I'm still working tirelessly on the next part of Be Not Afraid, and I'm more than half finished with it. But this new story was conceived right around the same time, and it's finally ready for you to see. I hope you like it.

This first chapter is definitely a prologue of sorts, so we know who all the players are. And I know I've done a story like this previously, but I wanted this one to be different.

Again, this is not a Ragnar/Athelstan story. I tried to hit all the highlights of their initial meeting from the show, but that's a ways off. For now, enjoy getting to know these new, yet familiar people.

Enjoy!

Precursor

The thin man never saw it coming. One minute, he was sitting drinking his coffee on a crowded Parisian corner, and the next, he was slumped over the table with a bullet to the back of his head. If it had been up to the man pulling the trigger, it would have happened while the thin man had been in an empty room. No witnesses was always a better state of affairs than have to weave his way through throngs of people fleeing from a point sight. But he had one rule. The client always made the rules. And this particular client had wanted a scene. It was good for the media. They always jumped to the wrong conclusions, and that always gave interested parties time to come up with a plausible story as an alibi. The world they lived in demanded it.

And Ragnar Lothbrok was a man of his word.

For many years now, Ragnar Lothbrok had carved out a fearsome reputation as the best in the business. There weren't many who didn't know what he was truly capable of. Most of the people who had never been afraid of Ragnar were all dead. Perhaps that was why he had the clientele of a man in a much higher position than he had ever needed.

This last mark had been the rival of a powerful politician, and the local media had been investigating money laundering that would have led to his defeat in the local race for parliament. Now the only thing they would report would be who could have possibly done such a horrible thing. And with the alibi of his rival being at a prestigious fund raiser, no one would suspect anything.

A quick text was sufficient to let his own team know the job was done, and with payment already transferred, the only thing left to do was head home for an overdue break.

"I really wish you would reconsider, my friend," Ecbert West said to the man on the other end of his call. "You're looking at a long battle here, and you know I have the resources to keep this going for years to come. Can you really afford to fight me for that long?"

The pause did nothing to concern Ecbert, nor did it deter him from his threat. "I will fight you for as long as I have breath to do so, Mr. West," the man said. "And we are not friends. You made that perfectly clear when you tried to buy out nearly half of my holdings. So if you think I'm just going to let you have what you ask for, you're mistaken. The question you should be asking is whether you have the ability to face me yourself. Or the balls, should we say? Because I don't think you do."

Ecbert couldn't stop the smile on his face from reaching his voice. "Mr. Pierce, you underestimate me, as usual. And my balls. We'll see who has them, shall we?"

Pierce scoffed. "We shall. Good day."

The ended the phone call, and Ecbert sat back in his leather chair, silent as he thought over what he'd heard and what he wanted to do next.

He wasn't a man who scared easily or backed away from a challenge just because it didn't look like he would prevail. The odds had almost always been in Ecbert's favor, and now would be no different. He only had to play his hand properly to get this man who challenged him back in line.

The door to his office opened loudly, allowing his only son Aethelwulf in with his secretary trailing behind him.

"Mr. West, sir, your son has come to see you," she announced, flustered.

"I see that, Constance," he said. "Thank you."

She huffed and left, closing the door.

"Aethelwulf, to what to do I owe this unscheduled visit? Shouldn't you be getting Aethelred ready for something? Perhaps his next semester in the university I'm paying very handsomely for him to fail at participating in?"

"I've come, Father, to inform you that your grandson Alfred is getting ready to spend the summer with his father," Aethelwulf stated in a displeasing tone. "And if it's the last one, it won't be over soon enough. Especially with my wife fussing over every detail of this newest journey the man plans on taking him." Aethelwulf pushed out a loud sigh, moving to the chair in front of Ecbert's desk. "I couldn't get out of the house quick enough. And my own son is already prepared for his next semester at Oxford. He's nineteen, not nine."

Ecbert sighed himself, leaning forward with his hands together. "We go over this every summer, Aethelwulf," he reminded his son. "And you do this every time. You need to accept that Alfred needs this time with his father so he'll be able to handle the world out there. And don't tell me that's the only reason you came. Otherwise, it's a wasted trip."

"Of course not," Aethelwulf said, clasping his own hands together. "I just got another message from our man in Spain. We're losing another asset to Pierce, and we'll keep losing them if he's not handled soon."

