"Good afternoon, Fenrin."

He grunted, not bothering to move or even open his eyes to watch Jayln walk in. However, the slithering sound of plate sliding on dirt floor made him look. A dish of bread and meat was at the bars.

"So, tell me, if the Bear is dead, who's in charge of his army?"

Fenrin quickly pulled the food in so she couldn't take it away when he refused to answer. He munched the bread, completely ignoring Jayln.

"What do you think is going to happen if you don't answer my questions?" Jayln's voice was curious but Fenrin smugly noted a note of frustration. He looked up at her.

"I'm not sure yet," he said, grinning as her eyes narrowed.

Honestly, Fenrin was curious. If their roles had been reversed, he would have tortured her by now. Or at least tortured her companions. For a moment, Fenrin mulled over if he cared if they killed or tortured his men.

It depended on which six survived. Tyrik was really the only one he hadn't inherited from his father. He'd miss the man, but Tyrik had almost a higher pain tolerance than Fenrin and hated pity. He'd kill Fenrin if he did anything to help his situation. It was what Fenrin liked about him.

"We're not going to stick you with hot pokers or anything."

Fenrin grinned wider but it faltered when he saw Jayln’s face. It wasn't weakness or hesitation there, it was determination and intelligence.

"It's not our way, besides I doubt it'd work on men like you in the first place. No, way I see it, the worst thing for you would be to be left alone. You didn't boast about others coming to avenge you so either they aren't coming or you don't want them to. If it's the first, then we've got all the time in the world, if the second...well that's up to you.” She stood up. "If you don't talk to me then I'll just leave you alone to rot. A pathetic death for a pathetic man, alone with his useless pride."

Pausing at the door, Jayln unhooked a waterskin from her belt and tossed it into the cell. "I almost forgot. I'd ration that water if I were you. I have no problem starving you to death if that's your choice." She shut the door unaffected by Fenrin's murderous gaze.

The next day, Jayln came with food and Fenrin tossed the plate from the day before at her. She easily dodged, crinkled her nose, and left with the food and without a word. Fenrin paced the whole night.

The second day, Jayln came in and sat in her seat. They stared at each other and Fenrin almost talked, the idea of Lyra finding his starved body haunting him.

Jayln sighed and left. Fenrin cursed.

The third day she came in, she spoke right away. "One of your men is dead. His wound was infected and we couldn't stop it."

Fenrin raised an eyebrow, uncertain why she was mentioning it. "Which one?"

"Nik."

Fenrin tilted his head. "And?" Nik had been a competent scout but wasn't a fan of Fenrin himself.

A flash of anger in Jayln's eyes piqued Fenrin's curiosity, but calmly she said, "How should he be sent off?"

"Just burn the bastard."

Jayln pushed the food she’d brought over. Fenrin ate it wondering what she was up to.

"You don't care for your own soldiers?"

"They had one job and they failed. The penalty for that is death."

Jayln smiled. "Did you not fail as well? Would you fall on your own sword?"

"You only have to take the punishment if you let it be given.," he answered with a grin.

"Interesting coming from a man letting himself starve to death."

Grimacing, Fenrin finished the food and backed up to lean against the wall near the bars. "Been thinking about that one and I’ve decided to stick around. But you're not the only one with questions. Here's one: how does a small group of villagers beat me and my top men?"

"Skill and planning. Who's in charge of the Bear's army now that he's dead?"

Fenrin growled again. "Why are you so interested in that?"

Jayln gave a light laugh. "Maybe because a band of men under his symbol attacked my town?"

Stupid. Half his men had bears tattooed on them somewhere. Fenrin himself had a rather fierce rendition on his chest.

"You really don't know much up here do you? Since my father offed it, Lyra and I inherited the estate."

Jayln sat back surprised. Fenrin looked insulted. "What? You didn't know? Fenrin Brynson?"

"I'd only ever heard you called the Wolf."

"Aye, I'm the Wolf, she's the Tigress."

"She?"

"Gods, how far north am I? Lyra Bryndotter? Lyra the Tigress? The milksop prince’s betrothed?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Now Jayln really looked shocked. "Your king is betrothed to a brigand's daughter? I mean I knew Valhym was a rough place but..."

"Not like the poor lad had any choice in the matter." Fenrin laughed and raised his hand in a mock toast. "Like our father before us, we take what we want."

His voice and face grew dark. "And Lyra wanted the prince. She got her claws in and that's that."

"Unbelievable. The High King and the Bear's daughter, to think..." Jayln trailed off and her eyes locked on Fenrin and a sly smile grew on her face. "Ah, that's why you're so far north. Getting away from the capital, away from Lyra's ambitions. My, my, no wonder you don't want a rescue."

Fenrin's eyes were narrow slits and he felt his bloodlust return. Jayln stood. "I apologize for being so blunt, it was a rather shocking revelation. But, I think, one that will benefit us both in the end. I must go attend to the dead man waiting outside. Tomorrow we can talk deals."

When the door shut, Fenrin bolted up, slamming his fist into the wall. Stupid. Can't keep my stupid mouth shut. He was just calming down when he realized he hadn't really gotten a single question answered. Stupid.

The next day, Jayln came with the man from before. He gave Fenrin his food and Jayln sat in her chair. Fenrin was ready and leaned casually against the wall by the bars, opposite of the corner Jayln was in. Before the woman could speak, Fenrin held up a finger. "Uh-uh, you owe me some answers."

"Really?" Jayln asked, amused.

