Bonnie stood at the bow of the ship with her hand resting on the figure head. She stared out at the ocean, marveling at how the brilliant light of the stars reflected off the inky waters. Still saddened by the loss of Queen Aslaug, she gave herself a moment to grieve the fallen queen. She'd be the first in the long line of many to perish. Her thoughts drifted to Sigurd and Ubbe who were left to wade through all of the changes now taking place in Kattegat, while having to deal with the death of their mother. Then her mind drifted to Ivar and Ragnar. By now Ragnar would be a prisoner of King Ecbert's. Ivar would be on a ship back to Norway already grieving the loss of his father. Her chest ached at the thought of him hearing of his mother's death without her there to provide him comfort.
"You can't become distracted with the lives of those who've already come and gone," Floki said, as he came to stand next to her. "This end was always going to be Aslaug's fate. Ragnar's as well. I shall miss my friend."
Damn. She'd forgotten to inform Floki about making Ragnar her mate. "Floki, I probably should've spoken to you about this sooner, but with everything going on…"
"Spoken to me about what?" He questioned, tearing his gaze from the horizon to look at her.
She inhaled still unsure if she'd made the right decision, but what was done was done. "Ragnar told me if I made him the other half of the prophecy, he'd renounce Valhalla, choose me, and help me find a way to defeat the Hollow."
"What was his response when you told him such a request was impossible?" Floki asked, now completely turning to look at her full on.
"I…" Her head tilted to the side as she brain wrestled with her answer. "I didn't exactly tell him it was impossible." Floki's eyes narrowed. "I-I agreed."
"You cannot!" Floki bellowed, causing a few crew members who'd begun to bed down to glare in their direction. He gave them a cursory nod, and then grabbed her arm. Pulling her close, he lowered his voice. "That's not how fate and prophecy works. You've already marked Ivar as your eternal mate. I watched you do it myself the night you marked your trusted." Her mouth flapped open and closed as her head swung from left to right. "Yes you did. You placed your mark over his brow and upon his neck."
Her face scrunched as she waved him off. "Oh that, I'm not sure why I did that, but even so, it no longer matters. Ragnar and I performed the eternal mate blood exchange. Now the only thing left for him to do is to choose me at the time of his fated death."
"Bonnie, you foolish, foolish, girl! What have you done?" He threw his hands up to grab his head. "If Ragnar remains habitual, decides to pursue his ambitions and chooses you, then you will have doomed us all!"
"Why shouldn't he choose me? Ragnar's dormant mystical energy is unmatched and he's one of the greatest Viking warriors to ever live." She glanced back over her shoulder to be sure they weren't being overheard. "Besides, my magic chooses him, and it wouldn't be the first time it's done so."
His brows touched as his face slightly crumpled. "How so?"
"I've met Ragnar before. I'm not sure of the extent of our association, but he claims we were once in love," she said, while giving a nosey Hvitserk a nod as he passed.
Floki gave Hvitserk a, move the hell along, look. When Hvits made it halfway to the other end of the boat, Floki turned back to her. "Bjorn said something to the same effect, but how's it even possible?"
"How's it possible for us both to be here in the Viking Era?" She questioned, sarcasm dripping from both sides of her mouth.
"Bonnie, come," Bjorn called from the tent he'd erected at the stern of the ship. He poked his head from the slit. "Sometime on the morrow we'll reach the Iberian. We should slumber well, for the next rising we raid."
The warriors roared and cheered, while beating their weapons on various parts of the ship. She inhaled and released an exaggerated breath as she cocked a brow at Floki. If history served facts line for line, then tomorrow they'd have their asses handed to them. Especially, if those Asturians weren't under her dominion. Even if they fought back her hands would still be strapped down because Bjorn would've passed the proverbial first lick.
"This vacay just keeps getting better and better," she muttered to herself as she spun around to head toward the tent. A hand reached out to grab her ankle. She glanced down and her eyes connected with Rollo's.
"So you're the woman he met when he went to the mountains to prove himself as a man to Lagertha," Rollo said, smirking up at her. Stunned, she attempted to squat.
"Bonnie!" Bjorn's bellow nearly shook the floor of the ship.
She pressed her lips together in frustration, while narrowing her gaze at Rollo. "Later." The mutter fell from her lips, before she hurried away to the back of the ship. Moments later she ducked into the tent. "Bjorn, you know it's okay to close your eyes without me righ-," `
The sight before snatched a knot in her vocal chords. Cast in the inviting glow of candlelight, Bjorn lay on the bed furs in nothing more than his trousers. Though tongue tying as that may be, what sat next to him in the small space is what left her speechless. A pail of water, along with her duo body wash, scraps of linen, and scented oil. He'd taken the time to gather things from her basket and fetch her clean water so she could wash.
"Remove your clothing," he said, while eying her as he propped himself up on his elbows. When she took too long to move, he lifted a golden brow. Slowly, she shed her body of her layers of clothing until she stood before him wearing nothing more than an expression riddled with expectation. He held a hand out to her, "Come to me, Mystical One."
She closed the distance between them in a step and a half. Once she was within reach, he tugged her down next to him. He then grabbed a linen scrap and plunged it in the pale. In a slow methodic rhythm he used the linen to drizzle water over her body until every piece and part of her dripped for him. When satisfied she'd be thoroughly saturated, he doused her in the cleansing wash and proceeded to bathe her. He descended her frame in lingering circular strokes, massaging the soothing gel into one shuddery inch of her at a time. Her protector didn't stop until every split, crevice, and crack on her body knew the caressing encounter of his touch.
As he dried her, she craned her neck to look up at him and one word rolled from her tongue to fall from her lips. "Why?"
"I know how you must suffer to be away from your cascading water in the forest and your great basin, so I thought to ease a bit of your suffering." He leaned down and kissed her shoulder.
She gave him a closed lip smile, and then leaned forward to grab her scented oil moisturizer. He took the bottle from her hands, before gesturing for her to lie down. Doing as he ordered, she stretched out on her back. His intense Lothbrok blues crept over her body at a dawdling pace. The glint of hunger kept her breath just out of reach. Cool oil hit her stomach. She gasped, and then came undone as his large hands massaged the lubricant into her skin. Firm sure strokes blaze a path up her abdomen to her breasts. A moan vibrated deep in her throat as he kneaded, flicked, and tweaked her in all the right places.
Once he oiled her breasts to satisfaction, he slid downward. He opened her thighs, hitching each one over his hip. Grabbing the bottle of oil, he splashed the liquid over her legs. After replacing the bottle, he grabbed her left leg. In contracting squeezes he began to rub her foot, gradually working his way up to her calf until it gave way to her thigh. She held her breath as his strokes persisted all the way to the welcome mat of her candy shop. Instead of touching her where she wanted him to the most he switched legs and the entire process restarted. When he denied her once again in favor of flipping her over on her stomach, frustration snatched her cross-eyed.
Face down and at his mercy, she purred when the sorcery that was his hands began to work their magic on her back. He broke her down with unyielding caresses that had her literally humping the bed furs. By the time his fingers slipped between her nether lips and pressed against her clit tears of fuckstration had their entire space looking as if she was ten leagues below sea level. Sobs of relief damn near choked the life out of her as she slow grinded into his fingers and the heel of his hand.
"Make love to me, Bjorn," she pleaded between her sobs. "Please."
His body covered the back of hers. He nipped her earlobe before kissing and sucking her neck. "Marry me, Bonnie."
