Chapter 4

Perseus POV

"Hermes? Why would he be here? How did he even know where I am? Something isn't adding up and I need to find out what is going on." I murmured to myself as I made my way to the edge of the town near the docks.

Sure enough, Hermes' aura highlighted that he was standing there, nervously. Swaying on his feet, his nerves getting the best of him. I wouldn't blame him, he is in Norse territory right now.

I turned back to face Ragnar and the group of people that crowded around us, gazing at the messenger god. "Tell everyone to go back home, this is between me and him. And I will not have your people hurt because of a meeting between friends. He doesn't speak our language, so I will have to speak in his." I told Ragnar who nodded and gestured for his people to go home.

I made my way over towards the Olympian. "Lord Hermes, it is an honor to see you. But I must ask, why are you this far north and away from Olympus?" I greeted him respectfully.

"I bring a message from your mother. I am aware of who you are Perseus. I am also aware of your interaction with my half-sisters. But I am on your side of your disagreement. Even though we never met face-to-face, your mother told me of who you were. I am aware of your wish to not swear loyalty to Olympus and I applaud you for making a wise decision. You are a young man that I wish to hear about in legends as time goes on. Also, there is no need to call me lord. Your rank will be higher than mine eventually." Hermes replied as he placed a hand on my shoulder before leaving my sight as he walked away, mindful of those behind us.

I smiled as I made my way back to Ragnar's home. When I got inside, Ragnar was back in his chair, deep in thought. At my entrance, he looked up, "everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes, that was a good friend of mine from my home. He came to tell me that some survivors of our home are alive and moving further north to escape our enemies. He wanted to know if I would rejoin them or not." I lied.

"And what is your choice?"

"I will stay here. As much as I wish to rejoin friends, I must think about the future for myself." I admitted to him. "It is late, and I must get some sleep. I will see you tomorrow Ragnar." I bowed my head before leaving the room.

Ragnar had done as I had asked. He made sure that the girls around Kattegat and even others from neighboring lands were aware of my conditions of marriage. At the gathering of chiefs, about six months ago, it was the most talked about thing besides alliances. There were so many girls trying to vie for my attention, so many fathers offering their daughters up to me, I eventually snapped.


Flashback

I was talking with Ragnar and his friend Floki about a better way to fashion swords and shields. To use a lighter but sturdier metal rather than wood for shields. Then I was interrupted by a giggling of girl's voices around me.

One of them pulled my arm and the rest lunged at me, pulling me away from my task at hand. But I heard Ragnar and Floki's laugh heartily at my situation. I sighed as the crowd of girls pulled me into a large empty room. I could count that there were almost forty of them in here, keeping me from moving. I didn't try to escape as I wanted to see what they were going to do, and because my mother had taught me to respect women, even if they don't show you the same curtsy.

"What are you girls doing?" I asked tiredly. I could feel ropes wrapped around my wrists and ankles.

"We all heard about your achievement in taking down Bjorn Ironside months ago. We heard that you appeared in all black and were gifted with the presence of Odin. We just want to see what the famous Perseus is carrying below the belt." One of them giggled.

I froze when it clicked in my mind. "Girls, you must take these ropes off of me. You are aware of what Ragnar has told each of you about my conditions, correct?" I asked seriously.

"We know, but we want a sneak peek. You're now a Viking. Time to move on from your fallen village." Another girl quipped.

Even though I had lied to them about coming from a fallen village. Their disregard at my wishes got me pretty furious. I lifted my head and smiled. "You all have ten seconds to untie me and leave the room." I warned them in a low voice. I then heard the footsteps of some girls leave at my threatening tone of voice.

Smart on their part.

After ten seconds, I could still count around thirty teenage girls in the room. I smirked to myself as I vanished from sight. I hid in the shadows as the girls gasped in shock at my disappearance.

"M-maybe…we s-should leave." One of them stuttered. They all turned towards the exit, but I closed the door with my powers over the shadows. I made the shadows raise up and block out the sunlight. The girls gasped out and grabbed onto each other for comfort as their line of sight disappeared.

