Quest for the Sword

CHAPTER 1

The stream gurgles gently as Marion skips from rock to rock; filling her head with its steady thrum. Her skirts are carelessly tied up around her waist to keep them from getting wet, and baring her legs from the knee down. Something women of the age never do and she knows it. Just as she knows that her brothers would hate it if they knew, especially Ivan.

He hates it when she bares her legs like this, as if in some open invitation to the boys and men of Heldgard. And he hates it when she wades in the stream like this, thinking that she’ll come to some foul end just by wading. In fact, he hates it when she does a lot of things. Especially anything that’s not typical of a woman. He hates it when she does anything that he doesn’t think she should do. He wants so much to control her, and doesn’t want to admit that she’s her own person.

Marion hates that. She hates when they try to control her like that. It’s like they think that she can’t think for herself, or make up her own mind about anything. They think of her only as some helpless child who’s every move needs to be dictated by someone else. But Marion knows her own mind, and she knows her own limitations.

It infuriates her when they don’t let her have any say in her own life; especially when she sees other people her age whose families give them that right. Her brothers think that they’re protecting her, but all they’re doing is driving her away; and they don’t even see it. They don’t see that it only makes her want to come here even more. That it only makes her want to come here.

And she does come here, even when it makes them mad. Marion doesn’t really care that it does, either. She likes this stream. It’s her special place, and she likes coming here. Its presence is so strong, and yet so soothing. And its song rings clear in her head whenever she’s nearby.

It guides her along its winding path as she wanders through its gentle flowing. She lets it lead her where it will. She knows it well. So well, it’s as if her feet have a mind of their own. She doesn’t even need to look where she’s stepping anymore. She knows where all the sure rocks are. She knows where to step without even thinking about it. And she knows that the stream won’t let anything happen to her.

It’s her stream, her home. No, she doesn’t own it; a person doesn’t own the land, it owns you. But it feels like home to her, more then any place else does. It welcomes her, accepts her in a way no person ever has. It always calms her when she’s upset, soothing her troubled spirit. And it protects her when she feels afraid or alone. She doesn’t think that the stream would ever intentionally hurt her. She doesn’t know how, but she knows that it won’t let anything happen to her. Not ever.

She loves it here. She feels at home here, not in Heldgard. They don’t accept her there. They try to control her, there. They try to stifle her, and make her into something that she’s not. This stream doesn’t do that to her. Nature doesn’t do that. The wild places of the world accept her in a way that no person ever has. It lets her be who she is. It accepts her.

Out in the world, you either survive as you are, or you die. There is no in between. There is no controlling force accept nature itself. There are no other rules, save the rules of survival, and those she believes she knows. She knows no more then what the world tells her. She doesn’t, yet, understand the adaptation necessary in the world outside man’s control. She knows only the here and now; she knows only this stream and the surrounding field. That is her world; that is her home.

This place accepts her when she comes here; she feels no control or force here. The earth sings to her when she’s off by herself. And she doesn’t have to pretend like she doesn’t hear it when she’s out here. She doesn’t have to hide what she can do. She doesn’t know why she can hear these songs. She doesn’t know why she can do what she can do when others can’t. She doesn’t know why people fear it so much.

To her it’s natural. It’s something she’s been able to do for as long as she can remember, and she sees nothing wrong with it. She doesn’t understand why people react the way they do when she brings it up. She doesn’t know why they are so afraid of it. And she doesn’t understand why her brothers want so much for her to be something that she doesn’t really want to be. Why they won’t let her make her own decisions in life like they do everyone else.

Granted, not everyone fears her because of her abilities. There are those who never her for it. Who almost seem to put her almost on the same level as the Gods; which can be almost as bad. But, more seem to fear her than revere her. And no matter their view, everyone seems to treat her differently because of it. Seem to expect her to do something she doesn’t want to do, or be something she’s not.

It makes her hate these abilities, at times. She can hate her ability to hear these songs, and the ability to sense what people are feeling. The ability to just know what plants can do. She hates it sometimes, when people overreact to it. It’s only when she’s out in the Wildes that she’s really comfortable with it. It’s only when she’s out here that she can let go, and let it envelopes her. It’s only when she’s out here that she can really be herself.

And because of this, she comes here whenever she can. Not that she seems to be able to do that very often anymore. Her brothers keep her so busy; especially Ivan. He always seems to have something for her to do. It’s not that she minds helping him. After all, he does take care of her, and gives her a place to live; but, he always asks so much of her. Yet, at the same time, he says that she does too much when she tries to do something that she wants to do.

And he’s so insistent on deciding what she’s going to do with her life. At age nine, she’s at the age when she’s beginning the transition from childhood to adulthood. And it’s the age when people are expected to choose a craft, and enter an apprenticeship. And she is no different in that.

The only problem is, her brothers don’t want to allow her to make that choice herself, when everyone else is allowed to choose the trade they learn. What Marion wants is to be a Viking, and learn the art of sword fighting and diplomacy. She wants to protect her land and her people. She wants a life of glory. And there have been women who have become Vikings.

But her brothers won’t hear of it. They don’t want her to have that kind of life. They don’t think it’s safe. They don’t think she can handle the rigors of it. They don’t think she’d survive it for very long. They want her to live a safe life. They want her to live a domestic life, caring for a husband and a home. They insist that it’s easier for her, not realizing that it can be just as strenuous as fighting and travel. They don’t realize that more women die in childbirth than in war. That it’s very demanding and hard.

