A/N - I'd like to remind everyone of Odin and Aslaug (that tramp).
Also, there is an implication of something, but I'm allowing everyone to draw their own conclusion. So yes, there is smut in this chapter.
Disclaimer-I may've stretched things with Forseti, there is less info about him than other Norse gods. The chant to Eir, is a section of a "plea" from a (*gasp*) paganism site.
In celebration of Agi's return, Helga had prepared boar. It was a hearty breakfast for Agi, that she was having difficulty eating. Agi thought perhaps, clearing her jumbled mind might help. "What will you name him, our son?" Agi asked Floki,
Floki arched his brow, and a short snicker exhumed his mouth. "Why do you ask," he began, "When you are reluctant to create him?"
"My reluctancy is in how the child is made, not the child himself." Agi corrected.
Helga glanced haplessly between them, as Agi and Floki stared at one another dauntingly. Floki took a long, loud sip from his mug and wiped his beard with his hand. "Tell me of the Priest's boy." Floki stated.
Agi had futiely hoped Jynir Still-Knee kept quiet. "I can honestly say, I do not much remember, twas so long ago...when I was expected to produce his child...surely it was a vision from the Christian god, meant to bring me solace." Agi inhales deeply before continuing. "Then Nott punished me with a nightmarish daughter born from Rollo."
The silence that followed was shocked into oblivion by Floki's laughter. Both Agi and Helga, glanced at him with narrowed eyes. "The daughter cannot be both the goddess Syn, and punishment from Nott.." Floki explained. "You are imagining influence from the Gods, because you wish her to be more than she is."
"I wish for her nonexistence." Agi said curtly.
"That is not for you to decide."
"You act as though you don't care."
Floki snickered softly as he stood. "I know better than to challenge the Gods, Agi." He replied.
Aghast, Agi watched Floki's lanky form exit their abode. Helga rose from her seat, wrapped an arm around Agi's shoulders and held her tight. Agi's arm crept around Helga's, hugging her back, though her auburn eyes continued to stare where Floki had sat. Helga gradually released Agi, but kept her hand resting on Agi's right shoulder. "What makes the daughter so nightmarish?" she asked curiously.
With Agi's revere fading, she cast a quick look at the door to ensure Floki was gone. "Hillevi.." she mumbled. "That is her name, and she kills children without a thought.." Agi glanced up at Helga's crestfallen face. "Were she to be born, what would stop her from killing her brothers?" Agi whispered.
Helga did not respond. The question lingered heavily in the air.
Agi visited the grave of dearly departed Denyn. She made herself comfy in the hovel of a tree trunk, and rested her hands against her knees. Her gaze occasionally darted from the earth where Denyn was buried, to Floki's bracelet upon her wrist. Unperturbed, Agi sat in silence until a flash of silver caught the corner of her eye. Shifting her head, Agi's eyes sought the source, and discovered it to be, the gleaming grey hair of a man who had sat down upon a fallen tree. His clean-shaven face was broad yet angular, and despite the silver locks of hair brushed behind his ears, he appeared younger than Ragnar. His eyes were an unusual shade of brown, that resembled the golden threads weaved into his grey tunic. He had neither the build, nor the air of a viking.
The stranger gazed at Agi expectantly, as though he expected her to acknowledge him outright, regardless of her observing him. "Who are you?" Agi asked at last.
"Forseti." he answered plainly, his voice unmemorable.
Agi smirked almost instantly. "Like the God of Judgement." she stated.
"Yes."
"Did Floki send you to test me?"
"No. Though you are being tested." Forseti replied.
Agi broke eye contact, chuckling listlessly. "In what way?" When the stranger didn't respond, Agi was forced to glance over at him again.
His mouth was a thin line as he spoke. "The river in which you prayed to your Christian god is not far from here. Tell me, do you think your prayer to Him was answered?"
Agi's hands embraced her elbows, hugging herself tersely as she sat a little straighter. "You must know Floki." she muttered. "To answer your question - I had not thought about it." she said with a meek shrug. His brow crinkled slightly, his mouth meshing to a frown. "I am not even sure what compelled me to do it. Desperation I suppose." Agi added.
The stranger shook his head a single time. "It was the will of Eir, but rather than praise Her, you turned to Christ. You may then understand, why She feels wronged."
"You speak as though you know Her."
"I do."
"Because you are the god made flesh." Agi mused.
"Would you believe me to be?" the stranger asked.
"No. But I would believe that you believe it." Agi replied, pulling herself to her feet. "I also believe that I should be going, least I catch your delirium."
Agi had taken three short steps, before the stranger's words halted her. "Why did King Ecbert believe the claim of a peasant child over the word of his own knight? Because I judged the kin of Volundr - young Lontyr Wayland and his infant sister Dianthra - were not fated to die on the streets." Forseti announced.
"...Why?" Agi asked breathlessly.
Forseti rose. "It is not your place to question, it is mine. Tell me, why have you avoided the forge? Such is your birthright."
Agi looked down at herself. "I have tried to ignore it in the hopes it will fix itself...but my hand betrays me." Agi admitted. "The more i use it, the worst it twinges...until I cannot feel my fingers. I should not have burnt it, but I feared I would lose my hand otherwise."
"You are right, you shouldn't have burnt it. Come forth." he instructed, holding a hand out toward her. Agi went to him without question, and held her hand in his. Forseti turned her hand, so that her palm was facing up. "Close your eyes, keep them closed, and repeat after me."
"Eir, Goddess of healing, we ask you thus: Grant weal to wounds. Relief for pain. Succor for sickness. And wholeness for hearts."
Agi felt a feminine hand enclose over her palm, light yet cool to the touch, as if it weren't a hand at all but a sliver of ice. The cold seeped throughout Agi's palm, to her very fingertips. Her entire body grew numb, and Agi grew uncertain, if she was still breathing.
