This is it – the big battle scene! I really had fun writing this one (I always love doing the action stuff), so I hope it's good and I hope you enjoy it!
And just as importantly, there are bits of Signe/Torstein sprinkled here or there throughout the chapter which is basically how it's going to go for the next few chapters. Bits of Signe and Torstein interacting and getting to know each other a little more. Then, after that, there's going to be a lot of Signe/Torstein. As in, a whole lot. So…get ready.
Anywho, enjoy!
Warning: LOTS OF VIOLENCE at the end of this chapter. And also – long chapter is very long.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Vikings.
Chapter Seven
Torstein had been correct in guessing that it would not be long before they left for the rendezvous spot. There was barely enough time to return to her tent, reassure the worried twins that she had only gone off by herself to have a moment of peace when they asked where she had been – she thought it wiser not to mention her one-on-one conversation with Torstein – and begin rounding up what she would need for the battle when the orders were given to fall in and get ready to move out. As soon as everyone was armed and assembled, they said their goodbyes to Earl Ragnar's family and the Kattegat villagers that would be staying behind and, with Lady Lagertha leading the march, were on their way.
It took more than a few hours to reach the forest that Earl Ragnar had designated, though it only felt as though it took a mere few minutes in all their anticipation. The army, with the guidance of Lagertha and the Kattegat warriors, headed northeast through the dense trees until they finally reached the end of the forest. It was there that their march ended and they all settled in within the cover of the trees to await the return of Earl Ragnar and his men. The Kattegat warriors – Torstein included, Signe couldn't help but notice – broke away after a short conversation with Lagertha and went off in every which direction to scout the area. Most likely to search for any signs that their fearless leader might be in the area.
For as loud as everyone one had been back at the farmhouse camp, everyone was eerily quiet in the forest now. This was due mostly to the fact that Lagertha had ordered everyone to keep it down, stay out of sight, and do nothing to draw the attention of anyone who might happen to be in the area, in case there were enemy scouts lurking nearby. Some slept to regain their strength after the march, but most sat around sharpening weapons, eating, and speaking to companions in low tones – or, in some cases, praying to the Gods – as they waited for whatever would come next.
Signe herself heaved as she stood leaned against a tree just inside the bordering treeline of the forest, separated from the rest of the army by fifteen or so feet. She frowned to herself as she stared out at the rolling, moonlit hills stretching off toward Kattegat, apprehension bubbling away in her belly as fretful thoughts paraded through her mind. By now, all of the Kattegat warriors had returned, each with the same result – there was no sign of the Earl or his men anywhere. Some of the more seasoned warriors around her did not seem overly concerned with the fact that he had not yet arrived, claiming there was still plenty of time, but Signe was beginning to feel genuinely alarmed. She wasn't exactly sure how long it had been since they'd arrived, but she knew it had been long enough to where the Earl and his men should have shown up by now.
Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention, making her eyes flicker to the left. At first she didn't couldn't see anything but sturdy trees and overgrown bushes, but then a figure appeared from behind a large tree some twenty yards away. It was Torstein, and he hadn't seem to have noticed her yet. She took advantage of his obliviousness and let her eyes trail over his tall form. He had shed his red cloak to make room for the quiver of arrows now resting on his back. In his hand he held a long, wooden bow and hanging from a sheath on his hip was a battle axe. Even from where she was standing she could see the fierce expression on his face – he seemed to be frowning underneath his beard and his eyebrows were drawn together with disconcertion, eyes scanning the distance for (she could only assume) the very people Signe herself had just been searching for.
Approaching footsteps suddenly had her ears perking. She quickly tore her gaze away from Torstein and glanced over her shoulder instead, checking to see who was coming toward her. "Signe, come and sit." It was Gunnar. He looked a little exasperated as he came to a halt at her side. "I have been watching you stand here for the past two hours. You are beginning to make me uneasy," he said, raising his brows at her.
"I am fine where I am, Gunnar," she told him patiently. The truth was that there was absolutely no way she could just sit around and pretend like the continued absence of Earl Ragnar and his men wasn't eating away at her. No, she was going to stand here, where she had a clear view of the moonlit land, and keep watch until the men finally returned and she saw, with her own two eyes, that both Bjorn and Hallsteinn were still alive. Then, and only then, would she be able to relax.
"At least come and have something to eat," Gunnar tried again, his tone a bit gentler this time. "You vill need your strength for battle."
"I am not hungry," Signe said with a shake of her head. Between her worry for Bjorn and Hallsteinn and the knowledge that only a few short hours lay between herself and her first battle, her appetite had long since disappeared. "Even if I was, I could not possibly eat. Not at a time like this." If she tried to eat anything now, she was certain she would only vomit it right back up.
Gunnar frowned and looked as though he was going to force her to come back with him anyway, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, the voice of his identical twin chimed in. "Gunnar," Garik called to them. He was sitting at the base of a tree with his back leaned against the trunk, long legs stretched out before him and crossed at the ankle as he chewed idly on a piece of dried meat. "Signe is only hours away from her first battle. You remember vhat it felt like for us on the eve of our first battle, do you not?" Gunnar pursed his lips, but said nothing. "If she vants to be alone, then leave her be," Garik suggested, before motioning to the spot Gunnar had previously been sitting in. "Come sit and let Signe have her privacy."
Signe managed a small, grateful smile for Garik, who nodded in return. Gunnar looked at his twin, shifted his gaze to Signe, then finally let out a heave of resignation. After reaching out to briefly pat her shoulder, Gunnar nodded in defeat and then turned on his heel to stride back toward his twin, leaving Signe alone once again.
Once Gunnar was gone, Signe's gaze almost immediately drifted back toward where Torstein had been standing, curious to know if her conversation with her brother had alerted him of her presence. It had. Upon looking his way again, her eyes met his curious, scrutinizing ones. When he realized he'd been caught staring, Torstein stood a little straighter before nodding his head once in acknowledgement. Signe returned the gesture, wondering if the golden-haired warrior would come over to speak with her like he had back on the farm. To her surprise, she discovered that she wouldn't mind if he did. He didn't, however, just returned his gaze back to their surroundings and resumed his watch.
Signe thought it over for a few seconds, then came to a decision. With a glance over her shoulder to see what her brothers were doing – they had immersed themselves in a quiet conversation – Signe pushed away from the tree she'd been leaning on and started in Torstein's direction. His gaze immediately shifted to her again when he both saw and heard her movement, his eyebrows raising just the slightest but his expression otherwise remaining impassive.
She couldn't help, nor explain, the small, nervous feeling that bloomed in her stomach as he steadily watched her approach, his eyes never once turning away from her. She wished she could decipher the expression on his face as she neared, but found that she couldn't. Signe finally came to a halt next to him and crossed her arms over her chest, eyes gazing out into the distance for a long moment before slowly turning up to him. She had to lean her head back a bit to meet his gaze, as her eyes were barely level with his shoulder when they stood next to one another.
