Outsider

by Klaire de Lys

  ‘Let me do it,’ Ragi said gently. He untied the twine then slid the silk package back towards her. ‘Go on! Unwrap it!’ He couldn’t stop an enormous grin spreading across his face when she saw what was inside.

  There were three daggers, the largest of which looked like a small sword. The second, half the length, was thinner than its predecessor, and the third was so small that the blade - an oval shape that tapered out into a needle-like end - was only the length of Astrid’s hand. All three of them had a leather scabbard to protect them, the leather plain and polished to a shine.

  ‘And there’s one more thing,’ Ragi said excitedly, pushing the daggers aside and reaching for a small, black velvet bag. He placed it in Astrid’s hands.

  ‘I gave this to Dag for your parents. He gave it back to me when...’ His voice trailed off. ‘Anyway, I think you should have it. It would have gone to you anyhow, one day.’

  Astrid opened the bag and tipped the contents into her hand. A ring tumbled out and split into two. One was a jasmine flower, made of silver, with white diamonds set into the centre of the flower heads. The other was a thistle made of a dark copper, with red rubies embedded into it.

  ‘They both fit together, see?’ Ragi said, placing them next to each other. The rings slid together and held fast with a ‘click’.

  Astrid said nothing for a few moments, swallowing and rubbing at her eyes, determined not to cry.

  ‘Why are there two?’ she asked, knowing exactly why, but she needed to say something out loud to stop the tears from falling.

  ‘One for you, the other for the one you love...one day.’ Ragi smiled. He took the rings and slid them onto a strong, steel chain, then placed it carefully over her head.

  ‘Thank you Ragi!’ she said, pulling the goblin into a hug. He tried to escape but Astrid held him tight.

  ‘Ok! Ok! That’s enough!’ he said, and Astrid let him go. ‘Now don’t lose them. Took me months to make them, and metal this good is hard to find.’

  ‘You made them?’

  ‘Yes. I used to be a blacksmith. I’m still very good!’

  ‘I’ve never seen you making anything.’

  ‘That’s because my forge is further up the mountain.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Astrid said again, opening the sheath of the smaller dagger and running her finger over it.

  ‘Careful! They’re all very sharp,’ Ragi warned, and Astrid winced as the blade sliced her skin. ‘Sharp!’ Ragi repeated. Astrid sucked at the blood and put the dagger down.

  ‘Why is it so small?’ she asked.

  ‘That one goes around your ankle, or in your boot. It’s small, but perfect for hiding. That little thing has saved my life more times than I can count.’

  ‘And this one?’ Astrid asked, holding up the middle dagger.

  ‘ It wraps around your left arm; quicker to reach it. Perfect for when trouble is too close.’

  ‘And this one is for my belt?’ Astrid asked, holding up the last and longest of the daggers.

  ‘Yes. Wear it so your left hand can get to it as quickly as possible. You should know how to use them with either of your hands. It’s better to be prepared for everything.’

  Astrid strapped down the daggers in their correct places and stood up. She reached for the handles and pulled them out, one by one, admiring how firmly they stayed in their sheaths but came loose the minute her hand touched the handles.

  ‘Will you teach me now?’ she asked, a dagger in each hand, looking up at him excitedly. Ragi laughed at her enthusiasm.

  ‘You’re too tired now. You can barely hold your arms up! Come tomorrow before Skad wakes up and I’ll teach you.’

  * * *

  Astrid groaned in pain. Her arms felt as if they had turned to stone overnight, they were so heavy and difficult to move. She tip-toed over to the stairs and saw Skad move a little in his sleep by the fireplace. She slowly backed into her room.

  The top step of the stairs to her room always creaked loudly. If she woke him now he would be in an even worse mood, and she would have to wait another day to train with Ragi.

  She crept to the far end of her room and shifted the thatching, creating a small tunnel jutting out onto the roof. Before she climbed through she grabbed her blanket from her bed, and once outside, draped it over the hole. She would have to take some straw from Felix’s stable later and make a better covering for it, but today it would be fine and the blanket would stop the cold air getting inside. The minute it rained there would be trouble; nobody appreciated a leaking roof, and Astrid would prefer it if nobody knew about her secret door. She had helped her mother thatch the roof in her old home enough times to know how to fix it herself. If she was lucky she would be able to steal the hay from Felix and mend it later that night when Dag and Skad were eating. Dag would not question why she was not eating with them and Skad would not care. It was the perfect time to do it.

