Daring to Dream

 Veli was embroiled in a vicious battle with a Celt that almost matched him in size as well as skill. But this Celt was older than the others and Veli could see him beginning to tire. He kept a watchful eye on the man, looking for an opportunity to move closer with his sword arm. If the man faltered even a little bit, Veli was ready to fell him in an instant. Just as he was sure would happen, the Celt took a wrong step in trying to anticipate Veli's next move. Veli was just on the verge of bringing his sword down on the mans shoulder, when the wind began blowing fiercely and lightening landed very close to the men battling. Still keeping a close watch on the Celt,  Veli found Tero, who was looking up to the sky. Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of two figures falling to the ground. They landed hard enough for Veli and Tero to feel it under their feet. One of the figures rolled as it landed and Veli could tell that it was a woman. She was strangely dressed as was the other figure, but this one moved. All of the battling that had been raging a moment before stopped. All eyes were on the two figures lying on the ground. The Celt that Veli had been about to kill leaned down and nudged the figure in front of him with his shield. A soft moan escaped the figure as it slowly tried to rise up and turn to see who had prodded it. Her eyes, itwas a woman, however, landed on the other figure who still hadn't moved, and seemed to be bleeding heavily from the head. 

 "Rin!" the woman shouted and tried to move over to the other figure lying prone on the ground. She didn't get anywhere. The Celt seized the woman in his grasp and pulled her up and in front of him facing the Vikings.

 "Let me go you imbecile! She is hurt and she needs a hospital!" she screamed.

 Her scream brought a startled gasp from the other figure, who pushed up from the ground quickly. It was then that they all realized it was another woman. She stumbled a bit as she made her way over to the woman being held by the Celt. She managed to stay upright and immediately began to charge at the Celt holding the first woman. The surprised Celt pointed his sword in her direction to make her stop. She did not. Instead she bent further forward and kept right on running towards the Celt. Had she stumbled again, she would have lost her life on the sword aimed at her. As it was, she did get cut on the upper part of her arm as she ducked under the sword and used both of her hands to take the Celt's sword from his hand. She came up quickly and aimed his own weapon at him.

 "Let her go. Now."

 Veli and Tero, and many of the Vikings understood the words she spoke, it was the language of the Celts. Or at least very similar. But none of them understood why, if she and the other woman were indeed Celts, they would be turning on their own. They had no idea what a 'hospital' was or an 'imbecile', but they were spoken in the Celtic tongue. The second woman was holding the Celt's sword like she knew how to use it. They had heard that some of the Celts also trained their women in battle, but until now, they had never seen one that could battle. This one seemed to know how, and was apparently prepared to kill the man holding the first woman if he did not let her go.

 "I said let her go now. Or would you prefer to breathe through a hole in your neck instead?" she moved closer and raised the sword to the man's throat. The Celt went pale. He let the first woman go and even backed away from his own sword.

 The second woman turned and looked around her, still keeping a watchful eye on the Celt who's sword she still held steadily in her hands. Veli and Tero and several of the other Vikings took in sharp breaths in shock when they saw her eyes. Her eyes were the pale gray of a berserker. But unlike a berserker, she was calm. They could see that her eyes were scanning the scene around her. She was taking in the number of men surrounding them, the trees, the camp itself, and the first woman. Her gaze flicked up and down on the first woman, seemingly assessing her wounds. She also seemed to be looking for a way out of the circle of warriors. Seeing no way out of the circle, she turned those gray eyes on the next closest warrior to her. Veli walked towards her slowly but deliberately. She raised the sword to about his midsection and lowered her eyes in warning. All of the warriors looking at her were shocked at the outright challenge she was issuing to the Viking. Veli nodded in acknowledgement of her challenge, and extended his hand toward her. She tilted her head slightly and lowered the sword just a bit. Were she to attack him now, she would possibly ruin any chance he had of having children. Still, he continued to hold his hand out to her.

 "Rin, I think he is offering us a way out." the first woman whispered.

 "Out of where Riley? Does this look like Chicago to you?" she hissed back.

 "No, but I don't relish the thought of dying right now, so getting out of the middle of this would be a really good idea." the first woman stated in a voice laced with urgency.

 "Okay, you go first and I will hold them off until you are safe. Do me a favor and hurry up cause this thing is heavy. I don't know how much longer I can hold it up. And watch out in case they decide to turn around and chase you."

 "Don't have to tell me twice." and she bolted through the small gap the ones on the outer circle had made.

