Page 25 of Beholden
“Once upon a time,” Ernie began with his deep storyteller voice, the one that oft kept us entertained during the long hours in the mine, “a young warrior by the name of Grendel was exploring for gold in the depths of a mountain cave with his brothers. Little did the brothers know that their digging had awakened the wraiths who lived in the heart of the mountain. Before they knew what was happening, the wraiths blew their poison into the brothers. From then on, the brothers turned into monsters.”
In Scania, some physicians believed that those who had changed into berserkers consumed a rare mushroom that made them rage and have visions. But, of course, no one knew for sure the cause of their madness.
“For a time, the brothers used their superhuman strength to defeat armies, but eventually scorned by kings and generals alike, one by one they all died or were locked up until Grendel was the only brother left. Hunted like an animal, he disappeared only to come out once a year on the day when the sun reaches its zenith in the summer sky.”
With each word of Ernie’s tale, Gabriella grew tenser. I stroked her arm and could feel her try to relax again.
“At the beginning of Queen Margery’s rule in Warwick,” Ernie continued, “every Midsummer’s Eve, Grendel would come out of his cave and stampede throughout the countryside, leaving a path of death and destruction in his wake, killing hundreds of animals and people. Not even the mightiest warriors in the land could withstand Grendel’s rage to capture him. And every year after his rampage, he retreated to his cave home in the steep cliffs at the edge of Wraith Lake, where he hibernated until the next summer.”
Wraith Lake? I wished I knew more about Warwick. But I’d never studied the country in great detail, never been interested. Now, after meeting the people and living here, I felt a stirring of compassion I’d never expected.
“Finally, after witnessing the needless destruction, Queen Margery decided to try to appease Grendel. So, when he came out of his cave and began to cross the lake, she was waiting with a gift for him...”
“The fairest maiden in the land,” whispered someone in an ominous voice.
I sat up. Why the fairest maiden in the land? Why would Grendel want to kill a lone maiden? I almost blurted my question and would have surely given away my ignorance, but at Gabriella’s sudden shudder, I rubbed her arm again and tucked her more securely in the crook of my body.
“In addition to a dozen sheep, a dozen goats, and a dozen pigs,” Ernie said, “the queen offered the fairest maiden in the land. Legend says that the beauty and purity of the fairest maiden has tremendous power—even the power to tame the wildest of spirits... and so it did.”
A sick weight settled in the pit of my stomach at the vision of the berserker, raging about and slaughtering not only the animals but a beautiful young woman. How frightening for the woman and how devastating for her family.
“Henceforth,” Ernie finished, “every year, on Midsummer’s Eve, the queen holds a Choosing Ball at the royal palace and selects a maiden to be given to Grendel. The sacrifice of one prevents the death of many.”
Silence descended over the group remaining around the fire, so the popping of the flames filled the air. A dozen questions raced through my mind—foremost, why had no one yet captured and killed Grendel? Surely, while offering the yearly gift, an army of the queen’s best warriors could lay a trap and confine the berserker.
Gabriella squirmed to free herself, yawning again. This time I didn’t attempt to keep her by my side. As she rose and walked away, I could only think of what the other slaves had said about her, that she’d been known as the fairest maiden in the land. And suddenly, I was glad more than ever that she was in the mine pits. While this was a dangerous place, at least here she had no worry of being chosen as the yearly sacrifice to Grendel.
Chapter
9
Gabriella
“Please, Gabriella. Goup to the surface with the others.” Vilmar didn’t pause in his rapid tapping against the granite. Bent over in the tight space, his voice was muffled and tired. Ty knelt beside him, hammering just as steadily.
“No, I am staying this time. You are the one who needs to rest.”
“I shall rest once I have the gem in hand.”
In the low torchlight, my frustration mounted as I watched Vilmar work. “You cannot keep going without sleep.”
“We’re close to finding it. Are we not, Ty?”
His manservant nodded, his shoulders stooped and his face haggard.
The two had been laboring nonstop since the previous day, since Alice had come down with the fever again, as had another woman. This time the fever raged hotter with each passing hour, and Molly had stayed above today to bathe the women and attempt to keep them alive.
I, on the other hand, had abandoned all else in order to aid Ty and Vilmar in searching the new vein for a gem. I’d been praying Ty’s keen senses would prove right once more and that we would be rewarded with another jewel to trade for medicine. But the chances were slim, and we were running out of time since the fever had spiked so quickly.
I held the torch above Vilmar and Ty, hoping for some sign we were close. But all I could see was the same granite we chiseled every day.
“Please, my lady,” Vilmar said again. “You need rest too.”
At his statement, I swayed from exhaustion and hunger. I hadn’t slept much over the past couple of nights while tending the sick women. During the moments when I’d rested and succumbed to slumber, my dreams turned into nightmares filled with Grendel drawing nigh, wearing the bear head and brandishing his bloody swords.
I closed my eyes to ward off the images that were growing more frightening. How would I defeat the wild monster with one small knife? Even though Vilmar had done his best to train me, I still trembled more times than not when I held his knife.
I glanced down the passageway toward the others, both dreading and hoping to see one of the duchess’s knights coming to collect me. With merely four days until the Choosing Ball, I’d expected her to send someone by now. She must have received my note, and she would most certainly accept my offer to take the place of her daughter Tilde, wouldn’t she?
