Okay, here's the second half of chapter six. And though it covers a lot less time, there's still quite a bit that happens. And things are still changing for Athelstan, because there's definitely something there that wasn't there before.

I meant to have this up yesterday afternoon, but I was exhausted when I got home from work, so here it is first thing this morning.

See you at the bottom!

Grown, Part II

As with her birthday the year previous, Lilith spent her eighteenth practicing with Torstein. She had already excelled beyond his expectations, and even Athelstan could see how different learning the bow and arrow had improved her physical strength and her focus.

"Torstein says I'll be ready to start shooting from the back of a horse soon," she gushed as she and Athelstan both walked to Floki's to go fishing.

Athelstan laughed softly. "That's remarkable, Lili," he said. "Ragnar will probably want to take you hunting soon, and then you'll be a proper huntress. Like Diana, the Roman Goddess."

She stepped back to his side, still holding his hand as she lightly punched his arm. "I always thought I was more like Minerva. With my quick-thinking, and my strategy. I've had to use it living in this place."

Athelstan almost asked her what she meant by that, but before he could, she turned to face him, walking backwards along the trail as she raised her fists to him.

"And Torstein says once I have mastered the bow and arrow, he will start teaching me to fight with a knife and with my fists. So I can hold my own against anyone who thinks they can outsmart me."

She pretended to jab at him, and though he laughed at her antics, he tried to make her stop.

"Be careful," he pleaded. "You're going to fall if you don't stop that."

She scoffed playfully. "I have been walking this trail for three years. I know it backwards and forwards. I am not going to — "

Just before she could finish her statement, her dress caught on the heel of her foot, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward.

Athelstan reached for her hand, grabbing her wrist instead as he attempted to catch her so she wouldn't hit the ground. Her momentum was already too great for him to do that, and they both went tumbling.

His knees slammed into the ground before he caught her with one arm and tried to brace himself on his other hand. He felt something crack in his wrist before they both hit the ground with a loud oof. The back of her head hit the ground before he could move his hand to stop it, and he was breathing in dirt before he leaned back to look at her.

"Lili, are you all right?" he pleaded frantically.

She groaned before opening her eyes. "Ow." She looked up at him, gazing for almost a minute before she spoke. "I'm okay. What about you?"

His arm gave under his weight, and he yelped softly before he sat up to cradle it gently. "I think it's broken," he said.

She sat up then, holding her head for a second before she leaned over and tucked her head between her knees. "All right," she hissed. "No more walking backwards. No matter what Gyda says. It is too dangerous."

Athelstan could only laugh once, whimpering slightly as his arm began to throb. "I completely agree. Come on," he said, reaching for her with his other hand to help her to her feet. His knees tried to buckle, but she held him up with her arm around him, and slowly, they began walking again. "From now on," he said and held her hand tighter, "I want you to stay right here. All right?"

Lilith held him tighter, smiling as she nodded. "All right."

It took another half hour to make it to Floki's, and by that time, Athelstan was holding his arm up high enough that it was obvious he was hurt. And his knees were no better, throbbing more as he walked. Lilith seemed to have come out of their fall with nothing but a ripped hem along the bottom of her dress. She insisted she wasn't dizzy, and she held him steadier the further along the trail they got until Floki's hut came into view.

Helga saw them the moment she stepped outside the hut with fresh nets that would be used further out into the fjord. She dropped the nets immediately, hurrying to where they were both hobbling along.

"What has happened to you both?" she asked and took Athelstan's arm in her hands to help him along.

Lilith laughed only once. "You might not believe us if we tell you," she deduced. "But Athelstan's wrist is broken, he says. We must make a brace."

He sighed heavily even as they sat him on a stump in front of the fire already prepared for supper. "I'm all right," he insisted. "It doesn't really hurt that bad. It doesn't — Ahh!"

Helga turned his wrist over, causing a shooting pain to light up his arm and his fist to clench even if he didn't want it too. Though her touch was gentle, what she was doing wasn't in the slightest, and Athelstan began to feel lightheaded.

"Whether you are in pain or not," Helga said firmly, "we must still tend to it and make sure nothing else happens to you. Come. Floki!"

When they made it to the hut, it's remaining occupant came out to see them there, and though he didn't immediately spring into action, he noticed something was wrong.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Athelstan is hurt," Helga said. "We must wrap his arm so that it will heal."

