Wonderlands

by Kyvena

Alice Zuberg, a living mortal girl, is the eldest daughter to a wealthy family that specializes in VRMMORPG games, is caught in the game of pure survival. Sword Art Online. Finding pure freedom in this opportunity due to the circumstances of her real life that she found absolutely miserable was a blessing. Once released from the game, the lines of virtual and reality began to blur.

12. Wonderland Of Honor

I'm pretty positive that there will only be one more chapter after this!

As always,

Enjoy!

~Kyvena

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~12: Wonderland Of Honor~

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Now that it had been made rather apparent that Alice witnessed herself as nothing more than a burden, Sigtryggr now sat outside with Selko with a frown to tell him what she had said to him, only for the brother-in-law to chuckle, "Well, if I knew how to deal with this problem, I would give you my advice. However, I don't know how to deal with this in the slightest. You dispatched with Frida by using my advice to kill the bitch. Though, I don't know if Alice even knows who she is anymore."

Inside of the home, Katla approached Alice while holding a few letters that were for her in specific, "Allie, a few letters have come specifically for you. One is from King Ragnall, one is from King Edward, one is from Lady Ealhswith concerning her granddaughter, Aelfwynn, and one is from a man named Aethelwold." Holding her hand out, all of the letters were placed in her hand before Katla stroked those long locks, "I'll leave you to your work then. If you need me, please let me know."

With the door closing, Alice sighed and opened Ragnall's letter, only to skim over that if she didn't feel comfortable, she was welcome to come and stay with him. Tossing the letter to hit the ground, Alice skipped Edward's letter to open Ealhswith's letter, asking for help with her granddaughter's safety since Edward took over the throne of Mercia and drove her out. After Alfred's death, Ealhswith had actually began to open up to her over advice concerning family since she, too, was a mother.

Tucking that letter in her shorts, Alice then moved to Edwards letter, noticing that he was asking if he knew where his niece was, but noticed the word safety had been written almost as if furious, but had also asked for her help in battle. What troubled her the most was the fact that none of this was in Edwards handwriting. Gaining a bad feeling over this letter, she tucked this letter in her shorts to give to Ealhswith out of deep concern and respect for Aethelflaed that had recently died.

Reaching the final letter, she opened it to see this man calling himself the rightful King, and also asking for shelter for a while to negotiate over terms that might benefit her. Standing, packing a bag, and lacing her blades around her hips, Fenrir's head popped up to look at her with his head cocked to the side until she pat her leg, "Come." Walking to Katla, she spoke sternly, "Katla, I need for you to watch over my children during my absence. I'm unsure of how long I'll be gone, so please."

Nodding her head, Alice smiled and rushed out of the side of the home before Fenrir scooped her up to begin running before she spoke out, "We should be arriving soon!" With how fast Fenrir was, it was almost like teleporting from one spot to the next within the blink of an eye. Slowing his pace, Alice jumped down before rolling to the ground before Fenrir took regular size as Alice took a deep breath as she walked inside while singing to alert Ealhswith that she was now in the town to help.

This bustling city went quiet extremely quick the moment that she began to sing beautifully as her ankle long trio colored locks blew in the wind, only for her to be handed a flower by a child that made her smile softly. Aelfwynn, hearing the town going silent, looked out of the window to hear Alice singing before speaking, "Oh wow, she sounds so beautiful! Grandmother, look!" Hearing that crystal clear voice, Ealhswith quickly grabbed her granddaughter's hand, "Aelfwynn, hurry now!"

Pulling their hoods up, Ealhswith walked out for Alice to stop at Aelfwynn and hand her that flower that she had been gifted. Taking the young girl's hand, along with Ealhswith's hand to lead them out. Getting them safely out of the town, Alice spoke softly and handed over a letter to Ealhswith to explain softly, "I received this letter from Edward. I noticed some impurities about it. I know what Edward's handwriting looks like, and realized that someone else wrote it and used his seal."

As she walked, she pulled her hood up as her eyes shifted back slightly the moment that she began to hear multiple sets of footsteps, along with the sounds of clanking of blades against legs. Shifting her eyes forward, Alice spoke in a lowered tone of voice, "Don't panic and keep acting natural and walk… there are three men behind us that are here with malicious intent. Aelfwynn, Ealhswith, I need you to trust my judgement and take hold of Fenrir's collar." Both nodded and did as told.

Turning around as the women continued walking, Alice slowly approached the men with a dangerous look that was mistaken as an overly seductive appearance. Tracing the jaw of one of the men, the leading man realized who this was and swore, "Fuck! It's Alice! She's helping them escape!" Snapping her head around, Alice yelled, "Fenrir, now! Get them to Ragnar! They will be safe with him!" Right then, Fenrir took full form and bolted, only to be so fast that he didn't hear Alice struck.

Hit in the gut abruptly, Alice leaned forward gasping harshly as she was shoved to her knees and had her wrists bound behind her back as she coughed harshly, only for the man to smirk, "The boss has also been asking to have you handed over." Lifted, Alice was thrown over a saddle before a man sat behind her body, only to be knocked unconscious. Taking off with the lass in tow, he did make sure to pull her mass loads of hair over her back so the horse didn't step on it and rip it out.

They couldn't exactly go after Aelfwynn because they had no idea where Ragnar currently was. That man was always on the move while taking over strongholds that had been reclaimed. Each time they would think that they had found him, they would ride inside to see a dead soldier sitting up with a thin piece of wood that held writing in the soldier's blood claiming, 'So CLOSE! Ya just missed me! Try not bowing your head when ya pray, and maybe you might actually catch me! -Ragnar.'

Riding inside of the camp that had frozen waters surrounding it, Alice awoke in a groggy manner before tossed to the ground to shock her awake in front of this man's boss as he spoke, "We found someone better than Aelfwynn. We found Alice. She helped Aelfwynn and Ealhswith escape on her wolf. Excuse me for asking, but won't this just infuriate Sigtryggr?" Nodding, he chuckled out, "Not just Sigtryggr, but Ragnar as well. Since Edward has no backbone, we will recapture Eoferwic."

"Who in the nine realms are you? You don't appear important. You are more like a coward with how you couldn't catch me yourself. I would've been more impressed if the man that had actually captured me were the one running the show. I mean, not many men can hit me and truly phase me, but he was the one that accomplished the task at hand. If I were a soldier, I'd follow him," she dryly exclaimed, making the man that had captured her to appear amused over Alice's sharp tongue.

Looking closer at this man, her brows then lifted once she finally remembered this man, "Lord Aethelhelm, of course it's you. I never liked your ugly mug. Tell me, if both Sigtryggr and Ragnar attacked, would you actually fight them, or would you run away like a cockroach," she furiously questioned before spitting at his feet. Closing her eyes, she internally sent for aid to one person that had never expected the message, "Leif, I need you to keep Sigtryggr safe. He's being lured to a trap."

Opening her eyes once Leif shot awake from gaining the message from Alice, he quickly gathered his men and left the shores of Vinland to head to Sigtryggr. Closing her eyes again, she then sent a similar internal message, "Ragnall, Sigtryggr is being lured to a trap due to me being held as a captive, keep him safe for me." Ragnall then perked up in an alarmed manner when he heard the message, only to groan, "Dammit, of course this would happen to her! Men, we now sail to England!"

Sliding her eyes open, Alice gained a challenging look, "Are you sure that you wish to keep a seer of all people as your captive?" Lord Aethelhelm noticed Alice's cocky smirk and heard her comment, only to scowl, "Since you seem to like your captor that much, you may stay with him instead of gaining your own tent. If he takes you by force, do you think I will care?" Shrugging, Alice gave a burst of laughter, "Well, at least he's an accomplished man that holds honor through battle."

"Tell me, where did your mutt even take Ealhswith and Aelfwynn," he growled out angrily, making Alice chuckle and shrug, "Even I don't know that. I tend to never know where Ragnar will strike." Lord Aethelhelm then scowled deeply, "Then how would he know where to go?!" The man that had captured Alice then spoke in a dry tone, "This is just a wild guess, but since he's a massive wolf, he could probably smell where Ragnar was from a great distance away." Alice nodded, "Precisely."

Fanning Alice to be taken away while scoffing, the man lifted Alice into his arms before speaking, "Her own tent, sir?" Alice nudged him with her elbow while winking, "Oh no, I get to snuggle with you." This made him purse his lips to not snort out a laugh before turning away as Alice hollered out, "Don't let our loud moans keep you awake tonight, Lord Aethelhelm!" Carried to this man's tent, Alice was placed on his bed before he sat at his desk to begin writing to hear, "What's your name?"

Looking over with surprised lifted brows, he answered, "My name's Magni." Alice smiled at him softly as she replied, "Ah, just like Thor's son. Of course a Christian would use a Viking to his advantage." Magni chuckled at this softly as he began writing again, "Well, we are all given two choices in life. We are either the master blacksmith, or the weapons that he creates." Alice shook her head at this, "Your missing the third choice." This made him shift his eyes over at her, "Meaning?"

Wasting no time, Alice spoke as she hit the trigger on her ring for the blade to pop out from the ring to begin sawing away at her bindings, "The third choice… There are those who wield those masterfully crafted blades, only to slay the blacksmith that wish to control our destiny." Feeling her bindings fall from her, she flipped the blade back inside of her ring to smirk as she placed her hands in her lap, making this man stand abruptly before she chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't cause trouble."

"How did you do that," he asked in a puzzled tone, only for her to wiggle her fingers at him, "Seitr." Noticing his dry face, Alice could only burst into laughter before flipping a switch on her ring with a smile, "It's rather clever, don't you agree?" Nodding, he then leaned back in his chair while facing her, "So, you could have killed him. Why didn't you?" Sitting back, Alice smirked teasingly, "And ruin the fun surprise that I alerted, and is now on its way? Well, that would be no fun at all!"

Groaning and pressing two fingers against her forehead, she continued, "Besides, I'd rather not piss off Edward by being a fool. Even though we aren't married any longer, my actions would reflect on Sigtryggr, and I really don't want to get him hurt due to Edward not even knowing that him and I are no longer married." With the sun setting, Magni blew out his candle before removing his top for the freezing cold air to hit all of his muscles, forcing them to instantly tense and bulge out.

Closing the tent to let no light in, he then heard Alice quiver out, "Will… Will ya hurry up? It… It's freezing!" Chuckling at her, Magni climbed into bed to smash her against him. All he could see was her mass loads of hair until her sparkling eyes flicked up to gaze upon his handsome face. Dipping his face down, his lips lightly brushed against her own, making her press closer as she began unlacing his pants, only for him to remove her attire and force her to her back before pushing inside.

Oh, she planned to be as loud as possible since Aethelhelm's tent was right beside the tent they were in. Magni kissed up the inside of her thigh that he had lifted, making her realize that the inside of her thighs were beyond sensitive, considering she cried out while threading her hands through her mass loads of hair sensually. He hadn't known that a woman could be this beautiful, so he yanked her up to press tightly against his chest as he roughly and deeply pressed inside of her body.

Moving her hips against his once she took hold of his shoulders, Alice took immense pleasure in this playtime that had awoken Aethelhelm now. Sitting up, Alice squeaked once she was tugged onto his lap for her to work, only for her to slam his back down to grip his shoulders as he took hold of her hips for them both to take pleasure in each other. With a pounding heart, Alice paused to take frantic breaths of air before they continued well into the new day, only to collapse once done.

Swiftly falling asleep, Magni brushed her sweaty locks away from her face as she took even breaths. He had never once held a sex that good, and just as he covered them up and laid down to finally gain some rest after that, his head shot up once Aethelhelm yelled out, "MAGNI, GET OUT HERE!" With Alice startled awake from the sudden shouting, he hushed her to calm her spastically beating heart before whispering, "Get some rest Alice." Groggily, she mumbled, "Just… call me… Allie…"

Leaning forward, Magni kissed her lips before getting out of bed to tug new pants, top, and black leather gloves on, only to sit beside her to tug his knee-high boots on. Standing, he laced his belt on and placed his winter cape on, only to turn back towards the sleeping goddess appearing lass to pull the fur blanket over her sleeping form before lightly stroking her cheek. Exiting his tent feeling like a new damn man, he approached Aethelhelm to speak out evenly, "You called for me, sir?"

Noticing that Aethelhelm looked as if he were something that the cat dragged in, he cleared his throat of the laughter that he wished to release, Magni waited until spoken to, "I can see that you wasted no time at all to test the warm waters. Now, I have a task for you as your newest bitch sleeps." Handed a letter, Magni looked down at it before taking it, "Where am I to deliver this?" Aethelhelm folded his arms as he spoke aloud venomously, "You are to leave now to take this to Sigtryggr."

Peering up, Magni cleared his throat, "What of Alice?" Aethelhelm flicked his hand to dismiss Magni, making him turn away and grab the reins of his horse to begin walking out of the camp. Once Magni could no longer be seen, Aethelhelm walked inside of the tent Alice was inside of before pulling the fur blanket down, only to undress and stroke himself before he shackled Alice's wrists behind her back and pinned her down so that he could begin thrusting inside of her, shocking her awake.

Looking back with horrified eyes, Alice released a scream since she was now shackled up and pinned down with no way of fighting back, "Get off of me, you shriveled up prune!" Meeting his release fairly quick, he dragged her nude frame outside to place a bar between her shackles to keep her anchored down before yelling out, "Whoever wants a turn with the heathen bitch, may have it!" Alice then spat in this man's face, "Yes, because your five second humping fest was so desirable!"

"Lord Aethelhelm, heathen or not, this is disrespectful to someone who can't even put up a fight in return," one young man yelled out in her defense, only to be pushed away by older men that began using her body relentlessly to get all of their frustrations out. By the end of the day, Alice was thrown to the ground in utter exhaustion. She endured this for weeks until Magni finally returned after being gone for the time meant to be gone, but had torn the letter up on the day he had left.

Freezing and filthy with mud and semen plastering her skin and hair by this point, Alice was now on the cold, muddy, ground while curled up in a ball in the attempts to gain warmth. Sighing, Magni tied his horse in the stables before hearing shivering whimpers. Confused, he gave his horse a few pats before walking out. About to call to Aethelhelm, he tripped over the nude lass to fall. Groaning, he sat up and shot his head back to witness what he had tripped over… only to see Alice.

Swiftly pulling out his blade and breaking her bindings, Alice fell forward to hit the ground, making him panic and hurriedly removed his warmed traveling cape, only to wrap it around her freezing and filthy body in complete worry, "Allie!" Shooting her head up, Alice wrapped her arms around the back of his neck to pull him close as she sobbed against his neck, "Mag… Magni!" Bundling her up, Magni lifted her body up that had obviously not been given much to eat, and held her close to him.

Walking to his tent, Magni placed her on the bed after brought warm water and a rag by the sweet young man that had witnessed her finally being freed, only to whisper everything that had happened to Alice while he had been away. Dousing the rag, he began to clean her body and hair until she sparkled. Looking around for her clothing, the young man then told him that Aethelhelm had confiscated all of her attire. Asking for the young man to bring her food, he nodded and dashed off.

"Allie, I'll be right back so we can fully get those shackles off of you," he softly commented, making her innocently nod as the young man re-entered with a steaming bowl of soup before he sat down to begin feeding her the meal with gentle eyes that showed that he wasn't going to place a single harming hand on her. Exiting the tent, he stopped in front of Aethelhelm's tent to notice that he now held her blades to inspect them, only to enter furiously, "You will be returning Allie's things!"

Peering up, Aethelhelm chuckled, "I'll do no such thing. These blades, along with her dagger, all now belong to me." Pulling his own blade out, Magni pointed it to Aethelhelm's throat while speaking, "You always claim that there are only two types of people in this world, but Allie believes that there is a third, and honestly… I have to agree with her. There are cowards believing that they hold all of the power, tools that can only do as told, and warriors that will kick your ass with no shame!"

Holding massive eyes over this brute of a man, unable to speak as Magni continued, "I will have to say that you fall under the first category! If Sigtryggr were to attack us right now, you would shame your own honor by hiding behind your tools so that you can run away! You are no warrior, so stop playing pretend to act as if you hold any damn honor! Now, give Allie's belongings to me before I forcefully remove them!" Everything was swiftly handed over with widened eyes, clearly in fear.

Picking all of her belongings up and turning away, Magni then stopped the moment Aethelhelm barked out, "She must have placed an evil spell over you! Witchcraft is punishable by death!" Magni then turned his head to peer at this man angrily, "She's no witch. Alice is a Pagan seer, which means that she can relay the message of the Gods. However, she's too pure to hold dark seitr to cause another so much grief. Her seitr is based on light and love, meaning she's a healer. Get it right."

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Weeks prior to all that had happened to Alice, Fenrir slowly came to a stop to sniff the air before sneezing. Oh yeah, that was Ragnar and his group of the newest Wolf raiders that Alice had personally gave him command over! Aelfwynn stroked Fenrir's head gently as she spoke worriedly, "I wonder if Alice is okay. She never said that she would catch up." This made Fenrir whine until Ealhswith spoke, "Your grandfather put it best that Alice is as crafty as the devil, but is much sweeter."

Snorting, Fenrir began to bound towards the newest stronghold that Ragnar had taken. The massive pup had to internally admit that Ragnar was one tough bastard that was like a pesky fly. No matter how hard one were to try, you simply couldn't swat him away. One could bring a massive militia to face up against him and a small handful of people, and he would still come out on top as the victor. Alice had placed so many gifts on that man so that he would never die a dishonorable death.

Reaching a stronghold, one of the guards began to ring a bell, "Ragnar!" Shifting his head up with a lifted brow, he nodded, "What!" The guard yelled frantically, "Sir, you will want to see this!" Walking up the steps, his brows lifted before leaning against the stone ledge, "Fenrir? Something wrong? Who are they?" Ealhswith and Aelfwynn, not aware that the pup could talk, gained a shocked expression when he did, "This is Ealhswith and Aelfwynn. Alice instructed me to bring them to you."

"Open the gates," Ragnar called, making the gates open for the wolf to enter and lie down to allow the women safe passage off of him. Jumping down from the ledge, Ragnar landed in front of the pup before ruffling his big fluffy head, "What were Allie's instructions?" Fenrir gave a happy whine for the pets before speaking, "Her specific orders were to keep these women safe since you are constantly on the move. You are to treat them both with the utmost loving and honorable respect."