"You don't think I know that?" Ecbert demanded. "You don't think I see that every day while you're at home agonizing over an affair your wife had eighteen years ago? Of course I know that. And I know I have to do something."

Aethelwulf almost fumed, his lips twitching. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Or else it would have been done by now. And if I move on Pierce now, it will scare off more of the people he's taken from me. I'll think of something." Ecbert exhaled and pushed the intercom on his phone, calling his secretary back into the room. "Constance, will you come in here, please?"

Less than thirty seconds passed before she stepped into the office. "Yes, Mr. West."

"Constance, I need you to check my schedule for tomorrow. Find me a good time where I can reserve my private room at the Winchester."

She nodded. "Yes, Mr. West. Are there any special arrangements I need them to make?"

He shook his head. "No. Just make the reservations."

She glanced at Aethelwulf who grinned at her before she left quietly.

Aethelwulf looked back at his father, crossing his arms. "So you do know what you're going to do," he concluded. "Care to let me in on the plan?"

Ecbert leaned back in his chair. "No, not really. And besides, you have a wife to worry over. If I need anyone to assist me, I'll make a call to someone I know will do as I ask."

That was the last thing he said, folding his hands together and formulating a new plan that he hoped would include a positive outcome for him when it was finished.

"Alfred! You better be packing! Don't make me come up there!"

Judith West shifted back and forth between the bar island in the kitchen and the refrigerator, finding what she needed to pack the food they'd prepared for her youngest son to take with him on his trip. Since the last day of his last year in school before university, she'd been trying to get him ready, the way she did every year. He'd been taking these trips with his own father since the age of five. One would think he would be ready before she was.

Of course, he wasn't. Though he loved his father, he always waited till the last minute to pack his clothes and anything else he wanted to take with him. He always tried to take half his bedroom with him, but they always settled on as little as possible given that they never knew for sure where he would end up doing on his journey. Judith didn't mind, but just once, she wanted her son to show a little initiative, especially with his grandfather wanting to groom him to take over the family business.

She realized he hadn't answered her, leaving the kitchen and taking the back stairs up to his room where he and his older brother were still playing at some computer game.

"Alfred!" she called over their yelling.

They both stopped abruptly, and she sighed loudly.

"We're meeting your father at the airport, and your flight leaves in two hours," she reminded him. "Will you please pack your bags? I have asked you to do this all week long."

Alfred exhaled just as loudly, putting down the device in his hands and climbing off his bed as his brother Aethelred rose from the floor. Judith put her hands together, mildly pleased as her sons parted.

"Have a good summer, little brother," Aethelred said to Alfred as he left. "Try not to die."

They both shared a laugh, even as Judith shot her eldest an admonishing glare. Once he was gone, she turned back to Alfred, thankful that he was finally putting out his bag and clothes to fill it with.

"Good," she said to him. "And please, don't pack more than absolutely necessary. We still don't know exactly where you're going, and I don't want to replace any of it. Again."

Alfred only glanced at her, now engrossed in folding and packing his clothes into his bag, and she left him to that so she could finish packing the food in the kitchen.

She discovered Aethelred in the kitchen eating some of said food, and she rushed to stop him.

"No, don't eat that," she exclaimed. "That's for your brother! Eat from the pantry if you're hungry. Go!"

He huffed, disappearing into the pantry as she said and then coming back with a packet of cured beef. "Why do you always pack food for Al when he's gone in the summer?" he inquired, taking a bite of his food as he sat up at the bar. "Do you think his father doesn't feed him while they're gone?"

Judith scoffed. "Of course not. Your brother has a special diet, and I want to help as much as I can. His father has a professor's salary, after all, and every little bit helps. Besides, we have plenty to spare, and it would spoil here without your brother to eat it."

Aethelred shrugged as he ate, finishing as she did and rising to leave out the back door before she closed the bag in front of her. "I'm going over to Ethelfled's," he called.

Judith only took a deep breath as she closed the pantry door and gathered up the bag from the bar, stepping out into the foyer of the main door. "Alfred!"

"Give me a minute, Mother!"