For a second, Floki didn't move. Then Lilith shouted at him louder than Helga had.

"Floki!"

That seemed to make him react, and he moved forward to help. "Come on, Priest," he grunted. "Always needing to be patched up, I see, hmm?"

Athelstan didn't argue, allowing them all to get him inside the hut before sitting him down in front of the fire. Though his tunic was only slightly dirty, Helga insisted on cleaning it, and when she noticed the scar on his shoulder, she mentioned it.

"What happened here?" she asked as she folded up his tunic.

Athelstan glanced back at his shoulder. "Oh, I have Ragnar to thank for that. Though he says I have moved passed what he might call intermediate with an ax and a shield, while I was still very much a beginner, he was no less enthusiastic about me learning to duck when I was supposed to. That time, I did not." He reached for Lilith's hand with his good hand, taking it in his. "I had Lili there to patch me up. And she did an exquisite job."

She blushed even as she squeezed his hand in hers.

Helga's fingers over the scar surprised him, sending a shallow shiver through him as she caressed the closures of the stitches like she'd never felt them before. "It is incredible that Lilith was able to stitch your skin this way. Where did she learn to do it?"

He shrugged. "I never taught her. Perhaps spending time on the loom with Aslaug has given her this new skill. I'm glad of it regardless."

She 'hmm'd' and left with his tunic, and once she was gone, Lilith let go of his hand and scooted back to look at his pants. Already, the scuffed knees were covered in little stains of blood, and she reached for his legs.

"Come on," she said. "We need to make sure your knees are tended to as well. Take off your boots. If you are good, we will not need to divest you of your pants."

Athelstan blushed then, pulling his boots off and wincing when he lifted his leg for her to push the pant legs up. He hadn't realized how hard he'd fallen until he saw droplets of blood blooming over little scrapes covering both his knees.

Lilith shook her head, reaching for the ripped hem of her dress and pulling it up so she could use it to staunch the blood. "My hero," she whispered, gently wiping away the blood even as he hissed and whimpered.

Luckily, Floki concluded that as long as Athelstan kept his arm elevated, it would heal in a few weeks. He also grudgingly gave Athelstan a strong ale that would make him sleep off the first day and not feel whatever healing had to be done that would be the most painful. Helga brought back a numbing ointment for Athelstan's knees, offering to administer it but being overridden by Lilith. Once he was sufficiently inhibited by the ale, Lilith and Helga helped him up into the main bed so Lilith could apply the ointment to his knees.

Inside the curtains of the main bed, there was only minimal light, but in his inebriated mind, Athelstan could see Lilith perfectly. In fact, it seemed like even in the low light that she glowed, making it even easier for him to see her. In all his years watching her grow up, he'd never really noticed it, but now that he had enough ale in him, there was nothing else for him to look at, not even the candles that flickered around them. The last time he'd been this drunk, he'd spilled all his secrets to Ragnar about his home and all its treasures. What would he spill now that it was Lilith?

She sat at his feet silently, spreading the ointment over his knees as gently as ever, and all he could think about was when she had fallen off her horse and scraped her hands.

"When did you learn to stitch cuts, Lili?" he slurred slightly.

She grinned as she moved to his other knee. "Not any time specifically," she said so softly that he barely heard her. "I remembered when I saw your scar from the fishing accident, and I asked Aslaug how to make a stitch that would close a wound like yours. She didn't know what I meant at first, but I used an old piece of fabric to show her, and she helped me. It took many tries before I felt confident doing anything so complicated. And then you were hurt, and I knew I wanted to do it. So I did it."

Athelstan smiled lazily. "So you tested yourself on me," he chuckled lightly.

She laughed softly as well. "And you were the perfect test subject," she teased.

When she finished with the ointment, she moved to leave the enclosure so he could rest, but he stopped her.

"No," he whispered, still slurring. "Stay. Please."

She sat at his side, and he took her hand in his, lifting his other hand to her face. "You are so smart," he said, caressing her cheek. "And you are so brave. And so clumsy."

She laughed softly, and he did as well, still rubbing her cheek. "And you are so beautiful. You have this light inside you that I've never seen before. It's so il-lum-inous."

She laughed again, leaning over him until she could ease his hair from his face. "You are very drunk right now," she murmured. "And you will have a very bad headache when you wake. I am going to go fish, and when you wake up, we will have food waiting for you. Sleep," she commanded gently, leaning forward and kissing his forehead before she moved to leave the enclosure.

