When Ulriech finally made it up the steps to the front door of the building where she and Eirik were waiting, he had a look of smug satisfaction on his face and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her inside.
"Father, we've found her," he said to the man sitting at the head of a very long table. He gave her a good shove and threw her to the floor at the man's feet.
The sound of gasps could barely be heard over the sound of chairs scraping the floor as several of the men at the table stood up when Sophie leaped to her feet and lunged at him, his knife in her hand.
Eirik grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet, pulling her away from his brother, whose face had turned white at how close she had come to sticking him with his dagger again.
Angry that Eirik had thwarted her again, she threw the knife at Ulriech as hard as she could. The handle hit him in the shoulder and it clattered to the ground at his feet. It was obvious to everyone in the room that the knife was his.
The men at the table, including the chief, stared at her as she fought to get free of Eirik's hold on her.
"This must be her!" one finally whispered.
"Eirik, bring her here!" the chief said.
"Be nice!" Eirik said, setting her back on her feet and leading her over to the man.
"What's your name, girl?" the chief asked.
"Sophie," she answered curtly, jerking her elbow free of Eirik's grasp.
The chief looked her up and down and walked around her as though he were checking a horse before purchasing it. She wondered if he would ask to check her teeth next.
"She's not bigger than a child!" he finally said. "How can someone so small be a great warrior as said in the prophesy?"
"She's taken on Ulriech and bested him thrice," Eirik said.
"That's not true!" Ulriech bellowed from across the room.
"She's had your dagger all morning and you weren't even aware of it until just now when she tried to stick you with it. Again." Eirik snapped. His voice echoed through the hall and Ulriech reconsidered arguing with him.
"She's beautiful to be sure," the chief said, glancing at Ulriech to judge his reaction. "Do you not think so, Ulriech?"
"Yes. She is." He said.
"Very well! She will marry Ulriech!"
"I will not!" she snapped. Her voice also echoed and every head in the room turned to stare at her.
"What did you say?" the chief asked.
"I will not marry him!" she repeated, loudly. "I'd rather gouge out my eyes and hack off both of my own feet before I'd ever marry the likes of him! I'd rather wade through a river of crocodiles after rolling in a vat of dead fish before I'd marry him. I'd even rather go swimming in the ocean, when the water's extra murky, while a whale carcass rots on the beach and I'm on my period to attract sharks before I'd ever-,"
"He's the chief's eldest son!" One of the other men said. "He stands to inherit great riches and status one day!"
She stared at him as though she was waiting for him to offer her some additional information that might actually entice her to accept. When she realized that was all he had, she burst out laughing. "You actually think that is supposed to make him look more appealing to me?"
The man blustered for a moment. "You would be the chief's wife!"
"You mean I'd be his wife," she snapped, pointing directly at Ulriech. "Which means I'd have to-," she gagged at the thought of sharing a bed with him and everyone took a step back.
The men who had been sitting around the table began murmuring amongst themselves. They appeared to be telling the chief what his options were if the woman refused the hand of his son.
"Very well," the chief turned to her and nodded. "You are not required to marry him. However, I request that you allow him to train you to fight, as it appears you have no real skill with a knife."
"I got it out of his boot without him noticing, didn't I?" she smiled mockingly at Ulriech.
"Yes, and he'll teach you how to actually throw it." His father replied dryly.
"Fine."
"Eirik, would you please take her to her house?"
"My house?" she asked softly as Eirik led her from the building. "I have a house?"
"Yes," he replied. He was halfway down the front steps when he realized she had stopped and he turned around to look back at her.
"You know," she said, finally letting out a sigh and catching up to him. "You're really going to have to explain this whole prophesy thing to me, because I don't understand what's going on here."
"I will."
"And does Ulriech really have to be the one to train me? I mean, he's not exactly the best role model for me."
He laughed softly and guided her up the street. "I'll fill in where his teaching lacks," he said.
The house was large. Much larger than her apartment back home. There was a fireplace along one wall that was taller than she was and the fire that was burning easily warmed the entire residence. At the back of the room was a door that led to a private bedroom with a bed covered in furs and other blankets that she wished she could climb into and sleep for a week.