The dam broke. Saltwater heartbreak rolled down her cheeks. "If it were up to me don't you think I'd have married you by now? You, Torvi, and those kids mean everything to me." She struggled to roll over.
He slid off of her and withdrew his hand from between her legs. "What does this mean, 'if it were up to you'? Who else's will is greater than yours?"
"Despite what everyone seems to believe, I'm still beholden to fate just as everyone else," she said, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. "If I stray from the path set before me for you, there'll be consequences. I'll not risk your future for my happiness."
"And what of my happiness?" he demanded, moving closer and invading the little space their cubby hole afforded her. "Fate wouldn't have sat you before me if she didn't intend for me to love you. Bonnie, my happiness is dependent upon you."
She cupped his face in her hands and rested her forehead on his. Squeezing her eyes closed, she forced another rejection from her lips. "There'll be other women who will make you happier than I ever could, Bjorn Ironside. Please don't continue to ask me for more than I can give."
"I'll continue to ask you for everything, Mystical One," He pushed her down on the furs, and then rolled on top of her. With strict purpose, he began to descend her body. "For I know eventually you'll give me all."
When his lips and tongue collided with the sopping spot that throbbed for him, her breath caught and held. A blended combination of lust and love infused with heat incinerated all of her noble intentions. She released her doubts and muted the alarms sounding off within her soul. If she couldn't have him for life then she'd claim him for herself for that single moment in time.
Her eyes rolled closed as air fled her body in a sigh driven exhale. "Bjorn…"
"I'm l-lost," she chattered as she warmed her hands over the flames. Her gaze traveled over the possible beautiful monster. What did he do to be banished here? "I was trying to get home, but I ended up here. Now I think I'm stuck."
He watched her a moment before nodding and returning to his stool next to the cabin. "Stay as long as you want, I don't mind." He went back to skinning his rabbit.
"Are you here with anyone?" She questioned as her magic seeped from her to investigate the surrounding area.
"I'm alone," he said without looking up from his rabbit.
Suspicion narrowed her eyes by a fraction. "Why? What'd you do?"
His blade paused mid-swipe. There stares collided. "Do you believe me to be a skogarmaor?"
"A skoga-who?" She demanded, her brows nearly disappearing in her hairline.
"I've not been banished. See," he said, lifting his arms to pull back his sleeves before raising his hands to push his silky hair from his face. "I bear no marks of an outcast."
She side-eyed him a bit as she attempted to figure out his game. "Then why are you here?"
"For the woman I long to marry. The woman I hope to one day bear my sons. She's a shieldmaiden like no other, braver than most men, more beautiful than the rising sun and yet," his gaze dropped back to his rabbit as his shoulders slumped.
She lifted her chin to look down her nose at him. "And yet what?"
"She has her sight set upon my elder brother Rollo. He's the best fighter among all Earl Haraldson's warriors," Ragnar placed the blade back to the rabbit, before letting both slip from his hands.
Confusion pushed her head sideways. "So, what, you've come up here to freeze to death in hopes of finding some love in her sympathy?"
"I've come here to prove myself a man. If I survive the winter here she'll know I'm capable for providing for her and our family," he growled as incandescent mystical energy lit the depths of his indigo glare.
Bonnie's own sorcery slammed her insides, writhing and squirming to be released. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If this woman wants to be with your brother, then let him have her. Life is to unsure to be pissing away time on unrequited love." She rolled her gaze back to the fire as Damon's mad dash back to Elena traveled across her mind. "You're hot, I'm sure there's some other woman on your," she glanced over his homely attire, before continuing, "farm who'll appreciate all of that sexy you got going on."
"Hmm." He stood, and then turned toward the cabin. Before opening the door, he tossed over shoulder. "It's clear to me"
Her face scrunched. "What's clear?"
"That you know nothing of love," he said, and then slammed the door after him.
"Bonnie!"
A voice called from behind her. When she turned she saw first season Ragnar standing a couple hundred feet away. The sight of him provoked awareness to slam her harder than a coked up rock star at a death metal concert.
"Bonnie," An all too enticing voice whispered next to her ear. Warm lips trailed kisses down the column of her neck. "We must rise. The Iberian Peninsula has been sighted," Bjorn whispered as his palm fondled her breast. "Come so we may prepare."
A grin teased her lips as she opened her eyes to discover his face hovering over her. "Make me cum, and then I'll prepare." She palmed his dick through his trousers. "Enter me, Ironside. Let us go into battle with no regrets."
"Agree to marry me, and I'll happily fill you." He pecked her lips.
She swatted him back. "Go away and let me sleep, you tease!" Rolling away, she attempted to burrow deeper into the bed furs.
"Bonnie, Floki would like to speak with you," Hvitserk's attitude drenched tone floated to her from just outside the slitted entrance.
Taking a deep breath, she blew out a growl through the slits of her teeth. "Tell him to give me a minute to dress."
"You're not dressed?" Hvitserk's questioned hit her like a well-aimed accusation. "Why would you forgo your garments on a ship filled with warriors and splintered wood?"
Bonnie's glare shot to the cloth partition. Bjorn placed a hand in her lap. "Seek your leave until Bonnie emerges, Hvitserk!"
A moment later they heard footsteps retreat from the tent. She gathered her things, and then began to dress. Her mind occupied with speaking with Floki, what awaited them on the Iberian Peninsula, her ever growing feelings for Bjorn, Hvitserk's attitude toward her as of late and her dream of Ragnar. It all just swirled about in her head confusing and distracting her at every turn. Once dressed she moved to leave the tent. Chorded arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her into a backwards embrace.
"Remain at my side when we reach land. I'll not have you hurt," he said, kissing her neck before releasing her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a nod before slipping from the tent. Activity bustled about the ship. Seamen readied the oars, warriors readied for raiding, while others scurried about and prepared the boat for making land. She caught sight of Floki helping Helga to secure their things near the front of the ship. Threading herself in and out of the madness, she crossed the boat. Once at his side, Floki glanced up. Worry haggard his expression and shone within the depths of his eyes.
"What's wrong?" She questioned as she knelt to help Helga secure the ties on her bundles.
Floki went back to securing more of their items to the ship. "What's wrong is what I don't sense. Supernatural energy or sorcery. This raid will be devastating, and you'll be unable to do anything to come to our aid."
"I'll just protect you all the best I can without harming them," she said, passing a bound bundle to Helga.
"Why not advise Bjorn against raiding there?" Helga asked, her large expressive eyes swinging between Bonnie and Floki.
"We have absolutely no inkling of what a variation of that nature will do to history or Bjorn's legacy," Floki said, casting his gaze in Bjorn's direction, who stood at the figure head of the ship glaring toward the coast of impending land while giving orders to a couple of warriors at his side. "This raid and the ones to follow are what launches his name and notoriety. All events must occur as once before."
Helga deflated. "How many will be lost?"
"We'll not lose too many. Yet, there'll be many whose prides will suffer under the failure of this defeat," his gaze skipped to the ship coasting a hundred feet or so away from theirs. Harald stood at the prow with Halfdan in discussion. "Who may even question the gods favor for Bjorn."
Bonnie opened her mouth to comment on the bitch assness of Harald when she caught sight of Hvitserk glaring at her from the back of the ship. Without saying anything, she rose and made her way to the tented area. As she narrowed the distance between them, she didn't slow. She instead shoved Hvitserk through the slitted tent opening.