"I love you so much," he uttered just before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Athelstan couldn't tell if it was still daylight or if it was night the next time he opened his eyes, but Lilith had been right about his head hurting. Even the minimal light of the candles made his eyes throb as he sat up over the bed where he'd been deposited. His arm ached from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder, throbbing around his wrist and signaling that he had in fact broken it. His knees didn't hurt as badly as they had before, but since they'd only been scraped, he was sure they would heal quickly. His stomach growled loudly then, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in a long time, and he moved to leave the enclosure, stopping when he heard Helga and Floki talking. Well, more like arguing.

"I should not have to give up my own bed for a Christian who used to be a slave," Floki complained. "Even if Ragnar has made him a free man. He's as useful as a whipped dog, always needing tending to. He is not a man!"

Athelstan peeked out from the curtain, seeing them in the middle of the room near the hearth.

Helga shook Floki gently. "If he is not a man, then that would mean Lili is not a woman. And she is a woman. And she is beautiful and wonderful, and I love her like she is mine. You love her, Floki. I know you do. Why would you say these things? Why?"

Floki bowed his head, almost penitently. "It is true. I do love her. I have watched her grow, and she has grown strong. But she is always with him, always in need of him. Even if she has turned to our gods, she still has so much of the Priest in her that she might as well be half of what he is. If only she would rid herself of him, then it would not cause me so much anguish."

The fire popped and cracked, and Helga jumped, startled as she released Floki. It looked like what he had said had struck her like a lightning bolt. He tried to leave, but she stopped him.

"By all the gods, you must stop this," she commanded. "If you love Lili, then you must stop. She is beautiful and strong because of Athelstan. Because of Ragnar and Lagertha. Because me and you. You cannot take someone else from her life, not the way Lagertha was taken away. Surely, you already see it. The same as everyone else. The same as Ragnar."

Floki sneered, glancing toward the enclosure and growling softly. "I see it," he confirmed. "And it sickens me."

He stalked off without giving Helga the chance to argue further, and she turned back to see Athelstan in the small slit of the curtains, watching her.

She sighed softly, moving closer and pushing the curtains back further. "You are awake," she said, even as he squinted up at her.

"It appears I am," he groaned. "How late is it? How long did I sleep?"

"It is morning, Athelstan," she informed him curtly. "You slept all night, and now it is time for you to get up out of my bed."

She reached for his good hand, and dizzily, he rose, stepping down the steps and almost falling before she caught him.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I would have slept anywhere else. I swear."

Helga huffed, hooking her arm with his and gently helping him to his feet. "It is all right," she said, apologizing. "You needed to sleep, and it is not your fault. Floki was not happy, and I had to listen to him complain all night. Come. It will do you good to be outside."

Her shortness with him ended swiftly as she wrapped her arm around him to help him to the door and then outside into the early morning light. The morning air was cooler than it had been the day before, and Athelstan shivered a little before Helga produced his tunic from the day before. With a little difficulty, they pulled it over his head and then pulled his arm through the sleeve before slipping it through the sling Floki had made. Athelstan was instantly grateful for the cover even though he was still barefoot.

"Go on and see if Lilith has gathered our eggs for breakfast," she urged, nudging him on toward the little barn where the animals stayed. "It will be time for the two of you to go soon. Ragnar will need to know you are hurt."

Since the ground was smooth with the beaten path, it was easy to walk to the barn, even as he limped a little. It wasn't until he was nearly there that he realized the morning snow drifting through the air. He knew it wasn't uncommon for them to have late summer snow drifts, but he hadn't realized exactly how cold it was for him to be outside without his boots. He thought about going back when he saw the door to the barn open and allow Lilith outside with a basket of eggs on her arm.

He thought his eyes played a trick on him, making Lilith look like someone else he knew with the same hair and the same smile. It wasn't until she looked up to see him that he knew who she reminded him of. The woman in his dreams.

Athelstan always thought of that woman, knowing it was someone Lilith would one day become, but he had not expected that day to be so soon. With the snow and the bright light and the smile upon her face, Athelstan felt his whole body flood with warmth as his heart sped up. He never believed he would ever meet the woman in his dreams, but there she was, coming toward him with a confused look on her face.

"Athelstan?" she said, in front of him before he had time to change the expression on his own face.

Suddenly, the vision broke, and Lilith stepped closer to him to help him, draping his good arm over her shoulders.

