The Unnamed Warrior

by Rachel Tsoumbakos

  The old king looked down his nose at Helgi who he tried not to cower under the withering gaze.

  “My daughter is her own woman, I cannot tell her what to do,” the king replied. “After all, who but the gods have the authority to speak on behalf of a Valkyrie? If you plan to wed Svafa, then you shall have to ask her if she consents.”

  Helgi puffed out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “Is she here now?” He quickly glanced around the room and was promptly greeted by the sight of Svafa, draped in a blue robe, entering the room.

  She stopped when she saw him, a gasp the only movement to be seen.

  “Svafa,” Helgi started before Svafa rushed at him. Leaping at Helgi, she clasped him tight and kissed him deeply.

  “I guess we have her answer then,” King Eylimi said.

  Chapter 10: HELGI

  The wedding of a Valkyrie and a human turned out to be much different to a normal wedding. There was no need to negotiate a bride price and the handing over of a dowry. Svafa, by the merit of being of the realm of Asgard, and while not holding the status of a goddess, was considered to hold more worth than a mere human.

  So, in the end, nothing had to be exchanged other than their vows. There wasn’t even the requirement of sacrificing an animal since the fact that Svafa had given Helgi his name and defended him in battle was worthy enough in the eyes of the gods.

  Helgi looked over at his bride, the firelight behind her highlighting her beautiful form. He couldn’t believe his luck. Here was the woman of his dreams and she had consented to be his wife.

  “Tell us, Svafa,” Hedinn asked his wife. He had an empty drinking horn in one hand and pointed it towards Svafa for emphasis. “What is Valhalla like?”

  Svafa glanced over at Helgi. She seemed hesitant to speak about the otherworldly place. Helgi squeezed her hand and smiled back at his new wife. She swallowed down her own drink before returning her attention to Hedinn once more.

  “Valhalla is like this place,” she said, sweeping her arm across the room. “Men drink until they are drunk and sing songs of conquests.”

  “It sounds like a fine place,” Sigar said as he sidled up to the conversation. Helgi smiled at the warrior, one of his most trusted men.

  “I bet you have seen many fine men there,” a server commented as she passed them. Hedinn held out his cup and she filled it for him while they waited for Svafa’s answer.

  “I have,” Svafa said. “But they are different to when they were alive on Midgard.”

  “How so?” The serving woman placed one hand on her hip and gave up all semblance of attending the wedding party. “I would love to be surrounded by such an array of warriors.”

  “When you are alive, you are filled with all your memories. They make up your world and help you to shape your life. However, in Valhalla, after you die, these memories are pushed far back into your mind until you all but forget them. The men may be fine in Valhalla but they are only focused on one thing and that is Ragnarok. Even if I showed interest in a man there would be no point in pursuing them as they wouldn’t respond, they wouldn’t be interested in me.

  The small group fell silent with Svafa’s words.

  “Well, isn’t that convenient for me, then?” Helgi said, leaning into Svafa. “I truly am the luckiest man alive.”

  He whispered the words to her and Svafa smiled in return, their world shrinking down around them. In his peripheral vision, Helgi noticed the serving woman bustle off. It was as if she knew there were to be no more talk of Valhalla. As for Hedinn, well, Helgi didn’t care what his brother did now. All that mattered was Svafa and the way that she looked at him.

  Her eyes darkened as she leaned into him, desire now evident. Their lips met, hers soft against his own. Yet, the passion behind the kiss was strong, firm in its ardour. Helgi returned the kiss fervently, wishing it was late enough for them to slip away already.

  “I cannot wait to know all of you,” he whispered.

  “Nor can I,” she returned and Helgi felt himself harden in response.

  “Is it too early to sneak away from our own wedding?”

  Svafa giggled. It was like the sound of bells and was music to his ears. “I will excuse myself and you can follow a little while afterward. Then, people may not realise until it is too late that we have both slipped out together. I will meet you outside by the blacksmiths.”

