I don't own Vikings.
Chapter 3
Francine looked scared as she had witnessed Ragnar's wound. She is joined by Helga to comfort the girl.
She wasn't paying attention, but the fire where it shines along the blade that reflected in her eyes.
The blade was glowing red in the dark of Floki's hut. Floki held it, judging the heat by its color. He decided it was right. Floki went to where Ragnar was lying lifeless on the floor.
"Give it to me", Lagertha asked him. He handed her the blade.
"I dedicate this blade to the goddess, to Freyja. Wisdom might you give us, Freyja, and healing hands while we live." Lagertha prayed.
"Hail to the Aesir!" Bjorn said.
"Please Freyja, help my father!" Gyda begged.
Lagertha pressed the red-glowing blade on Ragnar's wounds. A smell of burnt flesh filled the room.
"There is a season for every matter under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal." Athelstan said, "Mary, mother of god, do not let this man die."
Ragnar groaned and Floki started filling the wounds with the paste he had made of the herbs.
Earl Haraldson fumed in fury. He started to question, "Where is the girl?"
One of his men questioned, "The girl?" Earl had turned and furies filled his blood.
The earl punched him in the face. "The wolf girl! Where is Fenrir's daughter?!"
Everyone stood and saw fear and madness.
'She is the sign of my end and Ragnar's reign over my place. I must chain her. Tame her if I must before the prophecy comes true.'
"Ragnar Lodbrok is dead! However, find the wolf girl dead or alive! Bring proof of her body to me!" He announced the farmland. He left to return to Kattegat.
Francine plucked up the grass with silences.
They had been at Floki's hut for weeks now and winter was setting in. The little girl is curious about what sort of magic did this Floki used. She grew curious. The little girl watched how Floki grided the herbs and smells weird from the plants.
Athelstan said that Floki's supplies were highly limited. And Winter is nearly upon them. And there were six extra persons now living in the household.
Yet there was a strange scent. Francine knew it wasn't someone among them.
Bjorn was just outside the hut, chopping firewood when a man approached him. He was wearing the hood of his cloak covering his face. He had a bow in his hand and carried two throwing axes on his belt. He also had two dead rabbits dangling from his belt.
"Is it true?" he asked, "Is he here?"
When they entered the hut, Floki looked up. "Thorstein!" he enthused.
Thorstein pulled his hood down and stepped next to Ragnar, lying in his bed.
"Ragnar, my friend", Thorstein greeted him, "How are you?"
"Save me from these people", Ragnar asked smiling.
"Ragnar Weak." Francine said in broken Norse language explained, "Wounds heal now."
"He's alive", Lagertha said, "Thanks to Floki's magic."
"How did you know I was here?" Ragnar demanded to know.
"I didn't", Thorstein answered, "It was Rollo who said, if you were alive, you might be here."
"Then we did he not come himself?" Ragnar asked.
"He thought he may be followed", Thorstein explained, "It is no secret that all of the crew are being watched. But I made sure no one was following me."
Two wolves came side by side and ran towards Francine. Licking and panting happily.
Francine glee happily when one of her wolves came with Thorstein. She hugged her wolves and petted happily.
"Thank these wolves. Earl's men will think twice not to follow me here."
On the cold evenings, now that winter was close, it had become a custom in Floki's hut to share stories about the gods. Athelstan was eager to ask for stories which both he and Francine eagerly listened to.
They heard about the gods and their halls and how the earth was created from the body of the giant Ymir. How Odin hanged himself and how he sacrificed his eye for knowledge. How Thor fished for the serpent Yormungandr and how Tyr sacrificed his arm as bait to capture the cruel Fenrir.
Francine widened her eyes and said, "But can Fenrir still be tamed?" She eagerly has to know. Lagertha answered her and said, "No one can truly stop Fenrir from breaking his chains. Only the Gods can decide when he will break free."
In the meantime, Ragnar's health was improving, although Lagertha still would not let him get up from his bed for longer periods.
In Floki's hut, Gyda was watching her mother change the bandages on her father's back.
"When will he be better?" the girl asked.
"It is taking too long already", Ragnar complained.
"In a few weeks, your father's wounds will have healed", Lagertha explained, "if he is careful."
"You must have patience, father", Bjorn added.
"You must have patience, father", Ragnar mocked, "Shut up."
Francine gave a giggle when the door burst open. Floki was carrying Thorstein who was completely wet and shivering from the cold.
"I found him wandering around the marshes", Floki explained.
"I was lost", Thorstein told them.
Gyda and Bjorn quickly made room next to the fire, so Thorstein could warm himself up. After a few minutes, he began to talk.
"I was visited in great secrecy by Earl Haraldson's wife, Siggy", Thorstein began, "She told me that her husband had played a trick on Rollo and imprisoned him. He tried to find out where you are. Then he tortured him. She is sure her husband means to kill Rollo because he will in no way admit to where you are."
"He tortured my brother?" Ragnar asked. Thorstein only nodded.
