Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.
Setting Out
The sun hadn't even crested the horizon that day when Kid stormed into her room, bellowing commands that she get out of bed. She didn't respond fast enough, attempted to burrow under her blankets, so Kid tore the bedding away with another brusque command and a threat that if she didn't get up immediately he would cart her to the docks in her bed clothes and toss her into the river again.
She threw a pillow at his head, but grudgingly dragged herself out of bed. Kid didn't make idle threats.
Once he was satisfied that she was up and preparing for the voyage, he went stomping out to shout more orders at his men in the hall. For a man who never woke before the sun, he was surprisingly energetic at such an early hour. Even as she dressed, she could hear Kid's deep voice barking and snapping at thralls to make breakfast, for the men to start loading their war chests onto the ships, and for people to get out of his way as he saw to his home and village's security in his absence. He was impatient, wishing to leave at first light. She even heard him threaten to leave Finn behind when the teenager didn't move as quickly as Kid felt he should.
Nami rolled her eyes and hoped his mood lightened once they were out to sea.
Out in the main room, the men were shoveling their breakfasts into their mouths between sporadic bits of conversation. Kid wasn't anywhere to be found, but Killer informed her of his errands around the village to see that the men left behind understood their duties, as well as swinging by the docks to double check the ships were ready to go. He came back as Nami finished her breakfast while Gunda stood behind her and braided her hair. He shot them a terse frown on his way by, let out a huff of impatient annoyance, and continued off to their rooms in the back. Minutes later he was back, carrying the chest she packed with dresses and extra trousers, tunics, and a set of leather armor the smith helped fit for her in case Kid let her go to England. He snapped another command at her to hurry up.
She was tempted to shove him into the fjord once they set out for his rude attitude.
Kid finally sat down to eat once their gear was loaded. The entire time he dug into the meat and porridge in front of him, he growled under his breath about the women taking too long with their hair. Gunda had just tied off the last braid running over Nami's scalp and was beginning to sweep the rest up into a high tail at the back of her head. Nami reached over and smacked Kid on the back of the head to silence the grouchy jarl's next remarks. She didn't even flinch when he snarled at her for it.
But she knew not to test his temper further, and hurried to braid Gunda's hair for her while the servants cleared the last of their breakfast. It was a good thing she did, because Kid looked about ready to toss her over his shoulder and haul her to the ship by the time she was done pinning up the long braid in a bun atop Gunda's head.
She and Kid bickered the whole way to the ships, the jarl prodding her in the back with his round shield to rush her along while she snapped and slapped at him in a vain attempt to get him to back off. He was truly begging to be shoved overboard for his behavior. Fortunately, he began to calm down once he was settled in place by the steering oar of his new ship, all his men aboard with their shields mounted on the wale, and Nami seated nearby with her shieldmaiden at her side.
As he stopped snarling, Nami shook off her irritation and allowed herself to feel excited for the voyage. She hadn't been so eager to set out to sea since she was a child and Jarl Genzo brought her onto his ship to sail to Hedeby. It was a quick trip to visit another jarl and make some trades, but it was the same as venturing off to a new world she had never imagined could exist. After Arlong came to her village, she was rarely taken out to sea, her new jarl preferring to hoard her away in his hall. The first time he took her away, it was on a raid along the Frankish coast, and Nami attempted to run away while Arlong and his men razed a village to the ground. In a foreign land, filled with people who held little care for invaders from the north, Nami had quickly found herself in trouble when a young lord seized her as a captive. She was forced to march through mud and stones with no shoes, her feet bloody and blistered, behind his horse, with ropes bound tight around her arms, until Arlong finally found her.
As miserable as the march had been, she still screamed and cried when the Frankish man and his soldiers were brutally cut down. Watching the lord's head roll across the ground, lifeless blue eyes seemingly fixed on her, haunted her worst nightmares for months after. She never ran away from camp again the rare times Arlong took her along on his raids. Anything to spare herself from further trauma.
While she was disappointed that she might not get to see Britain, she was still excited to venture to the western coast of Noreg. She had heard stories of the islands and fjords that made up the coastline, with hills and mountains unlike any she had seen in her homeland. Just imagining it made her hands itch with a need to draw out a map. She wished Kid had clean parchment in his hall, but it was a rare commodity in the north. Maybe if she was lucky she would find some in Álasund, or perhaps she could convince Kid to find some in his raids. His curiosity might be in her favor then. Surely he would want to see one of her charts for himself.
They set off with the beach and docks lined with the villagers that wouldn't be going on the expedition. Wives and children, men too injured or old; they all waved and cheered as the longships and knarrs pushed away from the docks. They knew that some of them might not return. Between the dangers of sailing over the northern seas and those found in battle with the Saxons, no one could ever know for certain if they would see their friends and family again. And while they hoped all would return safe, they also hoped that any they lost had the fortune to fall in battle so they might find their way to Odin's great hall, to drink endless mead as they awaited the final battle at the end of their world.
The journey to Álasund was expected to take a full day, barring no rough weather slowed their journey. The men took to the oars to steer the ships through the fjord, out into the Skaggerak where they took a break to let the winds move them over the rolling seas. The day was clear, the winds and currents in their favor as they traveled south, always keeping the shore just within sight. Nami still kept a weather eye on the horizon. She nearly drowned sailing through the strait, and out in the open northern seas the dangers would only increase.