Up close she could see the quiet curiosity in his eyes, but he said nothing. He was waiting for her to speak first. "They should have been back by now," she stated bluntly, not bothering to hide how troubled she was by the fact the men weren't. "They have been gone for far too long."
Torstein let out a quiet heave, then nodded his head. "I agree," he said, a hint of concern lurking in his eyes. "I had expected for them to return not long after we arrived," he added. "That they are still gone is beginning to worry me as much as it does you."
Though she felt a little but of justification now that she knew she was right to worry after all, Signe still wished Torstein hadn't agreed with her. If one of Earl Ragnar's own men was starting to get worried, then that could mean something bad. The thought only made her worries triple. "Could they have gone to a different part of the wood? Might we be in the wrong place?," she asked, grasping for any other reason why the four had still not reconvened with them.
Torstein frowned and shook his head. "Ragnar and I have hunted in these woods more times than I can count," he said told her. "We are precisely where we are meant to be."
Signe sighed, discomforted by his answer. "I fear something has gone wrong, that something has happened to them," she admitted, the corners of her mouth turning downward as she shifted untrusting eyes back onto the land before them. "I knew those four going into Kattegat by themselves was dangerous. They should have taken more men with them."
The look that flashed across Torstein's face hinted that he too worried something bad had befallen the missing quartet. But instead of voicing that fear aloud, he seemed to push away his moment of doubt and squared his shoulders, eyes fiercely determined now. "They will come back from Kattegat," he said firmly, though Signe wasn't entirely sure who he was trying to convince more – her, or himself. "Ragnar is not well acquainted with failure," he continued, nodding to himself now. "They will return soon. I am certain of it."
Signe held her breath for a second, then released it as a heave sigh. "Let us hope so."
Their conversation lulled and silence passed between them for a long few minutes as they both gazed into the darkened horizon. Eventually, the fierce expression melted away from Torstein's face, replaced by an inquisitive, albeit slightly guarded one. "The man I saw you talking to," he started with perhaps just a bit too much casualness, eyes briefly turning in the direction Gunnar was in. He and Garik were just barely visible from where she and Torstein stood. "Was he giving you trouble?," Torstein asked, eyes returning to her again.
Signe looked up at him, a little surprised by his question, then shook her head. "No," she answered, before a small smirk worked its way onto her lips, in spite of all her worries and fears and concerns. "Even if he had, it would not be anything new." When she saw Torstein's confused expression, Signe clarified herself. "That man is my brother, and the one sitting next to him is his twin," Signe said, motioning toward the two. "Both have been giving me trouble for the whole of our lives," she explained with a slight smile.
Torstein's eyebrows lifted. "More brothers?" He asked, sounding a bit surprised. "Exactly how many do you have?"
"I have enough. More, in fact, than should probably be permitted in one family," Signe joked, which made Torstein smile a bit and nod his understanding.
As silence fell between them again, Signe suddenly had to wonder why Torstein was asking in the first place. It was silly to think he was being protective of her. They hardly knew each other, seeing as they had only just met that very night – he barely even trusted her. But Signe, who had spent her entire life surrounded by over-protective men, knew the tell-tales signs very well by now. She'd recognized the rigidity of his spine and the slightest hint of suspicion that someone with a lesser trained eye wouldn't have picked up on, had picked up on the alertness that stated he would be ready to defend her if he had to. It didn't make any sense to her what-so-ever, but it was exactly what his behavior was hinting toward.
Signe was then curious to know just what he might have done if Gunnar had not been her brother and had been giving her trouble. She briefly thought it over, then decided that she was going to satisfy her curiosity and ask Torstein what he would have done had Gunnar been someone with mischief on the mind. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, however, she saw something in the distance.
The words caught in her throat at once and she froze, eyes staring unblinking ahead, unsure if the moonlight was playing tricks on her eyes or if she actually had seen something moving out there on the darkened hills. Signe blinked and even rubbed her eyes, then looked again, taking a few steps forward to try to see better. She must have looked like she'd seen a ghost, because when Torstein saw her reaction and followed after her, his voice was rather alarmed.
"Signe?" He asked uncertainly, stopping just by her side. His eyes shifted back and forth between her and the dark horizon, narrowed with suspicion and awareness. "What is it?"
For a moment she ignored him and stared hard into the distance. She saw nothing, just sporadic patches of green groves, rolling grasslands, and high, jutting rock faces as far as the eye could see. Signe started to deflate with disappointment, her hope dashed, but then felt her stomach lurch as dark figures suddenly came rounding the top of a hill at a rapid speed. Signe immediately raised a hand and pointed into the distance, directing Torstein's gaze toward the incoming riders. "Someone is coming."
Torstein's head snapped around so quickly she was surprised he did not hurt his neck. Without a word, he shifted his bow into a more defensive hold, nocked an arrow, and took a few more steps forward. He peered intently in the direction of the approaching figures for a few moments, before shooting a look at Signe over his shoulder. "Inform Lagertha and the others that someone approaches," he instructed. "Go," he added with a jerk of his head. Signe nodded, then turned and quickly made her way toward the other warriors to deliver the news.
She noticed as she rushed through her fellow comrades in search of Lady Lagertha that she stirred up a bit of interest, but she did not stop to answer, nor even acknowledge, those who called out questions as she rushed by. When Signe finally located the shieldmaiden she was searching for, she found the woman talking with the lanky Kattegat warrior Torstein had been with earlier, whom she had discovered was named Floki, and the fierce looking one with long, dark hair, whom Signe now knew to be Bjorn's uncle, Rollo.
"Lady Lagertha, forgive my intrusion," Signe said as she skidded to a halt near the trio, who ceased their conversation and quickly looked to her. "Someone approaches."
That was all that needed to be said. In the blink of an eye Lagertha, Floki, and Rollo started toward the bordering tree-line at a fast pace, barking at loitering warriors to move out of the way so they could pass through freely. Seeing the three in such a rush quickly made every warrior in the area stand with attention and start trailing after them, eager to see what all the commotion was about. Signe quickly joined the crowd, just as impatient to see who was coming and praying to the Gods that it was Earl Ragnar and his men.
By the time she had pushed her way back through the murmuring crowd of curious warriors and rejoined the twins, the dark figures she'd spotted in the distance were closing in on the forest. They approached by horseback, and as the sound of heavy gallops on solid earth filled the air, Signe's heartbeat matched the rapid pace at which they travelled. There was a momentary rush of relief when she caught sight of a long, signature ponytail whipping behind one of the riders, whom she quickly recognized to be Earl Ragnar – they had returned! But the relief was short lived when her eyes swept over the rest of his companions and she noticed that he was one of only three riders still sitting upright.
The fourth rider was lying horizontally across his horses' saddle, looking for all the world like he was no longer alive.
The very blood in Signe's veins ran cold at the sight and she was positive that her heart stopped beating altogether. She had been right in thinking something had gone wrong – somebody was hurt. Possibly even dead, if the way the man's limbs flopped lifelessly around with his horse's gallop was anything to judge by. There was a long moment where she couldn't breathe, could hardly even think, as she waited for Ragnar and his men to come closer so she could see them better and determine which of them was hurt. Finally, after a few moments, they were close enough to where Signe could make out the faces of the other two riders still sitting upright.
