Got a new chapter for everybody! We're moving back to Lilith's perspective, and we're about to meet Ragnar's family. Again, there will be familiar stuff here, but everything else is all me.

This is a shorter chapter, but longer ones are on their way. I'm already really close to the ending of this one, and it's shaping up nicely.

Thanks again to all the people following and putting this in their favorites, and those who have reviewed.

More notes at the bottom!


Family

The world around Lilith felt completely different than the one she had just come from. The birds sounded different. The ground smelled different. Even the wind rustled differently through the trees. But she wasn't scared. She had learned early not to be afraid of things that were unfamiliar to her. Growing up in a monastery filled with little frightened men had done that to her.

It was also much colder than she was accustomed. Even with her shoes covering her feet and her cloak giving her added warmth, the air was almost frigid as she walked with Ragnar while he pulled Athelstan behind them. If it would take overnight to reach Ragnar's home, then they would stop somewhere to sleep until morning. Maybe a fire would help get her warm.

Athelstan said nothing as he was tugged behind them, grunting occasionally and yanking on his rope to keep from tripping on the ground. Lilith took the food Ragnar gave her as they walked, listening to the strange sounds and locking it all away the way she always did. She was so used to not saying anything that when Ragnar spoke to her, she did not know what to say.

"You are intrigued by the world around you, aren't you, Little One?" he asked her.

She looked up at him, hesitating, biting her lip nervously.

He squeezed her hand gently. "It's all right. I would be as well. After a lifetime in that place where you grew up."

He glanced back at Athelstan, grinning and slowing his pace while also shortening the length of rope between them. "I can tell you all about this world," Ragnar said to Lilith. "The trees and the birds and the wind."

She looked around as the noises formed a strange symphony of sounds around her. "The wind?" she said. "Isn't it just wind?"

He grinned. "Well, yes, but no, my child. Surely, your teacher told you about the wind." He looked at Athelstan but said nothing as he turned his eyes back to hers. "I will tell you of the wind. And when you meet my daughter and my son, they will show you. Their mother, who will be your mother, will show you as well. And perhaps, if he is lucky, we will also 'show' your teacher."

They walked on as the light continued to diminish, farther from town and deeper into the wilderness.

The stars came out as they had for the last several days, only this time, it was through the canopy Lilith saw them, as she laid on a warm pallet with Ragnar tending to a small fire between them. Athelstan sat on his own, still shivering, but he had not complained the entire way. Every thirty minutes, he forced a breath in and out, relaxing a little before he started shivering again.

Ragnar gave Lilith a good portion of the cured meat he had brought, looking at Athelstan just once before he passed on a few bites to him as well. Lilith had never tasted this kind of meat before. It was salty and rough against the inside of her mouth. But she ate it, and when she finished, Ragnar gestured to the pallet.

"We should get as much sleep as we can, Little One," he said. "Still a long way to go."

Lilith turned her eyes to Athelstan as he finished his small portion of food. "What about Athelstan?"

Grudgingly, Ragnar sighed loudly. "I suppose he can sleep by the fire as well. I can't very well allow him to die from the cold, now can I?"

Slowly, they all huddled by the fire. Lilith lay securely inside Ragnar's arm, watching Athelstan pull his hood up and lay on his side, facing her. She didn't want to take her eyes off him, but slowly, her eyes drooped, and then she was asleep.

A new dream found Lilith as she slept, of white willowy snow falling from the sky, even though she had never seen it like this before. She stood in the snow without being cold, and when she looked at her hands, she saw she was older. She looked in front of her and saw Athelstan but he was older as well. His hair was longer, his eyes were wiser, kinder. It seemed the waves had washed away everything but them, and all that mattered was they were together.

Morning came abruptly as a raven cawed, bringing them all to life after a short sleep. Ragnar stamped out the fire, allowing Lilith to rise before he rolled up the pallet and draped it over Athelstan's shoulder. Then without a word, they resumed their walk.

Just as it had been on the island, morning here was dewey and fragrant. Lilith took in so many sights and sounds that it felt like she missed more than she saw. Pretty birds chirped as they passed, and slowly, the sound of waves crashing onto the beach filled the air.

"We are here," Ragnar said, pulling Lilith to his side and bowing his head to speak only to her. "I think my wife and daughter will love you first, and then my son. Let's see which one of us is right."

From the clearing in the trees, a new dwelling appeared, not as tall as the Great Hall or the monastery, but cozy all the same as chickens clucked and goats bleated. The first occupant they spotted was a girl about Lilith's size with lighter hair as she wore a red dress. She was currently knelt over a pale of water, and Ragnar gestured for Lilith to be quiet before he slowly snuck up on the girl, clucking like a chicken to surprise her.

Lilith watched them greet one another quietly before a boy emerged from the house.

"Father! You're home!"

The boy ran to Ragnar, embracing him, before finally a tall, blond woman stepped outside to see them all there.

She walked up to Ragnar, smiling at him like he was her whole world and reaching him before she kissed him on the lips. Lilith had never seen anyone kiss like that before, and she looked up at Athelstan to see him slightly embarrassed by what they saw.

"So," the woman said to Ragnar. "Where's all the treasure you promised?"

With a sigh, Ragnar confessed. "The Earl took it all for himself." He paused and added, "But I found it! And it filled the boat."

She smiled still, impressed. "I believe you," she declared.

With a glance behind him, Ragnar backed up toward where he'd tied Athelstan to the post. "You ought to believe me," he urged. "This is a priest from their temple to prove it. Priest, this is my family. His name is Athelstan. Though he's a foreigner, he speaks our language. Don't you?" Ragnar pushed.