Once inside, she invaded his space and got in his face. "Is there something you'd like to say to me Hvits, because lately I've been feeling some kind of vibe coming from you."
"I'm uncertain of this vibe feeling you speak of, but if it's the cause of why you've made a whore of yourself with Bjorn-," Hvitserk began.
She slapped slob from his disrespectful mouth. "Call me another one." Hvitserk grabbed her by the neck, and then slammed her back into the stern of the ship. Ultramarine sapphire sparked from his sockets as he glared down at her. She backhanded him again. "I dare your ass to call me another one, Hvits!" He just continued to glare down at her with that glowing preternatural stare. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. She forced her gaze away from the tempting red goodness to meet his. "No matter what we come to mean to each other, there will never be a time when it's okay for you to call me out my name or forgo respect when you speak to me. You don't try Margrethe in such a way, and I'll damn near your ass before I let you even attempt to deal with me as if I'm less than her."
"Margrethe? Why would I think you less than her? She's a slave." He relaxed his grip on her neck.
She slouched against the stern. "Please save the, she's a slave, nonsense. You care about that girl, you and Ubbe both. Hell, you even took her side over mine, Hvits. But even before that, you came to my keep with the sole intention of seducing me for Ubbe. Every time you've dealt with me you've handled me with the upmost disregard. So it blows my mind fate has saw fit to entertain the thought of you and me."
"I've never disregarded you, I've always-," He began.
Bjorn wedged himself into the slitted opening. "Bonnie, you must come. We're to board-," He stopped talking when he noticed their positions and the tension flowing between them. "What's happened?"
"Nothing," she said, refusing to break eye contact with Hvitserk. "Hvits, was attempting to show me the proper way to subdue an enemy."
"Which is wrong, both of your hands still remains unbound. Attempt to subdue a rival in such a way and you'll be met with a blade to the chest." He glanced to Hvitserk and leveled him with a disapproving glare. "Have you learned nothing from our training? Perhaps you should remain with the ships when we make land."
Hvitserk released his hold on her neck. "No, there's no cause for me to remain with the ship. I've learned much and trained well. Now, I'm ready to raid. Perhaps Bonnie should remain with the ships. Often, she commits the grave mistake of attempting to judge a man's heart and mind based on her own foolish beliefs."
Bonnie's face scrunched. She opened her mouth to verbally annihilate his ass, but Bjorn beat her to it. "Bonnie will not stay with the ships. She remains at my side," he held a hand out to her, and she stepped around Hvits to grab the extended extremity, "always. And in battle the only truth she needs to know about a man's mind and heart is their locus. This way she'll no just where to aim her blade. Come, Bonnie. King Harald awaits."
"So are we all of one accord?" Harald questioned. His gaze moving over the occupants standing in a tight circle at the prow of the ship.
Halfdan nodded his head. The plan was sound. Since they didn't know the land or its people, then perhaps they would do well invading their shores with a third of their warriors. Though the coast may appear undefended one never knew what lie in wait just beyond the shore. His stare skipped to Bonnie as it had done every so often since she'd arrived. Her expression conveyed how unimpressed she appeared to be with Harald's plan.
"No, I'm not," she said, confirming his suspicions. "Why go charging in all ass out without a clue what to expect when you get there? Instead, why not send in a few spies dressed as merchants to trade. While in there, they can take a look at their defenses, catalogue their wealth, and measure the nature of the people. We can also take the opportunity to stock up on supplies before all the fighting starts. So even if things doesn't go our way we'll still have what we need."
Bonnie's plan sounded even more shrewder. Harald's eyes slitted as he fixed Bjorn with a practiced smile. "You decide, Ironside. Which strategy do you prefer?"
"King Harald has more experience with raiding, Bonnie. We'll follow his command for this raid," he said, inclining his head to Harald who was so taken with smirking at Bonnie he didn't even notice. "I'll go speak with my warriors of the strategy, and then move in position."
When he turned to leave, Bonnie moved to follow, and he stepped in her way. The flowered fragrance and hint of womanly wildness invaded his nostrils. Taking a step closer, all he could do was inhale her. Lest he rip away her clothes and have her there in front of all his warriors. His gaze traveled over her face, marveling at each of her features. From her long lashes, pert nose that turned up a bit at the end, to those perfectly crafted lips that taunted him every time she spoke. He had to have her. She claimed the vision they'd both witnessed took place in the Mediterranean. Well, they were now in the very place she'd predicted.
A faultless brow rose as a smile twitched the corners of her lips. "Yes, Halfdan?"
"Stay," he whispered, stepping closer.
"Bonnie!" Ironside bellowed from the plank they'd created to access the other's boat.
Her verdant gaze flicked around his shoulder, and then back to him. "I have to go. See you when we make land." With that she skirted around him to join Bjorn on the plank.
He watched as they both crossed over to the waiting boat. Once on their ship, Ironside attempted to pull her into his arms, and she placed a hand in his face. He said something which caused her head to jerk back. In retaliation she narrowed her eyes, jugged her finger in his face as she said something to him through stiff lips. After which, she spun on her heel, marched away, and disappeared within the tent erected at the back of the boat.
"Were I Ironside, I'd toss her over and be done with even the notion of her," Harald said from next to him.
He shook his head, disagreeing with every aching, throbbing part of him. "I want her."
"Then have her," Harald turned to walk away and paused, "and dispose of her when you're done. Only when she's dead will they understand their grievances against the gods." His brother moved on to speak with their commanding warriors.
Hvitserk's knee bounced as he tried to ignore the twisting in his bowels. This would be his first raid. Other than sparring with his brothers during training he'd never crossed blades with anyone in battle. Ubbe always assured him he was a good fighter, but Ubbe often reassured him even if his assurances wasn't always genuine. So he had no way of knowing if he'd be entering the gates of Valhalla this eve.
Well perhaps there was some indication this eve wouldn't be his last. His gaze slid to Bonnie. When she noticed him staring, her beautiful eyes slitted before they rolled away. A grin wrestled his lips for freedom as he returned his gaze to the approaching horizon. Though she didn't think much of him, she was his hjarta. Someday she'd even be his wife and the mother of his children.
As memories of his vision with Bonnie persisted to plague his mind a whistling sound zipped pass his ear. A thud sounded behind him. The warrior to the rear of him was slumped over on the deck with a lengthened arrow through the chest. Soon zipping whistles ripped through the air all around them, impaling bodies, the sails, and warriors alike. A firm but soft surface collided with him. He struck the ground with such force the blow knocked all the air from his body.
"Shield wall!" Bjorn called from somewhere to the left of him.
"Hvits! Hvits!" Tiny hands ran up his abdomen over his chest to cup his cheeks. Bonnie's face hovered over his. "Are you hurt? Did you get hit?"
Stunned by the fear in her wide stricken eyes, he misplaced his words. He could do no more than stare unblinkingly at her breath pilfering beauty.
"Fire!" Someone screamed from another boat.
Bonnie climbed off of him. A golden glow cloaked her entire person as she stood and lifted her hands toward the sky. The entire heavens burned gold. Spears, arrows, and balls of fire which were about to pummel there ships halted, turned and shot back in the direction it came from.
"Bonnie!" Floki yelled from his spot next to Helga who he covered with a shield.
"What?!" She whipped her head around to glare at him. Her normally leafy hued eyes burned bright with golden flames. "They drew first blood. Killed several of mine. I'm within my rights to call for each and every one of their hearts."
