02 Earl Ingstad

It was a cold day in Kattegat, when Earl Ingstad arrived. Spring had begun, but the winter was still fighting on, and a cold wind forced everyone in the town inside.

"Earl Ingstad is here", Thorstein reported to Ragnar, "Inquiring why he has not been accepted as an ally."

"I already told the messenger my reason", Ragnar sighed, "Very well, where is this Earl Ingstad?"

"He wouldn't enter the great hall, until he was accepted as your ally", Thorstein told him, "He chose to remain in the woods instead."

Ragnar and two of his warriors left Kattegat on horses, heading into the woods. In his mind, he was already rehearsing how he would tell Earl Ingstad in no uncertain terms that he and King Horik were no longer in need of an ally.

A lone man was standing in the middle of a small clearing. Ragnar rode towards him, "Earl Ingstad?"

A woman on a white horse came out from under the trees. As soon as he recognized her, Ragnar began to laugh.

"Earl Ingstad, you bear a striking resemblance to my ex-wife", he smiled.

"I feared if I had given you my true name, you might have turned me away", Lagertha explained, "Yet this still seems to have happened."

"Well, you took too long", Ragnar shrugged, "So we found another ally…"

"Who?" Lagertha asked angrily. It had been such a good thought, raiding again with her former husband and her son.

"We reinstated the old agreement with Jarl Borg", Ragnar explained, "He has sworn that we have no more reason to mistrust him…"

"And you believe him?!" Lagertha snorted, "He will betray you at the first chance he gets…"

"I believe him", Ragnar confirmed, "But if you still want to be our ally, you should take it up with the King…"

A few days later, Jarl Borg had taken up Rollo and Bjorn on the offer to join in a sparring match. Now the three warriors were standing bare-chested on the beach outside Kattegat, the waves rolling ashore and washing around their ankles.

For the first match, Bjorn and Borg were fighting together against Rollo. Both of them were carrying axes and Bjorn was also carrying a shield, while Rollo had chosen the - for him unusual - combination of sword and shield.

Bjorn was the first one to attack. He swung his axe and Rollo had to raise his shield to keep it from shattering his skull. Seeing the opportunity, Borg stormed forward, trying to end the fight quickly by striking Rollo in his undefended side.

Rollo moved out of the way, the axe cutting through the empty air only inches away from his skin. Instead of hitting him, it travelled further until Bjorn had to stop it with his own shield.

Bjorn punched his shield forward, hitting Rollo in the side. The large man grunted from the pain, but retaliated by swinging his sword around and forcing Bjorn to duck.

Borg was standing a little sideways, he was trying to get behind Rollo. While Rollo was occupied by Bjorn's attack, he snuck up on the other warrior. Rollo sensed his move somehow, and swung his sword in a wide arc, hitting Borg in the belly.

Thee geatish Jarl went down, splashing into the water. Rollo stabbed his sword downward, aiming for his opponent's head. Bjorn intercepted the blade with his shield, while trying to strike Rollo with his axe.

Rollo punched against Bjorn's shield with his elbow, and as the shield was pushed back, the rim hit Bjorn in the face. Blood was running out of his nose as he staggered back.

The midwives were hurrying around in the room, while Aslaug was covered in sweat. She had been in labor for hours, and slowly her strength began to fade, yet there was no sign of an end to this ordeal. Ragnar was sitting at the edge of the room, biting his nails, unable to give any relief to his wife.

Aslaug shuddered under another contraction. Her eyes flew open and she let out a small, hoarse cry, before they closed again. Everyone in the room knew how her chances were.

"Princess Aslaug", Siggy whispered into Aslaug's ear, "Listen to me: You are on the crossing of two paths. One side is filled with ash and fire and other hellish things. The other one is light, the fjord, your family – if you want to reach them, you have to push this baby out of you!"

Aslaug gave no visible sign that she had heard her friend, yet when another contraction shook her, it seemed as if the head had gotten a bit further out.

Bjorn was blocking Rollo's sword with his shield, while at the same time taking a step back to get out of his uncle's reach. He punched his shield forward, causing the blade to swing away from him. He feinted with his axe and as Rollo raised his own shield, he struck him with the rim of the shield in the side.

Rollo grunted and stumbled a few steps aside, while Bjorn quickly followed up with a chop aimed at Rollo's chest. The older warrior managed to just raise his shield high enough to catch the axe and had to watch out for Borg coming up behind him.

It was Thorunn who ended the fight. With her skirt flying around her ankles, she came running out of the great hall.

"Your father has a new child", she told Bjorn, "A son."

Next to Bjorn, Jarl Borg was breathing heavily.

"I must go and congratulate your father", he smiled, "It is never a bad day to have a son."

The midwives were gone, leaving Aslaug, Ragnar and their newborn son a bit of time for themselves. Aslaug was still covered in sweat, holding her newest child close to her breast. Silent tears were running down her cheeks.

"Your prophecy was right after all", Ragnar had said once he had held his new son for the first time. The baby's legs had been bent in awful shapes, as if Thor's hammer had smashed them. He couldn't help but blame Aslaug, since she had been the one to prophecies she would bear him a monster.

"He will never walk", Ragnar told his wife, "What kind of life could he lead? It is better to put him out of his misery…"

"I know", Aslaug sighed, "But I don't care. He's my son…"

Lagertha was sitting in King Horik's hall, chatting with the Queen while they awaited the arrival of King Horik. Both of them had heard from each other, being famous shieldmaiden, although they had never met before.

"So, how came it to pass that you are now an Earl in your own right?" Queen Gunnhild wanted to know.

"I killed my husband when he invaded me", Lagertha replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Gunnhild looked at her, bewildered for a moment, then broke out in laughter.

Just in that moment, King Horik entered the hall. Lagertha stood up from her chair and greeted him.

"Lagertha was just telling me how she is now an Earl herself", Gunnhild explained, "She's one of the most extraordinary people I've ever met…"

"Indeed, she is", the King smiled, "And if I'm not mistaken, you are here on business as an Earl, rather than fun."

"You're right, King Horik", Lagertha agreed, "I wanted to ask you to accept me as an ally for your raids into Wessex. It has been too long since I last sailed to England…"

"I am sorry to deny you, but we have already found an ally", Horik explained, "I am sure Jarl Borg will be of great help…"

"You chose Jarl Borg as your ally?!" Lagertha asked, "He's not trustworthy and you know that. You should get rid of him as fast as you can…"

"The agreement has been made", Horik shrugged, "We can't go back now. But of course, if you're willing to become the fourth party in this agreement, maybe we could arrange something…"

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A/N: So I hope you like me continuing this story - How is Ragnar going to react to King Horik overriding him?

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