Chapter VIII- Traveling
"CHIEFTESS!" Rollo yelled yet his lips were not moving; he only pressed the blade more cruelly to her throat. Frigga swung her arms about her in a panic futilely trying to escape his capture. "Chieftess!" The sharp voice came again much closer to her ear, jolting her into consciousness. "We must move, we can not stay here any longer," Athelstan said softly with his hand upon her shoulder. Frigga attempted to focus on his blue eyes but he had quickly stood and joined the rest of the crew waiting by the cave's entrance silhouetted by the early morning mist. Rubbing her neck, Frigga unnervingly kicked off the cover that had twisted around her feet and anxiously gathered her things.
The cool morning air violently struck Frigga's face as she stepped from the dark shelter of the cavern, she reached out blindly through the dawn to the extended palm in front of her. Dizzy with oxygen, Frigga felt gentle fingers wrap over her hand and lead her down from the ledge, looking up her eyes astonishingly met Rollo's as she stepped to the ground. Before the full sense of bewilderment was able to blanket her, Rollo's hand had slipped from hers and she was left standing alone.
The mist was not yet painted with the gold of the morning sun when the company began their movements, though when it did the sound of gulls at the cove would surely find them. With only their senses the Vikings used the mosses growing on the north sides of the trees to aid them in their navigation, as well as the rising sun to the east. The party's demeanor had returned to that before the attack and their pace quickened through the lush wilderness; low chatter hung around them muffled by the dense trees. The effect of Frigga's presence was difficult to ignore, especially on the typically jovial rascal; Floki was now unnervingly reserved and aloof.
"Are you avoiding me?" Frigga asked, startling her brother when she appeared behind him. She laced her fingers behind her back as they strode along next to one another though Floki's pace gradually quickened.
"Do not flatter yourself," he replied. Catching up to his side, Frigga spun on toe and walked backwards in the line of his path, seamlessly gliding over the tricky terrain.
"Never before have you had trouble speaking with me."
"That was long ago." Floki's eyes darted out of line with his sister's. Frigga stopped abruptly before him, blocking his way.
"Brother, give me a chance." Frigga's face was earnest and sincere as she search for Floki's regard, with an impatient raise of his eyebrow he motioned for her to walk beside him. Their silence was teemed with the harmonized rhythm of their footfall that was only disturbed by the sound of the snapping twig between Floki's fingers. Plucking a flower from the thicket, Frigga twisted it between her fingers before putting it behind her brother's ear. "Weight in my belly, trees on my back, nails in my ribs, feet do I lack," she said. "What am I?"
"A ship." Floki answered with a small grin. Frigga spurt with a nostalgic giggle until she noticed her brother's smile had left.
"Tis your turn," she instructed. Floki straightened with a large inhale and stretched his neck from side to side before responding.
"If you touch me, I may be snared. If you break me, I do not stop working. If you lose me, nothing will matter." Floki stepped casually before Frigga as she had before, his arms rested behind his back while he awaited her answer. The small smile slowly drifted from her lips as her mind searched for an answer.
"I do not know that one."
"Think," he urged tilting his head. Her gaze left his and roamed the wilderness around them before a look of discontent slid over her face.
"A heart," she sighed woefully. Floki firmly pressed his lips together, handed the flower from behind his ear back to her and hastily turned to catch up with his company.
Shallow water babbled over rocks and past the bank the Vikings had made camp on that evening. The silver moon slivered through the trees and twisted over the water in the brook illuminating their second night in Irlanda. Fires were forbidden after dark and only lit in daylight to quickly cook any food they managed to forage. The last of the men had their share of the cooked rabbit meat and ate the dandelions and clover Frigga had gathered. Many of the company were nestled out of reach of the moonlight under the cover of an Alder tree in the soft grass lost in hushed conversation. A subtle sense of excitement rippled through the crew at the thought of the countless riches that awaited them.
"What shall each of you do with your treasures?" Erik asked his friends while staring curiously at the green plants in his palm.
"I will buy Gyda the softest wools and most beautiful dyes to make her the finest dresses," Lagertha answered dreamily as she leaned against her husband.