Floki left his place next to Hela to inch towards Bonnie with both his hands raised. "That may be so, yet you must ponder your actions. This isn't the battle which matters. More of yours will die if you make an enemy out of the Supreme of Nature. You need her as an ally, against what's to come. Besides, our intentions here weren't exactly snow driven."
"But Hvits-," she began.
"Is alright, he's fine. Isn't that right, Hvitserk?" Floki gave him a pointed stare as he gestured for him to come over.
He hurried to his feet, and then took a few unsure steps toward Bonnie. When her golden glare snapped to him, the severeness in her expression ebbed away. The flames faded until her eyes shimmered verdant once more, while her skin appeared to absorb the golden glow hovering around her. Water brimmed her lower lids adding a shine to her already glittering eyes.
"You're okay?" Her voice met his ears just above a whisper. He nodded his head as he took more steps to close the distance between them. Air gushed from her lips as she rushed to meet him halfway. Within seconds she was in his arms. "Hvits…when you didn't say anything, I thought…I thought-,"
A horn blasted from one of the other ships. "Retreat! Retreat!" King Harald voice roared from the darkness.
"Retreat! Retreat!" Bjorn roared from the front of the ship. A horn blasted. "Bonnie, come! We have wounded men who want live to see the next rising without your help."
She cradled his cheeks in her hands, while her jewel toned gaze devoured his face. After a moment of staring at him, she dipped her head in a nod before backing out of his arms to go join Bjorn at the head of the ship.
"Have more of a care for yourself, Hvitserk," Floki slapped him on the shoulder as he released a drawn out breath. "Or you'll be the cause of a civil war which will devastate all."
"Bonnie," Ragnar's soft spoken timbre moved over her auditory senses like the most delicate of silks. "Can you hear me, Treasure? Come to me if it is so. I wish to see you once more before I pass from this life to the next."
Bonnie shifted and turned in a pair of strong arms. Her sorcery sluggishly moved within her. She'd spent the entire eve moving from ship to ship healing all of the sons and daughters under her dominion. Now there she lay drained in dire need of an offering while slowly losing her mind. Why the hell was she hearing Ragnar? A pulsing pound ripped her away from her thoughts. The whooshing of blood rushing through veins motivated her mouth to water.
"Bjorn?" Her voice escaped from her throat in a weak whisper.
Bonnie nudged him. He grumbled something, unwound his arms from around her and rolled away. She crawled from the bed furs towards the entrance. Outside the tent various bodies lay sprawled over the deck, while multiple miniature tents were erected along the walls of the long boats.
"Bonnie?" Rollo called from somewhere to her right. "Are you well?"
She turned in the direction of his voice. "Hvitserk, where's Hvits?"
"He's in the covered shelter just over there," her gaze followed his extended finger to a smaller tent toward the front of the boat.
"Help me? Please," she pleaded, knowing she wouldn't be able to make it that far by herself.
"Of course," he said. Moments later she was lifted and carried toward the front of the ship. When they reached the designated tent, he placed her next to the slitted opening. "Hvitserk!"
Seconds after his head popped out. "Rollo, what-," When he spotted her, his eyes nearly rolled free of his sockets. "Bonnie, you don't look well. Are you in need of an offering?"
Goddess, bless him! "Yes, Hvits. Will you make an offering to me?"
"Come," he took her hands in his and guided her through the slit of his tent. His stare flicked to Rollo. "Thank you for escorting her to me, Uncle Rollo."
"Can I offer-,"
Hvitserk dropped the opening of the tent closed in his face. He guided her over to the bed furs and helped her to lie back. Amber and sandalwood crawled up her nostrils and wrapped her senses in bliss. Goddess, he even smelled like a happy ending. She inhaled once more as he reached over her to grab the dagger sitting on his discarded trousers. Wasting no time, he sliced open his wrist and placed the bleeding extremity to her mouth. Without urging she latched on. Like gas to fire his blood ignited her magic. An explosion of rejuvenated mystical energy nearly ripped apart her veins and vessels. She moaned into his wrist as her eyes crossed. She could drink from him every single day and still not get over the taste of him.
Not wanting to take too much she ripped her mouth away, sealing his wound before she could change her mind. She licked her lips intending to savor the very last inch of him. He watched her with wide eyes. Neither of them saying a word. One barely breathing while the other sounded as if they'd just run five miles in 2.5 seconds. Feeling a little self- conscious, her hand went to her hairs his sapphire stare dropped to her lips.
"Thank you, Hvits. I haven't had an offering since we left Kattegat, and healing every-," she began.
"Bjorn doesn't make offerings to you?" He asked, looking completely confused. She shook her head. "But Sigurd said you have to receive offerings once a rising if you often make use of your sorcery."
She lifted a shoulder and let it drop. "I know, but Bjorn refuses to make an offering until I marry him, and-,"
"If Bjorn is unwilling to bleed for you during this voyage, then I will." The words burst from his mouth as if they'd been waiting in his throat on standby.
She gave her head a slow shake. "I don't know, Hvits. Everyday? That's a lot of bleeding."
"Not if you give me favor. Sigurd said it would sustain me," Hvitserk said as he scooted a little closer to her on the furs.
Her mouth opened and closed as he used his body to urge her to lie back. "Yes, but a blood exchange is already very intimate. Doing it routinely will cause certain…feelings to develop. Certain urges that'll be almost impossible to deny," her voice tapered off in a whisper as his wandering hand discovered her thigh.
"I don't mind," he said, inching his fingers towards the land where her good-good dwelled, while following her descend down to the furs. "For I already feel certain urges when I ponder you. I can still taste your sweetness upon my lips. I can still hear the sounds you made when I plunged my tongue within your kunta. I know you've given your heart to Ivar, and I don't disparage you for it. Yet, if I can't lay claim to your heart, then please allow me to claim another part of you." He cupped her through her pajama bottoms, purposely pressing the pad of his thumb into her pearl tongue.
"Oh, Hvits," she lifted up and captured his lips with hers. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss to cradle his face in her hands. "You have to know, you're love deserves love in return. Not just sex! You're worth so much more than a plow on a long boat with sixty other people moving about. You deserve a woman who hasn't already given her heart to your brother." He attempted to look away as he tugged his hand from between her legs. She kept a firm grip on his face. "Look I know what we both witnessed of the future, but this is the present. And now…shit is complicated. I'm sorry there's no way I can give you what you need, and I refuse to give you less than you're worthy of." She left the furs to leave the tent, before exiting she spoke once more. "Don't worry about making another offering. I'll see to other arrangements."
Bonnie slammed her fist against the door of the cabin. It felt as if it had been an hour since Ragnar had gone inside, and the fire no longer seemed to have an effect on the cold. After a moment of waiting without an answer, she raised her fist again to knock. The door swung open before her knuckles made contact. Ragnar's scrunched face and squinted blues glared holes through her.
"Yes?" He questioned as if he'd not seen her before.
She scoffed, and then pushed her way pass him. "It's gotta be at least thirty below out there! Were you just gonna leave me on your porch to freeze?"
"No, I hoped you'd wander away and perhaps freeze in the forest. That way if you weren't buried by down pour, you'd be eaten by the animals," he said with a straight face.
Her eyes flared and her mouth popped open. Was it really that serious? "My goddess, Ragnar! That's really petty of you. What did I ever do other than offer my invaluable opinion from a woman's point of view. And what kind of loser plots to steal his brother's girl anyway, can't you find your own woman?"
