So, I've updated most of the previous chapters, fixed a few continuity errors and some spelling, and added a few scenes. If you haven't already read them, you may want to, although there are no huge changes.
Annie watched Ragnar from across the simple table, as he held his head. She knew he was utterly confused by all that had been revealed in the last few weeks, but she couldn't comfort him, not now.
Her grandfather had invited them into his hovel, and brought around a pair of chairs. The little home was simple, but seemed to be well maintained. A bed, a table and a few chairs and such. No ornamentation whatsoever, and little comfort.
"Grandfather," She began when they had been seated, "Why, why did you leave me twelve years ago? You left me with my bastard of a father! Alone!"
The old man looked away, shame burning on his cheeks.
"Annie… Your father turned the Council against me," He said, looking away towards the hovels single window, "Once your mother died, I knew I had a limited amount of time… I stayed as long as I could, truly!"
She was forced to believe the old man, the politics of the Council were notorious for changing within a short timeframe, and her father had never liked his father-in-law. Only her mother had kept them from each other's throats.
Annie remembered him from her young childhood, before her father had started her training. He had always been kind to her.
When her mother had died giving birth to what would have been Annie's younger sibling, that thin barrier of sanity had vanished. Annie was forced to believe her grandfather.
I must give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Fine, I can believe that, but, why are you here?"
"I… knew of King Hoenor from when he visited us all those years ago," Tobias said finally after a momentary pause, "My great-great something or another grandfather had been friends with him, and Hoenor had told him that he was going to found a city that the Council couldn't get its hands into. So when I decided I need to leave, I set out to find it. As you can see, I did."
Annie snorted.
"You don't believe me, Annie?"
"No, I believe you, but…"
Ragnar thankfully interrupted her before she could say anything that she might regret.
"Master," He asked, "Why did my father send us to talk to you?"
Annie sat back, knowing that Ragnar had once again rescued her from an awkward situation.
"The King and I made a deal," Her grandfather said, "I would teach his best man, Luigi, who would teach you. However, I'm guessing that you father would like me to complete your training. So, let's be about it."
Annie and Ragnar watched in surprise as the old man grabbed a few things, slung them into a pack and made for the door.
So little hesitation…
"Wha…"
The old man turned at the door, looking back at them.
"Come now, we must return to the capital," When they hesitated to follow, "I can't train you, not here. We need to return to Yggadrasil. Now come."
They followed him outside towards their horses.
"How could you let him slip so badly in his studies? A month with no organized training sessions?"
Master Tobias held Luigi down, having flipped him easily when they'd first greeted each other.
"Ma- Master," Luigi was having trouble speaking with Tobias on his chest, "It has been a rather hectic time for all of us."
Snorting, Tobias stood, putting his foot down on the younger man's chest.
"There is no excuse to fall behind on the training of the Way. I'll be training him from now on."
Annie and Ragnar watched from a comfortable distance as the Tobias allowed Luigi up, they embraced and began to speak in a low whisper.
"Your grandfather sure has a strange way of greeting people," Ragnar quipped from next to her.
She looked up at him.
"This is coming from the guy whose brother cut off his arms as a way to say hello?"
They both shared a laugh.
The ride back to Yggadrasil had been rather quiet, her grandfather setting the pace. It had been well past noon when they'd rode in, confronted by surging crowds looking to catch a glimpse of one of Ragnar's brothers.
Freyr Mosher, like all of King Hoenor's sons, shared his thick build. But his eyes were the blue of his father, and his hair was brown. He also appeared to be beloved by the people, for they flocked towards him with flowers, looking just to touch him, or receive a glance. A vastly different entrance from the ones that Annie, Ragnar and her grandfather had to resort to. It had taken them nearly an hour to make it through the crowds, but finally they'd arrived at the Royal Apartments, dirty and tired, to little fanfare except for Eleanor and Luigi chastising them once again for running off without a single guard.
Luigi had been surprised to see his Master, though, and now Master Tobias had Luigi pulled to the side, while Annie stood with Ragnar and Eleanor. Prince Freyr, who Eleanor said was the current Crown Prince, finally arrived at the Palace.
Ragnar watched with wary eyes as his older brother saw him and approached.
"Ho, Ragnar," His brother called out, "I have heard much tale about you these past few days! Is it true that you defeated Feyd Hninga? And that you've taken as a bride a she-wolf from the Wall? Many strange tales have come to me on the road from Alfheim."
