A/N: Already at the end of Vikings Season 2!
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Back home in Kattegat...
Warning: Graphical violence ahead! I feel like I'm writing more often chapters that need that warning than not...
Disclaimer: I do not own Vikings and Game of Thrones. They belong to their rightful owners.
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Chapter 21 The Lord's prayer
The small fisherman's boat was being tied to the pier in Kattegat. A blonde woman climbed onto the pier, carrying a sleeping baby. She walked along the pier until she saw the one she was looking for.
Floki was asleep on the cold planks of the pier. Just a short nap in the afternoon, and he didn't bother to get back inside.
"Floki, it's me", Helga said.
"Helga?" Floki asked, waking up. He opened his eyes and sat up, when he saw the sleeping baby in his wife's arms.
"We have a child", Helga told him, "A beautiful girl."
"A girl", Floki said in amazement, "I don't want to drop her."
"You won't drop her", Helga encouraged him, as she handed the baby over, "What should we call her?"
Floki looked at the baby for a few seconds, then handed his daughter back to Helga.
"Angrboda", he said.
"The name of Loki's first wife?" Helga asked, "But I thought she was evil – they had monstrous offspring…"
"She was a great giantess", Floki reminded her, "And now you must leave Kattegat and go back."
"Leave?" Helga was surprised, "Are you going back with us?"
"No, I must stay here", Floki told her, "But you must leave at once. Something might happen here…"
Several days later, Horik and Erlendur were enthusiastically on the pier. They watched as a single ship rowed nearer.
"They're here!" Erlendur exclaimed, smiling brightly.
They both ran out on the pier, and greeted their family. King Horik kissed his wife, while Erlendur was assaulted by his little brothers, hugging him tightly. When he placed them at the floor again, he greeted his younger sisters.
"Come, family", Horik addressed them, "I want you to meet Ragnar."
They walked along the pier, where Ragnar and Aslaug were waiting for them. The royal family was invited to the great hall, where they all gathered in front of the high seat.
"Ragnar Lothbrok, my friend and ally", King Horik began, "Let me present to you properly, my wife Gunnhild, and my children."
"You and I form an alliance on which the future of our country depends", Horik declared, "I see you as an equal. Between us, and of course Earl Ingstad, we have achieved so much. We have land and opportunity in Wessex, and that is just the beginning. We already know of many other worlds that we shall discover."
The crowd cheered, as the King paused for a second.
"We will do so, together", Horik declared, "Not only united by the bond of necessity and friendship, but by the bonds of family. For you have many sons, and as you can see – I have many daughters."
Everyone cheered at this obvious proposal, made in such a public forum.
"It is our custom, to celebrate such an alliance, with feasting and with pledges", Horik told them. Everyone cheered even louder, as they looked for their places, before the feast began.
"You must be the famous shield maiden Lagertha", Gunnhild said, stepping behind Lagertha.
"You are more famous, Gunnhild", Lagertha complimented her, "The poets sing of how you have slain Sweyn Forkbeard."
"And they say, that you are now an Earl of your own right", Gunnhild recalled, "How did that happen?"
"I killed my husband, when he invaded me", Lagertha said mischievously. Gunnhild broke out in loud laughter, while Sansa stepped to the two women. The bandage on her head was gone, but she still had to carry her arm in a sling.
"Sansa!" Lagertha greeted her, "Where have you been?"
"That friggin' cut broke open again", Sansa explained, "I had to apply a new bandage."
"Gunnhild, this is my stepdaughter, Sansa", Lagertha introduced her, "Gunnhild is the wife of King Horik."
"An honor to meet you", Sansa told her.
"It is my pleasure, to meet the family of my husband's ally and friend", Gunnhild told her, "With a fresh injury like that, I take it - you are a shield maiden as well?"
"I am", Sansa admitted, "And I hope, that I will be healed so that I can fight again one day… although my mother would surely like me to stop."
"Sansa was wounded in Wessex", Lagertha explained, "But I am sure, she will heal – the gods would surely not waste such a talented fighter."
Floki was standing beside King Horik, his drinking horn in his hands, filled with Ale.