  She ducked away from him before he could say another word and Helgi glanced around. No one seemed to notice the married couple now that ale had been flowing. Everywhere, people danced, or sang bawdy tunes, or conversed loudly. Towards the outer edges of the room, people mingled, coupling, embracing. Helgi looked on them with something akin to sadness, convinced that no one else could feel a love as deeply as he did for Svafa.

  “Abandoned already, Brother?” Hedinn said, sidling up to Helgi, a cup of ale in one hand that slopped over as he leaned into Helgi. “If I were you, I would keep a firm grip on your new bride, lest someone sneak in and steals her from you.”

  “You have had too much to drink, Hedinn,” Helgi replied. “No one would dare tear our love apart.”

  Helgi moved away from Hedinn, pushing his way through the thick crowd rather than listen to his brother’s reply. He had a wife to bed, after all.

  The chill night air caused Helgi’s breath to puff out in plumes. His ears were ringing now that he had left the noisy hall and was shrouded in nothing but the stillness of the night.

  He looked one way, then another, trying to work out where Svafa might be hiding. All of the buildings looked the same to him in the dark and he struggled to locate the blacksmith. The path to the left of him led towards the main entrance into the village, so this path was as good as any to take.

  “Over here!” a voice called out on his right and Helgi swivelled at the sound of his beloved’s voice.

  Svafa stepped out from the shadows and Helgi stared at her, lost in her beauty for a moment before he caught up with her, pulling her back into the darkness once more.

  “Let me kiss my wife,” he said, as he leaned in and felt her warm lips searching for his.

  Her arms reached up around his neck and his kiss intensified. His hands encircled her waist, feeling the comely lines of her underneath her flowing robes. Oh, how he wanted to see her bare flesh, to partake of it, and to cherish her.

  He groaned into their embrace as his hands encircled her waist, one reaching around and feeling the slender curve of her arched back, the other running over her arm and coming to rest on her shoulder. His fingers itched to move downwards, to feel her round breast, but he held off for the moment. There was plenty of time for fondling over the course of tonight, over the course of their lives together.

  At the realisation that the future stretched out in front of them, Helgi choked back a sob of emotion that took him by surprise. It hadn’t been that long ago that he had thought his life worthless and inconsequential, on account of the fact he felt he belonged nowhere. Now, here he was, married to a woman he had never dared to imagine, nor believe could ever exist in all of Midgard.

  “Quick, show me to our quarters before I ravish you here in public.”

  “Perhaps, that is what I desire,” Svafa replied, her gaze delving into his as she leaned in for another kiss. This time she groaned in pleasure and it was all that Helgi could do to hold himself together, to not be lost to the wanton desire of his new bride.

  Then, she was pulling free from his embrace, her hand clasping his and dragging him away, further into the village. Helgi followed blindly.

  Svafa stopped briefly, pulling him into the shadows once more for a lingering embrace. Her kisses were heavy, fevered, as she hungrily devoured him. Helgi returned her heated passion with his own, his hands finally running wild over her body, feeling the taut muscles gathered over her stomach, the hardness of her nipples. He bent to gently nip one with his mouth and Svafa groaned hoarsely.

  Pulling away, she led him once more, deeper into the village and He
lgi was now completely lost. Finally, they turned a corner and the closeness of the buildings opened out.

  With the moon shining down, Helgi could see the outline of the forest at the edge of the clearing. A single longhouse stood out, smoke from its fireplace wafting across the moon and Helgi knew he was home.

  As they approached, Helgi reached forward and grabbed Svafa around her waist. Throwing her up over his broad shoulders, he closed the gap between them and their new life together. Pushing the door open, Helgi stepped over the threshold and saw their home for the first time. It was small, homely, with a firepit in the centre of the house and the bed beyond that.

  Seeing the sleeping quarters, he strode over before gently placing Svafa down on the layers of furs. He stood for a moment, observing the dark-haired beauty that he could now call his own. Her hair splayed out over the bedding and she smiled up at him. Reaching down, she began to raise her robes, exposing her ankles, her calves, and then her knees before Helgi descended on her.

