Chapter Twelve - To Build a Fire

Gudrun had had enough of dreams. How much more tormented and delirious nights did she have to spend before it ended? Her heart was already beating fast and her brow was covered in sweat as she awakened from her nightmare. Raspy voices were harassing her over and over, whispering:

"It will never be over."

"They will get you."

"We will get you."

The only thing that had saved her in this surrounding darkness of her mind had been thinking about Rollo and her newly found family. Floki. Helga. Her friends. Even though their faces and voices were blurry and seemed so far away, she had found the strength in her not to less herself fall towards the darkest place of the dream. It was full of mist, cold, and seemed to be underground.

But restless nights are never good omens for the following day. When she tried to rise, Gudrun pitifully rolled on the floor. She let out a little scream when her bandaged wound grazed the floor. She held herself before more pressure was applied to it, even though her arms were still trembling from her lack of strength.

Suddenly, she heard a timid knock on the door.

"Gudrun? It's Helga!"

Gudrun's negative thoughts of the night were chased away by this heart warming voice. She could hear the smile in Helga's ask. She was glad to see her.

Helga slowly opened the door with one hand, since a huge plate was in the other one.

"Guess what I've brought you... Oh, by Frigg!" she quickly helped Gudrun to sit on the bed and verified her bandage twice. She looked at her with an inquisitive stare.

"Bad dreams." said Gudrun, blushing.

Helga had a chuckle. "Are you sure they were bad?"

Gudrun had wide eyes and blushed. "Uhm... Why are you saying that?"

"Don't worry, I won't say anything Gudrun. But for later, just tell Rollo that he isn't very discreet... I was fetching a bit of wood for tonight and he was very obvious." Helga smirked.

"Oh." Gudrun's red cheeks weren't helping her in denying the truth so she didn't even bother to lie. "Thanks."

Helga warmly put a hand on her shoulder then turned around to take hold of the big plate of meat. Gudrun's breath stopped. She was hungry, okay, but not hungry enough to eat an entire animal.

"Helga?... Where did you find all this meat?" Gudrun shyly asked.

"This? Well you'll be surprised! The man we were just talking about found a fresh roe carcass this morning. Only a limb was missing, but judging from the marks left on the flesh, we though it was a bear catch."

"B... Bear?" muttered Gudrun. She remembered the huge bear she had encountered in the forest. Suddenly, she was less enthusiastic for Rollo going hunting alone.

"Yes! But stop worrying, eat, please!" Helga said, pushing the wooden plate on Gudrun's knees. Reluctantly, the dark haired girl held it. Helga gave her one last smile before leaving the room, thinking it was better to leave her alone for eating.

Gudrun cut a small piece from it with the knife left on the plate and chewed on it while thinking. As she swallowed, she felt a stinging where her wound was. She hated this constant reminder of her weakness. She wondered if it would take a long time to heal, she was already impatient to make herself useful. Her legs were already demanding for action, she desperately wanted to move despite having spent a poor night.

She slipped on a few clothes and a warm sleeveless furry coat that was hanging on wooden logs and awkwardly brought her huge meat piece with her. She didn't really know what to do with it, but there was no way she was leaving it in her room. Helga would kill her if she found out she hadn't eaten it. She wasn't even hungry anymore, the sight had just disgusted her enough.

She went out, breathing the fresh air of late morning. A soft smile enlightened her sleepy face. The light wasn't too bright so her eyes weren't hurt, and though her side was still stinging a little, she almost didn't notice the pain anymore. She saw Gyda and her mother casually talking a few feet from her, and this vision warmed her heart.

Lagertha was sitting with her legs crossed on soft grass, Gyda was on her knees. Lagertha seemed to be telling a story to her, and was really involved in it. She hadn't noticed Gudrun, but the girl smiled when she saw her making big gestures and funny faces for her daughter. She quietly went behind the house, to where the wooden logs were kept.