There were several dresses draped over a nearby chair and she lifted one up to hold it up to her shoulders, checking to see if it really would be too long as Eirik had said. Sure enough, it was.
"Well, I'll leave you to yourself," he said. He closed the door behind him and she wandered around, looking at everything until she found the wooden bathtub, hidden behind a latticed partition. With a fire that size, it wouldn't take long to heat enough water for a bath and she got started on it right away.
It had been three weeks. Ulriech had been training her to fight with a sword on a daily basis. It was exhausting, but already she was showing improvement. And it wasn't so bad having him as her teacher, so long as she kept him too busy to talk.
After a long day of practice with a sword and dagger, Sophie was tired. She was panting and used her sleeve to wipe away a thin sheen of sweat that had formed on her forehead. She could hear Ulriech commenting on how much better she was now, compared to when they had started all those weeks ago, but she didn't pay him much mind. She was getting pretty good at ignoring him, and she was just trying to catch her breath.
Until she realized that he was standing right in front of her and he picked her up in his arms. She suddenly found herself crushed between him and the wall behind her as he attempted to kiss her. She tried to pull free, but she was no match for his brute strength.
"Let me go!" she snapped, pulling her head back enough to catch a breath before his mouth covered hers again and she felt his tongue probing her mouth.
That was when she realized that although she had dropped her sword, she still had the dagger in her left hand and she stabbed him with it as hard as she could.
With a bellow, he stumbled back away from her, her dagger sticking out of his right butt-cheek. She collapsed to the ground but quickly got back to her feet as he continued his screaming rant.
Picking up her sword, she walked past him, grabbing the hilt of the dagger and yanking it free. "Same time tomorrow?" she asked. She smiled as she walked away at the same time several of his men came running to help him.
She was sitting in front of her fire, enjoying its warmth and sharpening her dagger when there was a light rap at the door and Eirik stepped inside. "Well, I guess that's one way of deterring the advances of a man," he said, lowering himself onto the furs beside her.
"He was asking for it," she said.
"I'm told my father advised him to try wooing you,"
"Did he?" she glanced at him. "Well, he did a poor job of it."
"Appears so."
"He'll live," she reminded him. "I don't think a knife to the ass ever killed anyone."
"I suppose it's better than the alternative,"
"For him perhaps," she didn't say so, but she would have just as happily stuck him in the eye. "I suppose this means he won't be training me tomorrow?"
"No. He's been blubbering like a baby for over an hour now. I don't think he's even going to manage getting out of bed in the morning, much less do any walking around. You stuck him pretty good."
"Well, maybe he'll remember that the next time he has the urge to stick his tongue in my mouth without my permission."
"I'm certain he will."
"How many brothers do you have?" she asked suddenly.
"Two."
"And Ulriech is the only one who can marry this mystery woman you're all looking for?"
He shrugged. "He's the eldest. I suppose it doesn't have to be him, but that's what's always been expected."
"Maybe that's the problem," she replied. "Maybe you already found the right woman, but she was so disgusted by your brother that she married anyone else just to avoid being with him."
"By all means, speak freely," he teased.
"All I'm saying is he needs some serious help in the relationship department. He can't just go throwing himself at women and just think they'll drop their panties for him."
He stared at her. "I'm not sure I completely understand what you just said, but if I'm correct in guessing, I'd have to say that it's always worked for him before."
"Really? Women just throw themselves at him?"
He nodded.
"Why? What is it they think they're going to get from him?"
"Power. Wealth. Position."
"An STD?"
"What's that?"
"Never mind. My point is, he's crass and vulgar. Even if I thought I was attracted to him, which I'm not, the moment he opens his mouth I've changed my mind and thought better of it. No matter what position and wealth he could offer me."
"You are not like most of the women here, then. They would do just about anything to be the next chief's wife."
She feigned gagging.
He smiled. "Since you have put Ulriech out of commission until further notice, I will be continuing with your training. My father wants you at your best before winter ends."