One was Bjorn, the other was Hallsteinn.
Seeing that her friend and her brother were still alive, Signe felt such a strong sense of relief that it nearly knocked the wind out of her. Almost immediately afterwards, however, she felt a great rush of sadness as she realized that if Earl Ragnar, Bjorn, and Hallsteinn were all alright, then Urich was the one splayed across his horse's saddle.
Though she might have thought ill things about him in her jealousy after he'd been chosen to go to Kattegat over herself, Signe had not wanted him to get hurt and she had certainly not wanted him to be killed. Everyone watched in relative silence as the small group finally came to a halt near the treeline and the three men still functioning dismounted their horses. While Earl Ragnar was instantly swarmed by his men, Bjorn and Hallsteinn went to Urich, working in tandem to gently pull him down from the horse and lay his motionless body out on the ground. As soon as she saw the way Urich's eyes stared unseeingly at the stars overhead, she knew without a doubt that he was indeed dead.
The battle hadn't even begun, and already they'd suffered their first casualty.
It was a long while before Bjorn finally came to find her. The sun had risen and the morning birds were singing when he came trudging over to where she and her brothers sat, shoulders hunched and head lowered as he walked. He looked stressed and angry and sad all at the same time, the troubled expression making his handsome features look sharper and fiercer than normal.
By now, Hallsteinn had told them what had happened in Kattegat. While Bjorn and Earl Ragnar went to burn the food supplies, it was Hallsteinn and Urich's duty to distract Jarl Borg's guards. In the end, the two had ended up finding themselves faced with half a dozen armed, blood-thirsty guards and had no choice but to draw their weapons and fight. Though they ended up winning the off-balanced match, Urich had sustained an injury in the skirmish, a deep gash on the top of his leg. They had paid it no mind at the time because Urich had insisted he was fine, but when he fell off his horse halfway back to the rendezvous spot, they realized it had been more fatal than he had let on. They'd stopped and tried to staunch the bleeding the best that they could, but by then it had been too late. Urich bled out and died right then and there.
Bjorn stopped just before her, sparing a second to nod his acknowledgement to her brothers. "Can we speak in private?" He asked Signe, shifting his troubled eyes back to her.
Signe nodded and climbed to her feet, brushing the dirt off her trousers as she went to Bjorn's side. He turned and led her a little ways away, stopping once they were far enough away from everyone else so that their conversation would not be heard. Bjorn sighed heavily and leaned against a tree, raising a hand to wearily rub his eyes.
He'd had a long, trying night, so she was not surprised to see the hint of exhaustion in his stance. After returning from Kattegat with Urich's lifeless body, he had spent an hour or so sitting and talking in private with the grieving cousin that Urich had left behind. Afterwards, Bjorn, with the help of Hallsteinn and Urich's cousin, had taken Urich's body and gone walking out of the forest, heading toward a large, fallen over trunk on the other side of the grassy field. She hadn't been certain what they were doing at the time, but now Signe knew that the deceased Urich had been positioned facing the direction of Kattegat with a spear in his hand and a deathly glare set onto his frozen, lifeless features. According to Hallsteinn, it had been Urich's last wish – he had wanted to be a message to Jarl Borg, a sign of the fate that awaited him and all the Götaland warriors when Earl Ragnar's army came for them.
Once they had finished with Urich's body they had come back to the forest, but Bjorn had not come to her like she thought he might. He had instead gone to find his mother and father first, where he stayed for a long while, listening on as they talked battle strategies with Earl Ragnar's men. As badly as Signe had wanted to go to him and offer whatever comfort she could, she had given him his space, knowing he would come to her eventually.
"How are you?" Signe asked softly, looking to him with concern.
Bjorn dropped his hand to peer at her. "How do you think?," he asked with a bit of an edge. Signe blinked in surprise, but did not take offense because she knew he was upset. Bjorn caught himself when he noticed her reaction and sighed again, eyes downcast as his expression quickly morphed into apologetic. "Forgive me. I did not mean to take that tone with you," he said, his tone much softer.
"There is nothing to forgive," she reassured him, to which he nodded in response. "Bjorn…" She paused until he looked at her again, then placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry about Urich," Signe told him sincerely. "I did not know him well, but if he was good enough to be your friend, then I have no doubt he was a fine man."
Bjorn nodded slowly, gratefulness filling his eyes for just a moment before he turned them elsewhere. "He was a good man, and a good friend," he confirmed, frowning into the distance. "I will mourn him," he added solemnly, "but I will also take comfort in the knowledge that he has gone to Valhalla to feast with the Gods."
"That he has," Signe agreed, squeezing Bjorn's shoulder once more before releasing him.
As their conversation lulled for a moment, Singe shifted on her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing across the green, grassy field toward the blot of color she knew to be Urich's body in the distance. She let out a long sigh and looked back to Bjorn, who was still staring solemnly off to the side. Sensing that there was still a lot on his mind, Signe started to ask him what else was bothering him. Before she could, however, Bjorn beat her to the punch.
"It has been a long while since I have dealt with death," he said slowly. "I had almost forgotten what it felt like to lose someone I cared for." Bjorn finally turned his gaze back to her, his blue eyes flashing for a moment. "But for as sad as Urich's death makes me, I have only been able to think of one thing since Urich died." Signe watched him expectantly as he paused for a second. "You," he finally said.
Signe blinked in surprise while her heart skipped a beat. "Me?," she asked uncertainly, not sure she knew what to make of Bjorn's last statement.
Bjorn nodded, then explained himself. "I was not lying when I said I had considered asking you to come to Kattegat tonight. In truth, I came very close to asking you. We have dreamed of fighting side-by-side for so long, it almost felt like a betrayal not to." Bjorn fell quiet for a moment and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Now all I keep imagining is what might have happened if I had asked you to go to Kattegat tonight," he told her, eyes turning elsewhere again and becoming slightly unfocused, as though he were watching something she could not see. "If you had been there, it would have been you with Hallsteinn. You fighting those guards." He hesitated and gulped, looking a little strained now. "Instead of Urich, it could have been you that had gotten injured in the skirmish…" Bjorn trailed off and gulped. "You who bled out and died tonight."
Signe felt her heart constrict when she saw the pain in his expression at the thought of that possibility. "Bjorn…," she said, feeling her heart go out to him.
His eyes flashed back to hers, filled with all sorts of emotions now. Pain, sadness, determination, desperation. "I am sad for Urich, and I will miss him," he reiterated firmly, "…but as dishonorable as this might make me to say this, there are no words to properly express how relieved I am that it was him and not you." Bjorn took a step closer and placed a large hand on her shoulder, eyes searching hers. "You are more important to me than you know, Signe," he told her, dropping his voice. "I cannot – I will not – lose you," he added fiercely. "Promise me that when the time comes to fight Jarl Borg, you will not leave my side. Promise me that you vill let me protect you."
