Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from plot, dreams, and a new tea addiction. (Thai coconut black tea... It's the stuff of legends.)

He could feel her fragile pulse beating erratically beneath his fingertips, jumping as he squeezed her neck tighter. Yells and demands to stop sounded all around him but all Kari could focus on was the woman in front of him, desperately gasping for air. His hold tightened.

Strong arms wrapped around his body, forcing him back but he refused to let go. He had to make her pay for what she did.

"Kari! Stop this, now! KARI!"

An animalistic growl filled the air, snarling with ferocity as the snow-walker fought against the muscular arms trying to hold him back.

"Kari Ragnarsson, you will stop this behavior right now. That is an order!"

The words barely registered, but the blade at his neck when he failed to obey did. Following the sword to the face of its master, he met the scared but determined eyes of Hakon.

"The Jarl has given you an order. If you do not follow, I will be forced to arrest you."

Silver eyes stared undaunted at the men around him before slowly closing as Kari gave a tired sigh. He did not want see what was before him, the sight of fear in the faces of his closest friends. Fear that he had caused. Kari grit his teeth, I keep losing control…

With shaking, reluctant hands he released his hold on the shamanka and took a step back, head bowed with guilt. Hakon slowly lowered his sword as Skapti and Brocheal rushed to the old woman's side to help support her. Loud grating gasps escaped her as she struggled for breath, and Kari flinched at the harsh sound. Perhaps he did more damage than he thought if she was having such trouble. Suddenly, her head flew back, grey wiry hair shaking with what he realized was actually laughter.

Kari frowned, well that was not the reaction he had been expecting. "You appear to be in an awfully good mood considering your situation, old woman."

"Such intent, such power..." Dark, beady eyes glinted up at him as she sneered, "It's been years since I've seen such a face. For a second there, I could have sworn I had traveled into the past, back into the days of Gudrun."

"You dare to test me, witch? I have already told you once, I will-"

"ENOUGH!" Wulfgar slammed his hands into the table as his angry shout gained their attention. "I will not tolerate anymore of this, from either of you! Now, both of you sit down and explain what the hell is going on here- in a civilized manner, mind you- before I have Hakon lock you up for giving me such a headache. Understood?"

"I'm not quite sure if that is actually just cause to arrest them," Hakon muttered under his breath as he pulled out his chair. At the Jarl's glare, he shut his mouth and hurriedly sat down next to Skapti.

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket Hakon," the poet grinned. "We are finally about to get somewhere. Now, Kari if you would."

"I'm not quite sure where to start..."

"I find the beginning is usually a good place."

The snow-walker gave him a petulant glare before sighing, "Very well then, I will ask for minimal interruptions as there is a lot to cover. It first began two months ago-"

"Two months!"

Taking a deep breath, Kari gathered his patience. He should have known better to ask for no interruptions when dealing with such a quick-tempered and inquisitive audience as his. Silencing any more questions with the narrowing of his eyes, he continued.

"Yes, two months ago. If you remember, that is when Wulfgar first approached Jessa with the idea of her marrying. That was the first night…" He trailed off, his mouth going dry as he began to recall the memories.

"What was it, Kari?" Wulfgar prompted, "It was the first night for what?"

"The nightmares," he whispered, sounding more vulnerable than someone with his power ever should. He clenched his fists, knuckles straining and white. "That was the first night the nightmares came.

"You see, when Wulfgar introduced the idea of marriage to Jessa, he introduced a new possibility of her fate. I saw the change immediately, and many different paths for Jessa came to me in visions…but they all shared one thing, one unbelievable, horrible thing."

Kari finally looked up, staring each one in the eye so they could read the truth, the seriousness, in his eyes.

"In every single one, the only outcome for Jessa was death." He knew if he paused it would only allow for it to sink in, and trying to avoid what would surely follow such a revelation he pushed on. "Never the same one, it would vary with each possibility, but no matter how many solutions I thought of death was inevitable.

"I am not a fool, I realize Jessa is mortal and as such will have to die eventually…" here his voice broke slightly and he gripped his hold on the arms of his chair tight. "But … I always thought I could delay it… support her until time finally caught up. I thought I would be able to accept that death, a natural one after she had lived a long, full life. When the marriage treaty was brought up, however, when I saw her die… everything changed, it became real and I didn't know how to handle it.

