Dhurial finally shook off his surprise. "You could be a chief's wife if you marry me!"
"Yes, but then I'd have to live here in this dark, damp, moldy, depressing keep, and then there's the issue of you probably wanting your marital rights," she made a face and several of the men standing around began whispering, surprised that he had allowed her to insult him, yet again. "I mean, odds are you're too old to be able to do much demanding in that area, but I just don't think I could stomach it at all."
"Very well," Dhurial took a deep breath and turned around, returning to his seat. "Then I have no choice but to have you sentenced to death."
"Oh, thank goodness!" she breathed a sigh of relief. "That sounds so much better than having to sleep with you."
Enraged, he leaped from his chair with a growl and backhanded her, sending her sprawling backwards across the floor. "Take her back to the dungeon!" he roared.
"Actually," Eirik calmly stepped out of the shadows, an axe in one hand and a sword in the other. "I'd like to take my love back home with me, if you don't mind."
The men in the room all scurried to draw their weapons and Dhurial stared, wondering just how Eirik of Svangard had managed to be inside his keep without anyone detecting him.
Sophie was too weak to get to her feet, but she smiled when Eirik knelt beside her. "I knew you'd come," she whispered.
"Stay down and let me rescue you," he smiled.
"I'm still strong enough to lift a sword. At least a light one,"
"I know," he shrugged. "But just let me have this one, okay?"
She nodded, crawling out of the way as he stood and moved towards the men who had lined up across the width of the room in an attempt to protect Dhurial.
The rage with which he slaughtered everyone in the room, including Dhurial, was breathtaking and Sophie had to look away. When there was finally silence in the room, she faced him again and saw Eirik standing over Dhurial's body. His shoulders were heaving but he reached down and snatched the keys to her chains from his corpse.
Throwing the chains aside, he lifted her in his arms. As he did, one of the men he'd fought managed to crawl from the room and sounded an alarm.
Reaching up to take his face in her hands, Sophie kissed him. "I knew you'd come for me,"
He smiled and kissed her again, as if he enjoyed it. "Leaving your shoes behind was brilliant,"
"I suppose your father assumed I left on my own,"
"Of course he did," he chuckled softly, brushing her hair away from her cheek. They could hear more soldiers coming, having been alerted by the man who'd escaped, and he lifted her in his arms, carrying her out the back way where his men were waiting.
The mercenaries met them just outside the small gate and led them away without being detected. The soldiers inside found their chief and many of the elders dead inside the keep but they were unaware of any prisoner so they had no idea who might have been responsible. They began talking amongst themselves about ghosts.
When Eirik and the others were far enough from the gates that they wouldn't be seen, they stopped to give Sophie water. Eirik would have checked her for injuries if it hadn't been so dark, but he'd have to wait until morning light. Once she'd drank her fill, they continued on and even though she insisted she was strong enough to walk, he insisted on carrying her until they made camp for the night.
She slept in his arms, both of them wrapped in his cloak. Neither of them were comfortable being separated that soon after her ordeal and he wasn't about to let her out of his sight for a second.
By the time they made it back to Svangard, Sophie had regained much of her strength and insisted on walking, though she clung tightly to his hand. Several people saw them as they reached the outskirts and ran to tell the chief that they had returned.
Coming out of the great hall to speak to his son, the chief was shocked when Eirik ignored him and walked right past him, going directly to Sophie's house. They went inside and shut the door, and the six men who'd gone with him stood outside and blocked the steps so that no one else could enter.
"I want to speak to my son!" The chief bellowed.
"He'll come out when he's ready to speak to you, sir." one of the men said.
"Get out of my way!"
The man quickly pulled his sword. "I suggest you wait in the hall until he's ready to leave her. I can't say that I blame him for wanting to make sure his woman is safe."
The chief swallowed, stepping back before he could stop himself. "How dare you?" He snapped. "I'm the chief!"
"And your son will be in to speak with you soon," the man said calmly.
The chief muttered something under his breath and stormed off.
When Eirik was certain that Sophie was safe, comfortable and able to take care of herself, he came back outside. "I suppose that was my father doing all the yelling?"
"He was very upset and wants to speak to you,"
"Yes. I heard," Eirik smiled. "Why don't you all go home. Get something good to eat, say hello to your families." He calmly walked to the hall and stepped inside. His father was pacing at the end of the room and was livid when he reached him.
"What is the meaning of this!?" his father demanded.
"What is the meaning of what, Father?"
"How dare you treat me with such disrespect! You left the city without even telling me where you were going and you took half the mercenaries with you! You put this entire city at risk for-,"
"To save the woman I'm going to marry," Eirik said.
