Request for Deathsastart007

She had heard the tolling of the bell first, doing her best to get to the bars of her cells window; but she was too weak to stand. Her time away from the water had seen to that; being in the form she was, not good for too long. The young woman choosing instead to lay on the dirty pile of straw, that the men had thrown in, before locking the door.

In truth, she no longer knew how long she had been the captive of the men that worshipped the one God. A part of her not caring, just hoping that death would come for her soon, so that she could escape this awful place.

It was some terrible fate that had brought her to that place. A huge storm churning up the sea and taking her with it; presuming that she must have been smashed against some rocks in the maelstrom, for when she woke, she found herself on a beach with just enough of the sea covering her, to keep her in her true form. Her eyes growing wide, as she realised that she was surrounded by men in odd brown clothes; a scream leaving her lips, as they had captured her, before she could properly get back into the water.

They had called her a demon, a witch, as she had been bound and gagged, before she had been carried away from her home. Told that she was an afront to their God; that she could only be the design of the devil, before she had been tossed into this awful room; kept alive with the barest amounts of sustenance, until it was decided what should be done with her.

Now she could hear something else........something that sounded like metal on metal; she not sure what the men, she had heard call themselves, monks, could be up to, but it was unlike any sound she had heard since she had been held captive on the island. Sitting up as best she could, when yet another noise filled her ears, the sound of wood cracking, the noise of the men praying to their God. Then......oh then had come the shouts, the cries of horror, of fear; the woman dragging her body to the door of her cell. Her blood running cold, as the awful sounds continued. As shouts turned into screams of pain. Doing the only thing she could think of to drown out the fear; her voice, though a little croaker than it normally would be, filling the air until the terror that surrounded her, could no longer be heard.

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Ragnar looked to his brother, to Flóki and Torstein as a strange sound, filled their ears. The noise making the Northmen stop their slaughter of the Christians for a moment. The female singing voice feeling as though it was wrapping itself around them, drawing them, by unseen fingers, to the source. The leader of the raiding party sending the three men out to find the woman from whom it was coming. The moment of quiet, lost, as the slaughter recommenced; Rollo leading the way as the trio searched through the buildings, killing Christians as they went. The three only stopping once they came to the last small building; the singing dying away, as Rollo kicked down the door. Rollo, Flóki and Torstein looking at one another, before looking back to the scene. The woman that lay on the floor next to the barred door, was like nothing that they had seen; yes, she was a little dirty, but underneath the grime, they could all see that she was far too beautiful for any normal woman to be. All of them feeling something stir inside them, as slowly she opened her eyes and smiled up at them. None expecting to hear her beg them to free her, in their own tongue. Flóki shouting for Arne to come and help with the iron door, before she closed her eyes once more.

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All the men in the ship looked at the unconscious female that Rollo, much to Flóki's and Torstein's annoyance, had taken it upon himself to carry onto the boat. Furs laid down so that she was afforded some comfort. Even Ragnar not able to stop himself from staring at the most curious, yet most exquisite thing that he had ever seen.

"Who is she.........?" He demanded to know, as he turned to the monk that he had taken as captive.

"I.......I do not know her name. She would speak to no one. But she is not of this world. The Abbot said that she was a daughter of Satan, a demon herself. We found her one morning on the beach, after a huge storm. She had no legs then........instead........."

"Instead.......?" Torstein pushed, earning himself a glare from Ragnar.

"She......she had a tail......like a fish........." The Christian monk's words causing a murmur to go around the boat. The men moving a little closer, not sure whether to believe the monk's words; not sure that they could all be looking at a Haffrue, a maiden of the sea. All of them jumping back as the beautiful creature suddenly awoke, pulling herself to her feet and allowing her hand to fall into the salty water. All watching in disbelief, as the sea crept its way up her arm and across her skin, in delicate tendrils. Her once dirty and lank hair, now filled with shine and vigour, falling in waves over her delicate skin. The men losing their breath, as the water made its way down to her legs; non able to believe their eyes as the limbs began to change, as they began to morph until all that was left was a great long tail covered in shimmering scales. The woman finally dropping back to the ship; tearing the clothes from her form that she had been forced to don by the monks. A smile coming to her lips, as she saw the three men that had saved her from her cage; nodding in thanks, before she fell back into unconsciousness.