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Twenty-One

The Nations

T he meeting went very well, and now we have a plan and a new home.

The North, The Nations, together as one.

I know not everyone will agree, mainly the dicks who want to rape, torture, and kill, but we need the rules and punishments for those who think any other life is not as important as their own.

They still have free speech and choice, and can do whatever they want, but we have to be able to protect our people. I will fight and die for this, for the right to protect all those children still to come.

Children like Vass would have had.

That Ethan would have had.

That Piper might have.

It’s going to be chaotic tonight, but I thrive on that. There’s a knowing in the air as I head back to get ready after finalising the arrangements for this evening. They know something is coming, but they don’t know what.

I just hope those who choose to leave or break the rules run and run fast, because until the day we die, we will stop them. We will kill those willing to harm others. I’m not perfect, I have blood on my hands, but I know how precious life is, even if I have taken a lot of them.

I’ve killed mad kings and controlling governments, and now I’m ready to show what I have learned from that. We need leadership, control, and yes, even some people to answer to.

I am already psyching myself up for tonight, for the fight that is to come.

Like when I used to be in The Ring, I cannot afford any weaknesses or distractions.

They will be out for blood, and they will notice any hint of vulnerability.

If I show weakness, I die. Tonight, I have to be the Champion, the woman who became queen.

I have to be strong, sure, and confident in what I say.

And I have hope they will listen.

I dress not just like a queen, but like a Berserker. My men help me. They paint my face and dress me in leather pants and a crop top, showing off my brands and scars, and yes, my new wound I got from saving The North.

Piper paints my chest in her pascha colours. She is also dressed as a queen tonight, with her face painted, her hair wild, and her crossbow on.

Dray helps me strap into my two swords, and I add knives as if I am going to battle, which I guess I am. Someone will challenge me, I know that, and I will win.

I have to.

Time to remind them why I’m the Champion, why I’m queen.

When they are done, I look every inch the warrior Berserker Queen. My hair is braided in a style Piper calls Viking bitch. My face is hard and set, my weapons visible. And to it all, I add a crown.

I don’t know where Thorn got it from, I don’t even ask.

He just stands before me with it in his hands.

“It’s time you looked like the queen you are, baby girl.

” He places it on my head securely. It’s black, inlaid with roses and skulls.

It’s beautiful and perfect for a Berserker Queen, and when I look in the mirror, I finally see the woman they all see.

A queen.

One worth fighting for. One worth loving.

I won’t be able to fight in it, but it will have the impact I want, showing them why I am making rules, why I am changing the way we live—because I can, because I fought for us and these lands again and again.

One more fight.

One last time.

“Let’s go, they are waiting,” I murmur, and as a group, we leave the building. The announcement is being held in The Ring. I couldn’t think of a better place to fight for our future. Piper and her men are with us, and Dray is at my side with the other leaders, who are already here and waiting.

Tonight’s the night everything changes, I can feel it in the air. A purpose, a knowledge that this world will never be the same again, no matter the outcome.

We reach The Ring’s entrance, where I can hear them talking as they wait, the conversations nervous as they await our arrival. Tilting my head back, I watch the outside, readying myself for what is to come.

I am surrounded by my family, those who love and support me, and it offers me the strength I need to face this new challenge.

Piper is standing at my side, ready to face the wolves at our door together. My general. She suddenly gasps and reaches up, straightening my crown. “It was tipping.” She grins. “You’ve got this, you fucking badass bitch. Show them who’s boss.”

They all go in before me, and I hear the urgent whispers, the confusion.

So lifting my chin higher, I step inside.

I look at everyone and no one as I stride through their masses.

They part for me. Most pay their respects as I pass, and I keep note of those who don’t.

When I reach the front, I step up onto a raised table to see everyone and so they can also see me.

The other leaders are gathered to my left, my men to my right.

This is going to be harsh, bloody, and will undoubtedly end in death, but it needs to be done.

I run my eyes across the gathered warriors.