Signe frowned, feeling thankful that he was so adamant about wanting to look out for her but also worried how his protecting her might affect his own safety. She started to tell him just that, too, but Bjorn must have sensed what she was about to say. "Promise me," he demanded again, interjecting before she could get a word out.
Unable to refuse him, Signe finally nodded, her throat feeling tight and her stomach doing somersaults as Bjorn continued to stare at her with an intensity so palpable that she could practically feel it on her own skin. "I promise," she said, her voice a little thicker than normal.
Bjorn seemed relieved, but not by much. With a sigh, he used the hand on her shoulder to pull her close and wrap her up in a tight hug, his head dropping down to rest on top of hers as he all but crushed her to his chest. As Signe returned the hug and lay her head against his chest, listening to the pounding of his heart under her ear, she understood why Bjorn was so shaken. He had realized exactly how life-threatening this task of theirs was. And after the events of the night, he had also learned that, when it came to battle, things could take a turn for the worst in the blink of an eye. Signe herself had not wanted to believe that she or Bjorn or her brothers would perish in this battle...but what if they did? What if, like the mission in Kattegat, something unexpectedly went wrong and someone she cared for wound up dead? What if these were their last moments and they just didn't know it yet?
The thought suddenly brought forth a wave of courage. If these were her last moments with Bjorn, she did not want to waste them. She wanted him to know how she felt about him, she wanted him to know that she saw him as so much more than just a friend or a brother. She needed Bjorn to know that she loved him, that she wanted to be more to him than just his dear friend Signe – that, someday, she wanted to be his wife and bear his children. She wanted to finally know what it felt like to feel his lips on hers.
When Bjorn started to release her from the hug, Signe found the bravery to make her move. Before he could pull too far away, she unwound her arms from around his waist, placed her hands on either side of his handsome face, and pulled him down so she could claim his lips in a kiss.
Bjorn was too stunned to respond at first and stood frozen to the spot. But, after a moment, he got over his shock and returned her kiss, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her in close again. The kiss was no loving, gentle one. He lips were hard against hers and full of desperation, his teeth clicking against hers in his sudden urgency. Signe matched his ferocity, digging her hands into his short hair and holding him to her. When she felt his tongue clumsily slide along her bottom lip she opened her mouth to him, making a small noise of surprise when his tongue immediately swept into her mouth in search of her own.
She didn't know how long they kissed for, but eventually the need for air became too great to ignore. Signe finally pulled her lips from his to suck in a great gulp of air. When she opened her eyes to look up at him and judge his reaction, she found him staring back at her, looking just as breathless as she and thoroughly surprised by what had just happened between them. "Bjorn – " Signe started to say, still panting heavily for air.
"Ragnar!," a voice suddenly called out not so far away, shattering the mood that had surrounded Signe and Bjorn and bringing an abrupt halt to their moment. The voice belonged to Earl Ragnar's friend Floki, who had taken up watch some time ago and had been keeping an eye out for Jarl Borg's army. "Ragnar!," he called again, waving his long, lanky arms.
Earl Ragnar appeared in the blink of an eye, eyes wide and eager for whatever information his friend had. "What is it, Floki?," he asked, though judging by the gleam in his eyes, he already knew the answer.
When Floki's lips spread in a wide, mischievous grin, Signe knew exactly what he had seen. "Jarl Borg approaches."
Signe felt like her heart might burst through her chest at any given moment.
After Floki's announcement, there had been a great rush to grab shields and weapons before they all quickly fell into line, making sure to stay low so that that the slight rise in the land just in front of the forest obscured them from the sights of Jarl Borg and his men. They now stood in dead silence, just waiting. Waiting for Jarl Borg to get closer and waiting for the right moment to make their presence known.
As another torturously long minute ticked by, Signe shifted on her feet and had to readjust the grip she had on her axe, her palms so sweaty with nerves that she thought the weapon might accidentally slip from her grasp. Her heart continued its hard beat against her ribs, her lungs sucking in air a little faster than usual and her stomach tied up in knots of both fear and excitement. Adrenaline like she had never known before coursed through her veins just as it coursed through the line of warriors. It couldn't be long now, she decided, watching intently as Floki slowly crept up the slight hill they were hiding behind to check Jarl Borg's progress.
"Remember your training, Signe," Hallsteinn said on her left, voice eerily calm and eyes completely focused as he stared straight ahead, "and show them no mercy." Hallsteinn looked at her then, and she saw nothing but fierce, blazing determination in his dark eyes. "For I guarantee you shall be shown none in return."
Signe held his intense gaze for a second, then nodded her head in understanding. Satisfied that he'd gotten his point across, Hallsteinn turned his eyes forward again. Signe sucked in a deep breath, then turned her eyes to the right, where Bjorn stood on her other side. He must have felt her stare on him because he glanced down at her, the expression on his face similar to the one Hallsteinn was wearing, only there was a touch of fear lurking just beneath the surface of his blue eyes.
Signe thought to the kiss they'd just shared back in the forest and briefly considered taking advantage of these last peaceful moments to plant another one on him, just for good measure. She resisted the urge, though, when she remembered that they were very much not alone and that the enemy was drawing closer with each passing second. Later, Signe told herself. Once the battle was won and they were all out of harm's way again, then she'd kiss Bjorn until she was blue in the face.
"Remember, stay as close to me as you can," Bjorn instructed quietly, reminding her of the promise she'd made. "I will protect you."
She raised her eyebrows and managed a wry, close-lipped smile in spite of the tumult of emotions shooting through her body. "And vhat if it is you who needs protecting?," Signe asked, half teasing but also half serious.
Bjorn smirked at her and gave a slight shake of his head. "We will protect each other," he corrected himself pointedly, to which Signe nodded and gave a small, lopsided smile.
At that moment, Floki hurried back to them, his eyes alight with excitement and his feet practically skipping with glee. He stopped next to Earl Ragnar, whose muscled body was tense, coiled, ready to spring into action, his expression nothing short of malicious as he patiently waited for the enemy now within his grasp. He looked like a lethal, deadly predator on the hunt, just waiting to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. Which, in actuality, was not all that far off from the truth.
"They have found Urich," Floki announced, before looking to Earl Ragnar with raised brows, awaiting his command.
"Go," Ragnar instructed with a firm nod. At once, Floki grabbed a large horn and went scrambling back up the slight incline until he stood on the field that would soon serve as their battlefield, giggling madly to himself all the while. Signe stared at him for a moment, thinking Bjorn's stories of his father's 'odd friend Floki' had not done the man's strange personality any justice, then looked back to Earl Ragnar when he spoke again. "After we let Jarl Borg see us," he said, addressing the Hedeby warriors, "wait ten seconds and then follow."
There was just enough time for Signe and her companions to nod their understanding before Floki sucked in a deep breath, raised his horn high into the sky, and then let loose a long, loud note to announce their presence.
For a moment, nobody moved. Unable to see the Jarl and his men because of their hiding spot, everyone's eyes turned to Floki to try to judge what was happening just out of their sights. The odd man grinned as he lowered his horn and stared into the distance, looking completely at ease with the fact that he stood alone in front of Jarl Borg's army. Even from where she stood Signe could hear the man's strange little giggles, leaving her with more than a few questions regarding his sanity.