  With a grin on her face, she climbed down the tree and raced through the forest, tightening the straps for the daggers as she ran. When she reached Ragi’s hut, Astrid saw him sitting outside and he looked up smiling as she approached.

  ‘Ready?’

  Nodding, Astrid drew two of her daggers and walked towards him. Ragi laughed.

  I’m going to have to make you some more!’ he said.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘If you use two daggers right away, you’ll only have one spare. Always have spares if you can.’

  She re-sheathed one of the daggers. ‘Ok, I’m ready.’

  He shook his head. ‘And the other one.’ Astrid stared at him blankly. ‘The daggers won’t help at all if you can’t fight without them. Take them off for the moment; I don’t want you cutting me accidently.’

  Doing as she was told, Astrid unstrapped the daggers, feeling slightly disappointed that she couldn’t use them. She spread her feet apart and bent her knees.

  ‘That’s good, but you’re too stiff.’

  ‘Skad said...’

  ‘Skad’s a dwarf! He relies on brute strength! It’s fine to be strong, but you need to be able to move quickly. It’s far more important.’

  Ragi stepped towards her and smiled as she leapt back, her feet naturally pointing as she did so, almost as if she were dancing.

  ‘You move like an elf!’ He smiled, and Astrid’s face dropped.

  ‘That’s what Skad said.’

  ‘It’s a good thing,’ Ragi assured her. ‘You have both your mother and your father in you, so use both. Skad might be stronger, but he’s slower. You will always have speed on your side. Strength will come with age. Now take your stance.’

  Astrid moved more onto the balls of her feet, her hands held out at her sides as if she was about to walk along a tightrope.

  ‘That’s better! Now relax your muscles more. You won’t be able to move as quickly if you’re this tense.’

  ‘I can’t help it! Everything hurts!’ Astrid moaned, and Ragi’s eyes softened.

  ‘Listen. After you’ve trained with Skad, I want you to go up to the hot springs. It’ll help with the soreness.’

  Nodding, Astrid tried to relax. The muscles in her back and upper arms felt as if someone had tied them into knots.

  ‘Can I fight like this with Skad?’

  ‘I wouldn’t, not yet. Wait a while till you’re better than him. It’s the best way to fight. Make your enemy think you’re weak and then destroy them!’

  ‘Is that what goblins do?’ Astrid said, smiling.

  Ragi grinned at her and nodded. ‘Pretend you’re weak and take everyone by surprise.’

  * * *

  ‘Where have you been?’ Dag asked, as Astrid strolled into the house. He was cooking another one of his horrible concoctions and she tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell.

  ‘I went to the hot springs.’

  ‘Did Ragi take you?’

  ‘No, I went by myself. Where’s Skad?’ she asked, glancing around. His belongings were strewn around his bed near the wall, but there was no si
gn of him anywhere.

  ‘I don’t know. Went hunting I think.’

  ‘He won’t go near Ragi’s hut, will he?’ she said worriedly.

  ‘Ragi? No, besides he can take care of himself.’ Dag dipped his spoon into the pot and tasted the soup. ‘Come and try.’

  Astrid struggled to look enthusiastic as she took the spoon from him and dipped it down into the simmering pot. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her mouth from twisting into a revolted grimace as she tasted it. Dag’s face dropped.

  ‘It’s terrible.’

  ‘No! No! It’s just very hot,’ Astrid lied. She dipped the spoon back in, blew on it, and put it into her mouth. Dag almost managed a small smile at her attempt to make it look edible.

  ‘I’m not a very good cook, Astrid. I never was. I’m sorry.’

  Knowing it was useless now to try and lie, Astrid put the spoon down and turned to look at him. ‘You’re trying though, Dag!’ She smiled. ‘But this soup is just a little too...salty.’

  ‘They’re all too salty.’ He lifted the pot up and carried it outside, and following him, Astrid watched as he poured it onto the grass. Looking up, she saw her blanket hung over the rope that Dag had strung between two trees as a washing line. The charcoal marks had gone. She pulled it down, smiled, and buried her face into it, inhaling. Suddenly, she felt her stomach drop.