"It troubled me at first, but then I decided that if I couldn't save her from death then I would guarantee she have the best possible life. It was the least I could do. So, knowing that she was against the idea of an arranged marriage I started working on solutions that would allow Jessa to escape that path."

Kari paused to take in a deep shaking breath, but no one pushed him. Perhaps they could see how difficult this was to say, or maybe they were too shocked to find words themselves. Closing his eyes slowly, he prepared himself for what was next.

"That night was the worst… what I saw..." Kari lost his voice again as images of blood and terror plagued him. He shook his head, "I know Jessa was disappointed in me, and I hate that. But if it means I can prevent that nightmare from coming true, then I do not care how much I have to betray her. I refuse to let her experience that future."

There was only silence as room's occupants tried to process what he had shared until Wulfgar finally leaned forward, his brow furrowed and troubled. "Why did you not come to us with this sooner? If you had told us-"

Kari gave a hollow laugh. "Jessa does not fear death, she would have just gone through with whatever option she felt was right, no matter what threat awaited her. And I did not want to burden any of you with the truth, especially when I was so sure I could prevent it easily."

"Tell the whole truth, snow-walker."

Sharp, silver eyes narrowed in on the shamanka as if just remembering her presence. He scowled. "You need to be taught to mind your own business, old woman."

"Kari, you can tell us anything, you know that. What else is there," Brocheal asked.

He shifted his feet, suddenly feeling nervous, and felt his cheeks grow warm. "It is not a major concern; I'm handling it, but as you may have noticed earlier I have become more… sensitive..."

Skapti raised an eyebrow, "Sensitive?"

"Unstable."

Gritting his teeth, Kari glared at the smug shamanka staring back at him. Brocheal had taught him to always respect his elders and ladies, but that witch was playing a dangerous game pushing him like this. Sitting there taunting him when she didn't understand. She didn't understand what it was like to see someone so precious to you die over and over, to have your best friend killed in front of your eyes when you are powerless to stop it, to be so terrified of falling asleep and experiencing that torture even for one more second that you force yourself to go weeks without rest. Of course he was a little unstable... he was surprised he was still functioning, personally.

"This has not been an easy situation for me to deal with and I am not left unaffected. There have been a couple of times were I have lost control- mainly when I let myself become too emotional, but all were minor," he clarified at the shocked faces of his friends.

"Entering a rage where you almost kill someone is not something to consider minor, Kari."

Resisting the urge to point out that she deserved every bit of his anger, he was thankful when instead Hakon changed the topic.

"You say you went against Jessa in order to prevent this one awful vision, but earlier you said the shamanka sent Jessa into torture… so Jessa is in danger of this death?"

All shock and fear at Kari instantly turned into suspicious anger as the men turned to the shamanka, hands resting on their weapons as they awaited his answer.

"I'm afraid that is exactly what this means. I scoured every possible path for Jessa and whenever I considered the option of her fighting the treaty that hell awaited her. So I picked the treaty that would keep her safe, and convinced her to accept it. At least, that is what I assumed when the nightmares stopped. When I could not sense Jessa, I figured it was because of the trouble I had been having with my powers lately and that I merely needed some rest. It wasn't until the other day that I realized the truth."

"Which is that your amulet is blocking Jessa from Kari," Wulfgar questioned the shamanka.

"It stops him from being able to sense her completely. The past, present and future of Jessa Horolfsdaughter is no longer available to him. No amount of his magic can touch or influence her either. She is, for all purposes, lost to the snow-walker."

"Do not sound so confident, it was easily broken once I knew what to look for. Your magic can not stand to mine."

"I am flattered that you think my power could extend so far as Hlathir, but she has long been out of my range. The amulet is supported by her will alone."

Kari froze, forcing himself to try and remain calm. It wasn't working, he realized, as he felt the air drop twenty degrees.

"Do you have any idea what you have done," he growled.

"As I stated earlier, I have made sure that Jessa Horolfsdaughter is lost to you."

"Do you know how much it would take for a magic-less mortal to sustain such a protection charm? It would draw not only on sheer willpower, but the host's own life force!"

"I warned her she would need to remain strong."

"If pushed past its limits it could kill her!"

"Then I suggest you do not push it that far. What say you now, young master? Still think my runes easily broken?"

Anticipating his reaction, Brocheal and Skapti quickly shot out of their chairs to catch him mid lunge and force him back. Taking deep breaths, Kari focused on getting his hands to stop shaking and ridding the floor of the three-inch thick ice layer that had appeared.