Nodding his head at the massive talking pup, Ragnar held his hands out to the women to help them down before chuckling, "Should any man touch, or even look at either of you in a way that displeases you, or makes you uncomfortable, then I will personally deal with the problem. Alice knows everything about me and knows that I don't tolerate the mistreatment of women, no matter how high their value might be." Aelfwynn, looking lovestruck at this muscle-bound male, took his hand.

Noticing her granddaughter's look towards Ragnar, Ealhswith released a heavy internal groan before speaking nervously, "Then why wouldn't she send us to Sigtryggr?!" Lifting a brow, Ragnar released a rather cute snicker before answering, "Well, Alice isn't an idiot, that's why. She knew taking you to him would be the first place that they would search. However, on my honor, you both will be treated well. Besides, I promised Alfred that I would protect any of his family when in danger."

Scratching the massive pup's head, Ragnar then chuckled out, "I'm going to guess that she placed you on guard duty." Fenrir nodded at this while whining happily over the gifted affection, "Yes, in the case of an emergency, I am to relocate them, you, and your entire clan in the blink of an eye." Snickering, he then leaned on the pup to whisper, "Follow the girl… she might try to get frisky with the younger men." Fenrir could only snort, "I think her gaze is fixed on the most desirable choice."

Lifting a brow, Ragnar looked around curiously, making Fenrir gain a dry expression while grumbling and releasing a heavy snort, "Ragnar, take a good look in the mirror." Smirking in a cocky manner, Ragnar snorted out a laugh the moment Fenrir gained an 'honestly…' expression. Leaning off of Fenrir, he chuckled out, "Well, then she will be left extremely disappointed. My heart will always belong to Allie until the day that I die, so you don't need to worry about me. You can rest with ease."

Walking to both women once Fenrir shifted to become the size of a regular sized wolf, Ragnar held his arms out for both women to take, "I will take you both to your own rooms that you can rest easily in as I prepare the evening meal. You both must be exhausted." Aelfwynn took Ragnar's arm almost instantly to speak to him once Ealhswith took his arm as well, "How long did it take for you to get muscles this big?" Ragnar lifted a brow as he led the two inside, "It took quite some time."

This girl wouldn't shut up about his physique, making him gain a well-hidden look of annoyance that Ealhswith noticed, making her release a massive sigh, "Aelfwynn, act more dignified! Can't you tell that you're annoying him?!" Aelfwynn scoffed heavily, "I'm not speaking to you, grandmother!" Ragnar shifted his gaze to the girl before speaking, "You WILL show your grandmother the respect that she deserves. Now, do as you are told. I won't take you to bed, so stop believing that I will."

Reaching a lavish room, he opened the door for Aelfwynn before pulling his arm away from her, "Remember, I'm a heathen, I am "godless", but I will do as Allie and Alfred have asked of me by keeping you safe. Now, here's your room. Enjoy." Walking away appearing annoyed, Ealhswith chuckled, "Alfred was right about you, Ragnar. You are a good and honorable man. As Alfred put it, "He's the type of man that is worth giving trust to." I see now that my husband's words were true."

Smiling as he led her to another lavish room, Ragnar chuckled softly, "Alfred was a great man that was one of my greatest friends. He was also a man that I held an immense amount of respect for. So, you saying that means a lot to me." Reaching the next room, he opened the door for her before bowing politely, "Please, gain some rest. Fenrir is spying on Aelfwynn to keep her out of trouble. If you hear him barking frantically, he's alerting anyone that she is now being indecent with a man."

Aelfwynn checked out of her room to notice that the coast was clear before slipping out and leaving Fenrir in the room. She wanted to see all of those incredibly desirable men again, especially Ragnar. The moment the door closed; Fenrir's fluffy head shot up once the lass began to hurriedly sneak away. Quickly standing and rushing to the door, Fenrir began to scratch furiously as if attempting to dig a hole through it while beginning to bark furiously, only to sit down to release loud howls.

Ragnar had just started cooking when he heard Fenrir barking and howling in a panic, making him swear under his breath as he stood and turned around to exit to find the little lady searching around. Folding his arms, Ragnar released a dry tone, "Did you drop something? Or are you just that eager to lose your purity? Fuck, don't answer that," he grumbled before he walked forward and gripped her arm to drag her back up to her room, making her scowl, "Release me! I command you!"

"You command me? Oh, that's rich. I respected your mother, but as of now, I have zero respect for you, and how you are currently behaving as if you are no different than a whore on the streets," he spat out before opening her door to throw her inside. Whistling, a few men jogged in as Ragnar ruffled his hair, "Erik, take post over keeping the resident slut inside of her room. None of you are to enter inside, am I understood?" Erik nodded at Ragnar, "Yes Ragnar, we won't let you down."

Ealhswith then walked out after hearing that commotion of Fenrir barking and howling, only to watch Ragnar dragging her granddaughter to her room before placing guards that respected his command in front of Aelfwynn's door. Hearing Aelfwynn banging and kicking the door as if it were locked while yelling, "You can't keep me trapped in here!" Ragnar scoffed a laugh over this, only to muse as he walked away, "Yes I can! You're grounded, Aelfwynn! You may exit once it's time to eat!"

Walking to Ragnar, Ealhswith snorted out a laugh, "Well, if she wanted to be manhandled, then she got her wish." Chuckling, Ragnar made his way back to continue cooking while speaking to Ealhswith, "Well, everyone does always claim that I'm a natural when it comes to parenting. Allie never acted that way though. She was always too busy being glued to my side. I raised her, but it was never really the same as a real father and daughter. I mean, she's only five years younger than me."

Cooking the meal again, he began to place butter over the meat like Alice once had, only for Aelfwynn to open the door to exit before Erik sternly spoke, "You are not to exit yet, Lady Aelfwynn. You heard Ragnar, you're grounded." All of the men standing guard snorted out a laugh at this before full blown bursting into laughter, "Ah, Lady of Mercia one day, and the next… grounded by a group of heathens!" Ragnar lifted his eyes in amusement before hollering, "That's enough, all of you!"

Aelfwynn was now screeching like a banshee, making Fenrir whine and paw at his ringing ears. Ragnar pat Ealhswith's shoulder, "Let me handle this. Poor Fenrir's ears are probably about ready to rupture. Just keep turning the meat slowly." Once she nodded, Ragnar exited again to walk up the stairs before kicking the door open, "Fenrir, get out before you go deaf!" Fenrir bolted so fast that it perplexed all of the men standing watch. Ragnar then slammed the door closed rather furiously.

"You should have had your ass beaten more as a small child, because now you're just a bitchy, hot-tempered, and spoiled little girl! You apparently gained none of the attributes that I honored about your mother! You whine and cry, while your mother was stern and demanded respect! You scream and stomp your feet, while your mother was calm and calculating!" Stepping closer, Ragnar growled, "You attempt to seduce any man, while your mother never dared to tarnish her honor!"

At this point, Ragnar was ripping this little girl a new one, considering he stepped even closer with clear fury, "You're as weak as a newborn babe that holds no skills to fight or defend herself, while your mother was a proud and ruthless warrior that knew how to use a blade in battle! Now then, Alice saved your ass, so why not show some damn gratitude?!" Aelfwynn then fumed further, "Gratitude?! I'm prisoner!" Ragnar got in her face with clear fury, "YOU'RE ALIVE! SO BE GRATEFUL!"

Snapping away, he began to walk away until ramming the door open, "Now, as I said, you're GROUNDED until it's time for the evening meal." Erik gave Ragnar a firm pat on his back, making him release a breath once he closed the door, only for Erik to smile, "You're worried about Allie, aren't you. Don't worry about her, she's as tough as they come, and you should know that far better than any of us that now stand here. By the Gods, she's tougher than all of us that now stand here!"

By the time the evening meal was finished, Ragnar covered Fenrir's ears as he yelled, "Aelfwynn, you may now come out of your room!" Aelfwynn, holding the stubbornness that surpassed any damn Viking, sat on her bed pouting and silently fuming. Groaning, he then walked up the stairs, but Fenrir didn't want to be subjected to that screeching again, so he glued to Ealhswith's side. Patting the shoulder of each of his men, Ragnar motioned his head, "You all, go on to eat and drink."

Nodding their heads, they left before Ragnar opened the door, "Aelfwynn, come and ogle all of my men that will end up half naked. They need a pretty little lady to give them doting eyes." Aelfwynn folded her arms and kept her gaze away from Ragnar, "No thank you. I have no desire to do such things. I ESPECIALLY don't want to eat with you!" Approaching her, he crouched down and gave her hand a light pat, "Stop being so damn stubborn missy, or I will force ya to come and eat."

"I'd like to see you try," she huffed, making Ragnar stand and grip her before tossing the lass over his shoulder. Walking out, he chuckled once she hit the back of his head and yelled, "You are such a HEATHEN!" Ragnar snorted a laugh out at this, "Missy, are ya just now remembering that I am a heathen? What about Allie, is she a heathen?" This startled Aelfwynn as she settled down to give her answer, "Alice is nothing like you! She's beautiful, kind, and strong! While you are just a brute!"

Lifting a brow, Ragnar chuckled, "Sorry to disappoint you Aelfwynn, but Allie is probably the most heathen out of us all! Now, I'd rather not carry you into the dining hall. I would rather be your guide as a gentleman." Setting her down, he fixed her dress and hair, "There, now…" he paused and lightly tapped under her chin before continuing with a gentle smile, "Hold your head up high Aelfwynn. You are a dignified young lady that holds a strong mind, body, and soul. Remember that."

Ragnar had to admit that raising Allie had come in handy on this day. Holding his hand out for her to place it on top, only for him to speak, "Carry yourself with honor, pride, and grace." Looking up at him, she nodded while whispering, "Okay. Ragnar, I apologize for my behavior all day." Smiling, he chuckled and winked, "Ah, no harm was done to me, that is. You need to apologize to Fenrir; he was too terrified that you'd screech again to come along with me." Okay, now she felt bad.

"Remember, tall, proud, and honorable. Deep breath now," he spoke, making her take in a calming breath as he opened the door to lead the classy appearing young lady inside of the room that now held her head high. Ealhswith gaped, only to quickly cover her mouth as Ragnar pulled out her seat for her and whispered to her, "Keep a tall and straight back as you take your seat. All you need to remember is your honor." Gracefully taking her seat, Ragnar gave her the meal with a smile.

Peering over to him as he poured her wine, she gave a gentle nod, "Thank you, Ragnar. I appreciate this. The food smells wonderful." Lowering his head, Ragnar gave a breathy chuckle, "Atta girl. Keep it up Aelfwynn." Kissing the top of her hand, he smiled, "It was my pleasure, but don't give me any of the credit for the food. This is Allie's recipe." Below his breath, he chuckled and winked, "Napkin on your lap dear, and use your utensils, unlike us heathens. Remember, you hold honor."

Ealhswith looked baffled at her granddaughter once Ragnar took his seat, only to softly question, "Ragnar, what did you do? You transformed her!" Taking a drink, Ragnar scoffed and laughed brightly until hearing Aelfwynn call out tenderly, "Fenrir, please come here." Fenrir whined, but padded over with flattened ears, only for Aelfwynn to place his head in her lap to stroke his head, "I do apologize for hurting your ears. I should've been more mindful that I was actually bringing you harm."

Picking a piece of meat, she offered it to him with a gentle smile, "It won't happen again, on my honor." Ragnar watched Fenrir nip that piece of meat before cuddling up close to her. Ealhswith lightly swatted Ragnar, "Ragnar, you are a maker of royalty. What did you say that made her listen to reason?" Leaning his chin into his propped up palm, he smiled, "Well, I simply gave her some encouraging words that helped her. I just told her that all she needed to remember was her honor."

Propping his elbows up on the table, he chuckled, "I've told you this once before, but there's something that we all share in common. We all wish to uphold honor in our hearts and souls until the very end. But to all of us Pagan devils, honor is everything. It's literally how we define our lives and leave our marks on the land, no matter how small or grand that mark might be. For us, we simply wish for our legacy to pass on with us with pride so that our ancestors aren't ashamed of us."

"The true test comes next," he whispered to Ealhswith, considering many of the rowdy drunk men began to remove their shirts. Aelfwynn didn't move her eyes towards those men, making Ragnar smirk and place his hand over Aelfwynn's to smile, "Keep going as you are, and you will surpass your mother in no time. If you wish for it, I will begin to teach you how to wield a blade next." Aelfwynn smiled softly as she replied, "I think for now, I need to regain the honor that I have misplaced."

Patting her hand gently, Ragnar grinned, "You will find that learning how to fight can actually sharpen and focus your mind completely. That was your mother's trick to how she took the world on. She looked at the world as if it were a battle that needed to be fought and won. That's what truly helped her contain all focus that she held. It helped her continue moving forward, not take a few steps forward, only to end up taking fifty steps back. If you only take this on, you will become lost."

Ealhswith nodded at the comments that Ragnar now spoke, "It's the truth. Your mother was headstrong, much like you. So, she put all of that energy into learning how to wield a blade effectively. It made her mind sharp, focused, and determined. She had witnessed Alice when she was much younger than she had been at the time fighting in battle, and it made her want more for herself. She said to me, "She seemed to hold no fear and was as sharp as a nail." So, I think you should do it."

Taking a deep calming breath as Ragnar had shown her, only to nod, "I accept. If I am ever to rule anywhere, I must know how to protect not only my people, but myself as well." Ragnar gave her hand another squeeze of encouragement, "I'm sure that you will pick it up quickly. Now, once you are done with your meal, you will need your rest for the lessons that are to come." Nodding her head gently at him, Aelfwynn actually found herself getting excited to learn how to wield a blade.

---

Late at night now, Alice was gently shaken awake, only for her blade inside of her ring to pop out and hold it to the culprit's throat before releasing a massive breath as her heart throbbed against her chest unforgivably, "Magni, what in the name of the Gods were you thinking," she questioned out softly. Magni took Alice's hand and tugged her to stand while whispering, "C'mon, you've been here for way too long against your wishes. I'm getting you out of here tonight, so grab your things."

"I have two horses ready to ride, so we need to go now," nodding her head, Alice packed all of her belongings into her pack before changing into her black stained leather gear, not her normal white attire. Having her hand taken, the two darted out of the back of their tent quietly. Reaching the destination, Magni shifted his head around in a panicked manner before speaking, "What in the name of Loki? I had both horses tied up right here! I swear on the Einherjar Gods that I honestly did!"

Looking around while listening, Alice then connected to her foresight, only for her eyes to widen immensely before panicking, "Magni, get down!" Swiftly crouching down, an arrow flew over their heads before he grasped her hand, "C'mon, we need to run!" Giving a sharp whistle to call on Fenrir, his head snapped up as he laid in the same bed as Aelfwynn, only to believe that he had just dreamed that he had heard the silent whistle coming from his true master at that moment in time.

"What in the name of Loki?! He always comes when I call him," she panicked as he grabbed her hand and began to bolt, "Allie, don't worry about it right now! Run!" With how much faster Alice was, she then heard a body being slammed to the ground harshly, making her snap around with widened eyes, "Magni! Hold on, I'm coming!" Hearing slow clapping, almost as if highly amused that they had actually attempted to run away from him in the first place, only to hear a snarky tone.

Aethelhelm approached Magni before spitting on him before he sneered aloud, "It's rather amusing that the two heathens attempted to escape with each other. Alice, return and give me the use of your prophecies, or I will kill your lover right here and now!" Alice could only hold a hand out, "No, please don't hurt him! I will return without a fuss! Just don't put him through the fate of dishonor! For us, that is a fate worse than death!" Holding his hand out, Alice began to approach slowly.

Magni struggled against being pinned down while gritting out, "Allie, no! Don't become this bastard's slave!" Shaking her head, and placing her hand in Aethelhelm's, she smiled weakly, "It was the fact that you even made the attempt that warms my heart the most. As long as you are kept alive for as long as I am to live, then I will accept my grim fate." Tugged forward, Aethelhelm then smirked, "Well, it looks like you will be pinned to the ground again for even trying to escape from me."

Holding widened eyes as she had her arms shackled behind her back, Alice began to struggle frantically, "I didn't agree to this!" Aethelhelm then pointed to Magni before chuckling darkly, "Oh, but of course you did. If you wish for him to continue breathing, then you will do whatever I want!" Shakily nodding her head, the base of her skull was then gripped tightly before whispered to viciously as she whimpered softly, "And all men will take pleasure in using your body over and over again."

With both returned to the camp, Magni was then thrown inside of his tent as Alice had all of her attire removed to begin shaking frantically as she was then pinned to the ground again. Trembling from the freezing cold atmosphere that hung around them all, Alice sat on the ground shivering non-stop as a gust of freezing cold wind brushed by her to make her further tremble as she whimpered softly with tears filling her eyes that slowly slid down her face in agony, "Sig… Sigtryggr…"

Magni was put back to work almost immediately as Alice sat there with her head lowered while trembling. When her body was used by any man, she wouldn't cry out and almost appeared as if she were soulless. For reasons, no one found that the way she acted to be sexually stimulating all due to the fact that she appeared as if she were a corpse that was now being used. After a short period of time of being pinned to the ground in the nude, no man used her, or even approached her.

Unchained and given her attire, Alice and Magni held an extremely short reunion that held plenty of kisses before he was then sent on a long mission. All she could do now was blandly sit around and wait for his return back to the war camp that she was being held captive at. Though, there was one person that she would even utter a single word to… Athelstan. However, in the manner that she would speak would seem as if it were barely a soft whisper that he could barely even hear.

Once Magni finally returned, the two would hold one another tightly, even if she could feel her spirit being tugged elsewhere. He was the closest thing that she had that could even be remotely considered as love at this point in time in her life. When Aethelhelm would see the two together, he became more and more pissed off each time he would witness the two "heathens" together. So, soon after Alice was speaking again, Aethelhelm sent Magni on yet another mission that would never end.

By the Gods, Alice hated being here with a damn burning passion. How long had she even been in this place now?! Groaning as she sat outside once the weather became more bitter, her body trembled slightly until feeling her fur lined traveling cape placed over her shoulders, making her shift her head back, "Oh, Athelstan. Thank you." Sitting beside Alice with a smile, Athelstan looked at Alice's unageing face before blushing deeply, only to quickly look away as Alice burst into laughter.

