I hope this story turned out great and everyone loved reading it as much loved writing it! This deserves a grand word count exit!
As always,
Enjoy!
~Kyvena
~13: Wonderland Of Legends And Legacies~
"What in the name of God do you mean that you still haven't been able to find any of the Pagans in Eoferwic," Edward questioningly snarled out to his spy furiously before fanning the man off so that he wasn't tempted to kill the poor bastard. Rubbing his temples, his new personal guard then cleared his throat, "Sire, I might be able to shed some light on that due to previously being a Pagan." Turning his head, he then folded his arms, "Alright Magni, you have my undivided attention."
Magni nodded, fully knowing that he wasn't a prior Pagan due to still being a devoted practitioner, before continuing, "Every nine years, Uppsala, a sacred sight and shrine for the Pagans in Sweden, gather to pray. Though, Pagans from all over go to join in on the prayers. It spans for nine days, so it's a possibility that they have gone there to pray as a way of lying low. Alice knows that you're furious with her, so her and Ragnar left. My advice is to retake Eoferwic and wait for their return."
Pushing off, Edward chuckled as he began to walk out, "Well done Magni. You are to come with me." Bowing, he followed as Edward gathered his troops to saddle up, "We head to Eoferwic! These Pagans have no idea that they have just left their city defenseless! On this day, we reclaim OUR city of YORK! Now, we move out! Any Pagans that are there, we now no longer give them a choice! We either force them to convert or die in the name of GOD, because there is only ONE TRUE GOD!"
Elsewhere, Ragnar lazily sprawled on the ship appearing as if he were about to go mental. Alice and Selko tensed up immensely before yelling, "We now make double time! Edward is headed to apparently what is actually called York, our home of Eoferwic! If we pick up speed, we should reach the city before he does!" Looking up, Alice called out, "Muninn, show me what lies ahead!" With her sight connecting to the raven's, she hummed, "Either way, we are going to be meeting them."
Reaching the dock, Alice and Ragnar jumped off with Fenrir sniffing the air and growling. Screams in the distance could now clearly be heard as everyone swiftly tied off the ships and got off. Alice began to sulk forward furiously before dashing, "Fenrir, come!" As the pup began to shift, Alice flung her leg over him until he was his full massive size that bolted before skidding to a stop to begin barking and snarling furiously to freeze all soldiers in place appearing mortified over this beast.
Checking her visions, she witnessed Edward sitting on her husband's damn throne. Standing, Alice bolted forward for Fenrir to use his snout to shoot her straight through a window. Healing her cuts, Alice made her way down the steps with rage as Edward sat there with a smirk, "I'm no longer playing your games. Now, where is my niece? She is to be married off to that of royalty soon. It's all been arranged and her future awaits her. My mother refused to tell me anything, so enlighten me."
Alice rolled her eyes before she answered, "Get out of my husband's throne and I will consider it." Scowling, Edward tightly gripped his fists before spitting out, "This is no longer your husband's throne," pausing, Edward narrowed his eyes before continuing, "Now tell me, your KING!" Alice then spit at his feet with a smirk, "Excuse me? Edward, you aren't my King! That would be Ragnar's role that I also fooled you about during our last meeting! You're merely the King of being fooled!"
Giving a challenging smirk, Alice could only end up musing, "I find it amusing that Aethelflaed didn't trust you enough to tell you anything before her passing. It's even more funny that your very own mother won't tell you. Aethelflaed gave FULL parental guardianship of Aelfwynn to Ragnar and me. That is my daughter that you now speak about!" Edward's gaze darkened at that moment due to Alice's sassy mouth that wasn't helping him remain calm, "Where is your proof to this claim?!"
Aelfwynn bolted inside at that moment, "Mother, ya aren't hurt are you?!" Snorting out a laugh, Alice ended up keeled over with laughter over Edward's face concerning his niece's appearance that appeared completely Pagan, only to turn her head slightly, "It must run in our family to ditch our men when us women know that we are just as strong, or even stronger than them!" Aelfwynn gained a sheepish face over this, "Well, I did have the best extremely reckless role model as I got older!"
Edward looked at his niece's inked skin, the way her hair was styled and now held Alice's trio colored locks, the way she spoke, and the way she dressed, "Oh my God, you look exactly like a Pagan!" Aelfwynn folded her arms and rolled her eyes, "That's because I am a Pagan, ya idiot! I'm technically not even your niece anymore. I personally asked the Gods to rebirth me as mother and father's daughter while in Uppsala. Though, I do acknowledge that Aethelflaed was my birth mother."
Furious, Edward barked out, "Why in the name of God would you do that?!" Alice just about died of laughter the moment Aelfwynn grumbled out, "Fucking Loki… Christians never listen…" Alice was laughing so hard now that little snorts were being released as tears of joy spilled down her face, making Aelfwynn bubble over with bright giggles, "Mother, stop!" Calming herself to a certain extent, Alice brushed the tears from her face as she spoke, "Aelfwynn, c'mon now, Edward is still family."
"Not by blood, thankfully," she sassed, making Alice purse her lips and squeak out, "When did you even ask the All-Father to do this?" Aelfwynn snickered before frowning slightly, "At the end of the eighth day in Uppsala long after you summoned the Gods of Einherjar for people to give their thanks and stuff. I kept looking around at the entire family to notice that even though I held a striking resemblance to you and father, I knew that I wasn't actually related, and I honestly wanted to be."
Thinking back, Alice hummed until Aelfwynn continued, "Havi saw me asking the All-Father for this and it put her in a terrible mood. None of you were paying attention when she walked up to me and stared me down before saying that she was the first born, not me. I then argued that she wasn't father's child either, but now I was, so technically that DID make me the first born since I was the oldest. She became so furious, but knew that Uppsala was not a place for fighting, and left."
Alice's mouth could only gape at this, "Is THAT the reason Havi was in such a bad mood on the ninth day?!" Aelfwynn nodded with tears in her bright blue and golden eyes, making Alice's face soften and bring Aelfwynn to her chest as she cried, only for this loving mother to snicker, "I had wondered why your appearance had changed so drastically! But honey, listen to me. Despite all of that, you are my eldest, related by blood or not, no matter how much Havi wished that you weren't."
Hearing Edward clear his throat, both females turned, only for Alice to sigh and tap Aelfwynn's backside, "Dear, give your Uncle some love. How much he actually loves you is up for debate since he was the one that dethroned you after only a single month after taking the throne. Edward, I don't think you understand what you did to her. Lord Aethelhelm had been sending out people to collect Aelfwynn to forcibly marry her off without your knowledge, but thankfully, I got to her first."
Rolling her eyes, Aelfwynn walked forward and hugged Edward before giving him a vicious warning, "If you do anything to hurt my mother or father, I will kill you myself. I've been in more battles than you even know, because it wasn't just my father who took Mercia, I was there killing all of your men. Don't fuck with me, or my family. If you were wishing to marry me off, then push the thought far from your damn mind. I'm already married now to the same ex-monk that you met."
Oh, she was far from done, so she gripped the back of his hair furiously as she continued to whisper, "I'm heathen, I'm godless, and I will kill you without a single tear shed." As this little chat was ongoing, Alice shifted her annoyed gaze up to see a rope net hanging above her head, only to pull out her Honor Blade and chuckle, "Aelfwynn, honey, stay just like that." Bolting forward, Alice jumped on her daughter's back before pressing off of her stiffened up form to slice the net in half.
Landing gracefully, Alice smirked, "I absolutely love how stupid that you think I am." Aelfwynn then turned to see the rope net falling to the ground before punching Edward across the face and spitting at his feet, making him point, "Capture them both now!" Holding her Honor Blade up, she growled, "On my honor, I will protect my daughter!" Of course, she had made the blade magical, so the moment she claimed on her honor, the runes held on the blade began to glow a brilliant white.
Pulling her Osmanthus Blade out, she tossed it to her daughter that caught it with ease before smirking, "Bloom my flowers!" Even Aelfwynn had never witnessed this before as she gawked in amazement when the blade only became a hilt, making Alice smirk, "A blade gifted by the Gods is a powerful weapon, Edward. A single petal is so sharp that it can cut straight through stone, so would you like to test that theory?" Alice sharply flicked one flower petal at him, gashing his cheek open.
"All Aelfwynn has to do is use that bad girl like cracking a whip at a disobedient animal," the mother tigress spat out furiously before continuing, "The Honor Blade was once a mortal weapon until the Gods blessed it. Only those worthy of holding its immeasurable power are capable of wielding it. If you don't hold the power, it will violently reject you. I'm almost tempted to rename it, like 'Holy Blade', or something. However, it's a blade holding only the purest seitr of the light of the Gods."
Snickering, Alice then slammed her blade into the stone flooring abruptly, only to fold her arms as she spoke, "If you are capable of pulling the sword from the stone, then I will kneel to you without any questions asked, as will Ragnar." Right. Even if Edward were fully capable of pulling the blade out, she highly doubted that Ragnar would ever kneel to him. However, Edward stood and approached the blade before taking the hilt. Pulling with all of his might, the blade wouldn't even budge.
Tapping her bare foot as he continued to make the attempts to pull the blade out, Alice sighed, "Any day now would be fantastic." After more time passed, Aelfwynn tossed her hands up, "Oh, give it up already! You can't pull the damn blade out, so just accept the loss!" Edward was so shocked that this sword wouldn't even budge in the slightest that he pointed at Alice, "You casted a spell, didn't you!" Alice blinked softly over this, "Um… no. If I had placed a spell on it, you would know."
Flipping her hand over and taking the hilt of the blade in her hand, Alice, with little to no given effort… pulled the blade out of the stone, making Edward's mouth drop wide open. He saw or heard no incantation being spoken aloud, or casted upon the blade, making him completely dumbfounded that this tiny little lady was fully capable of succeeding where he, a fully grown man, THE KING, had continued to fail over and over again with no progress made on his part as she giggled over this.
Unable to fathom as to why he couldn't pull the blade from the stone, he then scowled hatefully before speaking, "Let me try again!" Slamming her blade into a new part of the stone, he went to grab it before Alice halted him, "I'll let you try again under one condition. Should you fail again due to being unworthy, you and your troops… that are most likely dead… must leave Eoferwic, York, whatever name it goes by… instantly." Confident that he could pull the blade out this time, he nodded.
"It's a deal then. Shake on it with your honor on the line," she spoke with her gaze narrowed as she held her hand out. Nodding, Edward spoke out once he took her hand firmly, "On my honor, I will leave this city if I'm incapable of pulling your sword out of the stone." With it shook upon, both Alice and Aelfwynn took a seat on the ground while they tapped a single finger against the ground impatiently the moment he gripped the blade and, without success, began tugging at the blade.
Neither knew how long this continued as Aelfwynn leaned to her mother to whisper so softly that only Alice was capable of hearing the words spoken, "You damn well know that only you and father can wield that blade…!" Alice closed her eyes in the great attempts to not laugh as she nodded while whispering in return, "Oh, I know that. But Edward doesn't need to be told this little factor though. This is now just free entertainment for the both of us, no matter how one is to look at it…"
Over thirty minutes had now passed as the two females held highly amused facial expressions of him attempting to pull the blade from the stone. Ragnar then walked inside to notice this before walking forward to grip the hilt of the blade before pulling it out of the ground, only to wiggle his brows teasingly, "It appears as if someone is unworthy of pulling the blade from the stone. Originally, I had titled this blade 'Sword Of Kings' when I noticed that no one else but me could wield it."
Ruffling his hair, Ragnar sighed, "I honestly have no clue what makes the thing so damn stubborn and resilient to other people. So, the first time that I witnessed that Allie could actually wield it when we were younger, I was completely shocked. She merely gave it the magical properties of the purest of light, not the stubbornness. Well, that was until I found out that we were both Aesir Gods. I'm guessing that you must have a pure heart and soul that gives no judgement to another."
Shrugging his shoulders over the matter, Ragnar slammed the blade back into a new piece of stone while sighing, "Also, the blade oddly never dulls without even having to keep up its maintenance. No magician, witch, seer, or whatever made the blade either. It was crafted from a regular blacksmith, and I had watched him make it too. However, I'm going to guess that you are amusing my wife and daughter, so keep on making your great attempts to pull the damn blade out of the stone."
Walking to his throne, Ragnar sat down and folded his leg while resting his chin in his propped up open palm to also watch as he spoke, "When I spoke to the blacksmith about when anyone else attempts to wield the blade, it simply won't allow them, almost as if the damn thing had a mind of its own, the blacksmith became confused as well once I handed him the blade. When he took the blade, he claimed that it became heavier than any metal that he had ever dealt with before."
Releasing a breath, he continued, "I then told him that I had not once ever had to sharpen it, or clean it, further confusing the blacksmith that had forged the blade until he began to cry out in agony. I rushed to him and literally had to pull the blade, along with the skin from his palm, off in horror. At first I had believed that he had made a cursed blade that I shouldn't be giving to Allie until we watched in awe as the skin from his palm that had been on the hilt purified to simply vanish."
Not skipping a beat, Ragnar continued on lazily, "He had exclaimed that it had felt as if the hilt of the blade had all of a sudden felt as if the fires of Muspelheim, or I guess in Christian terms would be the fires of Hell, had ignited the hilt of the blade. We were both so confused since he had merely made this out of the strongest steel that Allie had once brought back from a raid. Right then, Alice was walking by and I stopped her to ask her where she had got the metal from their raid."
Peering up at the ceiling, knowing that this was going to bite him in the ass, he continued, "She shrugged and exclaimed that she had obtained the metal from a church that held a ton of metal, but she had gained a feeling that this specific metal that she had brought back to make a beautiful new blade for me had oddly called out to her. When she asked if something was wrong with the sword, she reached out to take the blade, making me quickly pull it away from her and told her not to."
Chuckling, he then tilted his head back down as Edward continued to make the attempts to pull it out, "To say the least, Allie is… well… Allie. She scoffed at me and snatched the blade from me to hold it up in awe over the beauty, only to tell me that this was a gorgeous blade before simply handing it back to me before kissing my cheek and went on her way, further confusing me and the blacksmith. That's when the blacksmith said that the blade must be the legendary sword of Kings."
Shrugging his shoulder and snickering, Ragnar released a breath to begin finishing his tale, "I asked what this legend was, and he told me that the sword crafted is meant for Kings that are not Kings by just being given the title by default. The sword must choose you, and not object to you wielding its power. He then told me that those who wield the blade will be followed without question and would one day be deemed as King of all the lands to one day unite them under one banner."
"Truthfully, I honestly thought he was going insane at this point. I mean, it's just a damn sword, a tool for killing or defending. However, the blacksmith shook his head at me adamantly as if completely serious as he told me that through some mystical power, the sword knows how to pick its owner wisely. He then pointed to the runes on the sword before telling me that he had never engraved those runes on the blade. After that, I gave it the title of 'Sword Of Kings'," he grinned slyly.
Right then, Edward shifted his gaze over to Ragnar, not realizing that he left his hands lingering on the hilt for far too long as he growled out, "And exactly what are you insinuating Ragnar?" Aelfwynn then groaned out, "Damn your stupid. What father means is that you are completely UNWORTHY of being called KING through the power of the blade! Heathen or not, the sword chose father first, and it also chose mother to wield its power. It's the Sword Of Kings, not the Sword Of Fools!"
Shifting her eyes over, Alice sighed, "Edward, if you don't wish for the Sword Of Kings, or as I call it, the Honor Blade, to burn you… then I would release it. I can feel whatever guides it, and it's nothing negative, but it's picky. Like Ragnar said, it's got mystical properties that are on the borderline of being supernatural. When the metal called out to me, it actually spoke. It said have a sword crafted for the true King of these lands to be crowned. I didn't think about it, so I gave it to Ragnar."
"I'm the King of these lands! A sword will not tell me that I'm not," he growled out furiously. It truly was the Sword Of Kings, so she had no idea why Ragnar had given it to her whenever he was clearly the one meant to rule. The words etched on the blade were 'On my honor'. It was something Ragnar said frequently, and it was hard to deny that a King should hold nothing except honor in his heart and soul. Standing, Alice pulled the blade out before walking to Ragnar with a gentle smile.
Placing the blade in his hands, Alice kneeled with her head lowered, "My King." Her Aurora Blade began to react at that moment to illuminate the entire room as if acknowledging the true King overjoyed the blade, making Ragnar chuckle, "It looks like we also have the Sword Of Queens in the room." Pulling out that blade, they both realized that it wasn't that blade that had gained the same runes of 'on my honor', it was her golden Osmanthus Blade, making Aelfwynn gasp, "Mother! Look!"
Turning her head, Alice walked over to take her Osmanthus Blade to slide her fingers while whispering, "On my honor…" Both of her blades had minds of their own, so this was nothing new to her. However, she hadn't expected for her blade to gain the same runes as the Sword Of Kings. Placing her Osmanthus Blade beside the Sword Of Kings, Ragnar smirked and took that blade before slamming it into the stone, "Let's see who our Queen is." Alice gave a dry face and pulled her blade out.
This made both blades glow brightly now that they were together. Looking at her husband that now handed the Sword Of Kings back to her, Alice placed her hand over his with gentle eyes, "The King must hold the Sword Of Kings. Not the Queen, and definitely not a fool. The KING must wield that blade to draw out it's full power and potential. It's tolerated me because I'm your wife and an Aesir, nothing more." Pulling out the Aurora Blade, he handed it over, "You're a dual-wielder Allie."
Taking her sword back, Alice chuckled to go over her wedding vows again, "Well, then I swear upon this Sword Of Kings that I return to the rightful King of these lands to always protect you." Ragnar smiled tenderly at this as he spoke in return, "And I swear upon this Aurora Blade that I return to the rightful Queen of these lands to always protect you." Edward, clearly furious, basically threw a temper tantrum at that moment, "I am the rightful King of all of the lands, not this heathen!"
Aelfwynn gained a dry expression, "Yeah, sure you are. You know, because all Kings throw temper tantrums." Edward could only seethe, "Mark my words Ragnar and Alice Lodbrok… On my honor, I will prove my worth to that damn blade." Rolling her eyes, Aelfwynn could only reply, "That will never happen. Upon their deaths, much time from now, both of their bodies, that will not decay, will be well hidden and protected with the blades of the King and Queen inside of their tombs of rest."