  “Let me do that,” he said as he bent to the task.

  Grasping the edge of her skirts, he slowly pulled them upwards, his gaze never leaving the perfection of her body. Higher, he raised the robes and exposed more female flesh than he had seen in quite some time. The beauty of her made his vision swim as his eyes teared up. He ducked his head, hiding his emotion and gently kissed her inner thigh.

  Helgi pushed the robe up further, to fully expose her maidenhood and he sucked in his breath. “You are stunning, woman,” he exclaimed before kissing his way up higher. Svafa wriggled underneath him and it was all he could do to delay the process as long as possible. He wanted their first time to be special, a night for her to always remember fondly.

  His wet kisses stopped a hair’s width from her centre and Svafa made a soft sound of desperation. Helgi’s tongue darted out and flickered over her nub and she groaned, deep and guttural, that almost made him unfold completely.

  Working his tongue over her nub, Helgi delved deep within her folds, tasting her, and wanting her more than he ever thought was possible.

  “I need you,” Svafa mewed in panting breaths. But, Helgi would not give in to her request. He wanted to satisfy her fully before he took his own pleasure.

  With his fingers trailing up her thighs, Helgi’s tongue worked over her centre until her thighs tensed and he could tell that she was close. Her breath came in frantic pants and her fingers twined in the furs as she fought against her own release.

  Then, she was there, her back arching, forcing her sex into his mouth and he could taste the tang of her as she fell over the precipice.

  When she sagged back onto the bed, spent from his touch, Helgi crawled up alongside and laid down next to her, one hand resting on her stomach as he felt her breathing slowing under his touch.

  Svafa’s eyes were hooded in weary delight. But her languid expression began to focus on him, her smile widening as mischief bloomed.

  Sitting up, she pushed Helgi back against the bed covers and straddled him. Her robe fell back down, covering her fine form and Helgi was disappointed momentarily. But then her hand reached down and stroked him and he closed his eyes in bliss.

  His other senses heightened. Svafa stroked him slowly, as though getting a feel for him before she loosened his pants and reached inside. Her warm skin against his stiffened member sent a jolt through him that made him groan out loud.

  It was her wet mouth around the tip of his manhood that was very nearly his undoing, though. Now, it was his turn to arch against her touch. Gritting his teeth, he groaned into the pleasure of her warm embrace and he threw his head back as she reached a rhythm. Opening his eyes, he watched Svafa’s head bob up and down, her hair stroking his thighs.

  “I need you now,” he hissed through his teeth, mirroring the words she had exclaimed earlier. However, Svafa did not ignore him. Instead, she pulled away. Reaching down, she raised her robe up over her head, arching back as she did so and her breasts jutted out towards him.

  Reaching up, Helgi filled his hands with the warm weight before he sat up, taking one nipple into his mouth while his hand worked on the other. When Svafa was free of her robe, her back remained arched in to his caress.

  Grabbing her around the waist, Helgi turned her and threw her down onto the bed. It was his time to straddle her as he removed his shirt. Reaching up, Svafa ran her fingers over his chest, eyeing him hungrily before parting her legs.

  Needing no other prompt, Helgi moved between her thighs, guiding his member in as he did so, feeling the welcome warmth of her moist embrace. Thrusting deep, Helgi lost himself inside of her as the woman beneath him screamed out in pleasure, joining his own moans of delight as they both edged over the precipice together this time.

  Chapter 11: HELGI

  The woman was squat and so ancient that Helgi thought she might have been present when the world was formed. He tried to shout out but his voice cracked, unable to produce sound.

  As she neared, her body swirling out of the darkness, he saw that she rode atop a beast. Not a horse, Helgi could tell that already. Not, it was something smaller, something much better suited to her own size.

  He could also hear barking close by like there were wolves nipping at her heels.

  No. The sound was coming from the beast, he realised. She rode a wolf, Helgi realised as she got closer. A robust beast whose fur was as dark as the surrounding shadows.