 One of the Celts made the mistake of turning as if he was going to go after the woman who had just fled. The smaller woman saw him and swung the sword she held in her hands straight at his middle. The shield he held split in two from the force of the blow, proving to Veli that she did indeed have skill with the weapon she held. And strength. It also proved that she had in fact taken in everything around the area in which she stood. Veli was impressed. Her eyes had already returned to Veli who gave her a nod indicating she should go the same direction the first woman had gone. She stared at him a moment longer before cautiously moving around his extended hand and continued watching the other men. Tero moved the men a little further apart as she approached the gap. She acknowledged him with a brief glance before darting through the gap, still holding the sword she had taken from the Celt, and disappearing into the trees.

 The Vikings once again closed the gap, all prepared once again to do battle. It was not necessary. The remaining Celts all dropped their weapons and shields. After a brief discussion with the other men, the decision was made to take these Celts prisoner for the time being. Chains were brought. The wrists and ankles of the Celts were bound in the chains as the other Vikings went through the camp. The Vikings gathered the food stores, the weapons, and the few things that they still had with them from the raid on Hakkarainen. Tero gave orders to start the Celts heading back to the ships and which ships the weapons and food should go on. Veli waited long enough to see that all the Celts were in chains, before taking off with Tero in the direction the women had gone in. They ran as quickly as they could, knowing that should the women come upon the warriors left at the edge of the sea, they could be killed. Especially since the smaller woman did in fact carry a sword and knew how to use it.  

 Riley and Cerinda tried to stay hidden. They had come up on water, and an even larger band of men dressed like Vikings. They could also see the ships not too far from shore packed with even more Vikings. Riley turned to Cerinda and began whispering to her.

"Are we dead? We have to be dead. I remember being in the car and driving towards your house. I don't know what happened between Florentine's and your place, but whatever it was, I think we died."

 "We aren't dead Riley. If we were dead, we wouldn't still be bleeding. My head wouldn't be throbbing the way it is now, and I wouldn't have just had to swing a broadsword that's taller than I am!" Cerinda whispered back.

 "Well then where in the Hell are we Rin?! Cause you were right back there. This doesn't look anything like Chicago. It looks more like a scene right out of one of your novels. And if we have somehow managed to land in one of those scenes, I would really appreciate it if you would write us out of this! And soon!" he voice rose in alarm as she turned and saw two of the huge Viking attired men running towards them.

 "Does it look like I have pen and paper handy right now Riley?! Or would you like me to transform this sword into a laptop conveniently set up for wireless remote access to the internet?!" Cerinda lifted the sword up and once again pointed it at the taller of the two men.

 "Sure! And while you are being so bloody sarcastic, could you order up some clonepin for the panic attack I am about to have?" Riley said forcefully.

 "I'll get right on that, just as soon as I dispatch of the six foot frigging Viking standing in front of me. I'll move your request right up to the top of my 'to do' list Riley!" Cerinda replied in a voice dripping with false sweetness.

 "That's all I ask friend. One question."

 "Oh for pity's sake! What?!"

 "Don't you think that it is going to be a bit difficult to 'dispatch' the, as you so eloquently put it, six foot frigging Viking, when he could crush you with one hand tied behind his back?"

 "Now who's being sarcastic?"

 "That would be me. Don't even think about asking for an apology when I am in the middle of a God blessed nervous breakdown!"

 "Wouldn't dream of it. so long as you don't ask for an apology from me when I drop this sword." Cerinda said breathing heavily.

 "Why would you drop the sword Rin? That would not be prudent at this juncture!" Riley almost yelled.

 Cerinda couldn't answer her. She couldn't even see straight at that moment. She was suddenly very dizzy. There was ringing in her ears so loud it made her feel like her head was about to explode. Her knees shook from the continued effort of trying to remain on her feet. The sword fell from her hands as her muscles lost the ability to hold itself upright anymore. The last thing she heard was Riley's scream as she dropped to the ground and blackness enveloped her brain.

 Veli lunged forward and caught the woman as she lost the fight to remain conscious. The other woman called Riley cried out and also lunged for her. Veli already had her though and had scooped her up into his arms. Tero took the sword off the ground quickly, handing it to one of the men that had come running from the shore when he heard the women's voices. He then took the one called Riley gently by her arm and led her after Veli, who was making his way to one of the boats. The woman offered no resistance and was even trying to move faster towards the unconscious woman. She was speaking softly but rapidly, as if in prayer, and at one point grabbed Tero hard about the arm and pulled him with a strength he had never seen in a woman before.

 Just as Veli reached the boat, the cry went up from the ships further out on the sea. Tero looked down the length of the shore and could just make out the Celtic ships coming up from the direction of Frojel. He looked at the woman he was holding, then the boat that would take him back to his ship and once again into battle. He had no idea how he could justify taking a woman onto the ship when there was about to be a fierce fight.