After a second or two, Floki motioned with a discreet swish of his free hand for the rest of the Kattegat warriors to join him. Signe held her breath as Earl Ragnar and his handful of men went to join their companion, her eyes finding – and lingering – on Torstein's broad back as he covered the distance in only a few long strides. Once they had flanked Floki, the Kattegat warriors stood tall and straight and glowered defiantly at the enemy, showing no fear as they prepared to fight for their home.
Signe could only imagine what the Jarl might be thinking at that moment. These half-dozen or so warriors against him and his army? He must be laughing on the inside, thinking that it would be only too easy to run the men into the ground and believing that his seizure of Kattegat was now only moments away from being solidified once and for all. He was probably already celebrating the victory he was certain would soon be his. But the Jarl had no idea what kind of fire he'd ignited within the enraged Kattegat warriors, nor was he aware that Earl Ragnar and his men no longer stood alone. He was about to learn that this enemy would not be easily defeated, and this battle would not be won so easily.
After the ten seconds passed, Lady Lagertha was the first to step forward. At once, the Hedeby warriors followed her suit, calmly making their way up the short incline and walking forward until they stood shoulder to shoulder with the Kattegat warriors. As Signe came to a halt with her comrades, her brothers on one side of her and Bjorn on the other, her eyes instantly locked on the enemy army standing on the opposite side of the field. There were four men on horseback and at least sixty foot soldiers, all of whom were staring back at their now much larger ranks in what seemed like stunned silence. One man with collar-bone length blonde hair stood in front of the rest, eyes scanning their line of warriors before settling on Earl Ragnar. Even from where she stood she could feel the heat, feel the hatred in the man's glower. He, she decided, must be Jarl Borg.
The Jarl suddenly turned on his heel and went to his horse to collect his shield and weapon, barking orders at his men every step of the way. Signe watched as the men on horses quickly dismounted, retrieved their battle gear, and merged with the foot soldiers, the lot of them quickly falling into formation and preparing for the battle soon to start.
Signe knew there was no going back now. As she stared in the face of her enemy, her fingers tightened on the handle of her axe and her shield arm tensed in anticipation. This was the enemy – the real enemy. Men and women who had invaded a town of helpless villagers and killed innocent people. Men and woman who now wanted to kill her and her comrades. The time for fear and apprehension had passed – the time to be brave, be strong, and fight against injustice had now arrived.
"The Gods have already decided our fates, my friends," Earl Ragnar spoke up loud and clear, never once turning his eyes away from Jarl Borg. His blue eyes burned with intensity and the hateful sneer that pulled at his lips distorted his handsome features, making him look downright frightening. "Fight true, and fight hard. There is nothing left to fear now." Then, after sucking in a deep breath, he bellowed, "SHIELD WALL!"
Recalling the countless time she'd practiced shield walls with her brothers, Signe thrust her shield in front of her body in almost perfect synch with her comrades, her loud cry mingling with the various tones of the people around her and echoing off the trees of the forest. She stood frozen as a statue as she awaited Earl Ragnar's next command, breathing hard and heavy through her nose and gripping her axe so tightly now that her knuckles had turned white. She stared at the enemy through narrowed eyes, watching over the top of her shield as they finished organizing themselves and formed a shield wall of their own at the Jarl's command.
For a long few moments, nothing happened. The two armies just stood stock still and sized each other up, shields raised in front of them and weapons at the ready. Then, as a black bird flew off a tree branch and went soaring across the middle of the field, Earl Ragnar's deep, guttural cry finally broke the deafening silence that had encompassed the battlefield.
"CHARGE!"
With a battle cry that came from deep within her throat, Signe surged forward with her comrades, running as fast as her legs would allow. She could hear nothing but the battle cries of the warriors around her, the pounding of numerous feet against the solid earth, the hammering of her own heart in her ears. In that moment, the world outside their battlefield ceased to exist. There was no Kattegat, no Hedeby. There was no farm. There was no Oleg, or Valborg, or the expecting Ingelill. There was only here and now; them and the enemy. It was time to fight. Time to kill.
By now, Jarl Borg and his men had started their own charge, running full speed at them and yelling just as loudly. As the distance between the two armies grew smaller and smaller, Signe's eyes found the warrior that she knew she was going to collide with when the two walls met. He was a little shorter than her but twice as thick, and the dangerous snarl on his face instantly let her know that he'd love nothing more than to run her into the ground and imbed an axe-blade into her skull. As intimidating as he was, Signe met the man's glare head on, shouting so loudly that her voice nearly gave out. Then, as they finally made it to the middle of the field and the last feet of space between the dueling armies abruptly disappeared, she turned her head and braced for impact.
The two shield walls met with a crash so loud and so violent that Signe half expected the trees around them to be blown over in the aftershock. As Signe's shield collided with that of the Götaland warrior, every single bone in her body rattled and her shield arm abruptly began to ache. It felt like she'd just run full force into a solid rock wall. The man whose shield she'd crashed into was even stronger than she had thought, too. The blow of his shield against hers was so forceful that it knocked her off balance and nearly had her tumbling to the ground. She caught herself quickly though, and, gritting her teeth as she fought past the shock of the impact, Signe quickly threw her weight into her shield, meeting his challenge.
She quickly learned that training for shield walls with her brothers was absolutely nothing like actually fighting in one. Blades of swords and axes swung at her head from every which direction. The constant pressure of the opposing wall slamming into theirs made her whole body tremble with the effort to stay upright and not let the enemy through. And the chaos around her was positively dizzying – battle cries and obscenities filled the air, shields slammed against shields, weapons sliced the air, and blood flew through in every direction as blades made it through the wall and found their targets, men and woman alike falling dead in the wake of it. It was so overwhelming that Signe hardly even knew which way was up and which was down anymore.
"Signe!" Hallsteinn shouted on her left, having just delivered a deadly blow to the head of a Götaland warrior. There was already blood on his face, in his beard, and in his hair. "Your axe!"
She had been concentrating so hard on trying not to collapse under the weight of the other shield wall that she had forgotten there was a weapon in her hand that she was supposed to be using. Snapping herself back to reality, she reared back and then lowered her shield just enough to zero in on the Götaland man she'd collided with. With a loud shout and a powerful swing she brought her axe down on his head, but at the last second the man blocked it with his shield. He counterattacked quickly, trying to take advantage of her momentary exposure, but Signe brought her shield back up just in time to ward off his attack.
Now that she'd taken her first real swing at someone, Signe felt some of her confidence return. She went in for a second attack, striking harder this time, but again the man blocked it. For the next few minutes they went back and forth like this, one delivering a strike that the other blocked and vice versa. But after a few more failed attempts, the man started to become frustrated by the fact that Signe was not as easy to defeat as he'd thought. Finally, he reached his breaking point. Deciding to just be done with her, the man raised his shield and slammed it down onto hers with all of his might, forcing her shield arm to lower and thus exposing her head. Without any hesitation whatsoever, he drew his axe back and then swung it directly toward her head with the intent to kill.
