*********** ATTENTION- please read this authors note*************

To anyone just starting to read this story I'd like to apologize and let you know that I'd you haven't watched season three some of what follows may confuse you, my original plan was to follow season 3 and still is, I did this knowing there would be bumps along my way. I chose not to go into detail and make you all read what was on the television just a few weeks ago. There are some instances where the accounting is first hand but most of them have been displayed in flashback through various cannon characters, that will play a part later on,in some instances I now realize I may have been too vague. So my first three chapters became more of highlight reel of the first few episodes as I tried to get a grasp on how exactly this story would work.I plan to do some work on those first few chapters. And I have changed the first three chapters, at least for now into a three part prologue.

6/11/2015

So this story has been in the back of my mind for awhile or at least a form of it has and a friend encouraged me to get it out there so here you go! Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own Viking's just my OC and her story!

and a special thanks to the one who helped me out and betad this story tonight, thanks so much and I can't even imagine what time what ungodly hour of the morning this must have been for you! You rock my friend!

Allana sat in front of her window, her gaze traveling over her pale reflection in the wavy glass panes before her. Her dark blue eyes drifted over the distorted image of herself looking back at her as her young maid went about the work of plaiting her long dark hair. This chore took much longer now than it ever used to, the hair was intricately woven into its plait only after the delicate circlet of smithed silver was placed upon her head. Carved with images of knot-work this band was a marc of who she was; a sign of her noble birth. The weight of the silver was familiar to her as was the coolness it carried till it soaked up the warmth of her skin. As she sat there and waited for her maid to finish so she could go on her morning ride, her mind wandered.

In the two months since Allana had come to Wessex she'd learned to hate it. Hate may be too strong of a word to describe the way she felt about her knew home, but at times it chafed at her. Part of her longed for the wildness of her baile, but there was always another part of her there to remind herself no matter how much she longed to go home, it wasn't the same. Pulling herself away from the pang of heart sickness, thoughts of home made her feel, she reached out with both hands. She brushed over the soft red linen covering her lap, as if the act of brushing the wrinkles in the fine material away, would make all unwanted feeling's and memories fade also. But it didn't work and soon her stubborn mind returned to thoughts of the juxtaposition between her new life and the old.

She only met her uncle once prior to her fathers death. That first meeting had taken place years ago, it was the only time before the death of her father that she'd ever seen her uncle and cousin. Her Mother passed. Her uncle had crossed the turbulent waters of Irish Sea to pay his last respects to his half sister Elspeth and Allana's memory of him had been of his eyes, kind, if somewhat sad. Her cousin, his memory had always stayed more vivid, tyrannical and authoritarian even at the age of nine. He was a year older than Allana and already a King in the making. He laughed and sneered at a King living in a hut as he called it, Allana still didn't think he was being intentionally cruel, just acting the title lord that he was, but nonetheless it hurt. Her home was far from a hut but since she'd arrived she'd noticed the difference and understood the comment. The villa of King Ecbert was a large, fine structure built of thick cut stone, with its own bath, naked statues and brilliantly painted murals. Her own land had some places such as this, but none she'd seen this grand. The English chose to believe the statues and painting where a product of a race of giants who once inhabited the land, Allana like her uncle, knew these things were left by the Romans long ago.

Her own home, while large had been built of simple field stone and wood. Her father was a northern King so she'd grown up far further north than any Roman villa.

She'd found her cousin much changed from the child she remembered, a man grown with a princess bride of his own. The years had taken away his tyrannical nature, gave him the true makings of a king and the ability to distinguish appropriate comments from cruelness, but he still held that faint glimmer in his eyes that said he felt himself above his poor Irish cousin no matter that she, herself was a princess.

Her uncle, for his part appeared to be the same kind eyed man she'd met as a child. He spoke to her about her mother quite oftenly when she was a child and of the things they'd done together. But even with him the shadow that had followed her since her fathers death hung unspoken and heavy between them. Her father was Christain, as Christian as King Ecbert himself, though not born to it and in the end his mind had started to wander slowly, fading away. Most days he didn't even recognize Allana herself, he seemed to travel back to his childhood. Then the worst came: he'd reverted back to rituals and prayers he'd long since left behind. Even before his death rumor had decided to ignore fact, Allana's father had been a most devout man and his mind had left him, saying simply that he'd never truly converted to Christianity.

The scandal had nearly reached such magnitude that her people wouldn't allow him to be buried on consecrated ground. Even some of his most loyal advisors had questioned the transformation and believed he must have always practiced pagan rites in secret. In the end, the priest that had ministered to Allana's family her entire life deemed him Christain and buried him as such, but the damage had been done and now all that was left was for it to follow her to England. Thankfully, her maid stepped back before Allana's mind could wander any further, saying, "My lady." Allana stood and shook out her sorts as her gaze moved to the young blond woman and she said "thank you Beth." Giving the girl a soft smile of gratitude she walked across the room, picking up her cloak as she went, intent on losing her worries on her ride.