"How far did that old jarl of yours take you sailing?" Kid called to her late in the morning after he put his men to the oars again. The wind had changed course and slowed their ships, but Nami told them to turn the ships to the port, away from the coast, where they might catch a better current with more favorable winds. As the sails filled and the ships gathered better speed, some men pulled their oars to check the lines and adjust the sails, and Kid grinned at her from the stern.
"Genzo only took me as far as Hedeby. I was still a child at that time," she answered. "Arlong took me further south, to the Frankish coasts when he went raiding."
"You said he means to wage a war on them, and the other Christians," Kid mused. "If you were the key to his success, why didn't he launch his attack then?"
"I was too young," she said, pursing her lips in thought. Arlong's ambitions were convoluted and impossible to achieve, no matter what he thought. "He said when the time was right, we would invade and conquer them."
Kid snorted, his gaze casting over the seas as they talked. "Doesn't sound like he had any plan at all. Bunch of talk, no action. Probably happy to sit on his ass, milking your village and people for all they're worth."
She looked away with a terse frown, focusing on the western horizon and the endless expanse of sea before them. Kid wasn't wrong in his assertion, but he didn't have the whole story, and Nami wasn't inclined to share it.
"Did he even have an idea of where to begin his attacks? Paris is heavily fortified; he'd need more than the strength of a giant to lay siege on them now. The Franks have their weak points, but he'd be a fool if he underestimated them," Kid continued.
"He planned to start with Normandy," was all she said, her tone sharp to signal she didn't care to discuss that topic further, though she knew Kid wouldn't let it rest. "All his raids were in preparation for it. He's gathered a great deal of information on the coasts and rivers of the area, and intends to dismantle the Duchy from within."
"From within?" Kid's brow rose, unbridled curiosity in the expression, but Nami had found her escape from the subject as the wind changed once more.
She stood without a word to lean over the wale, casting her eye over the northwestern horizon, up into the skies. White clouds gently floated overhead, slowly billowing into thicker plumes.
"We need to get further from the coast," Nami said. "Angle the ships to face northwest and reef the sails."
"Storm coming?" Kid grunted, frowning at her and then the horizon she looked toward. His eyes narrowed, but he gave a short nod and echoed her commands to the rest of the crew.
Nami didn't hesitate to help with the sail, unwilling to sit idle in the face of a storm. It didn't feel like it would be a long one, at least, but the ocean would swell and roll their ships too close to shore for comfort if they remained where they were. They were already far enough out that they should be safe, but if the winds changed more than she expected them to, they could find themselves run aground.
While their lead ship made their adjustments, Killer leaned out to hale the other ships from his position at the prow, sending out a series of short blasts on a horn to get their attention. Wire had command of one of the skeids, Hróarr another, while the knarrs were commanded by Axel and Halle further back. More horns called out between the ships and the fleet adjusted, following their ship's lead.
Once Nami felt they were in a safe position, even though the skies still hadn't given more sign of a storm, the men took to their chests and oars to secure themselves for rough weather. Kid stayed at the stern, glowering up at the skies. He seemed to doubt her forecast, but before he could voice it, the initial squall came. His eyes widened as the winds grew stronger and the rolling clouds of a storm became visible; a dark, angry mass reaching high into the sky.
Their fleet was first enveloped in a chilly rain while the persisting winds battered at their sails. The men pulled up their cloaks to fight off the waters pelting them, and Nami could tell they wanted to hunker down, wait out the storm, but they all kept their eyes on her and their jarl. She clung to the lines as the ship began to pitch and roll, the sea swelling and churning around them. The storm was rapidly changing. The skies turned black, and lightning split overhead with a loud roar. The steady rain turned into an angry torrent of stinging drops only made worse as the winds and sea crashed against the ship. Nami let go of the lines and headed toward Kid.
"Furl the sails," she called over the crash of thunder and sea. He glared at her. "I'll steer the ship."
"This is my ship," he argued.
"And you trust me to navigate it, right?" she yelled. "So help furl the sails. We need to turn further south; the northern tail of the storm is growing too strong. We'll have to ride it out until it clears."
He growled down at her, but with a short huff, he gave her a nod and let her take the steering oar while he stomped off to handle the sails. He barked out orders at his men to help turn the ship and then secure their oars. The storm was too loud to call to the other ships, but Killer still made an effort to signal the change. They just had to trust that each commander took notice, either of their adjustments, or the increasing severity of the storm, and moved as they needed.
Once they were in position and the crew had hunkered down to ride out the storm, Kid moved back to the stern and settled onto his fur covered chest beside her. He scowled as he pulled his cloak higher. Strands of sodden hair had fallen from its tail with the raging winds and clung to his temples and forehead. He looked annoyed again.
"The storms should roll through quickly," Nami reassured loudly.
"How'd you know they were coming?" he asked, brows furrowed.
"The wind shifted."
"I didn't feel it," he grumbled, so quiet she almost didn't hear.
Nami giggled at his frustration and sat down with him, using his larger frame to block out the worst of the spray. When he noticed, his scowl deepened.
