by GR Griffin
The women all made agreeing sounds, and Lenneth thought they would actually follow after them. Lezard would break into an unexpected run, Lenneth using her free hand to haul her skirts up high enough so she wouldn't trip over them. It was no effort at all to keep up with the mage, the two running through the halls of the castle. Lenneth would catch a startled gaze here and there, the men and women that moved through the halls shocked at their sudden and hurried passage.
There was several flights of stairs navigated, the pair descending to the ground level of the castle. Curious gazes seemed to greet them wherever they went, a fact that served to agitate her betrothed further. He'd continue to lead her by the hand, Lezard taking a side corridor that began to empty out of people the further along it they traveled.
Lenneth would catch sight of half open doors, the rooms' furnishings plainer than what had been on the upper levels of the castle. Some rooms had several single person beds crammed into them, so that six people would share the small space nightly. Other rooms seemed to exist simply for storage purposes, Lenneth spying barrels, boxes, and shelves crammed full of things. One room appeared to be a tool shed, and the largest of the rooms that awaited them at the end of the corridor was a kitchen big enough to feed a castle that had to house over two hundred people.
The kitchen was bustling at this time a day. Already a dozen cooks were preparing the ingredients for the day's next meal. They looked more startled than anything when they saw the Lord of the castle enter, but unlike the nobles, they didn't dare stare for long. Not without the risk of disrespecting their master.
The kitchen was not their final destination. Lezard would lead Lenneth at a more sedate pace past the rows of tables with all manners of fruits and vegetables laid out on their tops, towards a door that was situated next to a sink that was piled high with dirty dishes. This door would lead outside to a wall enclosed area, the green grass, and wild herbs and flowers hardly enough to make a suitable looking garden.
Lezard did not immediately let go of Lenneth's hand, instead turning to look at her. She stared back at him, aware of the warmth of his hand around hers. "This is the servant's herb garden." Lezard said by way of explanation. "We won't be disturbed here...not in the servants' quarters."
Lenneth had already guessed they had entered the servants' part of the castle. It was quieter here, free of the insolently curious looks of the nobles. Lenneth felt a dozen times better to be away from them all, the Valkyrie having felt like a bug in a glass, privy to examinations from any who happened by. She wasn't used to that kind of attention, to the intense stares, and probing questions that was born out of a person's curiosity about her.
It had been overwhelming. Lenneth was sure Lezard had saved her from doing something unthinkable. For all the attention she had been given, Lenneth hadn't sensed any overt hostility from the group that had surrounded her. And yet she had still wanted to strike out, to send a message that would ward against people idly bothering her. It wouldn't have been a wise reaction, she couldn't afford to make new enemies.
"Thank you." Lenneth said out loud. It was a grudging thanks, Lenneth not wanting to be indebted to Lezard for anything. "Thank you for getting me away from them."
He did a slight nod of his head. "It was my pleasure to rescue a damsel in distress."
His choice of words made her frown, Lenneth abruptly pulling her hand free from his. "I am no weak woman in need of a man to save her."
The color of his eyes seemed to flicker with the light, but if he took offense to her dismissal, Lezard did not show it. "Of course. I meant no offense with my words. It's just...I saw how overwhelmed you were by Mystina and her group. You looked uncomfortable, and I wanted to put an end to that situation. For your sake as well as mine."
She didn't ask what he meant by that. Instead Lenneth stepped closer to a wall that's stone had vines creeping all over it's surface. "What was all that about?" She touched one of the vines, feeling the damp dew on it's skin. Lezard's answer would draw her attention back to him, Lenneth's eyes widening in understanding.
"They've never seen a Valkyrie before."
"Ah." A pause from her, Lenneth considering this. Her immortality had stretched on for centuries if not millennia, and time was such that she didn't always remember when exactly events happened. But now Lenneth concentrated, trying to recall when was the last time a Valkyrie had had any business with the nation of Flenceburg. With any of the Midgard nations that were under Queen Hel's control. From what she could tell, it would have been at least three hundred years since a Valkyrie would have had reason to come to Flenceburg, and that would have been during the last great war between Asgard and the Underworld.