"You certainly slept a long time," she teased. "Floki's ale must have really done the trick for you to miss supper and nearly miss breakfast."

He laughed softly, holding her closer. "It feels like I've slept for a year."

She laughed with him, looking down at his feet. "And where are your boots?" she exclaimed. "It's too cold out here for you to not have them on."

Athelstan bowed his head, pushing away what he'd seen and focusing on what was in front of him. "I promise not to do it again," he assured her.

Just as she usually did, Lilith 'hmm'd' and helped him along without another word. It wasn't until they were almost to the hut that Athelstan remembered saying almost the exact same thing to her the morning after they'd arrived at Ragnar's farm so many years earlier.

Maybe Floki was right. Maybe there was so much of Athelstan in Lilith that she couldn't know which parts were him and which parts were her. Athelstan didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

After breakfast, and after getting his boots, Athelstan and Lilith left Floki's hut, bidding Helga goodbye while Floki was nowhere to be seen. It warmed up slowly as they walked, and Athelstan pushed what he'd seen as far away as he could, not wanting it to change anything between them the way the whole talk about boys nearly had. He didn't know if Lilith had noticed his reaction or not, but if she had, she'd said nothing.

Arriving in town drew a little more attention than Athelstan would have liked, and he hoped the people staring at them were doing it because he was hurt and not because of the way Lilith was holding him. A few men glared at him, and some of the women sneered at Lilith, but before any of them could do or say anything else, the long house was in sight, making anything they wanted to do pointless.

Aslaug was the first one to see them, handing Hvitserk to one of her handmaidens and hurrying toward them.

"What has happened?" she exclaimed, reaching for his injured arm tenderly and looking over Lilith quickly.

"Athelstan has broken his arm," Lilith said obviously, "but he will be all right if he is careful. Floki said it would be a few weeks."

"Come sit," Aslaug commanded gently. "Ragnar!"

In just seconds, Ragnar emerged from the back of the long house carrying Ubbe with Gyda behind him. When he saw Athelstan with his arm wrapped up, he handed Ubbe to Gyda and sat down next to him.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"Lilith says Athelstan has broken his arm," Aslaug informed him.

"How did this happen?" Ragnar asked, looking at Lilith and then Athelstan.

When Lilith opened her mouth to speak, Athelstan stopped her. "It was my fault," he said. "I wasn't being careful, and I tripped on the trail to Floki's. It was just an accident."

Ragnar glanced at Lilith, already sensing what had happened, but he said nothing to her, turning back to Athelstan and grinning slightly. "So you are as delicate as a shield maiden?" he teased.

Athelstan blushed without meaning to, feeling a hand absently stroke the back of his head and looking up to realize it was Aslaug.

"Ragnar," she chastised. She made Athelstan look at her. "Are you in pain?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "A little. But I'm probably still a little hung over from Floki's ale."

She rubbed his cheek. "I will bring you something for the pain. Wait here."

Once she was gone, Ragnar leaned over to Athelstan, lowering his voice a little. "I think my wife has grown fond of you for taking care of her children," he still teased. "She is certainly more affectionate with you than she is with me sometimes."

Athelstan's blush got worse, and Ragnar lightly punched his opposite shoulder.

"Relax, my friend," he said. "My wife knows where your heart lies."

Aslaug returned before Athelstan could ask what Ragnar meant, and she ushered Athelstan back to where the loom was being tended to by Edda and Þórunn. She insisted on looking over him to make sure nothing else was broken, which meant removing his tunic again, and while Athelstan was glad of her attention, he didn't see why it was necessary.

"Until you are healed," she said as she eased her hands over his shoulders and then his back, "I do not want you doing anything unnecessary. You will continue lessons with Lilith and Gyda and Ubbe, but nothing else. Understand?"

He shivered slightly, a little embarrassed even as he agreed. "Yes, Princess." After a pause, he glanced at her as she still looked over his back even if he hadn't fallen like Lilith had. "Princess Aslaug, I wonder if it's really necessary to go to that extreme in this case."

She stopped abruptly, but he spoke again before she could.

"I am grateful for your attentiveness, believe me," he said. "But we are only friends. Shouldn't you reserve this kind of attention for your husband and your children?"

"You are right, of course," she said. "And I do give my husband and my children the best of my attention when possible. But you are wrong in saying that we are only friends, Athelstan."