"Well, she's not your wife yet!"
"Father, if there was something you could have done to save Mother, would you not have done it?"
"Of course I would have!" he shouted. Then he calmed down slightly. "But to take those men with you!"
"I didn't tell them to come, Father." He said. "They came because-,"
"They went because they respect you. And Sophie." His father took a deep breath.
"She's saved the city, Father. That was what you wanted her brought here for and she did it. I think she deserves some respect from you as well."
His father huffed. "Perhaps I overreacted when she didn't come to the celebration."
Eirik nodded.
"I just wish those men respected your brother as much as they do you!"
"Why?"
"He's going to be the chief one day. It won't do to have half the army following him and the other half following you!"
"Father, they weren't revolting," he reminded him. "Every one of those men have a wife at home. They knew what I was feeling at that moment and that's why they went. Because if it was their wife, hopefully I would have joined them to save her."
"Yes, I understand the concept."
"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful to you, Father."
"Well," he sighed. "Is she alright?"
"She's thin. And weak. They kept her locked in the dungeon for a week. And she's mad that her dress is ruined."
"She's not hurt, though?"
Eirik smiled. "Nothing lasting. But she was obstinate to the very end." He chuckled remembering her stinging insults even at the risk of being thrown back into the dungeon or killed.
"I owe you an apology." his father cleared his throat. "I've had my doubts about her and have accused her of things she hasn't done. I can see that you love her."
"Yes, I do." Eirik replied.
"Very well. Then, I'm offering my blessing. Perhaps instead of a celebration of her saving the city, we should prepare for a wedding feast instead."
"Thank you, Father," Eirik smiled. "That means a lot to me."
"Well, go on then!" his father chuckled. "Go take care of her!"
Eirik sprinted from the room and returned to Sophie's house. When he stepped inside, she was sitting on one of the fur rugs in front of the fireplace, still wrapped in his cloak as she waited for water to heat for a bath.
"Hi," she said softly, as he lowered himself onto the floor beside her.
"I see the ladies have already brought you food." he said, having noticed the feast laid out on platters in front of her.
"They came almost the moment you left," she said. "It was like they knew I was back before I was back."
"They probably did. The scouts went and told my father."
She glanced at him, worry creasing her brow. "Was he angry?"
"Livid," he grinned. "Thought I turned the mercenaries against him."
"Oh dear," she laughed softly.
"I think he finally understands you're not going anywhere. I'm still not sure why Dhurial took you if he wasn't trying to get information from you."
"He was crazy to think I would ever marry him," she sighed, leaning against his shoulder.
"I love you so much," he chuckled. "The way you spewed insults at him until the very end .... that was amazing.
"I knew you would come," she said. "I just wasn't sure if you'd find me before it was too late."
"I would always come for you," he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.
"I'm sorry I missed the party."
"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention," he smiled down at her. "Father says we can forgo the celebration if we'd like to have a wedding celebration instead. We'll just be sure to give you an armed escort to the hall."
She laughed and closed her eyes. "I wasn't sure if you still wanted me to marry you. You know I never would have accepted Hydyr or Thorsten."
"You're sure?"
She opened her eyes and looked up but saw he was teasing her. "I didn't see either one of them rescue me," she said. "So, yes, I'm sure."
He leaned down and kissed her softly.
Though Eirik would have married her the very next day, he conceded to wait a few weeks for Sabine to make a dress worthy of his new bride. Soon, another feast was prepared and the entire city had once again gathered at the great hall for the celebration.
This time, Sabine refused to go on ahead of her and when they stepped outside, the mercenaries were there to escort them.
They made it to the hall unscathed and the crowd inside parted down the middle. She kissed Sabine on the cheek before the woman shooed her off towards where Eirik was standing, waiting for her, and the ceremony began.
She had forgotten about the tradition where the groom presents the bride with the sword of an ancestor, but then he began talking about how he had made his decision on which sword to give her. He told her about his mother and how she had been a warrior for their clan, and how much the woman would have loved her if she'd still been there with them.
"I know it's not as showy as other swords," he said, knowing the sword Ulriech had presented to his wife had been covered in jewels and was far fancier. He held it out to her. "But I think after seeing the way you've protected our city in the way that my mother would have, this sword has much more meaning."
Her eyes filled with tears. She would have never wanted a jewel encrusted, useless sword. "This means more to me than you'll ever know," she said.
His smile brightened and he leaned down for a long, slow kiss as the entire city erupted in cheers and applause all around them.
The End