Signe managed to duck at the last moment, the blade swinging so close to her head that she felt the wind of it as it passed by. Because he had put so much power into the attack, when his axe met nothing but air the Götaland warrior lost his balance for the briefest second in time. Seeing her opportunity, Signe surged back to her full height, throwing her entire weight into her shield as she slammed it into her opponent. He stumbled backward from the force of the hit, arms flailing as he tried to catch his balance. Signe aimed a hard kick at his middle, making him fall to the ground. Then, without thinking twice about it, she raised her axe into the air and brought it down right in the middle of his chest.
Time stopped for a second. The rest of the battle faded away and, for that moment, it was just Signe and the man from Götaland. His eyes bugged as the blade of her axe sunk into his chest and stare unblinkingly at her, filled with confusion and disbelief. She could only stare back at the man as blood began to seep from the corners of his mouth, a horrible gurgling sound filling his throat as he choked on his own blood. Finally, the gurgling stopped and the man went still, lifeless eyes boring back into hers. He was dead. Signe had killed him.
A loud THUNK above her head ripped her back to the present. No more than a second or two had passed, but that was plenty time to catch someone off guard when in the heat of battle. Which is exactly what one of the Götaland warriors had just tried to do – a bald-headed man had tried to lob her head off while she'd been standing over the first man she'd ever killed in some kind of a stupor. But, luckily, Hallsteinn had seen it coming and had thrust his shield out to block it. Bjorn, having also seen what had just happened, then quickly disposed of the warrior with two forceful hacks of his axe.
"Stand up!," Hallsteinn barked.
Signe pulled her axe from the man's chest, shot back up, and fell back into her place in the shield wall, but she could still see those lifeless eyes peering back at her as though looking into her very soul. With sheer force of will, she somehow managed to push the man's face to the back of her mind, telling herself to concentrate and stop losing her focus before she wound up in the pile of dead bodies growing at their feet.
The fighting came a little easier now that she'd had her first kill. As the shield walls continued to struggle against each other she hacked at the heads of enemies, rammed her shield against theirs with renewed strength, ducked and sidestepped lethal blows before counterattacking with deadly strikes of her own. Every now and again she felt stings of pain spring up along her arms and face as blades of weapons came a little too close, but she ignored them and surged on, refusing to let it slow her down. Signe finally found a rhythm, finally figured out how to fight and function in this organized chaos – before she even knew it, she had killed three more Götaland warriors.
She didn't know how long it went on for, to be honest – it could have been two minutes or it could have been two hours, and she never would have known the difference. But, quite suddenly, a horn sounded in the air, catching her attention. Signe looked past the sea of heads just in time to see the half of Jarl Borg's men had broken away from the shield wall and were preparing to charge them.
"Brace!," Earl Ragnar suddenly shouted, his voice rising above all the noise. "BRACE!" He repeated, eyes widening some as Jarl Borg gave the signal and his men finally charged.
Signe had been in the middle of dueling with a shieldmaiden who looked a few years older than herself, but stopped fighting at once and ducked behind her shield to brace for impact. As she did this, however, she noticed that Bjorn was so intent on killing his opponent that he had not heard his father's command. He continued to swing wildly at the Götaland warrior, ignorant to anything else going on around him.
"Bjorn!" Signe shouted, trying to warn him. "Bjorn, brace!"
But it was too late. Just as the words left her mouth, Jarl Borg's men hit them, easily breaking through the weak link that Bjorn's preoccupation had created in the shield wall and sending every warrior in the area tumbling in every direction.
Signe flew through the air and landed hard on her back, her shield and axe falling from her grasp and the air immediately rushing from her lungs. At first she could only lay there, her eyes bugged wide as she gaped like a fish, trying to force her lungs to function once more. Finally, after a few seconds, she managed to violently suck in some air, her chest heaving as she worked to fill her lungs again.
No sooner had she managed to somewhat catch her breath when a figure suddenly appeared above her. It was the shieldmaiden she'd been fighting before Jarl Borg's men broke through the wall, and the woman seemed to be on a mission. She raised her long, sharp looking sword in the air and, with a scream that sent chills down Signe's spine, made to stab it into her chest. Signe pushed past her the pain of her struggling lungs and quickly grabbed for her shield, managing to get it above her just before the blade could made contact. The sword hit the metal knob on her shield with a loud clang. Before the attacking shieldmaiden could recover and try a second attack, Signe aimed a kick at the woman's leg to make her lose her balance and fall forward. When she landed on Signe's shield, Signe unceremoniously threw her off to the side, making the woman roll to the ground.
Signe grabbed her axe and adjusted her grip on her shield as she climbed back to her feet. Though her chest still ached from getting the wind knocked out of her and it was still a little difficult to breathe, she raised her axe and crouched into a defensive position, eyes trained on the other shieldmaiden quickly scrambling to her feet. The other woman, frustrated that Signe had thwarted her attack, growled and turned back to face her, eyes narrowed into slits now.
They circled each other for a moment, Signe with her axe and shield, the shieldmaiden with her shield and her sword. Finally, the Götaland shieldmaiden lunged, aiming for Signe's left side. Remember all her years of training, Signe easily blocked the sword with her shield, then aimed a swing at the shieldmaiden's head. When the woman raised her shield to block the swing, Signe, having anticipated the move, did a spin around her opponent and slammed her shield into the woman's back. The shieldmaiden, caught off guard by Signe's quick footwork, lurched forward and nearly fell to the ground, but managed to catch herself before she face planted.
The woman, enraged now, whirled back around to strike, but never got the chance. Signe rushed her the moment she turned, alternating between ramming the woman with her shield and attacking with her axe, forcing the woman backward and forcing her onto the defensive as she tried to fend of Signe's quick attacks. The shieldmaiden managed to get in a swing with her sword, but the attack was too easy to predict. Signe ducked to avoid the blade, then, as she straightened up again, imbedded her axe into the woman's belly with a hard, upward thrust. The shieldmaiden gaped for a moment before falling to the ground as Signe yanked her axe free again.
There was a brief moment in time were Signe was able to stop and catch her breath. Letting her eyes trail over the scene around her, she saw that the shield walls had disintegrated entirely and that there were fighting warriors spread out all over the field. With a sinking feeling, she also realized that she could not pick any of her brothers out of the chaos, nor did she see Bjorn anywhere, despite the fact that she had been right next to them when the shield wall had collapsed.
As her father's voice echoed in her head, telling her to stick with her brothers no matter what, she started to search around again, starting to feel a little panicked. But before she could look for very long, another Götaland warrior charged her, leaving her with no choice but to push worries of Bjorn and her brothers to the side and prepare for another fight.
The man that attacked her was more skilled than the shieldmaiden had been, so the fight lasted much longer. They went back and forth, meeting each other blow for blow, their frustration growing as the minutes ticked by and neither was able to get the upperhand in the fight. Finally, when her opponent was rammed into from behind by one of his dueling comrades, Signe was able to knock his weapon away with her shield and then catch him by surprise with her axe, which she promptly embedded into his exposed side. Two more hacks and he fell dead to the ground.