"Seek out your leave," he demanded as he walked back over to the cabin door and ripped it open.
She waved a hand, slamming the door back. His eyes nearly leaped from his head. "No, I'm not leaving until this fucking blizzard is over. So, you might as well perfect the hell out of your silent treatment, because quiet passive aggression is the only aggression I'll accept from you."
"Your tongue was always sharper than my blade when provoked," The voice next to her pulled her from the memory.
Bonnie turned to see her would be mate as she knew him to be in the present. He stood before her as handsome as ever. Even more so than when he was a man-child of nineteen. Now he was the strength she needed to help her reorder the entire supernatural world. He was the man she needed to assist her in securing victories. She opened her arms, and then embraced him except feeling his solid body she passed straight through him. The hell!
"My apologies, treasured," he spun to face her, the expression on his face beyond apologetic. "This is nothing more than a memory I was able to breech because of the bond we share. I'm not really here." The look on his face morphed into one of longing. "Ecbert is turning me over to Alle. The carriage master spoke of us reaching North Umbria in two rising's time."
She approached him, getting as close as she could without touching him. "Will you return to Kattegat after you resurrect?"
He looked pass her to marvel the now empty cabin. A sad smile flitted over his compelling mouth. "Your starting to remember. This gladdens me. What you and I shared was too matchless to be loss. No matter the outcome, I should want to live in your heart always even if it's only as a memory."
"You mean what we share," she corrected as unease crept into her chest. His smile faded into an expression of regret as he began to shimmer out of focus. "Ragnar, we'll belong to each other for an eternity. Past tense will never again be a tense used to reference us, right?" He didn't say anything, but just continued to watch her. The unease in her chest went full blown panic. "Right?!"
"I must rise. Soon they'll allow me to stretch my legs and see to my other needs," he said, altogether disregarding her question. "I'll try and see you once more before…" He left the words to hang between them, before completely fading away.
She reached out only to be grabbed and shaken by the nineteen year old Ragnar. "Have you misplaced your wits along with your hearing? How many times have I told you not to suffer the forest alone? That bear nigh acquainted you with your end. Now allow me to check your wounds." He ripped her shirt open without waiting for consent, exposing her bra clad breasts.
"I'm fine, she barely scratched me," she said, picking up as if she'd been party to the incident he referred. Yet, somehow she remembered the occurrence like she'd just lived it. "And I'm not a child, Ragnar. If I wanna walk the damn forest alone to clear my head, then that's what I'll do."
"You're a fool and now that bear is dead without cause because of it. The cubs she meant to protect from you will not survive the winter." Damn, how was she responsible for the bear being dead? He was the one who killed the poor animal. When he was satisfied her wound was indeed only scratches as she claimed, he snatched his hands away as if she were nothing more than filth. "Soon as the solstice cycle gives way to spring, I expect you to seek your leave."
"We've sighted more land in the distance," Harald said as he and Halfdan joined them at the front of their ship. "One of my seaman said the land is called Niebla. He spoken of it being ruled by priests who serve a god named Allah." Bonnie and Floki exchanged pointed stares because they already knew what would come next. "I believe if we raid there, this time we'll be victorious." Harald chanced a sheepish glance her way. "Since we're almost out of provisions we have little choice. Perhaps we can even send in spies as it was earlier suggested-,"
"That plan will no longer work seeing as we've given up the element of surprise," she said shutting him down before he could regurgitate her idea. "By now news of a large raiding party would've traveled throughout the land. It'll be a death sentence for whomever you send in."
"And why should it matter if it does? They're priests! Overcoming their forces should be no more than a small undertaking!" Harald said, his frustrations revealing his true colors.
She scoffed. Harald really was an idiot. "Not all religions other than yours practices peace and turning the other cheek. Some religions actually believe in holding their ground by any means necessary." With her index finger leading the way, she pointed the wagging digit in his face. "Now you got lucky last time because I slid through a loop hole and saved your ass, but that was a onetime deal. I refuse to piss off the Supreme of Nature or Allah because you wanna save pride."
"Ironside," Harald bellowed, though Bjorn stood right next to him.
Bjorn exhaled. "Bonnie-,"
"Our Supreme speaks without error," Rollo said, from his place just outside the circle. "I've heard it spoken that these mussel men or fierce warriors and superior battle strategist. If we are to raid there, then we should make land in force."
"I agree," Bjorn said.
Floki glared holes in Rollo, while she could only shake her head. This was going to be a fucking blood stained tragedy.
A fucking blood stained tragedy put it too mildly. It was more like a bloody flood of catastrophe. Two ships were destroyed by fire boulders flung from catapults lining the coast. Over one hundred and twenty of Harald warriors were killed. Fifty men suffered second and third degree burns, while another twenty drowned. Not to mention, fifteen of their warriors still remained unaccounted for.
Between offerings from Halfdan and Hvitserk, Bonnie managed to heal the warriors who were burned. By the time the sun rose, Bjorn had to practically carry her to their bed furs. Once they were alone he attempted to cradle her to his chest, but she wanted no part of Bjorn Ironside. If he'd only listened to her those warriors would still be alive and fifteen of their men fates wouldn't be unknown.
"Bonnie." Her name fell from his lips like a plea.
She shook her head. "Why didn't you trust me, Bjorn? You never take anything I have to say into consideration."
"Harald is a king. How would it appear if I were to side with a mere woman over one of Norway's kings?" He demanded, raising his voice.
She sat up from her recline. "It would look as if you had a mind of your own. It would appear as if you were in the makings of becoming a king in your own right. Now your name will forever be attached to his foolishness. For this, my protector, was foolishness at its worse."
"No foolish is always allowing your tongue to speak for your mind, woman!" he snapped, getting in her face, "I should've kept you in chains and made you my bed slave. Then my ears wouldn't know the nonsense of your words, just the pleasure of your cries."
"You know what?" She scooched from the bed furs and wiggled around him. "I can't even look at you right now, let alone be around you. From now until this voyage ends, I'll be sleeping elsewhere."
He shrugged and tossed his head in a I don't give a shit fashion. "Well, this is alright. It's not as if your presence here served any great purpose!" He shouted after her.
Pissed way beyond the borders of pissivity well into the land of I will fuck up your entire world, she stalked to Hvitserk's small enclosure. Without announcing herself first, she stuck her head in the slit. Her heart dropped. Hvitserk lay sprawled out ass naked on his bed furs. Two birthday suit wearing shieldmaidens lay on his chest. The inside of the tent smelled of sex and corn chips. All the occupants slept with their mouths open. Exhaling, she withdrew from the enclosure, turned and collided with Rollo.
"Has something occurred?" He questioned, while studying her face.
She stepped around him. "No, just needed a word with Hvits, but he's sleeping."
"You were…the things you can do…I'm unsure if the people of Kattegat know how truly fortunate they are to have you in their midst. Yet, I know the people of Frankia would-,"
"Burn me alive," she said, while tilting her head to the side. "The people of Frankia are not under my dominion. They don't give a damn about what we're up against, about what we all face. When the war that decides the fates of all supernaturals marches up to our gates, do you believe your loyal subjects are going to pick up arms to help you?" She threw her head back and laughed. "No, they won't because our problems are not theirs, but what about you, Rollo? Hmm?" She folded her arms under her breasts as she leveled him with a glare. "Will you truly stand on the sidelines and hide behind your wife's beliefs or will you remember who you are and fight?"
