Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Please don't sue me I'm poor.
Athelstan was tired and hungry ten minutes ago but now he was tired, hungry and running for his life. Two thugs had tried to rob him but he didn't have anything on him so they began chasing him. He didn't know where he was going but anywhere was better than with those two. He just wished he could shout for help.
Ragnar wished his brother would do his chores once in awhile. What was the point of paying him if he didn't work? He wiped the sweat off his forehead and went to head back inside when he saw three people run into his back alley. Curious he followed.
Athelstan had made a grave mistake. He'd run into an alley that had a dead end and now he was trapped. He looked behind him and saw the men closing in on him.
"End of the line kid" one said
"Why don't you spread your legs for us and we'll let you go" the other laughed
Athelstan pressed himself against the brick wall and covered his face with his hands. He knew he was a dead man.
When Ragnar looked down the alley he saw two men advancing on a much smaller man. He was not going to let something like this happen outside his establishment.
"Causing trouble are we?" he said to the men sarcastically. They turned around and sneered at him.
When Athelstan heard another man's voice he peeked from behind his fingers and saw the third man.
"Why don't you just walk away and leave us to are business" one of the thugs said
"You call attacking someone business? I don't want any trouble to happen outside of my business. It looks bad when the police come snooping around. Why don't you just leave?" Ragnar said
Athelstan couldn't believe his ears. This other man must have a death wish. It was two against one.
The two thugs were not prepared to leave so easily "Looks like we'll have to take of you first" one said and then both of them dashed towards him.
Ragnar was a skilled fighter unlike the two men, this was going to be a easy fight. Ragnar began to beat the men and as he guessed it was easy.
Athelstan watched as the third man beat up the other two men with ease. The small one of the two decided he had, had enough and ran away. The bigger man however continued to fight. The third man was doing good until he got punched in the back of the head and then a knife was pulled out. Athelstan's eyes widened when he saw the knife, he didn't want the other man to get stabbed so he did the only thing he could think off he was going to grab the man's arm. He knew it was foolish but it was the only thing he could do.
When one of the men ran away Ragnar smirked at his imminent victory. He was about to hit the thug in the stomach but was caught off guard and was hit in the back of the head. He fell to his knees and rubbed his head. He had to get back up quickly but when he looked at the man he saw a knife in his hand. But then he was even more shocked when he saw the boy who was cowering in the corner jump on the thugs back and grab at his arm.
When Athelstan jumped on the thug he tried to knock the knife out of his hand and failed.
"You little shit" the thug said. He knocked Athelstan off him and slapped him across the face.
Athelstan fell to the ground and felt his face burning where he had been hit.
While the man was distracted by the boy Ragnar took his chance to get back to the fight. He knocked the knife out of the thugs hand and continued to beat him up. After several punches and kicks the thug decided to run and Ragnar let him go.
Ragnar laughed bitterly and wiped blood away from his nose. When he remembered about the boy he found him sitting on the dirty ground holding the side of his face. The kid had got some balls to go jumping on that thugs back like that. He approached the boy and held out his hand. The boy moved away from him, afraid obviously.
"Easy now. I'm not gonna hurt you. Let me help you up" Ragnar said holding out his hand again. The boy hesitated before he grabbed on and let him pull him up "There now said I would help" he smiled, the boy didn't smile back. Ragnar noticed the boy was very shaken and his face was a bloody mess "Come on let's get you cleaned up" Ragnar said to him calmly. He tried to take him to his pub but the boy tried to let go of his hand.
Athelstan didn't know if trusting this man was a good idea. He had saved him true but he knew he should not go anywhere with strangers. He tried to pulled away from the man but the man kept a firm grip on him.
Noticing the boys distress Ragnar tried to calm him down "Calm down I won't hurt you" he pointed to a wall to his right "This is my pub, The Shield and Hammer. My wife helps me run it. We're just going to go inside and clean up your face" Ragnar explained. He held onto the boys hand in a comforting way, like he did with his kids.
The way the man was holding his hand seemed to calm Athelstan down and despite his instincts telling him to run he followed the man into the pub. The pub smelled of various types of booze and cigarette smoke. There were a few people in the pub, men and women who were highly intimidating. They looked like some kind of biker gang dressed in leather and covered in tattoos. It made Athelstan want to run out the door.
Ragnar felt the boy shaking again which did not surprise him, his friends were scary.
"What happened to you?" Erik asked
"I'll explain later. Where's Lagertha?" Ragnar asked
"She's upstairs sorting out the washing" Erik replied. Then he noticed the person Ragnar was holding "Who's the kid?" he asked
"I'll explain later" Ragnar replied and walked towards the stairs that led upstairs.
Athelstan felt everyone's eyes on him, so he tried to tuck himself behind the man as much as he could. He was led up stairs and into a small room. There was a bed, a chair, desk and a small set of drawers it was a bit cramped but it felt comfortable. He was told to sit on the bed and wait, so he did.