"It wasn't a big change, just a drop in temperature and a change in shear. I felt the pressure in the air shift, too," Nami explained.
Kid's expression looked skeptical for a moment, then thoughtful. "You didn't see it coming? Like your dreams?"
She shook her head. "It's not like that. I've always noticed changes in the weather, especially out at sea. Genzo said it was my gift as a sailor." She couldn't help but smile at the memory. "I can find sea currents that others can't know about unless they lived below the surface."
He still looked doubtful, but it broke with a snort and a nudge of his shoulder. "And you're really not related to Rán or Aegir?"
"There are more gods associated with the ocean and sailing than the sea giants," Nami laughed. "You'll be guessing forever at this rate."
Kid eyed her closely, as though he were trying to join the pieces of a puzzle. She could see him thinking, considering all he knew.
"Gifts of prophecy and magic, blessed with skills to sail the seas…" He chuckled as he leaned against her. "I'll narrow it down eventually. Ruling out the jotunn… I'm going to bet on one of the Vanir being the start of your lineage."
She tried not to show her surprise at the guess that in fact brought him closer to the truth, but she knew he noticed her eyes widen and jaw clench. He laughed over the storm's cacophony.
"I'm a lot smarter than I look," he teased.
"I should have pushed you overboard when I had the chance," she muttered half-heartedly. He only laughed louder. "I told you that the little you know, the better."
"I can keep a secret," he said with an unwavering grin. She didn't believe that one bit, not with how much his men liked to gossip. She was certain he wasn't any different. He wound an arm around her and patted her on the head. "I swear. If it's a secret that could put you in danger, I'll keep it entirely for myself. Won't even tell Killer."
"I'll believe that when I see it," she huffed. "I'm still not telling you."
Kid squeezed her tight against his side, chuckling quietly. "That's fine. I enjoy the guessing game." He paid no mind to her glare. Glancing up, he frowned at the sky as the rain began to slow and the storm clouds turned to a lighter grey. "Storm's already letting up."
"It's just a lull. If we were further north, we'd still be in the middle of the largest gales. We should see another line come right behind this one." Nami squinted through the rain at the tendrils of lightning in the distance. "After that we should be safe for a while."
Kid hummed. "We made good time this morning." He shot her a hard look. "Even after some people took too long to get ready." She rolled her eyes and ignored the comment. "If it clears soon, we'll move back toward the coast and row a while."
"Are all the ships in sight?"
"I saw the knarrs before I came over, and one of the longships was close. I couldn't spot the other through the rain," he explained. "We'll wait for all the ships to come together again, check for damages, then carry on, but we can't wait too long. As long as they didn't get disoriented in this weather, they all know the way. They'll catch up."
The winds picked up again as they spoke. Kid hissed as salt water sprayed over them and bit out a curse. He hunkered down, pulling closer to her as he drew his furs up higher to keep them shielded from the worst of the spray. She had been holding steady to the steering oar as she sat with him, dividing her attention between Kid and the weather. She would need to stand again soon to see that she hadn't lost her bearings, but with the cold northern rains and spray, the heat from Kid's body was a welcome relief. The whole crew, even her shieldmaiden, all looked miserable as they tried to keep warm, huddling with anyone near to share body heat, but she doubted any of them were as warm as their jarl. Kid was almost as comforting as a roaring fire.
They settled into an easy silence as the storm carried on. When Nami stood to sweep her gaze over the open waters, searching for the other ships or signs they might have been carried too far from shore, she immediately regretted her decision to leave the warmth of Kid's side. Her own cloak hardly provided her the same protection she had sitting with Kid on his war chest.
By the time the storms passed, the sun was lowering toward the west, barely visible through the persisting thin clouds behind the storms, signaling the late hour of the afternoon. Kid had taken over steering again before the storms were through, letting Nami rest after the currents tried to take the ship too far off her course. As the seas settled, Nami helped Killer search for signs of the other ships. One knarr was still close and rowed in to wait. Not long after they spied one of the longships, trailed by the second knarr. Wire's ship was the last to find them, and looked to have endured the worst damages.
A torn sail, shredded line, and broken rigging crippled the ship, but they could easily be repaired once they reached Álasund.
"We'll row a few hours," Kid decided. "Then cast a line to the other ship to tow her behind us if the wind's in our favor. Once we spot land, we'll camp for the night so I can take a better look at the rigging. Might be able to patch the sail and get her going without needing to tow her the last leg of the journey."
With the orders relayed, Nami directed them back toward the coast and a course that allowed the knarrs' sails to keep from falling behind the longships' rowers. The men on the longships took shifts at the oars, even Kid and Killer, until the sun fell low on the horizon. As their course took a more northerly route, the coast slowly began to dissolve into deep fjords with rolling hills, and in the distance Nami could spot the white caps of mountains. Islands could be found in the mouths of the fjords, some small, others large, all covered with lush grass and trees.
As night drew near, Kid turned their fleet toward a small archipelago. The islands circled around each other, at points so close, a person could swim between them with hardly any effort. Kid chose a beach with rising hills on either side of a narrow strait, providing their ships shelter should another storm find them. The beach was flat and silty, allowing them to pull the longships onto shore. The knarrs stayed in the shallows, tied off to trees where the sand turned into rich soil and thin, rocky forests.
