Chương 45: A Saviour In The Darkness

The night reached and Arvid was waiting in his cell for Erik The Berserker, Erik was not loyal to Askild. This was a surprising revelation to Arvid, he did not mind that Erik was not loyal to King Askild but he could not forgive Erik for his part in this twisted torture game, now was not the time to fight him, now he needed to get away from Kattegat as soon as possible.

Footsteps descended and Arvid got on his feet immediately, and the person that came down was no one but Erik and he heaved a loud sigh of relief.

Part of him thought this was Erik playing games with him but his being here showed he was not as the door opened up.

Arvid could not believe he was this excited to see Erik, Erik shushed him and gave him a cloak to wear so his identity could be hidden properly.

Arvid wore it with tears welling up in his eyes, he could not believe he was getting a second chance at life, and he was glad that he was not the only one that saw King Askild's cruelty.

"Do not make a sound, the gate has been cleared. I will guide you to the horse. Erik whispered, Arvid nodding in acknowledgment.

Erik led the way with Arvid trailing behind the bigger man, they walked for a bit and there was actually a horse there with a bag attached to it, this was food.

"Hurry up!" Erik urged him, looking left and right for anyone that might potentially be coming, Arvid bowed his head to Erik and he mounted the horse.

He rode off but in the back of his mind, he hoped this was not a trap as it would be troublesome if it was but the chances of it were low as it would put Erik in a bad position.

"The gate…" Arvid thought. He saw the gates were cleared and opened. He had no idea how Erik managed it but he somehow did.

The moment he exited Kattegat was the moment a wave of relief swept through his body.

"I-I did it! I escaped!" Arvid thought as he kept riding at full speed in the direction of Vestfold but 20 minutes into his journey his horse came to an abrupt stop.

Arvid was confused as to why the horse fell on its stomach and Arvid figured it was because it was tired. It has been running for 20 minutes but Erik did say it was well-fed.

Arvid remembered that Erik told him he had food in the bag and quickly reached for it to feed the horse because he needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

He opened the bag and what he saw made him throw up in disgust, this was not food.

It was the severed heads of his parents.

"Arvid…" A voice said in the darkness, and Arvid jerked his head immediately in that direction. The person that called out his name was Erik The Berserker.

The evil grin on his face told Arvid all he needed to know, this was some sort of sick game for Erik but he was not going to go down easily. Erik would have to kill him before he returned, he did not even have time to mourn the passing of his parents.

"There is no fun killing an already broken man, Arvid. I needed to fill you with hope, I needed to give you a new reason to live but this was also a chance at redemption. If I was truly going to betray Askild, you chose to help me instead of reporting me to him." Erik said in a mocking voice, he was having the time of his life messing with Arvid.

"YOU ARE SO FUCKING PATHETIC ARVID!" Erik laughed his ass out as he watched Arvid frantically try to get away and a downward swing of Erik's hand sent arrows right into the joints of Arvid that sent him tumbling to the ground.

"You have been denied Valhalla with that action. The Valkyries will take no coward to Odin's hall! How dare you turn your back and run in battle!? Is living that important to you? Look around you Arvid, everyone you love is dead!" Erik shouted, walking towards the crawling man.

Erik never once betrayed or disobeyed King Askild, as Askild gave Erik full authority to handle Arvid the way he saw fit and this was the way Erik saw fit.

Arvid cried, he could not believe he let himself believe that there was light at the end of the tunnel, but he was reminded that all that awaited him was darkness.

Erik's mocking laughter pierced his eardrums and Arvid lost the little hope he had garnered.

Arvid just laid there, he was defeated but at least death was coming to him now.

He waited for the sword of Erik to come down and take off his head but all he felt was the sharp pain in his legs and screamed in anguish.

Erik had severed his legs but he had no intention of killing him. The point of cut-off was burnt so he did not bleed out but Arvid passed out. Erik kept laughing like a maniac.

"Take him back to Kattegat! I am done with him!" Erik shouted as he turned his back on him.

Arvid was given hope and had it taken away from him in the blink of an eye, he knew not to trust Erik but when someone is pushed to the wall. They will find any reason to grasp at hope, this alone allows them to live through even the harshest situation and that is when you break a man.

Because now, there was no coming back for Arvid, he was a dead man despite still breathing.

Erik was now focused on what was ahead, and that was the war, having fun with Arvid was a way to keep his mind focused because King Askild was well aware of his warrior's darker tendencies and Arvid was the perfect scapegoat to keep his thirst under control.

But now they had all the pieces to begin the war and King Askild was finalizing preparations.