 "Tero, go. I will stay here with the women. This one is hurt. I will watch them here." Veli said. Tero did not hesitate and jumped into one of the boats heading back to the ships.

 "I can take care of her if you have to go." came a timid voice behind Veli.

 "Nay. This battle will not take long. The Aaltonen are just behind the Celts." Veli replied. He laid the woman in his arms down on the sand. He pulled his hand gently from under the woman's head and saw that he was covered in her blood.

 "Here, let me see. Head wounds always bleed really heavily. Even from small cuts." Riley said to him.

 She came over and began lifting hair sodden with the blood of the small woman. She visibly paled when she found the wound that was causing the extreme flow of blood. She ripped the bottom part of the top garment she was wearing, pressing the material against the wound. Tears slid down her face as she tried to stop the flow of blood. She turned her eyes up to Veli.

 "She really needs a hospital. It's bigger and deeper than I thought. She might even need surgery to close it. I can't be sure I am not a doctor or a nurse. At the very least she needs stitches.

How far are we from a hospital?" Riley asked.

 "I am sorry. I do not understand. What is a hospital?" he struggled to pronounce the strange word she had spoken.

 "A hospital! With doctors and nurses and medicines. How can you not know what a hospital is?!" she was about to panic again.

 "We have a healer back home. I know not what a hospital is. Or a doctor or nurse. You have strange words." he had once again fought over the pronunciation of the words.

 "Great. A healer. Back home. And just where, pray tell, is home?" she raised her voice at the end.

 "Two days from here if the wind is good and the sea settled." Veli told her.

 "Two days?! She won't make it that long without treatment. She will die! She is losing too much blood." she shouted at him now.

 "Aye. I can see that. Now if you will move away long enough, I have things with me that I can sew the wound closed with." Veli showed her, then gently moved her aside.

 "Could you have maybe told me that before you had me trying to conduct English lessons with you?" Riley snapped.

 "I speak your language just fine Sassenach." he retorted.

 "What did you just call me? Listen here buddy, I don't know who you think you are talking to like that, but it sure as hell better not be me." she told him vehemently.

 "I called you Sassenach. You are one. I know not why she turned on your clan as she did, but that does not alter the fact that you and she are Celts." he replied.

 "I am not a Celt. I am an American you dolt! Do I sound even remotely like I am from the British Isle's? Didn't you pay attention to geography when you were in school?" she watched as he sewed Cerinda's gaping wound shut.

 "Again, you are speaking strange words. Are the Celts using a new language?" Veli asked and looked at Riley intently.

 "How would I know? I just told you, I am an American. I have only visited the countries of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I was not born there. I do not live there. And I certainly do not keep up on the languages they are speaking. That's Rin's job. She writes..." Riley stopped as more tears slid down her face.

 "So she has been taught to read and write the runes?" he asked.

 "She taught herself that. Ancient Runes  is one of her many passions. She speaks a couple of different languages, and can fake her way through some others. She knows a lot about ancient weapons and cultures. She does a lot of research when she writes a new book. I don't know how she keeps it all in her head, but she does." Riley watched as he finished stitching up the cut and used a small knife to cut the end of the thread.

 "Now we see what the Gods have to say about her fate. I have done all I can on my own." Veli put the supplies he had used back into the leather pouch hanging at his side.

 "We should take her into the water. The salt in the sea will help promote healing and hopefully protect the wound from getting infected.. Will you help me get her to the water?" Riley asked.

 "Aye. If only because it is the first thing you have said that I fully understand." he smiled at her.

 "You are lucky. I don't understand any of this. I don't know what happened to us, how we got here, where here is, or how we are going to get back home." Riley ran her hands through Cerinda's blood soaked hair as the Viking clad man held her in his arms.

 Veli scrutinized Riley's face for a moment and realized that she was telling him the truth. She truly had no idea what had happened. It had been very odd the way the two women had seemed to appear out of the lightening and wind, like perhaps they had just fallen from Valhalla. He could only figure that Loki, the God of mischief, was up to his tricks and had brought these women here. And the Celts didn't seem to know who they were either. They had been just as surprised when the women landed on the ground in front of them. What he didn't understand was why would Loki do this to the women. What offense could they have given that would have him seeking revenge on them in this manner? He could think of no answer that made any sense, so he just tried to stop thinking about it, instead focusing on the women themselves. Both were beautiful.

