Chapter Eighty-five

CONTENT ADVISORY / TRIGGER WARNING

THIS NOVEL CONTAINS DEPICTIONS/STRONG IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING:

~ VIOLENCE

~ SEXUAL ASSAULT AND/OR ****

Gaalin laughed as Brynhild clung to his bicep while he lifted her feet from the ground and spun her in a circle. The young girl reminded him of fond memories with Libelle, and her childish antics brought smiles to his face. Ingrid and Vigdis danced together, laughing at Gaalin who was acting as their sitter. The girls had been dancing for nearly an hour, keeping him on his toes and making him dance with them individually while also pulling him in different directions.

He set Brynhild down with an exhausted sigh at the end of the bard's song and walked over to an empty bench. The girls followed him giggling, fanning themselves with their hands and stealing drinks from his ale. Grumbling, he took the alcohol from them and handed them a flask of water instead.

"Vigdis, can we go to the inn? I heard they are cooking a whole hog!" Brynhild asked her eldest sister, rubbing her stomach in hunger.

Vigdis chuckled and patted her head. "Of course we can. Ingrid, are you hungry? Would you like to join us?"

The blonde-haired middle child shook her head. "No, I'll stay here and keep Lord Gaalin company."

He took several gulps of his now half empty ale. "Go and join your sisters if you're hungry, I'll be fine resting here."

"I'm not hungry," she said, smiling at him.

Her sisters nodded, turned and walked through the crowd towards the inn down the street. He felt Ingrid's hand on his shoulder, then she whispered in his ear, "Meet me at the city gates in five minutes."

Gaalin turned his head to ask why, but she was already darting through the crowd in her pale yellow dress. He leaned forward, rested his hands on his knees and sipped his ale. The teenage girl had been enjoying playing games with him the entire evening, but what she wanted now by calling him out had him guessing.

He waited several minutes, telling himself that he shouldn't go after her. However, the thought of a young girl by herself at night in a town full of drunkards, well, it did have him concerned for her safety. He groaned and rolled his head back before standing and finishing his ale. He turned and headed towards the city gates.

Weaving through the crowds, he pushed his way out of the city square and into the darkness of the streets. He walked slowly and was looking around for Ingrid when he heard Libelle's laughter. He looked down another street and saw Libelle laughing at Eskil who was hunched over and vomiting into the bushes. She was holding two pints, and he could only assume she had forced the man-beast to drink with her. She was intolerable when drunk, and she would encourage others around her to drink with her until someone passed out.

He shrugged; the dragon scum's pain was nothing he would concern himself about. He turned back down the main road, approaching the dark, heavy wooden doors of the city. He looked around but didn't see Ingrid.

"Lord Gaalin! Over here!"

Through the darkness, his vision searched out Ingrid's voice and found her standing between the cracked-open doorway. As he approached her, she giggled, darted from the gates and down the stone path. Gaalin growled, pushed through the gate and followed her as she skipped past a crumbling stone wall and into the grassy plain that surrounded the city of Edinburgh.

"Ingrid, you shouldn't be out here!" Gaalin barked at her.

He heard her laughing as she spread her arms and spun in a circle, her fingertips touching the blades of grass. He stomped through the small, shallow creek that she had gracefully crossed by jumping onto the rocks that were large enough to still be dry.

"Ingrid, there are wolves and bandits out here. You really should return to your sisters."

He tripped in the dew covered grass and dropped down onto a knee with a grunt. He looked up at her when she stopped and turned towards him with a smile, brushing her wavy blonde hair from her face.

"I'm not afraid. You're here with me, Lord Gaalin."

He rolled his eyes, finally catching up to her. "That's not the point."

"You know, Lord Gaalin, you are really lucky," Ingrid said. "You're strong and you are close to Lady Libelle who's also very strong...and brave...and beautiful."

Gaalin stared at her silently while she walked beside him, her hands clasped behind her back as she stared at the moon.

"I wish I were strong and brave. Perhaps then I could have done something when the bandits attacked our home, and maybe things would have ended differently. I suppose I shouldn't dwell on it, should I? Sadly, my sisters and I are now orphans, and nothing I do is ever going to change that. Lady Libelle was so kind to us, and she has been so generous by letting us stay in her home here in the city."

Ingrid smiled as she turned to look at Gaalin, pushing her hair behind her ears. "I wish I could be like Lady Libelle."

Gaalin stared at the teenage girl, listening as she spoke with mild interest. In the moonlight, her plain looks were attractive. She was shorter than him, the top of her head almost reaching his chin. Her brown eyes sparkled, light freckles on her sun-kissed skin, her body was still maturing and hardly filled out her yellow dress.

Ingrid sighed, "Thank you for listening to me, Lord Gaalin. I really wanted to talk to someone and you're so kind."

For a moment, Gaalin saw a resemblance between Ingrid and Libelle when he had first met her. When Libelle had been a young girl, she'd looked just as thin as Ingrid did now. Staring into her brown eyes, he felt as if he were looking at a younger version of Libelle.

Gaalin took a step towards Ingrid, his dark hand reaching out to touch her chin. He lifted her head up and slowly bent down over her, his face hovering above hers. Ingrid gasped and blushed, quickly taking a step back from him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean..." She looked down at her feet. "I...I should go."

Ingrid turned around and took a step back in the direction of the city gates, suddenly realizing how dark and secluded it was in the grass plains outside the city walls. The land became even darker when thick clouds blocked the moonlight. Gaalin's large hand clamped down around her wrist, yanking her backwards and pulling her up against his chest.

Her eyes widened as she felt panic rising through her chest. Gaalin's gentle expression had vanished and he now looked down at her menacingly. Stuttering, she forced out her words.

"L-lo-lord G-Gaalin, w-we should go back."

He smirked and instead of responding to her, he forced his lips onto hers. Ingrid gasped, her palms pushing on his chest as she tried to get away but his strong grip around her waist held her close, his kiss becoming more aggressive the more she tried to get away. Taking her hand in his, he held her small hand over his bulging groin, his cock hard and needy. Ingrid shrieked and clawed at the scabbed cut on his cheek.

Gaalin snarled and released her to cup his once again bleeding cheek. Ingrid took the opportunity to run away, holding her dress up and darting through the grass. She screamed again, her long blonde hair suddenly twisted into Gaalin's hand as he yanked her back hard. He threw her to the ground, her head cracking against a rock with an audible thud. She whimpered and tried to push herself up to crawl away.

The innocent's eyes widened, filled with terror and tears as her thin lip quivered. Gaalin drooped down onto his knees over her, slowly unbuckling his pants as his expression turned cold-blooded. He slid his pants down, gripping his hard member in one hand while the other lightly stroked her cheek. She screeched, flipped over and clawed at the soil to get away.

Gaalin's hands twisted into her dress and pulled her back underneath him. "You're not going anywhere."