"So Alice, are you and Magni a couple," he questioned after calming himself to stare forward. Humming softly, Alice took his hand before softly speaking, "I don't know. I might hold an answer if I weren't a prisoner. I mean, who would say, "I love the man that brought me here, and am forced to stay here to save his life!" Anyway, is he back yet?" Taking a deep breath, he then swallowed heavily as if not wishing to give the true answer that he knew, making her shake his hand, "Athelstan?"

Swallowing heavily, he kept a firm hold of her hand as he stood, "Allie, you might want to come with me." Tilting her head, she nodded, "Okay? Where are you taking me?" Hearing his voice soften immensely made her immensely worried, "Just… follow me." As she followed him, Alice gained a deep pit of unease in her stomach once he stopped at the lining of the trees, "I was hunting when I found him. He's in the woods." Releasing his hand and entering, she didn't see anyone around.

Hitting a ditch, Alice tripped forward before her head hit something, making her groan, "Son of a bitch that hurt." Needing to know what she had just hit, Alice peered up in what seemed to be like slow motion until she witnessed Magni hanging from the branch of a tree, making her scream in absolute horror, "No, no, no! Magni!" Taking her blade out, Alice cut his body down before she caught him to sob hysterically while patting his cheek and shaking his purple body, "Magni, wake up!"

How long had his body been dishonorably been hanging there for his skin to turn the shade that it was now?! Holding him close to her heart, she knew that she needed to call out to the Christian Viking, "Leif! Help me! They are dishonoring our kin by hanging them!" Leif's eyes widened at that moment and gave a sharp whistle to all of the Christian's that had come along with him, "We move out now!" He had been searching for Alice while Ragnall stayed with his brother to keep him safe.

Placing his back against the ground, Alice held her hand out, "Magni, come to me." His full essence rushed into her palm before she gashed her palm open and placed that palm over his mouth to drip the blood into his mouth. She refused to be the initial cause of his death, which she knew that Aethelhelm's jealousy had been the entire reason for his death. Therefore, she would revive him before it was far passed the point of being too late to raise him from the dead without ripping his soul.

With the resurrection of a human soul being far different, she leaned forward and placed her hands on both sides of his face to lean forward to press her lips against his while pressing his essence over his heart as she whimpered, "With the tears of the seer shed, the blood and breath gifted, and the warmth of my lips showing you the love that you were denied of, I now extract you from Yggdrasil, for it is not your time to be leaving the realm of Midgard yet. Now, Magni, come back to me!"

Her sobbing and broken tone of voice had been loud, so he knew that she was most definitely close by. Riding inside of the camp that he hadn't known had been here, a soldier darted off to Aethelhelm to speak, "Sir, wonderful news! Leif Erikson has just rode into the camp!" Exiting his tent, Leif jumped down from his horse to speak a small lie, "Hello, I'm going to guess that this is the place King Edward has sent me to help aid. During my travels, I was told that you hold a Pagan seer."

Nodding his head concerning the matters, Leif held his hand out before Aethelhelm took it and explained, "Leif the Lucky, it's a pleasure to have you in our camp. Rumors concerning the Pagan seer are correct." Leif chuckled out softly and made an educated guess, "I was also told that you held another Pagan in your camp that's been of great use." Aethelhelm nodded at this claim as well, not knowing that he was being fooled, "Ah, we dispatched of his foul Pagan soul a few months ago."

Humming and frowning internally, Leif then sighed, "Well, that seems like a waste if he was of great use. Now, what of this seer?" Aethelhelm snorted and folded his arms, "Her name's Alice, and she's quite the beauty, but she's never truly willing to help us by rarely sharing her prophecies with us. We did attempt to "persuade" her by allowing every man to rape her while chained to the ground." This made Leif's eyes widen immensely, "You allowed all men to RAPE a defenseless woman?!"

"Yes. We needed her prophecies that she wouldn't share, nor is she ever willing to heal our men," he spoke sourly, making Leif lift his brows, "She's also a healer?" Nodding, he then held out his palms, "We have only witnessed her heal the King's bastard son, Athelstan, and no one else since he never took her by force. Since she's of no use to us, we plan to dispatch of her devil blood by hanging her beside her lover." Leif then motioned his hand, "Where might she be at this moment?"

Athelstan ran up with wide eyes, "Lord Aethelhelm, Alice has become hysteric after you forced me to show Magni's hanging dead body to her! She's in the woods holding his body! Her power is going out of control!" Leif instantly bolted towards the mass surge of power that felt like a tornado ripping through his body. Pushing through the wind and sparkling particles emitting, Leif finally reached her and grabbed her before pulling the hysteric little lady to his chest, "Allie, calm down, it's me…"

With wide eyes, Alice shakily held him tightly before whimpering softly, "Leif…" All of the power died down abruptly, causing for her eyes to roll into the back of her head before going completely limp in his arms as the color returned to Magni's face before sucking in a sharp breath of air and coughing harshly as he sat up in a bland fashion, "Allie." Leif swatted this man's hand once he reached out to her, only to bark out, "She has brought you back to life, now go and find another woman!"

Flinging his cross to his back to not touch her, Leif lifted her limp form into his arms before giving a sharp whistle, "KILL ALL OF THEIR TAINTED BLOOD, EXCEPT FOR ATHELSTAN AND MAGNI! WHAT HAS BEEN DONE HERE IS CLEARLY UNHOLY AND AN UNSANCTIFIED ACT AGAINST THE LORD!" Carrying Alice, he then gave a sharp and silent whistle to beckon Fenrir to his mistress, only to call out, "FENRIR, COME!" Magni held his hand out to him, "Stop! Please don't take her from me!"

At that moment, one noticeably depressed Fenrir laid his head on his paws as Aelfwynn gained more lessons on how to fight, only for his head to shoot up in alert before bolting off. Shifting once out in the open, he ran as if his sister, Hel, were now coming after his soul. Reaching Leif, he hopped onto his back with Athelstan, only to be told to return back to where he'd been. Darting, he soon arrived where Ragnar was, only for his eyes to widen and blurt out, "By all of the Gods! Allie?!"

Rushing over, Ragnar was handed the unconscious little lady before taken to a room to rest comfortably, only for him to be told the full story of what happened to her with a horrified face. Sitting beside Alice, Ragnar took her hand while internally contacting Sigtryggr, "Sigtryggr, Leif found Allie. Don't come, she's unconscious, and it might only prove to stress her out when she awakens. I'll keep you updated on her, so please don't worry." Upon hearing this, Sigtryggr's eyes flew open.

An entire month later, Ragnar was slumped over beside Alice, fast asleep, once her eyes finally slid open. Sitting up, Alice shifted her gaze over before lightly shaking Ragnar with a fraction of her memory gone from her mind. With a dry and cracked tone, Alice weakly spoke aloud for his tired mind to finally hear again, "Ragnar… is that you?" This was one reason that Alice never revived a mortal, it stole some of her memory… along with a small fraction of her own mortal lifespan.

Sitting up groggily, Ragnar peered in a drained manner towards her before nodding his head, only for her to usher him into her loving arms. Crawling into bed beside the endearing little lass that he truly wasn't registering was now completely awake, Ragnar curled up against her to snuggle against her chest in an adorable manner that showed no strong warrior, no. What it showed her was an extremely vulnerable and rather adorable side of the tough man named Ragnar Ragnarson.

Stroking his hair as he slept, the door then opened, making her slowly turn her head to see Leif. Smiling weakly, Alice groggily spoke, "Leif…? When did you get here?" Leif continued to open his mouth continuously before he finally blurted out, "Al… Allie?!" Shaking his head, he smiled, "A while ago. I need you to wake up Ragnar." Nodding her head, Alice raised her hand to pinch Ragnar's cheek, jolting him awake completely before Leif spoke aloud, "Ragnar, you need to come with me."

Standing and stretching, Ragnar smiled at Alice, "I'm glad that you're awake, I'll have some food brought to you." Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her forehead before snapping around, he walked out until hearing, "Ragnar? Where's my husband and children?" It was apparent that the man brought back hadn't made too much of an impact on Alice, because if he had, much more of Alice's memories would be gone, and it didn't appear as if much of her lifeforce had been taken.

"I'll contact him once I deal with whatever has gone wrong this time," he spoke with a smile. Even though they technically weren't married anymore, Ragnar had made it a point in just being happy that Alice was part of his family. Standing and exiting the room, he peered towards Leif as they now walked together, only for Leif to hold out his hand, "I have to be heading back to Vinland now. However, I'm leaving you with this one warning… Allie revived a man that fell in love with her."

Tilting his head, Ragnar chuckled out as he took Leif's hand, "Leif, anyone who ever meets Allie is destined to fall in love with her. So, that doesn't shock me." Leif then shook his head frantically as he spoke, "Ragnar, my scouts have noticed that he's now searching for Alice. He's not too far away, but isn't too sure where he should actually look. So, he's looking in every stronghold and village that he passes. I'm warning for you to be careful, or all those lost memories might resurface."

Nodding his head, Ragnar sighed and gave Leif's hand a firm squeeze as he spoke, "Thank you for coming to Allie's aid when she needed it the most. May the Gods watch over you." Holding his hand up, Leif then left to board his ship before leaving. Closing his eyes, Ragnar finally gave an update to his cousin, "Sigtryggr, Allie's awake and is asking to see you and the children." Almost instantly, Sigtryggr shot up and gathered his children before saddling up as he replied, "We are on our way."

---

Riding now, Sigtryggr rode his black stallion as Havi held Saga, and Sitric held Ivar while riding their own horses. As they rode to Ragnar's location, a single Viking man waved at them to stop. Holding up his fist to stop everyone, all tugged on the reins to come to a stop as Sigtryggr looked around before speaking out, "Why are you out here all alone? Is the rest of your clan close by?" None other than Magni noticed who this was, only to lower his head to the man that ruled Northumbria.

"Lord Sigtryggr, it's an honor to meet you. My clan was executed, except for my woman that was stolen. I have nowhere to go with no aid, so I ask for your help in locating and rescuing the woman that I love," he voiced out in distress, making Sigtryggr give a sharp whistle for one of the spare horses to be brought forth, "You may join my settlement. However, we first must go elsewhere before we are to return home. This horse is my gift to you should you wish to locate your woman."

Bowing gratefully, Magni saddled up before speaking, "I give my thanks Lord Sigtryggr." Sigtryggr then motioned his hand forward while calling out, "We ride!" All reins were snapped, only for Magni to peer over at the two sets of twins that were perfect blends of Sigtryggr and Alice. Smiling, he spoke out, "You have beautiful children, my Lord." Shifting his gaze towards his children, Sigtryggr smiled, "Well, I thank you. My two eldest are Havi and Sitric, the youngest are Ivar and Saga."

As they rode, Sigtryggr looked at Magni before speaking calmly to him, "Forgive me for not realizing until now, but you have yet to name yourself." Chuckling, Magni then answered this shockingly calm and polite man, "Pardon me, my name is Magni Brandrson." Nodding his head at this, Sigtryggr then asked another question, "So, if you don't mind me asking, what's your woman's name? Perhaps we've met her, or even seen her. If I know the name, then I can be of greater use to you."

Well, now this was a double-edged blade of a question, so he made something up, not knowing how accurate his little story was, "Her name is Ásdís. When I asked her who her parents were due to not holding a last name, she told me that her parents had never branded her with her father's last name. She had only known them for a few years of living before they were murdered and she was taken in to live with another clan." After hearing the entire story, Sigtryggr became startled.

This man couldn't possibly be talking about Alice, could he? The story lined up far too well, but he remained calm, "And what of her appearance?" Magni now felt even more nervous as he answered… partially, "She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, was rather short, and was muscular since I taught her on how to wield a blade." The description slightly mimicked Alice, but not completely. So, Sigtryggr now believed that this man now spoke of a completely separate Ásdís now being described.

Shaking his head, Sigtryggr sighed softly, "I've never met this girl that you now speak of, so I do apologize if this has felt like a pointless endeavor. But, on my honor, I will help reunite you with your love." With this man placing his honor on the line, this entire situation now worked in Magni's favor without Sigtryggr even knowing, making him release a breath of gentle air, "I really do appreciate that Lord Sigtryggr. Truly, it means a lot to me that you are willing to go so far to help me."

Reaching the clearing leading to the stronghold Ragnar was in, he slowed once he was witnessed only for the guard to yell, "Open the gates! Lord Sigtryggr has arrived!" With the gates opening, all entered before dismounting their horses to lead them to the stables to be fed and watered. It had been a long journey, so more than anything, the horses desperately needed rest. Helping Ivar and Saga off of their older siblings horses after they had jumped down, they giggled, "Thanks daddy!"

Months prior to Sigtryggr's arrival, Alice was far too stubborn to remain in bed to rest and was already back in top shape. So she now stood outside as Aelfwynn's new instructor to help strengthen her fighting stance as she placed her hand against the young girl's core, "Aelfwynn, where in all of the nine realms are you even distributing your weight? Keep all of your tension right here Aelfwynn. I mean, try attacking me right now." This made Aelfwynn nod abruptly and bolt towards Alice.

Alice was in perfect stance when Aelfwynn brought the wooden blade down to clash against her teacher's, only for all of her muscles to tense up to the point that her merely blocking the strike made Aelfwynn's eyes widen when she was pushed back from a blocking stance alone. Alice's sharp eyes then softened as she giggled out, "Ya see what I mean missy? If you distribute your weight correctly with completely hardened muscles, then even you blocking an attack can become deadly."

Ragnar stood there with folded arms while snickering as he watched Alice, only to pale the moment Alice snapped her gaze towards him, "Aelfwynn, I will show you what I mean. Toss Ragnar your wooden blade." Tossed the wooden blade, he caught it as Alice sulked forward with a deadly smile, "You've been going easy on her to not teach her anything! If she went into battle, she'd be cut down! Now then, this duel will surely harm your honor. It's all about honor, isn't it Ragnar?"

Grumbling, he then walked forward to twirl the wooden blade around in his hand, "Yeah, yeah. Don't forget who taught you how to fight! So, it's also your honor!" With no one calling a start, Ragnar dashed towards the barefoot lass while gaining flashbacks of when he had first trained her, only for him to bring the blade down to clash before beginning to push Alice down to a single knee, "Don't you ever believe that your sword is your only option Aelfwynn!" Now, that confused the girl.

Well, that was until Alice's fist shot out and slammed into Ragnar's stomach making him cough harshly and gasp out, "Fuck! My honor felt that blow!" Alice gripped Ragnar's arm and twirled around his back as he spoke lazily, "As a woman fighter, the first thing a man will try to do is fluster you to get the upper-hand, I mean, look at what I'm doing to Allie, and she's not even phased." Aelfwynn noticed his hand gripping Alice's seemingly unphased breast and even pressed closer with a grin.

"However, women can use their bodies to their advantage. Most men know that sensual touches are a trick, but with a woman that beautiful, they can completely forget this trick," he lazily exclaimed until turning bright red the moment Alice's free hand wrapped around him to tauntingly slide it down his bare chiseled abdomen, making him freeze as Alice then brought his own hand holding the blade to his throat before giggling and kissing his back playfully, "I gotcha Ragnar. Now, yield."

That sharpened his focus again and gripped her wrist to twist it so that she dropped her blade, making her bounce away while speaking, "Even if you lose your weapon, the fight isn't over until you die!" Ragnar bolted forward and swiped at her, making her jump back, only for him to bring that blade straight down. Alice, just as stubborn over the term of loss, twirled to the side and gripped his hand and arm, only to hear an, "Oh fucking Loki," coming from this unreadable brute of a man.

Kicking off of the ground, Alice wrapped her thighs around the back of his neck while speaking, "Don't think about decency when fighting! It's either you live, or your opponent does!" With the strength of her thighs, she yanked his face forward so abruptly that his balance was thrown off, not to mention he was now highly distracted over holding about a billion naughty thoughts as Alice took the blade, only to pull herself up with the blade at his throat, "Wanna keep going? Or do you yield?"

Hearing an annoyed huff released as she now perched on his shoulders with her thighs laced tightly around his throat, making his face start to turn red before tapping her thigh. Loosening her grip as he began coughing, she playfully slid the blade across his throat before kissing his cheek, "Now you're dead!" Rolling his eyes, Ragnar lifted little miss tease off of his shoulders to place her on her feet. Blowing a kiss, Alice chuckled, "Go and get me two buckets of water and a piece of wood."

He knew what she was going to do since this was how he got her legs as powerful as they were, so he came back with what was asked for before she looked at the dumbfounded Aelfwynn, who had just witnessed Ragnar having his ass handed to him on a silver platter, only for Alice to snicker, "Alright Aelfwynn, first, I'm going to let you borrow some of my attire." Grabbing solid white leather shorts that held no laces, a white tube top, and a flowing white top to match her own, she then tossed it, "Go on."

Changed now, Aelfwynn blushed deeply once she walked outside again, making Alice giggle, "Oh my goodness, you look so cute! Now, since you look so similar to me, I'm going to do something that I never do for anyone except family." Twirling out the knife Ragnar had made for her, Alice held her long hair up to Aelfwynn's. Her side strands of trio colored hair were growing too long anyway, so she cut a good amount off before moving to Aelfwynn, who asked, "What are you doing?"

"Ragnar, will you bring me two of my metal clasps for hair please," she spoke, making him nod and turn away to play fetch for what she had asked for as Alice began to begin braiding her own hair in on both sides to mix with Aelfwynn's own hair. Ragnar then brought out the two metal clasps asked for, only for her to clip them in once done, only to speak, "Now, I'm going to give you an alias if you wish to go into town to buy anything. I mean, it isn't healthy for you to stay cooped up inside!"

Nodding her head, she asked, "I think that's a good idea. So, what will it be?" Alice chuckled brightly before answering, "You will be using my first real name and Ragnar's claim name mixed with your own, Ásdís Aelfwynn Ragnarsdóttir. Most people are more stupid than they are smart, so they will believe that you were merely named after yourself. However, holding the claim of Ragnarsdóttir will most definitely keep all of those who are smart enough to piece the puzzle together, away."

Clapping her hands together, Alice smiled, "Now then! You see those two buckets of water hanging over the smooth piece of wood?" Aelfwynn nodded at this before Alice continued, "You are to go and remove the piece of wood and simply lift the two buckets of water. After that, you are to follow me!" Walking forward, Aelfwynn removed the wood before lifting the two buckets with each hand, only to end up stumbling to the side for Alice to catch her while speaking, "You need muscle!"