She paused like he had, and when he looked back at her, she gave him a kind smile.

"We are family," she asserted.

Like he had with Ragnar, Athelstan opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but before he could, Gyda and Lilith appeared behind her. She left him with a small pouch for him to take for his pain, and instead of a tunic to pull over his head, she gave him one that tied in the front that would be easier to get on and off. He simply nodded his thanks, and that was the end of it.

A few weeks became a few months as Athelstan continued to work with Lilith, Gyda and Ubbe on their reading and writing. Winter set in when it usually did, again confining them indoors and making it even more difficult to avoid more people staring and even making their complaints known to Ragnar about more things than it was possible to keep up with. Athelstan knew he was one of those things, and he watched Ragnar dismiss every single one of the complainers, who all appeared to be men.

Lilith remained oblivious, or so it appeared. She never strayed too far from Athelstan's side, and neither did Gyda, which made it more difficult for anyone to approach them or speak to them. Aslaug insisted on tending to Athelstan's arm, making sure he was no longer hurting before she allowed anyone to remove the bindings keeping it immobile. She also insisted that he not train anymore with Ragnar until his wrist was strong again. That took another three months, and once again, it was Spring.

Athelstan began to hear rumors from some of the people in town who were worried about Ragnar, and he was surprised to learn that they all expressed the same views and ideas their Earl once had about his predecessor, Haraldson. At the few gatherings he attended when he wasn't helping Aslaug with the boys or Lilith and Gyda with their reading and writing, whenever anyone mentioned this to Ragnar, the answer was always the same.

"You all know what we have been through as of late," Ragnar said to everyone in the Great Hall. "Until I am sure that we will not suffer any more losses, I will not embark on any new raids that will take away our young men who we need here in Kattegat. That is all I will say on the matter."

Athelstan was as curious as everyone else, but thankfully, since he spent more time around Ragnar than nearly anyone else, he soon discovered why the Earl was so reluctant to plan any new raids to England.

"It is not only more losses I worry over," he admitted as they both practiced on the beach alone. "It has only been three years since the plague that nearly wiped out my people, and I know they are not ready to face such an endeavor. Floki is still building the boats, and many of the men who would go with me are still training, yourself included. Do you feel like you're ready to fight against a man who will only want to kill you?"

The sword in Ragnar's hand swung toward him quickly, and he barely blocked it, feeling his wrist twinge and dropping his ax in the sand.

Athelstan sighed as he knelt to pick it up, hesitating just slightly. "No," he said, realizing after a minute and looking at Ragnar as he stood up. "Is that why? Because of me?"

Ragnar's grin was unmistakable. "Do not flatter yourself, my friend," he mused. "Though I enjoy teaching you all there is to know about fighting, you still have a long way to go before you will be ready. I simply wish for you to be able to defend yourself. As I am certain my daughter does as well. No. I am reluctant because I am not ready. But do not tell anyone else. If they knew that was the reason, I would not hear the end of it."

"I won't tell anyone," Athelstan swore, standing up and switching to his good hand so he could at least have a good grip on his ax. "But surely you will have to tell them something other than your usual answer. Eventually."

Ragnar's grin widened and he chuckled. "Eventually," he agreed, gripping his sword and lunging again.

With the news that they wouldn't be going raiding for the summer, the townspeople continued to do what they had always done, fishing and trading, and the town grew and welcomed new people from all new places. Many of them noticed how the Earl had two unmarried daughters, and the rumors almost reached a fervor Athelstan hadn't ever seen before. None of it seem to bother Ragnar, or Gyda and Lilith for that matter. With it being Spring and then Summer, the days at Floki's increased the way they usually did, and the lessons Torstein promised for Lilith to learn fighting with a knife came more quickly than it appeared any of them were prepared. As a favor to Ragnar, Torstein also taught Gyda to fight with a knife, and their days became full again from dawn to dusk.

First, Torstein showed Gyda and Lilith how to hold different knives, and since Athelstan was there to make sure they didn't get hurt, he got lessons as well. Gyda learned a little quicker than Lilith, but mostly because she was better with a sword. When it came to the fist-fighting, Lilith was quicker to dodge the blows and return her own, much to Torstein's surprise.

"I have to wonder who you have punched to be this good at fighting," he said to Lilith as he swung a side-swept fist toward her and stumbled back when she blocked him and landed a blow of her own in his side. "Surely, you have not found a different sparring partner like Athelstan has."