Even covered in blood he could see that. The one currently washing away the blood from the smaller one's hair, was a bit taller, had light blue eyes that reminded him of calm seas, and hair the color of the bark on the trees. She was slender, with just enough flesh to entice a man's eyes and perhaps even his hands. It was certain that she would gain the attention of many of their warriors, and in fact already had. Even the Celts they had captured seemed to murmur their appreciation of her womanly charms. Although Veli thought her beautiful, it was the one he currently held in his arms, who intrigued him more.

 Her display of fearlessness in the midst of all the warriors had been a definite surprise. He had never seen a woman act so when surrounded by armed men. Especially one who barely came up to his chest when she was standing fully upright. Yet she had shown that she had skill in battle when she had swung the sword she held hard enough to break the Celt's shield. She appeared to have no trouble wielding the weapon as her arms remained steady the whole time. Nor could he forget the unmistakable challenge in her eyes as she looked at him. She had lowered her head just fractionally, and looked at him from under the hood of her brow. Her body had given no indication as to how she might move had he actually taken her up on her challenge. She had been still as stone. So still in fact, that when the Celt had moved, Veli had missed her turning towards the man. The sword had already been in full swing when he managed to see her moving. He and the rest of the Vikings had been more than a little stunned when the Celt's shield dropped to the ground in two pieces.

 Veli's body had responded to her attack, but not in the way one would expect during battle. His blood rushed through his body like liquid fire and settled in his manhood. He had to fight the urge to take her into his arms and wage war not with swords, but with other parts of his body instead. His heart pounded in his chest, and something deep inside of him stirred, demanding that he claim her as his own. Instead, he and Tero offered her a way out of the middle of the battle. Even as his body roared against letting her go, his mind knew he would find her again. He and Tero had eventually found the two women hiding behind some small brush arguing with one another. Then she gave him the fright of his life. When she had started to fall, his heart had stilled in his chest and his lungs refused to fill with air. Yet his legs moved of their own volition and he had managed to keep her from hitting the ground. The sight of her blood on his hand had given him the second worst fright of his life and he could see that it frightened the other woman as well. Perhaps even more so than himself.

 He wondered if they might be sisters. They obviously protected one another. He was suddenly pleased by that. As the one called Riley finished removing the blood from the tiny one's hair, Veli realized that all that mattered right now is that she not die. It shocked him that he should feel this way about a woman whom he did not know, and who could potentially be an enemy to the clan. He found himself rationalizing in his mind that were she an enemy, she had already had the opportunity to slay him, yet she had not. She had not even attacked the Celts, save for the one she thought was about to harm Riley. That satisfied him as he carried her limp form out of the water and laid her gently inside one of the small boats. She was pale, but no new blood appeared in her hair. He felt relief flood him.

 "You should go." Riley stated.

 "Nay. Tero is chief of our clan. We also have the Aaltonen with us to do battle as well. They will win." he stated matter of factly.

 "So why are you fighting with the Celts?" Riley asked.

 "They attacked our keep and killed eight of our clan and one that was to become wife to Tero. The Aaltonen are her clan." he told her.

 "Oh. I am sorry." she said quietly.

 "Do not be. Their deaths are avenged now. Look." he pointed to the ships.

 Indeed the Viking ships did appear to be winning the fight, Riley thought. This was the second time today that she had heard the rage of war happening around her and it sickened her somewhat. It also had the effect of convincing her that she and Cerinda were most definitely not even close to being near Chicago. If Cerinda died, how would she ever get herself home? She was a fantastic agent and could negotiate the sweetest deals with publishers and the like, but there was no one here she could negotiate with in this instance. She could pray. Maybe God would be merciful and she would wake up soon. She prayed that she and Cerinda had just gotten a few bumps on the head and this was just her imagination being here in the middle of a Viking versus Celt war. If it was a nightmare she was caught in, she prayed she would wake up and that she and Cerinda would be back in the Windy City nursing nothing more than a hangover. Somehow though, she doubted sincerely that this was some dream. It left a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
 
 Tero was fully engaged physically in battle against the Celts, but his mind strayed to the two women who had appeared out of nowhere. He could not fathom as to where the women had come from. He wondered how they had gotten the wounds he had seen on both of them. The little one was hurt more so than the taller woman. Yet she had wielded a weapon, assured safe passage for the first one, then openly challenged Veli. As his sword landed on the shield of a Celt that tried to make his way onto Tero's ship, Tero remembered how the tiny woman had destroyed such a shield only a short time ago. He wasn't a man who believed in omens, but he had to admit that it was possible that Loki was up to his mischievous ways again. If he was, Tero had to wonder what the two women had done to raise his ire. If not, then there was no explanation for what had occurred when the women had seemingly dropped from the sky.