She shook her head, grabbing her jacket and her umbrella, along with Alfred's, before she rummaged through her purse for her keys. Just as she got them in her hands, she heard her son's light steps come down the stairs. When she looked up, she discovered he not only had his large blue bag but also his guitar that his father had gotten him two years previous.

"No," she said when she saw it. "You're not taking that."

"Why not?" he pleaded.

"It's too much! What if you lose it? What if someone picks it up, and we have to replace it like we had to replace your laptop and your phone and — "

"I will ask Father to replace it," Alfred called over her. "He bought it for me in the first place. Mother, I am eighteen. Will you please stop hovering? I'm sure it will be all right."

Judith could not contain her exasperation. And she was about to keep going when her phone rang from her purse. She answered it while grabbing the front of Alfred's jacket that he had finally decided to put on. "Yes, Aethelwulf?"

"Well, hello to you too, wife," her husband started. "Have you already left the house?"

She huffed as she pulled Alfred to the door. "We're leaving now," she confirmed, watching her son shoot out the door with his bag and his guitar. "Your house will be safe within the next few minutes. We're late as it is, so I have to go. Goodbye, dear husband."

She didn't wait for him, taking her keys and heading for the door. It was now and had always been a point of contention for Judith's husband that she insisted on carrying Alfred to meet his own father when they left for the summer. He never liked being in the house when it was time to go, and he never came back until Alfred was gone. Honestly, Judith preferred it that way now.

Even over his earbuds, Alfred could hear his mother fussing. She always fussed over everything he did. Since he'd been a baby. He loved her because she was his mother, but sometimes, he wished she had let him stay with his father a long time ago. His father didn't ever fuss over him. They had an understanding, and it had worked for the last several years since Alfred had been in the hospital last. His father had rules, yes, but they were reasonable. Alfred's mother just worried all the time, unnecessarily, over far more than it seemed possible.

Traffic around the airport was hectic as usual, and it always seemed to set her off that they had to do this every summer. Alfred always got the impression that she probably worried about him the entire time he was gone. There was literally nothing he could do about it.

She grabbed his shoulder as they sat at the intersection in front of the entrance, motioning for him to take his earbuds out.

"I know you don't like listening to me when I'm like this," she huffed. "But I'm going to do this every time until it's the last time. Promise me you will listen to your father."

Alfred pushed out a loud sigh, rolling his eyes as he stuffed his earbuds into his bag. "I promise," he said.

"And promise me you won't do anything you know is going to make you tired. You know how you are when you're tired."

"I promise, Mother," he said.

"And don't stay up too late when you know you're going to need your strength the next day."

He folded his arms over his chest, pressing his lips together. "I promise, Mother."

She pulled through the crossing, taking the tunnel and gripping the steering wheel with both her hands. "I really wish he wouldn't do this," she complained. "There really is no need for us to meet him like this. It's not like our drive to the airport is any shorter than his is."

Alfred had no response to her irritation. He didn't really mind where they met. Especially since his step-father had forbid them from doing it anywhere near the house a long time ago. As far as he was concerned, this was an even trade.

"Oh, I wish you had done something with your hair before we left the house," she lamented, reaching out and tucking a strand behind his ear.

Already, it was touching his shoulders. He shivered as her skin touched his, and he quickly reached to pull it up. He hadn't ever told her why he'd let it grow, because she wouldn't have liked the reason. She probably thought it was because of a girl, and he would never deny that. In truth, he and his father had a bet to see whose hair would grow quickest. At the moment, Alfred was winning.

A glance in the side mirror gave Alfred a perfect view of the world behind them as the tunnel sped by. He wasn't one to always look at his face, but when he did, he saw more of his father every year, less of his mother. She always said she could see his father whenever she looked at him, but Alfred was sure that had more to do with old memories. As he got older, he began to see it himself. One day, maybe he would look like neither of them. He would be himself, with his father's eyes and his mother's eye for detail.

The instant he saw the front of the terminal, Alfred texted his father, glancing at his mother as she wove through the few lanes open. He saw his father before she did, noticing his red bag that was almost identical to Alfred's and his guitar case. There was no denying the smile on Alfred's face as they pulled up to the curb just in front of the bench his father rose from with an equally broad smile.

"Right on time," he said, meeting Alfred with a tight embrace. "We probably have just enough time to grab something to eat. Are you hungry?"