Ragnar left the boy in the room while he went to get his wife. He found her in their bedroom folding one of his shirts "Lagertha" he said. She turned around and was horrified with his appearance.
"What the hell happened to you?" she asked
"I'll explain in a minuet just grab the med kit and bring it to the spare room" he said and left. He went back to the spare room where he had left the boy. He found him still sitting on the bed, he sat next to him and smiled "So what is your name?"
His name? How was he supposed to tell him his name?
"My name is Ragnar Lothbrok. Will you tell me your name?" Ragnar asked again. The boy stayed quiet.
When Lagertha entered the room her eyes were drawn to the boy her husband was sitting next to "Who is he?" she asked
"Don't know his name but his face needs to be cleaned. I'll tell you what happened while you take care of him" Ragnar said
She slightly glared at her husband but set to work on helping the boy. She sat on the opposite side of the boy and opened up the medical kit. She poured some disinfectant on a cloth and said "This may sting a little but try to hold still alright"
Athelstan watched her careful as she moved the cloth closer to his face. As soon as it touch his cut he recoiled and hissed.
"I said it would sting" she said. She rubbed it carefully over the wound, felling the boy twitch every time it touched him "So what happened?"
"He was being chased by two dick weeds and he ran behind our alley. I followed them and told them to politely piss off and they attacked me. I fought one off but the other one got the drop on me. He hit me in the back of the head knocked me to the ground. Next thing I knew he pulled out a knife. Then the kid here jumps on his back and tries to grab the knife. He didn't manage to do it unfortunately and got smacked in the face for it. I managed to chase off the other thug and then I brought him here" Ragnar explained
She looked the boy in the face and said "You don't look like the type who gets into trouble. You also don't look like the type that would do something so brave either. My name is Lagertha. What is your name?"
He opened his mouth and mimed his name but no words came out. He couldn't answer her.
"You might want to speak up" Ragnar laughed
Athelstan tried again and failed. He pointed to his throat and hoped they would get the massage.
"You're thirsty?" Ragnar asked
No, well yes he was but that wasn't what he was trying to say. He point to his throat again and mimed his name.
Lagertha understood "You can't speak, can you?"
Athelstan nodded his head yes.
Ragnar felt sorry for the boy how was he suppose to communicate with them? Oh wait he knew "I'll go get a pen and some paper" he said and ran to get the items.
Lagertha rolled her eyes and continued to clean the boys face "That was a brave thing you did to help my husband. You have my thanks" she said. The boy stared at her quietly. Despite the dirt on his face see could see him blushing.
"I got some" Ragnar said as he came back in the room "Here you can tell us your name now"
Athelstan took the paper and pen and wrote his name. He handed back and watched the confusion on Ragnar's face.
"A the l stan?" Ragnar said confused
Athelstan shook his head meaning he was wrong. When Ragnar failed to pronounce his name for the third time he took the paper back and spelled how to pronounce his name and handed it back.
"Athelstan?" Ragnar said
Athelstan nodded his head and smiled.
"Athelstan? Never heard that name before. It's nice" Ragnar said
Athelstan smiled shyly and avoided all eye contact.
"All done. You're next Ragnar" Lagertha said
"I can wait a little longer. Let's see about getting Athelstan a bath and washing his clothes" Ragnar replied
Athelstan protested immediately by writing 'I'm fine and I don't want to be a bother'
"You're not a bother and besides your filthy" Ragnar said
"Do you have somewhere to go?" Lagertha asked
He used to but not anymore. He couldn't tell them that they might asked questions or worse take him back there. He wrote on the paper 'No'
They both looked at him sadly and Lagertha said "That settles it then we'll get you a bath and some clothes and you may stay here for the night"
Athelstan wrote on the paper 'No I can't. It would be too much trouble'
"No it's not and where will you go? Will you sleep on a park bench? What if those thugs are still out there?" Lagertha pointed out
Athelstan's felt his body go ridged. What if they were still out there? And he didn't want to sleep on a park bench. But he also didn't want to cause an problems. What should he do?
"Come on I'll show you were the bath is" Ragnar said he grabbed Athelstan's hand took him took the bathroom.
Athelstan dropped the pen and paper and could no longer protest. He was taken to a nice bathroom, he liked the peach coloured walls.
"Let's run the bath shall we?" Ragnar said turning on the water and adding some bubble bath. When the bath was done he told Athelstan to put his clothes in the basket and enjoy the water. He shut the behind him to give Athelstan some privacy.
Athelstan stared at the bath confused. He dipped a finger in to test the water temperature, it was perfect. He shed his clothing and put them in the basket. He carefully entered the bath and relaxed. The hot water felt so nice and the bubbles were fun to play with. He scooped some bubbles up and blew on them scattering them in every direction.