Signe collected herself, ignored the sticky blood covering her hands, neck, and face, and ran into the thick of the fight, ramming and chopping her way through the Götaland warriors as she searched the sea of people for familiar heads of blonde hair. She briefly bumped into Lady Lagertha, who was covered in blood but handling herself just fine – she also looked mighty relieved to see that Signe was still alive and still fighting – and nearly got bowled over by Bjorn's fearsome uncle Rollo when the dark-haired man went flying past her, looking like a wild animal as he tackled a man to the ground and killed him with a vicious chop of his battle axe. The roar Rollo let out as he went after his next victim made her blood freeze – and made her very happy that they were fighting for the same side.
Finally, Signe turned and spotted Garik dueling with a Götaland warrior some twenty yards away. Knowing that Gunnar and Hallsteinn could not be too far away from him, Signe felt a weight lift from her shoulders and started jogging in that direction. But in her determination to get to her brothers, she did not notice the enemy that had her in his sight. As she jumped out the way of two dueling warriors and then went running past, the thick handle of an axe swung at her face from out of nowhere, connecting hard with her nose. The pain of it made her see white and immediately had her falling to her knees.
Signe managed to hold onto her shield and axe, but still groaned with pain and blinked rapidly to clear the water that had rushed to her eyes, not entirely sure she knew what had just happened. As blood ran freely from her nose, she looked up to see who had attacked her. Her gaze soon landed on a tall, muscular Götaland warrior standing only a few feet away. He was covered in the blood of those he'd already killed, wearing an evil grin on his scarred face, and was staring directly at her. In one hand he held a shield; in the other was an axe with a blade bigger than her head.
Signe pushed past the pain in her face and struggled to her feet, idly wiping her bloody nose on the sleeve of her tunic. Though the Götaland man was much larger than herself, she looked to him with unintimidated eyes and took a defensive stance, ready to take the new opponent on in spite of the fact that she was probably no match for him. The man watched her do this, almost looking as though he wanted to laugh at the fact that she was actually willing to fight him. When Signe did not mirror the amusement in his gaze, however, he smirked and readied himself for the skirmish, never once turning his gaze away from her. When he finally motioned for her to give him her best shot, Signe let out a cry and lunged at him.
He effortlessly blocked her axe away, then slammed his shield into her body. She made a sound of pain as she felt the hit all the way to her bones, then hobbled back a few steps to regroup. After a moment she tried again, attacking from a different angle this time. This too was blocked, though this time instead of striking her with his shield, he attacked with his axe. Signe tried to jump out of the way, but she was a second too slow and the blade caught her in the shield arm.
She almost lost her grip on her shield as the deep gash in her upper arm started to bleed, but she managed to hold on to it. The Götaland warrior looked very pleased with himself for having drawn blood, even chuckled a bit. "Come, little girl," he taunted. "Stop playing and show me what you can do."
Infuriated by his taunts, Signe released another war cry and attacked again, throwing all of her best moves at him. He blocked and dodged one right after the other, moving surprisingly fast for someone his size. Signe was tiring quickly, but she pushed forward unyieldingly, knowing she couldn't give up or she could very well die. Finally, by what she was certain was pure luck, she managed to slice open a cut on his shoulder. They were both so stunned that her axe had actually made contact with him that they each looked at the cut in surprise. Then, with a dangerous growl, the man took advantage of the fact that she was just standing there and hit her hard with his shield, the center of it catching her just under her chin.
Signe fell to the ground for the second time, her vision going black for a second as pain erupted in her face again. She tasted blood in her mouth and briefly wondered if she had bitten her tongue or perhaps lost some teeth – with how hard the hit had been, she wouldn't be surprised with either outcome. When her vision cleared again, she saw that the Götaland man was steadily closing in on her, looking as though he had had enough of their skirmish and was ready to end her. He stepped over a fallen body and closed the gap between them with determination. Signe tried to get up and get back to her feet, knowing she was in a vulnerable position, but one hard kick to her stomach had her falling back to the ground. Two more rough kicks to her ribs made sure that she stayed there this time.
Gasping for air and feeling as though her ribs had been broken, Signe felt her axe and her shield fall from her grasp as she rocked back and forth on the ground, trying to fight through the pain and get her bearings again. She glanced up when the Götaland man's shadow fell over her and panicked, her right hand shooting out in frantic search of her axe – seeing what she was doing, the man immediately stomped a large, booted foot on her wrist, pressing it hard into the ground. He then raised his axe and her gaze followed the weapon's ascent, fear seizing her heart.
The man started to swing his axe down again after a second of hesitation. She watched, feeling helpless to stop what was about to happen as the large blade swung toward her chest, the intent to kill. But just as she was certain that the frantic breaths she now took were her last, a shield appeared practically out of thin air, stopping the axe dead in its tracks mere feet above her. Then, as a mighty roar sounded through the air, the man intent on killing her was roughly shoved away.
It had happened so quickly that, for a moment, she was confused. But when she heard the sounds of a skirmish ensuing, she realized someone had just come to her rescue. She looked to her savior but could not see his face because his back was to her. He was very tall, though, very broad, and had shoulder length golden hair that flew wildly about him as he fought the man who'd just tried to kill her. Because their build and hairstyles were so similar, Signe at first mistook her savior for her brother Garik. But then she realized that his hair was not braided into the style Garik always wore, nor did he fight in the style that Garik did.
When he turned just far enough for her to get a glimpse of his bearded face, Signe realized with a start that it was Torstein.
Torstein gave a loud battle cry and lunged at the man that had tried to kill her, slamming him hard with his shield. It knocked the Götaland man off balance for a moment, but the large man recovered and counterattacked, scowling as he went for Torstein. Signe knew from experience that the man was strong, but apparently so was Torstein. The Kattegat warrior fended off a brutal blow with his shield as though it were nothing, then roared and charged the enemy again with even more ferocity. This time he was faster than the man – with a great swing of his arm, Torstein got past the Götaland warrior's shield and buried his axe right into the man's thick neck.
Torstein had been so preoccupied killing the man determined to end Signe that he did not notice the warrior that came running at him from behind. The warrior that held a large sword in his hands and looked like he had every intention of running Torstein through with it. Signe, however, did see him. And seeing as Torstein had just come to her rescue, there wasn't a chance she was about to let him get caught unawares.
Forgetting all about the pain in her face and her ribs, Signe rallied up the strength she had left, grabbed her axe, and hauled herself to her feet just as the man reached Torstein. As the other Götaland man closed in, rearing his sword back and preparing to drive it into Torstein's back, Signe swung her axe with all of her might and caught him in the midsection, bringing him to a screeching half as the blade buried deep into his belly. Torstein turned as the man froze, weapon poised to kill, then watched as the Götaland warrior dropped to his knees before falling onto the bloody, trampled grass of the battlefield.