"It's creeping me out that we are talking about our deaths when we are standing right here. My blade has always been even more picky than Ragnar's, and should you give it to a Queen that doesn't even know how to fight, that blade will retaliate and shred that person to death. Now, Edward, you will respect that Ragnar is the rightful King and keep your honor by leaving as you said you would," Alice spoke dryly, making Edward snap away and leave while yelling, "That blade will be mine!"
With Edward now gone, Alice helped Ragnar stand with a smirk, "Come my King, people await to hear the news. We can even make it a game of sorts to give the people some fun! We also will need to place someone upon the throne of Mercia. Someone that we trust completely." Standing, he chuckled softly and held his wife's arm as they began walking out to begin speaking to his darling wife, "I think both are a great idea. Aelfwynn, do you and Erik wish to be the rulers of Mercia?"
Aelfwynn looked over and shook her head, "Not particularly, but if you are asking for us to sit upon the throne, then we will." Alice smiled and stroked her daughter's hair, "Honey, in no ways are we forcing you. But until the lands are united as one, we need someone that we can trust, because we now need to conquer East-Anglia before we head to Wessex. Once it's captured, Havi will be sitting upon the throne of East-Anglia until we have captured Wessex to unite the lands as one."
"Give it some thought and talk to your husband about it," Ragnar chuckled softly as he exited their palace. Holding their blades of royalty up once they stepped upon a boulder, Ragnar called out, "The ancient legends of the Sword Of Kings and Sword Of Queens to unite all of the lands has been realized!" Pulling their blades out, they both rammed them into the boulder before Alice continued, "Any who wish to try to pull the swords from the stone, you will be fully allowed to try once!"
Stepping down from the boulder, all of those wishing to try stepped up to have a bit of fun after the stress that Edward had placed them through. The first man and woman stepped on the boulder to begin the attempts of removing the two blades from the boulder, yet those blades wouldn't even budge until both pulled so hard that they were hurled off of the stone while laughing. The next set appeared no different, but it was all in good fun to not think about Edward tormenting the town.
Inside of Wessex, the Witan had gathered when summoned, only for Edward to speak, "Witan, I have called upon you for one reason alone! The holy Sword Of Kings has been found!" Everyone appeared shocked before one man spoke bluntly, "And just how did you come by a mythical blade of legend?" Snapping his eyes forward, Edward spoke darkly, "Because when I went to reclaim York, Alice and Ragnar held those blades! This means that as of now, PAGANS wield those blades!"
Hearing them all gasp, another man could only speak suspiciously, "The legend of the Sword Of Kings was lost to us a long time ago! People have tried to find that blade that holds 'On my honor' for a long time! No one has found the stone that the blade is lodged within!" Right then, a spy from York darted inside of the room that currently held an ongoing meeting before bowing deeply, only for Edward to motion his hands to let the man speak, "What news have you brought us from York?"
Nodding, the man spoke rather bluntly, "King Edward, as of now, the holy Sword Of Kings and the holy Sword Of Queens, both holding the runes 'On my honor', are currently lodged within a boulder inside of York. Ragnar and Alice are allowing for anyone to make the attempts at pulling the blades from the stone as a game of sorts." This made all of their mouths drop wide open that Edward hadn't been kidding over the matter, only for Aethelwold to grin slyly, "Did you try to pull the blade?"
"You shut your mouth Aethelwold. We all know that you wish to play as King, but you aren't. I am the King, and as such, you will listen to me," Edward seethed, making Aethelwold amused, "You tried and failed, didn't you? Well, then I no longer have a reason to follow you, and neither does the rest of the Witan. With the actual Sword Of Kings found, that, by default removes you from the throne." Furious, Edward then summoned his sons to go and try to remove the blade from the stone.
Aethelwold then smirked as he stood up, "Allow me to go with your sons. The least that I can do is be a shield for them should they come under attack." Magni then stepped forward, "My lord, if I may speak?" Edward nodded towards Magni, making him smile, "Originally, Alice held the Sword Of Kings. I only remember due to when I had to retrieve her belongings from Aethelhelm when he left her chained to the ground to be raped by all of the men in the camp, it's no normal blade, sir."
Lifting his brow, Edward motioned for him to continue, making Magni nod, "Well, to be rather blunt with you all, honor is everything to the Vikings. With me being a former Pagan, I know the customs. We aren't raised in palaces or fancy castles, we aren't given attendants that we can call upon, we don't wear the finest silk clothing, the jewelry worn holds no precious jewels, and the armor we hold is sub-par at best. Forgive my rudeness, but we aren't spoiled to get whatever we want."
Standing tall and proud, he continued, "However, none of those things matter to a Viking. All that matters is the honor that we hold in our life." As if not understanding, Edward could only question out in annoyance, "Meaning?" This only made Magni sigh heavily, "Meaning, we are normally raised in harsh climates, wear poorly crafted attire, and we most definitely don't hold royal feasts. Despite all of our shortcomings, we hold one thing and one thing alone. All that matters is honor."
"Get to the point Magni," Edward growled out, making Magni internally roll his eyes before speaking with a hardened facial expression, "What I'm trying to say is if honor is all that truly matters to a Viking so that they can enter Valhalla, then you completely use whatever drastic tactics and measures against them to strip them of that honor that they hold so dear. How each Viking views honor is different, I mean, when Aethelhelm had an entire camp rape Alice, she still clung to her honor."
Sighing, Edward folded his arms across his chest as he spoke, "So, what do you believe would shred that honor?" Humming, Magni tapped his finger against his arm as he replied, "Well, by the end of Ragnar Lodbrok's first life, he still felt no shame in anything that he had done, and welcomed his death with open arms since he knew that he was a warrior. Take his status as a warrior away, and he no longer holds any honor. There are various different ways to look upon this, though."
Humming while furrowing his brows, Edward spoke since he had no clue on what he meant, "Such as?" Magni gained a serious facial expression at that point as he bluntly spoke, "In Ragnar's first life, he loved his children more than his own life. However, this is something that has not changed in his second life. His family means everything to him… you strip him of his children one by one slowly, make them convert through force before torturing them. At first, it will enrage him, yes."
"To be honest, a man like Ragnar only knows of two things in his life. Conquering through bloodshed, and the love of his wife and children. He has eight sets of twins and Aelfwynn. His youngest two sets of twins are merely four, the next two sets of twins are five, the next two sets of twins are six, and his eldest is Aelfwynn. Those are his kin through his blood, though, he did take in Sigtryggr's two sets of twins as his own as well, and they will be much more difficult to take," he spoke out.
Not pausing, Magni added in, "You, better than anyone, should know the importance of children. Well, it's magnified by a tenfold for a Viking leader's children due to the amount of love they hold for their children. Taking his daughters means that Ragnar will no longer have any means to build connections with others when the time arises by giving their hand in marriage. However, a Viking leader's sons are his pride and joy. Sons, as you know, are the successors to his title as the leader."
Folding his arms, Edward questioned, "Which set of twins do you believe will be the easiest to get our hands on?" By the Gods this made Magni feel terrible since he played with these two from time to time while spying in York, but he answered, "That would be his youngest set of twins, Lodbrok and Ásdís." Edward nodded at this before motioning his hand, "You are to go and collect them. We will rip Ragnar and Alice's honor to shreds." There was one problem with this, none were in York.
Sitting on the back of Fenrir, they all now looked over all of East-Anglia. Alice had finished training her children with Ragnar's help, and now the whole family was more than deadly. Pulling out his Sword Of Kings as a massive crash of thunder echoed in the skies, Ragnar held it up and yelled as Fenrir padded back and forth in front of his massive army, "Today, we honor Odin and Thor! We have taken Northumbria! We have taken Mercia! And now, we will take East-Anglia as our own!"
Taking in a deep breath, he continued, "We do not go into battle with fear or shame held in our hearts! We march honorably into battle while holding no fear of what is to come! On my honor, I will fight alongside all of you as your rightful King, but do not fear death! We won't apologize for the actions that we make in this life, for that would disgrace our forefathers and put our name to shame! I want each of you to swear on your honor right now, that you will fight with me until the end!"
Hearing a roar of rallying cries, along with banging their weapons against their shields, Ragnar then pointed at the army in front of them with a smirk, "For honor, for glory, and for our legacies that will never be tarnished! Fenrir, the signal!" Fenrir released a loud howl that rattled the very ground that they now stood upon to signal all to move in to attack. Alice pulled out her blades and jumped and rolled to not break her legs, "Ragnar, lead us to victory, or to the golden halls of Valhalla!"
Leading the attack, Alice began to move forward, "We fight until we can fight no more! Attack, my wolves!" All began to run with their headstrong rightful Queen before pointing her Sword Of Queens forward right as Fenrir slammed into the soldiers, only for the great heathen army to begin clashing blades with all of their opponents as Alice made a graceful side flip to rip through various enemies while Ragnar jumped down from Fenrir's back to begin a massacre with no mercy to be found.
Ásdís stood on the back of Fenrir and held her sparkling palms out to begin healing of the Vikings that became injured. With a massive wolf on their side, the soldiers of East-Anglia and Wessex knew that they were going to die sooner rather than later. However, Fenrir merely laid down to guard Lodbrok and Ásdís, who took their mother's lessons concerning their healing seitr seriously as the rest of their siblings participated in the bloody war, only to hear Havi yelling, "You son of a BITCH!"
Sliding between Ragnar's legs, Alice rolled and stood before grabbing the back of his neck to kick off of the ground once he swiped his blade across his body, only for her to cut down a person on his side and back before releasing him. They outnumbered these people by a substantial amount, so many dropped their weapons and began to flee for their lives as a single man swiftly got on a horse to inform King Edward. Noticing this, Alice held her blade forward, "Bloom my flowers!"
With her blade dispersing, Alice cracked her whip for those deadly flower petals to rush forward and slay the man by beheading him, but did carve a note, along with her initials 'East-Anglia is now ours. -A L' on the forehead before the petals placed the head in the saddle as her blade reformed. With her blade beginning to glow brightly, Alice began to make her fifty-hit combo against fifty different men for the massive osmanthus flower to awaken, "Now bloom Goddess Osmanthus!"
Popping, golden particles shimmered down upon the entire battlefield, making Ásdís hold her hand out and smile, "Whoa, that was so cool!" Feeling her brother poke her, she turned her head to see him pointing. Looking around him, Ásdís witness Havi not fighting any opponent, but their eldest sister. Rushing out, they yelled, "Havi! What are you doing?! Stop!" Snapping her head to the side, Alice began pushing through people as fast as she could until a rider appeared and snatched them.
"No, no, no! Lodbrok! Ásdís," Alice shrieked in horror as she began running after her son and daughter as they reached out to her, "Mommy! Help!" Ragnar snapped his head around with widened eyes to see that Fenrir had a sleeping dart sticking out of his side, only to bolt forward and swiftly grab his wife, "Allie! You can't catch a damn horse by running on foot!" Slamming her fists against his chest, Alice broke down, "Ragnar! Those are my babies! Why would you even try to stop me?!"
Slamming his eyes shut, he placed his forehead against her shoulder to begin crying, "Because they are luring you into a trap! I can't lose you! On my honor, we will get them back! Once we have established our rule here and rest the troops, we will head straight to Wessex. So help the Gods, I will burn each town and mangle every damn body on those lands until there is no one left for Edward to rule over! The real question is, why would they run out into the open with no weapon?"
Turning her head, she realized why they had done so. Furious, Alice's eyes filled with tears again as she sulked forward once Aelfwynn yelled, "Havi, stop! I don't want to fight my sister!" Darting, Alice stepped between the two right as Havi thrusted her blade forward to pierce her mother's stomach with massive eyes, "Mom?!" Right then, Ragnar turned his head with horror stricken eyes as he stumbled and scrambled to get to his wife that now fell back to hit the ground, "Allie!"
Reaching his wife, he pulled the blade out to throw it to the side to begin healing her stomach. Aelfwynn noticed how badly his hands now trembled and kneeled down to take in a calming breath to begin healing her mother with ease, "Daddy, mommy's going to be just fine." Sitric ran over with massive eyes now that the battle was over with, "Holy shit! Mom?! Sis, what happened?!" Aelfwynn knew that he was asking her, so she shifted her eyes towards Havi, making him fed up.
Walking to his twin, Sitric punched her across the face, "Are you that damn jealous that Aelfwynn actually had the nerve to ask the All-Father to be made mom and dad's daughter?! Havi, WAKE UP! You were the only one who was too damn stubborn to ask the All-Father to be made into dad's kid! By the laws of the natural flowing world, we are twins, but NOTHING about us is normal, and now I'm simply your younger brother! Even Ivar and Saga asked to be made dad's kids!"
Glaring at her brother, he merely glared right back as he growled out, "I can't believe you, I really can't. You're still hoping that Sigtryggr will come back! We were given the option to leave with him, yet you chose to stay! Havi, the daddy's girl… Why can't you understand that he NEVER cared about, or wanted us! He moved back to Ireland, married someone else, made another family that he probably doesn't care about, and hasn't even sent mom ONE letter to ask her how we are doing!"
Sitric was so furious right now that his goofiness was nowhere to be found. "And now, all because you want YOUR DADDY back, you hurt mom and dad. If you want to be claimed as the first born, then by all means, call yourself the damn first born if it helps stroke your bitchy ego! And if you really want, go to our worthless birth father!" Havi had never heard Sitric sound like this, and honestly, it was a massive wakeup call to find out that her brother wasn't as goofy as he seemed.
Peering around, he realized that his absolute favorite little brother and sister were gone. He loved all of his siblings, but there was just something special about those two that he loved, making him snap, "You call me an idiot, that's completely fine, but tell me… where in the fuck are Lodbrok and Ásdís?! WHERE ARE OUR LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER?!" Havi began trembling at that moment because she had been so furious that she hadn't even noticed that the youngest were gone.
Arriving in Wintanceaster, the rider jumped down before helping the adorable and beloved twins of York down to see them as scared as they currently were. This hadn't been Magni, so the man grabbed their hands to begin walking forward, making them stumble forward to catch up with his long strides, only to release Ásdís to knock on the door before Lodbrok yelled, "Ásdís, run and hide! I'll be okay!" Turning and about to run, her hand was grabbed tightly, making her whimper.
Edward opened his door shirtless before the twins were hurled inside to hit the ground to begin crying, "Lodbrok and Ásdís, sire." With the door closing, Edward turned to the two crying children that were absolutely beautiful before kneeling down to them as Lodbrok held his little sister close, "You were brought here to have your Pagan devil blood cleansed so that you are free of sin." Sweet Ásdís then turned her head while sniffling, "What's a devil?" Picking both twins up, he walked out.
Smirking, he walked inside of a church with a priest on stand-by, making both begin to start to realize the severity of the position that they were about to be in, making them struggle to get away until he clamped down onto them, "Your father and mother will suffer greatly until they lose any and all honor!" Handing Lodbrok over, the priest placed him in the water before holding him under to baptize the child as he flailed and screamed under the water, making Ásdís begin crying hysterically.
Once Lodbrok was released to resurface, he began coughing harshly while coughing up any and all ingested water before his frantically gasping form shifted a glare of hatred up at the priest, "You STRIPPED my GODS from me by force! I won't let you do that to Ásdís! She's already scared enough as it is! Taking our Gods will place us in the cold of Niflheim since we're Pagan seers!" Alice had made rings that functioned the same way as the ring given to her by Ragnall for all of her children.
Flipping the blade out, Lodbrok motioned the priest to him. Lowering, he frowned and whispered softly, "I'm sorry son, I was forced to do this to you. I know your mother and father, and I respect them both greatly." This made Lodbrok place the blade away and plead softly, "Please, don't do this to Ásdís." Lifting Lodbrok out to pat his back, he continued to whisper as he roughly pat his back to make him cough up the rest of the water, "I'm not being given a choice, he has my wife."
Snapping his head over, he shouted, "Ásdís! Call upon the All-Father!" Ásdís held her tiny hand out for those white sparkling particles to begin emitting into the air and was about to call for him until Edward placed her in the water to hold her under while yelling, "LOSE YOUR PRETEND GODS!" The priest looked mortified at this, considering Edward couldn't baptize, so he was technically just drowning her. Placing Lodbrok down in a panic, the priest rushed over, "King Edward! She's a child!"
"That will die with her," he mused darkly making Lodbrok sob out, "Let Ásdís go! Please! That's my twin!" The priest further panicked, "You are going to kill her in a chapel?! My King, that's a sin that will condemn your soul to Hell!" Ásdís was frantically trying to get out of the water when Magni walked in to see Edward DROWNING the sweetest child in Alice's family. Bolting forward, he shoved Edward away to pull Ásdís out for her to begin frantically coughing up water while crying.
Scowling, Edward snapped away and barked out as he walked away, "Baptize her. Now! Relieve her of her false Gods!" Patting the little lady's back, Magni knew that this was horrible for her when she was a seer of the Gods, only to whisper, "Hurry and summon the All-Father before all of the seitr in your brother's body vanishes and kills him." She watched as her brother went in and out of consciousness, so she whimpered out, "All-Father, help." Appearing in a flash, Odin rushed to Lodbrok.
Cutting his finger, he swiftly drew the tree of life on Lodbrok's face before picking him up as his breathing began to regulate, only to then speak plainly, "If you attempt to convert these children, they will die shortly after. The seitr in their bodies will fade and kill them as easily as a knife to the stomach. I know that it's against your religion to lie, so I will allow someone else to do it for you. Alfred, come." Appearing, Lodbrok and Ásdís smiled brightly before chirping out, "Grandpa Alfred!"
Picking Ásdís up, he was also handed Lodbrok, "Get it done Alfred." Once Alfred nodded sternly, Odin vanished. Carrying the adorable twins, Ásdís giggled, "Grandpa, you look more like a Viking now!" Laughing, he cuddled the two while speaking, "Oh my, Lodbrok, you are looking so big and strong! Ásdís, look at you dear, just as beautiful as your mother." Entering where his son was, Alfred abruptly cleared his throat, making Edward snap around, "Father?!" Rolling his eyes, he nodded.
"The baptisms were completed, and my adorable grandchildren were so mortified that they called out to me," Alfred spoke as he adjusted them both on his hips. Not once had his father come to dote on his actual grandchildren, but he arrived for the twins? What nonsense was this? Hearing a furious sigh, Edward snapped out of it, "What?!" Alfred kissed the twins on the forehead before nuzzling his nose against their own, "Heed my warning, harming these two will be the death of you."