"The wood is for when you have enough arm muscle to effectively hold a blade in your hands," she snickered before pulling out a ribbon to lace all of her hair back, only to motion for her to follow, "You need to become accustomed to your alias, so, let's go Ásdís. You are not to stop until I deem it fit that you may stop. Each day, your muscles will burn and be sore, but the rewards will be more than worth it!" Nodding her head, the two began to exit for Aelfwynn to whine from the weight.

Continuing to whine, Aelfwynn finally spoke, "Mother, this is too heavy!" Shifting her head back, Alice chuckled out, "You will be accustomed to the weight soon enough, Ásdís. Now quit whining this instant, am I understood?" Nodding her head, Aelfwynn continued to follow after Alice as she spoke out in a motherly tone of voice, "If you dump any of the water out, then I will make you start all over. Am I understood?! Just remember to breathe. You are doing fantastic for just starting!"

Taking in deep breaths as sweat beaded down her face, Alice then pointed to the massive hill, "And up we go. As I said Ásdís, just focus on each step you take as we make our way up." With her movements becoming sluggish, Aelfwynn, not even halfway up the hill, finally dropped the buckets before speaking, "Mother, I didn't mean to drop them, I promise!" Alice released a soft chuckle at this frantically spoken comment before lightly pinching her cheek, "That's completely normal, dear."

Making their way back down as she rubbed her arms that felt like jelly now, Aelfwynn had to ask this, "Mother, how did you even come up with this way to help another gain muscle?" Alice snorted out a laugh as if the answer should be rather obvious by now, but finally answered, "I was raised by Ragnar. When I was first learning how to wield a blade, Ragnar had me do the exact same thing each day… no matter how much my arms burned once I woke up the next day for training."

With the next day upon them, Aelfwynn's arms burned as Alice claimed out chipperly, "Alright Ásdís, go and grab your two buckets of water so that we can climb the hill." Nodding obediently at the command, Aelfwynn scooped out two full barrels of water. She didn't do much better on that day, when actually, she did even worse than the day prior. Alice narrowed her gaze at Aelfwynn before speaking out, "Ásdís, I know that you could've pushed yourself to go further than the day prior!"

"I'm sorry mother, I've just never felt my arms hurt this much! I'm not used to this much strenuous activity," she whimpered and whined as she brushed her tears away, only for Alice to growl out, "Stop shedding tears as if you were a newborn babe needing to be fed this very instant Ásdís! Now, once you make it up to the top of that hill, I will personally take you into town to buy anything that you wish to buy. Do we have a deal?" Aelfwynn sniffled and swiped her tears away, "Yes mother."

Upon returning, Alice peered over before speaking aloud, "Ásdís, tomorrow I will not be going with you. Erik will be following you from a great distance, and you'd best believe that he won't have the damn nerve to lie to me, no matter how pretty that you may be." Aelfwynn nodded, appearing defeated as Ragnar walked out to hear all of this. Sighing, Ragnar whacked the back of Alice's head, "Knock it off Allie. Any self-confidence that you personally instilled, you are now ripping it away."

Walking inside with a sigh, Ragnar folded his arms as she spoke, "Ragnar, I don't think you realize that you did the exact same thing to Selko and me, and I have also raised both sets of twins the same way. You told us that we always need to be prepared to have any confidence that we have, to be taken away as swiftly as we had gained it. In that way, we held skin tough enough for a single failure to not ever phase us so that we can remain moving forward," pausing, she shifted her eyes away.

Taking a deep breath, Alice continued, "She's of royalty Ragnar, so she expects for things to simply be handed over without having to work for it, much less suffer any failures of her own. If I raised her that way, a single defeat would destroy her soul for the rest of her life. I want for her to not only hold a strong body, but a strong soul as well. If there was one thing I would ever thank you for when you raised us, it would most definitely be that single lesson that formed me into who I am."

From around the corner, Aelfwynn had listened to Alice's reasoning for being so tough on her. When she sat there and thought about it, Alice was absolutely correct. If she were still being raised as she had been, she would still be that spoiled brat that just expected for everything to be given to her without ever having to work for it, or being told no. However, the first time that she were to be told no, it would completely break her spirit down, and would be something that would defeat her.

Walking outside the next day, Erik noticed Aelfwynn heading to fill her buckets without being told that it was time for her to go. Reaching out to help her, Aelfwynn held her hand up to stop his advance, "Don't help me. I'm strong enough to do this all on my own. I wish for mother, both of them, to know that I am fully capable of getting the task done myself to gain the reward that I have actually worked for." Walking off with her two buckets of water, Erik stayed a distance away to observe.

As she walked, Aelfwynn continued to tell herself that on this day, she would complete the task at hand. She took everything that Alice had taught her so far to conquer this damn hill. She hadn't realized it, but Erik was now shouting out to her happily, "Ásdís! Ya did it!" Noticing that she was just as spacey as Alice, Erik snickered and simply let her continue until she could no longer keep going. They were now making circles around the stronghold without Aelfwynn ever realizing she was.

On her fifth lap as she made her way up the hill again, believing that it was still her first lap up the hill, the muscles in Aelfwynn's arms were beginning to hurt as if on fire. Half of the way up the hill, the buckets slipped from her fingers as Alice watched all of the laps from the lookout. Gaining a proud face, Alice jumped down to begin walking over as she heard Aelfwynn slam her fist against the ground furiously, "I was so sure that I could do it this time! I had been so determined too!"

Erik was about to rush over until feeling his shoulder tapped. Turning his head, he witnessed Alice's smiling face as she motioned her head to go back. What she was even more proud over was the fact that she wasn't crying like a baby this time, she was getting her frustrations over "failing" by using her fists. Tapping Aelfwynn's shoulder, she looked mortified and quickly stood to bow, "Mother, please forgive me! I tried my hardest to make it to the top, but couldn't! I won't fail next time!"

Hearing all of this made Alice burst into laughter, "Ásdís, you're becoming a little mini-me with how you spaced out like a champ for almost five full damn laps around the stronghold!" This made Aelfwynn gape over the comment before huffing, "Very funny mother. You don't need to say that just to make me feel better!" Alice could only lift a brow at this, "Ásdís, do I honestly look like the type of damn person who would even attempt to make the great efforts to stroke your damn ego?"

From the lookout, Ealhswith appeared completely shocked over this as Ragnar watched with a smirk, only for the former queen to speak in a clearly baffled tone of voice, "Wow, it's not only you that creates a great person of royalty, it is also Alice. She broke Aelfwynn down, only to completely reform her to hold the honor that she had yet to personally gain." Ragnar could only smirk as he replied, "Alice isn't a complete dummy. She heard and watched as Aelfwynn practiced all night long."

---

Sitting and thinking deeply, Alice began to remember noticing this odd square pit on the ground that had been covered deep in the forests of Eoferwic, only to tilt her head and ponder aloud to her husband, "I wonder, what in the name of the Gods is even under here?" Hearing Sigtryggr chuckle and shrug, Alice then questioned again, "What would be the purpose for a hole in the ground, and what in the name of Loki was it even used for? Some kind of torture chamber? Well, that doesn't seem too likely."

Remembering some old records that she had actually skimmed over, she had dismissed it at the time, but now she had to know. Looking at Ragnar, Alice held her hand out to him, "Come with me. Aelfwynn, we will go shopping when we return." Nodding her head as Ragnar took her hand to walk into the clearing outside of the stronghold before calling, "Fenrir, come!" Bolting out, the pup took full form and laid down for the both to then climb on his back before Alice called, "Eoferwic."

Taking off as fast as he could, the pup that basically teleported then slowed for the both to jump down before walking forward while holding Ragnar's hand tightly, "If my hypothesis is correct, then we are about to come face to face with a mighty warrior." Fenrir knew who she was talking about so he took his smaller form before walking forward to begin digging and snorting to remove all from the pit. Fenrir then dug deep down to show a broken and fragile lever with broken wood beside it.

This would be incredibly tough to open, so the two would have to pull together. Both got on their knees and took hold of the wood before pulling with Fenrir pressing his fluffy head against the top for the trap door to finally open. Looking inside, both gained a look of horror. A pit of dead venomous snakes laid to rest with a cage that held a pile of bones inside, making Alice clasp her hands over her mouth, "Ragnar…" This made him look over in confusion at her with a tilted head, "Yeah?"

Shaking her head, her trembling hand pointed to the bones, "Ragnar… Lodbrok…" This was so much dishonor slapped on such an honorable man, so Alice had Fenrir lift the cage gently to not lose any bones. Growing large enough to nip the cage, Fenrir brought the cage out before Alice leaned forward and pressed her fingers to the skull, as her mirroring hand also pressed against the living Ragnar's skull for both of their spirits to exit their bodies to instantly travel back to that time.

Slowly sliding their eyes open, they witnessed the King exiting with an evil grin plastered on his face as the older Ragnar Lodbrok was slowly carried out after being tortured. Turning around, King Aella gained a shocked and startled face to see that this man looked the exact same as a young Ragnar Lodbrok, and mostly Alice that yelled while pulling her blades out, "I refuse to allow you to dishonor him in any way! Why don't you show everyone that your own GOD will protect you from your own trap of snakes!"

"Allie, you shouldn't change history, and you know that," Ragnar whispered as tears fell from her eyes, "I still refuse to let it happen! I will go with him! I bargain you this King Aella, if our Gods protect us from the snakes, then you are to release us both!" Sheathing her blades, she walked forward and turned to smile as her hand dropped from his forehead, making his soul vanish so that she wasn't all sorts of confused when saying the name "Ragnar" out loud. With that, the cage opened.

Taking a step forward, Ragnar looked at how beautiful this woman was as she took his hands in her own to guide his face to her own and pressed her lips to his deeply as the trap opened while the cage was carried, "My name's Ásdís Eyvǫr, and I can change the course of history, but at a cost. My body from my time will vanish. Who you saw prior with me was one of your descendants, Ragnar. I hold a deep respect for the honor you hold as a warrior. Choose now, we are about to be dropped."

Tightening her hold on his hands with trembling hands, he chuckled, "So, this is how I die… Well, that completely and utterly sucks," he finished with a cheeky grin that mirrored her Ragnar. Looking in his eyes, she placed her Aurora Blade in his hand to hold, "Then the least I can do… is give you an honorable death. That won't change history to the degree that my body will stay." This made him snicker, "Ah, don't worry! I'll take Niflheim over like a damn storm that refuses to never rest!"

"You have forced my hand! Dammit, now I know where my Ragnar gets his damn goofiness and stubbornness," she yelled furiously and took him in her arms, "Baldr… NOW!" Both of their bodies illuminated brightly as they were both dropped to the ground as she snarled at the snakes, "STILL YOURSELVES!" No snake would dare go near either of them as tears slid down her face, "Hodr! Now!" Slamming her blade into the ground, all of the snakes froze before she scowled, "Thor, strike!"

All snakes were then struck down violently, leaving only them inside of the chamber. King Aella had no idea what was going on, so he looked over the edge to only see Ragnar and Alice inside, making him snicker and wave to the King, "Can we, uh, come out now?" A rope was tossed down that he lifted her on with a gentle smile when he noticed Alice being pulled out, making her eyes widen once she witnessed a massive box holding more venomous snakes before she was held back.

Struggling, Alice screamed in agony as she watched the box of snakes being riled up by being shaken, only to drop them inside of the pit as he smiled, "Ásdís, grant me one favor. Please, keep my bloodline strong." Alice's eyes widened before crying, "Then you're a bit late to be asking me that. I'm married to Ivar's great-grandson, Sigtryggr. We hold two sets of twins. My next son I planned to name Lodbrok," she smiled as tears fell from her eyes to splash against him as a snake bit.

Looking up to the sky as tears spilled down her face, Alice spoke, "All-Father, hear my plea… Accept Ragnar into your halls inside of Einherjar." Dropping her blade, he took it in his hands with a pained smile as he was bitten again, only for her to continue, "As we are in life, we are also in death. The honor we hold doesn't flee upon our deaths. As a seer of the Gods, I place Ragnar Lodbrok within the great halls of Einherjar or Valhalla to one day reunite with his sons that he will see again!"

"Do not mourn for me! For I do not fear death, because soon the Valkyries will come and take my soul to the grand halls of Valhalla! So, it greatly pleases me that Odin will welcome me, and I will feast and drink my share of ale! I will await for my sons to join my side so that I might revel in their tales of glory and conquest! I will live on long after my body becomes one with the earth as a legend, knowing that I have nothing to apologize for all that I have done in my life," he shouted out.

Watching with mortified eyes as Ragnar fell to his knees and his back while keeping hold of Alice's blade, only to peer up at those tears Alice shed that now fell to his face, "And with any luck, I will be reborn to watch over you…" That's when she fully comprehended that the words he now spoke, were true, making Alice smile as tears continued to fall from her eyes, only for Ragnar to be bitten again while gritting his teeth over the agony, "Don't cry… I will one day come and rescue you."

Looking absolutely mortified as his eyes began to roll into the back of his head, only to focus on that face once more before softly speaking, "Go home… to me…" With that, Ragnar was gone, making Alice's spirit vanish before she shot awake while gasping, causing for Ragnar to take her in his arms, "Dammit, you had me worried! Don't you dare ever do that to me again!" Wrapping her arms around him, Alice cried against his neck while whispering mournfully, "You kept your promise to me…"

Appearing like a puzzled puppy, he questioned, "I did what now?" Alice motioned her head to Ragnar's skeleton that now had a tight hold of Alice's Aurora blade, "The last two things that he said to me were, "Don't cry… I will one day come and rescue you." and then, "Go home… to me…" So, I think that upon his death, he was aware that he was going to be reborn as you." Kissing the side of her head, Ragnar chuckled softly, "If that's true, then I suppose that I did keep my promise."

Taking her blade from him, Ragnar sheathed it and stood her up, "Well Allie, what do you want to do with dead me?" Gaining a dry face, Alice huffed, "Don't put it that way! Knowing your stupid ass self, you will die in the same exact damn manner!" Lifting the cage, Ragnar chuckled and pushed it back in, mortifying Alice entirely until he spoke calmly, "Allie, that's his resting place, along with a ton of snakes. Place a monument over it, or something." Nodding, they closed the trap.

Covering it again, they left hand-in-hand before mounting Fenrir again for him to begin rushing back while Alice clung to Ragnar to get another quick sob fest out of the way over what she had just witnessed, making him stroke her hair tenderly. It might have been a much older version of him, but it was still Ragnar that she had just witnessed die. It wasn't something that she wished to see ever again, because it had been the most horrific sight that she had been forced to bear witness to.

By the time they returned, Alice held a tear-stained sleeping face that now clung to her muscular teddy bear almost as if she were to let him go, she would be watching him at the bottom of that poisonous snake pit as he took his final breath in this world. The sight alone had shocked her down to her very essence, and he was sure that the sight would be a haunting reminder of his very own death for the rest of her days. Kissing the side of her head, he whispered softly, "I'm still here."

Ragnar had known from the beginning of who he was, and what his self-given task had been this entire time. This single promise is what made the Gods give him an Aesir body. Honor ran thick in this man's blood, so he watched over her. Before he had exited Valhalla, he had told his son's that had already passed that upon his death, he had met a beautiful woman that had spoken to him, and his promise made to her, only to apologize that he had to now exit the halls of Valhalla for her.

Carrying Alice inside, Aelfwynn noticed Alice's mournful and miserable sleeping face, but kept quiet once Ragnar shook his head to her. Carrying her to his room, he entered and removed his shirt before sitting on his bed with her glued to him. That had been too much for her to handle all on her own, so during the middle of the night, Alice was holding a night terror over his death, making her shoot awake sobbing and yelling, "RAGNAR!" Jolted awake, he held her close, "I'm here Allie."

He could feel her trembling, along with the harsh beats of her spastically pounding heart, making him pull her to him so that she could break down all over again. This was breaking his heart, so he pulled her face against his neck as tears slid out of the corners of his eyes while gently hushing her terrified form. Feeling her sobbing herself to sleep again, Ragnar was sure that she was going to glue to him, hold night terrors, and cry for a long time after personally witnessing his first death.

Each time she fell asleep, her heart would begin harshly slamming as she began reliving Ragnar's death all over, only to shoot awake by the time he would tell her to go back to him and take his final breath only to yell, "PLEASE, NO MORE!" Jolted awake again, Ragnar held her close as he felt all of the pain leaking from her soul that had begun to crack until she was lulled back to sleep. By the Gods, this was stressful for him to even be witnessing, so he had to force himself back to sleep.

Shooting awake again, Alice slipped out of Ragnar's arms to stand, only to turn to see his sleeping face that mimicked his death, forcing her to walk out of the room silently in horror before sitting at the table to pour herself a mug of ale and sit down with a mortified expression as she, for once, merely stared into that mug while dragging her fingernail against the mug to the point that a massive dent was being etched into the wood. She couldn't have just left it alone for once, could she.

Erik then walked in to wake Ragnar up for the day while yawning as he passed Alice without even noticing her as if she were some ghost. Entering the room, he tried waking Ragnar up over and over again, making him huff when he walked back out to finally take notice in Alice, only to chuckle as he poured himself a mug of ale while he spoke without knowing what Alice had witnessed, "Man, Ragnar is dead to the world right now! Well, later Allie! I have to get my morning work done!"

Hearing the comment, Alice's eyes went out of focus and once she was alone, she held her breath as she made her way to the top of the stronghold to sit and burst into uncontrollable sobs while holding her knees to her chest. Everyone who was awake outside could hear those cries of anguish and sorrow, making them all look up with a frown and had to wonder what was so wrong that Alice of all people made a sound that miserable as if she had just watched the love of her life die.

By the time Ragnar groggily woke up, he noticed that Alice wasn't in here anymore. Walking outside without a shirt on, he whistled to Erik, who quickly ran over before he spoke, "Have you seen Allie?" Erik nodded with a frown before replying, "We've been able to hear her sobbing on top of the stronghold all morning… is she okay?" Ragnar didn't know how to answer that, so he said it as it was in the most serious tone, "Well, she witnessed my first death when I lived as Ragnar Lodbrok."

Choking on his own spit, Erik gawked, "You don't mean THE Ragnar Lodbrok, right?" Ragnar nodded his head in a serious manner, "The very one. You know, captured, tortured, and dropped into a pit of poisonous snakes. I made the cover story that I was merely one of his descendent so that I didn't gain a death by snakes again. Though, with my name even being Ragnar, I'm sure that many people have actually conjured up the original genius idea to create the same exact death trap."