Meanwhile down stairs Lagertha was having stern words with her husband "I don't like having a stranger in our house with us"
"Oh come on Lagertha, have a heart. He's homeless and he's a mute. How's he suppose to survive out there. And you invited him, so what's the problem?" Ragnar said
"Yes I did but only because he saved you from being stabbed. I felt like I owed him something" she replied
Ragnar sighed. Poor boy he wondered what his story was "You're not going to kick him out in the morning are you?" he asked
She looked at him and said "Maybe. He shouldn't out stay his welcome"
Ragnar looked a little disheartened by this. Maybe they could find him somewhere to stay. After his wounds were tended to he went back up stairs to check on Athelstan and grab his clothing. He knocked on the bathroom door and said "Athelstan?" and waited for an answer.
Inside the bathroom Athelstan was having fun blowing bubbles. He ducked his head underwater and blew more bubbles. Because he was underwater he never heard Ragnar knocking on the door.
When Ragnar didn't get a reply he tried again "Athelstan?" there was no answer. He opened the door slightly panicked and saw Athelstan's head come out of the water. It sounded like he was giggling. Ragnar was relieved that Athelstan hadn't drown in the bath. He watch Athelstan scoop up some bubbles and blow them into the air, giggling more. Had he never had a bubble bath before? He was acting like a child. Ragnar was amused "Athelstan" he said
Athelstan turned around and looked at Ragnar. He gasped and tried to cover himself.
Ragnar laughed at Athelstan's embarrassment "We're both men you know. No need to cover up" Athelstan didn't uncover himself and Ragnar knew he was making him uncomfortable "I'm gonna take your clothes to be cleaned. I'll be back later with some others you can borrow" Athelstan nodded and Ragnar left.
Ragnar put Athelstan's clothes on top of the washing machine and got the washing soap out. Lagertha picked up Athelstan shirt and wrinkled her nose "These are clothes? There more like rags" she said
"I'll led him some of my pyjamas and underwear to wear for bed" Ragnar said "You know he was really amused by the bubble bath, he was acting like a child"
"Was he? How odd" she said
"I thought it was cute" Ragnar smiled. He put Athelstan's clothes in the wash and went to his room. He found an old pair of pyjamas and boxers for Athelstan to wear. They maybe a bit big but they would have to do. He went back upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door "Athelstan?" he heard a startled noise from the other side of the door "I'm coming in" he said before opening the door.
He Athelstan was still in the bath and all the bubbles were gone "I found you some pyjamas to wear" he said and grabbed a towel "Time to get out" Athelstan seemed to whine at this but Ragnar insisted "Come on now, you need to get dry" Athelstan sighed and stood up. Ragnar looked away to give him some decency. The towel was taken from his hands and he looked. Athelstan had wrapped the towel around his waist and appeared to be waiting for Ragnar to say something.
Ragnar smiled and grabbed another towel. He started to dry off Athelstan's hair and wondered how old Athelstan was "How old are you Athelstan?" he asked. Athelstan held up ten fingers and then held up seven. Ragnar understood "Your seventeen? I thought you were younger" Ragnar said. He seemed like an adult but acted like a child "Can you dry yourself off?" Ragnar asked. Athelstan nodded and dried himself off. Ragnar handed him the pyjamas and boxers "Put these on. They maybe a bit big but they'll have to do" he turned around and let Athelstan get changed.
He felt a tap on his shoulders and turned around. Ragnar was surprised at how cute Athelstan looked in his clothes. They were a bit oversized and made him look younger. Ragnar wanted to hug him "Feel better?" he asked.
Athelstan mimed something and Ragnar remembered that he couldn't speak. He grabbed Athelstan's hand and led him out of the bathroom.
Lagertha who was waiting outside smiled slightly when she saw Athelstan dressed in Ragnar clothing, he looked cute. They took him back to the spare room and Ragnar said "This well be your room for the night, ok"
Athelstan pointed to the bed and then himself,
"Yes, you'll be sleeping here" Lagertha said
Athelstan smiled and sat on the bed, he picked up the pillow and hugged it close to his chest.
Ragnar smirked at him and sat next to him "We'll be getting up early tomorrow to take the kids to schools. You join us for breakfast alright?"
Athelstan nodded and lied down still hugging the pillow.
"Night Athelstan" Ragnar said
Athelstan mimed what looked like good night as Ragnar and Lagertha left him.
Ragnar and Lagertha settled down in their own bed and Lagertha told Ragnar "You are getting attached"
"So are you. I see how you smile at him" he replied
"There is someone out there that is probably looking for him" she said "Tomorrow we will find information on him"
"What if there is no one?"
Lagertha thought about it and only said "We'll see what happens"
They both settled down for night and wondered what would happen in the morning.