Destiny Enslaved (editing)

Part 20

And so, once we were in the tent the smile and echoes of my laughter left my face upon seeing the young girl huddled in a corner whilst Helga was on all fours trying to beckon her to come towards the fire. The girl was clearly wet and shivering and Helga only seemed to want to care for her yet the whole scene was unnerving. Helga looked as though she was at her wit's end and might push the girl into the flames from the sounds of her desperate pleas.

''Helga...'' Floki whispered completely forgetting my presence. I moved forward to stand by his side seeing his face full of concern which seemed unnatural as his features twisted with a deep seeded pain. That was what it was to love.

Helga's head snapped towards us with wide and frantic honey brown eyes which flickered in the fire's light. Her voice came hushed and anxious. ''Floki she won't get warm by the fire- what if she gets sick?'' pure fear took over her features before she turned back to the girl starting to reach forward as the childe edged further into the tent's fabric.

Before Helga could make another move Floki went to her gently taking her in hand and turning her from the girl. ''Helga... you must calm yourself- for the girl's sake.'' Floki cooed gently stroking Helga's blonde hair which was almost dry from the heat of the small flame. Some how the tent captures all of the heat and made it feel like a warm summer evening rather than a night of dismal weeping from the heavens.

Floki held Helga close though she weakly tried to pull away whispering ''what will I do?'' over and over. He cooed to soothe her and in the midst of this he turned to me and gave me a hopeful look before scowling at the poor girl. I could understand his position of course. The girl was being ' difficult' and that was putting what looked like undue stress on his wife's apparently fragile mind. ]however, I wouldn't forget what this girl must have gone through the other night to end up in this position. Her mother gone her father probably dead and her only saviour was this slightly unhinged woman.

But I sighed knowing I had little choice but try to settle the strange atmosphere in hopes of bringing peace.

I moved carefully to the girl aware that Helga's ferocious gaze had turned on me. but I kept her on my periphery trying to focus on the task at hand. I began speaking Arabic hoping that the familiar words would calm the girl. ''Hello child.'' she didn't look up from her huddled position. I continued crouching in front of her trying to block the view of Helga. I felt the daggers carve their way into my back but refused to look. ''you know, I recognise you...'' she still didn't respond. ''I think your mother attended me at the palace'' she peeked up so I knew this was the right track. ''she was very kind to me- and beautiful though she always said her daughter was more so. '' she looked at me with large dark brown eyes ringed red from the tears that fell over dead bodies and her living madness. I gave her a smile of comfort though I knew it did little- yet a small part of me hoped she could find comfort in a strangers tenuous connection to her lost loved one.

I gently placed my hand on hers. Startled, her head darted up to look me in the eye. She was full of fear. I saw my old self reflected in those dark eyes of grief and despair. But I knew that I could help her here- left unchecked that despair would eat her from the inside and leave her as a hollow puppet for her new masters. I began softly remembering to keep my tone even so as not to alert Helga and Floki to my intention behind the words.

''now child- you must listen to me- you cannot show such fear now. You must make your tears like rain which falls silently in the night- it will help you grow without others seeing. The best thing you can do is fight- not physically- at least not yet. You must make your heart as iron so that people cannot hurt you again. make your soul a fire and forge the new you in its flames. The path of revenge is unending- just remember and keep moving.''

I finished my soliloquy hoping that some of those words ade sense to her young mind.

She nodded slowly as her eyes strained to glimpse the Vikings behind me. I spoke again bringing her now cleared focus back to me. ''you know what you must do to survive?'' the question was a complicated one. If she was indeed going to survive then she would need protection from someone more powerful. I couldn't do it- I was unreliable.

But if she played the innocent then there seemed to be two people who would defend her. I cocked my head to the side listening to the Vikings but apart from soft coos they said nothing.

''my name is Tanaruz'' she said unexpectedly. I straightened my head and gave a confident smile before introducing myself. ''Tanaruz – my name is Asaroul.''

Perhaps we would have talked more about her mother. Or the city. Or anything else that we had lost. Unfortunately, the shrill cry which came from behind me interrupted us. I spun around and onto my feet in one swift movement to face whatever was making such a disturbing noise.

It was Helga. Floki was again trying to restrain her but she was clawing to get out of his hold and move towards Tannaruz. Some instinct made me place myself in front of the young girl but that only upset Helga more as she began shouting. ''Floki- Floki let me go- you heard she spoke.Floki I must go to her- she needs me!'' she was trying to batter Floki but those fierce eyes were squarely on me. I was reminded of what we were taught as children fir when we might encounter such creatures in the wilderness. A tigress eyeing how to rip you apart because you've stumbled between her and her cub.

A situation I didn't really need to be in.

I was between deciding to defend tanaruz from the crazed woman or using the distraction as a way to make a run for it. But the decision was taken from my hands as tanaruz emerged from behind me. she gave a nervous smile to me before putting her focus on Helga . she approached the woman tentatively as a child would an ally cat. She inched closer and closer and Helga stopped thrashing suddenly entranced by tannaruz. Floki released his wife and before tannaruz could get too close he jerked back onto his feet. I watched with some disbelief at how this child could raise such courage to approach a Viking in this way. The atmosphere in the tent seemed extremely fragile as if the smallest whisper would break it. Then tanaruz lowered herself to her knees before Helga and placed a hand upon Helgas which I noticed are now dug deep into the sodden earth beneath us. Yet with that one touch the crazed desperation dissipated to become a calm spoken on a sigh of relief that we all breathe.

Tanaruz's voice came soft and almost inaudible as she spoke to Helga ''Aismi hu Tanaruz...'' my name is Tanaruz.

With that Helga seemed appeased and I was completely invisible to her as she turned to floki her words breathey and slow as all the fury I saw before was replaced with a deep satisfaction. ''do you see floki...?'' she was brief for she then turned back her focus again on the girl but this time it was that loving gaze with which she looked at her. A tender hand came to her hair and began to stroke thhe long walnut locks lovingly. Luckily it seemed only I noticed the stifled flinch which tannaruz fought as Helga petted her.

I was so focused on the scene that I only just noticed Floki's expression before he left the tent. His mouth was slightly downturned and his arms were limp at his sides showing defeat. However, his eyes showed a deep mixture of conflicting sadness and hope- maybe fear danced in their shadows.