"What is it?" Horik asked him.
"Don't you remember? You were going to put a proposition to me", Floki told him, "And I'm still waiting."
"The thing is, Floki", the King said, "I am not entirely sure I can trust you."
Bjorn and Thorunn were outside the hall, talking in the streets.
"You are a free woman now", Bjorn stated, "What will you do with your freedom?"
"I will use it to choose", Thorunn told him earnestly.
"Choose what?" Bjorn asked.
"When I was a slave, I was told what I had to do", Thorunn recalled, "You were the first to treat me as if I was not a slave, so I loved you. Now I have choices."
"There are plenty of other women around", Bjorn reminded her.
"That is your first mistake", Thorunn declared angrily.
Floki was pouring himself another drink, as King Horik snuck up behind him.
"Forgive me, Floki, I know I should trust you", the King said, "But I need proof."
"What?" Floki asked.
"Prove to me, that I can trust you", Horik repeated.
"How can I prove it?" Floki wanted to know.
"Kill someone", Horik ordered, "Someone who matters."
Sansa was talking with Astrid, one of the King's daughters. Astrid was a blonde girl of 13 years, in awe of Sansa's tales from their journey to England. So far, the only shield maiden, she had known, was her mother. The girl was excited to meet more of those famous shield maidens, like Lagertha and Sansa.
"So, how was it? Fighting in battle?" the girl asked eagerly.
"It is dangerous", Sansa told her, "And it is a feeling that you cannot describe – you are so nervous, and yet you feel invincible. And then, as it goes on, you get less and less nervous, but you do realize, you are not invincible after all."
Sansa smiled at the little girl. She reminded her so much of her own sister Arya, craving for stories of heroic battles and wishing to join the warriors.
By now, Sansa could no longer think about battle as it was described in songs and poems. She had stopped believing in the stories of noble knights and honor-guided rulers. That had been herself, a long time ago. In the truest meaning of the words, it had been in another life.
Now she was a shield maiden. She would never give up on that, but she had already stopped to see battle as a noble thing. It was a cruel thing, and sometimes you had to be cruel to survive.
When Sansa awoke in the morning, she didn't need long to figure that she was about to retch up her meal from the feast the day before. Considering that she'd drunk not that much, it was hardly possible to be a hangover.
She quickly ran outside and after her meal had left her stomach, she wiped her mouth with her hand. Hardly a doubt was left. She was truly with child.
The next day, King Horik's and Ragnar's children were playing on the market place. Aslaug and Gunnhild watched in happiness.
"Seems our children are allies, too", Gunnhild smiled. Aslaug nodded in agreement. Gunnhild walked closer and kept a watchful eye on the whole bunch. Lagertha came closer and stepped beside Aslaug.
"How is Ivar?" she asked. Aslaug looked at her.
"Do you know?" Aslaug queried. Lagertha only nodded.
"I want to tell you, what you are doing is far more courageous, than fighting in a shield wall", Lagertha told the troubled mother.
At noon, Ragnar, Bjorn, Lagertha, Horik and Erlendur were sitting at the table eating lunch.
"Next year, I think we should go to Wessex and claim the land from King Egbert", Bjorn stated, "Those who wish to farm should do so and divide the land between them."
"What should the rest of us do?" Horik asked, "Those who are not farmers."
"They can join King Egbert and Princess Kwentrith in the battle for Mercia", Bjorn explained, "They'd be rewarded well."
"I don't like the idea of being Egbert's handmaiden", Horik spat, "Unlike Ragnar, I don't trust him. And I still have a score to settle with him."
"But isn't it better to trust him, to see if he is honest?" Erlendur argued, "He might well be honest, or maybe he is not. We will see."
Floki entered the house where Siggy was caring for Rollo. Siggy looked up, as she saw him standing in the door.
"How is he?" Floki asked her.
"Alive", Siggy said desperately.
"Will he ever walk again?" Floki inquired.
"Only the gods know", Siggy sighed.
"Take a break", Floki told her, "You have been sitting with him day and night. Go home and rest. I will watch him."
Siggy looked back at Rollo, unsure for a moment. Then she nodded and left the house. Floki walked into the smaller room, where Rollo was lying in his sickbed.