Midgard wasn't completely at peace, but Queen Hel had grown lax in her desire to fight with King Odin. She was more content on lending her aid to the undead that Brahms ruled over, watching from the sidelines rather than engaging in active war. With the Undead's constant presence in Asgard, the Valkyries were too busy to be sent elsewhere. And the mortals of Midgard were not often received in Asgard, save for those who had become einherjar.
Lenneth could grudgingly understand just why her presence in Flenceburg was causing quite a stir. She was the first Valkyrie in years to walk among these people. Even more notorious, she was the first Valkyrie ever to be given to one who owed allegiance to Hel. Of course they would be curious. About her, and about the reasons why she had been allowed to come to Flenceburg in the first place.
It didn't mean she had to like their curiosity. "They will just have to get over it." Lenneth said out loud to Lezard. She was surprised to see the amused look back in his eyes.
"You underestimate your allure." He told her. She arched an eyebrow in question, not sure what he meant by that. "You are a beautiful, intelligent woman. A former Goddess. Their curiosity will linger for quite some time...for some it will be stronger than others. You'll have to call on tolerance in order to endure their questions. Of course, I will speak to them again about how they shouldn't pester you. But with some, I'm afraid even the sternest of talks will not lessen their desire to learn about you."
"Like that Mystina?" Lenneth's question had Lezard grimacing.
"Yes.." He nodded. "She is...one of a bold and at times forceful attitude. I'm sure she means no harm towards you, but she would be loathe to ignore the opportunity you present to her."
"Opportunity?"
"It's no casual interest she has in you." Lezard explained. "Mystina is a sorceress first, and a scholar second. She is eager to pick your memories for your knowledge of past wars, and even of the heavens themselves."
"If it's war she wants, I can tell her plenty." Lenneth answered in a grim tone. "As for the heavens, I think it best if Asgard's secrets remain it's own." Some unreadable look flashed in Lezard's eyes at that. Lenneth wondered if he had expected her to betray the people of Asgard, to tell their secrets to any and all who would listen. She would never do that, not even under the threat of torture.
"As you prefer." Is all Lezard said out loud.
"I prefer not to be here at all." Lenneth told him, a wistful edge to her voice. Her fingers began crushing the nearest vine, Lenneth staring at the wall as regret and anger warred for dominance inside her. She didn't want to whine, but Lenneth very much felt it unfair that she had been cast out of Asgard. Denied her godhood and right to avenge what had happened to her sister, Silmeria.
"It's understandable." Lezard replied. She did not look at him. "You are in a new place, among strangers. Your world has changed overnight, and left you to flounder until you adapt."
Her fingers flexed, releasing the crushed vine. "And what if I'm never able to adapt?" She asked with a sigh. "I am a warrior. I lived for the battle. For the thrill of fighting. How am I to content myself to be nothing more than a man's wife? Expected to be nothing more than the vessel in which to birth your children?"
"Lenneth!" Was that a thread of anger in Lezard's voice? She turned at hearing it, seeing the heated look on his
face. "You will be so much more. Do not ever undersell yourself..."
"But it's the truth." Lenneth retorted. "By Odin's own decree, my fate was sealed."
"Fate is not unchangeable." Lezard insisted. "You can make your own."
"Make my own..." Lenneth echoed softly, than made a scoffing sound. "How? When my free will was attempted to be stripped from me? A spell cast upon my heart to take choice away from me?"
"But you haven't given into that spell." Lezard pointed out. "You don't love me..."
She didn't dare say this out loud, but the words, but I want to, came flashing into her mind. Lenneth took it as more proof of Odin's enchantment trying to impose it's will on her. Her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palm so that the pain of that action would keep her clear headed. How long had it been since she had awakened? Not even a handful of hours, and already she was tired of fighting the urgings of the spell.
"And what of you?" Lenneth demanded, trying to ignore her troublesome thoughts. "What would you do if I tried to seize a new fate for myself? One that did not include you?"