Turning away, Ragnar held his hand up, "Keep that to yourself Erik. I mean it." Entering back inside, Aelfwynn stopped him, "Hey Ragnar, where's mother? She's normally awake by now and she promised to take me shopping today." Sighing, he then nodded, "Let me go check on her." Heading to the top of the stronghold, he exited to find Alice curled up on her side while asleep, making him watch her shoot awake with widened eyes and a heart that was now attempting to exit her body.

"Allie, Aelfwynn is waiting for you," he spoke with a tender smile as her frantic eyes bounced about, making him add in, "How about I come too? I'll stay at a distance so that you two can have fun. She loves you as if you are her very own mother now, just as Aethelflaed had wanted, so pull yourself together Allie. You're stronger than this. However, first ya need a damn bath," he finished with a teasing wink as he picked her up to carry her all of the way to the bath holding warm water.

Placing her down, Alice undressed and got in the bath, only for Ragnar to turn away until she shot her hand out to take his. The trembling of her hands made him sigh and sit beside her to finally tell her the truth, "You know Allie… I remember when I first saw you at my execution." This made her shift her head up in horror that this… was Ragnar Lodbrok inside of Ragnar Ragnarson, making him smile, "You looked like a goddess ready to place her life on the line for the likes of me."

Releasing a breath, he continued on, "I told you when I was in that pit that had more poisonous snakes dropped inside to begin biting me… that with any luck, I would be reborn to watch over you. Your tears showed me so much love that I had to reassure you to not cry, because I will one day come and rescue you. Knowing you were from another time in the future, I could feel that my spirit was already so close to yours. To this day, I still can't fathom why I told you to go home to me."

Lightly stroking her hand with his thumb, his gentle bright blue eyes stared into her duo tinted eyes as he continued to speak, "That strong connection to you is what gave me the fortification to slip into Valhalla without fear. By the time I had the time to speak to all of my sons that had already died, I felt you being born, meaning that it was time for me to re-enter this world in this body. So, I finally got to tell my sons the full true story concerning my death and the promise made to you."

"I will have to say that I didn't expect for Ubba to love you to the extent that he actually did at his age, and I was extremely nervous when you had first called him Uncle Ubba. Though, he seemed overjoyed at the title that you had given him, and adored you wholeheartedly," he smiled tenderly and brushed his opposing fingers over her cheek as she gained a horrified face over flashes of his much older self's death all over again, along with attending her Uncle Ubba's burial with Ragnar.

Alice had always found it odd the way that Ragnar had stood there while shedding tears of pain as he had held her hand with his own trembling hand. This was now becoming too damn painful, so she hurriedly washed herself effectively, placed new attire on, and combed her hair before dashing away. Finding Aelfwynn, Alice swallowed heavily and held her hand out to the young girl, "Ásdís, come now, I promised you that I would take you into town to go shopping, so let's be off now…"

---

Walking to the town with Aelfwynn, Alice was so distracted that she didn't even notice that Ragnar was shadowing the two from a distance, when normally, she would've noticed almost instantly. Entering the town after some time, Alice followed Aelfwynn and paid for anything that she wanted while giving her a well-hidden hurting smile that appeared genuine. Continuing to shop, Alice stopped when she heard a man speaking to Aelfwynn suspiciously, "You look like the girl with a bounty."

Having her arm grabbed to be turned in, Alice turned her head and called out, "Ásdís, dear, who are you speaking to?" Upon hearing "her" name, Aelfwynn tried pulling away from the man, "Mother, he's hurting me!" Snapping her gaze over, Alice was in no damn mood, so she stalked forward before hitting this man so hard that it shocked him to release Aelfwynn as he was hurled all the way to the animal district, only to sulk forward with fury in her eyes, "You dare touch my daughter?!"

Ragnar knew she was going to have a meltdown the moment she actually took in her surroundings, making him swallow heavily as Alice gripped his top tightly, "If you ever touch my daughter again, I will kill you, do you understand me?!" Witnessing her pull her Aurora blade out to hold it to this man's throat after he spat in her face and called her a whore, Ragnar bolted and gripped her hand that now trembled due to the blade that she now held, making her shakily look up.

What she witnessed had her break down almost instantly. Snakes were everywhere, and even a non-poisonous snake had slithered onto Ragnar's shoulder. Bursting into sobs and dropping her blade, Alice then slid to the ground in hysterical sobs. Ragnar couldn't understand why she was melting down to this degree until hearing the hissing of a snake on his shoulder, making him flick the nuisance off of him until it lunged to bite exactly where he held two small circles tattooed on his hand.

It was a place that he had been bitten in his first life by the most venomous snake that had initially caused his slow and agonizing death. Furious over where this non-venomous snake had bitten him on his hand, Ragnar swiftly sliced its head clean from its body before spitting to the side and growling out in a low and deep tone, "Disgusting creature. You have no idea the trauma that your vile serpent kind has inflicted upon Allie's heart. Never again will your kind use me as your chew toy."

Once Alice had witnessed that Ragnar had been bitten by yet another snake, Alice's eyes rolled into the back of her skull before she collapsed to the side, completely passed out over the trauma she had witnessed. Picking her up and sheathing her blade, he called out, "Ásdís, dear, your mother needs to be taken home!" Turning her head, Aelfwynn noticed her unconscious mother with a frown, but nodded, "Yes father." Ragnar then walked with Aelfwynn by his side, only for her to frown.

Out of the town after a rather short shopping trip, Ragnar looked at his hand that was still bleeding. It was almost as if the damn thing had been told by Loki, or simply just knew, exactly where to bite to piss him off while giving Alice an anxiety attack over the matters at hand. Was this a sign from the Gods that his fate was always going to lead to a pit of damn venomous snakes to end his life? That just seemed like a sick and twisted joke that was now being played on his inner psyche.

"Is mother okay, father," Aelfwynn softly questioned as they walked, making him turn his head and sigh softly, "Aelfwynn, do you know the legend of Ragnar Lodbrok?" Aelfwynn nodded at this before speaking, "It might have happened long ago, but I think everyone still knows about Ragnar Lodbrok. King Aella captured the mighty warrior after a long period of time of being unable to catch him, tortured him ruthlessly, and executed him by dropping him into a pit of venomous snakes."

Remembering a small detail, Aelfwynn then added in, "Apparently there was also a beautiful goddess there with hair as bright as the sun and as long as a waterfall. It was said that she was the wife to God, and showed great love to the mighty warrior. It was said that she made a bet with King Aella that if she struck down all snakes with the use of God's wrath, Ragnar Lodbrok was to be set free, making him lie to her and falsely agree to the terms that she had laid out with King Aella."

Continuing, she softly spoke, "She entered inside of the cage and the two were dropped, only for her to smite all of the venomous snakes. She was then pulled out and noticed that this King held no honor since she was then held back as more enraged snakes were thrown in, only for her to drop her blade to him. She was forced to watch as her love spoke to her upon his death, promising her on his honor that he would be reborn one day so that he could rescue her from her grim fate."

Frowning at this, she finished her tale, "It was said that she cried the entire time that she was forced to watch this horrific sight, and with his last dying breath holding his words of love for her, the mighty warrior told her to go home to him as she watched him take his final breath and slowly close his eyes to pass into the next realm, breaking her heart before she simply vanished. After his death, the lands were stricken with sickness, famine, and war due to God's wrath over the lie told."

Nodding at this as he stared at Alice's face with sorrow laced in his eyes, Ragnar spoke softly, "Other than being your God's wife, that just about sums up what happened to me and Alice. She had linked to the end of my life through my bones." This made Aelfwynn's mouth gape wide open, "So, the goddess was mother, and the mighty warrior Ragnar Lodbrok was you, father?!" Lowering his head, Ragnar nodded, "Your mother's been holding terrible night terrors ever since we returned."

"I can see why she would. She loves you very much to travel back in the attempts to save you," she spoke softly with a frown, making him chuckle sadly, "As much as I wish that were true, she already holds a love for another that far surpasses the feelings that she could ever give to me." Aelfwynn could only give a hefty sigh at that statement before retorting, "Honestly? Mother wouldn't be suffering to this extent as if her soul is being tortured if she didn't hold an immense love for you."

Reaching the stronghold, Ragnar whistled to Erik before tossing his coin purse over to him, "Take Ásdís shopping. She didn't get to gain much of anything while we were out. Guard her with your life if need be." Nodding and jumping onto the saddle of his horse, Erik then held a hand out to her to help her up as Ragnar called out, "Fenrir, go with them and protect her with your life. Remain glued to her side to protect our little princess." The pup then bounded out and began following.

Entering his room, Ragnar sat down with Alice between his thighs to hold her close. Noticing his hand was still bleeding, he swore gently and finally healed his hand until Alice shot awake while trembling and shouting, "STOP HURTING RAGNAR!" Ragnar's eyes filled with tears over this, only to then slowly turn her around before lowering his face to her own so that he could press his lips to her own tenderly as he held her trembling hand in his gentle grip that promised her all of his love.

Pressing her tightly to him, Alice began to notice that Ragnar actually held two little circular tattoos on each place that he had been bitten during his first life, only to remember sitting beside him when she was much younger and still a runt of the litter as he gained these tattoos, only for her tiny voice to ask, "Hey daddy? Why do you keep getting two little circles inked on you? I mean, there are a bunch!" That's when she remembered his pained reply of, "I will tell you when you're older."

Looking at her opposing hand holding her four-leaf clover, she realized that she had those same two holes inked on her hand. Slowly straddling his hips as their lips remained glued, Alice then pulled his shirt from his body as he slid his hand over her shoulder to brush her solid white top down that held no tube top beneath. That's when she truly realized that she honestly did love him. She wouldn't be holding such terrible night terrors if she didn't love him to the extent that she truly did.

Unlacing his pants for him, Ragnar then rolled her to her back with his lips still glued to her own as he unlaced each sides of her shorts while she pulled his pants off of him before sliding her hand up his abdomen to stop and trace her fingers over another ink of two circles on his side as he pushed inside of her body. Sigtryggr wasn't anywhere near their minds as Ragnar began showing Alice the love that she truly needed to help her heart and soul understand that he was still here with her.

By the time he finished, Alice took his face to whisper out, "Stop lying about who you are… Ragnar Lodbrok… you suffered, made a promise, and kept it. I know it scares you to use your true name due to your past… but you are going to be a father again." As shocked as he felt that he had actually impregnated her, he smiled and kissed her hand before nodding and placing his hand over her stomach as he stared into her eyes to admit, "Allie… you and Sigtryggr are actually divorced."

Even though she was shocked, she didn't show it as she chuckled, "Well, I guess that's why my heart kept pulling me back to you. Ragnar, if you ask properly, I might say yes." Lifting a teasing brow, he snorted out a laugh, "While nude? Well, this is new." Sitting up and taking her hands in his own, Ragnar smiled, "Allie, ever since I met you the first time, I loved you. Your selfless tears of love had given me all the strength that I've ever needed to continue moving forward in death and life."

Taking a breath, he continued, "Your eyes put the bright glimmer of the tender sun to shame, your heart is as strong as the swords you carry, a soul holding such a great love that it causes for all to love you without fail, and you hold more honor in your very essence than the amount of golden hair held on your head. A love spinning and weaving its fated brilliantly sparkling stars as its threads of destiny across the darkness to illuminate the entirety of the night sky is more than I deserve."

With tears filling her eyes over how beautifully he put this, Ragnar smiled as he threaded his fingers through her hair, "So now I, Ragnar Lodbrok, ask you this… Alice, will you marry me? I swear on my honor that I will love you far long after it's our fated time to take leave of Midgard to enter Asgard as an Aesir so that I may continue feeling your warmth." Nodding, Alice choked out with tears sliding down her face, "Yes, and I swear to carry the name Alice Lodbrok with pride and honor."

A few days later, Ragnar stood tall inside after Selko, Viggo, Dagr, Katla, and the law speaker had been fetched by Fenrir. The moment Ragnar disclosed who he truly was, all of their eyes widened immensely that a living legend now stood in front of them all, and Dagr gave his swift approval of the marriage. On the day of marriage, the doors opened for Alice to enter for them to say their vows before the law speaker claimed, "Ragnar Lodbrok, Ásdís Eyvǫr, you both wish to make a claim?"

Alice looked up and smiled, "From this day henceforth, I will now be taking my husband's name as my own. Ásdís Eyvǫr Lodbrok, or just Alice Lodbrok." Nodding, the law speaker looked at Ragnar before speaking, "And this, you both are sure that you wish to do?" Both nodded and smiled as Ragnar stroked the top of her hands, only for the law speaker to note this, "It has been noted and will be documented. Now to continue with the ceremony. Ásdís Eyvǫr, please hand over your blade."

Pulling out her Aurora blade, Alice teared up a bit and placed it in his hands, "May this blade that I now give you always keep you safe from any dishonor." That made Ragnar choked up as he pulled his sharpened steel blade out that was made long ago, and held runes down the center of the blade that claimed 'On my honor' etched into it. Welded on both sides of the steel hilt were bright blue gem ornaments that reminded her of his eyes as he spoke, "I now give to you my honor."

With the cloth of fate tied over their hands, rings were placed on each other's hands, along with the arm bands as the law speaker concluded, "Ragnar Lodbrok, Ásdís Eyvǫr, in the eyes of the Gods, and the law, you are now husband and wife. Lord Ragnar Lodbrok, you may now kiss your loving wife." Both sheathed their new blades before Ragnar took her face in the palms of his hands as tears of joy slid down her face, only for him to lean his towering frame down to capture her lips tightly.

Everyone began to clap and cheer at that moment out of sheer joy that the true Viking King had returned to the realm of the living, and was now married to Alice. Once they held hands, Ragnar raised her hand into the air, "On this day, I reclaim my throne as your rightful King!" The law speaker nodded at this, "Lord Ragnar, you hold full claim to the throne. These are your people that will follow you anywhere. Sigtryggr will be notified that he's to stand down as the King immediately."

Alice then looked over with a frown, "What of my children?" Sighing, the law speaker admitted, "Lady Havi and Saga will be sent to you, their mother. Lord Sitric and Ivar will be given a chance to stay with their father, or to live with their mother and step-father." Ragnar smiled softly at Alice before snickering playfully, "You forget at how all four of your trouble makers completely adore their mother." Noticing the gleam in his eyes, Alice gave a dry face, "What are you scheming this time?"

Ragnar lifted a brow at this before snickering, "Nothing, for once. However, I just now remembered that Aethelflaed gave this to me right before her untimely death," he spoke as he pulled out the rights that gave them full parental guardianship over Aelfwynn, meaning they now held the responsibility to wed the royal princess away to whomever they saw fit. In other words, she was now their child. Explaining this matter to Ealhswith and Aelfwynn, the young lady hugged both tightly.

As a feast began, Alice and Ragnar danced together to chipper folk music after eating and gaining all of their presents from the guests that they had told to not do since they had been given such short notice concerning their wedding. "So, have you thought of names yet," he asked as they danced, making Alice chuckle, "Of course I have thought of names! Though, I want you to be okay with it. Our little girl will be named after your mother, Åsa, and our little boy will be… um, well… Björn."

This made Ragnar stop to hold her hips as tears slid down his face, making Alice abruptly fan her hands back and forth abruptly, "I meant no disrespect Ragnar!" - "You held a lot of respect for Lagertha due to her strength as a shield maiden…" Nodding at this, he then stroked her cheek, "Our daughter, you wished to name her Lagertha, didn't you?" Alice swallowed heavily and nodded, "That was going to be my initial plan, but I thought that it would drag up too many painful memories."

Smiling at this Ragnar kissed Alice's forehead tightly before mumbling, "Those names are perfect Allie. Lagertha and Björn…" Lifting her by her hips, Ragnar twirled her around before kissing her deeply, only for her to end up accidentally yawning against that kiss, making him chuckle brightly, "Oh no, mommy dearest is tired." Swooping Alice up in a single arm, Ragnar waved to everyone, "Have a good night everyone!" Carrying Alice to their room, he then entered and closed the door.

Undressing, Alice got into bed as Ragnar followed suit to hold her close. He knew a wedding wouldn't completely banish those night terrors from her mind, so he prepared himself mentally to be waking up various times all night. Gently lacing his arm beneath her head to sleep against, he then placed a single hand over Alice's belly to stroke. Ragnar swiftly succumbed to a deep slumber the moment he could feel his wife's gentle and even breaths flicking against his soft and muscular skin.

Sleeping the whole night through was all fine and dandy, but once it was morning, Ragnar's final words were spoken to her through her night terror, "Go home… to me…" Shooting awake while trembling, her face then twisted up as she got out of bed to grab an empty bucket to purge her stomach from the twins and the added stress of the night terror. Hearing the coughing, Ragnar shot awake and held her hair back, only to witness her frantically trembling body, making him frown deeply.

"Allie Lodbrok, look at me," he softly coaxed once she was finished purging her stomach, only to turn her head and gaze upon his gentle smiling face as he lightly took her hands to place them over his steadily beating heart, "Love, I'm right here." Nodding her head, Alice crawled onto his lap to curl up against his warm bare chest to begin tracing all of his snake bite tattoos that were held all over his body before speaking, "It terrifies me that the same thing might happen to you again…"

He had to admit that it scared him too… He didn't fear death, but he feared that she would be forced to watch that horrid sight all over again if someone did have the gall to try it again. However, he was sure that this time, they would defeat him through a far crueler manner that would destroy him. They would realize from previous documents that he did not fear the aspect of his own death, so they would fixate their gaze on the one person that was his everything, making him submit.

He feared that it would be her in that cage, the Gods ready to receive her at this point, yet once he would almost submit to the King, she would force him to never bend to their will. When he would listen to her, he would be the one who was held back and forced to watch her once the Gods finally abandon her as she was dropped into that pit of venomous snakes, unable to help her as he was forced to watch such a heartbreaking sight of the love of his life speaking her final words to him.

---

Awakening six months later after holding the same night terror that she still gained every so often, tears slid from the corners of her eyes as Ragnar woke up to see those tears with a frown, "Did you have the dream again honey?" Nodding her head, she then turned towards her husband to press her face against his chest to cry softly. She no longer broke out into hysterical sobs or vomited from the dreams, but if she heard or saw something the day prior to bring it up, she cried softly.