"Yes, sweetheart, you never really answered my question about who the hell you are."

"I suspected you'd ask, so how about this deal—I'll answer your question and let you out of that cell for a bit if you promise to talk business after."

Fenrin's wolfish grin returned. Was the girl really fool enough to let him out?

"I'm listening."

"Good. Jakob, if you please." The man stepped out and came back with some heavy metal objects. Jayln stood and turned to Fenrin. "Alright, turn around, back up to the bars, and stick out your hands through the gap."

Fenrin eyed the manacles. He didn't need hands to kill someone so he obeyed and Jakob clamped the heavy metal around his wrists. They were connected by a four inch straight pole, making the position a bit awkward.

"Now walk backwards towards the door."

Fenrin did, trying not to let his muscles tense in anticipation. He heard the lock click and he waited for the sound of the door sliding open. Instead, he heard the sound of a bow being drawn.

"Fenrin, I have an arrow ready to kill you if you move so much as in inch. So stay right there for a moment please."

The door slid open and Fenrin didn't move. He couldn't see what they were doing behind him so he bit back a yelp as something grabbed his foot. He tried to kick with his other, but that was grabbed too and he fell undignified on his face. There was another sound of metal and Fenrin rolled over to see Jakob standing up, brushing his hands off.

Clamped around his ankles were two rings, each connected to its own two-foot chain which led to a pair of iron balls six inches in diameter. He looked at them disgusted.

"Oh, don't pull a face, you'd be insulted if we'd done less. Now get up, we're going outside," Jayln said, turning to go.

Jakob kept a close eye as Fenrin awkwardly got to his feet and followed, grunting when he had to pull the chains. They weren't so heavy he couldn't move, but he wouldn't be throwing any kicks or running very far. Clever.

He blinked, blinded by the sunlight as they stepped outside. The warm rays soaked into his starved skin and he breathed the fresh air gratefully. To his surprise, his cell was not far from the center of town . Some houses were even on the same bit of cobbled road.

Jayln spread her arms. "This is Fairhaven."

The town was bustling about. The people who passed Fenrin and his guard glanced at them, but hurried along uneffected. The town center was marked by a large statue of a man and woman. The man had a tall staff and a bag over his shoulder. The woman held a child in her arms and a long bow slung over her back.

Jayln gave him a moment to look around and then gestured to him. "Come on, you wanted to know who we were. Let me show you."

Fenrin shuffled after Jayln, trying to mark every building in his mind. Where were his men? Where would he find weapons?

He noted the blacksmith where a young lad waved merrily at Jakob. He noted the long building with barred windows—the jailhouse, seperate from his special little cell. It had to be where his five remaining men were. He also noticed that there were many more structures than there were people. The buildings were old and well built but weeds grew around most of the houses, many grimy glass or boarded up windows.

His attention left the architecture as they rounded a corner and came to a place that truly caught his interest. A group ranging from a small child no more than seven to a man with a long grey beard were lined up in front of wooden dummies. A man walked up and down the rows shouting and the people moved in unison, kicking, punching, or switching stances. It was training like Fenrin had seen before but the movements were strange and foreign. Like the movements in the battle.

"This is our dojo. The fighting style is called jitsu. It's our secret weapon and nearly all villagers are trained in its art. This is how we beat you."

Fenrin watched, fascinated. His warrior eye easily piecing together the purpose of each move, even though he'd never tried it. That one would take out a man's knee, that one throw the opponent off balance with a blow to the chest, that stance was steady and planted.

"Serne, Leos, come here for a moment," Jayln called out and two teens, a girl and a boy broke from the formation and strode over. Jayln put out a hand to stop them from coming too close to Fenrin. "Easy, stay out of his reach."

Fenrin flashed them a hungry smile and the boy flinched. The girl, older than her peer, just stared at Fenrin defiantly.

"Alright you two, why don't you show Fenrin here how we beat his mangy band."

The two grinned and turned to each other. After a respectful nod, they flew into action. Fenrin didn't let his surprise show but he was thoroughly impressed. The two moved like lightning, the blows fast and focused.

The boy shot an impressive kick high towards the girl's jaw but she ducked it, grabbing the limb and flipping him to the floor before her fist flew down and stopped inches from smashing his face. She helped him up.

"Thank you, you two. Nice work."

The two lingered for a moment, sending curious glances at Fenrin but a look from Jakob sent them scurrying back to the group.

"As you can see, we are quite capable of defending ourselves from attackers. But..." Jayln glanced over the town, "as I'm sure you noticed, our numbers are few."

She walked towards the statue and Fenrin had no choice but to shuffle after her. Stopping at its base, she stared up at the stone faces. Fenrin spoke first, "Next question: are you in charge here? You the Jarl?"

Jayln chuckled. "Jarl? There's a Valhym word if I ever heard one. No, my parents are our leaders. They've assigned me to dealing with you and your men though."

Fenrin frowned. "What's your plan?"

"It's simple really, I let you and your men go, sparing your lives and saving your reputation. In return, you promise to leave our village alone. But of course there's one problem I've yet to solve."

"Oh?"

She turned back to Fenrin, staring him down. "I don't trust you as far as I could throw your chained hide, so a promise from you means nothing."

"A problem indeed.” Fenrin laughed. “I also propose a second problem with your not-so-brilliant plan. As for my reputation, it's shot unless I slaughter each and every person in this town."

"That," Jayln took a step closer, "is never going to happen."

The Wolf's grin grew wider.