"And for our son, I think the blacksmith will be most happy with what we give him to forge the strongest blades." Ragnar said tickling his wife's ribs.
"I will build my wife a new home with the grandest hearth so she may fatten me with her talents," said Erik.
"And the largest table so we all may enjoy your wife's talents," Floki snickered prompting a playful punch from his friend.
"What of your sister?" Rollo asked firmly chilling the lighthearted moment. "What is in it for her?" The smiles slowly slipped from their lips when Floki hesitantly answered,
"I do not know why she has come." Looking over their shoulders to the bank, Frigga was kneeling in the silver light with her hands gently covering her eyes.
"She has helped us greatly thus far," Athelstan reminded them. "Especially you, Rollo."
"I suggest you stop there, priest." His gaze slowly drifted back to the figure on the bank. The reflections from the water danced over her bare arms and hands, her breath seemed almost non-existent for she remained perfectly still. "What is she doing?" he asked Floki, noticing the blue tint the night made on her long hair.
"Traveling," Floki replied shoveling a dandelion into his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Ragnar asked.
"She is somewhere else," he trailed off, lazily stretching out in the lush grass.
The ringing in Frigga's ears slowly eased in to a piercing silence, eventually the sound of faint crackling rose around her. Louder and louder it grew in her ears until the sound reverberated throughout her body. Lowering her hands from her face, a heat unlike any other flew swiftly into her eyes in a blinding wave. A gust of people rushing past stirred the surrounding flames even higher until they were crawling across the ceilings. The corridor she stood in was now engulfed though a solitary figure remained at the other end; Frigga passed through the hallway towards the being who was now running toward her. Untouched by the inferno Frigga reached out for this person, her brother's face finally penetrated through the hell around them though he did not slow his sprint. As Floki passed through Frigga a spine-chilling shriek erupted over the sound of the surrounding blaze down the hall where Floki had been standing. In an instant, Frigga found herself peering into the small window carved into the door, flaming debris and timbers crisscrossed the room until finally she saw them. Her mother and father were wrapped in each other's arms, trying to protect one another from the fire engulfing the room. Frigga gripped the rungs on the window and screamed while she struggled to rip down the door but no sound escaped her lips. Another crash of falling debris sent the flames roaring through the room, consuming the King and Queen of Oslo. Frigga opened her mouth over and over in violent screams as she wrestled with the unmovable door, dirty tears streaming down her ashen cheeks. Suddenly, a fierce grip over took her and ripped her fingers from the rungs, the force sent her tumbling back into the flames.
"Quiet your infernal screaming or you will give us all away." Rollo ordered. His hands gripped Frigga's bare shoulders practically shaking her into the soft ground. Frigga gasped for fresh air until it hit her lungs like thick nectar. Rollo's green eyes softened on her for a moment before she scrambled to the waters edge to cool her burning throat. She let the water drip from her chin and down her neck as though she had never tasted anything so pure. Coughing, Frigga reclined on the muddy bank attempting to hold back the wave of emotion that was boiling to the surface. As she caught her breath she felt something laid upon her shoulders, before she noticed her brother crouched down beside her. Adjusting the cloak over her with his hand still on her back Floki's eyes searched for hers until he saw them wet with tears. After a moment and without a word he stood there on the bank with an outstretched hand offering to ultimately pull his sister from the muck.
The day's journey plunged the Vikings deeper into the island, nevertheless the wilderness appeared to thin in the miles ahead. Each step Frigga took that morning sent a current of blinding pain up her neck and behind her eyes. She had not seen the faces of her mother and father on the day of their death; her travels had never brought her to that time before. "Could anyone have saved them?" swirled over and over through her mind, for the past sixteen years she was always told one thing, was it the truth? She let her eyes travel to Floki who was striding ahead of her, his head hung low and his shoulders were hunched in their usual fashion though Frigga never noticed this peculiar posture before. The gap between them eventually closed though neither spoke, Floki periodically looked to her as if anticipating her dialogue though it never came.
"The past has found you," he said softly finally looking to her "In this world and on your travels."
"Indeed," She sighed.
