The hearth danced before Agi's eyes, her mind consumed by the flame. She still did not feel entirely herself after her monthly pangs, but Agi did not know what her true self was anymore. Floki had barely spoke nor looked at her since she had called him a liar. Agi hadn't apologized, pride and obligation to her brother prevented her from doing so, regardless of her growing anxiety at Floki's indifference.
Out of the corner of her eye, Agi saw Helga sit down beside her. Agi turned her head, glancing at her tentatively. Helga smiled, the same warm yet wistful smile. A moment of silence passed, each woman just staring at the other, then Agi flexed the muscles in her cheeks into a smile, and reverted her gaze to the fire.
"You truly believe Floki a liar?" Helga asked at last.
"..I truly believe Lon would not have fled in terror. He'd not have left me behind, unthought of. Perhaps he ran to find Gunther..his friend, a burly bloke but kind." Agi responded
"Blo-ke?" Helga repeated, uncertainly.
Agi closed her eyes, a sigh rumbling in her chest. "A man, that is what I meant to say.." she gingerly replied, her eyes opening of their accord. Agi met Helga's curious gaze. "Why am I here Helga? Floki is unlike the others, he does not seem to need a slave for any reason...why did he take me?" Agi asked.
Helga's face brightened into a smile. "To save you." she answered, as if it were obvious.
"Would I have needed saving if his boats never reached my shores?" Agi rebutted crossly, though in her heart she knew Helga's words rang true.
Helga crooked her head. "Your God does not believe in fate?" she pressed.
"My..God is cruel..I know nothing else." Agi murmured, refusing to look at anything but the animal-skin rug.
"Floki does not wish you talking to Athelstan about faith...but he is already maddened at you. Go to Athelstan...it may help you..." Helga suggested. Agi did not respond, and after several seconds, Helga rose to her feet, planted a kiss on the top of Agi's head and busied herself with feeding the fire.
The wind rustled through Agi's hair, as she stepped out of the hut. She had no intention of speaking to Athelstan, rather Agi hoped to seek out her fellow slaves Jai and Lan, to check on their wellbeing. Agi's feet had not propelled her far, when her eyes landed on Jai standing on the edge of the ocean, a flimsy spear in her petite hands. Even from the distance, Agi could see the spearhead itself looked dull. As Agi drew closer, she passed by the basket that was meant to hold the fish Jai intended to catch - it was empty.
Agi's gaze traveled to the man who held ownership over Jai, he was not far from the ocean shore, thrusting himself into another slave. Agi ventured into the water, waddling alongside Jai. Jai glanced over her shoulder timidly, still ill at ease, when she recognized Agi. "Go..." Jai whispered. "Go back to shore before my master sees."
"He won't notice until he's had his fill..." Agi argued, her fingers closing around the spear Jai wielded. "I'm stronger, let me..."
Jai however, held on tightly. "No, you must go now..he does not last...he will see and I will suffer the backlash, please Agi..." she begged.
"...'ET AWAY FROM MY SLAVE." bellowed a voice from behind the duo. Jai visibly began to shake, prying the spear from Agi's feeble grasp and hurriedly stabbing at the ocean floor. "She gets no help. Not least from you.." the voice continued to roar. Agi faced the approaching man, he was slightly rounder than the other vikings, but no less tall or hairy. Agi stared up at him defiantly, as he slowed to a stop. "Don't you look at me." he ordered. Agi did not listen, though she was aware that the water entangled around her ankles began to slosh more violently. "...You hear me? Look away!" he snapped, grabbing the side of her neck.
An intruding pair of hands, clasped onto the forearm of Jai's master, and the familiar voice of Ragnar inhabited the air. "You do not touch another's slave Qunor, surely you know this." he reminded.
Reluctantly, Qunor's fingers wretched free of Agi's neck, and he took half a step back, as Ragnar slowly released him. "She is a pest, Earl..." Qunor said in his defense, though his eyes did not meet Ragnar's. "Floki has done naught to break her."
"That is his choice." Ragnar replied. "Such as it is hers to remain as she is." Agi drew her gaze onto Ragnar. She had wished to ignore his presence, for she found the sight of him without a shirt unnerved her. But he was speaking of her, and so she looked. Ragnar's gaze did not linger on her long, returning rightfully to Qunor. "Agi has been bedridden for past days, what is the harm in her helping your slave?" Ragnar challenged.
Qunor grumbled something that Agi could not comprehend, then retreated from the ocean. Ragnar, Agi and Jai watched him, still grunting even as his feet touched the shoreline. "Qunor often forgets his place," Ragnar said, drawing the attention of Jai and Agi.
"Do you not also?" Agi asked, earning an inaudible outcry from Jai. "An Earl who would defend a slave, should not walk without armor..." she explained.