And more, they don’t seem to see that she just wouldn’t be happy in that sort of life. That it’s not the sort of life she wants. She has nothing against that sort of life as a whole. Someone has to do it. But, it’s not the sort of life she wants. And she has no intention of giving into it; at least not easily.

Her brothers insist on dictating every part of her life. And Ivan is the worst with it. He wants to make all her decisions for her. He doesn’t want her to be her own person, and he can’t see that it’s not fair to her. That’s she’s miserable. She’s not that sort of woman, and she never will be. Even if she ever marries, she doesn’t foresee herself living subserviently to him. She can’t see herself living the life of a typical woman.

She knows that’s not the sort of life for her. She knows what she wants to do. But her brothers don’t seem to see that. They don’t seem to see her as anything but a little girl who needs to be sheltered, hidden away. It’s almost like she’s an embarrassment to them. And it bothers her that they see her that way.

Why can’t they see that they’re hurting her by trying to control and stifle her? Why can’t they see they’re hurting her by trying to force her to be something she’s not? She’s not like the other women in Heldgard. Out of eight children, she’s the youngest, and the only girl. In her mind, it’s natural that she’d feel more akin to men then women. That she’d be more drawn to jobs that are held by men more then women.

Their parents died when she was three years old, and she barely remembers them. Her brothers are really all she’s ever known. And she can’t help it if that’s the sort of life she’s drawn to. It’s more natural to her. It’s what she wants to do. She can’t picture herself happy doing anything else. Accept, perhaps, wandering the woods alone, learning all she can from it. But, if she must live with people, she’d rather be a Viking, and part of the council. She wants to help people, and it’s one of the few ways that she sees where she could do that.

And it’s not like it’s unheard of for women to be warriors, or even part of the Viking council. Some of the best Vikings have been women. The Valkeries are women. She doesn’t want to be controlled or suppressed, feared, pitied, or revered. She just wants to live her life like everyone else.

And her brothers can’t understand that. All they want is to dictate her life for her. They think they’re protecting her, but all they’re doing is hurt her. They want to keep her healthy and safe, and she can understand that. She’d been sick a lot as a child. She suffered from a lot of fevers, and nearly died several times. And she can understand that they’re concerned. But they don’t seem to see that the life they want her to live is no easier for her.

They don’t see that they’re only hurting her worse. They don’t understand that they’re making her unhappy treating her the way that they do. And they don’t see that it isn’t going to help her any, sheltering her the way that they do. They can’t seem to see that they can’t protect her forever. They won’t always be able to keep her safe.

She just can’t stand the way that they try to control her life. She hates the way they try to dictate her every move, and keep her from doing what really makes her happy. They won’t let her learn to be a Viking. And they try to keep her from coming out here alone. And it’s when she’s out in the world alone that she’s really happy.

She’s not judged, here. She’s not controlled out here. Here, she’s happy, and feels like she belongs. Yet, her brothers keep making it harder and harder for her to come out here. They know that she likes it out here, and do everything they can to keep her from it just because it’s something she wants. So she often has to sneak out here, just like she sneaks out to watch the Vikings. Sometimes it’s the only way she can be alone at the stream or in the woods, and she hates that.

Because if they let her do it, even just once a day for a little while, if they let her have at least that much control over her own life, perhaps she could be happy in that other life. Perhaps she could accept that life they try to force upon her, whether she wants it or not. But they won’t let her come here easily. They won’t let her have any say in her own life. They won’t let her be her own person. They don’t seem to want to let her have any control at all. And in they end, they don’t seem to want to let her be happy.

Why do they do this to me? she calls aloud to the world.

Because they love you, a voice whispers in response.

Well, they sure have a strange way of showing it.

She finds it funny that she has an easier time talking to disembodied voices then her own brothers. She wants to make a stand with them. She wants to defend herself against them. But in the end, she always gives in, and she doesn’t know why. Marion wants so much to lead her own life, but in the end, her brothers always seem to win out. Or she always seems to have to sneak to do things.

She has to sneak out to go to the stream and woods. She has to sneak out to watch the Vikings practice so she can learn sword fighting. She had to sneak out to have a sword made. She had to sneak out to earn the money for it. She wanted a sword more than anything, and her brothers had refused to allow it. So snuck around to earn money for it and have it made. And she swore the blacksmith to secrecy.

And that seems to be the way of everything for her, now. Having to sneak to do anything she really wants to do, because she can’t seem to convince her brothers to let her live her own life. And she’s too afraid to make a stand against them, and do what she must to take control of her life once and for all. But, she hopes that one day she’ll be able to. That one day she’ll find a way to become just what she wants to do.

That’s her quest in life. It’s her quest to achieve the life that she wants to live, and not the one that her brothers are trying so hard to force upon her. It’s her quest to one day be her own person, and finally have a life that makes her truly happy.

CHAPTER 2

Ivan stalks across the fields, his rage written across his face. He can’t believe that Marion snuck off again. She was supposed to be cleaning the floors. They were long overdue, and he doesn’t have the time with all the repairs he has to make to do it himself. He depends on her to do a lot of the chores that he wouldn’t get done, otherwise. And he doesn’t have time to be looking for Marion, either; but he can’t count on her returning soon.

He knows where she is, of course; that damned stream of hers. That’s usually where she goes on days like this. And when she goes there, she forgets about everything else; and there’s no telling when she’ll return. And she almost always seems to end up sickly afterwards, even if she won’t admit it. She’s