Agi kept count of the days adrift, and by her musings, they were easily reaching past two months. Two months of intolerable aches from being tied against the mast, freed only to relieve herself after the scarce water and bread had passed through her system. Jai and Lan, the other female slaves, were allowed to lay on their back or stomach when lust overcame their masters. Though she knew it to be wrong, Agi grew envious of them being able to stretch and thrash about while she remained rooted like a tethered goat. The male slave Meryn, who survived largely due to Lan's persistence that he eat and drink, would silently huff in anger when the time came for either Jai or Lan to be dragged away and sexually exploited. Occasionally, Meryn would even glare profusely at Floki, as if he were warning Floki that he dare not defile Agi. Such moments grew to be a point of amusement for both Floki and Agi, and soon caught the attention of Ragnar.
"Do you desire these women for yourself? Mm? Is that what enrages you so?" Ragnar questioned. Meryn responded with an empty leer. "Or is it pride? Do you still feel pride for your people Meryn? Many of them are slain...if you do carry pride for the dead, perhaps our people we are not so different from yours...Death is gladdening for us. What say you Agi?" Ragnar asked, fixing Agi with his penetrating stare.
"Should you die, we will also be gladdened." Agi replied coyly.
Disgusted by the uproarious laugh Agi's remark instilled in Ragnar, Rollo dispersed to the far side of the ship. Floki watched Rollo's movement with a smirk drumming on his lips before returning his attention to Ragnar. "Her sharp tongue rivals your own Floki. I see why it is you took her." Ragnar mused, by outlining her brow with his finger, he brushed aside the hair obscuring her face. "You are welcome to use your wit on my priest Agi. Hope that his God may allow him to be enthralled as I am at your benevolent snarls."
Watching Ragnar follow in his brother's stead, Agi frowned. She had hoped her words may've inspired a quick death, instead of praise. Agi's gaze shifted up to Floki as he rested a hand against the mast, leaning down slightly to speak to her. "The coal of your brother's ore still burns brightly within you Agi. I pray to the gods it does not go out." Floki told her earnestly.
When the third month adrift arrived, Jai and Lan's talks of escape grew more heightened, which in turn, made Agi more lethargic. "It is foolish to try to make such plans now. There are many eyes and ears surrounding us." Agi sighed.
"Did you not hear? They expect to be arriving at their homeland soon. We may not see each other again when we are ashore." Jai fretted.
Agi shifted against her binds, trying to scratch a bite on her leg. "Only if their homeland is vast. I do not think that is what awaits us." she replied.
"What reasoning do you have to think that?" Lan asked dubiously.
"Simple. Their leader is soft-spoken. One who commands great lands, requires a great voice." Agi answered. As she spoke, Ragnar turned from his post at the front of the ship to gaze at her, almost as if he could sense he was the topic of conversation.
Jai swallowed hard, having noticed as well as Agi "He eyes you often, you should be mindful of what you say..." she warned timidly.
"She is never mindful!" scorned Meryn.
"I am a curiosity to Earl Ragnar. Aside from that, killing me would be a kindness." Agi retorted.
Anger swelled in Lan's words. "This from the only woman aboard that hasn't endured forceful relations." she spat. "Your barbarian is different than the rest. For that you should be grateful."
"I am. My barbarian is the craftsman of their ships. Now you understand, why I do not give way to haste. I will have my chance at escape, and when I do, I will seize it..." Agi responded softly.
Across the ship, Ragnar finally turned his back on Agi to address Floki. "Your slave means to escape." he informed with an even tone and a half grin.
"They all do." Floki snickered.
"Agi's going to use you to do it." Ragnar clarified, pointing casually at him.
"Agi plots a good lot about me Ragnar. It helps her sleep." Floki replied, unbridled.
Meryn had given up hope of ever reaching a destination, and so he deprived himself of food and water. Rollo watched in contempt as Lan tried coaxing him into eating her bread. It was an entertaining enough scene, considering her bindings barely allowed her to move. However, it was a scene Rollo had already observed and growing bored of Meryn's impending plight, Rollo knocked the food out of Lan's grasp. "If the gods bid he dies from his own depravity, then he dies." Rollo growled. Lan and Jai, tried to shy away the best they could from Rollo's close proximity, but Agi unwavering stare bit at his nerves. "What're you staring at slave?" he demanded.