There she was not surprised to see Bjorn carving something in a piece of wood, he seemed to enjoy doing that for the past few days. He had probably seen his father doing so, and had been persuaded of the interest of the task. Maybe he also had seen Floki carving decorations on his boats since he was little. He probably was greatly influenced by this strange man that was Floki.

She mentally smiled, but tried to conceal the one that was threatening to show on her lips: she didn't want to disturb this perfect picture of accalmy, the times had just been too rude. This day finally felt good, and she wanted to secretely enjoy it. She also wanted to see Rollo more than anything but she doubted being able to look him in the eye. She blushed at his thought.

She happily heard a rumble come down from her stomach. She mentally thanked Helga. Gudrun was never really hungry when she woke up, but after waiting a bit, her belly would always ask for enormous amounts of food and she had nothing to offer it. But now she had this large piece of meat and she happily bit it. With exquisite pleasure, she felt her teeth chop through the tender and slightly bloody flesh that had been delicately cooked by Floki's wife. Hmmmm... She wanted to moan now that she was satisfying her hunger. It had come so quickly! After laying down for ages and healing, the simple act of going out and feeling the fresh air on her face already made her feel more alive.

What could possibly go wrong today? She licked her lips and threw the remaining piece of bone away, where wild animals would probably find it. But suddenly she thought of her encounter with the gigantic bear and shivered. No, she wouldn't leave the bloody bone there... She went back to where she had thrown it, cursing her idea of tossing it so far. She went down on some rocks, slightly angered at her gesture. She caught the bone, that had landed on mossy stones and managed to climb back. She grabbed some branches but needed both of her hands free, so she put the bone between her teeth. She reached for a big handful of vegetation to support her weight, then her other hand caught something that was not vegetation. With surprise, she almost dropped the bone.

She had caught the hand of a tall man with long brown hair and a seductive smirk on his lips. Of course, this was Rollo who had followed her in her little expedition. She blushed again, a deeper red, and held her side. She tried not to wince, but she didn't really feel the pain since her insides were filled with warmth and light. He had a deep chuckle when she was standing just in front of him, his imposing stature furiously dominating her small frame. She proudly and a little awkwardly stood there with the bone in her mouth like a young frolic dog. At least she wasn't sniffing his private parts.

"Need a little help?" his deep voice asked, amused.

"I was managing very well on my own, thanks." she answered.

He hesitatingly drew his hand to her mouth. She felt her cheeks grow red with embarassment: the bone was still hanging between her teeth. Rollo took it and removed it from her mouth, with a fake worried look, as if he was thinking: what are we going to do with you. He threw it very far away, and Gudrun suddenly felt stupid to have cared for the wild animals issue. There were probably some corpses in the woods, of birds, squirrels or bigger preys, and it wasn't a single slightly meaty bone that would draw all the predators to them.

Gudrun was probably redder than a red apple. She saw Rollo's incontrolable smirk threaten to show on his lips and she too wanted to laugh at her ridiculous figure. Rollo then softly stroked her cheek, not without noticing the slight apprehension that was in her. The contact with her warm skin and his rough palm made her lower back shiver.

Rollo quickly made sure no one was around, watching them. Apparently satisfied, he focused his stare on Gudrun, the smirk slowly vanishing into a predatory look. The young woman answered to his eyes with warmth, and inconsciously moved her body closer to his. Without a warning, he snaked his strong arms around her high hips and brought her into him, as a giant protector. His lips found hers with hunger, but not without softness. Still aware of how weak she had been and probably still was, he first brushed his mouth against her.

Her reaction surprised him: she opened her lips, just as a blooming flower would. Her arms found his hot neck and his long hair, she pushed him down on her own lips. They were eager to be devoured, eager to be wet with warmth. Rollo answered this desire with controled force, knowing just how to give enough to Gudrun to make her want even more. The pressure he applied on her back and on her hips made her insides boil, and she gently pushed and rubbed herself against him.