With Alfred's time up, he placed the twins down before vanishing. Edward was so furious right now that he grabbed their little hands and began to drag them both down to the dungeons to be tortured, despite his father's warnings. Entering where his interrogator was before given a puzzled expression over CHILDREN brought here, "Um, my lord? What is the meaning of this? They can't be older than the age of four." Edward chained both up to be up on the tips of their toes, "Your point?"
"My lord, they won't know anything that we don't already know," he spoke nervously and peered sadly at these adorable twins. Edward gained a burning gaze in his eyes, "They are smarter than your average child! Get answers out of them now!" Lodbrok scowled devilishly once he gained a vision, "Oh, you have unleashed furious mommy and daddy wolves into the wild of Wessex. They won't stop killing everyone until we are returned. They are out for blood, so sleep with one eye open."
Elsewhere, screams echoed as Alice swiped her hands, "WE TAKE NO SURVIVORS! KILL ALL OF THE BASTARDS AND BURN THEIR HOMES TO THE GROUND! ON MY HONOR, EDWARD WILL PAY!" They were killing all of these innocents just for the sport. Slamming her foot that held knee high lace-up black stained leather boots against the door to the cathedral open before spitting to the side, "Pray to your non-existent GOD!" Smirking, she backed out, closed the door, and pinned the door.
Slamming large oiled rocks covered in hay through each window, Alice hurled torches inside for screams to begin echoing out as she snapped away and began to walk away in a blaze of glory as she heard priests screaming prayers until going completely silent, making her turn her head and clearly mock, "Ah-burning-men." Ragnar looked at his wife's skin-tight leather gear that showed more than it covered, he couldn't even be goofy right now until Alice brushed passed him, "Dork."
"Hot damn you look sexy," he mused as he tossed a torch on a house, making Alice smirk in a dark manner, "He's not going to have a single person bowing down to him." This made Ragnar scowl, "After taking my children, no, no he won't." Alice exited the burning town looking like a warrior goddess as they all sulked to the next town to rush in to yell, "EVERYONE GET INSIDE OF YOUR HOMES NOW!" Everyone ran inside as all doors were blocked off before set ablaze to keep moving.
All of her children, except Havi, were doing the same as their mother. This was because she shoved her daughter in a rowboat and kicked her into wide open waters while snarling, "Go to your father, if you can find your way, that is, and tell him that technically, Ragnar was the one who named you." Sitric was now her close second while Aelfwynn was her close third. They were just as furious as the mother wolf. Ivar and Saga stuck close to their father, and were equally as pissed off.
They were going from village to village, estate to estate, and stronghold to stronghold. They took nothing, but killed everyone. Selko, Katla, and their children were equally as enraged over this and planned to kill anything that even moved. In one day, a fourth of Wessex's population had been snuffed out thanks to Fenrir being freely sent to destroy whatever he wanted. Taking a break now to eat and drink once Fenrir met up with them to report and rest for the night as Alice leaned on him.
Hearing a branch snap, Fenrir's head popped up to emit a deep low growl as a lone man walked out, making everyone narrow their gazes as he approached. Standing, Alice walked forward, and right as he spoke, she froze, "My name's Aethelwold, I know where Lodbrok and Ásdís are, and what is happening to them." Alice narrowed her eyes, "Do you believe that we are stupid? We know exactly where they are! What we are doing is destroying Edward's empire by slaughtering everyone!"
Aethelwold then kept a serious gaze, "He has baptized them both, and is now torturing them. After Lodbrok had been baptized, Edward attempted drowning Ásdís until a guard named Magni saved her. Though once Edward left, I heard a man talking that if they were converted, it would remove their, uh, power and kill them, so he saved them. I wrote to you once that I'm the rightful heir to the throne of Wessex. Name me as your King and I will give you whatever you desire in life."
This man then spoke something dangerous, "I will give you money, power, land, revenge, you name it. All you have to do is bow to me and I will give you anything you desire." Pulling her knife out, she held it to his throat, "Stop running your damn mouth. You seem more like a child in the body of a fully grown man. My husband is the rightful King of all of the lands! He holds the Sword Of Kings, so do not test my patience any further you vile cockroach. Wolves, break is over now!"
"Let me come with you! I will help you with whatever," he called as everyone stood and began to walk away, only for Alice to call out, "Do as you wish man-child. I only let you live as a thanks for updating me over my babies." Holding her hand out, she proceeded to speak darkly while scowling out, "Fenrir, full form! Destroy all of Wessex and the people who live in it!" Aethelwold watched with massive eyes as Fenrir grew to be a colossal size before bolting to wreak havoc upon Wessex.
Breaking into a run, Alice and Ragnar began tossing torches on all homes as everyone else blocked all exits. As screams erupted like an active volcano, Alice furiously yelled, "FEEL THE WRATH EDWARD HAS BROUGHT UPON YOU!" Seeing a patrol, Alice pulled out her knife before hurling it to slam into the first man's skull before darting forward with her blades to cross them in front of his throat, freezing him, only for her to growl, "Go tell Edward that Ragnarök has come for his lands."
Kicking him, he began to run as Alice grinned and grabbed her sparkling black longbow with arrows of the same coloration. Letting this man get a good distance away, she notched two arrows before pulling the tight string back to her cheek. Holding her perfect stance as she aimed at the back of both of his knees, Alice smirked as she loosed both arrows to slam in the center of his knees to jut out from the front, making this man that she had spared cry out, only to yell out, "Hurry now!"
Leaning down while chuckling, Alice picked her knife up to use the dead man's attire to clean the knife before sheathing it. Motioning her hand forward, Ragnar jogged forward, "Yes love?" Alice kept her gaze forward as she spoke, "Remember all our hunting competitions?" Ragnar nodded with an amused face, "Everyone, spread out! We have a massive army, so I am going to make company leaders! Selko, Viggo, Aelfwynn, Sitric, Eyvar, Fenris, Ivar, Saga, Akihiko, Kirito take men and go!"
All nodded, took a company of men, and they all split up to begin a massacre that Fenrir was way ahead of. Alice then yelled, "Odin, Thor, come!" Appearing, Alice motioned to her men, "Take more of my men and kill everyone and destroy their homes as long as they're not Pagans dedicated to Edward! Thor, like Fenrir, go fucking insane and destroy EVERYTHING as if it is now Ragnarök!" Smirking, he nodded and took another portion of men, as did Odin, before they split up to kill.
Lacing her longbow around her chest, Alice began to make her way forward while only holding her Sword Of Queens as she stalked forward like a predator in the dead of night while yelling, "On this day, we move to Wintanceaster and destroy the entire city! We will make the streets run red with the blood of the Christians! On THIS day, my husband will pick the new capital and be CROWNED as the true KING of all of these lands! The Sword Of Kings chose my husband, and no one else!"
Aethelwold knew that the crown should be his, so he thought that he had slipped away unnoticed before grabbing a horse and snapping the reins to return to Wintanceaster. In his mind, if anyone deserved to be the King of all of the lands, it was him, so he would need to bathe and properly dress for his coronation of all of the lands. Whistling, Alice called out "Halfdan! Ubba!" Both boys bolted towards their mother and nodded before she spoke, "Find a horse and follow that weasel, now."
Both boys nodded and rushed to find a horse before Halfdan lifted his brother on its back before climbing in front of him, "Hold onto me tightly Ubba. We need to be as swift and silent as the shadows of the land. When we arrive, we will kill any guards on the wall that obscure our duties and follow where he goes. If he leaks any sensitive information, we will then head back to mother. However, if we hear Lodbrok or Ásdís scream, we are to locate them. So, place your traveling cape on."
Nodding and placing his traveling cape on, he then laced his brother's around his neck for him, making the elder of the two smile softly, "Thank you. We weren't too far away, so have your longbow at the ready." Ubba then tugged his brother's arm, "What if we hide the gold and blue hair away and act as if we were two children that had managed to escape the mayhem? To cry, all we need to do is think about Lodbrok and Ásdís being hurt. I swear, I will never pick on Ásdís ever again."
"Well, I would say that is a good plan if our eyes weren't dead giveaways," the elder of the two brother's mumbled out, yet Ubba tugged his brother's arm again, "You've never asked the Gods to only hold dad's eye color?" Turning his head, Ubba then pointed at his eyes that were now only the color of Ragnar's eyes, making Halfdan chuckle, "Well, we've never had to before, so no. Now your plan makes a ton of great sense!" Changing his eyes to only hold his father's eye color, he looked.
Ubba nodded at his brother as he tucked the gold and blue hair into his styled hair, only to do the same with his own. Riding inside of Wintanceaster, Halfdan whispered, "Look scared and terrified of what we have witnessed. We need to behave like Christians too." Nodding and gaining a horrified expression, the boys rode up to the palace covered in blood while thinking of their youngest siblings to end up tearing up, "Please, help!" Guards rushed over and helped the boys down, "Dear God!"
These guards fell for the act hook, line, and sink, "Can you tell us what happened?!" Halfdan noticed Ubba acting as if he were in a clear state of shock, only to answer shakily, "Our village was attacked by a huge group of heathens! We were hiding when they, and all of our older siblings, were killed right in front of us without being noticed. When they left, we rode here as quickly as we could to raise the alarm! They are everywhere! We saw at least thirteen groups attacking other villages!"
With a mortified expression Ubba looked up, internally gagged, and made the sign of the cross as he whimpered out, "God rest all of their souls." Halfdan immediately made the sign of the cross while also internally gagging. One of the guards then rushed off to inform Edward of the Hell he had just unleashed by bringing the twins here, baptizing them, and now tortured them. Thankfully, they had made it here before Aethelwold could, only for Halfdan to internally smirk, "One thing."
This man appeared genuinely worried as he nodded, "Do you remember something else?" Nodding his head, he then fumbled out, "We saw Lord Aethelwold helping the heathens while claiming that if they named him the King, he would give them anything they wanted. He even promised them a public execution of King Edward that they could carry out as revenge. We even saw him fire at one of the patrols, with the help of a heathen, to pierce his knees and he even fired arrows at us."
In the dungeon, Edward groaned in frustration, "Lodbrok, Ásdís, I am beginning to lose my patience with you both! What is your mother and father planning?!" Ásdís continued to fade in and out of consciousness as blood seeped from both of their tiny bodies. Various bones had been purposefully snapped like a tiny twig that had broken the skin, ligaments had been ripped, joints had been popped out of place, they had been given large cuts, held massive bruises, and had even been burned.
Lodbrok looked at his sister in an overly worried fashion, "Ásdís! Don't fall asleep!" Ásdís jolted awake for a moment to whimper out groggily, "Big brother, my whole body hurts so much." Nodding his head, he would hold her hand if he could reach, his fingernails hadn't been ripped out, and his wrists and fingers hadn't been broken and cracked open like a nut in a shell, "I know Ásdís, but you can't go to sleep, no matter how tired you get!" Nodding, her eyes began to roll back again.
"Burn one of their eyes shut. Perhaps that will persuade them," he growled, making the interrogator gain a cold sweat, "Sir, I don't think Ásdís can handle anymore." Snapping his head back, he then barked out, "Get it done now!" Right then, the guard that had rushed off to get to him witnessed the sick reality and swallowed heavily to push down the sickening feeling in his stomach. They might be heathens, but they were only four. Clearing his mind, he spoke quickly, "Sir, emergency!"
Standing, he turned away and began walking off, making the interrogator believe that he was now off of the hook until hearing Edward bark out, "Seal one of their eyes shut now!" Walking up, he noticed the two bloodied children in the courtyard before rushing to them, "By God, what happened?!" The soldier told the story so that they didn't have to, only for their stomachs to almost instantly twist, churn, and drop the moment they both heard Lodbrok and Ásdís screaming in sheer agony.
Halfdan motioned for Ubba to go while he acted, making him slip into the shadows before darting down the steps in a hurry before hurriedly whispering a shout, "Lodbrok, Ásdís!" Both turned their heads as the interrogator looked at the boy, "The King forced me to harm them. Please, if you can help them, then do it!" Gaining his golden streaks, Ubba stepped forward and began healing them both before cutting them both down from their shackles to catch Asdis with a worried face, "Sissy."
Ásdís almost instantly snuggled up against Ubba with a smile before holding him close, "Ubba, you came for us." Nodding, he held her even closer as the interrogator motioned the twins to follow him, "Come on, there is an escape from the city this way. We must move quickly though." Ubba shook his head and stepped back, "Halfdan is here, I need to get back before they notice that I'm gone. Go, now!" Sealing the gold in his eyes again, he then smiled, "We'll be behind ya in no time."
Nodding her head, Lodbrok took her hand, "Ásdís, c'mon! We need to leave before he comes back to hurt you! I dunno why he hurts you more than me, but I'm just thankful that Ubba got here when he did." Quickly, Ubba ran back up the stairs and stood beside his brother looking absolutely mortified at what he had just witnessed, only to turn to begin vomiting. Halfdan snapped his head over and began to pat his brother's back, only to hurriedly make a cover, "We need to go back!"
Edward peered at this boy in a questioning manner, only for him to continue, "Our little sister was hiding in the woods! We completely forgot about her due to panicking!" Taking Ubba's hand, he nodded his head in a hurry, only for them both to bolt before slamming into Magni. Looking down with slightly widened eyes, he then heard, "Magni! Escort those boys to save their sister from the heathens!" Nodding, Magni picked both of the boys up before running out and jumping on his horse.
Snapping the reins, the horse bolted before he spoke in a hushed whisper, "What in the name of Loki were you two thinking?! Halfdan, Ubba, what if he had realized who you were?! You know that I'm a double agent for your father and mother!" Ubba was now shifting his head around in a panic before seeing them and jumping down from the horse and rolling to the ground, only to begin rushing forward, "Lodbrok! Ásdís!" Halfdan's head snapped as well to see Ubba bolting towards Ásdís.
Picking his little sister up and holding her close, Ubba began crying almost hysterically. Halfdan swiftly jumped down and ran towards Lodbrok before lifting him, "C'mon, you guys must be tired." Both rubbed at their eyes and nodded, making Ubba pick sweet little Ásdís up on his hip while Halfdan picked Lodbrok up onto his back before waving, "We've got it from here Magni! Mom and dad aren't too far away. If I can sense them, then I know that they can most definitely sense us."
Nodding firmly, he turned his horse away before bolting. Walking now, the two boys let the gold in their eyes return as Ásdís stuck her thumb in her mouth while sleeping, making Ubba lightly pop her thumb out, fully knowing that his mother did not allow for her children to suck their thumb. Carrying the exhausted twins, the boys noticed their mother and father crying as they bolted as fast as their legs could carry them to reach their children, only for them both to slam onto their knees.
Taking their children into their arms, Alice cried, "How did you two even get inside to find them?! And honestly, how reckless can you both be?!" Halfdan laughed at this, "To be honest, Ubba made the plan. He showed me that by asking the Gods, we can hide the gold in our eyes. He then tucked the blue and gold hair to be hidden inside of the rest of our hair." Kissing all four of her children, Alice noticed that Ubba, who normally picked on Ásdís, absolutely refused to release her now.
Picking Ubba and Ásdís up as Ragnar picked Halfdan and Lodbrok up, they listened once the eldest of the four continued, "We then told them that we saw Aethelwold making a deal with you guys to give you the pleasure of having your revenge against Edward by publicly executing him once Aethelwold had been made as the King. However, we also told them that you might possibly consider it if he began to do more damage than the Vikings, fired arrows at the messenger, and then at us."
Right then, the entire ground began to shake the moment Fenrir released a loud and feral howl, signifying that the task was now completed. A massive crash of thunder was then heard inside of Wintanceaster, making Alice laugh, "Kick their asses Thor." Oh, he was more than happy to do just that. Alice picked Ubba up as Ragnar picked Halfdan up with a smile as he complimented his two sons, "You brought honor to this family by risking your lives to save your brother and sister's lives."
As of now, Aethelwold had no idea that Halfdan and Ubba had just been there to tell a masterfully crafted lie as he entered the palace in a rush while panicking, "Edward! I went out on a horse ride to clear my mind when," he paused when Edward held a hand up, "We know. Two young boys that survived the attack have already informed us of everything that you have done." That struck Aethelwold as odd, because there had been no survivors to speak of until figuring it out, "It was them!"
He had remembered Alice calling two of her sons forward to speak to them with a smile. He had to admit that she was more clever than he gave her credit for, only for Edward to flick his wrist in disgust, "Now, take him away to the interrogator this instant. Aethelwold, for your crimes against the kingdom of Wessex, you will only have one eye removed before you are banished from Wessex for the rest of your life." Struggling, Aethelwold yelled, "Those two boys were Alice's children!"
"You have no honor to swear upon, so I don't believe a single thing that you have to say. Keep moving," Edward commanded, making the two men drag him down the steps to the interrogator that gained a cold sweat once Edward heard no soft little whimpers coming from Ásdís, or Lodbrok panicking to tell his twin to remain awake, only to see that they were now gone. Commanding him of what was to be done, he had no qualms since Aethelwold was a thorn in every person's side.
Chained down with his head facing the ceiling, Edward released a breath, "I will give you a moment to repent for your sins." Slamming his eyes shut as tears slid down the corner of his eyes, Edward then motioned his hand, "Alright, get it done." Pulling out a bright red fire poker up, the interrogator held this man's left eye open before slowly lowering to his eye before slowly easing it in to create a massive gaping hole that had Edward sneering in disgust as Aethelwold screamed in agony.
Having his eye bandaged up, Edward gave a deepened scowl, "Now, get out of Wessex." He then remembered at how tough those two little four year olds had been. They had never screamed until one of their eyes had been sealed shut. They would make small whimpers of immense pain, but they would never go any further than that. It was almost as if they had been trained to keep their pride and honor by never screaming, even if they were being ruthlessly, and relentlessly tortured.
With everyone except Edward leaving, he then impatiently tapped his foot, "Tell me, where is Lodbrok and Ásdís?" The interrogator then scowled at this, "Forgive me my King, but no matter your orders, the level of their intelligence, or what the consequences might be, I released them. Whether they were heathens or not, they were still only mere small children that I was bringing harm to, and I do not wish to carry a burden as heavy as that on my shoulders. So, my conscious is clear."