Athelstan bowed his head. "A little, yes."

The blond woman saw Lilith before Ragnar could introduce her. "And whose child is this?" she asked curiously.

Ragnar reached for Lilith and turned her to face his family. "This, Lagertha," he said and stroked her hair gently, "is an orphan who we found on the island to where we traveled. She was being cared for by Athelstan, and we rescued her."

Lagertha looked at Lilith, gently touching her shoulder as she looked to Ragnar. "And what is she doing here, might I ask?"

Only slightly hesitating, Ragnar stood a little taller, obviously proud of himself. "I asked the Earl to let her stay with us," he announced. "So you might say you have gained a new daughter, Lagertha."

Slowly, she took in what he said, turning Lilith to face her as she spoke softly. "Do you understand me, dear child?" she asked, meeting Lilith's brown eyes with her own clear, blue ones.

Lilith nodded. "I do."

"And what is your name?"

She glanced back at Athelstan, waiting for him to nod before she looked at Lagertha. "My name is Lilith."

Lagertha lifted her eyes to Ragnar's, and he nodded as well. She looked at Lilith and squeezed her shoulders gently. "That is a very beautiful name. And you are a very beautiful girl. I will gladly take you into our home, where I will clothe and feed you as if you are my own. Would you like that, Lilith?"

Slowly, Lilith nodded. "Yes. I would."

Lagertha bowed her head, turning Lilith to the other girl and the boy. "Children, this is Lilith. She will be staying with us from now on, and we will treat her like family. Is that understood?"

The girl nodded first, stepping in front of Lilith. "Hello," she said. "I am Gyda. I like your dress. Did you make it?"

Lilith shook her head. "No. Athelstan had it made for me while he was on his last mission. And my cloak as well. But I like your dress too."

Gyda touched the blue dress Lilith wore, smiling. "We can show you how to make your own dresses."

"Thank you," Lilith said as the boy stepped closer to them.

"I am Bjorn," he announced, standing tall. "But I won't be sharing any of my clothes with you." He turned back to Ragnar, who was watching them with Lagertha beside him. "Father, what about the priest?"

Ragnar turned to Athelstan. "I don't know yet. I told the Earl I would take him as a slave. What do you think, Bjorn?"

The boy stepped closer, and when Ragnar pushed Athelstan forward, Bjorn reached out to touch his shaved head.

"What is wrong with your head?" Bjorn exclaimed.

Embarrassed, Athelstan exhaled. "When we become monks, they cut our hair. It marks us out."

Glancing at Lilith, Gyda stepped forward then too. "If you're a priest, which god do you like best?" she asked.

Athelstan drew back, dismayed. "There is only one God!" he proclaimed.

That wiped the grin off Ragnar's face for a second or two, but then he handed the rope around Athelstan's neck to Bjorn.

"It's all right," he said to his children. "You can touch him."

Ragnar turned to Lilith and nodded for her to stay with Athelstan, and once he did, Bjorn and Gyda stepped closer to him as well. Lilith only heard Lagertha laugh before she and Ragnar disappeared inside the small house.

"Hello," Gyda said to Athelstan, the same as she had to Lilith. "I am Gyda."

Athelstan smiled despite being tied up. "Hello, Gyda."

"You will need a cloak," Gyda said as a statement of fact. "I will find one for you tonight."

"Thank you, Gyda," Athelstan said and bowed his head.

"And we will have to find you better shoes. Did you make Lilith's shoes?" she asked, gesturing to the leather shoes on Lilith's feet.

Athelstan shook his head. "I didn't, no. But a monk in the monastery did. We made her new shoes every year. And a new dress as well."

Gyda glanced at Lilith and reached for her hand. "Then Mother and I will have to make you both new clothes then." She pulled Lilith away. "Come. I will show you the goats and pigs."

Lilith glanced back at Athelstan as she was taken toward a smaller hut that surely held the animals on the farm. He tugged on the rope around his neck, nodding that it was all right even as Bjorn continued to take in the robe covering him.

For supper, Lagertha gave Lilith an extra helping of soup and bread, and Ragnar observed silently, glancing between her and Athelstan even though he never said anything.

"We don't want your dress to get dirty," Lagertha said as they finished their food. "So I will give you one of Gyda's dresses that she sleeps in for tonight. And tomorrow, I will begin making you one of your very own. Would you like that, Lilith?"

"Yes, thank you."

Lagertha smiled. "Well, it is only fair now that you are a member of our family for us to share what we have with you. Is that not how it was done where you come from?"

Lilith shook her head. "No. I wasn't allowed to share anything with the other monks. Only Athelstan shared things with me. Like food and books."

It only took a glance in Athelstan's direction as he sat alone by the fire in the middle of the room for Lagertha to nod at him to join them at the table. Slowly, he rose and did so, sitting uneasily at the edge of the bench close to Ragnar who was still silent. She passed a small bowl of soup to him and then a piece of bread, never uttering a word as he began eating quietly.

After a few more minutes of that, Ragnar turned to his own food, satisfied with this turn of events and smiling proudly to himself. Lilith could tell he was a good man, especially given the experiences she'd had with the monks. He reminded her of Brother Cuthren, but also of Athelstan with his quiet strength. Maybe this would turn out to be all right after all.


Who else wants Lilith and Gyda to spend every hour of every day together now? Because I do. I'm really going to work on punching up her dialogue. I loved her quiet demeanor in the show, but this is a little girl who is her age and her size. I want her to be a little girl with Lilith.

And I will try to include as many innuendos from the show as I can, those that I liked anyway. But I make no promises.

Next chapter will be up in a week. Until next time!