I could tell where all of them were standing and made my way closer to them. "I gave you all a warning, but you refused to do as I had asked. I will not harm you, but I will warn you once more. Leave me be." With that, the shadows vanished from their sight, showing the sunlight through the window. They all looked towards where the ropes where, to see me in the same position that I was before I threw the room into darkness.

Most of the girls ran out of the room once they saw where I was. Only a couple stayed back to untie me from my bonds. When they turned to leave, I stopped them by closing the door. They turned back to me, probably scared out of their minds at what they just saw.

"I'm sorry that I had to threaten you all like that. But I needed you all to know that I will not tolerate disrespect towards me or my fallen village. I made myself clear when I set out my marriage conditions. And I will not sway for anyone that wishes to marry me, no matter how pretty they are, if they can fight well, or anything like that." I ended my rant by opening the door and turning away from them all.

I thought I was alone but was shocked when a hand touched my back softly. I stiffened and turned my head towards the girl behind me. I was blind, but I could see her outline. The girl took her hand off of my back and lowered it to her side. "My name is Thora. I'm sorry that I didn't try to stop anything from happening. I was just nervous, I don't have many friends, and I wanted to fit in." The girl introduced herself softly.

"I know, and that's okay. It's over with now, and I'm glad the others left. I could see that you were different from the others. I may be blind but I could see that you're a good person. Yesterday I heard about you helping the slaves when they spilled something, even though you didn't have to. It was good to see that someone else is good-hearted. I look forward to getting to know you better Thora." I replied to her, leaning in and leaving a soft kiss on her cheek before leaving the room to go back to my tent.

Flashback End


I later found out that Thora was from a neighboring village. Apparently, Ragnar's first wife, Lagertha is the chief of the village, Hedeby. Ragnar was glad to hear that I had found someone I was interested in being with, but when he learned of where she lived, he went silent.

Bjorn has been warming up to me as time goes on. He no longer hates me for beating him in the arena. His wife in nervous when she is around me because of my lifeless white eyes. No matter how many times I try to reassure her that I mean no harm to her, she doesn't listen. But it's not my problem.

There is one thing that is my problem though. Ragnar is planning to go to a place called Paris for raiding. It would be a huge chance for me to step up as a warrior. But I wish to stay here and defend Kattegat against any invaders that might come and try to take over in Ragnar's absence. I brought up my internal struggle with him and he assured me that whatever my decision is, he will support me. He told me that Lagertha will be staying in her village, just sending ships for them to use. So I will have Lagertha to turn to for help if anything goes wrong.

But that doesn't put my mind at ease. Aslaug is staying here to remain in control over Kattegat, as well as to take care of her children. Lagertha has always hated her, as she took her husband away from her. She might try to take Kattegat while most of our warriors are away.

When Bjorn heard of my internal struggle, he didn't tease or make fun of me for thinking about not fighting. That surprised me greatly. He supported me wanting to protect his home while he was away. "If you keep my family safe while I am away. And when I come back, I will never doubt you again and treat you like a brother should." Bjorn promised to me.

My fifteenth birthday was in a couple of days and I was nervous. I had only shown interest in Thora, despite spending time with all of the eligible girls in Kattegat as per my agreement with Ragnar. I even visited her in Hedeby a couple of times. I just have a good time when I'm around her. I feel bad about the fact that I have to leave and go back home on my eighteenth birthday. I'll have to come up with a way out of here. One that I can use to come back from time to time without looking suspicious.

I was brought out of my musings when footsteps brought Ragnar and Floki came into the room. "Have you made a decision Perseus?"

"Yes I have. I will stay here and protect Kattegat from any invaders." I decided firmly.

They both nodded acknowledging my choice. "Just so you know, we will be bringing Ubbe and Hvitserk with us to raid Paris." Ragnar informed me making me look up at them in worry.

"And what does Aslaug think of this?" I asked a little concerned about how his current wife took it. She could be pretty feisty when she wanted to be.

"She doesn't like it, but will not push against me. They will stay at camp while we raid." Ragnar told me as he sat down across from me at the table. "As much as we want you to join the fight, we are glad that you have decided to look after our home in our absence. I know you will defend Kattegat with your life, so I have nothing to worry about."

Updated: 07/11/2018