The men went about setting up a small camp in the trees, three separate fires for everyone to sit around and warm themselves after a rough day at sea, and furs from their chests piled nearby as beds. Kid set to work on mending the broken ship, growling and cursing to himself while the rest of his men began to eat a meager supper of rations. By the time he was done, or at least had given up for the night, everyone had eaten and settled into raucous conversations as they passed around the few skins of ale brought for the journey.
Nami was too weary to sit with the men, and took to the small fur bed she made for herself a few paces from the main camp where they could take shelter under the branches of a hazel tree. Gunda gathered wood for their own fire, allowing them to take advantage of the bit of privacy they found from the men to shed their sea soaked clothes and let them dry. Wrapped up in a wool blanket, Nami attempted to comb out the tangles and frizz in her hair, while Gunda cleaned and sharpened their weapons.
"I will stay awake and keep watch tonight," Gunda said when Nami yawned wide and burrowed into her blanket. "You sleep."
"You need your rest, too," Nami said.
"If the last of the journey is calm, I can rest on the ship in the morning."
Nami frowned at her shieldmaiden and then followed her line of sight as she stared off at the men. "Don't trust them to behave out here?"
"I trust them well enough, but a woman is foolish to blindly believe the best in every man. They are still men," Gunda said frankly, quickly casting her gaze to her dried clothes when Kid stood from his fire and began to saunter toward them. She gathered up her tunic and trousers. "I'm going to dress, and then you can sleep."
Nami smiled and nodded as she ducked behind one of the trees, and then turned to glower at Kid. He returned the look as he crouched beside her.
"Why aren't you sitting with the others?" he grunted.
"Because we're drying out our clothes and trying to get some rest," Nami huffed, drawing her blanket tight around her shoulders. "How does the ship look?"
Kid shrugged. "I changed the shredded line with new rope. The rigging should hold until Álasund. The sail still needs to be closed up. Think you can do that for me in the morning?" She nodded, and he gave her a thankful, albeit tired smile in response. "Doesn't have to be perfect, just close it enough that it'll catch most of the wind. We'll still tow her if we have to."
"How far are we from Álasund?"
He scratched his jaw in thought. The gesture brought her attention to a patch of red hair attempting to grow in, just enough to give him a line of scruff down his jaw. He would likely shave it off once they reached Álasund. Unlike most of the men who preferred to keep trim beards, Kid had no patience for facial hair and preferred a clean jaw. He complained that the coarse hairs chaffed his skin.
"Half a day," he guessed. "Good conditions, we ought to reach it by mid-day, maybe early evening if we run into another line of storms. You have any predictions on the weather?"
She shook her head. "Only that it might rain tonight, but I can't predict a storm out at sea until shortly before it builds. The weather is too dynamic out there to know what to expect."
"Guess that's true," he mused, and then stood with a groan. "Get some rest, then. Could have been a lot worse today if you hadn't seen that storm coming. I expect you at your best tomorrow."
She openly gloated at the praise, bringing a short bark of laughter from Kid. He reached down to pat her head. Unable to ruffle her hair with the braids still tied along her scalp, he gave her head a playful shove before turning back toward the men, wordlessly leaving her to sleep.
Gunda returned from the trees then to grab her belt and sword. As she took up a seat on a mossy rock near the fire, Nami went off to slip back into her dress before returning to crawl under her blanket and furs. Kid and his men were still awake and laughing as they drank, much to Nami's surprise. With how tired she was, she expected many of them to take the opportunity to get some sleep before they set off again. They were the ones who had to do all the rowing. But even with their laughter echoing through the trees, Nami's eyes grew heavy and sleep claimed her with ease, undisturbed by the activity of the camp.
She was met with the sound of rain in her dreams. A soft patter of droplets striking the leaves above her drew her gaze up and up and up at the great tree that loomed over her. Branches climbed into a rain darkened sky, disappeared into the clouds, and seemed to reach out forever, far over the horizon to vanish out of sight. Water dripped from its branches to splash into a lake at the tree's roots. Roots she stood on.
The tree seemed to her at a distance as she gazed at its trunk, but it was so large, its canopy and roots spread so wide, she still felt encompassed in its world. Her feet took her closer, through swirling swaths of fog, over dew damp roots. Her dress trailed in the water of the lake, sending ripples out and away to lick at the sides of more tangled roots.
She was alone there. She was at peace there. Even as she heard the distant howls of wolves that would frighten her from her dreams any other night. Those dreams would not touch her there, she was sure.
When she finally reached the base of the mighty tree, Nami tilted her head back to once more gaze up and up and up into those towering branches. Beside the thick trunk, following it up into the clouds, the tree only seemed to grow taller before her very eyes.
She blinked away the water as it splashed down on her face, cool and refreshing. More droplets sprinkled over her, and she shut her eyes to soak in the sweet smell of fresh rain falling on evergreen leaves.
She sees naught, a harsh voice whispered, impatient and peevish.
Nami snapped her attention from the tree to look around. She had been alone. She swore she had been alone. She searched around the trunk, in the crevasses of the winding roots, everywhere she could see from where she stood. She found no one else there.
