The Prize
The clash of wood rang throughout the clearing, transforming the peaceful forest into a battleground. Sweat and blood perfumed the hot evening air. A ring of onlookers stood at the boundaries, an impassable wall blocking the fighters from escape. But physical boundaries would not compare to the shame of cowardice if they ran.
The men in the centre of the ring circled each other. Their half-naked bodies shimmered with sweat, glittering like fish in the sunlight. Their hands gripped strong wooden poles—their only weapons beside their fists.
Coraleth watched them from the seats brought for herself, her father, and her older brother, Erland. She sat, trembling and weak behind a shroud of ivory veils, waiting for it to be over, yet dreading the moment it would be. No fight was over until the opponent was dead.
These last two fighters were Lukas and Kai, the two greatest fighters yet. Lukas, smart, quick, and wiry; Kai, tough, creative, determined. Lukas dodged a swing from the pole and landed one of his own on Kai’s arm, but Kai returned with a heavy blow to Lukas’ pole, making him stagger back.
Father sprang to his feet at Coraleth’s side, caught up in the energy of the crowd. He screamed for blood. Erland gripped Coraleth’s arm. Coraleth dropped her eyes to her lap and knotted her fingers in her pale skirt. Two sickening impacts and grunts of pain made her squeeze her eyes shut. Gods above, she prayed, let it be over soon. Let it be done quickly.
Another cry of pain. The crowd’s enthusiasm rose. They were screaming now, apoplectic. The few women in attendance were shaking with excitement. The men hollered, cheered their encouragements. Only Coraleth and Erland stayed silent.
The weeks-long tournament was finally going to end. The winner would at last claim his prize, the most valuable commodity the village of Hale had to offer—the chief’s daughter, Coraleth.
Coraleth suppressed the urge to stuff her fingers in her ears as a volley of blows began. It was nearing the end. The final desperate efforts to end a life. But the cacophony of screams soon drowned it out. She couldn’t stop picturing her childhoods with each of these men—summer afternoons swimming in the stream, catching dragonflies, planting mud pies on the steps of the village sanctuary. And now, one of them would be gone forever.
She heard the war cry from one of the men and knew it was over. Steeling herself, she raised her head to find Kai standing over Lukas’ lifeless, bloody body. A few men from the crowd came in to clap him on the back and roar their congratulations over the noise. Father stepped forward among them, while Erland stayed back.
“It is done, sister,” he whispered in her ear.
Nothing was done. Everything was just beginning.
Kai stepped forward, panting, face grim despite the hearty cheers around him. The crowd hushed to let Coraleth’s father speak.
“Kai, you have done well,” he said. “You have fought and defeated your opponents. You have won.”
Coraleth expected another blast of cheering, but these words were met only with reverent silence. Father held his hand out to her. She took it and rose, following the tug of his hand until she stood right in front of Kai. His blue eyes searched the veils for her face.
The village priest came over to them, and right over Lukas’ body, performed the marriage ceremony. Two young boys swung braziers burning incense. Coraleth was thankful she could no longer smell Lukas’ blood.
The words fell on numb ears. Coraleth shut her eyes and remembered her happy days as a little girl, never thinking this would be her fate. The freedom of childhood never hinted at the confinement of the last three years. But being the only daughter of the village chief had its restrictions.
Kai swore his devotion and protection to her, then lifted her veils and kissed her once, lightly. He tasted like the air smelled—salty with blood and sweat. When he pulled away, the holler that rose from the crowd startled Coraleth enough to nearly throw her over, but Kai held her to him tightly. He led her through the throng, back toward the village.
Dusk descended on the forest. The tournament had been the first in three years that Coraleth could spend her time outdoors, but they’d been troubling days full of distress and bloodshed. And now, Lukas was dead, and Roland, and Nicholas. All the boys that had been part of that happy childhood.
The men followed all the way up to Kai’s doorstep, where Kai swept Coraleth into his arms and carried her inside. The men’s shouts made Coraleth’s face hot. She searched the crowd for her brother. He stood solemnly behind them, dark brows furrowed. Slowly, he nodded. She waited for the burst of reassurance, but all she felt was dread.
The heavy door closed out much of the noise. Kai set her down, and the two of them stood in the first complete silence since the fight began.
Coraleth gripped her own hands, keeping her eyes lowered. What was he doing? Why wasn’t he bringing her into his bedchamber? The marriage act must follow. She’d already made peace with it. So why was he stopping here?
“I’m sorry that Lukas is dead,” he said.
She blinked in the low torchlight. “Oh,” was all that came out.