There was something cold and wet against her face, it hovered in circles above her cheek. Then it licked her, and Agi sprung awake. The dirt-filled face of the Lothbrok dog greeted her, his tail wagging lamely. Agi raised her head, her eyes surveying her surroundings blankly. She was laying on forest floor, at the foot of Denyn's grave. Agi heard the triumphant laugh of a little girl, and immediately feared she would see Hillevi. Much to Agi's relief, the laugh belonged to Bjorn's sister Gyda. "We found you!" she beamed. Agi pushed herself up. "You shouldn't sleep in the forest, it can be dangerous without someone to watch over you." Gyda told her sternly.
"I did not mean to sleep.." Agi mumbled defensively, raking her fingers through her hair. The painless motion startled Agi, who swiftly studied her hand. The burn had faded considerably; it was no longer the eyesore it had once been.
"Agi? Are you okay?" asked Gyda, drawing closer.
"Did your father ask you to find me?"
"He said if you weren't smithing, you were playing hide-and-seek."
Ragnar was in the midst of dunking his hands in a basin of water, when Agi approached him. "Shame that you were not faster - you've missed the execution.." he greeted cheerily, his gaze straying toward the middle of the town square.
Agi's question, as to who had been executed, died on her lips. The Seer stood in her line of sight, the wind ruffling his black cloak. As he turned in the opposite direction, his cloak blustered in the breeze, and as it fell limply behind him, Agi's eyes became deadlocked with her son, scarcely sixteen. His ocean-hued eyes studied her keenly, then his body staggered forward as Floki's son hopped onto his back. They were indeed the same age, with the same rusty red hair. Agi watched as they jostled with one another, until they were within arm's reach.
Ragnar's breath tickled her cheek. "What do you see?" he whispered curiously.
Agi revolved her gaze from her children, onto Ragnar, before resting her auburn eyes on the basin. There were traces of blood in the water. The words Agi spoke, were deliberately slow. "Where is Lagertha? I must speak with her."
"About what?"
"About you."
Excitement perked at his lips. "What about me?" he queried.
"You know what." Agi said shortly.
Ragnar smirked, tracing the curve of Agi's face, until his thumb nestled beneath her lip. "Then let us go to her." he muttered.
Ragnar rested his weight in the doorframe, as he addressed his wife. "Lagertha, Agi wishes to speak with you.." His piercing eyes darted to Siggy. "Alone." he added pointedly. Ragnar watched as Siggy brushed past Agi, how the shrewd brunette seized up the redhead with a single glance. He studied Agi himself for a moment, how she massaged the palm of the hand she was continuously flexing.
Lagertha drew in a deep breath, before speaking. "What is it Agi?"
Agi lowered her hands behind her back, and took a step forward, so that she could see the blonde better. "It is time for Ragnar and I to consummate his son." she declared, shocking of the couple. "I know this because of the Seer...yet even so, I would wish you to muster as much approval as you can, Lady Lagertha."
"You seek my blessing? I did not think you cared about such a thing." Lagertha marveled with the hint of a snarl.
Ragnar pitched in. "Was that not clear in how long she has stalled me?"
"You are his wife." Agi said. "I regret that the Gods have chosen this for me," Agi began.
"Oh is that right?" Ragnar piped, with a tilt of his head.
"But, I shall heed their will...for now at least." Agi continued, bowing her head. "I am sorry Lagertha."
"I believe you are." Lagertha mused. She gingerly cupped her hand beneath Agi's chin, raising her head so that their eyes met. "Do not be sorry the Gods have chosen you." Her voice was husky with overlapping emotion. Lagertha's anguished eyes, darted to her husband. "Not here, not in the village. Age has finally claimed Karyth, his home was not far from Jynir Still-Knee."
"Then that is where we will go." Ragnar agreed, curling an arm around Agi's waist. He leaned in to kiss Lagertha, but she retreated further into their home, and did not look back. Ragnar's sigh ended in a grunt, though he managed to smirk at Agi. "Well? What are we waiting for?"
Floki had just set down his carpenter tools, when he felt her hand at the base of his neck. When he looked at Agi, and saw Ragnar lurking closely behind her, Floki giggled giddily and jumped from his seat. "You've chosen not to challenge the Gods." he grinned.
"Haven't I?" Agi taunted.
Agi's gait was unsteady as she clambered from the bed, to the window. The breeze inspired goosebumps to her nude form, her hair thick with sweat, tussled in the wind. Agi ran her hands thoughtfully over her stomach, pondering names for the twins. Ragnar's arms snaked around hers, pressing himself against her as he rested his chin on her collarbone. His fingers threaded through hers and he maneuvered her hands onto the window-ledge, bending her forward.
"You've an appetite of a madman." Agi teased.
Ragnar kissed her shoulder, as his hands abandoned her wrists to latch onto her hips. "You are well familiar with that then.." he retorted. In the background, a drowsy Floki giggled and Ragnar cast a cheeky grin at him.
Agi shuddered at his entrance - he was thicker than Floki there was no denying it, his grinding heavier no matter how slow his movements. Agi blindly reached backward, seeking his face. Ragnar nipped her thumb, then pressed into her roughly as their mouths danced. Agi embedded her nails in his braid, keeping their tongues pinned to one another as he quickened his pace. One hand remained firm on her hip, his other glided downward to her womanhood, and lingered there, allowing the rhythm of his thrusts to create friction. Agi cried mutely against his lips, his nails digging into her hipbone as he reached climax of his own. His hand between her legs swam up her body until he reached the same shoulder he had kissed. He held himself within her for a moment, staring out the window just as Agi had been.
A/N - rereading it, I realize this chapter feels rushed and for that I am deeply sorry.