I. Chapter
The battle was chaotic.
He was a great warrior, he fought in a great amount of battles, but never one like this.
This was different.
It was as if the gods themselves enchanted the battlefield with their magic, and they were just unconscious puppets, moving under their spells with fearless rage.
Rollo could not see Ragnar anywhere, but he did not care what happened to his brother, in that moment all he cared about was himself and his warriors.
Bodies were falling from the wall like raindrops during stormy days, and the sky was grey as if the waters of knowledge could fall from it at any moment.
In that battlefield death and life were not distinguishable, as if they were a unique entity, as if there was no difference between the dead and the living.
Some of Floki' structures were on fire, and he looked around worried, inspecting the structures around his.
And then everything disappeared.
A ringing voice, a woman yelling in a foreign language.
He turned towards the voice, as if it was calling his name, as if it was something for him, and then he saw her.
Standing on that wall was one of the most beautiful visions he ever had, something like a Valkyrie, but real.
She was standing there, she was encouraging her soldiers, she had her hair braided and was unarmed, as if nothing could touch her and she was protected by her own beauty and her own courage. She was light, and yet there was only darkness. He could not hear anything else but her voice, he could not see anything else but her.
Damn the battle. Damn Ragnar and the machines. He needed to reach her.
Rollo looked at the ladder in front of him, his only hope to be close to her, and started to climb it.
When he came to the top he had to fight with soldiers; soldiers that he fought like a bear fighting for his prey.
He looked at her again, she was scared and surprised, and when he killed all the soldiers he made his way towards her.
She did not withdraw. She stood still, staring at him as if he could not harm her.
They looked at each other as if they were not in a battlefield, risking their lives each second. They could not move.
Her chestnut hair, her skin, everything about her was new to him. And another voice came to his ears, Ragnar was yelling "Rollo, turn!". He noticed that the Frankians were throwing giant rocks off the wall. He had to fall into the cold water in order to protect himself, yet he felt that he could not go alone.
He had to take her with him, so he took her in his arms and jumped in the air, only to receive the cold welcoming of the water a few seconds later.
Underwater he could not hear the sounds of battle, nor he could hear Ragnar's voice, he could only see.
Rocks were falling into the water, surrounding him and the young woman. He held her close, starting to swim away from the battle in order to save themselves, or to just save her. Suddenly he felt alive, in a way he had never felt in his life. He was fighting not only for his life, but also for hers. She was a stranger, yet she was now someone to him, and he was fighting for her. He reached one of the boats, the farthest from the battle, and he climbed. He was relieved to see that she was alright, wet and scared but alright.
She said something, but he could not understand what she was saying, so he decided to listen carefully to all the words she was muttering, and ask Sinric the meaning later.
He breathed, looking at the silver sky, remembering the words of the Seer.
"The bear will marry a princess".
Author's space:
Hi, this is my first english fanfiction and my first longfic ever,
so I'm quiet excited to publish this first chapter.
I want to thank you for reading my fanfiction
and I want to thank seersaw for the edit,
hope you've enjoyed.
With love,
Viv.