"The place where your loins should be..." Agi responded coldly. Rollo moved around the mast and walked up to Agi so that his crotch was mere inches from her face. Certainly Agi could smell it now, but rather than voicing that, she glanced up at him with an ill smile then bashed her forehead into his groin.
Buckling, Rollo grunted in pain, but his fury swiftly overtook him and he drew his blade. Ragnar's call strayed Rollo's blade from slicing Agi's head free of her shoulders. "She assaulted me brother." Rollo grimaced, holding the blade firmly against the niche of her shoulder. His pained breath made his blade bob against her throat, causing a cut to form ever so slowly.
"Were I her, I would have used my teeth not my skull." Floki glowered, one of his axes twitching in his hand. He did not trust Rollo to stay his blade.
Ragnar spoke. "You disgraced her Rollo, she was defending her honor, a trait I thought you valued in her...such as I do. Lower your weapon." Rollo glanced at his brother in disbelief. "Lower, it." Ragnar ordered.
Rollo begrudgingly did as he was told, but he put force behind his hilt as he swung his sword away from Agi, hacking away half of her hair in the process. Despite the audible gasp from Jai, Agi barely blinked as her red locks scattered to the ship's floor. Agi was far more focused on the contented smirk that Rollo possessed as he sheathed his blade and the steely gaze that ensued between himself and Ragnar, as he turned away. Strife, Agi observed. However when Floki hunched down beside her, Agi shifted her attention to where it belonged. Floki's fingertips nipped at the shortened strands of her hair, then flew over to the opposite side of her face where her hair ebbed over her shoulder like a waterfall. "...I like it." he decided, spitting on his hand and clasping his palm over her grazed throat. "Now the trickster god Loki may see your scar, and be humbled." he grinned. For the first time in nearly four months, Agi smiled not out of malice, but pride.
Excited shouting startled Agi awake. Finally, the vessels had arrived at the homeland. Agi was underwhelmed; it was a modest enough area but greatly paled from what Agi had depicted in her mind. Floki was the first to untie his slave, smiling at Agi like a giddy child. Once her bindings were free, Floki hauled Agi to her unsteady feet. Agi's attention became locked on the quickly approaching docks, where a large gaggle of women awaited. Agi pondering if the women were slaves such as she was, barely acknowledged Floki draping his furs around her shoulders. It was true Agi was cold, but more than that she was numb. There was a blonde woman amongst the lot, whose gaze had not drifted from Floki. She was pale, naturally so, and smiling.
Floki enclosed an arm over Agi's chest, pinning her small form against his lanky one. "That is Helga, Agi." Floki told her. "She is mine, but she is free."
"If you've already a woman to share your bed and cook your meals...what need do you have for me?" Agi asked, straining her neck to look up at him. Floki's eyes met hers, but his only answer was a smile. Agi was troubled, though she thought herself clever, she had never considered Floki would have a lover in waiting.
The ship lurched to a stop, and the men began to stampede off it. Agi caught sight of Jai and Lan being tugged by their wrists across the plank. With his arm still tucked around her, Floki herded Agi onto the docks. He only let go to embrace Helga, who was quick to kiss him. Agi glanced over her shoulder at the ship, wondering if Floki and Helga would remain entangled long enough for her to sneak back aboard. Floki's hand merged with Agi's shoulder, causing her heart to jumpstart. "Helga, I introduce Agi." he announced, with a proud smile.
Helga's smile was just as warm as when Agi had first seen her. "Agi." she repeated in a caring tone, hugging her tightly. Agi was stunned, and immobile, even as Helga touched her face.
"I have stolen one of Surtr's children." Floki grinned. Agi felt confusion engulf her.
Helga took Agi's hand in hers, shaking her head. "Her hair may blaze, but she is much too small to be akin to the fire giants."
"You do not yet know her spirit." Floki countered, beginning to disperse from the docks.
Without another word, Helga cradled Agi's hand and followed, bringing a compliant Agi along with her.