"You put me in a bed like this once", Floki recounted, "Don't you remember?"
Rollo nodded barely.
"I brought you something", Floki announced. He put his hand in his pockets and pulled out a mushroom, he had collected in the woods.
"Look, Rollo, it's the food of the gods", Floki enthused. He placed the mushrooms in Rollo's half open mouth and pushed gently, making Rollo chew and then swallow the mushrooms.
In the evening, there was another small feast in the great hall. The children were chasing each other around the table. Floki grabbed out and held Ubba on his arm.
"Ubba, bring these to Thorstein", Floki said, handing the little boy some mushrooms, "Tell him, they are from his good friend Floki."
Ubba wanted to go, when Floki stopped him once more.
"And no one else must ever know, that it was me who gave them to him", Floki cautioned him, "The gods would be very angry, and we don't want that to happen, do we?"
Ubba shook his head and ran over to Thorstein. Thorstein took the mushrooms, ate them and raised his cup in a silent salute to Floki.
It had become midnight. The party had dissolved and some had gone home, others opted to sleep in the main room of the great hall.
A woman's loud scream awoke them all from their sleeps. One of the servants had seen Thorstein, lying lifeless on the floor. He had choked on his own vomit.
Bjorn stood over the body in shock.
"My friend Thorstein has been murdered", he said, trying to grasp the fact, "I swear by the gods, I am going to avenge him."
Floki stepped forward. "We will find, whoever did this", he told Bjorn, "And we will flay the skin from his body and tear his limbs apart with horses!"
Horik watched with well-acted surprise the events in the hall. He was glad, Floki had proven himself trustworthy.
In the early hours of morning, just before sunrise, Floki was sitting in the hut by his shipyard. He jumped, when he heard someone enter and turned around, his dagger at the ready.
"It's just me, my fried", Horik said cautiously. Floki lowered the dagger.
"Now I know that I can trust you", Horik told him.
"What is your plan?" Floki asked.
"I will kill them all", the King declared, "Ragnar and Aslaug, even Lagertha. I'll wipe the whole family of the face of the earth."
"What about Bjorn?" Floki reminded the King.
"Bjorn Ironside. He is difficult to kill", Horik admitted, "Maybe the gods do protect him… I need you to find a way to kill him."
"And Sansa?" Floki queried.
"Sansa will not pose a big problem", Horik said, "After all, she is still too weak to fight."
Floki nodded, "When?"
"Tomorrow", Horik declared.
Lagertha was standing on the beach, looking out into the fjord. In a little distance, there was a storm brewing, yet it had not yet reached the town.
She did not turn her head, as Aslaug stepped next to her. She didn't need to, she had noticed her presence anyway.
"The gods are coming", Aslaug commented, as she also watched the storm.
Thorunn was early on the market. She was looking through the merchandise, when she saw Bjorn walk up to her. Still angry at him, she turned around and tried to get away.
"Thorunn! Wait!" he called. She just kept on walking, pretending she didn't hear him.
"Forgive me for what I said", he called, "I don't want other women – I want you!"
He caught up with her. "What do you want from me?" he asked.
"Respect", she sneered.
"You know I respect you, Thorunn", Bjorn told her, "I worship you."
"That's ridiculous", Thorunn argued, "I spent my life as a slave, I don't want to be worshipped."
"What can I do?" Bjorn asked in exasperation.
"You can fight me", Thorunn told him.
Sansa walked into her parents' bedroom, searching for her brooch. She stopped in her tracks, when she looked at the bed. Soundly asleep, she could see the naked bodies of her parents, covered loosely by blankets. She had seen that before, and although she had been nervous in the beginning, she had seen them together sometimes.
This time something was different. Sansa took a closer look and counted five naked legs. She walked over to the other side of the bed and found Lagertha, asleep as well, snuggled tightly next to Aslaug.
Sansa smiled to herself, and decided to retreat from the bedroom, before any of them woke up.
Siggy watched in dismay, as Rollo tried to stand up from his sickbed. He carefully heaved himself up on a wooden crutch. He stood there for a moment, then gathered his courage to move his feet. He carefully began to move, then the crutch slipped on the wooden floor.