Alfred nodded, glancing back at his mother as she opened the back of the Rover. His father did as well, stepping back to help her.

"Judith," he greeted and reached for the large bag in front of her.

She gave him a curt nod. "Athelstan."

He lifted Alfred's blue bag easily, handing it off to his son before he reached for the guitar case.

"I packed both of you some food," she offered, holding the bag she'd packed and waiting for Athelstan to put the guitar case down so he could take it.

"It wasn't necessary," he insisted. "But thank you."

Judith sighed, letting go of the bag before she reached for Alfred. "Come here," she commanded.

He only hesitated a little, stepping into her arms and hugging her loosely as she clung to him.

"Please be careful," she whispered. "And call me when your plane lands. I don't care what time it is. I love you."

Alfred sighed, glancing at his father and leaning back to kiss her cheek. "I love you. Try not worry so much. I'll be in good hands."

She took a deep breath as he pulled away. He spotted her trying not to glare at his father, and he was glad she didn't say anything about the way he looked. His hair, long like Alfred's, was tied back higher on his head, and his beard, while groomed, was longer than she would like.

Alfred grabbed his father's guitar case and stepped up on to curb as she closed the end of the Rover.

"Ready?" his father asked, still smiling.

Alfred nodded, glancing back at his mother as she waved. "Bye, mum!"

Her breath caught again as he walked away, and she called to him one last time.

"Have a good summer!"

He lifted his hand to her, following his father inside for what felt like the last time.

They were a fair distance from the doors when his father spoke over the bustle inside the airport.

"So how much of a mess did you mother have you in this morning?" he asked. "Since I'm sure you waited until just before you left to pack your clothes."

Alfred blushed and his father laughed softly. "She's driving me crazy now that it's time for me to take my exit exams. I'm amazed she let me out of the house."

With a sigh, his father reached over and claimed the back of his head. Gently, he kissed the side of his head and embraced him fully as they kept walking.

"Well, it's good you're with me then," he decided. "You sure you're hungry? We can go ahead to the gate if you want."

"No," Alfred said. "I'm hungry. I'm sure the food Mum packed will hold until we've landed."

His father laughed a little louder, releasing him and tugging the bags he carried a little tighter. "It usually does," he agreed.

Though it had only been a week or so since he'd seen his son, Athelstan could see that he'd probably not slept much since his last official day of school. Alfred did it nearly every year, and every year, it sent his mother into a frenzy trying to keep him from getting sick. They'd gone four years without anything happening, and it looked like they would be lucky again this year. He worried over his son just as much as Judith did, probably more because he'd been kept in the dark about what caused him to be sick in the first place. But Athelstan knew his son didn't like anyone hovering or treating him like a porcelain doll, so they had only a few ground rules.

That was probably why Alfred preferred his father's company, especially since on their weeks, it was only the two of them.

All through the airport, from the front entrance to the boarding gate, Athelstan only watched his son enough to make sure he had something to drink and eat. The food Judith had packed would be whatever she had decided was best for him to eat, to keep him from being hungry and getting tired. They went through it every year. It was perhaps the one thing about her that he still appreciated, and he knew she believed it was the only thing she could do to help. But ever since she'd told him about Alfred and insisted he have shared custody, she had closed herself off from them even being friends. He suspected that her husband, Aethelwulf, had much to do with it.

As long as it didn't have a direct effect on Alfred, Athelstan was content allowing her to go on being that way. The day it changed, he wasn't sure what he would do.

"I got you something for the flight," he said to Alfred as they waited to be boarded. "Check your Audible."

Alfred did so quickly, finding the digital book he'd bought the night before. "Languages of Scandinavia," he read, furrowing his brow a little before he smiled and pursed his lips.

"We've got a three-hour flight ahead of us, so I want you to at least know how to say hello to the first person you meet who doesn't speak English. Shouldn't be too hard. Deal?"

His son nodded as they opened the gates and began calling for people to board. "Deal."

That was all it took to make him smile and kiss his son's head again.

All through the boarding and even after they found their seats and put their carry-on bags in the overhead, Athelstan smiled at his son, listening to him mutter and curl his mouth around the words. It was probably what he loved most about watching him learn something new.