 He brought his mind back to the battle and brought the hilt of his sword down hard on the head of a Celt. He moved quickly through the throng of fighting men, slaying any Celt who dared cross his path. Blood covered his armor and tunic as one by one the Celt's fell victim to Tero's sword. He could see the Aaltonen fighting from the rear giving the Celts nowhere to retreat to. None of their ships could get past the barrier of Viking ships that surrounded them effectively blocking their escape into the open sea. The battle lasted only a few hours. The Celtic ships were set ablaze after the Vikings removed anything of value, some of which included things that had belonged to members of the Hakkarainen clan prior to their attack. When the fighting was over, Tero spoke to Erno and it was decided that the few Celts that had been taken captive in the forest would go with the Aaltonen clan. There had been some dispute over the mysterious women, but Tero would not allow them to be taken anywhere but with Veli and himself.

 The chief of the Hakkarainen clan had no idea why he felt so protective of the two women, but he did. Mayhap it was the outrageousness of the tiny one who had thought to take on over four score men on her own. With a sword that she had to use two hands to hold. Or maybe it was the taller one who had tried to rush to her side and aid her like a sister would, but who had ended up in the hands of a Celt looking terrified. He only knew that seeing the Celt holding the taller woman had caused him to want to slit the man's throat. It startled him to realize that he had felt that way for a woman he did not know. What he did know was that his life had taken a strange path of late, that he hoped ended with the appearance of the women.

 He took one of the small boats back to shore to let his men know that they would not be taking the Celts with them. He went to Veli who was standing talking quietly with the first woman. The one with the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen. They both seemed concerned about the tiny woman and her condition. Veli glanced up when Tero approached the two of them. His face was grim and his eyes spoke of his desire to sail home on the first good wind. He watched as the other woman knelt down close to the tiny one and whispered in her ear. She also held the woman's hand with both of hers and tears ran from her eyes.

 "She is not doing well Tero. She needs the healer. I fear she may not even make the journey to Hakkarainen. I have done all I can here, but I would leave with your permission on the next tide." Veli asked.

 "Aye. Take her to your ship and I will take the other on mine. I have already told the Aaltonen that we sail now. Know you yet their names?" Tero asked.

 "The tiny one is Rin. The other is Riley." he pronounced the names slowly.

 "Strange. Did they journey with the Celts?"

 "Riley claims no knowledge of how they came to be here. She says they are from some place named Chicago." he repeated the name haltingly. "I believe her brother. She is frightened. Not just for her friend. She worries that they won't be able to get home."

 "Hey! I am right here and if you are talking about us, it would be nice if you did it in English." Riley blurted out.

 "I was telling my brother your name and the name of the place you come from." Veli told her softly.

 "He could ask me himself. I have the ability to speak." she pointed out to them both.

 "Aye. That you can. You will sail with Tero, so you will have plenty of time to inform him of all that you have told me." Veli smiled.

 "No! I have to stay with her. If she wakes up and sees you or one of your men standing over her covered in all that blood, she will freak!" Riley stated emphatically.

 "She will be fine. She has already seen me, covered in blood, and she will understand that I intend no harm towards her. I promise you that I will not harm her." Veli pushed the small boat away from the shore and hopped in before Riley could say another word.

 Tero had to act quickly as the woman tried to follow the boat. He took her arm as gently as he could so as not to hurt her and led her towards the boat that would take them back to his ship. She tried desperately to remove his hand from her arm, but Tero would not release her. He managed with some effort to get her to the boat, although she would not allow him to put her in it.

 "Come Sassenach. We need to sail home if your friend is to make it to our healer." He lifted her into the boat before she could nay say him.

 "Riley! My name is Riley! Not Sassenach!" she yelled.

 "My apologies Riley." Tero did his best to appease her long enough to make it back to his ship.

 "Way to placate me. Thank you so much. As if we haven't been through enough so far. No. Now we have overbearing, blood thirsty Vikings to deal with. This day just keeps getting better and better. I don't know when I have had so much fun. I mean it isn't as if I am not scared to death that Rin is going to die! Yet here you are being sarcastic towards me. Again, thanks! I really appreciate that!" she was yelling quite loudly now.

 Tero figured it would be wiser to say nothing in response since she was currently staring out at the sea while railing at him. The other men just looked at her as she went on. They looked to Tero as if to question whether or not to gag the woman. Tero just shook his head as they got further away from the shore. He would do what he could to calm her once they were on the ship and headed back home.

 He had a feeling that the journey was going to be a long one. A very long one.