It had been months since she'd first arrived in Svangard. She'd been training since nearly the first day and she had grown quite proficient with a sword. Ulriech still drove her to the brink of insanity and it was all she could do just to stand being in the same room as him for any length of time. When she couldn't stand the sound of his voice any longer, she usually excused herself and went for a walk.
This was one of those times and she stomped across the clearing, mumbling to herself. She wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around her until she looked around and noticed just how far she had wandered from town. With a huff, she turned to head back, but she suddenly felt like something was off. It felt like she was being watched and she wondered if Eirik or Ulriech had followed her when she'd left the hall.
Considering this, she knew that neither of them would conceal themselves in amongst the trees. They would have just come stomping up the trail, loudly scolding her for taking off again. No, whoever was watching her wasn't from Svangard.
She'd taken half a dozen steps back towards town when several strange men stepped out of the cover of the trees and began moving to surround her. She instinctively pulled her sword free of it's sheath and felt at her waist for her dagger.
It didn't take her long to identify which one was in charge and she stared him down. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Well," he licked his lips as he looked her up and down. "We were hoping to encounter the prince of Svangard, but perhaps we could come to a different arrangement,"
"What kind of arrangement?"
"Well, we'll just take you instead. And when the prince comes looking for you, as I'm sure he will, we'll make a trade."
"That doesn't really work for me," she said. Sure, she was currently mad as hell at him, but she wasn't just going to hand him over to these guys without a fight. "How about you fight me instead and if you can best me, then we'll go with your plan."
He laughed. "Best you? Wench, I could do that with one hand tied behind my back. And blindfolded!"
"Really? I'd like to see that,"
"I want the prince!" he snarled.
"If you're talking about Ulriech, I'd be happy to get him for you, but I'm warning you, one can only take so much of his incessant jabbering before he makes you lose your mind!"
He must have found her rather funny, for he laughed again. But as soon as he finished, he pulled his sword and so did his fellow travelers.
Everything went by so fast that Sophie couldn't have recounted what happened. She fought instinctively. She had never killed a man before, much less five, but it appeared that her training with Eirik had served her well. She looked down at the bodies of her attackers and realized that she was partly covered in their blood. She gasped, dropping both of her weapons and began trying to wipe the blood from her arms as if it were acid and was burning her skin.
Eirik stepped out into the clearing, having come after her and expecting to get an earful about how he never let her have any space, but when he saw the scene before him, he stopped and stared. He counted five bodies on the ground, blood everywhere and Sophie in the middle, hyperventilating and covered in blood.
"What happened?" he sprinted over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. It seemed to snap her out of the panic attack she was having. "Are you injured?"
Blood covered her sleeves. It was all over the front of her dress and had splattered over her face. He wasn't certain if it was just the men's blood or if she was injured somewhere.
"Are you hurt? Woman, answer me!" he snapped.
She was shaking, but managed to look up into his eyes and she shook her head. "No. No, it's not mine," she said. "I'm not hurt!"
Ulriech and several other men came tramping into the clearing, unhappy that his father had insisted they go after her to make sure nothing happened, and they were surprised to find it looking like the scene of a massacre. "What happened here?" he barked.
"Send out scouts," Eirik said, lifting Sophie in his arms and carrying her towards the river. "And send word to Father that they were here!"
She was still shaking when they reached the edge of the water and he set her down on the grassy bank where he helped her wash the blood from her face and arms.
"I'm afraid the dress might be ruined," he said softly. He dipped his hands into the water again and reached over to wipe blood from the edge of her ear. "What were you thinking, going so far from town by yourself?!"
She burst into tears and dropped her face into her hands.
Taking a long, slow breath, Eirik pulled her over onto his lap and let her cry on his shoulder for several long minutes. Eventually, he heard his brother clearing his throat behind him and he turned his head. "Well?"
"That must have been all of them," Ulriech said. "There's no sign of anyone else."
Eirik nodded. "Good. We need to find out who they were and where they came from. And what it was they were looking for."
Ulriech agreed.
Looking down at Sophie, Eirik smiled. "Will you survive, then?" he asked.
She nodded and let him wipe the tears from her face. Then he heaved himself to his feet and helped her back onto hers. "We'd best get back to the safety of town," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her away from the water.
One of the men, standing nearby, returned her weapons to her before hurrying to catch up to the others who were already on their way back to town.
She and Eirik took their time. He could tell she was spent from her battle, but he also knew she was too stubborn to let him carry her, which he would have gladly done if she had just admitted how tired she was.
As a result, the others arrived back well before them and by the time they joined them in the great hall, the chief and Ulriech were already discussing the situation.
"I think we should send out scouts, farther than the ones we sent out today!" Ulriech's voice echoed through the hall and Sophie winced at the sound of it.
"We don't even know what they were looking for!" his father argued. "Where is Sophie?"
"I'm here," she said.
"Where did the men come from? What did they want? Did they say anything or did you just attack them for no good reason!"
She stared at him with the best dead-pan look she could muster. She owed this man nothing and if he was just going to yell at her, he could find out the information he wanted some other way, because she wasn't going to bend over backwards to tell him.
"Well!" the chief snapped. "Say something!"
Sophie turned to Eirik. "When he's ready to speak to me without yelling, send someone to my house. Until then, I'm going to get cleaned up and possibly take a nap." She turned and walked out of the hall, letting the door slam shut with a loud, echoing boom.
"What did she say?"
"She said until you can show some respect, she's going to go take care of herself. I suggest, if you want any information from her, that you stop shouting and shut up long enough to listen to what she has to say!" Eirik turned and also walked from the hall, leaving everyone staring at his back.
When Sophie had washed and changed into a fresh dress, she stepped outside to find Eirik sitting on the front steps waiting for her. His sword lay across his knees as if he was expecting trouble, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
"Waiting for a fight?" she asked.
"Just keeping a look out." he replied, getting to his feet and sheathing his sword.
"Do you think I've kept them waiting long enough?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Possibly. By the time I walked out, they didn't have much left to say."
She smiled. "Alright. I suppose I'll give them another chance."
"After you," he stepped aside so she could go down the steps and followed her to the hall.
Pushing the heavy door open, she stepped inside. All eyes turned to stare at her and when they stayed silent, she walked to the table and sat down. She knew women weren't typically allowed to sit at the table, but she was just daring any of them to say something and they knew it.
The chief cleared his throat as Eirik took the chair beside her. "Is there anything you can tell us about the men you encountered in the woods today, Sophie?" his father asked, rather calmly.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is." she replied. "They were from Stromshold. I remember one of them yelling it when he charged me. They were looking for the prince of Svangard, who I can only assume is Ulriech. Their plan was to capture him and take him back to Stromshold for ransom. Something one of them said also led me to believe that they were looking to find out any weaknesses within the city or the troops."
The chief looked surprised. "They have become very daring indeed, if this is what they came for. Ulriech, send scouts north-west. We should rally the troops and prepare to march if anything comes of this."
"I suggest beginning training for the new recruits early. If we wait until spring to get started, it might be too late." Eirik said.
"Excellent point," the chief replied. "Ulriech, see to it that the new recruits are started in the lists tomorrow morning."
Ulriech nodded.
Sophie stood up, since there was no reason for her to be there anymore. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it, then." she said.
"Eirik, would you see to the rest of her training?" his father said. "I'll need Ulriech to help in the lists."
"Of course," Eirik replied. He too, got to his feet and followed Sophie out the door.
"Well, who knew they could carry on a decent conversation without shouting at each other?" she said, stepping outside.
"I think we all knew it was possible, we've just never seen it before." he smiled.