Rollo fell to the floor, and groaned loudly, as the pain shot through his legs. Siggy was beside him in an instant.
"Don't give up", she encouraged him.
"What do you care?" Rollo asked, frustrated.
"Honestly, I don't know", Siggy told him with a stern look, "But I feel that you still can be useful."
Siggy stood up and took an axe from a belt hanging on the wall. She walked over to the kitchen table and placed it visibly on the surface. Then she left the house, leaving Rollo to his thoughts.
In the market place, she was approached by King Horik.
"Shouldn't you be with your wife?" she asked him.
"You once promised me Ragnar's secret weakness", he reminded her, "I don't remember that you ever told me."
"Maybe you have all your seed wasted on a promise", Siggy smiled.
"Tell me now", Horik urged her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Siggy told him, "His family is his weakness. Especially his children."
"Then I have something, you must do", Horik instructed her, "At sunset, you must go to the great hall and kill Ragnar's young sons."
"What do I get in return?" Siggy asked him.
"I will marry you", Horik offered, "Gunnhild is my only wife at the moment. I will take a second. You will rule again, as you once did."
He handed her a dagger which Siggy hid beneath the layers of her dress. Siggy watched, deep in thoughts, as the King walked away.
Bjorn had followed Thorunn into the woods. He had agreed to fight her, now they would. When they reached a clearing, Bjorn undid his weapon's belt, dropping his axe to the floor.
He looked at Thorunn, inviting her to the first punch. Thorunn charged at him, punching and kicking. Her fists were raining down on Bjorn and he felt the first bruises on his skin. Still he hesitated to hit her back.
Thorunn threw a mean punch and her fist connected with Bjorn's chin. He could feel his teeth grind on another, while he tried to defend himself. Thorunn stepped closer and hammered on his side. Bjorn finally saw red and drew his hand back in a fist. He punched her and hit her square in the belly.
Thorunn staggered back, winded. Bjorn wanted to apologize as she resumed her attack, fiercer than before. They both exchanged blows and soon, they were both sporting black eyes and split lips.
Thorunn twisted around, pulling Bjorn down by his arm and landing on top of him. She let her fists fly down on Bjorn who blocked some with his forearms, then grabbed her by her shoulders and whirled her around, pinning Thorunn to the grassy ground.
As Bjorn leaned forward to kiss her, she grabbed him by his short hair and pulled him off. Bjorn, surprised by the attack lost his grip on her for a moment. Thorunn pulled herself free and ran off into the woods.
Bjorn quickly stood up and gathered his weapon's belt. He followed the direction where she had run.
"Thorunn, I'm sorry!" he called.
He looked around, trying to see Thorunn run. A short distance away, he found her sitting on a rotting trunk. As he slowly walked closer, she looked up and he could see the damage he had done. She had one black eye, just beginning to show, and a large bruise on her cheek. Her lower lip had been split and her nose was bleeding.
Thorunn looked up, waiting for Bjorn to come closer. As he was within a hand's reach, she took his hands and kissed them gently. Bjorn looked at her in confusion, before Thorunn stood up from the trunk. She started kissing him passionately and more eager with every second.
Thorunn and Bjorn fell onto the grass, and without even noticing, Bjorn's tunic was gone. Thorunn pulled him down, as she laid herself onto the grass, with one hand already untying the laces of her dress.
Neither one of them saw Floki as he watched from behind a tree. Carefully, he drew his sword.
In the house where Horik and his family were staying, the King was talking to his oldest son. He unwrapped a package and revealed a beautiful ceremonial sword. Its guard, grip and pommel were gilded and decorated with gems. The blade was polished so it shone like silver, powerful runes cut into the fuller.
"This is the sword of the King", Horik told his son, "Tonight, we must do something extraordinary. We must overcome the magic of Ragnar Lothbrok. He threatens our power. We must kill him and all of his breed, for if one of that family survives, the day will come, when he will rise again and destroy us."
Erlendur nodded, still admiring the sword.