Annie watched Ragnar's arms twitch in agitation.
He really wants to hit his brother.
But Ragnar relaxed and plastered a smile across his face. She could see from the tension and the way his eyes still spat venom that it was totally fake.
"Hello, Freyr. Yes, I defeated the coward Feyd in a duel yesterday," He turned and gestured to Annie, "And this is my companion, Annie."
Freyr approached her, but stopped when he noted her cold eyes boring into his own. He took a step back, and bowed.
This one isn't as fearless as Suttungr or Ragnar.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Annie."
She held her silence, and he looked up, shock on his eyes as she turned away from him.
The only way I could've been more insulting is if I turned up my nose at him! Ha!
A pinch brought her back to reality, as Ragnar stood close behind her and squeezed her side. His intentions were clear. Annie bowed in turn.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, as well, Prince Freyr."
He smiled, but was interrupted before he could return any faux- politeness.
"So the she-wolf speaks," A woman of middling height and weight, with long flowing hair tied up into a pair of pigtails, said snidely from behind Freyr with a high, fluting voice. "I'm surprised that the Death Prince was able to convince any mildly intelligent woman to bed with him!"
Annie's vision clouded with anger, and Ragnar put a restraining hand upon her shoulder to keep her from attacking. Freyr stood and look at the woman.
"Helga, now is not the time to be so confrontational," He said, distaste curling his lip, "Let us go and visit with my dear mother, if you will excuse us Ragnar."
Ragnar dipped his head in acknowledgment, but both he and Annie watched them walk away with cold eyes.
"Ragnar, who was that?"
"My brother, Freyr." He said lamely, trying to not have that conversation.
"The woman, moron!"
He hesitated for a moment, trying to stall the situation until Annie's anger had abated some. She punched him in the ribs when he'd hesitated too long.
"Fine… That was Helga Laudstrom," The pigtailed woman entered the palace, and Ragnar turned to look at Annie, "Her family is a client of the Hninga… And she was Gersemi's childhood best friend. She is also a conniving bitch. So you better watch out, Annie. She will goad you into doing something foolish."
Annie gave Ragnar a look of innocence, "Me, Ragnar, do something foolish?"
He smiled, and she dropped the act, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair.
Afi chose that moment to present himself into the courtyard before Ragnar.
"My Lord and Lady," He stated, bowing low, "I have several invitations for you for the upcoming Founding Festival"
He produced a dozen small cards, each marked with the seal of a different Noble house. The coiled snake of the Hninga was not among them, Ragnar noted with relief. But the dancing bear of the Styr's, the pouncing Lion of the MacDowell's, and the frozen stag of the Oswald's were, and those three were all great houses.
"I took some time to go through them, my lord," Afi stated, "There are three for the both of you, and nine for the Lady Annie by herself."
Annie looked at the old man.
"Afi, you do not have to call me 'My Lady'."
"Yes, Milady."
She rolled her eyes in annoyance as Ragnar looked through the invitations.
"Well, Annie, it seems that you've won yourself some fans," He held out the cards which carried only her name, "They are all houses that have rallied against the Hninga before."
Annie shook her head in disgust at some of the attempted spellings of her name, but took them and read through each of them. One of them contained the offer of a marriage. She ripped that one up and threw the pieces on the ground. Then handed the letters back to Afi.
"I will not go unless Ragnar accompanies me. No exceptions."
She saw Ragnar's eyes soften for a moment as he gazed at her. Afi looked through the letters.
"My Lord," He held up the three invitations from the Great Houses, "I'm guessing that I should send confirmation of your attendance to these?"
Ragnar nodded.
"I shall send Annie's demand back to these others," He turned and hobbled back towards the Royal apartments.
The sun was hanging low in the sky, as Annie and Ragnar finally took notice that they were alone except for a pair of guards.
"Well, today sure did seem to fly by," Ragnar quipped. He reached out and took hold of one of Annie's bangs, "Your hair is getting longer. I like it."
Her hand immediately went to her hair, which hung down to her chin now.
My hair hasn't been this long since I was a little girl, father always made me keep it short. But if Ragnar likes it, maybe I should keep it…
"Well, that's good. Should we go to bed?"
Ragnar immediately perked up at her last sentence, but when she glared at him he smiled slyly and chuckled.
"How about I show you the Royal Gardens?"
And then he was walking away, not giving her a choice. She jogged for a moment to catch up to him.