"Oh, put that sword away, boy. I already told you I am no threat to Lady Jessa."

Skapti beat him in giving the disparaging scoff, and Kari smirked at the poet's reproachful tone, glad that it no longer was directed at him. "Your words are hard to believe after all we have learned."

"All I have done was to the benefit of that young woman."

The Jarl raised his hand to stop any negating remarks, "We have to hear both sides to issue a fair judgment. Explain yourself, old woman."

"I keep a cursory watch over the neighboring lands to keep an eye out for any influences that may affect Trond. When they sent in their proposals for Lady Jessa, it drew my attention and like the snow-walker I saw many outcomes." The shamanka drew a pouch out of her pocket, carefully casting the contents onto the table. Rune covered rocks spilled out and Kari immediately blanched, his heart stopping at what he saw.

Ignoring the boy's reaction, she placed an old, wrinkled hand on top of the runes and began making her way through them. "Heartbreak, fear, war, loss, gore, immeasurable pain… I see it all. Torture does not fully describe this future…" Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as she took in the runes. "I agree with Ragnarsson that everything must be done to prevent this from becoming a reality, which is why I acted as I did."

Analyzing her face carefully, Kari only found sincerity. But that makes no sense… her actions are what led to Jessa being in danger in the first place. How could she have thought she was saving her? Running his eyes over the runes once more, he thought back to her casting process, could there have been a mistake? The shamanka had already proven her talent, and he saw the same prediction he had come up with, so what was different?

His eyes widened, "When you cast this-"

"I cast for a future where Lady Jessa accepted a marriage treaty. When I saw that you would still lead her towards that path I knew I had to step in and save that innocent girl. So I told her to fight it, to go after the life she wanted and gave her the means to do so without any interference from you."

"I would never lead Jessa towards her death! I was trying to save her!" Kari brushed his hair out of his eyes in frustration, leaning in to evaluate the runes closely. "This makes no sense…"

"Wait… so you both came up with the exact same prediction, but for different reasons? How is that possible?"

Kari shook his head at the Jarl, "It shouldn't be."

"This one is unfinished, though," Hakon pointed out, gesturing towards the one unturned stone in the middle of the table. He reached for it, "Maybe if we-"

"NO!" Pillars of ice shot up out of the table, caging the rune in. Kari's voice shook as he stared at that last one in abject horror. "Please don't…"

Wulfgar turned to see the shamanka look at the frantic sorcerer with the first soft gaze of the night, pity swimming in her eyes. Almost scared of her answer, he asked, "Is it that bad?"

"I could never draw up the courage to see the ending. I do not think my heart could handle it."

"It does not matter," Kari suddenly growled. "I will not allow for it to happen."

"But how do we stop something that is the outcome of both options," Hakon groaned, exasperated. "Jessa either gets married or she fights the treaty, there is no third option."

Kari stamped down the rising anxiety and helplessness he felt in his confusion. "I do not know… I don't understand how this is even possible! There was no mistake in either of our calculations!"

Suddenly Skapti busted out in laughter, his chair shaking so hard that he almost lost his perch upon the two legs. "Oh, but that's just it!"

When all Kari did was stare at him expectantly, the poet continued. "That was your mistake, Kari. You tried to put Jessa into a calculation, a predestined path that you could predict. But our little Valkyrie forges her own path, she always has."

Jumping to his feet, he grabbed a random rune from the table and began to juggle it. "Don't you see?! She had a duty to her Jarl, a debt to the stranger looking out for her, and a promise to the man she loved, all with her own desire for freedom. So Jessa, being that witty, clever girl we all love, found a way to keep her promises while remaining true to herself."

Kari jumped onto Skapti's train of thought immediately. "The shamanka made her promise to fight, and I made her promise to marry. So Jessa rebelled by choosing the treaty she knew we would be against. We left open a loophole and she leapt right through it, that was our mistake."

"No, your mistake was thinking that you could control Jessa and dictate her fate-"

"In order to protect her-"

"And how did that work out for you, Kari?" he sneered. "Not only is your friend still in danger, but hurt to the point where she felt moving to the opposite end of the country was necessary."

His heart started to beat erratically fast as a sharp pain spread with Skapti's words. His tongue suddenly felt heavy, but he forced out words of reassurance. "I will fix this, Skapti. I swear-"

"Why can't you just leave it alone, leave Jessa alone?"

