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Part IV: Treasured

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A/N1: I simply had to include Ragnar's touching monologue from episode 2.01, because feels.

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When Gyda senses someone lower themselves onto the sand beside her, she instantly thinks it is Athelstan despite the priest's recent uncanny ability of knowing when she requires solitude. Now is one of those times, and she turns her head to scold him but finds her father instead.

Ragnar glances at her with those azure eyes of his – what others describe as 'unsettling', while Gyda herself has only ever thought of them as beautiful – then shifts his attention to the fjord ahead.

They sit in silence for what seems an age before Ragnar finally speaks.

"I remember when you were small. How you were so lively you could run as swiftly as the wind. You were like quick-silver." He huffs a small laugh and Gyda feels her mouth tug into an answering smile, regardless of her muddled emotions. "But then, before I knew it, you stopped running here and there and everywhere, and you became still."

His gaze is on her once more. Penetrating. "Your stillness is a comfort to me, Gyda. Like the sight of land from a storm-battered ship."

Gyda lets him draw her close, a lump forming in her throat as he kisses her brow.

"They say that a man must love his sons more," murmurs Ragnar against her skin, his fingers idly combing her hair. "But a man can be jealous of his sons, and his daughter can always be the light in his life."

Gyda feels relief wash over her and cannot hold back her tears. She sobs against the rough cloth of her father's tunic and he holds her, rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort.

In the weeks since Ubbe's birth, she has felt increasingly misplaced; an outsider in amongst her father's new family. But now she knows better. Now she knows that she is treasured.

Gyda eventually pulls away, meeting her father's eyes to find them as perceptible as ever.

"No matter how many sons I have," says Ragnar, gently cradling Gyda's face between his work-roughened hands, "you will always be precious to me. Understand?"

"I understand, father."

"Good." He presses another kiss to her brow before rising to his feet. "Do not stay out too long, eh?" Gyda pretends to be annoyed when he ruffles her hair, but looks on fondly as her father walks away.

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A/N2: Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been super busy with schoolwork lately, and this will likely continue into the foreseeable future, so expect the irregular updates to continue.