Outside of Wintanceaster inside of the woods, Alice and Ragnar had been resting their troops for a month to regain any and all lost strength. Standing beside Ragnar, who merely had his arms folded to stare, Alice narrowed her eyes, "It's time." After that one crash of thunder that they had all heard, Odin had summoned his son to return to Einherjar, telling him that Alice and Ragnar must figure this next part out for themselves. He wished to know how the two would react to this test.
Walking out with everyone, they all entered the city with Ragnar and Alice merely holding their Sword Of Kings and Sword Of Queens as everyone gawked over Alice's extremely revealing black leather attire as the now regular sized wolf padded beside the lass. Holding his fist up, all came to a stop for Edward to stare at the two intently, only for them to stare right back at the massive army inside, and lining the tops of the city walls. Everyone noticed too, but didn't seem phased at all.
Edward then shouted out, "Ragnar, Alice, leave now and there must not be any more bloodshed!" Alice took a few steps forward before shouting, "And tell me, Edward, do you honestly believe that I FEAR my own DEATH?! As a hero, I will not lament my own death, and I absolutely REFUSE to enter Odin's great golden halls with fear! When it is my time to take my leave, I will gladly welcome the Valkyries to summon me home! You will not destroy my soul, my heart, or my HONOR!"
Taking slow steps forward, all of the archers pointed at her as she continued, "You stole my children from me, ATTEMPTED to baptize them against their will, and were ALMOST the cause of their deaths! So no, if I die on this day, then I will drag you down with me. Should I fail in that task, then I will hand that task down to my husband and my children, who will continue fighting until you are forcefully placed in the Goddess Hel's torture chambers as her newest toy claiming to be KING!"
"You will be remembered as the King of NOTHING because we have destroyed it all. Each man, woman, and child have now suffered a face worse than death! We dishonored each person in the manner that you attempted to dishonor me! Halfdan, Ubba, come here!" Both children walked forward with a deadly smirk as Edward's eyes widened that he had been fooled by CHILDREN, making Alice lift her brows in amusement, "It appears that you have already been dishonored by my children!"
Smirking and shooing her children back, they laughed and rushed back to Aelfwynn, who now carried Lodbrok and Ásdís. Grinning, Alice then continued to walk forward slowly before an arrow slammed in front of her foot, causing for her to swiftly grab her longbow, draw the same arrow back, and loose it at the same man to hit him between the brows as she continued walking, "Children weren't the only ones to fool you though. Magni, you can stop serving this dishonorable tool of a man."
Magni pushed out and raised his fist for Alice to tap with her own as she slid her tongue across her teeth, "Edward, stand down and hand over Wessex to the true King peacefully, or we will begin staining this town that your father loved so much in the deep shade of crimson. No one will be spared!" He knew that he was highly outnumbered, so he took a step back, "Give me a moment of time to think." Alice scowled deeply, "You have held all of the time in the world to think, now decide!"
About to forfeit all of Wessex, everyone heard a horn being blown close by before a yell was heard that didn't sound like Sigtryggr, because it was a female's voice. Gaining a dry face over this, she growled deeply, "SITRIC, KILL YOUR SISTER! SHE BROUGHT SIGTRYGGR HERE!" Turning, Sitric climbed a home to begin running across the buildings swiftly, only to yell the moment he witnessed his sister slamming her blade through Saga's gut, making her cough up blood, "HAVI! DAMN YOU!"
Locking their blades together, Sitric swiftly punched her across the face, hurling his sister to the ground before turning to Saga to kneel down, "Saga, don't fall asleep!" Taking hold of her older brother's shirt with trembling hands, Saga whimpered, "Sitric, I'm… I'm not scared. The Valkyries are coming… to take… me home…" Snapping his head around, Sitric yelled frantically, "MOM, HURRY! I NEED HELP!" Alice's head snapped around before flipping onto a roof and doing as Sitric had done.
She knew that something bad had happened if he had sounded as panicked as he had, so she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Right then, Ivar's head snapped around with massive eyes, "No… Not Saga!" Stumbling forward as if his legs no longer worked, Ivar slammed to the ground before sobbing, "DAMMIT, NO! I'M NOT IVAR THE BONELESS ANYMORE! I HAVE A HEALTHY BODY THAT'S NOT CRIPPLED!" This made Ragnar's eyes widen as Alice rushed as fast as she possibly could.
Only some of her children had paid attention on how to heal, and Sitric was too wild to keep focus for too long before a new 'whoa' distracted him entirely. Ironically, it had been most of her girls that had learned how to heal, with a few exceptions here and there. Reaching her son, her heart sunk entirely, "By all of the Gods! Saga?!" Swiftly kneeling down, Alice began to heal while crying. Why had Saga been all of the way back here when her twin was at the front with the rest of the family?
"Mom, stop… Saga, she… she's gone," Sitric whimpered and held his little sister close, only to break into sobs as Alice became hysteric, "No she's not! Don't tell me that!" He hated to do this, but he slapped his mother across the face, "She said that she wasn't scared and the Valkyries had come to take her home! Do NOT dishonor her like that!" Gripping the top of her head tightly, Alice released a scream of agony that was so loud that everyone stopped fighting right then and there.
Björn, Halfdan, Ubba, and Sigurd stopped the moment they had heard their brother's scream. When their father had told them why he had to leave the halls of Valhalla, they had all promised to be reborn to stand by their father again without him even hearing them. Björn then ran to Ivar in a complete panic and lifted him into his arms, "Ivar, you need to calm down!" Shaking his head, he sobbed out, almost as if he were furious with himself, or the world now, "Björn, I CAN'T feel my legs!"
Gripping his brother's top, Björn scowled deeply and spoke in a darkened low tone of voice, "Ivar, we knew what we were getting into when we chose to follow father back into the world of the living. When we were shown the girl that he had made his promise to, and had left for, we felt a deep bond and connection with her. Mom chose us! She chose our souls! You aren't Ivar the boneless anymore, you are Ivar, son of Ragnar and Alice Lodbrok. Your body is more than healthy, so stand up!"
Sigtryggr stepped behind Alice before chaining her wrists together, only to tug her to stand, "MOVE OUT!" His troops almost appeared dumbfounded that they had merely come here for Alice, but they listened as he dragged her frantically sobbing form, "SAGA!" Snapping out of his daze, Sitric stood and began to bolt forward until skidding to a wide-eyed stop, "Mom!" Pulling his blade, Sigtryggr pointed it to "his" son's throat, "Son, don't make me kill one of your mother's favorite children."
"I'm not your damn kid anymore," he spat out angrily, making Sigtryggr's eyes darken, "Well, then this is farewell, Sitric Ragnarsson." Alice pulled forward in the attempt to shield her son, but she was held back as Sitric's chest was pierced, making him gain a shocked face as tears rolled down his face, only to grip the blade to halt his original birth father, "Mom, I love you. I'm ready to be taken home." Letting the blade go, Sigtryggr ripped it out, making Alice scream out, "SITRIC!"
Holding his blade, Sitric phased in and out of consciousness as Havi gained a mortified face before she rushed to him, "Sitric!" Barely conscious, he shifted his gaze to her, "Ásdís?" Hearing her name, Ásdís ran as fast as she could to see Sitric on the ground, making her hysterically sob out, "SITRIC!" Placing her hands over his chest to heal him, Sitric smiled softly, "Ásdís, it's okay. I'm not scared." Ásdís could only scowl deeply, "Shut up! If you're gone, there won't be any bright smiles!"
Chuckling at his stubborn little sister as she finished healing him, he then sighed and sat up, "Well dammit, there goes my blaze of glory at an early age." Ásdís scoffed as tears filled her big eyes once she retorted, "Blaze of glory?! There's no glory in accomplishing nothing except for babysitting!" Snickering, Sitric then gripped his chin before giving a cheeky grin, "That sounds like a good title for me. Sitric the babysitter! That sounds intimidating!" Ásdís could only give a huff, "Yeah, sure."
Turning her head, Havi then realized that she had been left behind and quickly stood to dash off, only for Sitric to grab his sister's wrist tightly as he stood and spoke darkly, "Mom gave me a job." Pulling out his blade, he held it to Havi's throat before speaking aloud, "Gods of Einherjar, take my sister's life as a sacrifice and return Saga to us. I beg of you." Havi appeared panicked until slitting her throat. The moment Havi passed, Saga shot awake gasping sharply, "What in the Gods?!"
Looking at Havi, tears spilled down his cheek, "Perhaps one day, I will see you again Havi." Leaning down and cutting part of her braided trio colored locks off, he frowned deeply until Ásdís took his hand, "You saved sissy Saga though." Picking his little sister up and helping Saga up, she held them both until sensing her twins clear struggle before bolting off, "Ivar! Are ya okay?!" Right then, the numbness in his legs vanished before standing and nodding, "Is Sitric going to be okay though?"
Shifting her eyes away, she frowned and whispered, "Would you be okay if you had to kill me to save her? Don't reach out to him just yet. Let him cling to Ásdís for the time being." Aelfwynn, hearing that, exited the city to see Havi's motionless form before kneeling down to hold Havi close, "Sis, you can't leave. You're going to break Sitric's heart. His smile and goofiness will fade until he's simply a former shell of what he used to be. All-Father, I beg you… allow both of my sisters to live."
A shocked gasp was then heard the moment one of her tears splashed against her sister's face. Shooting her head down, Aelfwynn shouted, "SITRIC!" Giving his little sister to her twin once he heard the yell, Sitric sniffled and turned away to wipe his eyes. Exiting to see Aelfwynn, Sitric nodded, "Yeah?" Standing, Aelfwynn then helped Havi stand, making Sitric scramble to her, "Havi!" Opening her arms and hugging her brother tightly, Havi cried against her twin while begging, "Forgive me!"
Nodding his head without much given thought, Sitric smirked, "Looks like you're one of dad's girls now. Havi, we gotta take care of each other. I mean, we're a family. However, Sigtryggr took mom, so let's go break the news to dad. Look at it this way Havi, ya can now be a daddy's girl to Ragnar." Looking at his oldest sister, Sitric gave a tearful smile, "Sis, thank you for saving Havi. The All-Father must like ya." Nodding, they entered to see Ragnar holding his blade against Edward's throat.
"Dad," Sitric spoke loud enough for him and all siblings to hear him, making him turn his head, "Yes? Ooh, ya brought a Havi home! Welcome home baby." Havi rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Ragnar to cry softly, "Daddy, I'm sorry! All of this was my fault!" Holding her close while stroking her hair with his free arm, he chuckled, "Baby, you're my daughter. So, no matter what, I'm always gonna love ya, no matter what stupid things ya do. Now then, where's your mother at?"
Taking in a sharp breath over this, Sitric spoke out for all of his siblings to hear, "She was taken by Sigtryggr. I'm going to presume that he took her back to Ireland to keep her as his damn pretty pet or trophy. The All-Father is not willing to give Sigtryggr a second chance since mother's heart finally settled on you. So, no matter what, always remember that her heart belongs to you, and you alone." This made the whole family's eyes widen that their mother was now gone and out of reach.
Ragnar was in the worst position though. He had just united the lands under one damn banner, so how in the name of the Gods was he supposed to do this without her? That's when he heard the Gods telling him that he shouldn't be so sure that the lands would magically unite over one night. These kinds of things took much time, patience, and wars to finally bring the lands together. That's when he was told that they wouldn't tell him who, but he needed to hold suspicion over everyone.
Making the capital of Alfred's England to be Lunden since it was right in the center of it all, a magnificent palace was then made that would be able to fit the entire Wolf Clan, including Selko, who was now always a nervous wreck over the shared feelings that he held with his sister. There wasn't a moment in the day where Ragnar didn't witness Selko's hands trembling or his eyes shifting around anxiously. His children had also become noticeably depressed and rarely ever cracked a smile.
Aelfwynn tried to not think about it due to being married, Havi cried frequently since she was well aware that all of this had been her doing, Sitric tried to keep everyone happy to the best of his capabilities so frequently that he was often found sleeping. Ivar spent much of his time training to become ruthless if the need ever arose, Saga was often found close to her twin as she stared blankly at the sky, Lagertha spent most of her time becoming an exceptionally talented shieldmaiden.
Björn spent so much time sparring with Ragnar to get all of his pent-up rage over his mother being taken from their family to the point that he had ironically been gifted the title of 'Ironside', Halfdan became a vicious "heathen" commander in Ragnar's army until he was sent to Northumbria to watch over its people once he was old enough, Thyra caught the eyes of a Christian priest of all things and married him in secret before running away so that she could start her life all over again.
Ubba became rather obsessed with the Gods and wouldn't even take a step outside if he saw something amiss that made him rather uncomfortable or sure that he would die if he did, Åsa spent most of her time making fun of her twin's obsession, Sassa rarely ever left her room, Sigurd had become a lesser fighter as well with most people noticing the ouroboros in his eyes to give him the title of 'Snake-in-the-eye' but couldn't actually live up to the rest of his brothers standards in combat.
Einar had become a fighter that definitely lived up to his other brothers that had gained many accolades on the battlefield and was given the title of 'Executioner' by all of those who ever dared cross paths with him, Fenra had also become married to another Christian man before converting to Christianity just to make her husband happy, Lodbrok had become another deadly fighter that was gifted the name 'Blaze-of-glory', and sweet Ásdís had shut down completely and never spoke a word.
By the end of Edward's life, no one knew why, but he named Athelstan as his successor. In secret, Edward handed his son letters concerning everything that he would ever need to do to finally take hold of his birthright of England. However, Athelstan had been around Ragnar for so long now that he simply placed it in a secret place. It was one of the last things given to him by his father, even though they were filled with malicious intent for the Viking King that shouldn't be a King.
Sitting outside, eight boys sat out in a field with hair lightly tousling in the wind before sixteen year old Lodbrok frowned deeply, "Hey, Björn?" Eighteen year old Björn shifted his head over to look at his brother before nodding his head towards his younger brother, "Yeah?" Lodbrok shifted uncomfortably that he was even about to ask this due to a few of the people there that held more than a hot temper when this topic was even brought up, but spoke softly anyway, "Do you remember mom?"
Björn could only shift his head up to stare at the bright blue sky upon replying, "For the most part, yes. Why?" Lodbrok had been so young when this had happened, yet Ivar snapped, "If you even DARE fucking say that you forgot mom, then I will murder your damn ass!" This made Sitric chuckle and motion his hands down to make Ivar calm down, "Whoa Ivar, calm down. I think you're forgetting that our cute little Lodbrok was only four when she was taken. So, I don't really blame him."
Continuing to stare at the noon sky, Björn then sighed and nodded before chuckling, "You can't blame Lodbrok, Ivar. None of us, except Sitric were around when it happened. Though, his stupid ass-self got himself stabbed in the process." Sitric's face scrunched up over the insult, knowing it was a tease as he laid back in the warm summer grass, "Hey, did you guys know that mom actually had favorites? I mean, that's only what Sigtryggr said, so I don't put too much stock in the words."
Everyone except Björn peered over with a questioning gaze before he chuckled, "That honestly doesn't surprise me, and I can probably list the favorites." Now everyone peered at the third eldest born son as Sigurd huffed, "Well, care to enlighten us?" Björn snickered at this as he laced his hands together, "Sitric is a no-brainer. I mean, everyone loves his damn goofy brand of 'whoa' if you catch my drift. Then it's Ivar. She understood who we were and loved us originals to death, well, uh."
Hearing the pause, everyone listened in anticipation before blowing his single loose braid to the side, "Fuck it. The favorites were Aelfwynn, Sitric, Havi, Ivar, Lagertha, me, Halfdan, Ubba, Einar, Lodbrok, and sweet Ásdís." Sigurd jolted back and furrowed his brows as he spoke, "Björn, I'm an original too! Why didn't you name me?!" Björn then shifted his head to the side before snickering, "Because you teased her little mini-me the most and made her cry way more than the rest of us."
Sitric snickered, "In other words, she either loved us goofy ones, underestimated ones, the ones that glued to her side, and us that caused no damn problems or stress. In any case, I haven't said 'whoa' in forever!" Björn then gained a dry face at this, "Apparently she loved the ones with a severe case of memory loss too. Sitric, you said 'whoa' and bolted off this morning." Sitric gained a deeply pondering facial expression, only to question, "Did I really?" Everyone then blurted out, "Yes!"
"Geez Sitric, you were a free damn comedy routine for mom to watch every single day, and you never failed to disappoint her. Any time she was mad or sad, your goofy ass shouting 'whoa' would brighten her mood almost instantly to make her laugh hysterically. You saved dad's ass on VARIOUS occasions just by him pointing out something new and exciting for you to see," Björn snickered out before Sitric blew his own braid to the side, "Ah geez, then don't ever go to Vinland with me."
Ivar slapped his palm to his forehead at that moment, "Fuck man, we DID go to Vinland with you and Uncle Selko not too long ago to visit Uncle Leif! By the Gods, that was the true free comedy routine to watch! A month long trip turned into a damn year long trip!" Sitric gained the most puzzled face at this before questioning, "Ivar, are ya messing with me?" By the Gods, Ivar wanted to strangle his oldest brother at this point, "Fuck! How do you forget something that damn long?!"
As goofy as he was, Sitric frowned, "Because it's not that important to me. There are some things that I will never be able to forget for as long as I am to live, such as the way mom's eyes were so gentle, the way her long hair blew in the wind, the brightness of her laugh, the way she would squeak when it became mom versus nature… and nature clearly won, the way she sounded when she would sing us all to sleep, the feeling of her tender touch, and the gracefulness of her dancing."
When hearing it put that way, Ivar understood completely. Something that never seemed that important simply vanished from your mind in the blink of an eye, while something that held great value to your memory could never be erased. Sitric sighed softly, "I remember when you were first born, Ivar. Mom knew who you were and worried about your legs until laughing that the way you had first lived was nothing to be sad about. She claimed that you would be absolutely brilliant."
This made Ivar tear up and wipe a lone tear from his cheek, "I will never be able to thank mom enough for finally making me healthy so that I wasn't viewed with pity. I was underestimated so much in my first life that it made me become cruel to prove a point that the mind was stronger than the body. I think the only one who didn't view me with complete pity in our family was Björn. Despite being stronger than me, I was given the honor of leading the army against Aella to avenge father."