"Skapti!"

"No Brocheal, he needs to understand that Jessa is not a rook he can move along in this chess game he makes of life."

"I have never lost a match."

It was the wrong thing to say, he knew it the moment it formed on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't help rising to the bait Skapti was provoking him with. Closing his eyes, Kari carefully thought out his next sentence. "What I meant-"

"I know what you meant." The soft tone he used made Kari look up in surprise. "I know, despite everything that makes it seem otherwise, you care a great deal for Jessa. But I also know that you continue to underestimate her. I may not be able to foresee what awaits her but I have faith that she will overcome it. Jessa is strong, Kari, and this is what she has chosen. We should respect her choice and let her be; she can face whatever life throws at her."

"You're wrong," he whispered. Summoning a thick packet of parchment from his room, he placed it on the table sliding it towards the men. Curious, they each picked up a section and began to read through it, their faces growing paler with each word. "Above everything else, Jessa is human. She cannot overcome this."

"This is…" Hakon trailed off, looking up at Kari with trepidation.

"What you are reading is my collective list of every possible outcome that Jessa faced."

"Drowning, hunting accident, assassination..." Wulfgar frowned, flipping through each page with growing disbelief. "How many are there?"

"Over a thousand. They kept changing with each decision that led her closer to a final path. As you can see only thirty-seven remain uncrossed, those are the ones that were available to her by the time she visited me. I haven't edited it yet."

Grabbing a page from Brocheal he laid it so all could see the two lines that were circled: Fifth childbirth-Jórvík, Disease-Bernicia.

"These were the two treaties I urged Jessa to accept. They were the least violent deaths, and ones that did not come for at least ten more years. These two were the closest thing to a full life I could guarantee Jessa."

Skapti traced over the word Jórvík with a long, slender finger, mumbling, "So it wasn't about trade at all."

"Of course not," Kari spit out bitterly. "Do you honestly believe that I would ever even think to treat Jessa so lowly? That I would want her to leave us, want her to go marry some stranger? I did what had to be done. Right now, you all feel sick to your very core, you are disturbed that there was even the smallest chance Jessa could have met one of those deaths. Well what she faces now is infinitely worse."

The shamanka picked up a page, noting the fresher, slightly smudged additions at the bottom. "These occur in Hlathir."

"Yes. I was shocked because I did not know there was a proposal from that country at the time. They are recent, they appeared the day before Jessa arrived," he said giving her a pointed look.

"I see. By giving her the talisman, it opened up more opportunities."

Kari nodded, before taking the page from her and striking through the top four. "The connection I made earlier was brief, but enough for me to see an updated version of her possible future. This one," he said pointing at the sentence 'falls off a cliff', "happened while I was there. She was standing on a cliff talking to a man when she suddenly fainted, probably because the charm used up all of her energy trying to force me out."

"It will be troublesome if you cannot contact Jessa without endangering her health," Brocheal sighed heavily. "What are we going to do?"

Forming a steeple with his fingers, he pursed his pale lips, deep in thought. "It would require a lot of force on my part, especially now that Jessa is aware it is possible." He hated to admit it, but it was obvious she did not want anything to do with him and therefore would reinforce her will towards the talisman. "Me reaching out to her should definitely be a last resort."

"Hold on a moment!" Hakon exclaimed, excitement growing in his eyes as he snapped his fingers. "The treaty with Hlathir was originally dismissed because it was seen as too dangerous, the Jarl never signed it! It isn't valid!"

"You're a fool if you think that Jessa overlooked something so simple, and being a master of forgery, trust me, it was all too simple a hurdle for her to clear," Skapti scoffed.

"And we can't alert them to the fact it is a forgery without Jessa having to be punished for treason," Hakon concluded, slumping down into his chair dejected.

"This treaty is based solely on Jessa's marriage, is it not? If we are able to stop the wedding from taking place then it won't go through, we can bring Jessa back."

Kari nodded at Brocheal's statement, "The only problem is the distance to Hlathir, if we try and make it in person we risk not making it in time. I sent the ravens when we left Thrasirshall, but they have yet to return with news-"

As if acting on some supernatural cue, a loud caw resonated through the hall as two blurs of black sped into the room, circling around the rafters once before landing gracefully on the table, an official scroll clutched tightly in one of their talons.