Feeling harsh kicks against his abdomen, Ragnar snorted out a laugh as he stroked her hair, "Lagertha and Björn don't like it when mommy cries." Alice sniffled and hiccupped softly, "No, it's not me, it's hearing your voice. You sleep on my belly, or just place your head on my belly to dote enough that they know who you are." Snickering, he gave her belly a smooch before standing up to place new pants on, only to turn towards his wife that was attempting to sit up, "I'm like a damn turtle!"

Bursting into laughter over this, Ragnar helped Alice stand before helping her get dressed in her more lady like attire that held an ankle long skirting that held a slit over her left leg to show up to her thigh so that she could still freely move about and not overheat, along with her normal loose flowing top that she always ended up rolling over her belly by the end of the night. Holding hands as they exited, Ragnar sat her at the table and lifted a brow, "What are you craving this morning?"

Right as she went to answer, Aelfwynn rushed up to give Alice's belly kisses before giggling, "Well good morning Lagertha and Björn!" Feeling spastic little kicks, Alice groaned, "I had just got them calm, Aelfwynn! Oh, uh, cravings. Some fruit, vegetables, all types of the cheese we have sliced up, some bacon, toast, orange juice, milk, and weirdly, some salad. Yeah, that should be enough." Ragnar burst into laughter over this and choked out, "Aelfwynn, can you help me with that?"

"Mother, you act as if you are starving to death," she spoke in a bewildered tone of voice, making Alice grumble, "You try feeding two extra people that are cooking inside of you." Giggling, Aelfwynn jogged over to her father to help him with this tall task. Alice was even particular in the way she liked the cheese cut, so Ragnar handed the knife to Aelfwynn to begin cutting the cheese, making her giggle, "Geez! Father, you still can't cut the cheese the way mother likes it after six months?"

It took some time for that much food to be prepared and placed at the table before Ragnar leaned down to take Alice's lips in a doting manner before chuckling, "I'll get your strawberries and cheese cut for the day." Aelfwynn fanned her hand, "I already did that for you so that the shape doesn't displease mother." Alice now snorted out a laugh as she took a bite of cheese, making Ragnar lean down to plant a kiss to his wife's lips again as he sat beside her so that he could hold her belly.

Once the family finished with their meal, Alice waddled outside with Ragnar kissing her shoulder and helping her sit down with a mug of water beside her before calling out, "Aelfwynn, c'mon, let's spar!" Darting passed Alice, Aelfwynn grinned, "Oh, be prepared to lose!" Leaning back, Alice gave a heavy yawn due to the cooking twins falling asleep, making Ragnar hold up a hand to pause the match as Alice began to nod off, "Hold on Aelfwynn! We have a sleepy mommy that needs a nap!"

Hopping up, Ragnar lifted his wife into his arms that fell asleep almost instantly before leading her inside to place her in bed. Walking out, that's when the gate opened to see who it was and waved, "What's up Sigtryggr? You took your damn sweet time getting here." Havi and Sitric then rushed forward, "Where's mommy?" Motioning his head inside, he then leaned down and whispered to them both, "You two are about to have two new young siblings in roughly two and a half months."

They instantly took notice in Ragnar's wedding band and arm ring, only to wiggle their brows as Havi giggled softly, "See, I told ya that we'd be calling ya daddy." Both were about to bolt in until he whispered again, "Don't spook your mother, she's had terrible night terrors for a long time now and she needs her rest." Both nodded and rushed inside as Sigtryggr approached with Ivar and Saga on his hips, "Ragnar, where's my wife?" Ragnar's brow twitched at this before releasing a breath.

Calming himself completely, he spoke plainly, "You and I both know that you've been divorced for a long time now. That just so happens to be my wife now." Ivar and Saga scrambled down to rush after their brother and sister before Sigtryggr scowled deeply, "What in the name of the Gods do you mean?! As my cousin, I didn't expect for you to stoop that low!" Aelfwynn choked on a drink of water at that point before speaking, "Don't you mean great-great grandfather, Sigtryggr?"

"Aelfwynn, my great-great grandfather, Ragnar Lodbrok, is dead. You know, the same legendary man that was captured, tortured, and put to death by a ton of poisonous snakes. So, please do enlighten me over what you are even talking about," he questioned with a deep scowl, making her almost instantly purse her lips tightly as Ragnar sighed and released a rather heavy groan aloud over this mess of a situation, "Ah geez, thanks a ton Aelfwynn. Ya just made this as awkward as Loki."

Inside, Alice felt as if the oven were turned on high at this point, making her groggily wake up, "Dammit Ragnar Lodbrok, what have I told ya about smashing up against me when I get this damn hot?!" Opening her eyes to see both sets of her twins, Alice had the elder twins help her up before she brought them all into her arms as Havi tilted her head, "Ragnar Lodbrok died a long time ago, didn't he mommy? So what are ya talking about?" Sighing, Alice got to explaining the situation.

Standing up, Saga then giggled, "What are ya going to name them mommy?" Alice could only smile at this before replying, "Lagertha and Björn." Right then, Alice heard a fight break out, making her eyes widen and begin waddling as fast as she could to see Sigtryggr and Ragnar fighting before grumbling, only to yell, "RAGNAR LODBROK, BEHAVE!" Skidding to a stop and turning towards her, Ragnar was sure that if he had been a dog, his ears would've been plastered against his skull

Sigtryggr, coming to an abrupt halt as well, felt something sliding against his boot, making him look down to see a highly venomous snake that had been paying him no mind to any of this, only for him to swiftly grab it up by its head before it could strike anyone, and had to terrify this man since he had the gall to act as if he were actually the great and mighty King of the Vikings, Ragnar Lodbrok, his great-great grandfather. In his eyes, this was a clear act of dishonor on his part.

All he could think about was how much he wanted to test if this was him, because if he truly was his great-great grandfather that had been reborn, then he would show absolutely no fear to this serpent in the same manner that it had claimed that he had held no fear of his own death in the sagas that he had been told when he was growing up. Even claiming that you were Ragnar Lodbrok was powerful. Turning her head to scold Sigtryggr, that's when she witnessed what he was holding.

Flashbacks of Ragnar's death began to come into her line of sight as tears quickly filled her eyes before she instantly burst into hysterical sobs for the first time in a long time. Bolting towards her, Ragnar held his wife close, "Honey, take deep breaths like I taught you." All she could manage to sob out was, "Poison!" Whirling his head around to see Sigtryggr holding a venomous snake by its head before shaking it to anger it, "You love snakes, don't you? Especially the venomous ones!"

Right then, Aelfwynn punched Sigtryggr across the face so roughly that his head whirled to the side, only to then yell at him, "Mother witnessed father's first death! She's had horrible night terrors ever since! What's wrong with you?!" Slicing the head off of that snake, Aelfwynn slapped the head out of his hand while growling out furiously, "You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself! Take a look at everyone!" Shifting his gaze around, he witnessed everyone tightly gripping their blades.

"You are no longer a King because the true King has been brought back to the realm of Midgard," Aelfwynn spat out furiously, now knowing the Pagan terms that her parents used. At first, it had been entirely confusing to always hear them speak about any of the Gods at first, but she had managed to learn all nine realms and all of the names of the Gods, and what they had all represented. When she did learn what they all meant, Aelfwynn realized that their beliefs weren't that different.

She might still be a Christian due to her grandmother still hounding her to praise the one true God, and she was well aware that her parents would never convert, but that never bothered her. Furrowing her brows, Aelfwynn snapped her head to the side when she heard Alice scream in agony over now seeing Ragnar's first death while completely awake, almost as if she had transported her soul again to watch his death. It was something that would continue to haunt her heart and soul.

Hushing his wife, Ragnar swallowed heavily over this before speaking, "Allie, I know this will hurt, but it also might give you some closure. You need to go back, but take that bastard with you for him to watch. Sigtryggr, come here, you damn pain in the ass." Lifting his wife, he walked out into the clearing before whistling, "Fenrir, come!" Fenrir bolted out to nuzzle his head against Alice's belly before shifting, only for the three to jump on before Fenrir bolted swiftly until slowing to a stop.

Lowering his body, Fenrir whined softly, not knowing if this was such a good idea. Sigtryggr had to ask now, "What in the name of the Gods are we doing here?" Fenrir began digging and snorting away the debris until Ragnar kneeled down and took hold of the lever as Fenrir pushed his head against it for the trap door to open. Ragnar motioned his hand down, "Take a look for yourself." Stepping forward and looking down, Sigtryggr witnessed the iron cage that had been dropped down.

Fenrir eased the cage up again before setting it down. Alice felt her stomach churning over the sight alone, causing for her to turn away to begin harshly vomiting behind a tree before speaking, "If I go again, I will be changing the story further. I hadn't been pregnant." This made Ragnar snicker, "Well, I know I'll be overjoyed! Think of it this way Allie, you will be giving my first self-joy before my death." Nodding, Alice shakily tenderly touched the skull before touching Sigtryggr's forehead.

With their souls transporting, Alice opened her eyes to see that sadistic grin on the King's face as the horribly tortured and unconscious Ragnar was brought out to their location. Sigtryggr's eyes widened immensely to notice that this man, even though he was much older and a bloodied mess, was most definitely Ragnar. Shakily pulling out her blades with tears sliding down her face, King Aella turned around to see the very pregnant Alice and Sigtryggr, "I make you this deal King Aella!"

Tears flowed down her face, knowing that she was about to be lied to as she spoke the exact same words that she had prior to not change what had been written, "I refuse to allow you to dishonor him in any way! Why don't you show everyone that your own GOD will protect you from your own trap of snakes!" That's when she heard something completely new coming from King Aella, "You must be the wife to God. Your eyes shine like the stars and your hair is as golden as the sun."

Scowling, she then spoke a bargain that wouldn't be kept, "I will go with him! I bargain you this King Aella, if our Gods protect us from the snakes, then you are to release us both!" Agreed to, for the time being, that is, the cage opened and she was helped inside before the door was closed. Sigtryggr watched this in horror as their cage was being lifted into the air, but not too high for the pregnant lass that the soldiers were more than a bit nervous to be dropping from such a great height.

Ragnar stirred awake to see how beautiful this woman was as she took his hands in her own to guide his face to her own and pressed her lips to his deeply as the trap opened while they dangled above the pit, "My name's Ásdís Eyvǫr, and I can change the course of history, but at a cost. My body from my time will vanish. Who you see below us is of your blood, Ivar's great-grandson, Sigtryggr. I hold a deep respect for the honor you hold as a warrior. Choose now, we are about to drop."

Tightening her hold on his hands with trembling hands, he chuckled, "So, this is how I die… Well, that completely and utterly sucks," he finished with a cheeky grin that mirrored her Ragnar. Looking in his eyes, she placed his Honor Blade in his hand to hold, "Then the least I can do… is give you an honorable death. That won't change history to the degree that my body will stay." This made him snicker, "Ah, don't worry! I'll take Niflheim over like a damn storm that refuses to never rest!"

"You have forced my hand! Dammit, now I know where my Ragnar gets his damn goofiness and stubbornness," she yelled furiously and took him in her arms, "Baldr… NOW!" Both of their bodies illuminated brightly as they were both dropped to the ground as she snarled at the snakes, "STILL YOURSELVES!" No snake would dare go near either of them as tears slid down her face, "Hodr! Now!" Slamming her blade into the ground, all of the snakes froze before she scowled, "Thor, strike!"

All snakes were then struck down violently, leaving only them inside of the chamber. King Aella had no idea what was going on, so he looked over the edge to only see Ragnar and Alice inside, making him snicker and wave to the King, "Can we, uh, come out now?" A rope was tossed down that he lifted her on with a gentle smile when he noticed Alice being pulled out, making her eyes widen once she witnessed a massive box holding more venomous snakes before she was held back.

Struggling, Alice screamed in agony as she watched the box of snakes being riled up by being shaken, only to drop them inside of the pit as he smiled, "Ásdís, grant me one favor. Please, keep my bloodline strong." Alice's eyes widened before crying, "Then you're too late to be asking me that. I already hold two sets of twins of your bloodline, and I'm carrying your set of twins right now," she smiled as tears fell from her eyes to splash against his face that now glowed as a snake bit.

Looking up to the sky as tears spilled down her face, Alice spoke, "All-Father, hear my plea… Accept Ragnar into your halls inside of Einherjar." Dropping her blade, he took it in his hands with a pained smile as he was bitten again, only for her to continue, "As we are in life, we are also in death. The honor we hold doesn't flee upon our deaths. As a seer of the Gods, I place Ragnar Lodbrok within the great halls of Einherjar or Valhalla to one day reunite with his sons that he will see again!"

"Do not mourn for me! For I do not fear death, because soon the Valkyries will come and take my soul to the grand halls of Valhalla! So, it greatly pleases me that Odin will welcome me, and I will feast and drink my share of ale! I will await for my sons to join my side so that I might revel in their tales of glory and conquest! I will live on long after my body becomes one with the earth as a legend, knowing that I have nothing to apologize for all that I have done in my life," he shouted out.

Watching with mortified eyes as Ragnar fell to his knees and his back while keeping hold of Alice's blade, only to peer up at those tears Alice shed that now fell to his face, "And with any luck, I will be reborn to watch over you…" She already knew that he would keep his word, making Alice smile as tears continued to fall from her eyes, only for Ragnar to be bitten again while gritting his teeth over the sheer agony, "Don't cry… I promise on my honor that I will one day come and rescue you."

Sigtryggr now felt sick to his stomach as tears filled his eyes over watching this man that was once such a powerful individual, struggling to even breathe at this point. Looking absolutely mortified as his eyes began to roll into the back of his head, only to try his hardest to focus on that beautiful face once more before softly speaking, "Go home… to me… Allie…" Ragnar's eyes finally closed, now gone, making Alice and Sigtryggr's spirits vanish before they shot awake while gasping frantically.

Ragnar's head shot to the side before he took his wife in his arms who now burst into emotional tears as he reached out to take his Honor Blade from the skeleton to place it back in the sheath on Alice's belt. Sobbing hysterically, Alice buried her face against her husband's broad chest, "It was different this time!" Stroking her hair as she sobbed, Sigtryggr looked in horror over this, "Alice gave her birth name, but right before he died, he said, "Go home… to me… Allie." That was too much."

Taking Sigtryggr's blade out, Ragnar sighed, "Sigtryggr, give me Allie's osmanthus blade." Handing the blade over, he was then handed the four-leaf clover blade. Removing his wedding ring and arm ring from Alice, he gave the arm ring that was from her mother, "Her father warned me of this day without Alice ever being told. When him and I were speaking together after our wedding, he claimed, "Alice's mother was a seer, and she had claimed that her daughter would marry a legend."

Looking at the trap, her heart broke before jumping down inside while holding her belly to brace herself to notice bloodied runes on the wall that wrote the same thing that had been on the blade that Ragnar had given her on their wedding, 'On my honor…' Snapping his head over the moment he witnessed his six month pregnant wife that had just jumped into this damn pit of Niflheim, he shot his head down to look at her and call out, "Allie, have you gone insane?! Are you injured at all?!"

Pulling the Honor Blade out the moment she heard various snakes that must have been able to follow without anyone ever knowing, only to slay one snake until the next lashed out and bit her own circles, causing for a pulse to shoot through her body. Gasping in agonizing pain, she circulated her healing to her twins, only to cut its head off before flicking its head off of her hand, "Rag… Ragnar!" Shooting his head down, he witnessed venomous snakes had actually been able to follow back.

Tossing a rope down, Alice gripped it tightly while attempting to remain awake as he pulled her all of the way up before he began neutralizing all of the toxins in her body, only to then heal her bleeding hand. Checking on the twins, he found that they were fine, making him release a heavy breath and hold her close, "Some came back with ya, huh? I didn't even know that was possible." Sigtryggr noticed those snakes attempting to get to Ragnar, so he spoke, "Ragnar, hurry up right now!"

Keeping Alice sitting on the ground, Ragnar pushed the iron cage back inside and had Fenrir's help closing the hatch, only to growl out once the trap closed, "Looks like a few new snakes will be joining my first body. We aren't going to disturb this grave ever again…" Finding a large rock, he brought it to Alice before setting it down for her to start chiseling in the initials 'RL' until done. Picking the stone up, he then placed that rock over the top before snickering out, "Rest in honor, myself!"

Fenrir bowed his head to the fallen Viking King out of respect, only for the rest to do the same before they climbed onto the pup's back who began running as Alice laid her head against her husband's chest. She supposed that going to witness his death again, only to see his glowing face after she had told him that she now carried his children inside of her, had indeed, given her some much needed closure. She didn't know if she would still gain night terrors, but as of now, she felt peaceful.

Reaching home, Fenrir lowered as Ragnar lifted Alice into his arms to slide off, only for Sigtryggr to jump down with a twisted stomach. He has shed the blood of others before, but he had never witnessed someone killed in such a dark and twisted manner before. That King had been a Christian, so the manner that the original Ragnar had been executed was just downright evil. He had thought that their God effortlessly forgave all sins, so why did they not follow the teachings of their God?

As Alice and Ragnar began making their way back inside, Alice stopped to witness Sigtryggr stumbling away. Frowning, Alice slowly followed to watch as Sigtryggr placed a hand over his stomach and began to cough up any contents that had once been held inside. Walking forward, Alice placed her hand on his back to lightly rub his back with a frown as he wiped his mouth and choked out through the tears that he now shed, "How… How can someone be that evil? Help me make sense of it!"

"Truthfully, I don't think his religion mattered to him, because if he had been thinking about it, he would have sought a peaceful negotiation instead. When I compare King Alfred to King Aella, it's like day and night. In other words, unlike us, I don't think that they believe in destiny or fate in the same manner that our Gods give us as a trial of sorts. I believe that their God allows for men to rule, no matter how cruelly that it may be, without any punishment," she replied in a soft tone.

Shaking his head abruptly, Sigtryggr slammed his fist against the stronghold with tears streaming down his face, "Why did he have to go after Ragnar of all people?!" Alice could only sigh and was about to reply before Ragnar walked out with a frown, "It's because I was the King that he could never become. I held an army that could easily slaughter his, and they were always ready for battle when I called them to arms, while his list of allies grew thin. Now c'mon Allie, ya need rest."

