Chapter 35: Chapter 35

KENDRA

The terror of last night was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, and that’s saying something considering I was once abducted by a Viking lord.

I’ve witnessed men being killed before, so why did this incident shake me to my core? As I lay next to a still-sleeping Fjorn, I replayed the events in my mind when a noise at the door startled me.

I nudged Fjorn gently, and he grumbled, rolling over. “Fjorn, there’s something at the door,” I whispered. Instantly alert, Fjorn sat up, pulling a knife from under his pillow. When did he put that there? He silently descended the ladder and crept toward the door. I watched him from the bed, but he didn’t make a sound. Suddenly, he flung the door open.

Ulf was sprawled on his back, blinking sleepily up at Fjorn, who held the knife to his throat. “What the hell are you doing?” Fjorn asked, helping Ulf to his feet.

“Sten and I thought it would be safer if we kept watch over the house,” Ulf replied, stifling a yawn.

“Sten’s here too?” I asked, slipping into my dress and tossing Fjorn his pants before making my way down the ladder and over to the door. I peeked outside to find Sten fast asleep on the porch corner, his arms crossed over his chest, clutching his axe. I tried to suppress a giggle.

I approached him and tapped his boot lightly. He stirred but didn’t wake. So, I tapped him again. “Wake up, Steny weny,” I teased.

Sten slowly opened his eyes and then broke into a smile. “Now this is a morning wake-up call.”

Laughing, I shook my head and walked back inside. After breakfast, we discussed the plan for the evening.

“Today at noon, my trial with the clan leaders begins. It should be straightforward. They’ll ask me questions, and I’ll tell them what happened,” Fjorn said. “Kendra, you’ll be seated next to me on the throne, while Ulf and Sten will be stationed at the front door, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.”

Ulf and Sten nodded, waiting for me to continue. “Once the leaders leave to deliberate my guilt, that would be the best time for an attack. Sten, I want you and Ulf to escort Kendra back here. Leave through the front door so it appears she’s alone, then sneak back in through the back.”

Fjorn looked at me. “Kendra, I want you to exit through the back door and head to Astrid and Hilda’s house. I’ll fill them in. Enter through their back door and make sure no one sees you,” he instructed.

“What if someone ~does~ see me?” I asked.

Fjorn looked uncertain before picking up a knife and handing it to me. “I want to ensure they don’t get a chance to harm you. Do you understand?” he said, kissing my forehead. I nodded.

We went over every detail meticulously to ensure the plan would work. And then we waited. The few hours of waiting felt like an eternity. Ulf taught me how to use the knife while Fjorn and Sten discussed contingency plans. The knock at the door made me jump.

Fjorn took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Are you ready?” he asked. I nodded, and Sten opened the door. Standing there were Fjorn’s father and two other men. We followed them outside to the great hall. After I took my seat on the throne, Fjorn sat next to me, and the trial began.

Eight elder men stood before us. One stepped forward and began to speak. “The act of dying honorably in battle, like your brother Jarl Thorsten did—may he rest with Odin in Valhalla—is held in the highest regard by us, as you know. But upon conversing with Ingrid, his intended frue, we come to understand that the death should not have belonged to him, but to you.”

I gasped, and Fjorn looked at me sharply, warning me with his eyes to hold back my emotions.

“If we find you guilty, due to your position as jarl and his inability to fight for himself, we must make a human blood sacrifice to seek forgiveness from Odin at the summer solstice.”

I was caught off guard as Fjorn’s eyes widened, a sign that he had grasped something I had not. A blood sacrifice? I had heard Vikings did this, but I naively thought it was limited to livestock. And what about my revenge? Ingrid had tried to kill me! The realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and my face immediately went ashen when I understood what Fjorn had already known: ~I~ was to be the sacrifice.

One by one, they asked Fjorn to recount the events that led to Thorsten’s death, and to some degree, Ingrid’s. Fjorn remained calm, repeating his story over and over. Some of the men scoffed, and I tried to hide my discomfort. But when Fjorn’s father approached us, I had to resist the urge to slap him.

“So, let me get this straight. You kidnapped this Saxon woman and made her your bride? A slave, yes. Hell, use her as a whore, but your ~bride~?!” Fjorn’s father sneered at me. “If only you hadn’t let your brother die. ~He~ never would have let this happen.”

Fjorn’s knuckles turned white from gripping his throne so tightly. I knew it bothered him, but he couldn’t let it show. “If you have any more questions, I would be happy to answer, Orm,” Fjorn said. So his name was Orm. Now I knew two things for sure: his name and that I despised him.

“Why didn’t you accept Ingrid’s proposal and make her your frue? She would not have made these accusations against you if you had, and it seems quite obvious to me we wouldn’t be here,” Orm said.

“I didn’t want Ingrid as my frue, and she couldn’t accept that. That’s why this whole mess started. And I would appreciate some respect for my frue, as she is the mother of my unborn child,” Fjorn declared proudly.

I felt everyone’s eyes on me. What was Fjorn doing? The plan was to keep our baby a secret for its safety. I swallowed hard, looking around at the mix of uncertain and angry faces.

“A child?” Orm said, taking a step back. His face contorted into a mask of anger and disgust, and he opened his mouth to vocalize his revulsion. Another man, however, stood up abruptly and looked at Orm pointedly before addressing the room.

His voice echoed as he announced that they had gathered all the necessary information and would need to delve into a detailed discussion of the findings. We were free to leave.