  The smell had gone, replaced by a tang of water and clean cotton. All the memories and the sense of security that were wrapped up in it had been washed away by Dag’s good intentions.

  ‘Come help me cook, goldheart!’ Dag called over, strolling back inside.

  Tears stung her eyes. Holding the blanket close to her chest, she walked back into the house and climbed the stairs to her room, then opened the wooden box Dag had given her. She held her nose as close to the opened bottle top as she could, and the strong scent of the jasmine oil filled her nostrils. Sharp images flooded her mind; her mother’s old songs, her father dancing with Sylbil outside the house, Sylbil laughing, having to bend her knees slightly to rest her forehead against his.

  Astrid popped the cork back into the bottle and replayed the images again and again until they grew foggy and distant.

  ‘You still have this,’ she whispered to herself, reaching into her tunic and pulling out the rings Ragi had given her.

  Opening the bottle again, Astrid wiped a small amount of oil from the bottom of the cork onto her fingers and dabbed it onto the blanket. She quickly folded it, placed it on her bed and walked downstairs. Tonight, if she slept, the smell, though different, would still be there. She would still have something old and familiar to cling to as her eyes closed; something to hold her safe and keep the nightmares at bay.

  Danger

  ‘Get up!’ Astrid whispered.

  Jarl awoke with a start, instinctively turning to check that Knud was alright, then breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his flame-red hair sticking out from under the blanket that was curled around him like a cocoon. Astrid crouched down on the ground close to him, the veil still over her face and the wolf-skin still wrapped around her.

  ‘Wake the others,’ she said, before getting up and packing together their supplies and leaving them in a heap by the ponies. She stood silently as Jarl woke the others, watching him.

  Jarl took a moment to check Knud’s foot. There wasn’t a single trace of the skin having been crushed in the Angu’s jaws and Knud stood on it as if nothing had ever happened. Jarl turned to Astrid, the question crossing his face, but neither of them spoke. When Astrid moved away, he strolled over to the ponies and began packing the supplies onto their backs.

  ‘Why on earth couldn’t you do that?’ Halvard grumbled at Astrid as he walked past her. She ignored him and ran ahead, the wolf-skin cloak bouncing on her shoulders.

  Normally Jarl would have ignored any comments Halvard made first thing in the morning; the dwarf did not like to be woken this early and sleeping on the ground always made him rude and snappy. But it was crossing a line even for Halvard to make such a petty comment when she had saved Knud’s life barely twelve hours earlier.

  ‘Don’t talk to her if you’re going to be like that,’ Jarl snapped. Halvard looked up at him, surprised. ‘She saved Knud’s life!’

  ‘And I’ll wager she’ll end up killing all of us before this journey is over,’ he said, riding ahead.

  ‘Hey! Outlander! How long till we leave this canyon?’ he called over to her, his tone condescending.

  ‘A few hours,’ Astrid replied.

  Jarl rode beside Knud, determined to keep him in his sights for the rest of the journey. Knud flashed him a cheeky grin before looking ahead, his eyes fixed on Astrid.

  ‘Did you see her face?’ Knud whispered. ‘I wonder how she got so many scars?’

  ‘She saved your life, Knud. You should thank her. Don’t mention the scars.’

  Knud jumped down from his pony and ran alongside Astrid, who slowed down to a brisk walk to enable him to keep up. Her eyes flitted between him and the pony and Jarl watched them from a distance.

  ‘Thank you,’ Knud said quickly, unsure of how to apologise and so saying the words as quickly as he could, not realising it made him sound like he didn’t mean it.

  Astrid grinned under her veil, her eyes lighting up as she did so. Something about the little dwarf made her laugh.

  ‘Did your uncle make you say that?’

  ‘Yes, but I wanted to say it,’ Knud clarified. ‘And he’s not my real uncle. I just call him that because he was my father’s best friend.’

  Nodding, Astrid moved to start running ahead again and Knud said the first thing that came to mind in the hope it would make her stay and talk for a while.