Not waiting for an answer from him she stalked passed him towards the front of the boat. Her emotions was on ten. Everything seemed to be happening at once and she needed one split second just to catch up. Losing so many warriors gutted her on a level for which she hadn't been prepared. Her vision blurred. She closed her eyes to lock away the evidence of her pain. If only she would've remained in Kattegat instead of following Bjorn. Never had their sacred vow felt more like a burden than it did at the moment.
"Bonnie," A familiar voice drifted to her from the crease of the prow.
She glanced down. Halfdan sat alone huddled under a fur at the very front of the ship. "Halfdan, why aren't you sailing with Harald?"
"After giving you an offering I was too weary to travel all the way back to our ship," he gave her a tired looking crooked grin. "Thought I'd rest here for a while."
Her brows attempted to collide as she produced a dagger from her trousers and knelt in front of him. "Halfdan, why'd you let me take so much if you didn't have it to give."
She ripped open her wrist with the blade, and then placed the bleeding arm to his lips. As he drunk from her, his irises flashed solid gold. He devoured her as if she were a gourmet five star meal and he'd been starving for years. Every slurp, tug, and pull she felt plucked at her most intimate parts. When she thought she could take no more without snatching him down within full view of everyone, she yanked her wrist from his mouth. As she healed her wound, she glanced around and realized she had nowhere to sleep. Both Bjorn and Hvitserk had crossed her out for the morning.
Her gaze fell back to Halfdan who studied her with predator focus. "Do you mind if I rest here with you for a while?"
Without saying a word, he lifted the fur in invitation. She crawled in next to him. When his arms slid around her to cuddle her close, she snuggled deeper into his side. Soon after sleep claimed her.
"Bonnie, why would you do this? You nigh froze yourself to your end!" Ragnar said as he slammed the cabin door after them and lay her near the already burning hearth.
She shook with such an uncontrollable might she could practically hear the teeth rattling around in her head. "I d-d-didn't w-won't them t-to d-die b-because of me. Had t-to save them." She forced out through the chattering choppers.
"Who do you speak of? Who'd you have to save?" Confusion twisted his features as he began ripping her clothes from her body.
She tried to wrestle her shirt from his grip, but he swatted her hands away. "T-The b-bears. And will y-you s-stop trying to g-get me n-naked!"
"If you don't remove your clothing and allow me to provide the heat from my body to warm you, then you'll perish. And why in Odin's eye did you go into the most fiercest snow storm in Norway's history to save bears?" Ragnar demanded as he ripped the jeans from her body.
"B-Because you killed their mother," she snapped.
As Ragnar continued to strip her, he scrutinized her with those supernaturally enhanced blue eyes. At this point she knew trying to fight to remain clothed would be an uphill battle she was destined to lose. So she allowed him to undress her, while she tried to use her arms and hands to cover the most intimate parts of herself. Once he finished removing her clothes, he took off his own. She attempted to keep her gaze on anything other than the beautiful god like man before her. Yet every inch of himself he revealed drew her eyes like visual super glue.
Never once since she'd arrived in his world almost a month before had she even peeked at him with interest. How could she? He was absolutely intolerable. When he wasn't whining about some 'shieldmaiden' Lagertha he spent half his time criticizing her and the other half ignoring her altogether. The latter she didn't mind so much since every interaction with him proved to be unpleasant. Yet, looking at him now…bothered her. And it bothered her even more that she couldn't look away.
When he'd finished undressing he placed furs near the hearth, and then gestured for her to lay on them. Silently, she climbed between the soft hides. Moments later he joined her. Without requesting consent, he pulled her to his chest. Holding her so tight, she could feel the pounding of his heart against her breasts. His manhood twitched to life between the press of their stomachs. Slippery wet heat drenched the tops of her thighs in response.
"Many apologies," he said with a face empty of contrition.
To correct the offense he shifted. This only made the situation worse because this time all ten erect inches of him slipped between the wet clench of her upper thighs. He groaned as he rested his forehead upon hers. She managed to hold back her moan, but she couldn't stop the purrs which vibrated from the deepest part of her throat and chest. Their breathing came faster.
"May I sheath myself," he gritted from the clench of his teeth.
She nodded. "Please."
"Perhaps we should sail back to Norway. We've nearly exhausted our food and water provisions. We also continue to drift aimlessly unable to sight land due to this mist obscuring our view," King Harald blustered, waving his arms about as he paced around the deck of their ship. "We should've never journeyed to these cursed waters and for doing so, the gods have forsaken us."
Bjorn turned to Bonnie where she stood next to Halfdan. "What are your thoughts on the matter, Bonnie?"
Shock nearly decommissioned her vocal chords. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could get out a single word. "I think we should sail on. You have a mark to make, Ironside. And I won't have these lands remembering you all as the Viking bitches who tucked their tales between their legs while rowing for their lives back to Scandinavia."
The deck rumbled as the Viking warriors beat their weapons. Bjorn gave her a pleased nod. "Then sail on we shall. King Harald if you're still minded to turn back and make the voyage home, I'll not ponder unkind things of you."
Harald's eyes narrowed as he studied Bonnie for a moment, and then he answered, "No, Ironside. I gave my word to explore the Mediterranean Sea with you. I'll be by your side until the time comes for you to guide us home."
"Then it's decided. We shall continue on in our journey of the Mediterranean," Bjorn said establishing eye contact with each of them.
As everyone disbanded to go in different directions, Halfdan grabbed her hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Come to my ship. I'd like to make you another offering."
A smirk pushed at the corner of her mouth. Since their last failed raid off the coast of Niebla they'd shared routine blood exchanges, causing her infatuation for him to grow. She moved to follow him.
"Bonnie, may we speak?" Bjorn asked with a serial killer stare trained on Halfdan.
Halfdan's grip on her hand tightened. Her shoulders sagged. This conversation couldn't be avoided. She turned to Halfdan who in turn gave her a pleading look. A genuine smile touched her lips as she placed a hand to the center of his chest. "I'll find you later."
When she turned to walk away, he pulled her back. Releasing his hold on her hand, he grabbed her face and kissed her on the mouth. A few moments later he broke the kiss and his intense whiskey browns locked her down. "I'll wait for you for as long as it may take."
"Ack!" Bjorn scoffed, loudly making his displeasure known.
She stood on the tips of her toes once more to steal another kiss, before turning to follow Bjorn to his tent. Once inside, he spun on her. "You will no longer accept Halfdan's offerings. Hvitserk will now be the only warrior providing such requirements for you, and there will be no need to bestow favor upon him."
"Hvitserk, hmm?" Bonnie lifted her brows as she made a show of thinking over his words. "Why not you, my protector? Why volunteer your baby brother for a job your more than adequate in fulfilling?"
He folded his arms across his chest as he glared down at her. "We've spoken of this before. You know I'll not give you an offering until you give me your heart and agree to become my wife."
"Then you'll not dictate who is faithful enough to serve their supreme," she snapped, stalking forward to stand toe to toe with him. Tilting her head back, she glared up at him as she poked him in the chest. "Furthermore, I'll give my favors to whomever I deem worthy of them. No one, not even you will ever hold enough power over me to make those decisions for me."
