Vikings: Harsh Lesson
Chapter 12 of my Vikings story, enjoy.
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Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and liked them :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, glad you liked those parts and of course, the introduction.
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Vikings belongs to History Channel.
Chapter 12
The following day Hreinn was in a foul mood. Thanks to his brother's words the day before, this morning he was forced to send out a hunting party for those that had escaped. His only consolation was that Steini sent out his own hunting party too, being led by Goran.
'Good, now I don't have to look at that filth.' Hreinn thought bitterly. 'One less annoyance to put up with.'
He loathed that boy, whom he saw as no more than a slave, deluded into believing he was free and was therefore above his station. Hreinn had no proof, but he was certain that Goran and his brother had been coupling last night. Out of all the things he hated about Goran; that was the worst.
Hreinn suppressed a growl at the thought. 'Bad enough he acts as if he's got freedom he deserves…But to corrupt my brother like that, turn him away from women, it's unforgivable.'
Hreinn was certain that, without Goran's interference, Steini would have married by now and more than likely had children. Yet sadly, Steini's comments yesterday were true, he was their father's favourite. Therefore Hreinn could not do anything he wanted to do, in order to fix these problems. Their father wouldn't hear of it, what was more, he failed to see Hreinn's actions regarding his wife and daughter as being justified. Something which made Hreinn even angrier.
As such, he vented these frustrations the only way he could. He was once more torturing Bjorn; watching with satisfaction as the young man was thoroughly beaten. He had to admit, he was impressed by Bjorn's resilience, still being able to fight after all this. He glanced over at Steini who was taking the notes now.
Despite the satisfaction Hreinn got out of watching all this pain; he never developed the same fascination that his father had. Steini however did; that same strange gleam and intense expression on his face as their father wore when watching pain. It was at times like these that Hreinn, ironically, feared his younger brother. Adding to the irony was the fact that, at times like these, Hreinn feared his father in exactly the same way.
Finally however, Bjorn overcame his opponents once more; he spat a mouthful of blood and glared at Hreinn. Hreinn shook his head.
"A great effort, I see we're going to have to make things even harder." Was all he said.
He then signalled for Bjorn to be dragged away and his men did so. Around that point, the hunting parties also returned. Goran walked immediately up to Steini and spoke to him quietly. Hreinn watched, trying to see any sign or indication between them of their actions last night.
But he saw nothing; so instead he listened as both hunting parties revealed they were unable to find those they had been seeking. Hreinn grit his teeth, this was a tiresome waste; but Steini would insist on it, he had to get rid of his brother somehow.
He watched as Steini gathered up all the notes that had been made on Bjorn's tortures and suddenly, an idea occurred to him.
"So, do you think we have enough notes for father?" He asked casually.
Steini nodded. "Yes, I believe we do. Although any extras will surely be appreciated."
Hreinn agreed with that at least. "Leave that to me; now listen carefully. As your older brother and Earl of Kattegat…I order you to take these notes and return them to our father, at once."
He smiled, knowing that Steini couldn't possibly refuse an order like that. Yet something felt off, Steini merely smiled at him and bowed.
"As you wish, my Earl, I shall depart at once." He paused then added. "I do hope, in my absence, you won't forget to keep searching?"
Hreinn nodded and replied. "Of course not."
Seemingly satisfied, Steini nodded. "Very well then; Goran, make preparations at once."
Goran bowed and left the hall. Hreinn had a strange feeling that this was somehow backfiring on him. Shaking his head he stood and headed down to the dungeons; he stopped as he reached the cells he was looking for and listened.
He grinned at the foolishness of his captives, trying to keep each other's spirits up. He then approached and entered the cell, causing the conversation to stop.
He approached Lagertha who simply glared at him; refusing to move, to give him any satisfaction of seeing her struggling.
"I must apologize for being a poor host." He remarked with a grin. "I've left you trapped here, all alone. We'll have to find something for you to do after all."
He grinned at that, already the thoughts were going through his head. So many choices; none of them pleasant for her. It didn't help her that Lagertha reminded Hreinn of his late wife, the only differences being hair colour and the fact Lagertha was strong and could fight.
He was jolted out of his thoughts however by one of his men arriving and informing him of Steini's departure; yet the exact words revealed why Steini hadn't raised any protest.
A short while later Hreinn was sitting on his throne, fuming. Despite not having orders to do so, his brother had left, taking all those that came to Kattegat with him back home. This left Hreinn to continue things with just his own men. Their numbers had dwindled due to those that had died torturing Bjorn. It was then Porunn reappeared to serve him again; he allowed her to fill his cup and raised to his lips, then stopped.
'Wait a minute, every night…How much do I drink every night, how much does she give me?' He thought; he drank carefully. 'Suddenly it makes sense; well, two can play at that game bitch.'
He put his cup down and lounged in his seat, thinking rapidly, formulating a plan.
They were nearly home, Ragnar noted as they continued to sail onwards. Yet still the strange feeling that something was wrong wouldn't leave him. He could hear the whispering behind him, see similar things happening in the other ships. The others were feeling the same, wondering the same things he was.
Then suddenly, he saw it, a lone ship, sailing towards them. His heart sped up as he recognized those on board. He shouted orders and his ship was steered around to meet the other ship. Soon they were alongside each other.
"Aslaug, what is going on?" He asked his wife, shocked to find her and the boys here; along with Rollo and Athelstan.
Aslaug shook her head sadly. "There's trouble, my love, Kattegat has been taken, a trap is waiting for you there; you cannot land there."
Suddenly, Ragnar's dark premonitions made sense to him now.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.