Chapter Five
Sif woke early the next morning, opening her eyes and listening to the snoring chorus of five different men; a far cry from the night-time sounds of the Ironwood hall. I’m never getting back to sleep. It was not just the “snorus,” as she thought of it. There was too much on her mind.
It had been days since she had conferred with the Elder Sisters.
Who knew what had happened, what they might have discovered?
Perhaps—an alarming thought—they had been trying to contact her but had been blocked somehow.
She thought of Freyja, and the wolf outside her hall, penning her in. Sif needed to reach out.
She couldn’t do it here, as the “snorus” inhibited any kind of deeper concentration. The only option was to find a quiet place outdoors. Hakon’s injunction against leaving his side crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. She would be back before he knew it.
Carefully stepping over recumbent bodies, Sif made her way to the door, unlatched it, and walked out into the fresh air. She took a deep breath. With so many people indoors, the atmosphere had been rather close.
Closing her eyes, Sif brought the song of peace and calmness to the surface of her mind.
She repeated it under her breath until she had the proper rhythms then sang it softly as she walked past the dog pen.
The animals watched Sif silently then their eyes grew heavy, and finally they fell back asleep.
Sif felt jubilant as she walked towards the nearby forest. Every time she tried a spellsong, she felt her powers and her confidence grow.
After walking around for twenty minutes or so, Sif found a clearing suitable for her purposes.
There was a fallen tree in the middle of the clearing, shorn of its branches.
Sif sat down on it, gave a quick look around then closed her eyes and summoned the song of greeting.
The distance the song had to travel was much shorter this time. Before long, she felt another person pick up the thread and join her, and soon the face of Baedi appeared in her mind’s eye.
Sif, it’s you! Thank the Goddess! cried Baedi.
Sif felt a plunge of dread in her stomach. Of course it’s me! she said. Why? Has something happened?
There is much to tell you. We have tried to reach out to you, but it is as if the very air resists us. Some new power is growing.
Even I have felt it. Something is wrong, replied Sif. But I did not feel any difficulty in my sending to you—it happened in mere heartbeats. How can this be, when you cannot reach me at all?
You do not know your power, young Sister. Your sending was like a great hunting horn, blowing through the woods, said Baedi.
This was news to Sif, but she had not time to consider the implications of this. You said there is much to tell, Baedi.
So there is. Although our range of vision has been restricted, this much we know; Sigtuna has been sacked.
Sif gasped. What? She tried to imagine the busy port city, burning and in ruins. How is that possible? Who has done this?
The Skraelings are on the march, replied Baedi.
“Impossible,” said Sif. The Skraelings were the boogeymen of the far North, savage and cruel. They fought against each other so fiercely that the vicious warriors never had the time or opportunity to come south.
It appeared that time was over. Sigtuna had already paid the price.
Goddess, said Sif. I cannot believe it.
I know, replied Baedi. There are some among the Sisters who say we are facing the end of days. That this is Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods.
Sif felt crushed by the weight of this news. Find your strength. Hard days are coming. She drew a deep breath, set her shoulders. So what do we do? she asked.
Baedi’s smile showed their approval of Sif’s resolution. We’re coming, they said.
What?
The Sisters of the Ironwood are on the move. It’s obvious that Visby will be the next target for the Skraelings. We must stop them, lest they spread rape and pillage throughout Gotland. If Visby falls, the Ironwood will be next. So Visby must not fall. Our Sisters are coming to help the city hold.
Never in Sif’s studies had she ever encountered any record of the Ironwood marching to war. For the sake of practicality, Sif put this fact aside and asked, When will you get here? And what do you want me to do?
We should arrive in two days’ time, replied Baedi. Go to the Jarl of Visby. You must persuade him of the truth of what we have seen, and that he needs to prepare defenses. Explain that we are coming, and that we must work together if we are to stop the Skraelings.
Why should he listen to me? asked Sif. He has no idea who I am.
You must make him listen, said Baedi firmly. We cannot afford delay. Hurry, Sister. Things are set in motion, and that demands swiftness. We will see you in two days.
The song’s connection ended, and Sif’s vision returned to see Hakon standing in front of her, his muscled arms folded. Sif gave a squawk of surprise and leaned back, sliding off the fallen tree with an ungraceful thump.
“I told you not to do that!” Sif shouted, startled and angry.