They walked into a hedge maze, with huge walls of plant life stretching upwards around them. Dozens of lamps had been lit down the path, and Ragnar led her down the path.
"I've never actually been able to walk about here freely before," He said from beside her, slipping his hand into hers, "My childhood memories of this place are… different."
Their footsteps faded into silence as they came to a halt in front of a marble bench, Ragnar sat and pulled Annie down next to him. They looked at each other after a moment.
"Annie… you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met," She blushed, but maintained eye contact, "I know I sent you out with Eleanor to get clothes made… however, you are my companion, so for all intents and purposes you are a princess…"
He pulled a box out of the folds of his cloak, and handed it to her.
"I want to make sure you look like a princess."
She opened the box, and found herself looking at a golden masterpiece. It looked like a piece of chainmail, but with golden links, that wrapped around her neck and fell to her chest. Ivory and a dozen kinds of jewel studded it in an intricate pattern that shone in the light with a brilliance Annie hadn't thought possible.
Her eyes widened as she gazed down at it. Ragnar was sitting uncomfortably next to her, not knowing what her reaction would be. When she turned and laid the box down on the bench beside her, his heart sank.
"Do you not like-"
Annie was upon him like a lioness, forcing them off of the back of the bench. They crashed to the ground, but Ragnar didn't protest, for Annie's lips had found his. With a slight hesitation, Ragnar's hands began to move…
"Uncle Ragnar!"
Annie felt her cheeks heating, as she rolled off of Ragnar to find Suttungr's children standing at the end of the walkway…
Oh, no, how long have they been there?
Stuttering with embarrassment, Ragnar stood and looked at the children. Fridrek launched himself into Ragnar's arms, while little Kolfinna and Gudrid hugged Annie. Astrid, the only one who knew what Ragnar and Annie had actually been doing, stood back, a slight quirk to her lips.
"Aunt Annie, why did you attack Uncle Ragnar?" Kolfinna asked innocently. Astrid laughed as Annie's faced turned a shade of red that shouldn't have been humanly possible.
"I… I didn't attack him!"
"Then why did you jump on him and start biting him?"
Annie looked down into the dark eyes of the little girl, whose blonde hair was so similarly colored to her own, and saw her own past.
Ragnar broke the scenes tension by lifting Fredrik above his head and spinning around, to the amazement of the two younger children, who ran over and asked if they could have a turn. Ragnar happily obliged.
"Aunt Annie," Astrid said, having come over from where she had been hiding, "I wanted to talk to you about something…"
Annie's mind immediately evaluated the situation as likely to end awkwardly. But Ragnar was having fun with the other children, so she had to stay. It was strange though.
"You… did you see Mama Fastvi get killed?"
The question shocked her, and her eyes shot wide. But Annie gritted her teeth and looked towards Ragnar, who had begun to drift away from Astrid and Annie. Annie sighed.
"Yes, Astrid," Annie confessed, feeling a great weight lifted from her shoulders. "She… I definitely saw her be dismembered by the Surtr."
The younger girl's eyes set themselves likes stones, and Annie felt a sudden urge to flee. Then she began to cry. Luckily, Ragnar had moved even further away with the younger children, though he looked back periodically to check on them.
"They… they took Ivar," She said through her tears, looking at the ground, "And now they took Mama Fastvi… Aunt Annie, how do I stop them from taking away more people?"
Annie had never been put into so awkward a position, and with Ragnar keeping the other children entertained, she was on her own.
"Learn to fight, do not rely on anyone else to protect you." Annie whispered.
"You, you're a good fighter, Annie," Astrid said, tiny bit of hope lighting up her face, "Will you teach me?"
Annie thought about it… she'd showed Eren how to fight, though he'd been incredibly gifted when it came to close quarter combat.
"Yes," She whispered again, then shifted gears, "Do you know how to dance?"
A confused look came over Astrid's face, but she nodded.
"Good, I will teach you how to fight, and you will teach me how to dance. A fair trade. Now, it's getting late, let's go."
Ragnar waited patiently for Annie, who had been taking quite a long time in the bathroom.
"Annie, we have to get down to the starting ceremony!"
He heard a muffled curse from the bathroom, and then the door cracked. Annie emerged, wearing a black dress, with the necklace he had given her wrapped around her neck.
"Sorry," She apologized, "I was having a hard time getting the necklace to stay on."
Ragnar just stared, dumbstruck.
"What?" Annie growled.
"Nothing, you look lovely. Now let's go, we don't want to be late."