Without warning Bjorn snatched her into his arms. His mouth covered hers as his tongue breached her lips. As if automatic, her body responded before her mind even plotted her actions. Her hands began ripping open his trousers, while her moans vibrated against the seams of their joined lips. Growls rumbled from his chest as he hoisted the skirts of her dress around her waist and tore away her panties. Lifting her, he placed his prick at the entrance of her opening. She began trying to push herself down on his swollen manhood, attempting to force him into her wet sopping unwilling entrance. His growls turned into groans as the head slightly penetrated her opening. The pain brought tears to her eyes and he hadn't even entered her fully.
"Bjorn, come!" Floki's voice carried from just beyond the slit of the tent. "The mists have cleared. Lands been sighted."
Bonnie's eyes flared in pleading as she shook her head. "No, Bjorn, please. Let's finish first." She wanted him so bad tears were stinging the corners of her eyes.
He exhaled a sigh that sounded suspiciously regretful to her. He placed a lingering kiss on her lips before he sat her back on her feet. "We'll continue this later, Mystical One. Now we must assess the shores of this new land and decide if we shall raid."
Algeciras what a beautiful place, or it may have been before they arrived. Yet, that is not how it remained when their raiding party made land. The place paid dearly for each life lost during their previous failures of the Iberian peninsula and Niebla. Every part of the city was raided and sacked. The blood shed senseless. To the point she confronted Harald after she was too late to stop him from taking a woman's life needlessly.
"And you wonder why no woman even in her wrong mind wants to be fucked up with you. Your unstable and toxic as hell," Bonnie hissed, when she realized the woman was beyond healing.
Harald leaned down to use the woman's scarves to clean the blood from his blade. "Leave me! I have no use of your words and even less of your presence. Cast your gaze upon all who you claim as yours. I'm not the only one among us who wets my blade on the blood of these pathetic foreigners."
He moved to walk away, but she cut him off by stepping in front of him. "Yes, but you're the only one who seemed to get off on killing a poor defenseless woman in front of her child. This is why your never gonna know what it feels like to be truly cared for and cherished by a woman you adore. May your life in love be as empty and as hollow as the crown which sits upon your head, King Harald."
Bonnie walked away from him, turning down a dark quiet alley way. To her right, she spotted an empty room. It appeared to be some sort of passion dwelling. Bright fabrics and cushions decorated the walls and floors. Sensual fragrances scented the air, while cups of red liquid sat unfinished. Good, this place would do just fine. She just needed a minute from all the looting and killing. Why did modern society romanticize this shit? This was not romantic! It was sickening and it took everything in her not to lash out at her own brethren.
"We're not done, Witch!" Harald's hoarse smokers voice rasped from behind her.
She exhaled and turned not there for his bullshit. "Look, Harald-,"
A broad sword blade through the chest severed her sentence. Pleasure and glee leapt within Harald's gaze as he searched every inch of her expression. Touché motherfucker! Bonnie smiled despite the unimaginable agony tearing through her body. Her vision tunneled.
"You…stupid…son of a bitch! If I were you I'd…," she coughed. Metallic candy apple red and gold blood flew from her mouth and sprayed his face, "Run," she managed to rasp before death once again came for her.
"We'll have five sons," Ragnar said as they made their way to the lake. "And if it's possible for me to create girls you may have a daughter."
Bonnie laughed at the audacity and arrogance of him. Yet, she'd never loved a man more. Since the night she'd almost died of exposure two months before. The night they'd made love for the first time, she'd been falling. And it wasn't the ordinary, Elena I'm in love with your little brother, love either. No! This was some Jay and Bey crazy in love type of love. Because that's what she was! Crazy in love with Ragnar Lothbrok. Hmm, what a name! What a man! She didn't care if the ascendant ever worked again, because with him she knew she'd already found her home.
"Sorry to hurt your little boy child making parts, but Bennett women only give birth to real women. So, you might as well keep your battle ax sharpened and at the ready, daddy. Something tells me you're going to need it when our five daughters begins dating," she said squeezing his hand, while grinning up at him.
He paused there progress downhill to capture her mouth with his. Slowly, he consumed her lips, delivering sensual tongue plunging kisses which weakened her knees. Once thoroughly satisfied he pulled away. "In time we'll see who has the right of it, my treasured girl." His face scrunched. "Agh! I misremembered Will's and Jada's bounty vat. Continue on, I'll return to the cabin for it and will soon join you." He kissed her once more and hurried back up to the cabin before she could protest.
She smiled after him, watching him until he disappeared. Shaking her head she turned to continue down the embankment to the lake. She still couldn't believe she'd agreed to marry him and return back to his farmstead with him in a couple of days. Especially since they'd only just met a few months before. Yet, how could she return to a life that didn't consist of him? Now she finally understood why her best friend always acted so empty headed over Damon. Love and common sense rarely ever dwelled in the same mind.
A splash in the water drew her attention and her bag slipped from her arm. Will and Jada were already at the lake having their morning swim. Two brown bear cubs paddled about in the water, dipping their snouts below the surface in an attempts to ensnare breakfast. She opened her mouth to call out to them, when a clicking on the ground snatched her attention. A flash nestled in a patch of grass drew her gaze. Kneeling, she examined the shiny metal and recognized the gadget instantly. The ascendant. When she scooped it up, the movement triggered the mechanisms and caused the spoke to unlatch. The sharp point stabbed her in the hand and one drop of Bennett blood was all the magical device required.
"Bonnie, where'd you place the vat?" Ragnar's voice called out and her heart dropped to her vagina.
She turned in the direction of his voice "Rag-," But her cry came too late.
"I squandered the entire spring and summer searching the mountains after you were lost," Ragnar's broken voice sounded from behind her.
She turned and realized she stood in a cage. Ragnar crouched in the corner staring up at her with one eye. The other beaten closed, never to open in a mortal's existence again. Bruises and open wounds littered his face. There was even a haphazard cross carved into his forehead. She balanced her way over to him the best she could without losing her footing through the bars. Once next to him, she pulled him into her arms, cradling his head on her breasts.
"I remember," she sobbed, clutching him as tight as her arms would allow. "I remember everything. I thought Enzo was the only…," salty water trickled down her face as she shook her head, "before there even was a, him, there was you. How could I forget about you…how could I forget about us? Never again, My All! Once you resurrect, we'll make Alle pay. We'll make them all pay, you have my sworn word."
"I'd hoped you'd come to me in my final moments and so you have." He tugged from her breasts to stare into her face. "You're even more beautiful than I remember. I've carried you with me all these summers, never once replacing you in my heart."
"Wait, Ragnar," she forced a smile through her tears, "Why does this sound like a goodbye? We have an eternity to plan for, we have no use for goodbyes. Not anymore, right?"
He only stroked her face and watched her with eyes burdened with enough weight to crush her soul. "Those many risings we wintered together in the mountains are my most treasured memories. For you're my most treasured girl. Bonnie, know that I regret nothing between you and I. Our love will always dwell within me, even after I enter the gates of Valhalla."
"Wait, what?!" Bonnie screeched, she grabbed at his tattered jacket and shirt. "Ragnar, no! Please don't let fate break us like this, please!"
With glowing mystical blue eyes he watched her as he raised his voice to the gathering towns people who'd come to see the death of an era. "It gladdens me to know that Odin prepares for a feast." His words fractured her in places she never knew could be broken. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before turning to address the gathering horde. "Soon I shall be drinking ale from curved horns. This hero that comes into Valhalla does not lament his death."