  ‘You’re really beautiful!’ he blurted out, and Astrid stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. Knud flashed her a wide grin. ‘Even with the scars.’

  Jarl watched as Astrid suddenly turned and strode ahead. He was too far away to have heard what was said, but he could tell that Astrid had somehow been offended.

  ‘What did you say to her?’ he asked, riding up beside Knud.

  ‘I just told her she was beautiful,’ Knud said, ‘even with the scars,’ and Jarl growled at him.

  ‘One day,’ he said, ‘that mouth of yours is going to get you into serious trouble.’

  For the next few hours they rode in silence. Astrid easily ran ahead of them but doubled back every few minutes. The path of the canyon slowly rose and wound up the last tall rock face. Eventually they reached the top, relieved to be able to travel through the thick forest that surrounded the canyon. A faint path weaved through miles and miles of old, gnarled trees, some of it almost completely obscured by moss and thick, green grass. They rode at a gentle trot, relaxing a little now that they were out of the canyon.

  Looking ahead, Halvard noticed Astrid had disappeared, and he peered through the dozens of tangled branches that obscured the path ahead. For a second he thought he saw her perched up on one of the branches, and a few seconds later swore he saw a large, black wolf in the trail ahead.

  ‘Jarl look!’ he shouted, pointing down the path. Jarl turned to see Astrid, her wolf-skin bobbing on her back as she ran.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I saw a wolf!’

  ‘It’s just her cloak!’ Skad replied, snorting. ‘I’m seventy-five years older than you and even I can see that!’

  Glaring at Skad, Halvard rode ahead, passed Astrid, then turned back to look her up and down. Astrid glanced up at him from under her veil, her green and grey eyes glinting at him.

  Shaking his head, Halvard rode a little further ahead.

  ‘You’re going too far!’ Astrid called out, but he ignored her and broke into a canter.

  ‘Idiot!’ she muttered under her breath.

  Suddenly hearing the snap of a branch in the distance, Astrid stopped, reached up into her sleeve and grabbed the dagger strapped to her arm. Jarl and Skad saw the blade catch the light and Jarl took Knud’s
reins to stop the pony walking forward.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Skad asked. Astrid raised her hand and motioned at him to be quiet, lowering her hood and closing her eyes. She crouched down, one hand resting on the ground, her fingers spread against the earth like a spider, and her other hand holding the long thin dagger as lightly as if she were holding a feather.

  ‘Halvard!’ she barked. ‘Get back here!’

  Turning his pony, Halvard looked around. Several birds hopped along one of the branches near him; nothing even remotely indicated that they were in danger.

  ‘Get down from the horses!’ Astrid whispered to the others. ‘Do you have any food?’

  Jarl pulled his bag in front of him, reached inside and grabbed the last cake that Holmvé had made. He unwrapped it from the muslin and passed it to her. Astrid took it, walked towards Halvard and hissed at him to get down from his horse. Halvard shook his head but did as she’d said, then casually strolled back to the others.

  ‘I have food!’ Astrid called out into the forest. Halvard scoffed, looking over at Jarl as if expecting him to do the same, but he flashed him a look which quite clearly told him to shut up.

  ‘My friends and I only want to pass through the forest. I give you my word no harm will come to the creatures who live here. We have enough food for the journey.’ Astrid walked up to a small, stunted tree at the side of the road and rested the cake on one of the branches that extended from it.

  ‘Well...she’s mad!’ Halvard snorted. ‘Will we be giving all our food to the trees now?’

  ‘Halvard...look!’ Jarl hissed at him through gritted teeth. Halvard looked back towards Astrid, the smirk on his face wiped clean in an instant. Two dark green eyes stared at him from the much larger tree behind the one Astrid had placed the cake on. Astrid bowed slowly towards it and Jarl, Knud and Skad did the same. Halvard quickly followed.

  Jarl and Knud looked up and saw a tall monster extracting itself from the tree. Its long legs were made of stone and it had large, cloven hooves for feet. Two smaller trees ripped up from the ground and transformed into hands. The fingers closed around the cake and lifted it up to its face, which was covered in long grass and vines. Its face curled up into antler-like horns where several birds perched. The creature sniffed loudly at the food before tossing it into the forest behind it. The birds flew after it in a flurry of feathers.