A quick blink of his eyes, and then he recovered. "I would hope you would be amenable to a future with me. I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do. But...give me a chance. Let me court you."
An undercurrent of suspicion in her reacted to his words, Lenneth thinking he was not being entirely truthful about that. "Fear not Lezard. I won't go against Odin's orders." In her mind she whispered the words not yet, Lenneth not sure what her resolve would lead her to decide. "Besides." She offered him a wry smile then. "Wherever would I go? I've been cast out of the heavens...made mortal. I have no money to my name, nothing but the clothes on my back."
"So you stay because you are dependent on my kindness?" Lezard didn't look pleased at that.
"I stay because I've been given an order by my King." Lenneth corrected him. "I will not do him or myself dishonor, even if I don't agree with the punishment I've been given."
"I hope that in time you come to look upon me as something other than your punishment for what has happened to your sister." Lezard spoke with honesty in his voice.
"That will be dependent on just how strong Odin's love spell proves to be." Lenneth took no pleasure in crushing any hopes Lezard might harbor in his heart. It was just the truth as she perceived int to be, the love enchantment working diligently from the moment she had been kissed awake.
Lezard did not quite scowl. "It was a mistake of your King to cast that spell." Lenneth's eyes widened in surprise. "It has served neither of us well, and only furthers your suffering."
"That is no fault of Odin's." Lenneth protested. "His spell should have made me love you. If you want to blame anyone, you must blame me for being strong enough to fight off the worse of the enchantment."
"I don't...won't blame you for doing what you must to protect your heart." Lezard answered.
She shrugged in response. "Still it must be a shock to you...expecting to find an obedient, loving Valkyrie for your wife only to instead get saddled with this stubborn, quick tempered shrew." His lips actually quirked in a smile, Lezard amused by her words.
"It just presents us both with a challenge." He told her.
"And is that the challenge of learning to love one another?" Lenneth asked. She then scoffed. "We don't need love to be married."
"But marriage is all the more sweeter when love is involved." Lezard retorted.
"Are you by chance a romantic at heart?"
"Truthfully....no. I was never one for love...never one for settling down." It was a surprising admission. "It's just another reason for the curiosity that surrounds you. I'm sure they are all curious as to why I would be so taken with a woman to agree to marry her....even if that woman was a Goddess at one point."
"And will you tell me the answer to that?" Lenneth asked.
"Maybe someday I will..." Lezard hedged in response.
"Why not now?" Lezard just shrugged his shoulders in response. "Will you not ever tell me just how you came to make this arrangement with my King? It is an astonishing feat, to think he would give away one of his Valkyries to his enemies, even one that is as disgraced with defeat as I am."
"It's not a story worth telling." That response of Lezard strongly demanded she drop the subject.
"I don't believe you on that."
"It is your right to believe or not to believe." Lezard said. "But I'll keep my secrets all the same. It adds to my mystery."
"Hmm..." She made a noncommittal noise, a sound that would tell him nothing of what she believed about his vaunted mysteries. Nor could she entirely drop this subject, Lenneth thinking she might be full of a curiosity similar to that of the women inside the castle. She didn't consider that curiosity a good thing. Nor was she used to being in it's strong grip, Lenneth used to the days when as Valkyrie her questions were answered without hesitation. And those few that would have offered up a resistance, would find themselves quickly on the wrong end of a sword.
But she couldn't exactly use violence against her husband to be. It would bring disgrace to her King, and would alienate her from Lezard. The latter she couldn't afford right now, Lenneth alone in this land. She needed someone, anyone, to be her guide through the pitfalls of being mortal. As her betrothed, that duty fell into Lezard's hands, she was dependent on him just as she had implied earlier.
She shouldn't try to aggravate him. And yet she stepped away from the wall, actually putting herself closer to the mage. "Is my King considering an alliance with your Queen? Is that what you don't want to tell me?"
"I suppose there's no use in hiding that." A careful nod of his head had Lenneth fighting not to show her displeasure. "This marriage between us...is a step in that direction. It's a..."