She sees naught, another voice whispered, a little kinder, saddened.
Nami searched again, for the source of the voices, or whatever it was she had failed to see. She remained alone.
No, she sees one, a third voice whispered, calm and collected, filled with wisdom. She sees blood.
Nami's eyes widened a moment, and then she doubled her efforts to search out the voices. She knew they spoke of her.
She placed her hand on the enormous, ancient tree, and carefully stepped from root to root, leaping over great spans. She went around the tree, and around again. Searched high and searched low. She found nothing, and went 'round again.
She stopped when she finally found something, though she doubted it was the source of her voices. A few steps from the tree's base stood a spear in the water. The lone spear hadn't been there before. She surely would have noticed it jutting out from the endless depths of the lake. Her heart quivered in her chest as she stared at the weapon, waiting for someone to come for it, for something to happen. But it continued to stand there, motionless and alone.
She went to it.
Balancing upon the length of a root, she drew in closer, until the root dove into the lake and she couldn't walk anymore without fear of falling in. The spear was old, its wood shaft worn and stained with its age. Its iron point was painted orange and red with rust.
She saw a flash of her wolf's eyes as she stared at the corroded metal. Brief and fleeting, gone before she could fear for him.
The water rippled around the spear, and Nami gazed down to see a length of rope floating gently around the shaft. She had a feeling she should know what stood before her, a sense of familiarity overtaking her thoughts, but she couldn't understand what this vision meant.
She sees naught, the harsh voice whispered.
She sees naught, the kind voice echoed.
She waited for the third to give her own voice of wisdom, but there was a pause as Nami blinked away a droplet of water that ran down into her eye. Her gaze followed up the shaft, to the iron tip. The rust looked redder. She blinked again, cleared her vision. The rust was redder, still.
She sees blood, the wise voice finally said, quiet and awestruck.
A flash of a man hung from the tree came to her then. As brief and fleeting as the vision of her wolf's eyes. The man was old, with a thick grey-white beard, but strong. He hung for days and days, with a spear pierced through his belly. He did not die, but he hung over that precipice as he gazed into the waters beneath him. He had searched. Sought. Desired answers and knowledge as his crimson blood dripped down into the lake.
He was no man. He was a god.
He was gone when Nami blinked again, only the spear and ropes remained.
Confused, Nami glanced around again. There had to be more. She had to have missed something.
She looked up at the tree, squinting through the boughs. She saw something, carvings within the bark, a striking yellow against dark brown. Once she saw the first, high up in the tree, her gaze cast down and down and down the length and took in endless runes carved into the trunk. She didn't understand them. Hadn't seen them before. Her hand had even been on the trunk, but she never felt them.
She sees naught, echoed around her, just as harsh.
She sees…. The sad voice trailed off as Nami's gaze fell to one rune among many. One rune she knew.
Death, the wise voice said, still patient, albeit laced with a solemn sigh.
Nami's blood ran cold.
She fears blood. She fears death, the angry voice hissed.
So she sees blood. She sees death, the kinder one sighed.
The last hummed, agreeing with the other two. But there is so much more.
More? There was more? Nami searched the tree again. She searched the runes until her eyes stung. She felt her gaze pulled back to the spear, and blood-red rust.
We weave but one, but we are given much, the wise voice said, calm and patient. Thread can be cut. Can be woven anew. One rune, one word, can join with another, and another. New meaning can be had. Nothing is resolute.
Nothing but death, the crotchety voice huffed, unhelpfully. And that is all she sees.
She will see more, the wise one chided.
As Nami listened to their words echo again, the same conversation circling her mind, over and over, she stared at the spear and the water. He had been there searching for something, for meaning, for clarity, for knowledge. What had he found in the well?
She heard the wings of a bird flap above her, a raven's call, and then another joined. She didn't look up, her gaze fixed on the iron tip as the rust began to bleed.
She sees blood. She sees death.
Wolves cried, one after another, their howls distant but growing louder.
She crouched down on the root as the rust trickled down the shaft. The first drop touched the water, and swirled out on a current. The red twisted and curled, billowed and thinned. The hollowing filled her ears, but she could still hear the voices, just over her shoulder, a hollow weight on her back.
She sees blood. She sees death.
The red veins running through the water took shape. A great pack of wolves, snarling and howling, running at their prey. She was afraid, frozen there as she watched another plume of red coalesce into a mighty army. Giants. Angry and frothing and undeterred by the beasts before them.
They collided in a great swirl of crimson. Fangs and fingers tearing into one another. The water was stained with the blood of the spear's rust until two figures emerged.
No, she gasped to herself. She didn't want the dream again. Not there.
She fears it, the annoyed voice hissed, burning in her ear. She cannot move if she fears.
She remembered the feeling of helplessness in her dream as she watched the blood red giant reach for the wolf, heedless of its snapping jaws. Even as she knew what would happen, she was frozen, cold with terror. How could she change it? How could she stop it? He was too strong. And death could not be changed.
She cannot move. She will not move, the kind voice said, a saddened sigh tickling the back of her neck.
Move? She could not move. But she must.
