"Ragnar grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the stone wall of the building, turning about to see who had interrupted his intent to take Katie . Seeing who it was, Ragnar scowled, tightened his grip on Katie and clenched his other fist. It would only take one swift movement to remove the sword from it's scabbard,making it ready for the battle soon to come."
But Alistair was not thinking strategy or tactics. Charged by blinding anger, he launched himself at Ragnar running as quickly as ever he could on tennis strengthened legs. It didn't matter to Alistair he had no clue what to do with Ragnar once he had the Viking in his grasp. It only mattered to Alistair that Katie was no longer being manhandled by Ragnar. The collision of the two men came so fast that Ragnar had no time to draw his sword fully from its scabbard. Big and brawny as the Viking was, being struck by 185 1bs of taller though more slender human was more than he could resist. He was driven back so hard he lost his grip on Katie, the young woman herself staggering backwards as the Viking's grip on her was ripped free. There would be bruises, she knew, both on her arm and on her... Well, where she hit the ground. But that wasn't important to her at the moment. Only Alistair was important.
Alistair and the Viking crashed to the ground, Ragnar on his back and Alistair on top. Hands and arms struggled with each other for grip and advantage. Alistair dug deep for old wrestling lessons he learned from school when he had tried that sport before taking up tennis. The Viking had no knowledge of these holds, but applied his brute strength to neutralize Alistair's skills. To Katie's horror advantage began to shift inexorably to the Viking. She tried her best to think what to do given her minimal body strength
Finally, Ragnar got a grip on Alistair he couldn't break. The Viking shifted a little for leverage and with the greatest portion of his own strength threw the younger man off of himself. The effort though took most of his energy and though he was free of Alistair, who was lying on his stomach a short distance away breathing hard, Ragnar was not of a mind or ability to immediately take keen advantage of his freedom. Most importantly, he had no idea where his sword had gone when it was driven from his hand by the force of the collision.
Quickly Ragnar glanced around trying to find his weapon. He found it being held in Katie's tight grip. Katie had picked it up shortly after it flew out of Ragnar's hand, but had stood back in fear that if she wielded it as they wrestled she might harm Alistair accidentally. Ragnar slowly, even painfully, rose to his feet looking back and forth at Katie and at the now also rising Alistair.
"Give sword," he growled at Katie in his clipped, accented English. Katie shook her head. She quickly glanced at Alistair to see if he would be able to help. Alistair was on his feet now, anger mostly drained, looking back and forth from Katie to the now slowly advancing Ragnar. It was then they all heard it-that lighthearted little laugh which Alistair first heard in the cottage when encountering St. Eanflæd. It came not once, but twice. Even Ragnar paused to consider where it came from and from whom. That pause was just enough for Alistair to be reminded of something and a thought of just how to take advantage of it and of Ragnar.
"Katie," he said calmly. "Give him the sword."
"Alistair! NO!" Katie cried out in protest. "I won't do it!"
"Give him the sword, please, Katie."
"Alistair!" This time there was a hint of tears and pleading.
"Don't worry so much, Katie. I know what I'm doing."
Ragnar snickered. He held out his hand. "Katie, give sword," he said with a sardonic grin. "He say give, you should give sword."
Alistair nodded. "That's right. Do it, Katie, please."
Katie swallowed hard. Tears welled up in her eyes. She gave the sword to Ragnar by throwing it on the ground at his feet making him step back a little to avoid the sharp edge of the flying blade. Maybe this was Alistair's plan, to distract the Viking and then attack. She hoped so anyway, but to her dismay it wasn't.
"Pick it up, Ragnar," Alistair invited. Ragnar stared at Alistair trying to fathom the trick. He couldn't detect any, so he quickly glanced down and up again at Alistair and keeping his eyes on the youth, he bent down to pick up the sword. Successful, he gripped the handle tightly in his right hand and began to consider which part of Alistair's body should receive the first blow of his blade. But Ragnar stiffened instead of attacking when Alistair unexpectedly reached into his clothing to retrieve the two daggers he retrieved from the spring. They both looked at the weapons, one with curiousity and the other with desire. The two blades had fused together just like the artifact Katie and Alistair found near the boulder in the clearing in their own time. But the two blades weren't fused by corrosion. They simply adhered to each other now and would not be separated.
Alistair began to laugh. Katie couldn't believe her eyes or ears. Ragnar scowled. "You make jest of me? I kill you." Alistair laughed all the more.
"Ragnar, you blind fool, go ahead and try to kill me."
Taken aback by Alistair's bravado, he threatened even worse mayhem. "I kill girl, then kill you."
What Alistair said next made Katie turn white as a bleached linen sheet. "Sure, why not. Try to kill Katie," he said with what sounded like lack of interest.
Ragnar stared at him. "Coward, you not fight for girl?"
"Would you?"
"Fight for girl, yes, if mine. Fight for the Lady, fight for ring and armband."
