The Warrior Maiden

by Melanie Dickerson

  Farther down the table, Simon and Gregorius and several other soldiers with whom she and Wolfgang had fought sat eating and talking and laughing. And at Wolfgang and Mulan’s request, Andrei and Gerke also sat at the highest table, smiling and laughing.

  Wolfgang suddenly caught her hand under the table and squeezed it. “What are you thinking of?”

  She gazed up into his brown eyes. “How happy I am to be with the people I love on the most joyful day of my life. And how I might have been married to a village butcher right now instead of you.”

  His face fell and his mouth opened.

  She wrapped her arms around his arm, still looking up at him. “Except that God saved me from that terrible fate and gave me the best man in the world.”

  His eyes closed as he leaned down and kissed her. “You truly are the most remarkable woman in the world, Mulan. Especially if you think I’m the best man in the world.”

  “That’s the only reason I’m remarkable?” She smiled, enjoying flirting with her husband.

  He narrowed his eyes at her jest. “By no means. You are good and kind. You are fair of face and form. You are brave, bold, clever, and highly skilled with a longbow. You fight like an enraged badger—”

  She burst out laughing, drawing several people’s attention.

  “What is so funny?” Steffan asked.

  Just then a servant tilted a flask of wine toward his goblet to fill it the rest of the way to the top. Steffan placed his hand over it and shook his head. The servant moved on to pour more wine in someone else’s cup.

  Steffan looked toward Duke Konrad and held up his goblet. “I think it is time to offer some well wishes to our newly married couple.”

  Duke Konrad frowned at Steffan’s impertinence, but in keeping with the spirit of the occasion, he seemed to brush off the offense and stood. Raising his own goblet, he waited until the crowd quieted and gave him their attention.

  “To these two great and mighty warriors, Wolfgang and Mulan, let us raise a shout of admiration!”

  The room burst into a fevered roar, shouting, clapping, banging, and stomping. Mulan felt her cheeks warm. She peeked at Wolfgang, who smiled modestly.

  The crowd finally quieted, and Duke Konrad spoke again. “And to their union we offer our prayers of blessing, joy, peace, fruitfulness, and prosperity.”

  Everyone cheered.

  “And because of the great service they have done for me and my people, and the great regard the duchess and I have come to feel for them, I am prepared tonight to bestow a wedding gift on Wolfgang of Hagenheim and his new wife, Mulan.”

  Mulan and Wolfgang exchanged a look.

  “I have a castle and a tract of land called Tieflasu to the west along the border with the German regions of the Holy Roman Empire. I need a strong force to protect that area, and I wish to grant it to Wolfgang and Mulan.”

  Mulan’s gasp was drowned out by a loud cheer.

  She could hardly breathe as she and Wolfgang gazed at each other, then at Duke Konrad.

  “May they live long and continue to defend the Polish people and Polish lands from invaders and usurpers.”

  A few minutes later, after the duke had sat back down, Wolfgang faced him. “We are very grateful to you for this honor and privilege. It is a great and generous gift.” It was the kind of gift a father gave to a son.

  The duke rested his hand on Wolfgang’s shoulder. “You are deserving, you and Mulan, for all you have done. I shall rest easier knowing you are there protecting it. There are no better soldiers, nor nobler people, than you and Mulan.”

  When he turned back to Mulan she said, “Now you can be the protector you always wanted to be.”

  His eyes shone with joy. He pulled her close, and she knew his heart was too full to speak.

  Soon the music began, and Wolfgang and Mulan danced with several of the other guests. When they finally sat down, Steffan leaned toward them. “I am telling you, Wolfgang, you have the right idea. Fall in with a foreign duke and get him to bestow some land on you. I think I will try it myself.”

  Wolfgang nodded. “I pray you find a wife as well, and that she will help you find joy.”

  “Indeed. I shall rescue a princess in distress, and her father shall reward me handsomely.”

  Mulan frowned. What would become of Steffan? He had made some changes for the better, but he still had a lot of maturing to do. She’d have to remember to pray for him—and his future wife.

  “Would you not consider joining Duke Konrad’s guard?” Wolfgang asked Steffan. “He needs experienced and well-trained fighters, now more than ever.”

  Steffan frowned on one side of his mouth. “I think I’d rather see more of the world. There seems to be a shortage of princesses and wealthy heiresses in need of saving around here.” He grinned, and Mulan shook her head at him.

  Another guest tapped Steffan on the shoulder, and he turned around and seemed to forget Wolfgang and Mulan.

  “Your brother turned down more wine,” Mulan said quietly next to Wolfgang’s ear. At least that was good. “But it doesn’t sound as if he has a solid plan for his future.”

  “Perhaps he still has a way to go before he finds true direction.” Wolfgang was gazing into her eyes as he stroked her arm. “I have you on my mind now. I do not think we would create a stir if we left quietly.”

  Mulan smiled up at him. “I would like to try it, then.”

  Wolfgang turned to speak to the duke and duchess. The duchess smiled and nodded to Mulan, while the duke winked at Wolfgang.

  Wolfgang held out his hand to Mulan to help her up from the bench, and they walked with linked arms, slipping out of the Great Hall into the corridor to the stairs.

  She pulled on his arm. He halted and turned to her. She kissed him.

  He asked, “Do you think your mother will come with us to our new home? It’s a long way from Lithuania.”