Athelstan had been studying linguistics more than half his life, deciding on it and Theology just before he started university and even making a career out of them when he'd taken a position at UCL almost ten years previous. Of course, teaching a child was different from the students he usually saw every day, but Alfred loved it. He loved learning about new places, and he had already said he wanted to be a teacher when he was old enough.

More than anything, Athelstan wanted his son to have that option, considering who his parents were, but he knew Alfred's grandfather was already talking about grooming him for the family business. Though there wasn't a drop of bad blood between them, Ecbert West was not someone you said no to, and when he said he wanted his grandson to follow in his footsteps, there was no arguing with him.

The flight to Copenhagen was just short enough that they only served a snack in the middle of it, allowing movement before and after and reminding the passengers of the safety precautions in the event of a mishap. Athelstan kept himself busying with his own reading, just a small theology book he'd been trying to finish in the midst of getting everything ready for their trip. Alfred sat on the outside of their aisle, getting up to use the restroom and pulling his jacket off just before they landed.

"Don't put your jacket up before we leave the airport," Athelstan said as they waited to be let off the plane. "And don't put your phone away. We're not staying still for long."

Alfred nodded without saying anything.

Athelstan's phone rang just as they made it to the departure zone, and he answered it as he guided Alfred away from the main crowd that remained close to the people waiting.

"Mr. West," he said, only because he recognized the ring tone.

"Athelstan, my boy, you are the father of my favorite grandson," the extremely wealthy man said almost like he'd been wounded. "I believe after eighteen years that it should be all right for us to be on a first name basis."

Athelstan sighed softly. "Of course. I apologize. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was just checking on you and Alfred. Judith told Aethelwulf that you have already departed for your journey. I hope you had a good flight to Copenhagen."

While keeping his hand on Alfred's shoulder, Athelstan tucked the phone against his own, adjusting the bag on his other shoulder. "It was," he assured the man. "We just landed. We should be in Gothenburg before tonight."

Ecbert paused, it seemed, to take in the information. "Oh, is that your destination?" he asked curiously. "I thought you said you were taking Alfred camping."

Athelstan had to stop, moving to the side of the corridor that led to the baggage claim before he responded. "I am," he confirmed. "But it's already four o'clock here, and it will be dark before we can make it to Oslo. Is there something wrong? I sent you our itinerary, didn't I?"

"Of course you did, Athelstan," he replied quickly. "Just call it an old man's habit. I want everything to go smoothly for you. I'll tell you what, let me make a call to my man at the rental place at the airport, and I'll get you a good deal on a Rover for your journey north."

"That's very generous of you, Mr. — Ecbert," Athelstan said as he sighed. "But it's not necessary."

"Nonsense," Ecbert pressed. "I insist. Just let me make a call, and I will arrange everything. I will also call ahead to Oslo and let my people there know to expect you. Until you set off on your trip into the wilderness, you will both have nothing but the best. And I will not take no for an answer."

Athelstan glanced at Alfred, feeling compelled yet again to do as Ecbert bid. "Thank you, Ecbert," he said, watching his son's eyes catch on to what was happening.

"I'll be in touch, my boy," Ecbert said and ended the call.

"What is it now?" Alfred asked, pleading.

"I never should have let him know where we were going," Athelstan muttered. "He does this every year. It gets more ridiculous the longer it persists. Let's go," he said and nodded toward the baggage claim. "We might as well take advantage of it while we can."

Alfred sighed with him, following him slowly.

Once Athelstan got the text from Ecbert naming the rental company, he gathered up their bags and directed Alfred toward the opposite end of the airport. The whole way, Athelstan thought about the way Ecbert had reacted to knowing they were stopping halfway between where they had landed and where they were going. It wasn't unusual for the CEO to keep tabs on them during the summer, but this time was already completely different.

Athelstan knew that one day soon, most of Ecbert's generosity would diminish when it was time for Alfred to start learning how to be a CEO. He wasn't sure what he would do when that day came.

Just so we know, there will be multiple POVs in this story, beginning with Ragnar. The others, along with Athelstan and Ecbert will be kind of a surprise.

I'm going to post this and the first official chapter today, and the next chapter will be posted in two weeks. Since I'm still working on Part 2 of the other story and this one, I want to be able to give them both my attention.

Keep reading!