She rested her forehead on the center of his back and wept. She wept for all the time which was stolen from them and the life they'd planned but never had the chance to live. Yet, above all, she wept for the loss of him. The forgotten love who'd been the missing piece of her she'd never known how to fill. "I shall not enter Odin's hall with fear. There, I shall wait for my sons to join me and when they do I will bask in their tales of triumph. The Aesir will welcome me! My death comes without apology and I welcome the Valkyries to summon me home!" He interlaced his fingers with hers. "I'm sorry, My Treasured, but this is the only way you will ever claim victory over our enemy."
"Deliver me, Oh Lord! From mine enemies!" King Alle's voice boomed from his place across the way on the erected platform.
Ragnar smiled at her once more, and the bottom swung open. They both dropped from the cage.
Halfdan and Harald lifted their voices in song. For Halfdan and his brother were of great cheer after the night's raid. They'd pilfered, killed, and even wet their pricks. Now all was right. He and the gods were once again of one accord. Sagas would be song of this journey, and their names would be spoken in every hall in Scandinavia. His grin doubled in size as his voice swelled in volume.
"What'd you mean she's not on the ship?" Bjorn's roar drowned out their singing.
Harald and his singing tapered off as they came upon Bjorn, Rollo, and Hvitserk.
"We've both searched the boat," Rollo said. His speech slow and quiet as if he attempted to cajole a babe. "There's no suggestion she returned from the city."
"I saw many foreigners with her likeness. Each of them possessed the strange hue upon their skin that adorns hers. Perhaps she knew some of them and decided to depart from us to reunite with her kin," Harald said, his tone suspicious but the look of him very unassuming.
Bjorn, Rollo, and Hvitserk scrutinized him as if he'd attempted to pass himself off as the All-Father. At this point, Helga hurried passed them with the little foreign girl she'd pilfered from the city. Floki trailed her with shoulders that appeared buckled by an unseen weight. When he noticed them all congregating in front of the ships he halted.
"What has happened?" Floki queried, his gaze snapping to each of them before settling on Bjorn.
Bjorn still staring holes in Harald spoke. "King Harald believes some of the foreigners here may have been Bonnie's kin and she's decided to part ways with us so she may journey on with them."
"Bonnie has no kin here other than—she has no kin in this land and the fact you believe this to be true due to the color of her skin is a bit concerning, King Harald. If your beliefs were to be touted as truth then that would mean every Christian in England was indeed kin to you," Floki said, staring down his nose at Harald.
Harald's face darkened to a pigment likened to fresh blood. "I merely offered a thought. She may very well have been slaughtered by one of those foreigners with curved blades."
"Yes, well we're not leaving these shores until she's recovered. Be it dead or alive." Bjorn said, before stalking back down the dock towards the city.
The small gathering dispersed. All going in separate directions. When he moved to follow Bjorn, Harald grabbed his arm. "Ironside isn't going to find her."
"Why do you believe this to be so?" He questioned, a twinge of unease speared the bottom of his gut.
Harald glanced over his shoulders and around before leaning forward to say, "I impaled her upon my sword. It was as I said all along, she died just as any other woman would."
"Harald!" Halfdan's eyes flared. "What have you done? When Bonnie rises she will come for you."
Harald waved him off. "Baa! She shall rise in Midgard no more! Now listen and I'll tell you where to go to collect her cursed body so that we may leave these gods forsaken lands."
Bonnie hit the ground and her eyes snapped open. She wasn't in a pit filled with snakes, nor was Ragnar still in her arms. Her vision blurred. The pain of losing him hit her all over again. A sob tore itself from the deepest parts of her soul. The wrong arms which held her tightened around her.
"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Halfdan's voice penetrated her grief. "Harald is no better than a babe in his ignorance. "Though it's your right to seek vengeance, I ask that you not kill him. He's all I have in this life."
She eyed Halfdan. The fact he was with her, holding her when she awakened softened her to his request. Yet, Harald had to pay, and pay he would within an inch of his life. "I'll not kill him, but that's all I'm promising. Make me an offering." She demanded.
After Halfdan made her an offering, she shot out of the passion room wide open. She passed Hvitserk and Rollo on her race back to the boat. When they called out to her, she didn't bother to slow down. Fuck them! Where the hell were they when Harald plunged a blade into her chest? Nowhere to be fucking found, that's where!
Once she arrived back at the ship, she spotted Harald tormenting the newly acquired slaves who were secured to the mast. At full speed she jumped on the ship and closed the distance between them. When his eyes landed on her they nearly leapt from his head. Quicker than an Original Hybrid she snatched him up by the neck and lifted him high. Without even a grunt of strain she strolled over to the ships edge and dangled him over the side.
"King Harald the Whiney Bitch, thought I told your stupid ass to run. Too bad your hearing is just as trash as your, well…everything." She tossed him in the air. Gasps went up around the boat. When Harald came hurtling back towards the water she caught him by his ankle. His head bounced off the side of the boat. "From this moment forward, you'll stay out of my way Harald, because if you fuck around and breathe wrong around me I'll snatch your miserable life from your body. Then, I'll disperse your energy across time. When I'm done with you your essence will be no better than a fart in the wind." Disgust twisted her features as she tossed him on the deck of the ship. She kneeled to get in his face "Try me bitch boy and watch me make your sloppy ass a believer."
She stood and grabbed a sword sitting near the prow.
"Bonnie, you're well," Bjorn said, relief lilted his words, but there was no reason for joy.
Truth be sold, she didn't think she'd ever smile again. "No, I'm not well, My ever watchful protector! Harald plunged a sword in my chest, then stood over me and watched me die." She spun around with the sword in hand and the blade pointed at him. "So my question for you is, where were you, or…," she swung the blade to Hvitserk, "you, future husband? Where the hell were any of you?!" Her bellow shook all the ships and disturbed the water.
"Bonnie-," Floki attempted to reason.
"No, Floki," she shook her head at her sage. "They were off getting their dicks wet, raping these poor women. And if that wasn't enough insult heaped upon the injury, they've taken these girls as slaves to be sold to the highest bidder so that it may repeatedly happen again until they take their last breaths." Raising the sword over her head, she let it drop. Effectively slicing through the bindings around the women. "They may not be mine, but I was a woman before I was your Supreme." She turned to the terrified and tormented women. "All of you, go get your lives! And may the Goddess of All deliver you all from the trauma of this night."
Grumbles of protests rose from the warriors as they watched the women hurry from the ship. "Bonnie, you've no right. Those women would've fetched vast amounts. Now you've-,"
"You're disgusting and you're not the man I believed you to be. I'll buy them!" The air around them rippled with potent mystical energy. A trunk two feet in length and three feet deep appeared. She lifted her hands. The top of the chest blew off. A modern day King's ransom of gold filled the box. One of Klaus' trunks of change as he referred to them. "There's ten times more there than you would've received for them back in Norway or wherever else you had a mind to sell them. Now turn these ships around, you're needed back at Kattegat."
"Bonnie we've already spoken of this, I have not a care that Aslaug is no more," Bjorn said, barely glancing her way as he inspected the coins.
"This is not about Aslaug. Another matter in Kattegat requires your attention," she said forcing her expression to remain indifferent.
He finally spared her an irritated glance. "If it's not about Aslaug then what is it about?"
"The past is prologue," she said, straight facing the hell out of him. "Either turn this ship around or I'll find my own way back to Kattegat."
She left them to ogle over the riches in the trunk, while she found a private corner to morn her loss.