  She got closer still, her eyes glinting and focusing solely on him. Helgi wanted to turn, to flee from the woman yet, when he looked down at his feet, long tendrils of ivy snapped along his legs, twinning, and twisting, and rooting him firmly to the earth.

  Having nowhere to go, Helgi returned his gaze to the approaching woman. She was so close to him now that he could see the deep lines in her face, the warts on her chin, even the grey sprouting whiskers that showed her age more than anything else.

  She cackled at him, a dry sound that wavered at the end, hissing out of her and dissipating into the air around them.

  “Helgi!”

  It was Svafa’s voice, fraught with panic and far away from him.

  “Where are you?” His voice had returned but it was crackling through the air, not nearly strong enough to travel the distance to reach his wife.

  “I am here, my love.” Her voice was closer, blowing in like a welcoming breeze on a summer’s day. “Wake up.”

  His eyes snapped open. Sitting up in fright, Helgi looked around him, his gaze darting from left to right and back again.

  He was home, in bed. It was just a dream.

  “Svafa,” he said as he reached out and embraced her. “What a peculiar dream I just had.”

  “Tell me about it,” she replied, her hands stroking his shoulders.

  “There was a woman, a strange woman,” he replied, suddenly finding the whole situation amusing now that he realized his mind had conjured it all up. “She rode on a wolf and controlled the beast using a bridle made of snakes. How peculiar!”

  “Peculiar, indeed,” Svafa replied. Although, she didn’t seem to find it as amusing as he did. “You were thrashing around in your sleep and had me worried.”

  “I dreamed my feet were rooted to the ground. I tried so hard to run.” He chuckled, shaking his head at the strange dream.

  “Well, it was only a dream,” Svafa eventually said, her voice quiet.

  When Helgi looked at her, she was staring across the room. Except she didn’t appear to be looking at anything directly, more like she was looking at something only she could see.

  “Yes, just a dream,” Helgi said with another laugh. He untangled himself from their embrace in order to trace a line from her chin and down her neck. Svafa turned to him, focusing on him directly and losing that faraway look she had only moments earlier. She smiled at him, her eyes darkening with desire and Helgi was pleased. His touch had had the required effect.

  Helgi’s smile slipped but it wasn’t because he was unhappy. He leaned in and kissed Svafa gently, he
r lips soft under his touch.

  Helgi closed his eyes as he welcomed her desire. Her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and he let his hands wander. Letting his fingers slip gently down her sides, he felt her shiver under his touch. One hand met her waist as the other paused at the side of her breast.

  Cupping the heavy fullness, his wife bit down gently on his bottom lip. A groan escaped and Helgi opened his eyes once more. Svafa was staring at him with a gaze that seemed to devour him.

  “I love you,” he said and saw her eyes welling with tears. Leaning in, he kissed the corner of one eye and then the other.

  They met again in a furious embrace, frenzied with desire and the time for gentleness was gone. Helgi squeezed her nipple and she jolted under his touch, her back arching as a mewling whimper was heard. Svafa’s breast pushed into his hand and he nuzzled down into it as he pulled her robe upwards and over her head. He licked her nipple before bitting down on it just hard enough to elicit another moan, this one deep. Svafa ran her fingers through his hair, tangling in it, tugging with her wanton need.

  She pushed him back before straddling him and he could feel his need hardening as she sat upon it. Her fingers trailed down his chest, tingling and lighting a line of fire before they reached his manhood.

  Taking his member in her hand, she squeezed hard and he pushed up from the bed with the sudden jolt. Her grip loosened tightly and her hand moved up and down, slowly at first but accelerating until he thought he would be ready too soon.

  It was his turn to push her down. He reached around her waist, grabbing her and turning at the same time as he rolled her over and dived right in to taste her moist folds.

  Oh, she was ready. Reaching up, he felt her hard nub and rubbed it. Her hands dug into the furs beneath them and she arched her back.

  He lapped at her, tasted her, wanting to consume her fully. A finger slipped into her and she groaned robustly.