He tried again, his fist connecting with her ribcage and almost making her fall. Without answering him, she rose with her clenched fists and teeth, lunging without throwing a punch and getting inside his space to hit him in the chest. Though he didn't fall that time either, he gasped for air, holding his hand up for her to pause.

"By the gods, where did you learn to hit like that?" he asked and then grinned.

She grinned slightly, relaxing her hands the way he'd shown her. "A girl has to keep her honor in a place like this, does she not?"

Athelstan's curiosity piqued at her saying that, but he didn't get a chance to ask her about it. Gyda spoke before he could.

"She only knows how to fight like that because the boys in town have no respect for my father when it comes to her," she shouted from a few feet away. She gripped the knife in her hand, turning to the post she had been practicing on. "She is something they have never seen before, and they are constantly pestering her. Even when I am with her. It's becoming tiresome, honestly."

Lilith admonished her sister quickly. "Gyda!" she shouted back, glancing at Athelstan before she turned back to Torstein. "Again."

Torstein also glanced at Athelstan, but he didn't say anything, nodding to Lilith and raising his hands for them to keep going.

Because it wasn't a day to go to Floki's, when it began to get dark, Torstein declared them all finished and bid them all to return to town. Gyda was happy for the diminishing light, removing her gauntlets and her vest to only be in her thin shift shirt and leading the way as Lilith followed her. Athelstan took up the rear, noticing how Lilith took her hair down and being so intrigued by it that he almost tripped over a branch that had fallen near their path to town.

Both she and Gyda heard him, and while Gyda only glanced back and smirked, Lilith stopped and waited for him to be beside her, taking his arm in hers so they could walk together.

"You are acting strange," she said. "You're not worried I'm going to throw a knife at you now, are you?"

Athelstan laughed softly. "Of course not," he insisted. "I want you to learn to defend yourself. And Torstein is an excellent teacher in this manner. I know I could never do it, and I don't think Ragnar would have the patience. He barely has patience enough for me."

She held his arm tighter. "Then what it is?"

For a moment, he didn't know what to say or how to say it. Then he looked at her and simply spoke. "Is it true that there are boys in town who are bothering you?" he asked as delicately as he could.

The smile on her face fell, and he immediately regretted asking. They'd had such a difficult time with this subject before. He didn't want to make it more difficult by making her uncomfortable the way he had been.

"It is true," she confirmed. "But it isn't as many as Gyda wants anyone to believe. One or two. They seem to know whenever I am coming back from the market, and I had to give one of them a black eye even though it made my hand hurt for a week. They try to make me believe I shouldn't be learning to fight, even though Ragnar has already made it so. And it doesn't matter what I say or do. They keep doing it."

Athelstan lifted his hand to hers as she still held his arm. "Have you told Ragnar about it?"

Lilith shook her head. "I am not a child," she asserted. "I do not need Ragnar to fight my battles for me."

"No," he agreed. "You do not. You have always been quite capable of doing that yourself. But he is your father by law. If you're having trouble with anyone in town, he would more than likely be happy to intervene. If only to make for certain that you are safe."

He glanced at her and saw her grinning before she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"I have you for that," she said and laughed.

To her, it was probably only a kiss on his cheek. To Athelstan, it was something completely different. And he didn't even know why it was different.

For Gyda's eighteenth birthday, and for Lilith's nineteenth birthday, Ragnar asked each of his daughters what they wanted to do, instead of throwing another feast for the men to compete in front of him. Gyda asked her father for a newly forged sword and a new shield that she would design herself. He was happy to give those things to her, and it was easy to see that he was relieved. There was still a feast, but there were no competitions afterward. Lilith simply asked for the ability to choose when and if she would marry anyone. It was a strange request, and Athelstan knew many of the boys and men who had been watching her wouldn't be happy if Ragnar granted her request. In the end, she also asked for a new bow and to design her own arrows, and that much was something Ragnar had no trouble giving her.

For once, they were all able to spend quiet nights in the long house, even if the days were as hectic as ever. Gyda spent almost a week designing her shield, and she asked Athelstan to help her since he was the one who had shown her how to draw the way he did and to paint. In the end, he even helped her paint it. The protective runes were a collaborative effort, but the black raven was all Gyda's idea. While Gyda worked on her shield, Lilith designed her arrows and sat with the silver-smith to make sure the details were just right. That wasn't all she did with the designs she drew, also taking them to the man in town who had inked Ragnar's tattoo over his scalp. When it was finished, she not only had her weapons for her hands but also on both her forearms.

