Ragnar addressed the crowd as he pulled the Sword of Kings from its sheath and shouted, "You all know how this works! If you want to be King, you must kill me." He approached a man and held the Sword out to him, bowing his head. "Take it." When he did not, he asked again and again but no reaction. "No one? Really?" This made Ragnar drive the Sword into the ground. Looking right at his sons, he demanded to know, "Who wants to be King?!"
He stormed right in front of Sigurd to question him. "What about you, Sigurd? Do you want to be King?" Having no response, he moved to Ubbe. "Do you want to be King, Ubbe? Kill me and you are King." Ragnar placed his hand on Ubbe's back and called out, "King Ubbe!" with a smile before slapping Ubbe's face. "What are you waiting for?!" He hit Ubbe again. "Are you afraid?" he seethed. "Be a man."
Ragnar scoffed a chuckle as he moved away from Ubbe to touch Ivar's head and stopped in front of Raevyn. "What about you? Hmm? Don't think I forgot about you. Are you more of a man than my sons?"
"Perhaps," Raevyn answered, making Ragnar chuckle. "But I still won't kill you."
Ragnar's chuckling stopped and he narrowed his eyes at her before turning and walking away.
Raevyn thought this would be it but quickly changed her thinking when Ubbe gripped his sword and started walking towards Ragnar. She had no idea what to expect from this. When Ragnar turned around, stared at Ubbe for a few moments, then hugged him, Raevyn let out a deep breath of relief.
The tension in the air was quick to fill again when Bjorn made his way through the crowd. With crossed arms, Bjorn looked over his father to size him up in a way before asking, "Why did you come back?"
Clearly this was a conversation not to be had in the middle of the marketplace, and thus went elsewhere.
Raevyn was asked by Ragnar to join him and his sons as they went into the woods to speak away from prying eyes and ears. Raevyn sat on the ground beside Bjorn, as far away from Sigurd as possible.
Bjorn took lead in speaking with Ragnar. "It would appear you have another son. His name is Magnus. His mother is Queen Kwenthrith and he lives in King Ecbert's villa in Wessex."
The whole time Bjorn was telling him this, Ragnar laughed. "Ah, who told you that?"
"A warrior who was fighting in Wessex," Bjorn replied.
Ragnar picked up from there. "And he was the one who told you about the settlement." Upon seeing Bjorn nod, he continued to speak. "I came back because I wanted to see what has become of my sons." He stood from his seat at the base of a large tree with a creak and a groan.
Bjorn was not impressed by his statement. "And?"
"And," Ragnar mocked his tone before answering, "I am going to England. And I thought that you all might like to join me." He inhaled sharply. "What do you say, Hvitserk? Ubbe? Sigurd?" Ragnar looked at Raevyn and grinned, "Raevyn?" They all answered 'no' in their own ways. Ragnar could even see what Bjorn's answer would be.
Ragnar turned back to the tree and sat with a heavy sigh. "I can see in your eyes that the answer is also no, Bjorn."
Bjorn held up a rolled piece of cloth. "This is why. This is part of a map of the Roman Empire. I found it in Paris. In this map is the Mediterranean Sea." He got up and placed the map on Ragnar's lap. "And around that sea are many wonderful people and places and towns. I want to go there!" He swiped the map away from Ragnar and returned to his seat.
Ragnar leaned forward and exhaled deeply. "So, how far along are you with your plans?"
"Floki is building the boats," Bjorn informed him. "Hvitserk has agreed to come with me, along with King Harald and his brother. And Raevyn."
This was the first Sigurd had heard of this and he was clearly not happy about it. "You are going with Bjorn? Without even asking me?"
"I don't need to ask your permission," Raevyn shot back. "We are not married yet."
Ragnar waved his finger between the pair of them and laughed. "The two are you are getting married? I wouldn't have guessed that in many years." Getting back to the topic, he looked at Ubbe and Sigurd. "Why are the two of you not going with your brother?"
Ubbe was the one who answered. "Kattegat has changed since you went away. It is a major trading center in the region. And many other Kings we know regard it with envy. We want to stay and protect our mother."
Ragnar leaned back against the tree, saying, "You are right to think of family."
Bjorn stood up to leave and his brothers went with him. Raevyn stayed put for a little longer because there was something she wanted to say to him. She stood up and walked over to Ragnar. "You never should have left me with Aslaug. You should have taken me with you or – or something! Now Aslaug controls my life and dictates who I am to marry…"
Ragnar cut her off there. "You are not your father's daughter if you let anyone take control over your life."
Raevyn was taken a bit aback by that comment. "Excuse me?"
Ragnar stood up with a groan before he answered. "Your father never let anyone control his life. He stayed true to his own until the end." He placed his hand on Raevyn's shoulder. "If you let anyone, even the Queen, try and control you then you have no right to call yourself the daughter of Athelstan. This is your life, Raevyn. Live it as you wish or don't live it at all."
Raevyn sat quiet at the evening meal while the brothers told Ivar about their conversation with Ragnar. At the end of it, Ivar summed up what he heard, "So, father wants to go to England. Why do you not want to go with him?" When no one answered, he turned to his brother. "Ubbe?"