---

Groaning, Alice, ready to pop any day now, pushed herself to stand until a sharp pain jolted through her, "Oh… Oh my Gods! Ragnar!" Cringing and pacing back and forth, Ragnar bolted in to comically slip on Alice's broken water, "Geez, did you spill water?" Alice was taking in deep breaths as she stopped to tightly grip their bed, "Lagertha and Björn, love!" With widened eyes, he blurted out before turning to bolt off, "Fucking Loki!" Alice scoffed a laugh at this, but could feel them coming.

Lying on her back, Alice screamed in pain as she gripped the bedding tightly before the first cry of life was heard, making Alice cut the umbilical cord and place the little girl to the side so that the two minutes could pass before Björn entered the world for his umbilical cord to be cut. Gasping sharply, she placed her hand over her belly to get rid of the afterbirth as she looked at the children that she had given birth to all by herself. Hearing the twins crying, Alice smiled and picked them up.

"Lagertha, Björn, welcome to the world," she smiled softly as Ragnar barreled into the room holding towels with a wide mouth that she had done everything herself, only to approach to place a towel in his arms for Lagertha to be handed over first. Cleaning the little lady, her eyes popped wide open before Ragnar chuckled, "Damn we make some cute kids." Handing Lagertha back to her mother, Björn was then handed over to be cleaned and bundled up before both became fussy.

Shifting forward a bit, Alice smiled as Ragnar slipped behind his wife to unlace her top to slide it from her shoulders for both newborns to begin feeding. Wrapping his arms around his wife's belly, he tearfully spoke, "Thank you Allie." Pressing her cheek to his, Alice chuckled softly in an understanding tone, "I couldn't have done it without you." All of her children then rushed in to see the newborns to melt, "Awe! Mommy, Lagertha and Björn are so cute," they happily chirped out together.

Back in Eoferwic now six years later, news of a reincarnation of Ragnar Lodbrok had now been spreading far and wide amongst the Viking kind, causing for many of their kin to flock to them and pledge their allegiance. Walking out wearing his gear for battle, Ragnar smiled as he watched Alice chasing his army of twins around happily, which Alice wasted no time at all and gave him another pair of twins eight and a half months later, Halfdan and Thyra, and right after them, Ubba and Åsa.

Did Alice stop though? Oh no, she then had Sassa and Sigurd, only to claim that she would have two more sets and that was it. Well, she kept her word, because she first had Einar and Fenra, only to then have Lodbrok and Ásdís to summarize and conclude the army she had personally created with Ragnar. However, he also cared for Havi, Sitric, Ivar, and Saga as his own since their father lost all internal honor and simply didn't care about tending to them after losing Alice as his wife.

With twelve blood children, four extra children, and Aelfwynn, you'd best believe there was never a dull moment in their home. Though, with how restless he was now becoming, Ragnar couldn't sit still any longer, so he planned to do what he had always known to do. He was going to create mayhem and conquer over lands. Sensing something off, Alice paused and turned her head to catch what her husband now wore before approaching him to take his hands, "Ragnar, please be safe."

"You're not coming too," he questioned, only for Alice to sigh softly and turn away, "Ragnar, you have a family. If we took them into battle, do you honestly believe that you could keep track of seventeen children? Besides, it's time that I sat down with Aelfwynn. Her and Erik are becoming rather close, so I'm giving her the choice over what she wants. She acts more Pagan than Christian now, holds her own ink from battles that's she's gone into with us, so I think they'd be a good match."

Tears filled her eyes before she snapped around to jump on his hips and hold him close to her before speaking, "Take care of yourself. You're always a damn mess without me around." Turning her head, Alice snickered, "By the Gods, Selko is a damn mess over leaving Katla and his kids behind. You'll be fine, because I tend to protect my man by sending Fenrir with you." Wiping her eyes, Alice released a breath and jumped down for Ragnar to hold her around the belly, "I love you Allie."

Looking at her army of twins, Alice called out from top to bottom, "Aelfwynn, Havi, Sitric, Ivar, Saga, Lagertha, Björn, Halfdan, Thyra, Ubba, Åsa, Sassa, Sigurd, Einar, Fenra, Lodbrok, Ásdís! Come and bid your father safety on his travels!" The army filed in quickly before Havi, Sitric, Ivar, and Saga groaned, "Why can't we go too mother?!" Alice, defeated, slumped her shoulders, "Fine, that just leaves Aelfwynn and I to deal with the rest of the damn twin army all by ourselves, now go."

Noticing Aelfwynn's face, Alice fumed and kicked her husband so hard that he was hurled to the side, "Son of a BITCH! Thanks for NOTHING! Say your goodbyes! NOW!" Groaning over his rib cracking under that much fury from his wife, he laid there and began to heal that crack before standing and brushing his attire off, he then kneeled in front of his little army to see that none of his children were sensitives and had basically been brought into this world tougher than Odin and Thor.

All children that were staying home curled up against their father, making him kiss the tops of all of their heads before speaking sternly, "Lagertha, Björn, you two are in charge of helping tend to your siblings while we are gone." Both nodded at their father before speaking in unison, "Yes daddy." Holding them close as he heard his wife furiously swearing inside before yelling, "RAGNAR, IF YOU AREN'T GONE WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES, I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" Standing, he waved.

Almost as if they were used to this by now, they all turned away once the house became silent as Alice slid onto the ground to finally burst into tears. Ragnar had just started moving his troops when he heard this, making him freeze and jump down before bolting inside of the home to smash his wife against his chest, "Honey, please, I can't do this without you standing by my side." She had to think of her children, so she shook her head, "Ragnar, I can't. I have to train the children."

Looking at his hurting face, he then spoke some of her vows, "And if you are ever to go into battle, I will be standing honorably by your side as your wife." Looking into his eyes, Alice spoke, "Ragnar, I won't place all of those lives that I brought into this world at risk. They haven't been fully trained on how to defend themselves, and I won't risk losing any of them. Now go." Standing and turning away, he allowed for her hand to slide against his palm before falling to his side as he left.

With Ragnar and his troops now gone, Alice began to clean up everything, only for Lagertha to place her hand over her mother's, "Mommy, we can clean. Go and get some rest. You are so tired from raising us all alone." It was BAD when her six year old could tell. Halfdan and Thyra were born the same year, so they were also six. Ubba, Åsa, Sassa, and Sigurd were five. While Einar, Fenra, Lodbrok, and Ásdís were four. She hadn't spaced them out at all. It had been one after the other.

Walking to her lounging couch, Alice laid down and passed out almost instantly, making all sets of twins frown deeply as Lagertha and Björn mumbled out, "This isn't fair to mommy. They will be gone for months, or possibly even years, and mommy never sleeps in her bed when daddy's gone. While they go out to have fun, mommy feels caged by a sense of duty to raise us so that when the time comes, we will be strong enough to fend for ourselves. If that isn't honor, then I dunno what is."

Björn then frowned even deeper, "It's not just that. Each time daddy leaves, mommy gains her night terrors again and WE have to calm her down. It gets so bad at times that Aunt Katla has to give mommy sleeping medicine while she watches over us. She tries to act so strong for us all, but I fear that she's becoming more fragile than strong. I mean, she's going to wake up any moment now and choke down her cries of pain." Right then Alice shot awake with panicked tears in her eyes.

It had been an entire year now as Ragnar rode inside of the settlement before dismounting and entering his home to see his family wasn't anywhere. Hearing Selko whistling, Ragnar walked over to find Alice asleep as their children held her hand out of worry. Katla walked in with folded arms, "Welcome home honey. Ragnar, Alice was on the brink of death from forcing herself to stay awake. She promised me to never tell you, but I'm pissed. Each time you leave, her night terrors return."

Lagertha and Björn both scoffed as they held their mother's hand tighter, "Right, as if he cares. Mom didn't sleep for months until she collapsed, her skin was as pale as a ghost, only for her to reach out at nothing with unfocused eyes as she sobbed, "Please, don't go, not again. If I die, I will wait for you, Ragnar." This made us all panic and rush to Aunt Katla as fast as we could to yell for help. If you're wondering, mom's been asleep for two months now. You're slowly killing mom!"

Walking to his wife, Ragnar fell to his knees before pressing his forehead against her own with tears dripping down his face as he then broke down, "Allie, I'm here. Please open your eyes! On my honor, I won't leave again unless you say that I can!" Katla could only sigh in annoyance as if saying, "Yeah, you did this to yourself." Ragnar pressed his lips to his wife's lips tightly, but her face didn't change in the slightest. His heart now throbbed in his chest and ears without any mercy.

Over the next month, nothing changed until one day, her eyes opened groggily in the middle of the night. Standing weakly, Alice reached the door to stumble out. Walking towards her home, she entered to see Ragnar on the couch, only for her to curl up on his chest while softly crying, making his eyes slowly open before shooting up and holding her tightly, "Allie?! By the Gods, I won't leave again unless you say I can! I love you too much to lose you!" Alice cried softly and held him tightly.

Elsewhere, a gathering of men entered Wessex since Ragnar had reclaimed Mercia during Edward's absence, making him slam his palms against a desk, "He will know if we are luring him into a trap! Ragnar is sharp, not to mention Alice is his damn wife! She would see us coming far before we even made our first steps!" Another then spoke out, "I will bet you that she only checks for her husband and children, but not herself." This made Edward sigh, "What are you suggesting we do?"

This man chuckled softly before continuing, "With the legend of Ragnar Lodbrok's death well known to all, we could use that to our advantage, just not for him. I say we "persuade" him to bend to our will." Edward scowled at this before speaking, "You wish to use Alice as bait?!" Folding his arms, this man scowled in return as he continued, "Over a pit of venomous snakes, yes. We need to torture information out of her too. She has taken up his name, so it would only be a fitting way to go."

"Yes, well, I HIGHLY doubt that God's wife will appear again for this woman that stole the man that she had fallen in love with such a long time ago. In any case, even if we forced Ragnar to watch, or submit, I will bet you that Alice will not let him submit so easily, and her Gods have given her strange powers to heal since her soul is so pure. This would only mean that even if we placed her in a pit of venomous snakes, she would be completely unphased," Edward replied in an honest tone.

Another man then spoke out curiously, "How does she even heal without the use of medicine?" Looking at all of the notes that his father had left concerning Alice, he spoke, "From what my father had written, she healed me as an infant just by holding her palms over my body, only for them to begin emitting sparkling white particles of light, and in her mind, she has to hold a clear objective to heal. Now, this must be noted that Alice physically CANNOT place a curse on other individuals."

Continuing to read his father's notes, he then shifted his head up to speak, "My father worded that Alice is much like an angel due to her given title by her main Pagan God who is called the "All-Father", or "Odin". Her title is one of the children of "Light and Love" due to her gentle, tender, and loving soul. Apparently, she is also something called an "Aesir", which I don't know what that entails of to a Pagan." Another man then stuttered out, "I… I believe that I know that answer, my King."

Motioning his hand for this stuttering fool to continue, he then nodded his head, "I believe that I heard other Pagans speaking of it. If I am not mistaken, it's one of the titles that their Gods are addressed as. In other terms, it's a race of celestial beings. Apparently, there are two types of Gods in their religion. There are the Aesir Gods, who most likely symbolize the violent aspects of nature, and then there are the Vanir Gods, who most likely symbolize the peaceful aspects of nature."

Hearing snickering at that moment, all heads shot up to witness Ragnar as he walked inside, "Ah, so ya Christian dummies CAN learn! Believe me, Allie checked on ya fools before sending me, even though I'm extremely worried about her right now. So, maybe you fools would like to surrender before I start a massacre for even holding the THOUGHTS of harming my wife," he snarled out viciously as he skillfully pulled both of his blades out and twirled them around himself gracefully.

"I was only told that I wasn't allowed to hurt you in specific since Alice saved your life as a child, Edward," his darkened tone rolled out spitefully as Edward took a step back before lowering his head, "Ragnar Lodbrok, welcome to our gathering. I didn't think that you would make it." Ragnar's eyes blazed with clear hatred over this man that one could barely classify as a king due to him even considering harming his wife, only to snap out, "Shut your DAMN mouth, you pitiful excuse of a KING!"

From her home, Alice checked her visions, only for her to drop a glass plate that shattered against the ground, "Aelfwynn, watch over your brothers and sisters! Fenrir, come!" Darting out with Alice, Fenrir shifted to lift his mistress onto his back to begin rushing as fast as he could. Back in Wintanceaster, Ragnar was grabbed before slammed to the ground to have both of his blades taken from him right as Alice arrived and bolted inside while jumping over all guards, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone snapped their heads back to see Alice scowl deeply as she began walking forward, only for Ragnar to yell, "Dammit Allie! Get out of here!" Slamming her foot on her husband's head, she leaned forward to smirk, "I'll bet that none of you fools thought that I was the actual mastermind behind it all. I will surrender somewhat peacefully as long as you allow my grunt of a husband to go free without a hassle. It's either that, or I give Fenrir the command to attack the entire city."

They hadn't seen this coming from a mile away, considering Alice smirked darker and pressed her foot harsher against her husband's head to shut him up the moment he blurted out, "Excuse me? GRUNT?!" Right then, the pressure she placed on his face made him appear as if he were a Ragnar pancake, "Um… Allie dear, you're squishing my damn face!" Smirking, she leaned her forearms on the knee that was propped up on her husband's head, "Don't speak to your QUEEN that way!"

"You fool, you actually believe that you're the standing KING?! Don't make me laugh. Everyone knows that you're merely a substitute," she perfectly feigned while giving all of the men in the room a challenging gaze as she chuckled, "Though, I will admit that you do have quite the desirable body. However, before you take either of us into custody, you might wish to know what I have to say. We hold a bargaining chip." Edward swallowed heavily as he replied, "A bargaining chip? How?"

Smirking, Alice motioned for all to sit, making them comply before she sat on her husband's back while internally speaking, "Just shut up and listen, you damn idiot." Crossing her legs, Alice lazily inspected her nails, "We have captured Aelfwynn, along with the former Queen, Ealhswith. Both are our lovely prisoners. But, on my honor, neither have been harmed, nor has Aelfwynn's purity been tarnished… yet, that is. Refuse to comply with me and I will kill them both without hesitation."

Swiping his hand across his body, Edward barked out, "That's impossible! No one has found them!" Lifting her brow, Alice snickered, "That's because we kept them hidden from any spying eyes for instances just… like… this. You need to learn more from your father's writing, because I do remember him writing down that I am a tactical genius that's hard to keep his eyes on… even with all of his spies." - "Because I went to Ireland and Vinland, that is." - "It's your choice to believe me or not."

Staring straight into Edward's eyes, Alice chuckled as she toyed with Ragnar's bottom lip, "Well, I suppose that your mother and niece, nor the life of all of your people, aren't as important as LAND." Even Ragnar could see the double-edged blade of a situation that Alice had just created. With Fenrir in the town, along with the threats of Ealhswith and Aelfwynn's life, they had no choice but to listen to the demands that Alice now made as she clicked her tongue, "Well, what'll it be Edward?"

Snapping her fingers, Alice snickered, "I can also have Fenrir murder all of Wessex without a problem… not to mention that I can summon the Gods to help with that task. You have five seconds to decide," she finished by raising a single hand to snap her fingers, only to pause, "Ah, that's right, you will also be allowing for both of us to walk free. You look at us Vikings as if we are soulless, but frankly, it baffles me that you've never HIRED us before to unite all under the same banner."

"Though, trying to convert all Pagans is idiotic whenever it should be completely fine for anyone to hold any religion that they wish. I've probably converted more Christians through a given choice than you have accomplished converting us DEVILS to Christianity. I've even brought former MONKS that are now devoted Pagans," she snickered out before whistling for Erik and many others to enter the room, only for Erik and his gang of prior monk pals to enter looking and sounding Pagan.

Entering, Erik smirked as he spoke, "Don't think that our genius of a Queen is joking. We were once monks that were personally blessed by the All-Father." All of the mouths in the room then dropped as Edward spoke, "You all have damned your souls?!" Erik then grumbled out, "Fucking Loki, these people don't listen. My Queen, it might be a good idea to…" - "Yeah, yeah. Gods of Einherjar, come," she beckoned out before all Gods appeared with smirks held on their faces, including Alfred.

Edward's mouth dropped wide open at this before blurting out, "Father?!" Alfred nodded at this before chuckling, "Alice got you tangled up in her webs, I see." Swatting Alfred's arm, Alice snickered, "Before his death, your father asked to convert. Your father and you are completely different. You hold a one-track mind, while your father was open-minded. Now, what will your choice be?" Edward swallowed heavily before Ragnar propped his chin up, "Sometime this century would be nice."

"You may go. However, none of my people are to be harmed," he spoke, making Alice smirk to show her pearly teeth, "Oh, of course. On my honor, they will be left alone." Standing and helping Ragnar to stand, they both turned to walk away before called out to, "Alice! My mother and niece?!" Shifting her head back with an even larger grin, she spoke, "I said pick. You chose to save the lives of your people, not to have your mother and niece returned." Dumbfounded, Edward seethed.

---

Making it out of Wintanceaster with everyone alive and well, Ragnar pinched Alice's cheek, "Your lowly grunt, huh?" Alice chuckled at this and leaned against his chest as she spoke, "Not at all. I bow down to you, my King." Ragnar held her close as he admitted, "With every great King that there is, there has to be a Queen standing by his side. However, I think it's time we took all Pagans to Uppsala to make our prayers and sacrifices to the Gods. What do you say, want to go to the holy lands?"

Alice's eyes flashed and sparkled with tears of joy at the chance for the whole family to take a trip together, "Really, you mean it Ragnar? I think that it's a wonderful idea! Plus, I think that it would be a good idea to lay low for a bit after that little stunt that I pulled. Edward has no damn idea that Aethelflaed gave us the responsibility of raising Aelfwynn." This made her husband release a breathy chuckle and squeeze her belly tenderly, "That's the truth. I mean, I didn't expect any of that."

Arriving back home, all of those who had come along jumped down before Alice tapped Erik's arm, making him peer at her, "Yes, my lady?" Smiling softly, she motioned for him to follow them inside of the home. Following Alice, they all entered as Ragnar called out, "Aelfwynn, dear?" Walking out, Aelfwynn smiled softly, "Welcome home mother and father." Alice chuckled and motioned for her and Erik to sit down, making them take a seat with confusion, "We know everything, you two."

Appearing puzzled, Aelfwynn questioned, "Meaning?" Ragnar smiled softly to calm them down as he spoke, "Aelfwynn, Erik, we know that you two are very fond of each other. Our question is, do you wish to get married?" This made both of their eyes flash with emotion before holding hands and nodding. This made Alice tear up since Aelfwynn felt like her first born child at this point in time, "We are all taking a trip to Uppsala to pray to the Gods. There, we will have you both married."

