Vikings: Harsh Lesson
Chapter 4 of my Vikings story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Vikings belongs to the History Channel.
Chapter 4
Night had fallen over Kattegat, everything appeared to be still; save for trees and bushes being ruffled in the wind. However this wasn't the case; one person was moving, one of the servants. He was moving quietly; towards the western side of Kattegat, he held an unlit candle in his hand, as well as the means to light it. He glanced around carefully; nobody could see him.
Smirking he hurried over to the western gate; still taking pains to ensure he wasn't seen. He had already planned everything out; he could hardly wait for things to get started. His reward for this would be considerably, of that he was certain, his main reward however, would be to finally have his heart's desire.
'She shouldn't have been so stubborn.' He thought to himself. 'But soon she'll be mine and then, with everything else…'
He trailed off in his thoughts, grinning at the thought of his impending reward. Focusing he prepared himself; he had reached his destination. Working quietly he slowly, but surely, got the western gate open, enough that it could be opened from the outside now. Moving to the gap between the gates, he lit the candle and gave the prearranged signal. He then stepped back and extinguished the candle.
Taking cover he waited as finally, the gates opened and quietly the army slipped into Kattegat. Once they were all inside; another signal was given and the army attacked the unsuspecting Earldom.
Bjorn was awoken by shouting; he leapt from his bed, seizing his sword. He was clad in just his breeches, having no time to get properly dressed. He stepped out into the corridor, just in time to see a warrior, clad in armour and wielding an axe, approaching him. The man cried out and attempted to attack. Bjorn was quicker however and was able to kill the man.
"What is this?" He muttered, shocked. 'We're under attack, could it be Jarl Alfgeir? But how, the defences…No time, I need to act quickly.'
He turned, in time to kill another warrior. He hurried towards the Earl's chambers; he burst through the door, in time to find Aslaug, awake and cradling Sigurd, looking worried.
"Bjorn?"
He quickly explained. "We're under attack; I need to get you out of here."
She nodded, there was a way for her to get out; a hidden exit. They immediately began heading in that direction, luckily no other warriors appeared. They could hear the sounds of battle, screams and shouts. Finally they reached their destination and Bjorn moved the wooden beams blocking the exit.
"Go, you have to hide." He said urgently.
She shook her head. "Ubbe and Hvitserk…"
Bjorn urged her onwards. "Go, I'll get them."
She reluctantly did so, carrying Sigurd and moving with difficulty due to her pregnancy. Bjorn turned and rushed back to the boy's room.
The sounds that reached the room had woken Ubbe first. He sat up in bed, worried. He got out of bed and slowly moved towards the door. The sound of him moving awoke Hvitserk who also sat up. Before either of them could say or do anything, the door burst open and a large man, heavily armed stood there. He glared and raised his weapon, aiming for Ubbe first as he was closest.
Yet before he could strike he grunted, a sword protruding through his chest. The sword disappeared and the man dropped to the ground. Ubbe stepped back, Hvitserk leapt from his bed. Both were scared but then saw their half-brother standing there, having killed their attacker.
"Bjorn!" Ubbe cried out.
Bjorn stepped forwards. "We need to leave, quickly; we're under attack. Your mother and brother are safe; come on, I'll take you to them."
The boys nodded and hurried after Bjorn as they rushed through to the hidden exit. They ran across two more warriors who tried to attack. Bjorn acted at once and cut them down. Soon they reached the exit and Bjorn urged the boys through. He then heard the shouting growing louder.
"Run, now!" He cried, knowing he had no choice.
Before the boys could protest he closed the exit, hiding it from view and hurried back. He faced down another two warriors. Before he could attack however, an unseen third warrior slammed the pommel of his weapon into the back of Bjorn's head, knocking him out.
When Bjorn came to he was being forced to kneel in great hall of Kattegat. He was tightly bound and despite his efforts, escape was impossible. Ignoring the threats of his captors and the throbbing in the back of his head, he looked around.
There were many other captives; many of them people he recognized, many he knew well. His stomach lurched when he saw Porunn amongst the captives. She met his gaze and nodded to him, her face serious and strong. He returned the nod; finally tearing his gaze away. It was then he saw him; the man standing in the middle of the room.
