he must have known. Can’t I just look in the mirror now, to see how you are doing?”
“You can look all you like when I am finished,” Helga answered firmly. “For now, you must try to sit still, without fidgeting.”
“May I at least talk to you as you work?”
“Just as long as you do not move your head.” The Queen accordingly did her best to hold still, as her hairdresser snipped a few last strands away and combed the rest into place.
“You said your work would please our Warlord,” Freydis reminded her. “But wouldn’t you rather see me marrying King Torvald? I thought you were all in favor of my plans for peace.”
“As I am, Your Majesty! But your marriage to our Warlord might bring his followers and yours together.
“At any rate, a man like Ulrich…so handsome and strong…well, it would be hard for any girl to keep from wanting him.”
Noting that the Queen did not deny it, the serving girl pressed on, “You yourself find it difficult to resist him, do you not? I could see it in your eyes when you summoned me here and told me to prepare you for your wedding to him.”
Thrusting out the shining metal disc with a flourish, she added, “And now you can look in the mirror to see an eager and lovely bride…for a man who can make you as happy as you deserve to be. No doubt, with your wisdom and goodness, you can persuade him to join you in working for peace.”
With a smile, Freydis reached for the mirror, hoping to see an enchanting new creature there. Her smile quickly faded, as she saw only her own long pale face, with her hair now parted in the middle and combed neatly down around it to her shoulders.
Seeing her disappointment, the hairdresser quickly added, “Of course, we could not work wonders in one day. But as your hair grows longer, there will be many more things I can do, like weaving some of it into braids and pressing the rest into ringlets. You surely don’t think I come by these curls naturally!” She briefly touched her own brown tresses.
“I am sure you are doing the best you can,” Freydis answered, with a sigh. “But as you said, you cannot work wonders in one day.”
“I have done enough to make him forget his betrothal to Haryat.”
For a moment, the Queen could only sit speechless at the shocking words. Finally, she managed to ask, “Haryat? Our healer? His friend Gunther’s sister? That sweet and pretty girl?”
“Why, yes, Your Majesty.” Seeing her mistake, she quickly added, “But of course he could not have truly loved her, or he would never have dismissed her so easily.”
“Of course not,” the Queen added bitterly. “He never could have wanted her, any more than he desires me now.”
How could I have been such a fool? She asked herself bitterly. His kiss made me dare to hope that he would come to love me...so much that I could lead him into working with me, to end these endless battles. I should have known he wanted me only for his own advantage.
But what else could he have desired, in a scrawny creature with straggling hair, a plain pale face and a chest as flat as a boy’s? If he had so little feeling for our lively, lovely little healer, how much could he have for me?
I cannot even call him a deceiver, since he never claimed to be marrying me for my own sake. He only needed me to do his duty as he saw it. Well, now I have remembered that I must do mine, too.
“When you put on these twisted silver earrings, you will see what a difference they make,” the girl assured her. “You will look lovely enough to make him forget an entire army of Haryats.”
“Actually,” her mistress answered softly. “I think I will wear something else entirely.” I will don a soldier’s uniform, she thought, so I can make my escape.
* * *
“Oh, Madame, your poor hair!” Helga lamented, as they made their way through the dark hall of the wooden long house. “I had trimmed and styled it so carefully, but now it barely covers your ears.
“It will take years to grow back, and what will King Torvald say when he sees you? For that matter, what will our Warlord say, if he brings you back here instead and makes you his wife?”
“I could hardly pass myself off as a guard if my hair were any longer,” Freydis whispered in reply. With a sad smile, she added, “For that matter, I am fortunate to have such a flat chest that it will never give away my gender.”
“We are also fortunate to have a loyal guardsman who is willing to go with you,” the girl reminded her. “Karl here is not only loyal but brave, to risk the wrath of his Warlord.”
“If Your Majesty will stand next to me, as a fellow soldier would…” the young man whispered urgently.
“Not Your Majesty!” she reminded him, in an urgent whisper. “I am merely Sven, your comrade.”
“Then march with me.” She fell into place beside them, and they were soon striding towards the rear door. They had almost reached their goal, before a loud male voice made them jump with alarm.
“So!” the Warlord cried, striding out of the darkness behind them. “I was right to suspect that you would try to escape! I am only surprised you have broken your promise so soon.”
“I never made any promise to you!” she indignantly replied. “You were the one who threatened me.”
“Yes, and I am ready to carry out my threat.”
“But you will not harm this young man or my servant girl?” she pleaded. “He was only trying to serve my cause.”
“No, of course not!” Ulrich retorted. “I know how to value loyalty and obedience, even if you do not. For that reason, I will send him away before I mete out your punishment. He would try to save you from it at the cost of his own life, so he deserves to go on living.”
Firmly, Karl responded, “It would be my honor and my duty to die protecting her…and serving the cause of peace.”
“Not if I forbid you to do it!” she reminded him. “I order you now to let me go with your Warlord, as his captive bride, the way our law requires you to do.”
When Karl seemed about to protest, Ulrich added his own stern commands. “This lady is your ruler,” he reminded the lad. “And she has given an order to you.”
After another moment’s inner struggle, the youth pulled back to let them pass. The maidservant raced along behind them, as the Warlord grasped the Queen’s arm and dragged her towards the royal bedchamber.
* * *
The three walked there in silence. “I have told you what I would do if you tried to escape,” he reminded Freydis. “I always keep my vows. Or did you believe I did not mean it?”
“No,” she answered quietly. “I was quite sure you did.”
“But you were willing to risk a beating, for the cause of peace? I could almost admire you for that…but it will not save you from your punishment.”
“I never thought it would.” You will deal with me as heartlessly as you have treated Haryat.
“Good,” he retorted shortly. “Then you will not be surprised when I sit down on this chair and order you to turn yourself over my knee, so I can bare your royal rear for your spanking.”
“May I leave now, Your Majesty?” asked Helga.
“Stay!” he barked. “I want you to be our witness, to be sure I do not do anything indecent.”
“You are going to thrash her naked bottom, aren’t you?” the maidservant flared. “I see nothing decent in that!”
“Be silent, before I give you a spanking of your own.” Helga fell silent before he went on, “Judging by your insolent words, my girl, you are badly in need of one.”
Before her outraged eyes, he sat down on the nearest chair and pulled the Queen across his lap. Then he put his left hand across her back to hold her firmly in place, as he used his right hand to raise her fur skirt and her linen shift to her waist. Helga turned away in shame, to avoid the sight of her ruler’s thin white backside.
Smack! She turned back quickly as the sound of the first blow rang through the smoky air, followed by her mistress’ sharp cry. The girl clapped her hand over her own mouth, to stifle her moan of pity.
* * *
The Warlord knew that that servant’s sympathy only added to the Queen’s humiliation, thus increasing the punishment. With some admiration, he realized that his new bride was doing her best to save her pride, by biting her lip to stay silent.
It was no use. As his blows fell again and again, he felt his hand grow warmer, while her bottom turned a hotter and brighter red. His broad hand almost covered her slim backside, making her feel that every blow was cutting her to the bone. Her shrieks grew louder with each slap as she struggled desperately against his restraining palm. Soon her cries gave way to helpless weeping, and she lay limp across his lap.
“That is only a sample of what you will get if you ever defy me again,” he told her, as he lifted her to her feet and rose from the chair. She stood beside him with her head bowed in shame, sobbing softly as she rubbed her injured bottom, like a punished child.
“Put her to bed,” he abruptly ordered Helga. Then he turned and stalked from the room.
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