Sabha's Angel

The night was long, dark, and cold. The chill surrounded Sabha all night long. No matter how she longed to fall asleep to forget all that had happened, the cold denied her peace. The fear of the night began to creep over her. Fear had overtaken her all night. The fear of being awoken by your mother in a panic. The fear of strange men pulling your hometown apart. And the fear of watching your mother pick up your father’s ax and tell you to run without her. She recalled the last thing she said. Hide in the woods and I’ll come to find you. Sabha clung tight to the fur coat her mother had given to her. Grateful for the sense of warmth.

Sabha was hardly six years old. Yet she knew what had happened. She remembered her father speaking of raids that have been happening across the coast. They grew ever more ambitious and violent. Sabha’s father was confident that Húsavík was too large for a clan to conquer. He told Sabha not to be afraid. He told her that they would always be there to protect her. The fear then returned to Sabha and she could not hold back the tears.

Suddenly Sabha heard something moving through the brush not far from her. She held her breath. She knew of the wolves that roamed the woods. Her mother would warn her with stories. Stories of children who played too long in the woods at night.

Then she saw it. Its pelt blended with the snow and wood. It crept through low branches and roots. It was slowly making its way in her direction. Sabha was frozen in fear. She Had never been this afraid in all her life. She heard the sharp intake of breath. Then its head turned and peered right at her. In the dull moonlight, she could still make out its eyes and teeth. It snarled at her. A deep terrifying sound. It lowered its front legs, eyes fixed on her. Time stood still for a moment. The cold was gone along with the terror of the night. All that remained was Sabha and the wolf. With a burst of speed the wolf charged toward her. Sabha could not resist the screams of terror from her mouth. Sabha closed her eyes and covered her head.

Then the world beneath her shook. An explosion of dirt and snow showered Sabha. She dared not look up. She could not tell what had happened. Was it over? She could not remove her arms from her face. The air suddenly became hot. As if she were home again sitting by the hearth. Was she dead? Had the gods come down to spare her?

A few moments went by and she still had not been attacked. She decided to peek her eyes ever so slightly above her arms. The moonlight shone down through the trees. Then she saw it, a hulking beast. It had the skin of a snake and was as large as a house. Its scales were as white as the snow. Sharp spines covered its back and legs. She could not hold back her tears any longer. Sabha began to cry.

The beast’s head reared up from its meal as it heard Sabha’s hushed cries. She held her breath. And in a single moment, the beast was gone. Sabha looked around the forest, afraid of where it had gone so fast. It was there one instant and gone the next. She sat still for many minutes. The air around her was still very warm. And with that warmth Sabha felt safe once more. Safe enough to continue crying. She sat with her arms wrapped around her head still. She cried for her home and her parents. She cried because of her unfortunate situation. She cried for her fear of the unknown.

Then the warmth around her grew slowly and once again she heard movement in the woods near her. She lifted her head and still saw nothing. The moonlight before her shimmered as if the water of a still lake had been disturbed. Through the shimmering light, the beast appeared once more. A head looked in her direction. It was like nothing Sabha had ever seen. A giant serpent with horns like a goat and teeth like a wolf. On either side of its body were great wings as large as the sails of a longship. Yet despite its imposing size, Sabha did not fear it.

Sabha stood in her little alcove. The beast watched her movements carefully. Slowly she took a step closer. It did not recoil or react. The fear that had so encompassed her mere moments ago had vanished. She took another step forward. She felt something new as she looked at the beast. Courage built up within her. She could see its eyes. They were nothing like hers but they carried knowledge and emotion. She took a few more steps. The beast was several times taller than she. It craned its neck down to watch her approach. Finally, she was close enough to touch its front leg. She reached out and wrapped her arms around the massive limb. The scales beneath her face and hands felt as hard as stone, yet they were very warm. The beast did not move as she held on. Then feeling safe in the warmth, Sabha continued her crying.

The dawn soon broke and the cold night air retreated out to sea. Sabha awoke still holding on to the paw of the beast. However, when she opened her eyes she saw nothing. Her hands were held in the air. She could still feel the scales beneath her hands. Confused, she began to lift herself to her feet. As she moved the light below her shimmered once again. Soon enough the beast appeared all around her. Its wing was over her. Its tail and head encircled her. She couldn’t help but feel like she was being embraced by her mother all night long. She wondered if the gods had sent an angel to save her.

As she stood to her full height she still felt minuscule when compared to the beast. The large wing slowly raised up from above her head. The winter air swept into her sleeping place and Sabha shivered. The light of the morning sun glistened on the beast’s white scales. Water clung to the beast, and Sabha realized the ground below her was wet. She looked at the alcove where she hid and saw that it had been covered in snow. Had her angel not protected her that night, she would have been covered by the deadly cold.

She looked around the woods and tried to figure out where she was. She didn’t know how far she had run from the town. She simply ran until she could no longer hear the cries. She never looked back. She simply ran as far away as she could. Then she realized, she had no idea where she was. The beast was looking down at her once again.

Sabha looked back into its eyes and said, “I want to go home.” her voice trembled.