"Ahh, the Lady of Northumbria. I met her. Lovely thing." Alistair kept the image of the banshee from his mind to make what he said possible. "The ring and armband, I'm told, are not for you. They are for another man and lady."
"Liar, I kill you for them and then Lady and I will be free."
"Really? I don't think so, Ragnar. You know you can't kill me. You can't kill Katie either."
Katie's eyes, wide with aprehension, followed this conversation not understanding where it was going. Ragnar hesitated. He did not want to admit this as it would take away his eons long advantage. Alistair continued, "Swing your sword if you'd like. Chop off my head. Lop me in half at the waist. It won't matter, Ragnar, because you know we are spirits here and spirits cannot be killed." Somewhere nearby the pleasant musical laugh came again, with a tone of jolly encouragement this time. Alistair began to enjoy the moment at last. "See, you know what I say is true. That's why you haven't struck me a blow with your sword."
Ragnar stared at Alistair a moment more and then began to slowly lower his sword. "Want dagger," was all he could say.
"Of course, come here and take it," Alistair invited. Katie's heart clawed its way to the base of her throat. A reassuring look from Alistair kept her silent. Ragnar put his sword in its scabbard and walked cautiously towards Alistair. He didn't fear the lad as much as respected this opponent who seemed to know so much.
When Ragnar was close enough to reach for it, Alistair held out the fused daggers with his grip on his own dagger and the other dagger's handle to Ragnar's outstretched hand. The daggers came apart easily when both gripped their respective weapon's handle. Ragnar stepped back and crouched as if ready to spring at Alistair, business end of the dagger positioned for a sharp upward thrust.
"Oh for Peter's sake, Ragnar, we've been through this already. You can't kill me!"
Ragnar pursed his lips. Old battle instincts die hard. The boy was right. The Viking stood up again but kept his dagger in his hand. "Want ring and armband." He did not expect the answer which came from Alistair.
"No. They are not for you. Take them and you'll be in this place all the longer, you and the Lady."
"Not true!" Ragnar bellowed. "Way out! Must have!"
Alistair shook his head. "Think, man, think! You've gained them before. You lose them right away making you want to seek them again. Have you ever found the way out when you had them? Never! The ring and armband are not for you! To possess them even for a moment is what locks you in here each and every time!"
"No, not true," argued Ragnar, but it was evident he was unsure.
"Yes, true. Stop seeking the ring and armband. Let me return them to their rightful wearers, and I believe you and the Lady will in time leave this place for doing so."
"We have not done it before. Not do it now," Ragnar said shaking his head.
"And you are still and have been forever here. Try this, Ragnar," pleaded Alistair. "I've met your Lady and she is marvelous when not in her fallen state. An eternity with the Lady would be wonderful for a man like you." Katie's eyebrow over her left eye raised a bit. She would have to ask him about this "Lady" and the circumstances when she had a chance, assuming they survived this gambit. But she didn't have to wait to see the Lady of Northumbria. She came gliding into the clearing dressed and looking, face (and figure) as Alistair had seen her at the beginning.
"Ragnar," she said gliding to his side. "I've been thinking, my love. The young man might be right. We've won the ring or the armband each time and still we are here. We've never lost. Is that what imprisons us, maybe?" She lifted her hand and brushed it lightly against the man's cheek. "Let's try what he says. Let them go. At worst we'll still be here, but we'll be together. At best, we may be in a better place soon. I think it's worth the risk. Please, Ragnar. Let's try it." As she listened to the Lady speak to Ragnar, Katie began to suspect why the Lady made such an impression upon Alistair.
Ragnar paused, looked at Katie, Alistair and the Lady, and decided. "Yah, we try. We do what is asked." He turned to Alistair. "Keep dagger?"
Allistair nodded. "Yes, Ragnar. Keep your dagger. As you separate yourselves from this task, let the separation of the daggers be the symbol of what you have decided this moment." Ragnar looked down at the weapon, and then at Alistair. Both put the weapons away in a proper place in their clothing. The Lady placed her right arm under Ragnar's left arm and wrapped her other arm around it as well to lock him to herself. For the first time ever, Katie and Alistair saw him smile, and both Ragnar and the Lady faded slowly from sight just like the spirits they actually were.
For a moment Katie stood stock still. Then with a whimper of relief and a sudden cry of tearful joy, she closed the distance between herself and Alistair and nearly crushed him in an all out hug, followed by a stunning kiss on his lips far surpassing anything offered by the Lady of Northumbria, at least in Alistair's well-experienced opinion. "I love you," she blurted out after briefly separating her lips from his. "Did you mean what you said about 'mine forever?'"
"I did, Katie. Every bit of it," he answered when he could finally catch his breath. And that earned him another kiss, even better than the first. Thusly occupied, they didn't notice at that particular moment that the foggy mist which had obstructed their view of things for so long had dissipated. Clearly in view when they chose to look, only a short distance and rise away, was the Cave of St. Cuthbert, their long sought destination.
[This message has been edited by Civis Romanus (edited 12-24-2009 @ 01:28 PM).]