"Kyrja?" I looked behind me to note with pleasure the spear that my mother always had carried was now whole. When we had found it on our way to the winter village, it had grieved me to find it in two pieces, a gift from the Magistrate and his soldiers, no doubt.
I held my hand out, after removing it from my swollen belly, and grasped the spear tightly within my palm. It was light, yet sturdy and it felt right for me to hold it. It had taken so many months to rebuild our clan, with most of the Valkyries saved being so young, but they had taken to training very swiftly and were ready for revenge soon. I smiled at the thought of twenty bloodthirsty Valkyries attacking a village of the men who had attempted to destroy us and knew without a doubt it would not be easy. I knew we had to be victorious -- there was no option for failure.
"I hope it is a female." Sheba had come up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist, caressing the bulge there carefully. I let her touch me in such a manner, despite not allowing her into my bed, because it kept her favor. Sheba was a strong ally to have and I did not want to set her against me in any manner. There were times at night I found myself so lonely in the large cabin of the queen that I thought I might reconsider her frequent offer and bed her, but I just could not allow myself to think of her or any woman in that way. I knew it disappointed her, but fortunately for me, it did not harm our friendship or her respect for me and my leadership.
I unwound her arms from about me and turned to her, staring into her pretty face.
"It will not be such a bad thing for it to be a boy, Sheba." My words startled her, but I was expecting her reaction.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I shall not let any harm come to him if it is a boy." I let my eyes pierce hers. "I know what my mother would do to newborn males, Sheba. I knew she had them destroyed and called it 'the sickness'. I am not my mother and that will not happen evermore. Understood?" She nodded, her face turning a little green when she realized what I was saying. I was surprised she did not know, but then again, she would never be one to have a man inside of her.
"Let us gather the women together? I would talk to them." I watched as she nodded and ran off to follow my request.
As I held the spear tightly in my grasp with my main hand, I let my other slide back to my belly. I would deliver in a season and so was uncertain how I would fight being so heavy with child. I often thought of my baby's father, missing his arms around me. He had treated me very well, except for his betrayal. I sighed softly, wistfully wishing he were standing beside me, telling me soft words to ease my anxiety and worry. I took in a deep, relaxing breath and went to where the majority of the women stood, waiting for me. I climbed upon the barrel, with Sheba's help, and spoke to them. I could see the tension in each face as I did.
"Today is important, sisters." I told them, "Today we will gain our revenge on those who hurt us and took what was not theirs. We shall extract vengeance for every loved one they took and for everything vile they did to us." I glanced at the young one who had been raped by the guard and saw the anger and determination in her eye. It made me proud that she had not let the experience turn her weak but instead had made her strong.
"We will not stop until we have our justice, even if that means the last chapter of the story of the Valkyries is finished. Be strong, sisters, we fight to death or we fight to life -- either way, our lives shall not be compromised!" I lifted my new spear high and yelled a warcry, smiling inside of myself when the entire village repeated the cry, calling out as one.
As we loaded up our pack animals, domesticated elk that were swift of feet and strong of back, I took one last look at the village. It had treated us well over the last two seasons. I was sad to leave it, as I was uncertain if we would return to it alive. But it was important, this thing we were to do and so our journey to the village of the men who had assaulted and destroyed our main village began. We walked for many days until reaching the outskirts of the village that we knew to house the Magistrate. I had sent scouts to trade, dressing them as simple women from the village, making certain they were hunched over to hide their tallness. It had taken several journeys to locate the right village, but once we did, our true purpose was set. Revenge would soon be ours.
We awaited nightfall, using the darkness to cover and hide us as we made our way to the correct house that belonged to the Magistrate. It was more like a palace and his guards were plentiful. We managed to dispatch any that got in our way, making our way into the main centre of the home. When we reached the Magistrate's chambers, to find him not sleeping, but in the arms of two women, my justice was swift and he died to my mother's spear while I stared at him in the eye. Ignoring the screaming women, I left his bloated naked body lying in fast-pooling blood for the village to see. I should have felt victorious but instead I felt hollow inside.
We nearly escaped unnoticed until one of the guards had downed a Valkyrie he was fighting and ran, alerting the entire village to our presence. We attempted to dash into the jungle, hoping to evade capture, but the guards of the village soon caught up to us. My girls and I turned, knowing this was our last fight, our last battle.
As I stared at the guards surrounding us, my heart held no fear. I knew we had accomplished our great goal and could die content. My mother and fellow Valkyries who had died had been avenged. But they made no motion to harm us. Yet. We were numbered at thirteen now and there were more than forty guards surrounding us. It would be a swift end, if they would attack. I lifted my spear into the night's sky and hollered, "Valkyries live with no man's thumb to rule over us!" As I said the words, I felt something bite into my shoulder and gasped, turning my head to see a crossbow bolt's fletching sticking out from my shoulder. The force had caused me to drop my spear and I felt shamed. I reached down to lift the spear with my other hand, but was hit with another bolt in the opposite shoulder of the first.
The men surrounding us began to laugh at my agony as sweat began to pour from my forehead caused by the excruciating pain. I knew my belly was probably next and wanted to weep for the innocent babe that would be lost. I watched as Sheba launched herself in front of me, to protect me from further harm and appreciated her gesture. Before I could put my hands on her shoulders to guide her away, a bolt thwacked into her, forcing the Valkyrie backwards. Sheba died in my arms, after gasping a few moments from the bolt lodged in her throat.
"Stop fighting like cowardly men that you are! Send me one warrior! Just one! If he bests me, we will surrender and you can do with me what you will!" It was the only way I knew to die with dignity -- fighting. But the one who stepped forward, his ornate blade whistling through the air, was not who I expected.
"I will take that fight." Willhulm moved to stand opposite of me, his eye never leaving my swollen abdomen.
"Willhulm." I breathed softly, in shock that he would offer to fight me. It sent barbs far more painful than the two bolts in my shoulders into my heart, and knew without a doubt that he had been my enemy from the start. Suddenly the baby inside of my womb was something I would not have wanted had I been offered a choice now. He leaned over and picked up my spear, tossing it behind him and went to one of the soldiers, gathering a sword and brought it to me, holding the blade in his hand as he held out the hilt for me.
I glowered at him as I somehow found the strength to slide my hand onto the hilt and pull it gently back, taking care not to slice him; I wanted him unscathed for when I ended his life in battle.
"Kyrja," Willhulm's voice was uncertain as we circled each other, everyone giving us plenty of room. My shoulders ached and the one that held the sword was weak, but I remembered the time I fought my sister in the tourney with my leg injury and knew I would somehow find the strength. Yet if I died by his hand, somehow that seemed fitting as well. "I do not want to harm you, beauty. But if you fight anyone here, you will die. Your wounds are bad..." His eyes darted to my left and then right shoulder, noting with wide-eyes the red patches that had begun to soak my tunic. I knew I had lost a lot of blood, but that would not stop me from skewering him like a pig for a feast. I lashed out first, sending a slash to him, which he easily parried.