With both of their opponents now dead, Signe looked up at Torstein as his gaze shifted to her. There was so much blood on his face and in his beard that she could hardly recognize him, but most of it seemed to belong to his enemies rather than himself. She started to thank him for what he had done, but before she could a stray Götaland man stumbled into their near vicinity. Torstein made quick work of disposing him, impressing Signe with his sure movements and powerful strikes.
"Get your shield!" Torstein instructed as he yanked his axe free of the man he'd just killed. "Fight!"
Signe didn't think twice. She retrieved her shield from where it had fallen, wrenched her axe from the belly of the dead warrior, then, feeling a fresh burst of energy, followed Torstein back into the fray. In spite of her pain, in spite of the fact that she'd had a near brush with death, she decided right then and there that she would see this battle through to the end. Torstein had saved her life, had given her another chance. She was not going to waste the opportunity he had just gifted her.
She had expected Torstein to run off and find Earl Ragnar or one of his comrades, but, surprisingly, he did not stray far from her side as they thrust themselves back into the fight. He kept close by, keeping an eye out for her as they battled any Götaland warriors who decided to take them on. Signe killed another shieldmaiden with a solid chop to her back, right before Torstein nearly beheaded a man who charged him. When a particularly fierce looking man came running at them, battle axes wielded in both of his hands, Signe and Torstein shared a look before working together to quickly kill him – Torstein knocked him to the ground with a firm hit of his shield, then Signe finished him by hitting him with her axe twice.
It was as the man took his last gasps for air that an unfamiliar voice filled the air. "Retreat!," one of the Götaland men called. "Retreat!"
Abruptly, most of the fighting stopped as Jarl Borg and the rest of the Götaland warriors tucked tail and ran. Some of the Kattegat warriors chased after them, determined to finish whoever they had been fighting with, but Signe had no interest in pursuing any of the fleeing enemy. In fact, it was all she could do not to sink to her knees in relief. She was beyond tired, beyond sore, and bleeding from numerous injuries – as much as she had wanted to fight in this battle, words could not begin to express how happy it made her to know that it was finally over. Still holding her shield and her axe, Signe bent over at the waist and braced her hands on her knees, greedily sucking in air as she willed her heart to slow down some. The battle had been won. Kattegat had been won. And she was still alive.
"Signe?" She looked over at Torstein, who was out of breath and panting heavily for air. If she wasn't mistaken, there was the tiniest hint of concern in his eyes. "Are you hurt?"
Signe considered the throbbing pain in her ribs, face, and just about every inch of her body before wincing. She was definitely in pain, and she had a feeling it would only hurt worse in the days to come. "Quite a bit," she said, sucking in a deep, steadying breath before offering him what she hoped was a smile, but was probably nothing more than a bloody grimace. "But I shall live." She fell silent for a moment, staring at him with unblinking eyes. "You saved my life," she stated, still a little stunned that Torstein had found her and intervened before the Götaland man could finish her off.
"And you saved mine," Torstein reminded her around heavy pants for air.
She could have said more, would have said more, would have thanked him and told him that she was now very much in his debt, but it was in that moment that she glanced over and saw Hallsteinn running right for her. He was covered in blood and dirt and sweat, but he was alive. Signe breathed a massive sigh of relief and straightened up, moving forward a step or two to meet her brother. When he was close enough, he all but threw his shield and weapon down to pull her into a bone-crushing hug.
"Thank the Gods!," he said, hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe. Signe hissed and winced as her ribs ached in protest, which made Hallsteinn loosen his grip. "Are you well?," he asked, pulling back so he could inspect her. His eyes darkened when he saw the state her face was in and he immediately cursed. "Götaland bastards," he scowled out. "I am sorry I was not by your side," he continued, his voice losing some of its edge. "I tried searching for you, tried to find you amongst the fighting, but every time I stopped to look for you someone attacked me," Hallsteinn quickly explained, looking as though he absolutely hated himself for having lost her during the battle. "I was terrified that something had happened to you…terrified that you were dead."
Signe was just so happy to see Hallsteinn alive that she could only smile and shake her head, holding back the tears that had rushed to her eyes. "There is no need to apologize, brother," she reassured him, refusing to let him beat himself up over something that had not been in his control. "I am just happy to see you alive and well."
Hallsteinn's shoulders relaxed. "And I you," he said sincerely, before pulling her in for another hug and kissing her forehead.
It was around that time that he noticed Torstein standing a few feet away, silently watching the exchange between the siblings. Hallsteinn straightened up, his eyebrows came together, and his eyes narrowed some as he gave Torstein a scrutinizing once over. He released Signe and looked like he was on the verge of saying something to the Kattegat man – most likely he was about to demand to know why Torstein was hovering so close to his little sister – but she quickly put a hand on his shoulder to draw his attention back to her.
"Brother, leave him be," she warned, features set in a stern, serious expression. "Torstein saved my life."
That made Hallsteinn's growing attitude stop short. His posture was immediately less aggressive, and when he looked to Torstein again, it wasn't with nearly as much suspicion. Before he could say anything, however, she suddenly remembered that there were three more men she had not yet found. As her blood ran cold, she began frantically searching the area around them, feeling her panic rise when she still could not find the faces of Garik, Gunnar, or Bjorn amongst the Kattegat warriors loitering around the bloody battlefield. Where were the twins? Where was Bjorn? Were they alright? Were they alive?
"Where are Garik and Gunnar?," Signe asked Hallsteinn sharply. "And where is Bjorn?"
"I saw Bjorn with his father," Hallsteinn said, also glancing around in search of the twins. "But I have not seen the twins since – "
"No! No!," a voice suddenly somewhere on the other side of the field, making Signe and Hallsteinn stiffen and look to each other with wide eyes.
Recognizing the voice in a heartbeat, Signe whipped around in search of the person it belonged to. When she finally spotted her brother Garik falling to his knees next to something in the distance, she knew at once that something was wrong, horribly wrong. With a strangled sound ,Signe took off at the same time Hallsteinn did, running in the direction of her brother and moving as fast as her bruised, battered body would allow. She forgot all about Torstein, who did not follow after them, only able to focus on her rapidly mounting fear as she and Hallsteinn neared their brother.
"Garik!," she called once they were only feet away. "Garik, what – "
But she never finished the question. Because Signe finally saw what – or rather who – Garik was crouched over and desperately trying to shake into alertness. The man's body was limp and lifeless, his skin a pasty white underneath the dark red blood covering almost every inch of him. When Garik shook him harder his head lolled to the side, but his eyes did not open. He was badly injured, bleeding freely from a long, deep looking gash on his side and from the countless smaller cuts adorning his arms and legs.
It was Gunnar. And he looked for all the world like he was dead.
Signe stared at her fallen brother in shock, feeling as though somebody had just doused her in ice-cold water and as though her heart had just cracked into a million piece. Then, as a sob rose up in her throat, she collapsed to the ground.
Oh my, oh my. So, what did we think? Did we like the interactions between Signe and Torstein? Did I do the battle justice? How do we feel about the Signe and Bjorn kiss? And what about poor Gunnar?!