Another moment of heavy, uncertain silence. Coraleth waited for him to lead her, but he did nothing. Finally, she lifted her eyes to him. She had witnessed a number of blows, but there were wounds she hadn’t seen inflicted. His nose leaked blood that had already dried in his black beard. His swollen eye was turning purple. Gashes streaked his arms, crusted in blood.
She knew it was bold of her, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” he said, with a small smile. “Nothing that won’t be gone in a few days.”
She ventured a glance toward a doorway off the entrance, where the shadow of a large fur bed stood. Her full duty lay within that room, in conceiving and delivering a child to prolong the village’s heritage. Why were they still here in the entrance?
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
She looked at him, surprised. Hungry?
“When did you last eat?” he prodded.
Coraleth tried to think. She had been fasting since the tournament, which began on her eighteenth birthday almost two weeks ago. During the tournament, she’d had no appetite, but she needed her strength. Her handmaiden had brought her bread and goat’s milk every morning that she’d hardly touched, and grain mash and cheese every evening. When was the last time she’d eaten?
Realizing how long she’d waited to answer him, Coraleth quickly said, “I don’t know.”
Kai left her side and went to the small larder off the main room. Unsure, Coraleth stood in the entrance hall, waiting for him to return. He did, with a small platter of food. He set it on the table.
“What are you doing?” she finally asked him.
“You’re hungry,” he said.
She stared at the food. She wasn’t sure if she was hungry. She was shaken and weary, but food wasn’t on her mind.
“Sit down,” he said. “Eat.”
Obediently, Coraleth took her seat and began to pick at the plate. Soft goat’s cheese, wedges of vegetables, cold pottage. But the flavours made no impression. Coraleth struggled to swallow, hands trembling. What is he waiting for?
“This is a nice house,” said Kai. “Chief Ragnar was kind to give it to us.”
Coraleth glanced around. It was not as grand as Father’s house, but she’d been kept in one room for so long that this was a proper mansion, decorated with furs, wooden furniture, and the animal heads taken home from hunts. It had been built and decorated before the tournament had even begun, intended for Coraleth and her new husband. Kai would move his personal things from his parents’ home tomorrow, but tonight, they were to rest.
“Cora,” Kai said with sudden, disarming softness. Her friends had called her that as a child, but it did not fit this man—this dark, strong man covered in battle wounds. This man now her husband. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Coraleth did not know what to say. The hunk of bread between her fingertips froze above the plate. What I’m thinking? It was a command, not meant to be ignored. Coraleth readied herself to reply, but Kai continued,
“I’ve looked up at your window for years. Every day, on the way out to hunt. We heard rumours of how you were doing, but we never knew. Lukas and I were friends. We spoke of you often.”
Lukas was dead. They were all dead. Coraleth put down the bread.
“We had an agreement, Lukas and I,” Kai went on. “We talked about it before the tournament. Whoever won would strive to take care of you—not just to protect you from harm, but to make you happy. Are you happy, Cora?”
Tears came. Coraleth had no one reason for them. Her mind blurred with uncertainty and questions, all clouded in emotions that overwhelmed her. She clenched her hands.
Kai said nothing. He took her half-finished plate away and did not return.
After awhile, Coraleth rose and wandered into the bedchamber. Kai was there, freshly washed from his fight, still half-dressed. He silently watched as she went to the bed and sat down. She stared at him expectantly.
“I swore to Lukas I wouldn’t touch you unless you wanted me to,” Kai said.
Coraleth flinched at the insult. Was he implying she didn’t want to fulfill her role? Did he see some spark of rebellion or pride in her? Gods forbid! This wasn’t about what either of them wanted. It was about what was expected of them. Why was he behaving so strangely? Was it some sort of trick?
She patted the bed. “Come,” she said. She hated beckoning him. Another thought came with a rush of dread. Does he not want me? Perhaps there were other women in the village he liked more. It would not do for her father’s line to come from unknown women. They had to come from her.
Those children she played with were dead now. She was finally able to step into her adult life, the life prepared for her for eighteen long years. Now that things were finally decided, she could breathe easier. Gone were the long days of waiting. It was time for her life to truly begin.
In the end, Kai did not take a great deal of convincing. He spoke and moved gently, even kindly. He fell asleep moments after. Coraleth rose to wash, but stayed awake in the window, watching the path of the moon through the trees.
She had time now to process what had happened, but her mind and heart were empty, buzzing with a strange excitement. Surely, she would adjust to this new way of life, but she still felt out-of-place. She’d waited for so long to finally marry and be out of that small room in Father’s house. She’d never known it would mean the death of her childhood friends to get there. Now that it was done, she waited for the peace to come and settle her heart. But still, she felt like she was waiting… Waiting for whatever came next…