Agi bathed herself in a corner of Floki's home, while Floki and Helga made love. Agi did not wish to look, but their enamored panting, thundered over the sound of Agi wringing the water back into the bucket, or that of the fire cackling in its heath. Agi glanced, and as she did, she debated trying to strangle Floki with the damp cloth in her palms. Helga appeared unseasoned, Agi believed if Helga tried to defend Floki, Agi would be victorious. The thought of murder came, and passed. That was not Agi's plan. Besides which, Agi was as confounded by Helga as she was Floki. Helga had welcomed Agi into their home without a hitch, even putting aside clothing for Agi to wear once she was clean. Agi considered the possibility that perhaps she was not the first slave Floki had brought home from a pillage. Perhaps there had been others, perhaps they had been sacrificed or perhaps they had killed themselves. Agi had no desire to die in a way that benefited the barbarians that had set siege to her land, and though she would gladly dupe Rollo into killing her to achieve freedom from slavery, Agi had no desire to die by her own hand.
A festive meal was held that night, to celebrate the triumph return of Earl Ragnar and his warriors. Ragnar addressed the treasures they had brought back, both of gold and flesh. His shrewd eyes easily sought out Jai, Lan, Meryn and Agi. What little else Ragnar said, Agi did not pay attention to. She had no desire to eat, yet she was ravishing the food Helga had presented her. It was meat, Agi did not know nor care what kind. The drink, 'mead' Floki had called it, made a harsh tickle settle in Agi's stomach.
Soon Agi's plate was empty, save for a piece of bone which Agi rolled to the edge of her plate. Agi brought her mug closer to her plate, though it too was empty. While Floki and Helga were engaged in conversation with another couple, Agi used the mug to shield her attempt at breaking the bone in half. Her goal was easily enough accomplished, and Agi took several seconds to admire the sharp end of the now shattered bone. Using her fingertips, Agi stealthily hid it against the underside of her wrist, Agi nudged Helga with her elbow. Once she had Helga's attention, Agi forced a smile. "That man, with the monk hair, is he Ragnar's 'priest'?" she asked, nodding at the grand table where Ragnar sat with his wife and children.
Floki, who had remained privy to Agi's actions, answered in a way that was also informative to Helga. "I have promised Ragnar that in time Athelstan and Agi shall produce offspring...Bring him to us Helga." he responded.
For a moment, Agi forgot her agenda, as she scrutinized Floki. There was a smile on his face, but it was not his usual smile. Rather it reminded Agi of the smile Ragnar readily possessed anytime she and he conversed. Floki quietly reached out, placing his hand on the arm Agi was using to wield her bone fragment. Panic seared in Agi's chest, anxious unformed words bubbled in her throat. Floki lowered her arm onto her lap, his thumb trying to pry the bone free of her fingers. Agi held on firmly, defiance shining in her eyes as she stared at Floki. Floki's smile had dimmed slightly, his head flicking sideways. Their tussle had shifted the bone fragment from her wrist, to her palm. Floki decided to employ another tactic.
Cupping his hand around the back of hers, he lowered her palm to her nether region. Gingerly pressing his palm against her knuckles forced the bone to tenderly rub against her womanhood, which Floki continuously did, until finally a soft cry jutted from Agi's lips. Floki released her hand, and the bone fragment tumbled from her weakened grasp. Floki faced Athelstan and Helga who had arrived mere seconds after Floki had worked Agi over. Smiling, Floki returned to picking at his food. "If you are of any use in bed priest, this is your future." he informed with a haughty sideways glance at Agi, whose composure was still compromised.
Humiliated, Agi's face warmed as Floki giggled to himself. While Helga did the proper introductions, Agi got a good look at the man she had been prepared to stab. Up close, Athelstan was rather attractive but Agi still didn't savor the idea of bearing his seed. His eyes were large and soulful, bearing a lost gleam. He looked as apprehensive of their future together as Agi felt, something she hadn't expected. When Floki shooed Athelstan away, Agi wondered if Athelstan could be an escape partner as well as a bedmate.
A/N - I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed, faved and followed this lil story of mine. I'll try to keep your hungriness for Floki sated. ;)