"Do you like them?" she asked him when the bindings came off to reveal her work in its finished form.

Athelstan couldn't stop looking at them, if he was being honest. "They're incredible, Lili," he said even as he absently caressed the sharp lines of the arrowhead near her wrist.

"Gyda is jealous, I think," she said and laughed softly. "Now all her friends want to know when she will be getting hers. And Ragnar hasn't said if he will let her do it or not."

"Well, try not to make it worse then. Soon, it will be winter, and the two of you will be in close quarters again. We wouldn't want to have to separate you from each other over something so small."

To that, Lilith pouted only slightly.

Though it took its time arriving, once Winter came, the same routine settled in the way it always did. Probably the same amount of people who usually took up space in the Great Hall did so again, making it a crowded place where it was almost impossible to have any peace or quiet. Along with advancing Lilith and Gyda's lessons, Ubbe was old enough to start recognizing shapes and reading aloud the way Athelstan taught him. The older books they'd now had for over seven years were so smooth from repeated lessons that Athelstan began making new drawings for Ubbe so he would be able to identify them by their shapes.

Aslaug announced just after the beginning of the new year that she was once again pregnant, and she asked Athelstan when he could begin lessons for Hvitserk. It was easy to come up with a time frame, especially since part of the job had already been taken up by Ubbe and Gyda. Aslaug also arranged for everyone in their close family to have a bed to sleep in with each other so they wouldn't have to worry about the cold. At first, it seemed like she meant for Athelstan to keep up with the boys while Gyda and Lilith looked after each other. But when she asked Gyda to see to Ubbe and Hvitserk, it was clear she would pair him with Lilith for the duration of the winter until it was warm again.

"You are not concerned of this, are you?" she asked him as she observed him helping Tait bringing in the extra beds. "It is not an uncommon thing to do. And you and Lilith are so close to Ubbe and Hvitserk already. I wish for Gyda to be close to her half-brothers. This is the best way to do that."

When the beds were in place, Tait left, and when it was just the two of them, Athelstan stood up to face her.

"It is not that I'm concerned with," he assured her. "Gyda should be close to the boys. They are her brothers. But I have shared a bed with Lilith now for many years. I know from personal experience that she is a restless sleeper. I also worry about how this will look to the townspeople."

Aslaug stepped closer to him, taking his shoulder before she responded as confidently as she always did. "You are as much a part of this family as she is. And as such, we will treat you as family. You do not need to distance yourself. We have plenty of room for you here, and I know Ragnar would agree."

She inclined her head just a little, bidding him to agree, and after a minute, he nodded.

"Of course, Princess," he said, and her measured smile let him know it was the right answer.

"Good. Now go and find Ragnar. Let him know everything is ready. He wanted to know before he made his plans known to everyone else."

"Plans?" Athelstan asked, curious.

She nodded. "Yes, he has spoken to me about whether it is time for the summer raids, and I believe he has come to a decision. He was waiting for me to do this, and now that it is done, he should be ready. Go. We will talk later."

Athelstan bowed his head then, turning and leaving silently. He only glanced back at her once, watching her rub her belly protectively and look around like she was pleased with herself. It was indeed odd behavior for her.

Ragnar was sitting in the Great Hall near his sons as they played, carving a small wooden sword with a slight grimace on his pinched face. The grimace faded the instant he saw Athelstan, morphing into a genuine smile.

"Athelstan! Come! I have news."

Finding a place to sit wasn't difficult, though many of the people close by looked in the direction of their Earl as he beckoned Athelstan to sit with him. Ragnar remained oblivious, scooping up Ubbe and Hvitserk and sitting them between him and Athelstan before he spoke.

"Floki has sent word that he is nearly finished with the boats," Ragnar announced. "Which means we are even closer to returning to England. What do you say to that?" he asked with a wide grin.

Athelstan laughed softly. "I think it has been nearly four years since you went raiding, and your people are getting restless."

Ragnar rolled his eyes dramatically. "As if they need more to complain about," he scoffed. He took a long gulp of his ale, pouring a cup for his friend before his grin turned mischievous. "What about you?" he asked. "Are you anxious to return to England?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm anxious," Athelstan admitted. "But it will be interesting to return there after so long."