Rollo's hand adventurously went southwards. He found what he was looking for, and lightly held her ass and tightened his grip on it. Gudrun had a soft whimper of pleasure and surprise alike. She felt his lips as well as the beard around them twitch in a smile against her own mouth. "You like it?" he whispered. He squeezed it again. Gudrun felt scared that if he went in her breeches or even more down, he would meet the sudden wetness that was beginning to escape from her core.

Her fears were confirmed when the tall viking chose to touch her skin. He slid his hand under her clothes, winning another almost silent sigh from Gudrun. He gripped one of her cheeks fully and massaged it gently. Gudrun felt her back naturally arch to meet his palm even more. Her heart stopped in her chest when his hand met her wetness as it travelled further towards her womanhood. His hand stopped too, only to be replaced by a manly but still soft growl in her neck. Her pulse was beating very fast. She felt even more aroused due to this contact, and captured his lips with her again, giving him the best kisses she could give.

"Gudrun!" suddenly called Helga's voice.

With panic, Gudrun jerked from Rollo's contact, her heart still crazily beating. He looked at her with hunger in his eyes, but it was probably best for both of them if they were not discovered in such a state. She adjusted her dark hair and blew out some air, creating a small cloud of steam in the air. Rollo was beginnig to leave, going by another way so he wouldn't be noticed by Helga. Gudrun ran to him before her left and placed a slow and passionate kiss on his warm lips. She also brushed a particularly warm lower part of his body with her arm, but not on purpose. Rollo's length didn't care and hardened even more, winning him a surprised gasp from her as well as a questioning look in her eyes. She kept focused on his hungry stare, and softly stroked the hard member through his clothes. He deperately tried to keep his moan inside his throat. A strangled "Go!" managed to find its way out of his throat. Gudrun couldn't stop smiling like a fool when he left, walking slightly differently than before. She imagined what he would be doing if he was alone... Her inside burnt again at this thought.

"I'm here Helga!" she called back. She climbed the bank again, and saw the friendly blonde waiting for her with a bowl in her hands.

"Here you are! Look at this. Floki found some medicinal herbs in the forest this morning, and I'll make a paste of it. It should be able to cure you even faster than cataplasms!" she smiled broadly.

"Thank you so much!" said Gudrun, truly touched that her friend cared for her this way.

Helga smiled back, and gave the bowl to Gudrun, who awkwardly grabbed it.

"I'll just have to put them in boiling water, and your job will be to breathe their steam, then drink everything." the blonde said.

"Drink... all of this?" said Gudrun, astonished. The bowl was enormous.

"I promise it will make you so strong, and heal your wound! We use it on pregnant women. Though you are not, well I think not, it will strengthen your body and in a week you'll already feel better. I promise." she encouragingly smiled. "So, lets make a fire! I hope you know how to. It's not very hard. But we'll have to make it outside, since I'm cooking the food in the house... Oh, here's Rollo! Ask him while I watch over what's cooking inside!" she winked.

Gudrun blushed, and felt her heart skip a beat when Rollo saw her. He was innocentingly striding out of the woods, an axe in his hand. He acted as if he had not seen her, and faked surprise to see her with the bowl in her hands.

"Uh... Rollo?" she timidly asked.

"Yes, Gudrun?" he answered, slightly smirking.

"Erm... Can you help me make a fire?" she blushed again.

"I can." he smiled more gently, less jokingly.

He laid his axe on the outside wall of Floki's shack, careful not to make it fall. He motioned for Gudrun to follow him, and she shyly followed his steps to the entrance of the thicker forest. There, he began searching for thin branches to light the fire with. She did the same as him, having already a few notions on how to make a fire. But the few times she had tried, her fires never lived a very long time. This time, she trusted in Rollo for showing her the right way of building one. The question seemed trivial, but it was a survival matter too. Though she doubted being forced to be alone in the wilderness, having this kind of knowledge could save her life.

The sound of heavy steps behind her made her snap out of her daze. She turned around to face Rollo, and couldn't suppress the small smile on her face. He winked, or at least she believed he did. He inspected her stack of wood, and was apparently amazed by the quantity she had collected. He congratulated her, and had a little laugh when he saw her try to uproot an enormous piece of wood. He hesitated about helping her, but chose to have this bit of amusement for his eyes.