The man was tall with sinewy muscle, perhaps a few years younger than Ragnar, being in his early thirties at the most. He had dark brown hair which he tied back, out of his face and a short, closely trimmed full beard and moustache and cold dull blue eyes. He was clad in blood-stained armour and was clearly part of the fighting.
Bjorn could see the man was used to exuding authority; yet he was too young to be Jarl Alfgeir. It was then a man who could only be said Jarl entered the hall from outside. Like the young man, he looked as if he had been in battle; a remarkable feat for his age. He had a slightly more heavyset build than the first man; his hair was in fact quite short and rather grey although he had a long goatee beard and brown eyes that were just as cold as the first man's.
Jarl Alfgeir looked around at the defeated captured people of Kattegat, then turned to the first man.
"This is everyone who has not been killed; Hreinn?" He queried.
Hreinn nodded. "Yes father, a great victory for us."
That confirmed the young man's identity; he was one of Alfgeir's sons. The only question remaining was if he was the older or younger son. While both had inherited much of their father's 'interesting' traits, the older son was noted to be slightly impatient compared to his brother.
Alfgeir shook his head. "No, it is not…Where is Ragnar's wife, his children…I only see one of them?"
Hreinn bowed slightly. "I…my apologies father; I will have them found."
"Good; well; I will only stay a short while. Hreinn…I hope you enjoy your prize." Alfgeir then remarked; Hreinn was confused, until he elaborated. "I leave you to claim Kattegat as your own."
A smirk spread over Hreinn's face at that then a new voice spoke up.
"What of my reward, Jarl Alfgeir?"
Heads turned; Bjorn heard Porunn's sharp hiss of breath. The man who had spoken was the one who had harassed her during the day; that Bjorn had forced back off. His words immediately marked him as a traitor who had let the enemy in. Now the invasion made sense.
Alfgeir quirked an eyebrow.
"Who is this man?"
Hreinn explained about how he was the one who had allowed them into Kattegat. The man smirked, clearly proud of his treachery. Alfgeir nodded as he heard this; clearly taking the information in and seemed to finally make up his mind.
"Very well then." He said at last. "Come, I shall reward you myself."
The man grinned and approached Alfgeir; only for the grin to disappear when Alfgeir, with remarkable speed, sank a dagger into the man's belly.
Hreinn was shocked by this. "Father!?"
Alfgeir withdrew the dagger and the man sagged, clutching at his wound.
"Trust not a man, who has betrayed his master." Alfgeir remarked casually, thrusting the blade into the man's chest this time. "Nor take him into your own service…"
He yanked the blade free and spoke once more. "…Lest he betray you too."
With that he cut the man's throat and threw him to the floor. He sheathed the dagger and sighed.
"Dispose of the body…Now, Hreinn, I know of your 'appetites'." Alfgeir remarked distastefully. "Pick one and be done with it."
Hreinn grinned at that and soon turned his gaze to the women, much to the horror of those watching.
As Bjorn feared, as if the Gods were laughing at them, he stopped in front of Porunn and grinned, using a hand to force her to look at him.
"Get off me!" She spat.
He laughed. "I like this one, lots of spirit. I'll enjoy breaking her."
Bjorn reacted immediately, struggling against his bonds. "No, unhand her!"
All eyes turned to him, including Alfgeir who smiled darkly; the smile was cold, not reaching his eyes.
"Ah, Bjorn Ironside; Ragnar's infamous son…I could use a man like you, for some research I've been looking into." He remarked; his voice soft and all the more threatening for it. "Take him to the dungeon's at once."
Hreinn laughed and added. "Take the girl to the Earl's chambers and prepare her for me, I'll be along later."
Bjorn and Porunn tried to struggle but it was futile and they were dragged away from each other and into a living nightmare.
End of chapter, things have become more dramatic now, read and review please.
For those interested, the basic appearance of Alfgeir and Hreinn are in fact based on certain actors. Feel free to look up images of said actors if you like; Alfgeir is based on the actor Matthew Marsh; while Hreinn is based on Kieran Bew.