"You know why. Now shut up," Ubbe answered and went back to his meal.
Ivar was not done with this topic of conversation. "Is it the same for you, Sigurd? Or are you afraid of being seasick?" He was most certainly mocking his brother with that question.
"I am not afraid of anything, brother" Sigurd retorted as he pressed the tip of his knife into the table.
"Not even me?" Ivar wanted to know and smirked in amusement when he did not answer. His attention was then brought to the slave girl who asked if he wanted more ale. He thought this was a perfect opportunity to drive a wedge into the impending marriage between Raevyn and Sigurd. Raevyn was firmly loyal whether or not she wanted to be, so to find out Sigurd was not just might do the trick.
So, when the slave woman went to pour his ale he reached his hand around and grabbed at her backside as a way to rile Sigurd up. Unfortunately, for the moment, Ubbe was the one who came to the woman's defense.
Ubbe did not like what he was seeing. "It is wrong to treat her that way."
"Why are you being so polite?" Ivar questioned. "She is just a slave. You all just want to have her." He looked over to Sigurd and pointed at him. "You, too, Sigurd." Ivar smirked to himself when he saw how quickly Raevyn looked at Sigurd then.
Aslaug had a feeling of what Ivar was up to and wanted to put a stop to it before it got any further. She was well aware that Raevyn had no love for Sigurd, but she had her reasons for wanting Raevyn to marry her son. "Ivar," she said to her youngest in a warning tone, but the way he said, "Mother", in reply simply made her smile.
Unlike Aslaug, Raevyn was not smiling because if Sigurd had ever done anything with that slave then she would have nothing to do with him. If you were promised to someone or wed to them, then being only with that person was a firm belief of hers. If he had strayed, no matter the problems between them, then she would end the arrangement between them no matter the consequences.
Raevyn had a lot on her mind so she spent a good part of the night in the blacksmith's shop working on a sword of her own design. The Smith showed her the basics when she was younger and took to it like a baby to their mother's milk, so he kept allowing her to return and even use the shop while he wasn't there because he knew working there was what she needed to do when she felt she had nowhere else to go.
Raevyn was just clearing the things away when Bjorn came into the shop with the greeting, "I thought I would find you here."
"Everything alright?" she asked as she set some tools aside.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Bjorn sat down on a stool and gestured for her to do the same. "Do you still want to sail with me to the Mediterranean Sea or would you rather go to England with my father?"
Raevyn sat down in confusion because she had no idea where this was coming from. "Why are you asking me this? Do you not want me to go with you?"
"That is not what I said," Bjorn countered, and was unable to speak further because Raevyn instantly interjected with, "Then why would you ask such a thing?"
Bjorn took a deep breath before explaining himself. "Because, if you went to England you might learn more about Athelstan. If not from my father, then someone else."
Raevyn shook her head with a scoff. "My father was a Christian in England. I have no desire to learn anything about him during his time there."
Bjorn crossed his arms and sighed. "You forget, I knew your father when he was Christian and I grew to love him in spite of it. My love for Athelstan is why you are so much like a sister to me. I want the best for you, Raevyn."
Suddenly she had a feeling they weren't talking about her father anymore. "What else are you trying to say, Bjorn?"
Bjorn stood and placed his hands on Raevyn's shoulders, looking her square in the eye. "Sigurd is my brother, and I love him, but he is not the best for you." He had said all he needed to say so he kissed the top of her head and left her to think over his words – which she did.
Raevyn was invited by the brothers to join them at their training spot in the woods. They set up targets for practice, dummies to use their swords upon, and other things of the like. She happened to arrive before them and took advantage of the opportunity. With a bow and quiver of arrows, she climbed up a nearby tree out of sight and waited.
The brothers finally arrived and got settled into what they wished to practice. Sigurd and Hvitserk sparred with each other while Ubbe and Ivar took to their bows and fired at targets. This is the moment Raevyn chose to make her presence known. When Ivar notched another arrow, she did the same and fired at almost the exact same moment as he did from where she was crouched in the tree.
It took Ubbe and Ivar a moment to process the presence of the extra arrow but Ubbe looked up and finally spotted her. Raevyn waved down at them before making her descent. As soon as she reached the ground, Sigurd made a sparring attack with his axe. She blocked it with her bow and kicked him back. Hvitserk tossed her one of his swords which she caught with ease and started sparring right back with Sigurd.
Their spar didn't last for long due to Ivar shooting an arrow right between them. Raevyn found amusement in there but Sigurd did not. He retaliated to his brother actions by throwing his axe, knocking the cup of ale out of Ivar's hand.
Ivar responded right back in a similar fashion but, unlike what Sigurd had done, he aimed so close to Sigurd that he drew blood.
Raevyn thought the brothers were going to try and kill each other if this continued so she stepped between the brothers and held out her fingers to them both, waving them in a 'no-no' manner. She looked at the brothers to make sure her point was made and that they were not about to kill one another before getting back to what they came there for – to practice.
