Time was neverending as Vali tightened his palm around his mouth, stifling a whimper when the cart jolted over yet another divot along their rocky path, tossing his body underneath the stuffy layers of fabric that concealed him. He had dozed off a few times during the journey, a high dose of exhaustion plaguing him as it crackled through the flimsy bond shared between him and his giant mystery Viking.
The Omega clenched his teeth, willing himself into silence when a whimper threatened to break through the barrier of his shaky hands.
He had considered jumping off of the cart, of attempting to slink away from his vicious captors. But the iron chains of uncertainty held him prisoner, sowing fear even deeper into his veins than it already was.
Adding flame to the fire, he had no clue what time of day it was, or whether he would be able to use the blanket of night to aid in his escape. And, by the sound of it, the cart in which he rode wasn't the only thing trudging along this endless path.
If even just a few of the others on the journey were a fraction of the size of the Norseman he'd fought earlier that day, there was absolutely no way in Odin's green pastures that he would succeed. Especially not when four of his hurried steps likely accounted for a single one of theirs.
Not particularly keen on ruminating in the depressing reality of his unattainable wish of saving himself, Vali tried his best to busy his mind elsewhere.
Where were they going?
What was to happen to him when they arrived?
Maybe he was to be used as an indentured? Surely not, considering he was much too scrawny for any true manual labor. But then again, he'd overheard countless stories that wafted from dusty corners of the Longhouse, stories of Omegas being abducted and used as... as...
'No,' Vali inwardly commanded himself, squeezing his eyelids shut as if they could repress the terror that resided behind them, 'Don't think like that.'
Certainly, there was no use getting lost in the maze of his mind only to fret endlessly over things that he possessed no control over. Especially not right now, when there was only one thing that he was certain of.
Wherever this cart was taking him, every rotation of its wheels marked yet another step away from his previous life of simple routines, early mornings, and cuddling with Sigge and Ahren.
And with it, went his heart, too.
Vali's stomach tangled up into meaty knots that felt like fists, curling in on itself at the uncertainty of it all, and the stench of the garments that protected him only served to make matters so much worse.
Like many other times along the everlasting journey, hot tears began to mottle out his vision. Eventually, though, he must have fallen asleep after an extended period of trying to delude his shaky heart into believing that everything was okay, because the next thing he knew, Vali was jolted awake, blinking blearily as he felt the cart slow to a crawl.
"They're back!"
A heavily accented voice bellowed, and the roaring, clamorous cheers that immediately followed the announcement left Vali covering his ears and wincing involuntarily when it vibrated his eardrums uncomfortably.
Another voice spoke up after a long beat of chaos reigning, and the single, high-pitched sound was equally – if not somehow more – irritating to the Omega's ears.
"Order! I said order, 'ye smimey lot!" The group quieted down at once, as if the person who was speaking were holding a knife to their necks. "I am weary from my travels! Disperse at once and fulfill 'yer post-raid duties, unless 'ye favor me findin' more work for 'ye 'ta do!"
YOU ARE READING
Berserkr (boyxboy)
RomanceForced to pillage villages and dry them of their riches at the order of his cruel master, Einar quickly became known as a prize Berserkr; someone who fought with the power of one hundred men and left only the fewest prisoners to tell the tale. Bloo...