Fingers curled over her shoulders, bony with age. They gripped her as she reached out. Careful. Slow. With trembling a hand. The water bit her, it was so cold, but she kept reaching.
Move, the wise voice urged. That is it.
When her fingers touched the streams of red, they broke apart, and her eyes widened as she watched the wolf reform to one side, the giant to another. She was surprised. Was it really so easy?
Nothing is ever easy. Nothing can be gained without something lost, whispered in her ear.
The figures launched to attack again, but with her hand in the way, their battle clashed against her skin. She tried to cry out as she felt blade and tooth carve into her flesh, but her voice did not come. She tried to pull her hand back, but the red wound about her fingers, up her wrist. A thread made of razors. Biting and cutting and slashing.
Life requires great sacrifice, the voices told her as the thread climbed up her arm, and their fingers dug painfully into her shoulders, pushing her toward the water. She finally cried out as she felt her blood burn through her veins. You must pay the price. You must move.
The thread pulled at her at the same time it cut her skin. More red swirled through the water in front of her. Her own blood. It flowed and circled and grabbed hold of her, too. It dragged her down, dragged her under. She tried to fight against it, clawed at the thread, but only more blood stained her hands. She felt as though her arm was about to be torn off as pain lanced through her shoulder.
Move, a voice urged.
Move.
Move.
She woke with a start, bolting upright as she grasped her left arm. The pain lingered long enough to make her think she was injured, but as she tugged at the sleeve of her dress, she found no wounds or blood. The pain began to fade as she breathed in deeply and forced herself to relax. She shut her eyes, glad when she was only met with darkness, not more visions, and took another deep breath, willing her heart to calm as she let it out.
Movement nearby startled her, and she opened her eyes to find Kid and Gunda crouched on either side of her, hovering over her. It had rained as she slept. The fires had guttered out, but she could make out their expressions in the faint light of the moon seeping through the clouds. Gunda was worried. Kid looked unhappy but his frown said he was concerned, too.
"Just a dream," she croaked, shutting her eyes again. Her heart still clamored against her ribs, and her hands would be shaking if they hadn't dug into the blanket and her arm.
She heard Kid hum in annoyance, knowing very well it wasn't a simple dream. He moved, shifted closer. She felt the blankets move, and she snapped open her eyes at the same time as she pushed at his arm to stop him from laying down with her.
"It's fine, Kid," she said, shoving at him as she flung the blankets off. "I need to go for a walk."
"I'll join you," he insisted.
"No," she snapped as she stood. "I need to clear my thoughts, and I can't do that with you hovering."
"I'm not hovering," he said, standing up beside her - hovering.
She glared. "It wasn't the same dream. It was a different one." Her answer didn't please him, so she forced a smile. "I'm fine, Kid. You have no reason to worry about me. Go back to the men." His annoyance didn't wane, and he crossed his arms stubbornly. She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not going far. Just along the beach. I'll be back once I've calmed down." He moved aside as she pushed by him, but looked prepared to follow after her, despite her wishes. She shot him a hard look. "Stay."
He growled at the command, but grudgingly threw himself down onto her furs. He would let her walk alone, but he would still remain in their part of the camp until he was satisfied she hadn't seen the same nightmare that haunted her. She left him to wait. She would deal with his obstinacy when she returned.
She made her way through the trees to the beach, passing by their ships, away from the camp. Her mind circled the possible meaning of her dream. She understood bits of it – the voices, the figure that once hung from the boughs, the spear, the blood. What she couldn't understand was how it all fit together.
She walked through the silt lining the small beach, feeling her feet sink into the sand as the strait lapped at the sediment. The sea was cold, but kept her centered in her world, her realm, reminded her that she was awake. The smell of salt in the air surrounded her, the scent missing from the freshwater well around the roots of the tree. The smell of fresh rain still remained, but it felt different, real, not as old as the rains washing over the ancient evergreen.
She hadn't gone far before she heard the scrape of shoe on stone and the snap of a twig, just behind her and up the beach in the forest growing at the edge of the sand. She sighed. He just refused to leave her alone.
"I hope you're better at tracking your prey on a hunt," she called out, "otherwise you and your men might never eat. You might as well walk with me if you're going to be this stubborn."
A throat cleared. "I'm sorry, my lady."
Nami jumped in surprise and whirled around to find Gunda peeking out from behind a slender birch. The shieldmaiden wore a bashful smile.
"I did not want you walking alone out here," she explained. "It isn't safe. And I feel you could do with some company after your dream."
Nami sighed again, defeated at the kindness in the older woman's eyes. Her intentions were beyond reproach. "I suppose you're right." She frowned in thought as Gunda relaxed and came to her side. As Nami turned back to her walk, the shieldmaiden silently fell in step with her. "Perhaps you can help me decipher my dream."
"Decipher? Was it so strange?"
Nami nodded. "It was different than the other." Gunda, like Kid's men, had been informed of Nami's foresight, though she still kept the details of her regular nightmares to herself. Only Kid knew of that vision, and what men he deigned share it with. Gunda only knew she had the same foretelling nightmare, just not the subject nor how it ended. "This dream was…" She trailed off to stare thoughtfully over the ocean. "I was beneath the branches of Yggdrasil."