"Trust in the gods", Horik encouraged him, "And surely, one day, they will grant you the sword and a kingdom."
Ragnar and Athelstan had wandered off into the woods. Now they were standing on the bottom of a giant waterfall, looking up.
"I've seen you pray to your god", Ragnar told Athelstan, "Will you teach me one of your prayers, so I can learn?"
Athelstan looked at him for a second. Then he knelt down on the ground and folded his hands. He waited till Ragnar had followed and was in a similar pose. Then he prayed:
"Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For ever and ever. Amen."
Night had fallen over Kattegat. Horik was waiting fully armed, just outside of the town. Erlendur led the warriors to him. They had arrived in two ships that had disembarked a little out of sight from the town. They strode through the streets of Kattegat, quietly.
At a campfire, several of Ragnar's warriors were warming themselves. Two of Horik's men quickly shot them dead with arrows. The King's army moved through the streets, when they encountered two sole guards. The guards had no way of getting away, but they were able to draw their weapons. They put up a fight, but after a short clash, Horik's men cut them down.
By now, the sound of battle could be heard all over Kattegat, as many of the town's warriors were murdered. Rollo was lying in his sickbed, he had spent the entire afternoon trying to reach the axe, Siggy had placed on the table. Somehow, he finally had succeeded.
Two of Horik's warriors entered the house, ready for battle. Rollo looked angrily at them, before he grabbed the axe lying next to him, and slowly stood up. They all moved at the same time, Rollo burying his axe deep in the attacker's chest.
Athelstan was standing behind the corner of a house, watching the battle unfold in front of him.
"And deliver us from evil", he prayed, before he lunged forward. His axe hit one of Horik's men in his side. Athelstan turned around and cut another warrior's head off.
Lagertha and a handful of her warriors walked over the place, ignoring the battle all around them. They were armed as well, and they had a specific target.
Sansa was asleep, when the attacker's entered her room. She'd been staying at a friend's home this night, the great hall had been too packed for her taste.
When the door was shoved open, Sansa sat upright in her bed. She eyed the attackers, who stood in the door for a moment. Then they leaped forward, the sword coming straight down to Sansa's head. She did not move, as if she was going to take the blow. Only in the last moment, her left arm went up, grabbing her attacker's wrist. She twisted it around and pulled. Her attack took her opponent by surprise and she held his sword. Sansa swung the sword around with her left hand, opening the attacker's throat. Sansa whirled around and stabbed the other attacker in the belly.
Gunnhild was ready for battle. Her daughters had helped her to put her armor on, now she assembled her guard and was about to join the battle, when the door in front of her was shoved open. Her guards were attacked by others, her daughters and her younger sons fled to the bedroom.
Gunnhid looked up and found herself facing Lagertha, battle-ready as well. Lagertha had dropped her shield and began with several attacks with her sword which Gunnhild parried. When Lagertha's sword had been parried, Lagertha used her free hand to punch Gunnhild in the face. Gunnhild stumbled back, then answered with a swing of her sword, which would have cut Lagertha's arm off, had she not just stepped aside. Gunnhild's blade merely cut through the air, and Lagertha stepped in, grabbing Gunnhild by her hair. Gunnhild hit her opponent in the back with the pommel on her sword, which sent Lagertha staggering back, till she fell against the wall. Gunnhild swung her sword again, a wide arched chop. Lagertha parried, but was forced to duck. Another chop by Gunnhild and Lagertha was sitting on the floor.
Gunnhild raised her sword to finish Lagertha off, when Lagertha suddenly lunged forward, burying her blade in Gunnhild's hip. Pain shot through the older shield maiden's body, and she fell on her back. Lagertha stood up and looked at her for a moment, before she stabbed her sword in Gunnhild's chest, killing her.
Lagertha stood up again and walked into the other room, where the children were hiding behind the bed, shivering for fear. One of the warriors stepped next to her.
"Earl Ingstad, you should leave now", he told Lagertha, "I have orders from Earl Ragnar…"
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A/N: So I've decided to cut here and make an extra chapter of the end of the episode and my own version of the events until the first episode of Season 3.
I hope you liked it...
Don't forget to review!