The following day she was given a message saying that Sigurd wished to meet her in a particular clearing in the forest. She assumed it was to be a possible location for the wedding so she obliged and went. Little did she know was the message was sent by Ivar who knew what Sigurd would be doing in that clearing on that day and with who.
Raevyn walked through the forest and paused when she came close to the clearing because she heard something. She quietly proceeded closer and when she rounded a tree her blood started to boil. Within the clearing was Sigurd with that slave woman Margrethe.
"So this is what you wanted me to see?!" Raevyn called out to Sigurd, making him quickly move off of the slave and cover himself.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded to know.
"You sent a message for me to come and you ask me that?!" Raevyn shouted back. "Our arrangement is over, Sigurd. I want nothing to do with you." She turned her attention to the terrified looking Margrethe. "I have half a mind to slice up that face of yours but since I have never loved him, I will refrain from doing so."
Sigurd got up and went after Raevyn as she stormed off. "You have no right to end our arrangement. My mother…"
"I don't care!" Raevyn shoved him back. "We were promised to each other and you go and bed her! That promise meant something to me whether or not you actually did. This gives me every right to end it and if you feel the need to run to your mother then do it. She can try to punish me all she wants." Raevyn got right up in Sigurd's face as she hissed, "I would rather marry Floki's brother than every marry you."
Everyone knew of the disdain she carried for Floki and his family so that statement made it clear there was no way on Earth she would ever marry Sigurd, and yet his anger blinded him of that. Sigurd grabbed her arm and held it tight. "You are to be my wife whether you like it or not."
Raevyn answered this by punching his square in the jaw. "You are not listening to me, Sigurd. No I am not." With that, she walked away and did not look back. Sigurd could go back to what he was doing with Margrethe or not, she didn't care because in that moment she felt something she hadn't in a long time…Free.
Ivar, who set this whole thing in motion, watched and listened from behind a boulder not too far away feeling very pleased with himself. He told Raevyn one day she would be his and he intended to keep his word.
There was a small cabin in the woods that belonged to Raevyn's parents. It was a place they would go to escape the goings on in Kattegat when they wanted to be alone. This is where Raevyn found herself now. She did not want to back to her quarters at the Hall because Aslaug would be there and she was not ready to face her yet. Raevyn wanted to enjoy at least one night of freedom without having to fight to keep it.
Raevyn was lighting some candles when there was a sound coming from the door, like someone trying to enter. She quickly grabbed her sword and stood ready just in case it happened to be Sigurd and sighed when Ivar came crawling in.
"Expecting someone else?" he teased as he closed the door behind him.
"I wasn't expecting anyone at all," Raevyn answered, putting her sword away. "What are you doing here?"
"You were not at evening meal," Ivar explained as he climbed onto the bed in the center of the room. "I went to check on you in your quarters and you were not there so that led me here. I remember this place from when we were children. You would hide here to get away from my mother."
Raevyn sat on the bed beside him. "And you would always find me but never tell the truth as to where you did."
Ivar scoffed lightly. "It was nothing."
"It meant everything," Raevyn countered, looking at Ivar then turned away to ask, "Did Sigurd speak to your mother?"
"About the arrangement being broken?" Ivar nodded as he spoke. "He said it was his idea, but I have a sense that is not true. My brother is merely protecting his pride, hm?"
Raevyn didn't answer that and asked a question of her own. "Is she mad?"
"My mother?" Ivar laughed a bit at that. "Not exactly. She is very adamant you marry one of her sons. Something about your mother being her closest friend, and how she could not control who Anra married but she can control who you do – Being your guardian and all."
Raevyn scoffed incredulously upon hearing that. "So I am free from Sigurd but I am still not free? I refuse to live like this, Ivar. I would rather die than live like this any longer."
Ivar did not like hearing her speak in such a way. "I have an alternative," he began and paused long enough to gain her attention and keep it. "Marry me instead."
"This isn't the time for your jokes, Ivar." Raevyn wasn't taking him seriously. She never did when he spoke like this, always thinking it was being said in jest.
"I am not joking." He almost sounded offended at the thought. "I told you the Gods would make it so you would be mine." Ivar reached out and placed his hand at the side of her face. "I have wanted you for as long as I can remember. I am not like Bjorn or Hvitserk who see you as their sister. I see you as my equal. I want you as my wife."
Raevyn didn't know what to say, she couldn't find the words. Suddenly she realized she didn't need them. Raevyn brought her lips to Ivar's and kissed him slowly at first then deeper with more longing. She pulled from the kiss long enough to look into his eyes and ask, "Have you ever taken that slave Margrethe to bed?"
Ivar did not break her gaze as he answered her. "No. She never interested me in that way."
Raevyn was pleased to hear his answer. "In that case…yes. Whether or not it pleases your mother."
"I will handle my mother." Ivar smiled wide and pulled her close to him again. It wasn't long after when they removed all clothing obstacles between them and shared the bed with one another well into the night…
End 'Episode' 2
A/N: Hey, Readers! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and sending the inbox messages. This is my third Vikings fanfic so hopefully this one goes as well as the others. Anywho, thanks again and hope y'all enjoy reading! :)