“And I know that I told you not to leave my side!” retorted Hakon, lifting her up. It was clear that he was furious. “If I could sneak up on you like that, so could anyone! How could you leave yourself vulnerable to any miscreant passing by? I’ll not have you putting yourself in danger!”
Sif could see that Hakon was genuinely upset. She put up a placatory hand. “Hakon, I understand. But it was necessary to contact my Sisters. And I have news!”
He glared at her. “Is your news anything that will affect the next half hour?” he demanded.
“No, but—”
Hakon took a seat on the fallen tree. “Then over my knee you go.” He gestured to his lap.
“You can’t be serious!” she exploded.
“I explained to you very clearly that I always follow through on my promises, Sif, and that your choices will have consequences. When your discipline is over, I will listen carefully to what you have to say and we will talk about what to do next. But we will not just skip past the fact that you put yourself at risk, in direct disobedience to my commands. So over my knee you go, now.”
Was she in the wrong? Was she so angry because she was trying to escape this demand for accountability? Hakon had promised to listen to everything she had to say once they were past this moment.
With a sigh, Sif faced her situation head-on. She put herself across Hakon’s lap, adjusting herself so that her bottom was high in the air. Hakon silently rucked up Sif’s dress, tucking it onto her belt.
“Let’s get these smallclothes out of the way,” said Hakon firmly. “From here on, I forbid you to wear them. I will have access to you whenever I wish.”
Sif looked at the ground, which lay inches from her face, and gripped Hakon’s strong calves.
She knew she should be furious. She should be shouting at Hakon until she was blue in the face, but instead she was here, over Hakon’s lap.
Somehow, strangely, she felt a sense of peace.
This was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Events in the world seemed terrifying and everything on the brink of collapse, but here in the world that existed between her and Hakon, there was order.
There were rules. In the space she and Hakon had created, her chosen man was going to keep her safe.
Hakon laid a broad hand over Sif’s bare bottom.
“Sif, do you understand why you’re over my knee?” asked Hakon.
Feeling oddly content, Sif answered, “Yes, my Lord.”
“Why, Sif? Tell me,” demanded Hakon.
“You commanded me to stay by your side, and that you would punish me if I disobeyed. I left your side, and now you’re going to punish me,” said Sif. She knew that she needed this. With chaos threatening, Sif needed the reassurance of clear rules.
“Good girl,” rumbled Hakon. “I am going to punish you. Not from anger but from love.”
Sif’s skin shivered with pleasure at his words.
“Ready?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Hakon began her spanking, bringing his hand down in a regular rhythm. His hand was firm, and the smacks stung, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter. Sif was getting the spanking she deserved.
Hakon intensified his discipline, both in tempo and force.
She squirmed over his lap, not wanting to resist but desiring to escape the pain.
Her breathing became shallow and rapid. Even as the pain of the spanking increased, so did Sif’s arousal.
Blood was rushing to her most sensitive parts, bringing them into bloom.
The force of Hakon’s discipline was mingling pleasure and pain, ramping up both. It was becoming difficult to bear.
“My Lord,” gasped Sif.
“You’ve a lesson to learn, Sif.”
“Yes, my Lord!”
There was no distinguishing between pleasure and pain. Sif could feel tears begin to flow down her cheeks, and suddenly, as if something deep within her had shifted, she felt herself almost melt into Hakon’s lap.
His hand rested on her bare ass, soaking up the heat from her punished flesh. Slowly, soothingly, his hand moved across her skin.
“That’s my good girl,” Hakon rumbled in a low tone. Sif felt mesmerized by his voice and touch.
“My Lord,” she murmured, an undertone of pleading in her voice.
“Yes, my love?”
“I need you…please, my Lord,” said Sif, squirming on Hakon’s lap for entirely different reasons.
Hakon chuckled. “Since you took your spanking like such a good girl…” He lifted Sif from his lap and bent her gently over the fallen tree.
She felt cool air on her punished bottom and flushed private parts.
Sif moved from one foot to the other, impatient for Hakon to demonstrate his mastery over her.
She bit her lip as Hakon moved her legs apart. She knew what was coming. She was so wet, ripe, and ready for him.
Suddenly, there he was, his thick cock filling her up as Hakon drove to the end of her sheath, and her mind and body exploded in a tumultuous orgasm.
“Oh!” cried Sif, then, “Yes! Goddess, yes!”