Ragnar's lips conveyed a laugh that did not live. "Worry, Agi? Good that something rattles the stone of your skin..." he responded. Agi lowered her gaze in shame. "When you have finished here, go to your post. There are axes that need to be reforged." Ragnar instructed.
"I am not your slave." Agi blurted with a sharp look at him.
Ragnar's smile broke through his facade. "True, but it is Floki's will you are serving."
As Ragnar dredged away toward the shore, Jai released her breath, as if she had been holding it for some time. "You are fortunate he does not mind the way you speak to him. Is he also merciful to you in bed?" Jai questioned.
"There is no bed for he and I..." Agi answered, with a disapproving scowl at the way her insides flared at the notion.
Jai stared at her wordlessly, as Agi snatched the spear from her. "..Yet the Earl clearly favors you..." she baited.
"The 'favor' you speak of is not of kindness, nor affection, I amuse him. He demands a child from myself and Athelstan, for what else but amusement. Ragnar is vile, Jai, do not soften to him - he is why we are here. Do not forget that." Agi rambled.
"Nor you. You believe it is only amusement he expects from you, but you may be wrong. Lan already thought as much..." Jai confined.
Agi exhaled her annoyance, properly spearing a fish. "How does she fare?"
"She is like me, and we are both unlike you...you may be a slave Agi, but you are less a slave than we are..." Jai responded.
Three simple words plagued Agi's mind, as her hands toiled at the forge. Less a slave. Jai's claim had bothered Agi, but rather than argue, Agi had left Jai to her fish-catching while she did as Ragnar ordered. A large pile of blunted axes and shattered axe-handles were awaiting her when she arrived at the forge, and Agi had started immediately. She had hoped maybe if she had dove into her task, she would not be able to dwell on what Jai had said. Less a slave. Agi would've expected such a remark from Lan, but Jai? How dare she.
As daylight shimmered into nightfall, Agi struggled to see it from their point of view. Unlike them, she had not been raped, not once, but they had suffered it repeatedly. The labor Agi did, Helga often accompanied her with. Ragnar never seemed to stay far from Agi for too long, often to her benefit. Floki did not strike her, and likely never would. But did all that truly make Agi less of a slave than Jai and Lan? Better treated certainly, but she was still being held here against her will. Wasn't she? Yes of course, she was expected to bear a child with Athelstan, a grueling thought despite his decent appearance.
When the moon reached the sky, Agi had completed her task, but had not fully convinced herself that what Jai said was a hollow claim.
Agi paused outside Floki's hut, her eyes scanning her surroundings. Nights were rarely quiet, often times they were louder and rowdier than the daytime. Perhaps with all the commotion, Agi could slip out, slip away into freedom. If only she knew what awaited her beyond the forest. She wondered if Athelstan knew, and if he did, she wondered what compelled him to remain.
"You smell of ore." Floki greeted, startling Agi from her thoughts.
"Yes." Agi agreed, observing Floki's gangly form hovering in the doorway of his home. "I did as you asked."
Floki's surprise did not look genuine. "I did not ask." he corrected.
"Ragnar did on your behalf..." Agi responded.
"And you did not question him further?" Floki marveled, straightening up. Agi's eyes narrowed but she remained quiet. Floki giggled but it sounded stifled somehow. "You did not ask why axes are needed?"
"I know why." Agi said softly, her stomach churning.
"Oh? Why?" Floki asked, closing the gap between himself and her.
"Some are for the trees. Some are for the voyage you will take once the trees have been turned into ships." Agi answered.
"You knew. Then why listen?" Floki pressed.
"...Because I am a blacksmith...and smiths do not question." Agi said with an unwavering stare. Mentioning her slavery was not the answer Floki would've wanted, she knew him well enough for that.
Floki giggled to himself a little, sliding his hand in the side-opening of his tunic. "Ragnar is my oldest friend. That is why he gifted you to me without a thought for himself."
"He did think of himself." Agi argued, her words slowed with care.
"No," Floki argued back, though he seemed entertained at the banter. "He thought of his children, he thought of his priest, he did not think of himself. Gnawls at him now, I see it - I see what his eyes say when he stares at you."
Agi pursed her lips, shaking her head. "I care not."
"No?" Floki asked swiftly, too swiftly. "Tell me why not." Floki persisted, barring Agi's path as she tried to walk past him.
Agi breathed in deeply, as she stared up into his dark eyes. "I am yours." she stated, shifting her wallowing pride into a corner. Something unwelcome replaced the pride, in the foremost of her being. Something that coiled and withered like a snake, ready to bite. Something that was not sated by the smile Floki bore or the kiss he imprinted into her lips, before leading her inside. It was a nasty something, a something that would make Agi's future equally easier and harder. Desire.
A/N - I don't believe in forced writing, because in my experience, it results in bad writing. That being said, I did force this a little and I'm sure it shows. Sorry. But I would love to read more reviews!