Aelfwynn had only heard stories of Uppsala from Ragnar and Alice, so since she was now more of a Pagan, it was fitting. She also knew that Aelfwynn was physically incapable of having any children, much less did she actually want any of her own due to the chaos that was consistently ongoing inside of the family home. As she had put it, her siblings felt like her children. Out of the blue, a massive ruckus was heard from Lodbrok, "Sigurd, Ubba, knock it off! Stop picking on Ásdís right now!"

Both parents gained a dry face, only for Alice to then yell out furiously, "SIGURD, UBBA, I WARNED YOU BOTH!" Sigurd and Ubba bolted down the stairs in the attempts to get away from their furious mother, only for her to tightly catch the back of their shirts before hurling the boys towards their father. Catching his sons, Ragnar scowled as Alice heard little Ásdís crying while her big brother held her and chirped out, "C'mon, ya don't have to cry anymore Ásdís, mommy's going to kill them!"

That's when the unexpected was heard from little Ásdís, "But I don't want them to die! They might pick on me from time to time, but I love my big brothers!" Swiping tears from her own face, Alice sniffled before walking up to her little girl to hold her close, "Honey, I spent eight and a half months carrying all of you twins at a time, I'm not going to kill them. Lodbrok, you know your sister believes every word that comes from your damn mouth, so at least try wording your sentences better."

Picking her little Valkyrie up, Alice kissed her cheek, "You, little missy, need to toughen up. If you let every word get to you, then you are going to have one hard life. Now, c'mon little lady, what were you three even arguing about?" Ásdís sniffled and wiped her eyes as her sweet little tone rolled out, "They said that you and daddy aren't alive anymore." Patting her cheek, Alice gasped, "Wait a second, you're saying that I'm ALIVE?!" Ásdís began to giggle at her mother once she winked.

"I know of one person who wants to gobble you both up," she grinned as she swooped Lodbrok up to carry them downstairs as Ragnar still held the two dummies. Handing the young twins over, their eyes sparkled, "Daddy!" Alice grabbed both of the dummies from their father before taking them outside to beat them both to Niflheim and back while yelling, "We are a damn family! So I expect for you both to start learning how to love and respect that family while you stop wishing us dead!"

Hurling both boys inside looking like a bruised and battered mess, Alice walked inside while brushing her hands off to see Ragnar playfully chewing on Lodbrok's and Ásdís's cheeks and necks in the form of playful kisses, making them giggle. Alice smiled at this before yelling up to all children, "Kids! Pack your bags! We are going to Uppsala to pray to the gods, make our sacrifices, and hold your sister's wedding!" That's when it began sounding as if Thor had just landed inside of the home.

Ragnar chuckled at this as he placed the two youngest down to go pack. Once the family was packed, they headed to all of the longships that they owned before boarding with various types of sacrifices, along with a volunteer human sacrifice. There was a reason that Alice and Selko in particular had stopped going to Uppsala. All of the Hofgothi continued to try and persuade Dagr, and then Ragnar, that one of the twins should be the Gothi of Uppsala. So, they now prepared for that.

They did, however, keep track of the nine years that would pass before the massive gatherings, claiming that when they returned, one would lead the ceremony once. That just so happened to be this year. Arriving in Sweden, they all got off of the ship with a damn army of twins from both her and Selko, along with other Pagans that had wished to join them. Selko had three sets of twins so far, and Katla put a stop to having any more children by asking Alice to remove her fertility again.

Alice had done the same thing to herself and removed her fertility since she didn't plan on torturing poor Ragnar by never giving him sex again. That wouldn't only scar him, but it would most definitely scar her as well. Entering Uppsala now with Ragnar holding a set of twins on his shoulders, a set on his back, and a pair on his hips, had him groaning, "Geez you six are heavy!" Alice held Aelfwynn's hand with a smile as she peered around in amazement, "Welcome to Uppsala, Aelfwynn."

All sacrifices were placed where they were supposed to go by others that were familiar to Uppsala as Aelfwynn took in a deep breath as she took hold of her Thor's hammer amulet necklace that Ragnar had given her, only for tears to slide down her face, "Mother, I can feel the Gods." Alice smiled tenderly and squeezed her hand as they slowly walked up the steps to enter the temple, only for Aelfwynn to come to a stop for her head to turn to look at Freyr before approaching, "Freyr…"

Alice was definitely noticed by the Hofgothi, making them approach her, "Lady Ásdís Eyvǫr, I presume that you have finally come to be this year's Gothi? My, who all have you brought?" This was going to be confusing since she had a daughter named Ásdís, but she motioned, "My husband, Ragnar Lodbrok, my eldest daughter, Aelfwynn, and the army of my twins, Havi, Sitric, Ivar, Saga, Lagertha, Björn, Halfdan, Thyra, Ubba, Åsa, Sassa, Sigurd, Einar, Fenra, Lodbrok, and Ásdís."

"So, the rumors were true. Lord Ragnar Lodbrok has been reborn by the Gods," one spoke, making Alice whistle at her husband, who had six extra dummies still glued to him, only to place all six on their feet before reminding all children to be respectful to the Gods before turning towards his wife to approach and wrap his arm around her hip as she spoke, "How often am I respectful to the Gods?" This made Ragnar purse his lips as his chest began to rumble, "You sass them frequently."

Swatting her husband's chest, he straightened up as Alice scolded, "Will ya introduce yourself again?" Snorting a laugh, Ragnar nodded, "Ragnar Lodbrok, future Aesir of Asgard. We do have a daughter named Ásdís, so you might want to call her Eyvǫr. We do have a surprise for you all on this year since our daughter is to be married. If I know my wife, she is going to object to you redressing her, so don't even make that attempt." They all nodded with wide eyes over the true rumors.

Lowering their heads out of respect, Alice and Ragnar chuckled, "Until that time, we would like to enjoy ourselves and give our thanks to the Gods." Nodding their heads, they bowed in respect as the two began to walk away to speak to the Gods. Once it was time for the ceremonies to begin, Ragnar sat with all of the children as Alice walked out with Fenrir, only to announce, "I know you all were hoping for a more traditional approach to honor the Gods, but they all hold their own honor!"

Slowly bringing her palms up that now held shimmering white particles emitting from them, had Ragnar smirking as he stroked Ásdís's hair, only for Alice's eyes to slowly slide open and call out, "Gods of Einherjar, come forth!" All appeared while standing tall and proud, making everyone clasp their hands over their mouths as tears began sliding down their faces. Odin took a step forward and called out, "Bring the sacrifices!" Alice then placed a bowl down to collect all of the spilled blood.

Each male animal was sacrificed and had their heads severed as Alice walked to the men to kiss their foreheads, only for Odin to do the same before the sacrifices were made. Holding his hand out to Alice, he smiled, "Allie, your Honor Blade." Pulling out her Honor Blade, she sliced Odin's hand open for him to design the tree of life on each dead males forehead as he spoke, "As we are in life, we are also in death. The honor we hold doesn't flee upon our deaths. We carry it to Valhalla!"

Hearing a rallying cheer from the mass that sat there, Odin then held a hand up, "Erik Haraldsson, please come stand before me, son." Erik stood and approached before his shoulder was pat, only for Odin to call out again, "Ragnar Lodbrok, please come forth with your daughter, Aelfwynn Ragnarsdóttir, to give away in marriage to this fine young man." Alice smiled with tears in her eyes as Ragnar stood to take Aelfwynn's hand to stand gracefully with tears in his eyes, "Dammit."

Walking Aelfwynn forward with tears falling from his eyes had Alice an emotional wreck as she stepped forward to place the flower crown on her head before softly whispering, "Your Uncle Selko made this." Aelfwynn pursed her lips to not laugh over her tough Uncle of all people making such a beautiful crown. Alice stepped back so Ragnar could finish his walk that each step felt like a bone in his body was breaking. Fuck, none of his other daughters were allowed to get married after this.

Making it on the stage, Ragnar pressed his lips to her hand and was about to give her hand to Erik until she smiled and wrapped her arms around him to speak softly, "I love you daddy." Wrapping his arms around her securely, Ragnar broke down against her, "Dammit, you will always be my little girl that I love and treasure." Aelfwynn cried softly against his shoulder as he kissed the side of her head. Alice was on the verge of bursting into tears, so Ragnar placed her hand in Erik's gently.

"You take care of my little girl. Do you understand me Erik," he emotionally spoke, making Erik nod respectfully, "Of course Ragnar." Aelfwynn noticed her mother's barriers beginning to crumble and fall, "I love you mommy. I'll always be your daughter, no matter where I go." Alice released a breath as she wiped her eyes and nodded as the ceremony began by Odin himself as Ragnar held his wife securely in his arms, feeling as if he was the one who held onto her for dear life over this.

By the time they sealed their love with a kiss, Odin smiled as everyone clapped happily. Though, Alice was now tending to the complete mess named Ragnar, and just had to make it worse as she chuckled, "Awe honey, don't worry, you only have to do this eight more times with our other daughters." This made Ragnar imagine having to give away his youngest, making him burst into tears to furiously swipe them away, "Al… Allie! Why would you even say that to me at a time like this?!"

"Because it's highly amusing at how much of a baby you actually are," she teased playfully, making him gain a dry face until Alice turned her head to look at her glowing daughter before whispering out, "Besides, look at how happy she is Ragnar. Wait for the honeymoon phase to end and they are at one another's throats." This made Ragnar burst into a roar of laughter, "Honey, we are still in that phase!" Alice then lifted her brow, "A few nights ago, I thought you were going to murder me."

Furrowing his brows as everyone got a chance to hold the All-Father's hands to gain his blessings of Yggdrasil, Ragnar snorted, "Well excuse me. We had been in a damn boat for what felt like years! Besides, I was more scared of you tempting our children to give me the blood eagle! They respect, and don't disobey you in the slightest. So my ass would've been dead!" Alice snorted a burst of bright chipper laughter over this, "Oh, just like the time I made you understand what anal felt like?"

Ragnar raised his eyes in dread over that initial comment, "You shredded my damn pride on that night." Thor, hearing this, choked on his own spit before roaring with laughter, "Damn Allie, that's SAVAGE to make your HUSBAND endure!" Flicking her eyes over, Alice grinned devilishly, "Just like when I was a SAVAGE to you before I married?" Thor rubbed his backside due to remembering that before whining, "Allie, don't bring that up of all things!" Alice then snickered, "You won't, so I do."

Odin shifted his glimmering eyes over in clear amusement over the topic, "When you told me that you were even thinking of doing it, I warned you that she would get you back. But does Thor listen? No, Thor strikes, only for Allie to strike back fifty times worse." Ragnar's mouth dropped wide open over this before blurting out, "Allie, you did that to THOR of all people?!" Alice lifted her brows while giving a snarky smirk, "And this surprises you HOW? I sass Odin, so what do you think?"

Later in the night, everyone was drinking their share of mead and feasting, only for all to turn their heads as Alice and Ragnar created a group dance to a song that had once been a haunting lullaby for Alice and Selko. Aelfwynn smiled at her parents before speaking out, "I hope that one day… we can hold a love as powerful as the love that my parents hold for one another. Their love almost seems boundless. I mean, even when they are mad at each other, you can see it in their eyes."

Havi chuckled as she stroked Ásdís's hair as she slept, "I think that it depends on the strength and will power that you hold as individuals. I mean… for a love like that, you can't simply give up after one fight and call it quits. You also have to think about the other person frequently, and what they might want. That was a mistake that my father made. He was the King of pretending everything. Pretending to love mom and his children, while also pretending that he loved the life he held."

Sitric then groaned and stroked Lodbrok's hair as he slept on his lap, "All that dick could ever think about was being the King of Ireland. Well he got his damn wish. I heard that he even started a family over there now that Baldr returned to the holder that he was supposed to be in. Dad is a huge goofball that had to have the All-Father explain to him that he was the original holder of Baldr, but not to become him. He holds Baldr's warm and loving soul that's filled to the brim with joy."

"Let go Ragnar," Alice chirped. Releasing his wife, she twirled away and began to take one arm after the next before returning to him to take his hand. Snickering, Ragnar began to circle with Alice's palm pressed to his before they both placed one arm over the next to take hands and turn together before they both proudly raised their arms to turn to the side with one arm behind their neck to hold the other's outstretched hand to steer, only for Alice to twirl away and go through the crowd.

Katla laughed and tugged her husband's hand, "Selko, Allie made a dance to your haunting lullaby! C'mon, it looks fun!" Chuckling, Selko stood and followed his wife before looking at his eldest daughter and son, "Eyvar, Fenris, watch over your brothers and sisters." Both nodded as their goofy father was tugged into the crowd, before chuckling and waving, "Yes sir!" Havi could only burst into laughter at her cousins, "Eyvar, Fenris, how do you live with that much concentrated goofiness?

Eyvar and Fenris scoffed a laugh, "I could ask ya the same thing with Uncle Ragnar! Our moms are the only serious ones!" Alice then squeaked once she was tripped to collapse on Selko, making Havi snort out a laugh as she motioned over at the two, "You were saying? My mom is just as goofy as my dad. Aunt Katla isn't any better now that I think about it. I guess it's their fury that makes our moms so terrifying! Though, mom is usually a beautiful dancer, so I blame Uncle Selko for that."

This made all of the children laugh softly to not wake the sets of sleeping twins due to the fact that they knew that Alice was, indeed, a beautiful dancer. Aelfwynn then looked at her siblings to question, "So, how long are these gatherings? Does it happen often? I would think a gathering of this size, with this much food and drinks to pass around, would be a tough thing to accomplish every month. If you are always sacrificing everything to the Gods, then you'd run out of food and people."

Havi then shook her head and chuckled brightly, "No, these types of celebrations only happen every nine years and they last for nine days that hold twenty-seven sacrifices, along with nine men, one for each day. However, the final day is probably the most important. Behind the tree where all of the sacrifices are hung, there is a spring. It is custom for a man, who is alive, to be thrown over into the spring. If the man surfaces alive, then the Gods will answer the peoples wish. So, keep your fingers crossed!"

Finally, the ninth day arrived as all approached the spring with men carrying a man before Alice motioned her head, "May the Gods hear our wishes and hope they are answered! Let this honorable soul show his strong faith that the Gods will protect him so that we all may continue living in harmony!" Nodding her head, the man relaxed as he was tossed over to splash into the spring after a long drop. Alice watched closely until his head popped out of the water to give a rallying cheer.

Alice grinned at this, "On this rare occasion, I will jump as well, knowing that the Gods will protect me! Should I surface, know that the Gods will no doubt keep their words to grant any and all wishes!" Alice made a beyond graceful dive without thinking of fear in the slightest. Everyone rushed to the ledge with massive eyes until Alice's head popped up and held her fist up, "The Gods have given their promise, on their honor, to fulfill any and all wishes that our kin have made on this day!"

This man and Alice gave each other a rough high-five before laughing over how they had both managed to survive, only to grip each other's hand and hold them up victoriously, "To the Gods and the honor that they hold!" Selko then grinned, "One more won't hurt to make sure that their word is kept!" Diving into the water, everyone watched with throbbing hearts until Selko's spiky platinum blonde, gold, and blue hair popped up for all three to hold their hands up, "It's a promise of honor!"

Walking back up, all three laughed brightly as Ragnar, Katla, and their army bolted to them. Katla, furious, slapped Selko upside the head roughly at the same time that Ragnar wacked Alice upside the head and yelled the same thing at the same time, "What in the name of the GODS is wrong with you two?!" Alice and Selko felt their brains rattling until groaning and snickered out, "It looked like fun!" Alice then snorted, "Girls are never tossed, so I wanted to be the first daring enough!"

Gaining a dry face, Ragnar released a massive breath towards the skies, "Of course you did." Grabbing her husband's hand, Alice laughed and rushed to the cliff again before forcing Ragnar to dive with her, making all of their children hold widened eyes as Katla held her hand out since Selko now fidgeted. Seeing Ragnar and Alice's head pop up, Ragnar could only laugh hysterically, "That is a RUSH!" Alice then perched herself on his hips to mumble, "I wonder how fun water sex is."

This made Ragnar snort a laugh, "We will have to try that some time." Right then, a massive splash was heard for Katla and Selko to pop their heads out of the water, making her laugh once her heart attack had calmed, "I need to pull a Sitric. WHOA!" Sitric turned bright red over hearing this, "Aunt Katla! I can't even remember the last time that I said WHOA!" Havi became an attack dog when she barked out, "Ya IDIOT! Ya said WHOA this morning before rushing off like a puppy!"

Thinking back, all he could do was question aloud as if not remembering this even happening, "Did I really?" Furrowing his brows, he took a knee to look the sweetest one in the eye, "Ásdís, did that really happen?" Ásdís began looking everywhere in the exact manner that her mother did before answering softly and sweetly, "Well… um… yeah, ya really did." Sitric leaned against his adorable little sister's chest to whine, making her pat his hair and smile, "I think it's great that you're curious!"

Havi snorted heavily at this as she picked Lodbrok up to perch on her hip, "That's an extremely polite way of putting it Ásdís. Just admit it, Sitric is a complete idiot! He even almost drowned mommy once because of his so called curiosity." Ásdís could only shift her gaze over with a frown as Sitric picked her up to perch the little lady on his hip, only for her to speak, "Havi, you're being really mean today." Alice walked up to hear that before whacking Havi, "Knock it off this instant Havi."

Sitric's head then snapped to the side before hollering out and bolting with Ásdís in tow, "WHOA!" Alice snorted out a laugh before full-blown bursting into a hysterical fit of laughter, "By the Gods, Sitric is free amusement! He's about as dorky as Selko!" Right as this was said, Selko hauled passed them, "By the GODS! Why is it always me?!" Watching another large bird chasing Selko, Alice began dying of laughter the moment she heard, "Daddy, are ya being chased by a big bird again?!"

Ragnar chuckled as he picked his wife up to perch her on his hips as she laughed, only to chuckle, "Time to go home now." Alice wiped a tear from her eye before clearing her throat multiple times, "King Edward is most likely plotting our demise as we speak. It most likely won't be a very pretty death either! Who will go first though? Will I be given the honors? Or will your dorky ass be given those honors?" Ragnar grumbled softly, "On my honor, I will murder his ass if he goes after you."