The Throne Room was packed to capacity, with every noble from around Jotunheim attending the Founding Day ceremony. King Hoenor was majestic in a cloak of blue, a simple gold circlet upon his head. Chaos swirled around him as men and women attempted to find their places. Into this chaos, Ragnar and Annie attempted to make their way to their place at the foot of the throne.
"All be seated!" Dugan MacArthur called out above the cacophony, "Let the Ceremony begin!"
It took another few minutes for everyone to get situated, but at the end of it, the seven Princes of Jotunheim stood arrayed with their women at the base. Ragnar was at the far end to the right, while Suttungr was at the opposite end. Ragnar's brother Sigmund, four years his senior, stood directly next to him. They made eye contact briefly, but Sigmund turned his nose up. Ragnar thought he heard Luigi growl from behind him, but he didn't dare look.
Bastard.
A silence now pervaded the throne room. Into this the King spoke.
"Another pair of years has passed, and here we find ourselves once again on the Founding Day. When I founded Jotunheim all those years ago…"
His father spoke on for several minutes, and Ragnar resigned himself to listen to the droll affair.
At least Annie's here.
She was squirming in the dress, pulling at the buttons that seemed to be slightly too tight.
His father spoke of how the harvest had gone, another year of impressive yields, and of the founding of another village to the north, Elfheim. He joked of needing another child, to which the Queen, seated beside him snorted, and the entire audience laughed. Then he grew serious.
"Now, I must regretfully speak of War," His father said, "It seems that the Surtr, those traitorous bastards, are on the move once again. Since my son, Suttungr has returned to me, I have received sixteen reports of raids by the Surtr eight times as many as had happened in the last year. They are a plague upon our land, and at the conclusion, I intend to send forth the Royal Army to remove the threat they represent."
He gestured to Freyr, who turned to face the crowd.
"Prince Freyr shall lead this expedition, accompanied by Suttungr, Sigurd and Skirnir," He paused, as the other sons turned to face the crowd, then he swept his hand to Ragnar, "And also Ragnar."
A gasp went up from the crowd. The King never involved Ragnar in royal affairs, he was a persona non grata within the inner workings of the kingdom, the son who was only to be tolerated. To have him be a part of this expedition was… wrong.
The Lord Hninga, who looked like Feyd, but older, stepped forward from his position, and called out to the King.
"My King, how can you think to send that beast into battle, to lead our men to defeat," He called, snide contempt holding reign in his voice, "His blood is cursed!"
The King looked down at the man, and Ragnar noted that his father's eye was ticking.
"My lord Hninga, what did you say?"
"I said that his blood is cursed! He has the blood of a kinslayer!"
Thin wisps of steam began to emanate from his father.
He's raging…
"You had best learn your place my Lord," His father finally said, controlling his anger, "For my blood and the blood of my beloved runs through his veins!"
Ragnar was shocked, this is the first time that his father had ever defended him from the nobles, who each Founding Day took stabs at him. The Nobles shared his shock.
"You will all hear me now," The King said, his voice low, "I have allowed you all to mistreat my own blood for far too long! He shall be a part of this expedition, but he will lead his own men, and not the men of any of the great houses."
Then the ceremony regained its composure, Lord Hninga stepped back to be with his family, a scowl upon his face, and his father called forth Suttungr in the Swearing of the Oath's ceremony.
Six times the Princes of Jotunheim swore allegiance to their father, using their title and the city that they ruled, and then Ragnar stepped up the first step. He kneeled down, right fist to the floor, the left to his right shoulder.
"Do you, Ragnar Mosher, swear to uphold all of my laws, to promote justice in any lands that I grant you, and to serve me unswervingly?"
His father's voice, so much like his own, seemed so near to him. Ragnar turned his head to look into his father's eyes.
"I, Ragnar Mosher, the Death Prince of Jotunheim," The crowd stirred, as Ragnar didn't use his usual 'The Prince of Vanirheim', and instead used the title, the title that they had bestowed upon him.
And the title that I shall make my own!
"I accept your oath, Ragnar Mosher, Death Prince of Jotunheim, now rise, and be restored to your place!"
Ragnar returned to his place next to Annie, who shot a questioning glance towards him, as the crowds took a knee, and recited the same oath that Ragnar himself had just taken. Then the Princes turned to the Nobles and bowed.
The King, now standing, swept out his arms, and shouted.
"Let the Founding Festival begin!"