"The world tree?" Gunda asked, surprise lacing her voice.
"The Norns were trying to show me something, or maybe teach me something. I'm not sure. They kept saying I couldn't see, or that I could only see one thing. They said I was afraid. That I couldn't move because of my fear." Nami huffed in a fleeting moment of irritation. "And how can I not be afraid? If all one sees is blood and death, how can you expect them to be anything but scared?" She kicked at the water. Gunda made no comment, patiently waiting for Nami to continue. "There was a spear. And for a brief moment I saw Odin, as he had been when he hung himself from the branches as a sacrifice. After that, I was able to see the runes carved into the tree, but I couldn't understand all of them." She let out a heavy breath. She decided against sharing the nightmare that came to the dream before she woke. As frightening and painful as that had been, it wasn't the point of her confusion. Not entirely. "All I ever see is blood and death."
Gunda remained silent save for a gentle hum.
"They said they are given much, but weave only one," Nami said after a while of fruitless thinking.
"From what I have been told since I was little, the whole fate of the nine realms is written upon the trunk of Yggdrasil, carried to every world in its branches and roots. Some tales claim they weave destiny, others that they carve it. I suppose what they said means it might be both." Gunda's lips pursed with thought. "They say a man's destiny can be altered depending on what choices he makes, what paths he follows. What is woven are the results of his choices. If we think of the carvings on a tree as one's fate, then the branches are points where fate can lead one way or another, and when one branch is followed, his destiny will follow it until he reaches another branch, another choice."
Nami stopped walking. "So… what I'm seeing is merely one destiny based upon one choice, one branch?"
They had told her to move. They had told her that thread could be cut and rewoven. They had told her that runes can be joined with other runes and new meaning could come from the joining. Were they truly trying to say she could change it, take Kid's fate to a new path, a new branch, and create a different destiny?
But they had also said that nothing can be gained without something lost, and she had seen Odin hanging there, teasing death, as a sacrifice to gain the knowledge he sought. She felt fiery pain lick down her arm, saw her blood flow into the water. If she moved as they urged her to, she would have to give something of herself, she would have to make her own sacrifice to change what she had seen.
She clutched her scarred shoulder and the phantom pain that came with the thought of her dream.
She didn't know what she might have to give up, feared that unknown sacrifice.
But if she could move, she would. She refused to let anyone else die for her.
Kid nearly cursed when he stepped on that dumb twig, but he bit his cheek and thanked the gods when Gunda stepped out. He had let her go off to keep an eye on Nami in the first place. He had intended to remain at camp and wait for her, but he hardly lasted one heartbeat before he stalked after the women.
He believed her when she said it wasn't the same dream that plagued her, but he didn't like being brushed off. Not when pain had twisted her expression before she finally dragged herself from the dream. That dream was certainly different, but it was dangerous all the same. This time dangerous for her, and he willfully cursed the gods for toying with her mind. He didn't care to what purpose or end they acted on, he still didn't like to see her suffer. She was his ward for the time being. She was his to protect. He wouldn't let harm come to her. Even if it came to her in a dream, he would find a way to fight it back.
He took greater care following the women as they spoke of the dream Nami had. He didn't know what to make of it any more than Nami seemed to, though the image of Odin gave him pause. Odin had sacrificed himself in such a way to learn the secrets of the runes, to learn the magic held within. He had to bleed and starve and waste away, nearly die, before he gained the answers he sought. The Norns obviously tried to impart some lesson or wisdom on Nami, and Kid rankled at the idea they expected some great sacrifice from her in exchange for it.
To see her pain, how she clutched at her arm, her fingers digging into the broken mark that bound her, he knew they had tried to take something from her in that dream. If they didn't, then they surely would one day.
And if that day came, he would face them, just as he would face Nami's giant.
He spun away from the women when Nami sat down on the beach to silently stare off at the waters and nearby island of the archipelago. She was deep in thought, and he doubted he would glean anything more of her dream. He went back to their camp and settled on her bed to wait for her return, arms crossed behind his head as he glowered up at the cloudy sky. The rain had stopped and cleared long enough to show a sliver of moonlight, but the grey wisps were returning, and he knew it would likely rain more before dawn. He didn't need Nami's gifts to know that.
After a while, he shut his eyes and didn't open them again until he heard the scuff of her steps through the rocks and twigs beneath the trees. He opened one eye to see her glare, and pointedly shut his eye again to tell her he wasn't going anywhere, whether she liked it or not. Her dreams didn't torment her when he was with her, so he'd stay at her side.
"I'm not going to sleep again tonight," Nami huffed as she threw herself onto the furs. He could hear someone attempt to light a fire - he guessed it was Gunda. They must have collected new kindling, though he doubted they would get much of a flame from the damp twigs and leaves.
"You should at least try," he grunted back.
"It's fine. I don't need any more sleep," she bit out stubbornly. "Just go back to your men."
He growled at her orders and rolled to his side, making himself more comfortable in her bed. "I'm fine here."
"Stubborn oaf," she muttered under her breath.
He snorted. Blindly grasping, he found her blanket and pulled it over himself. She wasn't going to make him leave, so he might as well enjoy a short rest before dawn.