They are dirty and bruised, and scarred from the war we just won, but now we are fighting a very different one for the heart and soul of our North.

“I asked for this meeting for a reason. I hate long speeches and beating around the bush, so I will be blunt. I ask you to wait until the end to respond or react.” When no one offers a protest, I begin.

“The way to the throne has been paved by blood and sacrifice, and I will never forget those who brought me here. Who has loved, and where possible, given hope for a better world. One that started with a slave girl.” I run my eyes over the crowd harshly as I raise my voice.

“But this is so much bigger than you or me, this is about more than individuals. This is about The North, about our future, and what kind of legacy and world we want to leave behind for our children…and their children!” I almost scream before quieting.

“We survived by becoming what we needed to be—brutal warriors and survivors—but now we need to adapt again, because this world needs thinkers, inventors, artists, and lovers. It’s our job to bring them back and protect them.

To create something we are proud of…a new world, a new North—The Nations. ”

There are murmurs, but my leaders step forward in support.

I meet their eyes again. “I know what you are thinking, change is scary, but to stay the same is madness. We almost lost our lands! But together, we defeated the threat, and now we need to work together for the best interest of our people. It’s time The North was reborn.

” I swallow nervously, but the support of my men allows for me to carry on under all these eyes and expectations.

“Starting here, with us. One world ended, and in its place, madness took hold, but no longer. Together, we can make this place safe for everyone. That’s why starting now, The North will be known as The Nations.

What that means is all clans will be joined in unity under my leadership.

” I hear some cheers and some roars of anger, but I narrow my eyes.

“Quiet!” I scream, and to my surprise, they do.

“Slavery and the hunting of humans is over, and I have a team of enforcers ready to follow out the wishes of myself and each leader here. This isn’t a dictatorship.

I will lead, but bend to the will of my people.

Each clan will still follow the laws set forth by each leader and will be approved of by the council here today.

We have voted, this is what we think is best for The North.

One North, together at last, governed by those who were selected and fought for their place, following the laws of our people. ”

“Who sets the laws?” one screams.

“What laws?” another roars.

I let them get it out, but they start to get riled up, so I grab my sword and point it at them, and they quiet once again. “We do! We have voted on them. They are as follows. No eating people. No raping. You keep what you kill. No torture. No slavery.”

With each law spoken, I sense the tension rising. We are about to explode. To try and tame a group of warriors will lead to nothing but blood. I have to be willing to die for what I believe in. And I am. I let them see that now.

“Listen to me! I am done bending the knee. I am done quieting my voice. I came from this very fucking place, I spilled my blood on this very soil. When I was just a slave, a man here…he saw something I did not—a woman willing to fight and die for what she believes in, a woman willing to fight for those who can’t.

His death will not be in vain, nor will any of those we have lost along the way.

There has been too much death!” Some nod, others cheer.

“Our new future is built on their bones and sacrifice, and I refuse to let it be for nothing.” I swallow and raise my chin with a smirk, a come at me gesture of a fighter.

“So those who don’t or won’t follow the laws of our new lands set forth today…

I suggest you run. Run fast, run to the fucking south and never come back!

” I scream as I swing my sword in a warning arc.

“Because I will find you, and I will kill you if you ruin our new future. This is our world now! And together, we will start again! For the dead! For The Nations!” I scream.

In unison, like they practiced it, my men and every leader steps forward and slams their feet and hands into their chests. “Long live the Berserker Queen! Long live The Nations!”

It’s quiet for a moment before the crowd erupts. They fight, they scream, and they roar. I see the bloodshed happening already. Factions are dividing, and clans are turning on each other like I knew they would. “Quiet!” I shout, but this time, it doesn’t work.

Dray jumps onto the table next to me. “Fucking quiet, or I will kill you all!” he bellows, the demand so loud, it reverberates around and everyone stills, the threat very real. “Every Seeker who disobeys will die, so listen to my fucking queen or feel the cold steel of my blades!”