"Though now you do not wake yourself when you scream." His sister did not answer his solemn statement. After a few moments, he spoke again, "why have you come?"
"To protect you of course." She smiled.
"Now, that I do not believe that for a moment," his words dripped with cynicism causing the smile to disappeared from her lips.
"You do not trust me."
"What reasons have I?" Floki huffed and stepped from his sister's side, again leaving her to walk on her own.
The company was signaled to halt after a little more than a half-day's walk when they came to a clearing, before them lay a small village of ten homes or less. To the right sheer cliffs soared and to the left of the houses a wide river raged. Smoke twisting from stone chimneys and the faint sound of livestock was all that stirred below them. Ragnar signaled for his wife, ship builder, monk and healer to come forward, the remaining company was told to remain hidden and silent.
"We do not need to announce our presence more than we already have, there is no visible way to pass around," Ragnar said to them catching his breath.
"Destroy an entire village so we may simply pass through it?" Athelstan said irritated.
"Not destroy." Lagertha said.
"Just kill all those who live there," Floki added, "and take what supplies we might need."
"We will enter swiftly and silently, the quieter we are able to be the better." Ragnar wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Like a game." Floki smiled twirling his ax. Though shaded by the trees the day had been clear and warm causing everyone's clothes to stick to their skin.
"We should wait for night fall, our best chance will be while they sleep," Frigga joined. An astonished expression fell over the group.
"Will the moon's light not give us away?" Rollo asked stepping beside Frigga their sides nearly touching.
"Us?" Frigga looked up to him. "Your shoulder is no where near well enough for use."
"I am sorry my brother." Ragnar placed his hand on Rollo's shoulder. "She is right. The fewer the people the slyer we will be." With a clenched jaw Rollo looked back down at Frigga.
"And what will keep you from getting killed?" he asked in a low growl. Without waiting for an answer Rollo turned to walk away, leaving the accidental sensation of his touch upon her hand as he brushed passed.
The sun had long since disappeared over the trees and was quickly replaced by its cooler, darker counterpart. Although, tonight a bright, red ring encircled the large moon, twisting in the humidity and heat- the blood on the moon told of bad things to come. Rollo had been right; it was brighter than ever and the moon began casting shadows as it climbed higher in the sky.
"Do you know what today is, Ragnar?" Floki whispered excitedly, Ragnar shook his head unknowing. "It is the eve of Lithasblot! Now we will have a sacrifice for the Gods on this festive night."
The small company could not wait any longer in the shadows; Ragnar gave the signal to descend upon the sleepy village. Lagertha had slid through the brush and soundlessly moved through the town, Floki had followed closely behind eagerly taking cover beneath an open window. Lastly, Athelstan, Frigga and Ragnar moved as one through the village and took their positions in the shadows of the houses. From the wooded hillside the rest of the company kept their ears alert for any sound of alarm. In the village each of the five ghosts began clearing houses without concern. Tucked in their beds, the villagers were thanked for serving a higher cause before a blade slid soundlessly across their throats. The last home was awaiting invasion; however, Floki had grown too bold and ever more daring with each household slain. Leaping through the window of the final home, Floki was greeted with a giant fist that could have easily crushed his face. Tumbling to the ground Floki chuckled at the blood running from his nose until he noticed his ax was no longer in his hand and the man before him nearly reached the ceiling. The man had raised the fallen ax over his broad shoulder and quickly stampeded to the fallen ship builder. Before Floki could begin his scramble he suddenly witnessed an arm wrap around the man's neck and a blade rip swiftly through his throat. Showered in a fan of blood, the man practically fell on top of Floki who was backed against the wall. Standing before him, Floki could see his sister's arms dripping with crimson and her delicate hands clutching a dagger. Breathless and silent they stared at each other while the man's life spilled over the floor. You can trust me brother, Frigga's eyes pleaded as she held out her stained hand to him. Floki wiped the blood from his face, wrapped his hand around hers and for a brief instant he believed what his sister said to be true.
A/N: Oh boy, I didn't notice how many times Frigga is left standing alone probably thinking 'what the heck just happened?' but I feel like that constantly so I had to add it.