"It won't come off Gudrun, the tree still is alive."

"Hng?" grunted the red girl who had put all of her strength into this task. The branch had not moved at all, and with deception she saw all of her efforts were vain. "You could do it!" she said to Rollo, slightly challenging him.

"I could." he said. "But I won't, it would hurt the tree."

She crouched and began gathering all of the wood she had collected. She clumsily carried them in her arms, and looked at the tall viking for approval. He had a chuckle: it was more than enough. Her face was half hidden by the pile of dead wood. "Can we go now?" she croaked.

Rollo helped her by taking a part of what she was carrying. "Don't worry, we're going."

They walked all the way up from the forest and dropped heavily all the pieces of wood and branches to the floor. Gudrun then sat down. She attentively watched Rollo as he formed a sort of pyramid with small branches, disposing them as such in a ring of stones.

"What are the stones for?" asked Gudrun.

"Keeping your fire in." said Rollo, still adding more pieces of wood.

"Why are you putting it that way?" she asked again.

"So the fire will take better." he answered more silently, as he concentrated on not making his construction fall down.

"Why?"

"When did you start asking so much questions?" asked Rollo as he stood up from his crouching position.

Gudrun stumbled on her buttocks. He seemed so tall he was hiding the sun and looked like he was about to reach the sky. Gudrun frowned at his height, he was too tall for her to see all of him. She furiously blushed when she saw she was literally at his feet, and instinctively sprung up on her feet. She crossed her arms.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm fetching those drying herbs", he said, pointing at a small wooden table where he saw the weeds. "Or maybe you can take them."

"Alright," she said, "You can sit, they'll be here in a minute."

She stood up very quickly, but Rollo didn't sit either. They both put their hand on the herbs by trying to be faster than the other. Gudrun immediately jerked her own away, startled, and not prepared for this contact. The tall man chuckled. He took everything in his hands then put it in a bowl of water that was next to them, and went back to their fire. He used an iron tool to maintain the bowl above the fire. He sat down next to Gudrun, who had already taken place in front of the heat.

Rollo looked into the dark haired girl's eyes and thought how, oh, they were so beautiful, yet so unique. The white sky made them look even more clear, like pearls of water from the sea. They really seemed like they weren't human eyes. He then thought again about her father, or the man everyone thought was her father. He still had some doubt but he wanted to believe it so hard for her. He suddenly realised she had always had almost nothing, and how discovering such an ancestry could be disturbing. He wondered if he should speak of these deep subjects with her. He began to be sure he loved her just by being nearer from her. But sometimes, he wanted to mention these uncomfortable themes so hard he was almost shure she would close herself. And he was afraid of that.

He had almost forgotten, with all that happened to them, Haraldsson exiling and scarring her mother, Floki being her mother's cousin, Siggy being a spy for some evil force, that Gudrun once was her slave. He had to admit one part of him enjoyed this relation of domination. But as soon as he discovered she was more than a simple stupid girl, his mind changed. He felt guilty to have treated her as such, but he still didn't want to speak of it to her, not yet.

He caught her face in the palm of his hands and brought it close to his own. He looked her strong in the eye, and she resisted to his stare, sending back an equally violent feeling. She was the one who closed the gap between their mouths, fiercely warming his lips with hers. She knitted her brows in love, her mind also racing. Never had she thought before that a man would ignite such a fire within her.

[A/N: Hello everyone, I am not dead.

I am currently in a very hard and tiring school, which is testing my strength and resilience. I feel tired all the time but I want to continue this fic so much. It has been living in my head all the time...

I want to thank the lovely reviews that have been motivating me to write again. Without you, I doubt I would have had the courage to finish this chapter. Thank you so much.

I'm so sorry for not writing a lot in my AN, I am under so much stress and pressure right now... But hey life's cool! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you're still there...Love you guys! 3 xxx ]