"It's a trap for you, Ragnar", Floki warned.
Ragnar stood up from the fire, his mind deep in thoughts. He opened the door and looked out into the rain for several minutes. He tried to raise his wounded arm as high as he could without pain. Then he made his decision.
"Floki", he began, "I have another favor to ask you."
"I want you to go into Kattegat", Ragnar explained, "I want you to ask for a meeting with the Earl. And when you meet him, challenge him to personal combat with me. Tell him if he refuses, shame will stalk him for the rest of his life and Odin will never permit him into Valhalla."
Ragnar then turned to Francine and kneels to her sight. "You wouldn't happen to know where you can find wolves."
The girl stays quiet and looked at him.
Earl Haraldson was sitting in his high chair in the great hall, managing the daily life in the town. Suddenly, there was a lot of activity at the door, when two of the Earl's warriors came in, holding a giggling man between them.
"What is this?" Svein, the steward, asked.
"My lord, this man says he has a message for you from Ragnar Lothbrok" one of the warriors explained.
"Let go of him", the Earl ordered. The warriors released the man and he stood giggling beside them.
"What is the message?" Earl Haraldson asked.
"Ragnar Lothbrok challenges you to meet him in single combat", Floki said. Everyone in the room held his breath.
"Ragnar Lothbrok has a very high opinion of himself", Svein mocked.
"After all, he is a descendant from Odin", Earl Haraldson added, smiling.
"Ragnar said, if you refused, shame would follow you for the rest of your life", Floki argued.
"There would be greater shame in accepting a challenge from a criminal", the Earl stated, "It would suggest that I take him seriously."
"The challenge is declined!" Svein announced loudly, "When Ragnar Lothbrok arrives in Kattegat, he will be put in chains."
Earl Haraldson had been sitting on his chair silently, his mind in deep thoughts. Suddenly he stood up.
"Tell Ragnar Lothbrok that I accept his challenge", he said to Floki.
That gave the whole court something to talk about. Earl Haraldson still wants that wolf girl.
In Floki's hut, almost everyone was asleep. Ragnar and Lagertha were both awake, making love underneath their furs.
"Ragnar", Lagertha said, "Let's leave here. There are other places for us."
"He is old. What are you afraid of?" Ragnar asked.
"You can't fight", she insisted, "You are too weak."
"Perhaps that makes us equal", Ragnar answered, kissing her neck and shoulder.
"Never fight until you know the odds are in your favor", Lagertha argued, "That is our way."
"Who sets the odds?" Ragnar wanted to know, "What happens tomorrow is already fated."
"You don't believe that", Lagertha meant, "And neither do I."
"You're wrong. I do believe it." Ragnar answered, stroking the tears out of his wife's face. Ragnar walked back and pick up the wolf girl.
"Come little one," Ragnar placed her onto his shoulders. "You promise me that you will bring me wolves. So, let's go."
Ragnar walked carrying the wolf girl to find the location of her pack.
In the Great Hall, Earl Haraldson was not able to find sleep himself. He kept staring into the night. He could not help himself, he kept thinking about his sons, who had been brutally murdered. How they would look today? Would they be like Ragnar Lothbrok? He hated to admit it, but he respected the man. He was everything Earl Haraldson had been once, restless, ambitious, driven, and with just enough luck. And after all, he had been right about the lands to the west, all those years when he told the stories he had believed in. Then he had finally taken the matter into his own hands and proven all these stories to be true.
Yet, the Earl would never be able to admit his utmost respect for Ragnar Lothbrok publicly. Or even join forces with him. The moment, when he admitted his fault, would be the moment, his friends and supporters would have begun to support Ragnar and desert him. The only thing he could do was to finally kill Ragnar.
The wolf girl would be his key to power. He must get that wolf girl no matter the cause.
Ragnar walked all day carrying the girl. Francine had been pointing the direction as Ragnar follow her direction noticing movement in the shadows and glowing yellow eyes in the night.
Francine patted Ragnar's head and said, "Down!"
"Aye, demanding one, aren't you?" Ragnar bends and placed the girl on the ground. She huffs and walks further to lead him where he hears water.
The waterfall surrounds the trees and smells of mist.
"AAHHHOWWWLLLL!"
Wolves ran through the stone waters to bathe and clean themselves. Ragnar saw such grace and fierce. They playfully jumped and splash around the waterfalls.
He also noticed their pups on dry ground. They whimper and whine around their siblings or fellow pack members.
One pup hummed and saw Francine and Ragnar watching them from afar. The pup waddled up the girl as she petted it. Ragnar petted and carried the pup as Francine pulled his hand to walked towards the wolf pack.
All of them sensing their presence they all ran and looked up with few groans and small growls. All eyes watching them, and Francine looked them around. Ragnar smiled at the wolves as the moon shines that lighten up their location. Wolves are everywhere and now are waiting for their orders to come and fight.
"You are truly blessed by Odin little wolf."
Ragnar smiled as he knew that it is true. He can fight and he will win.
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Sorry for the wait.