Shifting his head up again, Björn shook his head, "I don't like remembering our first lives. I mean, we all hold damn good lives now thanks to mom's love for us. I had died first, but your spirit was the one that bravely pushed forward first. Some things never change though. I mean, ya still look at me as your invincible younger brother. You all need to stop looking back and keep moving forward. Mom even knew Ubba as a small child until he died." Everyone then shot their gazes to Ubba.
Ubba chuckled brightly at this, "Indeed, I did know mom and Uncle Selko! I mean, I was almost at the end of my life, but damn mom was an adorable little lady that I got to pick up and twirl around. When I entered Valhalla, I noticed Ivar and father were gone. I believed that they had never made it to Valhalla until you all told me where they were. I couldn't believe that I had actually been around our honorable father that whole time without him ever telling me that it had been him."
Björn slowly peered his head down from the sky to peer at the castle in the distance, "I worry about father. He tries to keep a strong shell, and he does hold one damn sturdy outer shell, but he's slowly morphing into someone that will never be welcomed into the halls of Valhalla again upon his death, much less Asgard. His honor is crumbling into a pile of dust. What's even worse is the person he chose to take the rule of Wessex. It's always been someone in our family up until now."
With Halfdan currently at home for business, he shifted his head over, "What do you mean Björn?" Björn narrowed his eyes as he spoke out honestly, "Aelfwynn and her husband Erik watch over Mercia while Halfdan watches over Northumbria. As an odd form of punishment, Havi was sent to rule over East-Anglia. Everyone believed that Sitric or Ivar would be sent to Wessex, but he chose someone completely unexpected for the job who makes me nervous." Ivar lifted his brow, "Who is it?"
Humming softly by releasing a breath through his nostrils, Björn clamped his hands together before speaking, "He chose Edward's son, Athelstan. When he was packing to leave, I passed by his door to see him pull out a parchment from a hidden chest. I don't know what was written on it, but I could see Edward's signature at the bottom of the page. He had no idea that I was even right there when he began to read over it intently as if nothing else in the world mattered at that point."
Ivar's eyes slightly widened at this outspoken comment before standing abruptly, "Björn, we need to go speak to dad about this!" Björn chuckled and lightly shook his head, "I already did. Dad merely claimed that it was probably nothing more than some final parting words from father to son that had been left for Athelstan. However, I don't trust him in the slightest. Though, I'm beginning to become restless over dad never sending an army to Ireland to retrieve mom, so I'm going."
All brothers that weren't standing then stood and gripped Björn's arm, "We will come too. Give us some time to gather our troops and we will join you. If it brings mom back home for good, then I think it will be worth it. Athelstan respects mom completely, so I think it would be a great idea." Björn then looked at Ivar with a smirk as he spoke, "Ivar, it's up to you to create a plan of attack again. Until then brothers, stay under the radar and lie low as you gather all of our troops to sail."
In Ireland twelve years prior to the day, Alice was thrown to the ground to shock her entirely as her shackles were then connected to a chain that had been anchored to the ground as Sigtryggr undressed her and placed her in a dress of royalty that made her feel constricted. Having her waterfall of hair combed and designed by a servant, a jeweled crown was placed on the top of her head, making Alice agitated. Loose jeweled headpieces had never bothered her, but this was a full crown.
Sitting on the ground quietly, Alice lowered her head as she teared up over Saga and Sitric. Sitric had been her bright and wild baby, and his loss was more than she could handle. Bursting into tears finally, Alice slumped to the ground while feeling her heart break completely. She had also felt Havi's power vanish as they had left the coast, so she could add her first set of twins to be completely gone as Sigtryggr sat down and narrowed his eyes, "Sit up and at least attempt to look dignified."
Pushing herself up weakly as tears slid down her face while whimpering out, "You damn monster, I can't believe you," pausing for only a split moment in time, Alice furiously dragged her nails against the ground as she continued, "If you simply plan to keep me as your pet, then go ahead and kill me. I do not fear my own death. At least then, Saga, Sitric, and Havi won't be alone in Valhalla!" Sigtryggr groaned softly as he spoke, "Except that you will be going to Asgard, not Valhalla."
Alice snapped her head over furiously as she spoke, "Aesir or not, I will go where I so choose! Not to mention that my children will be going to Asgard, Valhalla, or Einherjar if they so desire!" Ignoring her as he began signing documents, she was quick to notice the ring Ragnall had given her was now gone from her finger, making her snap since he had died, "Sigtryggr, give Ragnall's ring back to me! I respected and loved him as a brother! I would only use that blade if I were in danger!"
"I do love how you believe that I will comply," he lazily spoke until three young voices chirped out, "Welcome home father!" One little boy noticed Alice and smiled brightly, "Is this our new mother?! She's so beautiful!" Sigtryggr nodded lazily, "Yes, this would be her." Alice then spat at Sigtryggr's feet, "As an Aesir, I will not do your bidding just because you refuse to understand that intercourse creates CHILDREN! They are your children, so take some damn responsibility for them!"
Pondering for a moment, she now knew how to get her ring back, so she reeled her emotions in and opened her arms, "I do apologize for saying such things, come here." The young boy and two girls rushed into Alice's arms happily to snuggle against her chest as she asked, "So, what are your names?" Sigtryggr knew that all of Niflheim was about to break loose, so he plugged his ears once the young boy smiled brightly, "My name is Sitric, and these are my sister's Havi and Saga!"
With all color leaving her face, Alice's eyes went out of focus as her arms slowly dropped to her side as she spoke in a mortified tone, "You were named after my son, Sitric Ragnarsson. And you two are named after my daughters Havi and Saga Ragnarsdóttir." Sitric then crouched down with a curious face, "Whoa, really?!" That comment of 'whoa' had felt like a massive stab to the heart, but shakily nodded her head. Trying to keep her focus was much easier said than done at this point.
Forgetting what she was even attempting to achieve at this point, or what her goal had been, Alice slumped back onto the ground to tightly clutch over where her heart was as tears fell to the ground silently. Gritting her teeth tightly, Alice cried softly, "Please, just go away." The beauty that these children held were nowhere as close to the children that she had created. She had known that Sigtryggr hadn't wanted children, which had left her to raise her children basically all by herself.
Fanned away by Sigtryggr, the children nodded and left due to how miserable that she had sounded. It was rather apparent that their mother was Cadhla. So, unfortunately, these children were rather ugly. With their names being Havi, Sitric, and Saga, that was something that she honestly couldn't handle. Sighing, Sigtryggr sat on the ground and pulled Alice to his chest to make her emotional dam break free. However, this time, she kept all of those emotions locked up and sealed away.
Feeling her body tense up as badly as it had, Sigtryggr sighed, "I'm not going to kill you, Allie." That's when she whispered something that felt like a massive slap across the face, "No, you won't kill me, but you will kill my children." Lightly pulling away from him, Alice's lost face peered out at nothing. He looked at her face as she started to crack and break under the surface of all of the pressure. With a quivering lip, a single set of tears slid down her face as she stared forward at nothing.
That's when he heard her choked up tone of voice barely emit aloud, "If you have a room for me, might I go and rest?" Unchaining her, Sigtryggr lifted her into his arms before he began to walk to a bedroom that held a cushioned window ledge that held a view of the ocean. Chained to the window ledge and placed down, he raised a hand to brush the back of his knuckles against her cheek, yet Alice didn't even react as she stared out of the window with misery and pain etched onto her face.
Hearing Sigtryggr exit the room and close the door, Alice placed her hand against the window as her emotions somewhat came free, making tears slide down her face as she pressed her palm tighter against the glass before leaning forward to rest her forehead against the glass while whispering, "Havi, Sitric, Saga, as your mother, I have failed you so immeasurably that words cannot even describe my own guilt. I'm not sure where I went wrong, and I don't suppose that I ever truly will."
Sniffling and looking up at her ceiling, Alice spoke, "Havi, I didn't understand that Sigtryggr's abandonment had affected you as much as it did, even though I should know what it feels like far too well. I never noticed the subtle little hints and signs that you had given me, which probably infuriated you more than anything. Looking back now," she paused to become choked up, "You were never mad that Aelfwynn had become family. You were mad that she had a father that loved her."
Shifting her eyes down to stare out into the sea, a sickening pit grew in her stomach, "Saga, I'm so sorry, my sweet little girl. I gave your twin brother all of my attention instead of making it equal, as it should have been from the start. What kind of mother doesn't even realize that her daughter hadn't been at the front with the rest of the family? It was my damn job as your mother to protect you from any and all harm, but I failed so miserably that I'm completely ashamed with myself."
Pausing, Alice pulled her knees to her chest as tears filled her eyes completely. She had failed Sitric so immeasurably that the Gods probably now hated her for not being capable of protecting her own children. Though, it was what she had made him do that truly mortified her. There was nothing that she could say to him to not make this not feel as completely morbid as it honestly was. Placing herself in his shoes, she didn't think that she would have held enough resolve to kill Selko.
Watching those wild waves crashing upon rocks, she remembered bringing Sitric here to run around so that he wore himself out, only to finally burst into tears, "Sitric, my sweet and wild baby boy, I'm so damn pissed off at you! Why did you of all people have to die?! WHY?! DAMMIT, I'M THE MOST WORTHLESS MOTHER THAT COULDN'T PROTECT MY SOURCE OF WARMTH AND JOY! I ONCE TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NEVER ALLOWED TO DIE, SO WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME BY PROMISING?!"
As those twelve years passed, Alice, still appearing as if she were the tender age of eighteen sat miserably while shackled to the ground. Sitting in a dress that she absolutely hated, she thought about how all of her babies were now fully grown. Shifting her eyes around in a nervous fashion to check if Sigtryggr was anywhere around, Alice pulled a tiny knife out and held it to her throat, about ready to end it all. Sigtryggr, standing behind her, leaned down and slapped the blade away.
"Why do you keep me here if you can tell that I'm only miserable around you," she fumed as tears slid down her face in a furious state of misery until the door opened for a guard to rush in, "My lord! There's trouble!" Walking around her, he took the knife and left before she slumped over on the ground to fold her arms so that she could press her forehead against it. As he walked, Sigtryggr questioned over what the initial issue was, only to be told that they were now under heavy attack.
Placing his gear on, Sigtryggr rode his horse out with his army to notice all of Alice's sons, including Sitric. Björn, ripping his secondary axe out of one of his coastal lookouts skull to have blood sprayed all over him before smirking, "Hello Sigtryggr." Looking at this brute of a teen, Sigtryggr's eyes widened immensely, "Björn?!" Nodding his head, he then spoke, "Now then, you have something of ours that we will either take by force, or by your good generous grace of just handing HER over."
Ivar leaned on his knee that was propped up on a dead body as he messed with his axe that was in another lookout's skull to make the body twitch frantically from his axe being lodged in the nervous system, "I say we kill him anyway. I mean, technically, he should be worshiping his great-grandfather reborn. Mom never told ya, huh? Each one of us holding original names, she damn well knew we were born with the original spirits. Why do you think she checked on my legs so often?"
Leaning back and ripping his axe out to also be covered in blood, Ivar smirked, "So, yes. You speak to Ivar the boneless, now known as Ivar the merciless. With me, we have Björn Ironside, Halfdan, Ubba, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye. There's one more here that refuses to use his actual name and stole our Uncle's true name that he refuses to use, Einar. Though, to us, he's known as Hvitserk the executioner. Let me put this plainly. Here and now, you stand before your reborn ancestors!"
"You lie! Your legs are perfectly fine," Sigtryggr barked out furiously, only for Ivar to nod as if the answer were so simple, "That's because mom holds one strong body. I'll bet she still looks young and beautiful. I mean, I'll even admit that my own mother is sexy." Björn then whacked Ivar upside the head and scolded as Lodbrok turned bright red over the comment, "That's so indecent! She's our mom!" Sigtryggr then noticed Lodbrok, "Ragnar, you will allow for your son to speak that way?"
Lodbrok gained an overly dreaded expression over this. His father and him appeared almost identical, which made many call him 'my King'. Björn noticed his youngest brother's face before bursting into laughter and fan his hand, "Oh, you have it all wrong. This is Lodbrok the blaze-of-glory, for he has never lost a battle and always leaves in a blaze of glory." Sigtryggr was sure that this had to be some prank until Björn continued, "If father can be reborn, then why can we not be reborn?"
Ivar just had to appear like a jackass at that moment by cupping his hands around his mouth while shouting, "Oh mommy?! Mommy dearest, where might you be?! Mommy the reckless?! That would actually fit her now that I think about it." Björn snorted out a laugh at this and almost nodded until Sitric finally bubbled over with laughter and winked, "I think ya are forgetting how deadly mom is." Ivar gripped his chin now to think over this until Björn sighed, "She already has a title, Ivar."
Sitric then smirked as he twirled a blade in his hand while standing, "Alice, the Wolf Goddess. Now, Sigtryggr, will this become a fight, or will you go and obtain our mother without a fuss? Ivar already claimed you as his victim, but you hold an entire army. What will it be?" Pulling his blade out, Sigtryggr pointed, "Kill them!" Ivar looked simply overjoyed now as Sitric tossed the most mature one, Björn, his mother's horn, making him catch it and blow it abruptly for an army to appear.
Sounding just like his mother, Sitric scowled and pointed his blade forward while darkly snarling out, "Leave none of these bastards alive! Today, we take back what belongs to our family!" Ivar grinned darkly, "Oh, this one might need a special honor! Just like we did to King Aella, I might just give you the blood eagle!" His horse, now close, Ivar swiftly swung his axe to hit the heart of the horse before it fell as he ripped his blade out for more blood to spray all over Ivar as he laughed.
Björn looked at his brother as he effortlessly dodged attacks and cut people down while yelling, "Ivar, you are going to cut your own descendent down?!" Ivar cackled as if he were mad once he answered, "Oh, you damn well know that I will kill anyone! You insult me by forgetting who I am, brother! I am Ivar the merciless!" Sitric then yelled as he cut people down, "At least we know we will win! With Odin as our family bloodline, we cannot be defeated by the hand of these mortals!"
Rushing over to Ivar, Lodbrok placed a hand on his brother's back, making him slightly shift his eyes back to notice who it was, only to press off and swing his body around to kick another man's chest before flipping to slice his throat open, "Ivar! This isn't playtime, uh, fucking Loki! For you, this is playtime!" Now the baby brother was watching his second oldest brother's back since he deemed it fit to be playtime, making Ivar laugh brightly, "Awe, thank you my adorable little Lodbrok!"
"You fucking prick! I'm not four anymore," the youngest male yelled as he twirled his blades before swiftly crossing his arms to stab two men in the throat, only to rip them out abruptly. Each one of the brothers appeared as if they were acrobats with the way that they moved so smoothly and rather effortlessly. Those holding a reborn soul took everything that they had learned in their first life, only to mix it with the savage, yet graceful teachings that had been drilled into them by Alice.
Using his blade, Ivar blocked while yelling out of pure fury that almost sounded like a wild animal, "GIVE OUR MOTHER BACK! SHE ISN'T YOUR PROPERTY!" This made Alice slowly lift her head before dropping it again, "C'mon Allie, stop kidding yourself. If your sons were actually here, all of Niflheim would have erupted and been set loose onto anyone who dared to get in their way. I stopped hoping long ago, so now, the only thing that I still cling desperately to is the honor that I hold."
Feeling the sharpness of a blade, Ivar grunted the moment a knife was rammed into his thigh, making him furiously peer down and shout as he punched Sigtryggr across the face, "Did you honestly think that was a good idea, you DICK!" Throwing his axe to slam into the ground, he grinned as he pulled out his secondary blade, "Now, I'm going to butcher your body up!" Stalking forward slowly, he grinned devilishly, "No one will ever know what happened to you, or when it even happened."
Björn looked over to actually witness his brother now dual-wielding. Ivar was terrifying when he dual-wielded, not that he or any of his siblings were any better. With Ivar going wild now, he swiftly ducked, grabbed his axe, and slammed it into Sigtryggr's foot to sadistically keep him in place before rolling away and standing, "Hey Björn!" Turning his head slightly, he answered, "What?!" Ivar snickered as he joked during this, "What has two arms, two legs, and only one and a half feet?!"
Appearing like a puzzled puppy, Björn answered, "I don't know!" Ivar laughed hysterically as he slammed his foot down on his axe to lodge it in the ground. Ivar then shot up, grabbed Sigtryggr's top, slammed his forehead against the opposing male's, only to jump back and kick his chest so roughly that he lost half of his foot to make Ivar chirp out, "Sigtryggr!" Björn scoffed out a laugh before he began to laugh hysterically, "Ivar, that's so damn cruel to do! EVERYBODY STOP NOW!"
With everyone coming to a stop, Ivar held his blade to Sigtryggr's throat, "Have I persuaded you to return my mother yet?" Gritting his teeth in pain, they all then heard, "Whoa! Someone's missing half of a foot!" Björn burst into laughter over the initial 'whoa' before snickering as he wiped a joyous tear from his face, "Sitric, how did you miss that entire damn conversation?!" Sitric then swiped the blood away from his eyes, "That's how, ya jackass! I was basically fighting as a damn blind!"
"If I was basically fighting blind, I had to rely on my hearing to alert me of danger! Not listen to one of Ivar's sadistic jokes," he fumed as he walked to the ocean to splash his face clean. Björn looked absolutely puzzled at this, "Sitric, are you actually a smart person?" Having water in his ears, and everything sounding as if he had been underwater, he tapped the side of his head, "What in the name of Loki is that supposed to mean?! Did you just ask me if I was a shopping virgin?!"
Out of all brothers, the first to laugh over this goofy comment, was Lodbrok, "Oh my Gods Sitric, ya just took yourself to a whole new level of dorkiness!" Still having water in his ears, and trying to get it out, Sitric blurted out, "Lodbrok, I can't exactly hear! Did ya just say that you're going to place yourself with a whore to use in fogginess?!" Ubba was done after hearing that, making even Björn purse his lips as he squeaked out through a snort of giggles, "Never mind, I take it back."
All brothers gave Sigtryggr a 'either you make the smart choice and live, or you die right here and now' look, making him swallow heavily and nod, "I will collect your mother." Helped onto a new horse, Ivar pointed to his foot, "Let that serve as a reminder that fucking with our family is the worst possible thing that you can do, ya got it?" Nodding, he left while swearing. She hadn't known how long that she had stayed in that position when Sigtryggr slammed the door open silently in rage.