"Do you miss it?" Ragnar asked pointedly.

Athelstan shrugged. "Not really," he insisted.

Ragnar slit his eyes, quirking his eyebrow slightly and questioning without speaking.

Bowing his head, Athelstan conceded. "All right, I miss it sometimes, but not for any important reason. Lili and I were only happy there a short time before I learned what Father Cuthbert had done. After that, I think I imagined a dozen different ways to get her out of the monastery, but there was nowhere for us to go."

"And now you are here," Ragnar said and winked knowingly.

"Yes," Athelstan agreed. "Now we are here."

"You know I want you to come with me," Ragnar reminded him. "It will be beneficial for us all if you come. We will need the help of all the gods. Including yours. And we will learn many things together. Hmm?"

Athelstan nodded even as he pursed his lips at Ragnar's comment. "Of course I will come with you. Else I will be left behind with the women and children, and I would never hear the end of it. Especially from Lili."

That made Ragnar happiest of anything, and he glance around everyone who was watching but not speaking. "I will be making an announcement within the week," he decided. "We will have a feast, and I will be making a few of the boys who are old enough men so they can travel with us. And let us not forget that King Horik and Jarl Borg will be arriving soon. Kattegat will not be big enough for all of us, and you and I will both need to be vigilant. For all my children's sake."

Athelstan thought he meant they would all have to be mindful and keep the boys and Gyda and Lilith close. He never thought Ragnar would mean something entirely different.

That night, after most of the Great Hall had been vacated, and after everyone else had gone to bed, Athelstan finally found his way to the one he was currently sharing. Lilith was already taking up almost the entire bed, which made him smile a little but also made him cringe as he removed his tunic and tried to slip under the furs in front of her so he wouldn't wake her. It took only a minute for her to feel him there and wrap her arms around him, holding him closer to her.

"Finally," she whispered close to his ear, making him laugh softly and then shiver. "I thought you would never be finished."

With her hand close to his heart, Athelstan took it in his before he spoke. "Ragnar says he's almost ready to go back, Lili."

"Go back where?" she sighed, cuddling up against him.

"To England."

She went still, holding him tighter. Slowly, she scooted up so she could speak a little more coherently without waking anyone. "And you're going with him?" she questioned pointedly.

He glanced back at her. "Ragnar wants me to go. He says I can help him. And if he's successful, then it would help us. I guess."

"Of course, Ragnar says you can help," she exhaled. "You still know more of the language than he does, and you are much more level-headed. You will keep him from getting killed. I'm sure Aslaug will appreciate that. But do you want to go back?"

He squeezed her hand, wanting to look at her when he spoke but not wanting to see her face when he answered her. "I don't want to leave you," he promised her. Then he admitted, "But I haven't been training for nothing. This is our home now, Lili. I want it to be safe for us both, but I don't know how long it will stay that way if we don't both help it along a little. So yes, I want to go."

She sighed a little more deliberately, thinking silently before she spoke. "Then you will go," she determined. "But you will swear to me that you will return, or I will cross the sea and drag you back here myself."

Athelstan laughed again, stopping himself before he woke anyone else. "At this point, that shouldn't even be a question. I will always return to you. Just as I always have."

The instant her lips made contact with the inside of his shoulder, Athelstan was the one who went still, feeling chills bombard his entire body to the point that she must have thought he was cold. She pulled the furs covering them up further, and he was glad for it, even as she spoke more seriously than she ever had.

"Swear," she whispered. "And then I will swear."

It took him a minute to find his voice, fighting the instincts rising in him to turn to her so he could hold her how he wanted. "I swear," he managed, clenching his jaw as imperceptibly as he could.

She relaxed after that, apparently pleased with his response and hopefully not aware of his reaction. She went still slowly, sleeping and leaving him alone in his thoughts.

He didn't understand his reaction at all, just like he hadn't when she asked him about boys the first time. He hadn't seen her as a little girl since she'd been sixteen, but she was still so innocent. How could he react this way now? Was it even right for him to be this close to her anymore? Why was he so confused about it now?

He loved Lilith. But that was all, wasn't it?

Hmm. That really is a good question isn't it? And Floki and Aslaug are definitely acting different from what we're used to.

I'll do my best to post my side with Ragnar tonight, so we'll finally have his perspective on all of this, and maybe it will shed a little light on his behavior.

Until next time!