Giselle walked into the Tarazek, where the Vikings of the Silver Blade had their meals and opened her mouth with a gasp leaving her mouth. She had to blink to be sure she was in the right place for this was not the Tarazek she had come to know all her life.
What before was a place of merriment, wine and laughter, with the Vikings narrating true and exaggerated war experiences, dalliances with the tavern ladies, and stories of conquests of the princesses of the far lands, was empty. No dancing women. No loud guffaws. No warriors. Just a dingy, gloomy, empty place.
She was about to leave when she spotted a silhouette in the shadows. She wasn’t alone. Who could have been staying in all that dark? Drawing the dagger from her inner garment, she advanced.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
“Sheath the weapon, Giselle. It’s only I,” came a drunken drawl from the shadows.
“Brother. Zayn. Is that you?” the confused woman asked. “Whatever are you doing, lurking in the dark?”
As she got close, her eyes adjusted to the dark and she was aware of her surroundings immediately. The choking smell of cheap port wine that was sold to the commoners at the tavern and leftovers strewn across the place produced a pungent smell.
And then her eyes saw her brother and she truly gasped. For she couldn’t have been looking into the eyes of the lead Viking of the Vikings of the Silver Blade. This shabby, unkempt, faithless man in front of her wasn’t the man she’d looked up to since she came into the world.
“What’s wrong Brother? What happened to you? Why is the Tarazek empty? Where are the Vikings? And more importantly, where’s Selena?”
Zayn replied with a bitter chuckle. “At least some things don’t change. You’re still as impatient as ever Giselle.”
“Well…?” Giselle asked not joining in his amusement. “Answer then.”
“They left.”
“Who?”
“The Vikings. The Warriors. The entire battalion.” Zayn paused, drawing in a tortured breath before adding, “Selena too.”
Giselle attempted to speak but she felt her brother wasn’t done and waited for him to finish.
“She told them everything. Had us drunk with something. We were ambushed. Brutal. Massacre.” He stopped being incoherent as he let out a pained groan. “It’s all gone Giselle. Everything is gone.”
“But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can start again. We can call on those that survived. We can rebuild what was lost.”
“What’s the use? Let me just -”
“Hey!” Giselle screamed, shaking her brother with all her strength. “Snap out of it will you?”
Zayn went quiet, filled with regret but most of all, pain. Pain that his little sister who looked up to him had to see him in this miserable state.
“Where is the man that slaughtered thousands and tens of thousands? Who brought the heads of the Valley Vengers and the Mountain Monsters to his feet? The man who has never backed from a fight his whole life? The leader of the Vikings of the Silver Blade and the Seven Seas? Where is he?”
She proceeded to shake him again but he caught her hand. “Shake me no more Giselle.” Amusement crinkling in his eyes, he added. “The men could get you beheaded for treating their leader so disdainfully.”
Giselle smiled knowing she had brought her brother back to life. Turning behind her, she called out.
“You can come out now Kareem.” A tall, brawny man whose rough features were betrayed with gentle eyes came forward.
“Kareem,” Zayn called. “You didn’t leave.”
“I’d never leave you, my lord,” Kareem responded bending to his knees.
“So you’re the one who called you Giselle?”
“I knew she’d be the only one to uhm…wake you up, Sir.”
“Traitor,” Zayn growled, but there was no malice in his tone.
“So,” A happy Giselle chipped “What’s next?”
The Leader of the Vikings of the silver blades bellowed thunderously. “Kareem! Send the word. Gather the men. The time has come. We shall recover all.”
Kareem sprinted out of the Tarazek like a man who was pursued by the grim reaper.
And for the first time in weeks, with his sister’s hand in his, Zayn stepped out of the Tarazek and into the light. Staring into the wasteland that was once a flourishing territory, his territory, he didn’t despair. Smiling, he spoke to the fields. “It’s a new beginning.”
A short story celebrating a True Viking! Thanks for being an incredible sensation on Hive. Happy 36th Birthday to you 