She didn't know what she had done to deserve his wrath this time, but heard her chain being removed from the anchor before he abruptly tugged her to stand. Exiting out of the palace as if she were a damn pet needing to be taken for a walk, Alice lowered her head as she walked until she jumped in a startled manner the moment he yelled furiously, "FASTER! NOW MOVE!" Terrified that she was about to be murdered, Alice stumbled forward as she picked up her pace in clear fear.
Out of nowhere, her keen line of hearing picked up on eight fully grown male voices rather easily to shout out abruptly, "MOM!" Shooting her head up and about to rush forward, Sigtryggr held her back, "Your mother will heal my foot. I am bleeding out right now." Ivar began to sulk forward until Alice took his face in her hands so that he looked into her eyes, "By the Gods. Ivar, look at you! You've become so handsome, strong, and I'll bet that you're still my clever little genius."
His lip began quivering before wrapping his arms around her tightly to hold her close, "Mom, I've missed you so much! But, what in the name of Loki are you wearing?!" Lowering a single hand, Alice healed Sigtryggr before turning around with Ivar still clinging to her, "Now that I've healed your stupid self, go get my normal attire, my blades, and you WILL give my ring from Ragnall back!" The fire in her eyes blazed brightly like an inferno now, and her sadistic son now stood behind her.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled out her ring and attire before handing it over. Placing her ring on, she began to remove that dress in front of him, "This is the last time that you will have the pleasure of staring at my nakedness. Though, this time I give my consent." Once dressed in her normal loose white attire top and white shorts that laced up on both sides of her thighs with an ankle long white lace skirting, she released a heavy breath of air as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail.
"Now, go get my blades this instant. Stall, and I will send Ivar after you to finish his work," she threatened darkly as she turned away to mumble, "Ivar, follow him to make sure my two blades, plus my knife, aren't exchanged. Kill him if he tries. Go blood eagle if you want." This made Ivar snort a laugh and gain an amused face, "Can I still do it if he brings it?" Alice shrugged, "I don't care in the slightest. He hid my blades somewhere in the castle, that's why I don't have them on me."
Nodding, he began following after Sigtryggr as Alice turned back to her son's for a look of shock to plaster all over her face. With trembling hands, small little muffled sobs of joy were then released as if it couldn't possibly be true, "Sitric!" Bolting forward, Alice hit a large dent in the sand to squeak as she fell forward. Sitric bolted forward and caught her to bring her close, "Still prone to mother nature are we?" Alice was about to answer until Sitric tilted his head, "Whoa! What's that?!"
Oh yeah, this was her son. Bursting into laughter, Alice felt so much weight lift off of her shoulders at that moment and held her goofball close to her, "You, Sitric, never change." Resting his head over her heart, Sitric smiled softly to hear his mother's heart beating before remembering Ivar's comment, "Hey mom, Ivar thinks you're sexy!" Snorting a laugh, Alice chuckled, "To be honest, I kinda don't blame him. Honey, I don't physically age, and you boys do have sexual urges."
Kissing her son's cheek, she snickered to see Björn patiently waiting his turn while fidgeting slightly, making her snicker, "Fucking Loki, Björn looking like a sexual demon over here!" Rushing up to him, she jumped in the attempts to pat his head, but was far too short. Snorting, Alice gripped his shoulders before perching herself on her son's hips to lightly stroke his cheek and hair. Closing his eyes, Björn leaned against her gentle touch, "Mom, life holds no color when you're not around."
Jumping down from her tall son after kissing his forehead, Alice smiled, "Halfdan." Waving, he smiled sweetly, "Hey mom, missed ya! Next time you want to go on an extra-long vacation, let us know!" Hugging her son, she then stepped to Ubba, who clung to her almost instantly to cry, making her hug him in return and kiss the top of his head. Placed down, Alice gave a coy smirk, "Hvitserk." Gaining a dry face, he huffed, "Hi mom." Looking at her youngest, tears spilled down her face.
Lodbrok now just waited for his mother to call his father's name until she approached him and stroked his cheek, "Lodbrok, my baby." A massive surge of emotions flashed and shimmered in his eyes at that moment before he clung tightly to his mother while crying hysterically, "Mommy! I've missed you so much!" Bringing his much taller frame down to press his head to her heart, Alice turned her head to see one bloodied Ivar who whistled sheepishly as he carried all three of her blades.
"C'mon boys, let's go home," she smiled once her son laced her belt and thigh holster on her with a smirk, making her burst into laughter over Ivar's not so subtle sexual gesture. Björn scoffed and lifted his mother onto his shoulders, "Ivar, that is completely unacceptable to be doing to our mother!" Alice then snickered teasingly, "And yet you made me spread my legs for you, Björn." Choking on his own spit, Björn turned bright red, "Mom! Ugh, let's go home now. Dad's missed ya a lot."
"Why does this only happen when I'm on the damn boat," Alice questioningly hollered as a massive wave stretched up in the attempts to reach the next realm. Björn held his mother tightly on the prow with her due to the amount of tense muscles that he currently held as Sitric noticed something massive in the water, "Whoa! What in the name of Loki is that?! It, uh, looks like a shark, but it's as big as Fenrir!" This made everyone look over to see that Sitric hadn't been kidding, "FUCK!"
With this massive beast circling them, Alice yelled, "Sitric, I completely blame you!" This made her eldest son's mouth gape, "The fuck did I do this time?!" Pushing Björn off of her and jumping down, Alice fumed, "Ya don't remember our trip in the ocean when you were little?!" Furrowing his brows as this colossal beast effortlessly made its way through the water straight towards them as if ignoring the storm, Sitric yelled in return, "Hey, we lived and got to ride a damn whale, didn't we!"
This beast was growing far too close for comfort during the dead of night, not that ANYTHING about this situation was comfortable in the slightest. With the strike of lightning creating a shadow, the pits of their stomachs dropped. This thing was bigger than any damn whale, and it was so massive that it bumped the longship so harsh that Alice ended up stumbling back for Ivar to swiftly grab her when she was half-way off over the edge for another lightning strike to show more than one.
One was now coming straight for her, making her yell, "DEAR GODS! PULL ME BACK!" Björn swiftly ran over and pulled her back to see her massive eyes, "What, mom?!" Closing her eyes and swallowing heavily, Alice placed a palm against her son's face, "We are completely surrounded by at least five of these sharks. I want all of you to listen to me carefully now. You never found me." With that, Alice bolted forward and jumped while thinking, "All-Father, please keep my children safe."
Crashing into the water, Ivar stood in a panic, "Mom!" Björn grabbed Ivar, "Take the prow, and don't you dare look back brother. Wait, WHERE'S SITRIC?!" Sitric now swam to see his mother releasing calming sparkling particles before he grabbed her and tugged her to the surface, "This is a scary ass round two, mom!" Alice smiled softly, "Sitric, calm yourself, they are attracted to panic. Remain calm and we will be fine, hopefully." Right then, a massive wave slammed against them both.
They were so far down, and now face-to-face with one of the largest sharks that they had ever witnessed. You couldn't even consider them to be an appetizer to this monstrosity. Curiously, Alice reached out and slid her hand across it for her eyes to sparkle. This beast was majestic, graceful, and absolutely beautiful. It would've been nice if they had been born as mermaids, because they were so far down that there was no way that they were going to reach the surface before losing all air.
It had been a miracle, but they actually did reach the surface while gasping and coughing up water. With their breath caught, they looked up before another massive wave slammed them both into the depths after taking a deep breath. Pushed into the water, both landed on the shark that they had come face-to-face with, only for it to notice another one of its kin coming for the fascinating humans, making the one they were on attack the other shark. Björn looked back to see a pool of blood.
"Björn, did you see them," Ivar questioned, making him shake his head and swallow heavily, "No. They've made it before, so pray to the Gods. Don't add any blood into the sea to calm it, the giant beasts will smell it." Alice and Sitric were now sitting on the back of the largest shark out of the bunch that they had witnessed out of the water as they held the dorsal fin to await the storms passing, only for Alice to chuckle, "Oh my Gods, I love this shark! It's so beautiful and majestical!"
Sitric laughed at this before another wave hit them. Coughing, he then spoke out in return, "I have to say that this shark is as big as a damn dragon, but is noble and graceful. I wonder if it's a boy, or a girl." Alice peered down and hummed once she placed her sparkling hand against the beast, "It's a girl. I have to name her." Sitric gained a dry face at this, "Only you, mommy the Wolf Goddess, would find a beast of this size, and wish to keep it. Well mom, what's her name going to be?"
Stroking the shark, Alice smiled, "Atseta. She's royalty of the sea that we are currently taking residence on." This made Sitric snort a laugh, "Geez mom. Does she even like it?" Alice stroked the massive shark, who was now happier than a clam to hold a name, only to nod, "Indeed, my beautiful Atseta loves it!" Well that was a relief and more to say the least. Especially when there were still three more of these beasts around them that simply appeared curious over who these people were.
Arriving home, Björn, Ivar, Halfdan, Ubba, Hvitserk, and Lodbrok got off of the longship before sighing and walking away. Björn and Ubba now stayed in place with a frown before the elder of the two whispered, "Ubba, I witnessed a massive pool of blood. I don't know if it was a shark attacking another shark, or a shark attacking mom and Sitric. I'm a tad more than nervous to tell Ivar this though." Ubba frowned and looked up to see a raven flying out, "I believe that they're still alive."
It had been days now, and the storm had finally settled as Sitric groaned out of hunger, "Man, why didn't Atseta move?" Alice frowned and stroked the massive shark's head as she swam, "Sitric, normally during storms of that magnitude, sharks stay far beneath the waves so they can hunt, so she's just as hungry as us. It's a good thing that she's a fast swimmer though, because look," she finished by pointing, making Sitric's mouth drop as Alice giggled, "Ah, I love ya so much Atseta!"
Now attached to Alice, she got as close as she possibly could while the lass stood and began waving and hollering, "Björn! Ubba!" Shooting awake, both of their mouths dropped wide open, only for the elder of the two boys to exclaim in disbelief, "By all of the Gods! Mom tamed one?!" Ubba turned his head and yelled, "Fenrir, come!" Bolting, Fenrir whined until hearing someone that he had been missing desperately, "FENRIR!" Taking full form, Fenrir bounded out into the water happily.
Holding wide eyes, Björn nudged Ubba, "You need to drag dad's happy ass out here. Go, now." Nodding his head, Ubba bolted off as fast as he could. Reaching the palace, Ubba skidded to a stop, "Dad! You need to hurry and come see this right now!" Confused, he tilted his head, "Is there trouble?" Not knowing how to answer that one, he gave his father a pleading expression, making him sigh and nod before standing, "Where to?" Motioning his father to follow, Ragnar sighed, "Enough."
Alice had to reassure Atseta that Fenrir wasn't there to harm her, and that he was her land protector in the same manner that she was her water protector. Kissing the top of the shark's head, Alice smiled, "I'll come swim with you very soon, but first you need to go eat. Thank you Atseta." Climbing on Fenrir with Sitric, Alice noticed that the shark only swam around close by to eat as much as she could since the waters were plentiful with fatty whales, only for the both to jump down once on dry land again.
Smiling, Alice took Björn's hand as he began leading his mother, who was overjoyed to have a damn massive pet shark, along with being home. Stopping at the palace, they both heard Ragnar yelling, "Ubba, ENOUGH! It's been twelve years since I last held the love of my life. Do you even COMPREHEND how AGONIZING that is?!" Alice motioned for both of her sons to wait as she entered and folded her arms, "Well damn, that must SUCK! I must have the wrong place, sorry about that!"
Freezing, Ragnar slowly turned around to witness Alice's winking face, only to rush to her in tears before lifting her and she just had to fuck with him the moment he leaned in, making her place her hand over his lips and gag, "Eww, gross daddy!" She watched his face fall instantly as Sitric burst into hysterical fits of laughter, "Mom, stop torturing your husband!" Turning her head, Alice smirked, "Oh, no, the torture is in bed, my darling." Hearing Sitric comically gagging had Alice laughing.
Dropping her hand, she pressed her lips tightly to Ragnar's in such a powerful kiss that he tightly gripped the dip of her back with tears rolling down his face, only to move his face to her neck for her to hold his head as he sobbed, "I thought I'd never see you again Allie!" Hushing her husband while stroking his back tenderly, he calmed down after a good amount of crying, only to smile, "It's time for the Queen to be crowned with a jeweled headpiece. Both swords must be placed in the stone."
With the whole town told that the Queen had come to take her throne, all gathered anxiously as Alice handed her sword to Ragnar, only for him to pull his Sword Of Kings out. Both blades began to glow brilliantly due to being right next to one another as Ragnar stepped on the stone to first hold the blades out, "The legendary Sword Of Kings and Sword Of Queens are to dictate who is, and also who is to not, rule the country under one prosperous banner that we now live in! Agreed?"
Everyone was unsure of two heathens ruling over the entire country, but with the legendary swords brought, they all nodded. In accordance to the law, should these blades ever be found, then whoever can pull the blades from the stone were to be named as King and Queen. Hearing everyone agree, Ragnar flipped the blades over and slammed both blades into the stone as hard as he could, only to take a step down for the blades to be tested to not move no matter how hard one tried.
Nodded at that those blades wouldn't budge; Alice was helped up before he stood on the stone for her to take hold of the hilt of her blade as Ragnar took his blade before both easily pulled the blades out. All kneeled at that moment as one man yelled, "Long live the King and Queen!" The entire town was now chanting this until Alice held her blade up, "On my honor, and as your Queen, I swear to always care for those who need aid, and protect those who cannot protect themselves!"
Ragnar smiled at the determination filled in her eyes once she continued, "Pagan, Christian, all are safe while under my rule! I do not wish to hear the terms "Soulless Pagan Devil" or "Filthy Christians". We are all something much greater than that! We, my good people, are ENGLAND! We are united as ONE, under ONE banner of HONOR! It is not the King, nor the Queen, who creates England. It's each and every single person in the lands setting aside differences that creates England!"
All who stood there now realized that this beautiful woman meant each word that she now spoke. Ragnar then held his blade up, "On my honor, and as your King, I swear that there will be no high taxes to pay! If you cannot pay, then you will not be punished, and will be given two additional weeks to pay! Lower class citizens must merely pay one shilling, middle class citizens must pay three shillings, and high class citizens with too much wealth on your hands must pay nine shillings!"
"Besides, we are used to living off of the land anyway! Those who are farmers, you may pay with livestock, herbs, fruits, vegetables, and even mead! Hey, if you give us some good mead, we might end up paying YOU," he chipperly exclaimed, making everyone laugh brightly before he smiled, "Taxes will not start on this day, it will begin in two moon cycles time so that you are not stressed! However, on this night, we invite EVERYONE to come to the palace for a celebration to feast and drink!"
Hopping down, Ragnar then took Alice's hips to lift her off of the rock and place her on her feet. As they began walking, happy little girls rushed to Alice, "Queen Alice, might we be able to play with your hair?" Gasping and flicking her long hair, she then snickered, "Well, if you are up for the challenge my lovelies, then of course!" Ragnar chuckled as Alice gracefully dipped to sit on her knees, making the little girls squeal at how long and beautiful her hair was before they got to work.
Any other Queen would have told the children that she didn't wish for the children to touch their hair, but not Alice. She patiently sat as all of the little girls began design after design on her hair while Ragnar laid on her lap for her to pull a knife out to begin shaving from the crown of his head down, leaving what she hadn't cut long so that she could place the rest of his hair in his warrior hairstyle, but was thankful that he kept his beard neatly trimmed. Opening his eyes, Ragnar grinned.
"Okay, what is the grin for," she suspiciously questioned as the little girls finally clapped, "All done Queen Alice!" Sitting up, he actually looked surprised, "They made your hair shorter without cutting it, but you look like a damn warrior goddess." Feeling her back, Alice's hair reached down to her backside as the little girls brought out a mirror for her to look in and gape and attempt to figure out how in the name of the Gods that they had even done this in complete and utter confusion.
Thanking the little ladies, Alice waved as she began to walk while whispering out, "I hate it." Ragnar snorted out a laugh before "teasing" her by ruffling her hair for the mass loads of hair to fall, but admitted, "I'm going to cut my hair to the back of my knees." That made Ragnar whine, "Don't do that! I like it super long. Besides, Sitric would go on a new 'whoa' fest if you did that, and I don't think his brothers can handle much more of his dummy 'whoa' moments before strangling him."
"Björn has been a saint though and almost finds those 'whoa' moments just as amusing as you find them," he admitted, making Alice snicker. Björn then ran up to his mother and cuddled her, "Geez, your hair's a mess mom!" Laughing, she then told him, "Björn, I'm going to cut my hair to the back of my knees." Gripping his chin and tilting his head from side to side, he then chuckled, "I think that would look beautiful mom. Give it a try! If ya don't like it, just wait for it to grow again!"
Noticing his father's dry face, he then realized why, but didn't care, so he tugged her with him, "C'mon, I'll do it for ya. I want to spend some time with ya before the feast and the new fests of 'whoa' coming from Sitric." Following her son, he first combed her hair to be tangle free, "Oh geez mom, who tied knots in your hair?!" Groaning, she then grumbled, "Little girls." Once her hair was knot-free, Björn measured to the back of her knees before beginning to cut, "Mom, I love you."
Smiling as her son cut her hair, Alice spoke dotingly in return, "Oh baby, I love you too." Finished cutting the back, he moved to the front, knowing that she liked her trio colored locks a bit longer than the rest of her hair. Taking a step back once done, Björn smiled and clapped his hands, "Mom, you look gorgeous!" Alice chuckled softly, "Honestly, I've had it to my ankles for so long that it feels foreign!" Sitting beside his mother with a thick piece of her cut hair, he slowly began to braid it.
Looking at what her son was even doing, Alice had to ask, "Björn, what are you doing?" Laughing softly as he tied in the trio colored locks, he then frowned, "I dunno to be honest, but I keep getting a bad feeling for no reason. I can't tell what it is, what it means, or when it might happen so I want to spend as much time with you as possible." Smiling, she then leaned her forehead against his cheek, "Björn, what's truly bothering you? You know that I can tell when something is wrong."