The beast pulled itself off the ground onto its legs. It shook itself dry of the melted snow and the water showered down on Sabha. The beast then reared its head closer to Sabha. Using the end of its nose it pushed Sabha closer to its leg. Sabha climbed up its leg with the help of the beast’s head. She was very careful around the large spines. The beast placed her near the bottom of its neck where she could wrap her arms as far as she could around its neck.

Sabha had seen people ride horses around the town and she had always wanted to ride one. However, this was something entirely foreign. Still, she understood the message, hold on.

She saw the beast's mighty wings lift into the air. The muscles beneath Sabha’s legs contracted and the beast hunched down. With a burst of wings and muscles, the beast launched into the air. The wind swirled around Sabha. She dug her fingers into the scales of the beast. She felt the cold air around her, and she was grateful for the warmth of the scales below her. She peaked her eyes open for a moment and saw the top of the forest below her. They were flying. Sabha never could have imagined what this would be like. She had never seen something so fast in her life. The beast carried Sabha higher and higher into the air.

Sabha glanced down toward the earth. She could see the ocean and the forest. But she recognized nothing. Finally, she saw smoke off in the distance near the ocean. She glanced up and saw the head of the beast peering back at her. Sabha understood what it meant. She readied herself and quickly let go of her tight grip with one hand and pointed to the smoke. She felt the beast slowly turn in that direction.

As they flew over the earth Sabha remembered stories of flying serpents. Powerful creatures that could shape the earth to their will. Creatures that lived as gods on earth. Dragons. That's what she called them. Her mother told stories of gigantic dragons that lived in the sea. Stories of knights sent to kill a dragon so they could marry a princess. Stories of the entire island of Iceland was the body of a slain dragon.

Eventually, Sabha and the dragon approached Húsavík. The Dragon landed in the forest very near the town. Sabha could tell the dragon landed as slowly as it could, yet the impact still hurt her hands and face. Her arms and legs were extremely sore even though they only spent minutes in the air.

She made her way down the leg once again with the help of the dragon’s head. She looked at the buildings near her and recognized them. They weren't far from her home. She stumbled out of the woods and ran to her home where she last saw her mother. Many homes around her were burnt down. Possessions were spread all around the street. No one was outside near the edge of the town. She could still see some sails of longboats in the harbor.

She made it to all that was left of her home. She would not have recognized it if she didn’t know where to find it. The burnt logs lay smoldering in the snow. Sabha fell down to her hands and knees and began to cry. As her hand hit the snow she felt something move under it. She dug a bit and found her father’s ax. Once he had used it in battle. But then it lay untouched on the mantel for years. Sabha could hardly lift it. Still, she cradled it as the last thing she saw her parents hold. Yet they were not here. She was alone.

Suddenly screams rang out near the docks. As she looked she could see the masts of the longships had caught fire. All of them had. The fires raged wildly and would not go out despite the water of the sailors. As she watched the fire consume the ships that destroyed her home a bitter aching filled her heart. She felt as if she should be glad, but she was not. She did not know what to feel anymore.

Then a great wind swirled the air around her and she felt the great shaking of the earth she had felt before. The air grew warm. Sabha looked to where the dragon would be and said, “no more.”

The shimmering came once again and her angel appeared. Its eyes met hers. Sabha felt as if she could see some sadness behind its eyes. Sadness for what she could not tell.

Sabha turned from the dragon to her home and dragged the ax into it. For a moment she felt anger. She lifted the ax as best she could and brought it down onto a log. How could this happen? Why did this happen to us? Tears once again came to her eyes. She turned and looked at the dragon. The anger faded from her. She began to explore the remains of her home. The dragon followed her through the home’s remains.

Sabha could still hear the sounds coming from the docks. Then alarmingly she began to hear angry voices coming closer and closer. The dragon turned in the direction of the sounds, and then back at Sabha. The dragon did not vanish or run. It put itself between Sabha and the sounds. Sabha realized what it was going to do. It would protect her as though she were its child. But that would mean even more people would suffer. So Sabha dropped the ax and ran over to the leg of the dragon. She grabbed onto its scales and started to climb. The dragon turned its head and saw what she was trying to do. So it helped her back onto its back.

Sabha grabbed tight onto the scales once again. The dragon then stooped its head down and picked up her father’s ax. Behind them, she heard shouts of alarm. She turned around and saw several men clad in leather and metal with all manner of weapons. Most looked in awe at the magnificent sight of the beast. But others looked in rage and charged at the dragon with weapons. Their faces were dirty and rough, their hands covered in blood. They knew nothing but battle and all they saw were enemies and glory.

Sabha felt the dragon rear up. Its hind legs lowered and its mouth curled up in a snarl. She knew it could kill them all.

Sabha hit the side of the dragon's neck and shouted, “no. no. Let's go! Get out of here!”

The wings of the dragon lifted high into the air. With a burst of power, the world dropped below the dragon's feet. Several of the close attackers fell over as the earth shook beneath them and the wind torrented above them. Sabha could barely hold on, but she dug her fingers into the scales as hard as she could. Húsavík, the monsters, and the burning boats became nothing below them. The dragon turned toward the nearby mountains.

Sabha’s whole world had changed in a single day. Húsavík and her family were everything to her. She missed them dearly, but now she was flying on the wings of an angel. She felt safe. She couldn’t explain why. She knew she would be safe. She had an angel to guard her.