  “I believe she will. She has said many times that the joy of her life will be to hold my children.”

  He gave her another kiss as they continued up the stairs.

  “Will you be happy in our new home? We will be not as far from Hagenheim, but still a long way.”

  “Only three days’ ride. And if you are there, I shall be happy and content.”

  “Then I shall be too. I hope I don’t disappoint you with my lack of skill at running a household.”

  “You couldn’t disappoint me. I’m sure the servants know what to do.”

  “What if I miss wearing a soldier’s garb and practicing for battle?”

  “If you do, I shall steal away with you, and we shall have an archery competition.”

  She widened her eyes. “As long as you promise not to make me sword fight.”

  “I promise.” He grinned before kissing her again and hurrying her up the stairs.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND HISTORICAL NOTE

  Many thanks to Adriana Gwyn for her German translation and research help. I could not find very much at all on the one historical figure I wished to use in this story, Paul von Rusdorf, the grand master of the Teutonic Knights, also known as the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, also known as the German Order of Knights, in the year my story takes place. So I went to my friend and German language scholar, Adriana Gwyn, for help, which she very kindly gave. Even in German we only found a small amount written about him. I took quite a bit of creative license, having so little to draw from, but I did stay true to his appearance—a head full of black hair, black mustache, pointed nose, and black goatee. His portrait went perfectly with how I imagined him.

  So thanks, Adriana, for going above and beyond in translating those articles and Skyping with me! You are a blessing!

  And what fun to set a small part of the story in the very real Malbork Castle in Poland, also known as Marienburg Castle. I love castles the way a fan loves her favorite rock star and the way Velvet Brown loves horses, and this is definitely a castle that puts a flutter in my chest. I hope someday
I can visit this one in person.

  Another historical note is about Frau Feodosia’s healing salve. I got the ingredients from an actual medieval medical recipe, found in a medieval handbook on medicine and medical procedures that modern researchers have recently duplicated. They’ve found that it actually works better on certain bacterial infections than some of our modern antibiotics. I think that proves that medieval people were much smarter and more advanced than most twenty-first-century people think they were.

  I want to thank my beta reader daughter, Faith Dickerson, for always reading my stories, even before my editor, and giving me her valuable feedback. Thanks, Faith!

  And I want to thank my agent, Natasha Kern, who is such a blessing, watching out for me in all the ways you might wish an agent to. Thanks, Natasha!

  And thanks to my amazing editors, Kimberly Carlton and Julee Schwarzburg, who did a great job helping me make this story the best it could be, strengthening the weak points and making the strengths even stronger.

  Thanks to the whole Thomas Nelson team, who do such a great job with all the tasks that happen behind the scenes—marketing, sales, PR, etc. All your hard work is greatly appreciated.

  I also wish to thank all the brave women who have served in our military, including my friends: Mary Freeman, Tatyana Freeman, Tina Russo Radcliffe, Patti Sands, Toni Shiloh, Evelyn Pierson, Adrienne Gill Bowling, Susan Korecki, Margie Burchfield, Anne Marie Costello, Jennifer Hibdon, Linda L. Frey, and Christina Egler Borden. Thank you for being willing to risk your lives for your fellow countrymen. God bless you.

  Thanks as always to my amazing readers, who support me in so many ways. I love and cherish you, pray for you, and appreciate you, more than you know!

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1.Why was Mulan contemplating marrying Algirdas the butcher? Why did Mulan decide not to marry Algirdas?

  2.What made Mulan’s mother agree to let her become a soldier?

  3.Wolfgang was upset that Steffan wished to become a Teutonic Knight. Why? What were Steffan’s reasons for wanting to join the Teutonic Knights?

  4.Why did Wolfgang dislike Mulan and resent her after the first day they met?

  5.What was it about Mulan/Mikolai that raised Wofgang’s suspicions that something wasn’t quite right about the boy?

  6.Andrei was angry when Wolfgang beat Mulan and injured her slightly in the sword fight. What excuses did Mulan make for Wolfgang’s harsh behavior?

  7.What did Mulan do that won him over and changed his negative opinion of her?

  8.How did Wolfgang discover Mulan was not a boy, but a woman? What was his reaction?

  9.How did their fellow soldiers react to the fact that Mikolai was a woman? Did she win them over? How?

  10.Why did Rusdorf object to Mulan’s mother making and using her healing salve? Sometimes when people get upset at us, it has very little to do with us, but everything to do with their issues, which stem from their past. What do you think were some of Rusdorf’s underlying issues?

  11.Was Wolfgang wrong to lock Mulan in her room in order to take her place in the joust? Why or why not?

  12.What were the issues Mulan had to overcome to be able to receive Wolfgang’s love?

  13.What did you think of Mulan’s mother’s attitude toward being held captive and wrongly accused and tried for witchcraft? What could we take away from this that might help our own issues with fear or anxiety?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jodie Westfall Photography

  Melanie Dickerson is a New York Times bestselling author and a Christy Award winner. Her book The Healer’s Apprentice won the National Readers’ Choice Award for Best First Book in 2010, and The Merchant’s Daughter won the 2012 Carol Award. Melanie spends her time daydreaming, researching the most fascinating historical time periods, and writing stories at her home near Huntsville, Alabama, where she gathers dandelion greens for her two adorable guinea pigs between writing and editing her happily-ever-afters.

  Visit her online at MelanieDickerson.com

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