Cursed 2

THIRTY TWO

At the top of one of the hills Cumber, the Ice King and father of Red Spear, was heading with fury and determination with his fearsome army marched towards his daughter's men after seeing her ships docked in the small fishing port.
Their deafening screams echoed miles away. Arthur followed the young viking woman who ran towards her men for the impending battle.

“Ambush! Brace yourselves, Cumber is here!” she yelled furiously at her men.

The Ice King's army was approaching them with great speed carrying large axes and wooden shields. From the port, she could see that they were outnumbered but they were not going to stop before them.
The locals closed themselves in their houses and Red Spear turned looking at her restless warriors ready to fight.

“You made a decision to follow me and I couldn't be more grateful to you!” she proclaimed with great impetus, “the gods are watching us! Don't hesitate, I assure you that we will find glory in Valhalla!”

The men screamed and roared loudly in response to her words and marched towards them in courage and anger.
The two crowds collided with each other in a shower of arrows and steel impacts. Meanwhile Pym was in charge of healing the wounded and removing the arrows from their bloody bodies.

“Regroup!” Arthur exclaimed after giving a blow, “Don't separate yourselves!”

In the middle of the violent battle, Red Spear saw for a few seconds the fearsome fury of her sister Eydis when suddenly her gaze fell on the silhouette of her father, meeting face to face and ready to fight.

“Cumber! The Ice King!” the young woman invoked, “You banished me, you took everything from me! My pride, my identity. Did you think that I would just run away and do nothing?! No, I'm not like that.”

“It seems so” her father replied, striking several blows with his ax that were blocked by her shield, causing it to break into pieces.

“Are you getting tired Red Spear?!” he said in a mocking tone.

“You should know by now that I never get tired.”

The young woman agilely attacked the king, wounding him in the left arm. His warm blood slowly descended to the hand.
Several bodies were lying on the ground and others floated into the sea, staining it crimson red.

“I fought for you Cumber, for your fight, and you failed us by allying yourself with those Christians! Odin would be ashamed of you, you are a disgrace to the Vikings.”

“You're wrong, they were only the means to get what I wanted. But you got in my way and messed everything up by saving those Feys.”

“What?”

Exhausted, they parted and took a few steps back as the battle raged around them.

“I was never on the side of those Christians, idiot” Cumber said lowering his ax, “I'm still the king, the king you supported. And with your help I know I can do it, Guinevere” he added catching his breath, “Join me again daughter and I assure you that you will get gold and glory when we dethrone the false king.”

Red Spear stared at her father reflecting for a few seconds before acting.

“Stop!” she ordered suddenly raising her left arm towards her men.

The Ice King did the same causing the fight to stop and a silence to invade the place while the Vikings watched them expectantly. The young woman stepped forward offering her hand to her father who squeezed it tightly and withdrew into the hills with his army. Arthur, skeptical of that event, went towards her.

“What happened?! The Ice King is with the paladins and have you joined them?” he questioned indignantly.

“Arthur I know you're worried but I know my father and he doesn't like Christians. Now I understand why he joined them, he used them to be closer to the throne, nothing more.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“He is a viking and although I have doubted him, I know what he is like. Trust me, we are going to heal our people.” she answered giving him a serene look.

Arthur couldn't trust that king but he knew he could trust her.
Ambition and revenge are always hungry.