"Well, all of the originals kept telling me that I should go visit my first burial site. I remember what happened, but going to my first grave is unnerving. Long before you, another seer told me that my body would never wither," he softly spoke honestly with a deep frown. Standing up, Alice reached a hand down to him with a smile, "Then let's conquer this battle together. I will probably cry far easier than you. One day, I want to take you to where my mother's pyre was held in Norway."
Pinching his cheek playfully, Alice winked, "You are a seer too, you know. Stop fearing what you have sweetie." Standing up, he nodded while peering down silently as they began to walk to the water to head to Sweden, making her extremely worried, "Björn, what's wrong?" Shakily taking in a breath, he peered at his mother, "Mom, my fate is to die by the hands of Ivar again. Your death will drive Ivar mental, whenever that time might be, but it's always a blur when I try to check."
Frowning as they walked further, she peered at him, "Björn, one day, we all have to die. Let me tell you a secret though. Upon my death, you will be able to summon me for aid, even if that aid should be against your very own brother. I might be able to act freely, but I am bound to the one who is to initially summon me. Out of all of my children, there is just something special about you that I love so much. I believe it's your loving heart that is so pure. You hold a mighty heart and soul."
Reaching the water, Alice whistled before calling out, "Atseta!" The massive shark emerged from the depths before diving in with her son. Swimming out, Alice spoke sweetly, "Atseta, this is my son, Björn. He is very kind and loving. We need a trip to Sweden. Björn will direct you." Climbing on, so did Björn, only for him to stroke the shark, "Mom, Atseta is beautiful." Smiling and wrapping her arm around her son as this shark swiftly swam until reaching the closest area for them to jump off.
Swimming to shore, Björn's hands began to tremble as he remembered his final moments, making Alice take his hand as they drew closer to where his first body was buried. However, now she believed that she knew how she was connected to all of the brothers. She had to go back to that day. As if she knew where she was going, Alice began to walk to where the battle had occurred, making Björn puzzled as he spoke the moment she came to a slow stop and fell to her knees, "I have to."
Confused, he softly questioned, "What do you have to do?" Alice frowned as she closed her eyes, "This is how we are connected, along with your brother's. I have to go back to the day of your death for you to make your promise to me. If you don't know that I'm here, you will be forced back into Valhalla. You can't come with me, I mean, my hand would drop from you due to knowing that two of you shouldn't be alive. Trust me, this will break me on multiple levels, so just be ready for my return."
Nodding, Björn sat down behind his mother to place her in his lap once she touched the area of his death before touching her forehead with her opposing hand for her head to go limp. He knew not to awaken her soul when she did this, so all he could do was gain a worried face over knowing how gentle and tender his loving mother honestly was. Lightly stroking her hair that had regrown, no thanks to the Gods knowing that her hair was meant to hang all of the way down to her ankles.
Sliding her eyes open at the back of the army, Alice began to push through the massive crowd with graceful silent strides. Hearing murmurs of Björn's arrival on the battlefield all alone looking weakened, worn, and weathered. Pushing forward into the open, she heard Ivar, "What do you think you are doing?! This is between us brothers!" Scowling, Alice turned around for her oceanic and golden eyes to pierce Ivar once she spoke, "Do us all a grand favor by shutting your mouth for once."
Approaching Björn, Alice placed a gentle hand upon his much larger palm as tears filled her eyes before sliding down her face as a single man shouted, "You claimed that he's indestructible, so I will prove you all wrong!" Lightly gripping his hand, she smiled softly as he struggled out, "Who are you?" Smiling, she spoke tenderly, "My name is Alice. I know that you don't fear death, and you shouldn't, for you are one of the mightiest men alive." Hearing an arrow fired, Alice held up a hand.
Right as she held her hand up, white sparkling particles were released for a blast of air to deflect the arrow, "Don't interrupt me." Deeply frowning, she shifted her gaze back to Björn, "You might have heard legends about a woman entering the snake pit with your father." Björn nodded his head and weakly spoke, "Yes, I heard something about it from the King." Alice smiled tenderly as she squeezed his hand, "That was me. I am not from this time, and I have now come for your death."
Watching her mass loads of hair blowing in the wind, Björn smiled weakly, "Then you already know my story." Nodding her head, she heard another arrow fired before furiously holding her hand up to freeze the arrow in time with narrowed eyes as she glanced back, "Interrupt me again and I will shred your honor to dust!" Ivar and Hvitserk watched with massive eyes, "He has a Goddess on his side." - "I'm no Goddess. Not yet. For now, I am merely a powerful seer, Ivar," she replied softly.
Björn kept his eyes fixated on her as she turned back towards him to whisper, "I'm your mother in your second life, Björn. Though, you have to feel it in your soul in the same manner as your father did. He will be reborn and is my husband, and you, Björn, are one of my most treasured sons." The moment she laced her fingers through his, he felt the connection, making her close her eyes for a moment before opening them with tears once she unfroze the arrow to slam into his chest.
Appearing mortified over her son being brought any harm, those tears were set on the loose as he gasped sharply, "Your soul is stronger than my title." Another arrow slammed into his body as he watched her horrified face, only to smile, "On my honor, one day, I will return to you, mother." The third arrow then slammed into his chest, making the man gloat, "You see?! He's dead!" Alice watched in horror as he grabbed his blade and drew it, making Ivar gape, "How is this even possible?"
Hvitserk then spoke with a firm belief, "I told you Ivar, you can't kill him." Ivar then peered at Alice who now cried as her son held his blade up, "But he's not a God." Hvitserk then peered at Alice as well as he spoke, "Neither are you." As all of the forces he summoned arrived, they then rushed into battle as both boys spoke, "She has offered him a second life. Or perhaps she's not even from this time. Now, he might become a God." She waited for Björn's arm to drop and rushed to him.
As he went to fall from his horse and drop his blade, Alice bolted over and caught him to pull all arrows out of his body before holding him close while sobbing against his face. He had never told her to go home like Ragnar had, so one of the two other idiots had to release her spirit. Clasping Björn's sword in his hands against his chest, she held him closer and kissed the side of his head, "I'm so proud of you Björn. You embraced your own death without any given fear, just like your father."
Out of nowhere, Ivar snapped the reins before latching onto Alice so that she was forced to drop one of her favored children with a harsh thud, making her scream in agony. Up until that point, she had been completely fine, only to begin trying to tug away while screaming, "No! Björn! Release me Ivar!" She had no choice, so she kicked his legs, making him buckle as Alice dashed back out before slamming to her knees beside her son to lift him into her arms to sob almost hysterically.
Planting a loving kiss against his forehead, a gentle hand that she knew far too well then reached down for her to peer up at the worried face of Hvitserk, "Miss, my brother's home now with my father. Please take my hand." Gently placing her son down, Alice placed a palm against his cheek, "I'll see you soon, my sweet son." Looking at Hvitserk, Alice placed her hand in his before he tugged her up on his saddle for her to cry against his chest softly until entering the clearing Ivar had went.
Slowing his horse, Hvitserk gained the connection, "By all of the Gods. You travelled through eternity to come back to our first time?!" Ivar looked at his spastically blurting younger brother to speak, "What are you speaking about?!" Taking Alice's hands in his own, he smiled, "One day, I will exit the halls of Valhalla to be birthed as one of your children, mother." Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek softly before admitting, "Honestly, I'm happy that you didn't have to witness my death too."
Jumping down, Alice walked forward, not knowing that Halfdan and Ubba had been there as well, considering they then ran over while hollering, "Ivar! Did you see that girl?!" Slamming into the lass, the three then toppled over while groaning. Feeling his hair stroked, Ubba gained a puzzled expression considering he had landed on soft, uh, pillows? His eyes fluttered open at that moment to notice what he had tackled, making him clumsily fly up with a massive blush staining his face.
Fanning his hands in front of his face, Ubba blurted out frantically without realizing that he had made a connection with her, "I'm so sorry mom!" Snorting out a laugh at how goofy Ubba still was, Alice snickered as Halfdan made the connection as well, only for Hvitserk to inform them, "You two need to make your promises for rebirth. Father, Björn, and myself already made our promises over our honor. Well, father and Björn did it before their passing into Valhalla to await mom's birth."
Alice shook her head playfully, "Ubba will see me again when I am a small child. Though, making the promise now helps so that you don't have to do it when neither of us remember!" Ubba smiled softly, "On my honor, I will come back to you, mom." Leaning forward, Alice pressed her lips to Halfdan's forehead, making the connection with her without having to try, "Mom, on my honor, I will return back to you one day," Three dorks down, and now she only had two more dummies to go.
Sigurd then bolted in, gained the connection, and made his promise as well. That left Ivar, who she was going to force an additional promise. Walking to Ivar and wrapping his leg that she had injured, Alice sighed, "Ivar, you are going to make an additional promise to me now that we hold a connection. You have to swear on your honor and the punishment of breaking this vow to suffer in the cursed realm of Niflheim. You have to swear that you will never attack and kill Björn ever again!"
With massive eyes, he was more than hesitant to make such a promise, but she added in an insurance, "Once you are reborn, you will not be a cripple as long as you keep your word." Finally, he agreed and gave his promise, making her release a breath, "I also gave Björn more. Should you break your promise, only he, and a select few of others, will hold the knowledge on how to summon my soul to personally make you a cripple after my death. Now, you all need to tell me to go home."
Told to go home, Alice shot awake while gasping sharply. Björn's eyes filled with tears now due to knowing what she did, only for tears to begin sliding down his face as he whimpered out, "Mom, what you did will come at an unknown price. Why would you do that?!" Gaining her bearings, Alice raised a hand to stroke her son's hair tenderly as he cried before smiling softly and sadly as she admitted, "To give you, my bright and strong boy, a bright future, no matter what is to unfold from this."
Standing, Alice chuckled and laced her hands behind her back as the breeze pushed her long locks to the side of her body, only to speak, "Björn, I don't fear death, nor shall I leave this world holding fear in my heart. No matter how I am to meet my end, I will be thankful for the life that I have lived. My life has been one massive war, and in my eyes, each obstacle that I have overcome has been a grand victory worthy of being named as an Aesir. So do not fret over what has yet to pass."
Björn stood up and brought his mother into his arms with a frown, "Please don't do anything stupid that will end up with you getting hurt, or worse." Playfully lifting her brows in a teasing manner, Alice chuckled, "Honey, you know that I can't, and more importantly, refuse to make a promise that I won't do anything stupid. I'm a reckless free spirit that goes wherever the winds and waves are to guide me. Now, let's go to your first grave so that you can see for yourself if the seer was right."
Holding his mother's hand and nodding anxiously, they both slowly approached where his burial to see two little girls being called by their parents, "Darlings, hurry along now and pay your respects to King Björn!" Feeling her son stiffen up so badly that she peered up to him, "Sweetie?" He was no longer in the here and now, making her groan heavily and shout, "Björn! Snap out of it!" Shaking his head abruptly, those two little girls noticed this strong looking man and chirped out, "Oh wow!"
One of the girls smiled brightly and rushed to him, "Are you the King Björn that was reincarnated?! Did you come to see if your body has actually preserved?!" Björn became as silent as a ghost while taking a gentle step back, making Alice realize how tough this actually was for him. Kneeling to the ground, Alice smiled tenderly, "That's correct. This is my son, Björn Ragnarsson, or Björn Ironside." Björn took another step back as his heart throbbed in his chest, only to snap away and run.
Giving a dramatic sigh, she let her son work the nerve to look for himself while sitting down, "Would you two like for me to read your futures? My name is Alice Lodbrok, wife to the reincarnated Ragnar Lodbrok, Queen of England, and I'm a seer for the Gods." Both little girls laughed happily and called to their parents, "Mama, papa! The Queen of England, and seer, Alice Lodbrok, is here! She's offering to read our futures to us!" Both parents looked to see that their daughters were right.
Both girls then nodded happily, only for Alice to take a seat with both of the girls before humming, "Let me see who is older." Holding her hands over both of theirs, she sensed who was older and smiled. Alice tugged her fingerless white gloves off before placing her hand over the girl's palm, "Ayda is your name, you are ten years old. Now, let me go in deeper." Placing her other hand on the back of the girl's, Alice smiled as she witnessed the future, "Alright, are you ready to hear it Ayda?"
Ayda nodded in an excited manner, making Alice chuckle before speaking with her eyes closed, "I see your marriage to quite the handsome man, and my goodness, you grow up beautifully. Now I see a happy home in England, you are carrying a little girl in your arms as your husband gets home, only for you to feel pure joy once she is taken by your husband and twirled around. But then, something goes very wrong. A woman appears on the docks of your home pregnant with his child."
Furrowing her brows, Alice continues, "At this time, you are pregnant with his son. He then speaks of a marriage between two women. Furious, you stick around until giving birth, only for his father to name him before you take his daughter and his son. Telling him to make a choice over her or you, he doesn't waste a single breath before choosing you, the love of his life. He then tells the woman that she must leave, all because he has everything that he ever needs in his life with you."
Opening her eyes, Alice smiled at Ayda, "Sweet girl, marriage comes with plenty of stress, fights, and doubt. However, stay true to him and don't leave without giving him the option, because I promise you that he won't disappoint your heart. You will be his entire world, and he will be your entire world. As long as you remember that, you will have a marriage filled to the brim with love and compassion, one that is worth sticking around for. Just like the marriage that I hold with Ragnar."
With a bright smile, she hugged Alice tightly, "Thank you!" Hugging in return, she then witnessed a vision of that home up in flames as soldiers attack the family, her young daughter and her being taken by force as her son and husband lie dead on the cold earth. Pulling away after blinking tears away, Alice looked at the younger sister and took her hand, "Your name is Seri, short for Seriphina, and you are eight years old. Are you ready to be told your future?" Seri nodded with a smile.
Fully taking Seri's hand with both of her own, Alice closed her eyes to begin seeing what others simply could not, only for her brows to lift in surprise once she spoke, "Seri, you will move to England to be close to your sister. One day, and by a sheer stroke of luck, you will meet my youngest son, Lodbrok. Despite your eight year age difference, the two of you fall in love and marry one another. You move into the palace, not wishing to part him from his twin's side and learn to fight."
She felt bad for this, but she was making everything up. This poor girl only had a mere few months to live. Hearing Odin telling her to tell her the truth, Alice swallowed heavily and internally told Odin that she should at least be able to have the ability to dream about it as she fell into her eternal slumber, which he supposed that he could agree with, making Alice release a breath, "You two hold a very happy marriage and rarely ever fight. However, you will be unable to birth him children."
With more fibs told, she smiled and stood up before walking to the girls' parents to whisper to them that their daughter, Seriphina, would gain a growth inside of her body that would end up killing her within a few months' time. So, she had given her a false telling of her future for her to envision as she passed into the next life with a smile on her face. Profoundly thanked for this, Alice then turned away, "What's truly sad is the fact that the vision would've been true if not for the growth."
Björn finally walked back shakily now that it was only his mother standing there all alone, but he had heard what she had said for the little girl, Seri. Approaching her from behind, Björn slid his arms around his mother's belly to hold her close as he spoke, "That was a really kind thing that you did for that little girl, Seri. I witnessed her future too and had felt extremely guilty for leaving you to make up a joyous life for her to envision at the end of her life. She's going to be able to die happily now."
Holding her hand up to the entrance of where her son was buried, Alice then spoke, "Tell me, didn't I do the same for you at the end of your first life?" A blast of air then crumpled the entrance before she pulled away from her son to enter. His body, still perfectly intact, made Alice dip down to her knees and take his face in her palms before leaning forward to press her lips to his forehead that still held warmth, making her frown, "How in the fuck are you even still alive?! WAKE UP!"
Startled, Björn, who had been acting dead, shot up, "I'm sorry Alice!" Pulling her knife out, Alice whimpered, "It's no wonder my son never held a full soul! Baby, turn away." Doing as his mother had asked, Alice scowled and whispered, "I'm sorry, but a promise is a promise, and you will not strip him of all of his honor. You being alive places him at risk, and you will not take my son from me, even if that son is you." Smiling and nodding, Alice swiftly slit his throat and covered his mouth.
With the remaining half of Björn's soul entering his body, he finally gained a bright glow in her eyes, meaning his honor was regained for the promise that he had made her, along with gaining a full soul. Björn had never known why he had always been so sad, lonely, full whenever he hadn't eaten, starving when he had just ate a meal, parched after drinking plenty of water, sore as if he were ancient, and tired all of the time until now. His soul had been playing tug-of-war with his first body.
Looking at her son that now rubbed his throat, Alice held out her hand as she spoke, "Björn, hand me your blade, but don't look back." Taking out his dull and dinged up blade, he reached back for his mother to take it to swap it with the gorgeous blade that his first body held. Staring at this finely sharpened blade that held jewels on the hilt where he wouldn't be holding it, Alice smiled and exchanged sheaths before walking out, "I believe that this belongs rightfully to you, and you alone."
Puzzled, Björn tilted his head as Alice quickly rebuilt the cover to the memorial so that her son couldn't witness what she had done, only for her to turn back and hand over the blade holding the runic inscription of 'Blood Of Royalty' on one side, while the other side held the runic inscription of 'Ironside'. Taking the sword, Björn looked at the blade with a smirk before sheathing it and placing it in the loophole on his belt meant for his sword before releasing a breath, "Let's go home mom."
All of the way in Wintanceaster, Athelstan tapped his pointer finger against his throne while speaking with a scowl, "What in the name of God do you mean Alice has finally returned to Lunden and has pulled out the Sword Of Queens?!" Athelstan, now a devoted, and almost obsessed, Christian, scowled deeply that his father's note had not been a bunch of nonsense before slamming his hand across a table holding many items as none other than Aethelhelm spoke, "It's what I've been told."
"England was my grandfather's dream! Not theirs! This means war," he snarled before Aethelhelm cleared his throat, "Sire, I hear that they are about to take all of the thrones back from all other standing rulers, which means Halfdan, Havi, and Aelfwynn will be returning to Lunden to announce their full loyalty to the King and Queen. Should you wait any longer, then I will not be able to help you in this endeavor." Athelstan then growled, "What can I possibly do when Alice is a seer?!"
Clearing his throat, Aethelhelm then spoke bluntly, "I have heard many nobles that hold armies claiming that these heathens shouldn't be on the throne of England when the throne should rightfully be yours. No matter how kind that they might be, they all believe that the throne should be in the hands of a devoted Christian, not a Pagan devil. So, I have come up with a three stage plan of attack." Athelstan could only motion his hand, "Well, then let me hear this strategy of yours."
