The Fall Of Arvid

Arvid cried, and wished he did not have eyes nor ears to listen to what was going on as Erik made sure this would be the thing to make him wish for death.

He was not gentle and made sure Arvid watched him defile his wife, this broke the spirit of Arvid but it also intensified his rage towards King Askild and Kattegat.

They had nothing to do with it yet Askild could not show mercy to his family, he knew this would happen and that is why he tried to get them to safety but could not do that in time as Askild was one step ahead if he had his family why was he not the prime suspect?

Arvid tried to make sense of what was happening but this could also be because he told his family to assume a new identity that no one knew about and their secret was well hidden until Arvid was captured and the search for his family intensified.

In no time, they were able to piece together this piece of information.

-

Erik was done and she lay dead in her puddle of blood, Arvid could not understand how anyone could be this cruel, he understood the fury of King Askild but what he just saw from Erik was enough to make him question just what kind of monsters laid dormant in Kattegat.

He was defeated, his eyes had lost all hope he had but he did not regret his decision because he knew Askild had to die, his wickedness was not fit for a king, and the thought of Vestfold slaying Askild was the only comfort he had at this moment.

Erik stood up, the others did not even get to have a turn but they did not want to the moment Erik started for they felt pity for the lady.

Getting to his feet, he smiled at Arvid affectionately, like a father that just taught his son a valuable lesson.

"I must say, I can see what you saw in her Arvid," Erik said, walking to the chained man. He liked the look in his eyes but it was far too soon for him to be giving up.

"Should I free you, Arvid?" Erik asked him and this was a strange question, forcing Arvid's eyes to come back to life momentarily. He wanted to speak but no audible escaped those dehydrated lips.

"Erik, King Askild did not permit us to do such a thing," One of the three Vikings said, interrupting Erik during his conversation. Erik chuckled to himself.

"One minute Arvid," Erik said, turning away from the prisoner and walking towards the man that spoke, he had to tilt his head up to look Erik in the eyes. Erik was enormous and the man gulped in fear of what he anticipated was about to happen but even Erik was not so foolish as to kill a Viking in broad daylight, right?

"Wait, why is my body over there?" The man thought to himself as he realized he had been decapitated by Erik without a second thought. This realization made the last thing he felt to be was fear.

"Anyone else want to tell me what I can't do?" Erik asked and both men left gulped, shaking their heads as they held their tongues.

"Arvid, think about my offer. I think you need all the hope you can get," Erik said, walking out and leaving the other two to drag the corpse of their fallen comrade and the body of Arvid's wife.

"Don't touch her, I think Arvid wants to spend some time with his…" Erik paused, looking at her disfigured corpse.

"... beautiful wife," Erik concluded with a snicker, as he ascended out of the dungeon with the other two falling behind him

Erik felt happy, he liked that he could do such atrocious things under the rule of Askild, this was a fitting punishment for a traitor but was far too extreme.

"Erik? What are you doing here?" Sven asked Erik, but Erik did not respond. Bushing past him as he continued on his way but he saw two others dragging the corpse of a fellow warrior and Sven instinctively knew who was responsible for such an outrageous thing.

"Erik, you need to stop acting like a dog without a leash or you WILL be put down…" Sven said in a high voice, this prompted Erik to stop in his tracks but not the other two trailing behind as they wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"What did you just say?" Erik asked, looking over his shoulder, waiting for Sven's response. It felt like a stand-off, he knew that he could take Erik in a fight or at least believed so because he was no pushover for him to have reached this level of rank.

"You heard me, you dog," Sven replied with a mocking tone, Erik knew it would take work to kill Sven and if he did manage to, King Askild would be angry.

No one wanted to face the wrath of Askild, Erik simply chuckled at this attempt at provocation and continued on his way.

"It is a miracle that the mad dog is still alive," Sven muttered to himself as he walked into the dungeon that held Arvid but what he saw was enough to make him want to throw up.

He thought Erik was torturing Arvid but to think this was what he was doing made him sick to his stomach. If he was brave enough to do something so obscene, it meant it was under the orders of King Askild.

He saw Arvid, his eyes begging for death but there was nothing Sven could do, all he wanted to ask was why but the why did not matter as he now understood why their king kept him alive.

"I do not know much about you but I am sorry I can not help put you to rest. Something tells me they will use you to set an example for the rest." Sven said. Taking off his shirt, he proceeded to cover the face of his wife and watched Arvid weep in gratitude.

"I didn't do it for you, you traitor. I did it for her, no woman deserves to have her honor taken in such a gruesome way just because she married an unworthy man. This is all your fault." Sven said, ascending back up as he had no intention to ask the reasons of a broken man.