"A show of good faith." Lenneth all but growled over his words. "A sign of Odin's willingness to consider throwing in with Hel." Her agitation had increased, Lenneth beginning to pace past Lezard. She thought this a disaster, and Lenneth wondered just how desperate Odin was becoming to even consider allying with the underworld. Had the near endless war with Brahms' faction driven Odin to this decision?
"He's made no final decision in that regard." She wasn't able to hide her dismay, her agitation moving Lezard to attempt a reassurance. It had no effect on her though, Lenneth's thoughts racing with the speed of her pulse. Lenneth wondered how long this had been going on, how long Odin had been considering this potential alliance with Hel. The Valkyries hadn't known. If even one of them had suspected, they would have shared those suspicions with their sisters. It would have caused an unrest among the divine pantheon, dissension spreading throughout the ranks.
Lenneth couldn't understand what was going through Odin's mind to even consider working with Hel. Nor did she like the thought that her punishment was being used to pave the way for a potential joining of forces between Asgard and Nifleheim. It made her wonder if other Valkyrie would soon be given away to high ranking members of Hel's domain, forced to breed and birth children that would worship the underworld's queen.
She turned to glare at Lezard, the man having stayed rooted in place save for a quick turning to watch her as Lenneth paced around the small garden area. "And you...what role do you play in Hel's kingdom?" She had to know, Lenneth wanting to find out just how big a sinner she was about to be tied to. "You must be important...you rule over this large castle, and you were given a Valkyrie for your bride..."
His own look of displeasure crossed Lezard's face. It was clear he was loathe to answer, as though he had wanted to put off her discoveries for as long as possible. "If I don't tell you, I'm sure Mystina or one of the other gossips will." Grumbled Lezard in discontent. "I am of Queen Hel's inner circle. A commander in her armies, and close enough to her, that the Queen sometimes will confide in me."
Lenneth had stopped her pacing, her glare deepening as she stared at Lezard. The glared masked her tumultuous emotions, her heart beat quickening as dismay and horror washed over her. It was
perhaps worse than she had first realized, and it was a shaky voice that Lenneth asked the following. "And what areas of magic are your expertise?"
"Nearly all of them." She sensed it was no idle boast on Lezard's part.
"All of them?" He nodded, an unfathomable look in his amethyst colored eyes. "Even the dark arts?" He hesitated before nodding slowly. Lenneth brought her hand to her mouth, covering her gasp. She shouldn't be surprised. He had admitted to being part of Hel's inner circle, he was close enough to the Queen for her confidences, and to earn a Valkyrie as his reward. That meant he had to be powerful, and thoroughly mired in the blackest of magic.
But still it was disturbing to be so close to one who used the dark arts, to one who had damned his soul with unspeakable acts. Her reaction she could not hide completely, and it bothered him. Lezard would flash her a bitter smile, his right hand raising so his fingers could adjust his glasses. "There's a word for my kind." He told her, a ruthless determination in his eyes. It was as though he wanted her to understand exactly what he was, Lezard not sparing Lenneth any false illusions as to the nature of his dealings with magic. "Necromancer."
She didn't dare close her eyes, not even for an instant. But she shook all the same, with an unbridled fury that wanted her to strike him down. A soul defiler was before her, one who openly admitted to his criminal nature. Lenneth had thought she had experienced horror before, but that had been nothing compared to what was coursing through her now at the thought of being tied to this man. To letting a necromancer touch her, use her for his own ends.
Had Odin gone mad to do this to her? She did not know. But Lenneth was unsettled, thinking it beyond cruel to put her in this position. She wondered if any of the other Valkyries knew just how complete a punishment Lenneth had received, if her older sister Hrist knew just what kind of man Lenneth had been given to. Lenneth was sure Hrist did not, for the black haired Valkyrie while detached from the closeness she had shared with Silmeria, was the very definition of honor. She would not have allowed Lenneth to end up with such a man, would have taken actions against it even if it meant going up against Lord Odin.