"You owe me more gold if you're sleeping in my bed."
She couldn't see him roll his eyes behind his eyelids. Greedy woman. He was certain she could find just about any reason to level a fine against a man.
"Well, I better steal a large trove while I'm in England," he said. "At this rate, you'll charge me for every silver and gold coin I have just for breathing in your general direction."
"Maybe I should," she quipped.
He couldn't help but smile, unwilling to take that threat seriously. He opened his eyes to look at her only to find her back to him as she watched Gunda finally get some of the kindling to take a flame. The smell of burning leaves and damp wood permeated the air and mixed with the scent of impending rain. That fire wouldn't last long, but it would keep them warm for a bit.
Then he noticed Nami clutch her shoulder, idly squeezing the limb as though it bothered her.
"What's wrong with your shoulder?" he asked, sitting up to pull her hand away so he might see if she was injured.
"Nothing," she snapped, her response far too quick and frantic for him to believe her. She leaned away from him, and set her eyes in a hard warning.
He frowned at her stubbornness, grabbed her hand away from her shoulder, and pulled her closer. "Turn toward the fire," he ordered, lowering his tone to one he knew she wouldn't argue with. She huffed and grumbled under her breath, but did as he said, angling her shoulder to the scant light given from the small flame. He tugged the strap and shoulder of her dress and shift away, revealing smooth pale skin decorated with the faintest of freckles, but no new injuries. Stubbornly determined to find the source of her discomfort, he kept pulling at her dress, shoving at her shoulder to help slip the wool and linen lower. She smacked at him, but he slapped her hand away. When the blue swirling tattoo and scar slashing through it became visible, Kid sucked in a sharp breath.
"What? What is it?" Nami asked, panicked at his reaction. She tried to turn to see what he saw, but he held her in place as his fingers grazed over the jagged, gnarled flesh. She stiffened under his touch and her breath hitched. She flinched away when he traced over an angry, red edge of the scar, newly torn and healed.
"Your scar grew," he explained. "It's not bleeding, so it didn't open. It just… grew."
Her scar had cut through part of her mark before, breaking the spell that bound her, but a large portion of the shark had remained. Now the scar looked to be bisecting the fish, cutting off its head. The new scarring was red, fresh, but there was no sign of what had opened it, or that she had even been cut again.
"How can a scar grow?" Nami asked rhetorically in her huffy tone. "It's probably the light playing tricks on your eyes."
No, though he wished it was. That at least was an explanation he could understand, but this had no explanation. He thought to wake Heat, have the healer look at it and surmise some theory of what had happened to her. It might be best to wait until the morning, when it was lighter, so they could see that it wasn't a trick of the light.
"Maybe you forgot what it looked like," Nami continued to reason.
That was even less likely than the first excuse. He had been there when Killer first cleaned and bled the wound, he saw what it looked like then, and he saw it in the days after he handed her to Heat to care for it as she healed. And there were two mornings he had woken in her bed to see the shoulder of her nightclothes slip down, giving him an ample expanse of scarred and tattooed skin to stare at and memorize. He likely knew what it looked like better than she did.
"Heat will look at it before we set off," Kid decided with a quiet grunt. He tugged her dress back into place and smoothed his hand over her shoulder one last time. He laid back down when she didn't argue his decision, watching as she began to rub the mark again. "I have a feeling your dreams will be getting worse, though."
She laughed a pained, tired sound. "As though they can get any worse," she whispered.
He frowned at the unease her remark brought to him. He hoped the content of the dreams didn't worsen. Perhaps more numerous, but he didn't want to think she might see more carnage beyond his death. That seemed to upset her enough. She didn't need more loss weighing on her soul.
Nami slouched by the fire in sullen contemplation, and Kid knew there would be no more discussion of her dreams that night. With a tired grunt, he shut his eyes and left her to ponder the meaning of her latest dream.
He knew he would have to keep a closer eye on her over the next few nights, and wondered how he might do that once they reach Álasund. Nami threw a big enough fit about inciting rumors in their village, she would surely throw a tantrum if he insisted on sharing a bed surrounded by people who knew nothing of his reasons.
He would deal with that battle when it came. And prepare to hand over a large portion of his gold after he won it.
A/N: So originally this chapter was going to end with them reaching Alasund, but it got a lot longer than I expected it to, so I'll just dive into the start of that storyline with the next chapter.
I summarized a lot of the mythology that went into the dream in this chapter, so I don't feel I need to explain it. Yggdrasil is the tree in Norse myths that holds/connects the nine realms (ex: Asgard, Midgard (Earth), Jotunheim, etc) with its branches. It has three major roots holding it up, all three connecting to different wells. The Well of Urd is where the three Norns live and create man's destiny. Destiny in Norse mythology isn't so cut and dry as the concept of fate in other mythologies and religions, it's in many ways more in line with the concept of Karma - one's fate is determined by one's choices and actions. Also time is cyclical to the Norse. The past, present, and future are all connected to one another, not linear and resolute. Take Ragnarok, for example, the apocalyptic battle at the end of the world - some people and gods do survive, and when the battle is over, they will be the ones to create a new world from the remains of the last. Time and the world will start over again until the next end, and so on and so on.