Nodding, he folded his arms on the dip of his back as he spoke, "First, we rile them up by slaughtering each and every single Pagan that lies within Wessex. However, we have no need to sully our hands ourselves, so we take advantage of my allies that wish for all of the heathens in Wessex to be butchered in the same manner that Alice and Ragnar murdered all of the innocent Christians in your domains so that Alice holds no idea that you are even the one behind all the attacks."
Continuing, Aethelhelm then pushed on, not once forgetting how Alice had made a fool out of him, "Of course, we will reassure Ragnar and Alice that we will find the culprits and execute them for their crimes. We, of course, will have to make some sacrifices by executing a handful of people, but they will be innocent Pagans that hold Christian spouses, such as two of Ragnar and Alice's daughters that live inside of Wessex, Thyra and Fenra." Athelstan didn't know if that was a good idea.
Athelstan personally knew Thyra and Fenra, and both were not only sweet, but they were also vicious fighters as well. Not to mention that the last time that his own father had kidnapped and tortured Ragnar and Alice's children, they completely and utterly destroyed all of Wessex. Folding his hands, Athelstan then sighed, "I wouldn't feel comfortable killing Fenra. She converted to Christianity and denounced those Pagan devil Gods, and is now a child of the One True God, not the devil."
Sighing, he then continued, "Besides, my father attempted to do this long ago, making Ragnar and Alice go on a rampage." Smirking, Aethelhelm then gave a dark chuckle, "That's where phase two would enter. We simply capture them after building what I am calling 'The Lodbrok Way'. As all of the mayhem is ongoing, we will have workers create an iron cage that is unfolded. Using nature, we can hide the cage beneath it. Mostly, we will only want Alice so she can't use her visions."
Folding his arms, he pushed on, "If Alice is capable of using her foresight, then you stand no chance, so we have hired men to hold blades to the girls' throats to persuade her to comply with our every wish and demand. Once she walks forward, she will hit a trap that will cause for the cage to spring up like a bear trap. We can release her daughters once she is caught, or we can kill them, the choice is yours. We then transport her to a dungeon in the woods that I have made just for this."
This was now almost fascinating to listen to, so Athelstan motioned for him to continue, "Then?" It was apparent to Aethelhelm that Athelstan had never heard how Ragnar Lodbrok had died, the first time, so he internally sighed as he spoke aloud, "We then torture Alice, baptize her, and then with the pit I have created, we put her to death in the same manner as King Aella placed Ragnar to death. We then will force Ragnar to watch as his precious wife is eaten alive by venomous snakes."
Athelstan folded his arms and shook his head, "If you baptize Alice, your plan will fail. The seitr she holds will flee her body and she will die without any snakes involved." Aethelhelm then chuckled out and held up documents concerning Ragnar's death before handing them over, "You really should read up on how Ragnar Lodbrok was originally killed. When he was tortured, they carved a cross on his forehead to save his evil soul. Though, from what I've heard, he still went to Valhalla."
Nodding his head, he took the document to begin reading over how Ragnar Lodbrok was killed the first time, "Very well, you may proceed with step one." Bowing, Aethelhelm created various documents before sending them out to his various allies that couldn't stand the fact that Pagans now held the throne and the fact that those two Pagans held those two legendary blades that, by default, made them the standing King and Queen. Very soon, Wessex erupted with sheer and utter chaos.
Thyra and Fenra, hearing about all of the ongoing murders of Pagans married to Christians, instantly had their husbands panic before urging for their wives to flee back to their mother and father. This went especially for Fenra since she denounced the one true god to continue her Pagan ways once she realized that she was dying. When her husband had realized that denouncing her Gods was actually killing his wife, he urged his wife to begin worshiping her Gods again out of complete worry.
Once she began practicing her Pagan ways again, her husband became curious and had asked for her to at least teach him some of the customs and meanings behind his wife's religion. As he began to learn more about his wife's Gods, it no longer bothered him at all once she honestly began to teach her husband that the Pagans basically worshiped love through the tree of life, Yggdrasil. All of their Gods held their own significant roles, which he realized fairly quickly and fully embraced it.
Though, once both husbands heard that the deaths were becoming more frequent and violent, both begged and pleaded for their wives to flee to Lunden to hold their parents protection. However, both Thyra and Fenra held their mother's level of stubbornness and refused to flee without their husbands by their sides. With the sisters living in homes that were beside one another, they realized that their homes were always avoided when the slaughter of Pagans married to Christians began.
Inside of Lunden, Sitric and Björn bolted inside of the throne room in a panic before shouting, "Dad, mom, a letter from Wessex has just arrived by Athelstan stating that groups of violent people have begun attacking Christians married to Pagans! Mom, Athelstan is asking for you to come so that you guys can think about how you can put a stop to all of the hatred that is spreading like a wildfire!" Alice's eyes widened immensely at that moment before mumbling out, "No! Thyra, Fenra!"
Standing abruptly and about to run, Ragnar shot his hand out to grasp his wife's arm, "Love, think about it! This looks and sounds like a trap!" Lowering her head, Alice ripped her arm away before yelling, "If it's my time, then I welcome the Valkyries to summon me home! However, those are OUR daughters, and I will not abandon them should they be in need of my help! Besides, he never claimed to go completely alone. So I will take Sitric, Björn, Ivar, Halfdan, Ubba, and Hvitserk."
"Allie, you are playing with fire," Ragnar argued before she argued in return, "If I can buy them one year, one month, one day, one minute, or even ONE SECOND, then I will sacrifice myself as a hero that will be welcomed inside of Odin's great golden halls without a single thought!" Pulling her arm away, she then stopped, "Hold on, why didn't he ask for us to simply get rid of the problem? Björn, gather all of your brothers and sisters! We are going on a man hunt, sound like fun?"
Snickering, Björn nodded and darted off to round up all of his siblings as Alice held her eldest son's arm before looking back, "You coming love?" Ragnar snorted out a laugh before standing and sighing as his army of twins arrived, "Someone has to watch over the kingdom. So, go place your sexy savage gear on." Alice wiggled her brows at her husband playfully before leaving and changing. Placing her hair in a female warrior's hairstyle, she walked out in her revealing black leather gear.
Tightening her high ponytail, she looked at Ragnar before winking, "When I get back, I will bless you with one more set of twins." The way his eyes began sparkling said it all, making all of his children burst into laughter before they exited with Fenrir. When people noticed the family in all black leather gear, and Alice actually wearing lace-up knee high leather boots, they knew something was up. Once out of Lunden, Alice placed black paint on all of their faces to look like walking death.
Placing red paint on Fenrir, he laid down before taking full form. With everyone climbing on board, Alice gave a sharp whistle, "Fenrir, find the killers!" Bolting, he arrived in the first city within the blink of an eye before her eyes narrowed, "These are soldiers of Wessex belonging to separate Lords." Jumping down, Alice instantly snarled out, "CAPTURE THEM! Ivar, Björn, Halfdan, Ubba, Hvitserk, and Sigurd, with me! We go blood eagle to send a damn warning message across Wessex!"
When all of those causing mayhem realized that the plan had failed, they knew INSTANTLY that they were completely and utterly screwed. Hearing a soldier yelling in a panic for everyone that was wreaking havoc upon the Christian and Pagan couples that the plan had failed, all began to run as if the Pagan "devils" were now at their heels, Alice yelled, "DON'T ALLOW A SINGLE MAN TO ESCAPE!" Her twins began to bolt, and those being attacked were so furious that they began to help.
With all men caught, they were then taken to the woods so that the bodies weren't out in the open for the surviving Christian and Pagan couples to witness. Alice did these Christian men one courtesy though and brought a priest that she spoke to, "These men are about to join your God in your Heaven if he finds it acceptable. Please, go to each man and pray with them so that you might cleanse their souls of their sins." Nodding, he smiled softly, "Of course Queen Alice, that is kind of you."
"It's the least I can do for them since they are Christians. I'm not sure if honor is important to them, but I am aware that your God is everything, and I will not force them to endure this without the help of their God," she spoke softly and kindly, knowing that this wasn't going to be pretty in the slightest. The priest then approached all of the condemned men and knelt before him to begin praying, only to finish with, "And by the father, son, and the holy ghost, I relieve you from your sins."
Knowing that this was going to get messy, she kindly thanked the priest and kissed his cheek before speaking to him softly, "You should leave now before you see something that you will never be able to unsee to the point that you begin treating your Pagan wife differently. This method of torture and slaughter is extremely brutal, and I do not wish for you to see me as an evil Queen that holds no compassion; when in reality, no matter what they've done, this technique sickens even me."
Nodding, the priest left before Alice scowled and paced slowly in front of them silently until coming to a slow stop for her sharp gaze to pierce their souls once she spoke out, "Do you know how foolish you are for doing this? It doesn't matter if you are Pagan or Christian, because if a Pagan had done this, they would be in the same boat that you've all voluntarily placed yourselves in. Do you all have anything that you would like to say?" One man then spat in her face, "Filthy Pagan WHORE!"
Wiping her face, Alice motioned her head, "Ivar, go ahead." Furious at what this man had said to his mother, Ivar began to carve down this man's spine while laughing darkly as the man cried out in agony, "You said the wrong thing to my mom while in the presence of Ivar the merciless!" Carving straight down this man's spine while he screamed in agony, Ivar then pulled the skin on his back to the side, only to then pull his axe out to begin severing this man's rib cage from his spine.
As they watched this man crying out in agony, Ivar cackled out, "There is no true reason for you to cry! I mean, you are about to be able to FLY like a majestic eagle, my good friend!" All brothers and sisters now looked at one another and their mother in a sickened fashion that Ivar was taking such joy out of this torture method. Yes, these men were killing Christian and Pagan couples, but the way Ivar took such joy out of this made them all sick to their stomachs, including his own twin.
Sassa reached her hand out to her twin with a pale face before speaking, "Ivar, why are you taking such pleasure out of this?! This is horrifying to watch!" Ivar then laughed in a way that mirrored a maniac at this point as he spoke while hacking away at this man's rib cage, "That's because I AM taking immense pleasure out of this!" Done with the chopping of the ribs, Ivar dropped his axe and pulled this man's lungs out before mercilessly ripping them out of his body to drop to the side.
Finished with the first, the rest appeared absolutely horrified and equally as terrified the moment that Ivar had this man strung up like a flag of victory for all to be witnessed, knowing that this about to happen to them as well. The next man on the chopping block began to recite passages from the bible as Ivar approached the him with a smirk, "Per my mother and father's laws, I can't say a damn thing about your religion. However, you don't quite hold the mighty eagle's screech yet!"
Feeling sickened over her own twin brother doing this, and finding pure joy over it as well, Sassa walked in front of the next man to hold his hand while softly speaking, "I'm sorry. Please, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him." This man looked at Ivar's twin, terrified as he gripped her hand tightly, "If you spare me, I will tell you who this was ordered by!" Alice snapped to her son that hadn't heard a thing this man had said, only to begin carving down his spine in sheer joy.
"IVAR, HALT RIGHT NOW," she yelled, making him peer over and pull back before spitting to the side and speaking darkly, "Yes ma'am." Walking in front of this man, Alice pat her daughter's shoulder, making her move away before she kneeled down and stroked this man's cheek with a tenderness that he hadn't expected from a heathen as she spoke gently, "You have my attention." Nodding, he spoke out, "We all gained letters from Lord Aethelhelm to create mayhem to these couples."
Untying him in specific, Alice helped him sit before she held her hand over the injury to heal him before she spoke, "And what would be the purpose in harming those who have merely found joy in their lives with another person that loves them? When you think about it, does it truly matter if we are a Pagan or a Christian? At the end of the day, we are all simply human. We gave people the freedom to believe in whatever they so choose, so why listen to someone who holds no reason?"
By the time Ivar was finished with all of the men, even Alice felt sick over what she was now clearly seeing. In a circle on large trees to hold up the bodies, were six strung up men from the blood eagle execution as a mockery to the Christian faith since it appeared as if it were a Pagan sacrificial ceremonial site that, which in all honesty, might become one for all of the Pagans that had survived the attack due to their arrival and swift intervention that had saved all from a dishonorable death.
Now that she really thought about the matters, having more children now felt like the most idiotic thing to do when Ivar amounted to fifty badly behaved children. Swallowing heavily, Alice looked at her son that was completely soaked in blood as if he had just stood in a downpour of thick crimson colored rain. She watched as her son, that looked as if he had just exited the womb, marveled at his handy work. This made her realize one terrible thing that concerned one of her favored sons.
That one thing being the matter of Björn absolutely having a valid reasoning to worry over his own safety the moment she were to die. From where she currently stood, she could only think about how her second born son appeared as if he were already completely unstable in the mental department. The fact that Ivar now stood and gazed in awe over his creations made Alice turn away in absolute disgust before beginning to walk away as if not wishing to see this absolutely morbid sight.
Björn rushed to catch up with his mother before frowning, "Mom, are you okay?" Alice could only shake her head and mumble softly, "Björn, there's something wrong with Ivar. It's not normal for one to carve all of those people up with no shame, only to then gawk at the creations as if they were pieces of art to be gazed upon in wonder. Yes, we kill when we must, but we don't sit there once the battle is over with to simply stare at all of the catastrophic damage that we've dealt in wonder."
Hearing Sitric vomiting and gasping to catch even a single breath, Björn turned his head and called out, "Sitric, are you okay?!" Sitric ran to his younger, yet much more mature, brother and crashed against his chest to speak loud enough for only him and his mother to hear, "What in the name of Loki is happening? He's just staring in amazement at this! Almost as if it is the most wonderful thing that he has ever witnessed in his entire life!" Björn then looked up and sighed, "To him, it is."
Wishing the town farewell once they had been able to rip Ivar away from his handy work, Alice first walked back to the clearing while remembering the names of each man that had been told to the priest. Sitting down to begin creating six finely decorated crosses, Alice wiped tears from her face once she was finally done. Placing all of the crosses in the ground holding their names, Alice spoke to each, "I hope your God tends to you all well." Exiting, they left as quickly as they had arrived.
With Athelstan, his brows furrowed deeply, "What in the hell is taking Alice so long to send a damn reply, and what is taking your men so long to check in with you?!" The man that had been spared by Alice then bolted inside, "Lord Aethelhelm, Lord Athelstan, there has been a problem with the eradication of the Christian and Pagan couples! You both need to come with me right now!" Puzzled at the outburst, Athelstan stood before all three exited the palace and jumped on their horses.
Athelstan then gave a firm nod of his head towards the rattled only surviving man, "Lead the way." Nodding, they began to make the long journey to the very same town that Aethelhelm had ordered to destroy. Noticing only a few had been slain, Aethelhelm questioned, "Tell me, what is the meaning of this?" Dismounting, so did the other two as he began to walk, "While attacking, we were ambushed by the Queen and her children. I only survived because I told the Queen the whole truth."
Continuing, he spoke out softly, "We were all hunted down like animals needing to be put under the knife to feed a family. There was no mercy to be found, and once we were all captured, I noticed something odd for a Pagan, and none of us had seen this coming in the slightest. We were her enemies, and yet, she showed us such kindness by actually bringing a priest for all of us Christians to confess our sins so that we all could have our souls saved upon arriving at the gates of Heaven."
"That sounds like something Allie would do. She's more gentle, tender, caring, and loving than most people even realize," Athelstan admitted with a frown. Coming to a stop, he placed a hand over his mouth due to remembering it all. Pointing into the clearing, he then whispered out, "When you enter the clearing, look up. Trust me, I've already witnessed enough of Ivar's sadistic art." Both walked into the clearing before looking up as instructed, only for horror to slap them across the face.
With massive eyes, Aethelhelm mumbled out, "This must be the work of the devil." The single soldier shifted his gaze in slightly before his eyes became massive, "Lord Athelstan?!" Athelstan snapped his head over before the man spoke, "When I was here, those crosses were not there." Athelstan shifted his eyes to the crosses to realize that this was Alice's graceful handwriting. Frowning, he kneeled down in front of the cross before even speaking a single word, "Alice. You honored them."
Aethelhelm, not caring what Athelstan had just spoke, then growled out, "Honored or not, she allowed for her son, Ivar the merciless to do this to these men! What is this even called?!" The single survivor spoke aloud, "It is called the blood eagle, sir. However, the entire time that Ivar was doing it, Queen Alice appeared sick to her stomach that her son was enjoying himself as much as he was. Her other son, Björn, had to cover her eyes." Aethelhelm scoffed out, "It's time for phase two."
Months later after Ragnar and Alice had actually waged war against Athelstan, who refused to denounce his throne due to claiming that, rightfully, the throne did not belonged to them since it belonged to him. Many Christians had begun to ban alongside Athelstan, believing that the throne of England belonged to him as well. This now made the current rulers list of allies begin to dwindle into the single digits so that they were all of the way back at step one as if they had just arrived.
inside of their homes as of now, Thyra and Fenra heard their doors knocked on, making them both walk to their windows to see men while their husbands were at work. Both curiously opened their doors to answer, "Yes? How may I be of help to you?" Both girls were then grabbed, making them panic, "What are you doing?!" Gagged so that they couldn't cry out for help, both of the girls were tightly grabbed without their weapons before they both were dragged out into the deep woods.
Sitting in the palace as Ragnar was out on business in the attempts to gain allies, a messenger entered and handed her a message. Opening the parchment to read that Athelstan now held Thyra and Fenra as his captive, she then noticed the coordinates that she was to arrive at alone. Alice's eyes slightly widened at this claim before gaining a deep sorrow as she gracefully stood up without a fuss. If it was her, or her daughters, she didn't even need to think about her given options.
Closing her tear-filled eyes, Alice nodded as she softly spoke out, "Very well. Lead me." Nodding, he exited with the Queen before slinging his leg over his saddle before lifting her in front of him to notice her blades. Frowning, he then released a breath, "Forgive me, my Queen, but your blades must remain." Unlacing her blades and her holstered knife from her thigh, Alice then dropped them to the ground as Fenrir whined and pawed at the two, making the messenger look with sorrow.
As the messenger frowned even deeper at this point, he then choked out, "The wolf must stay as well, my lady." Shifting her head, Alice reached down and stroked his head, "Fenrir, be a good boy for me. Stay." Hearing him whine loudly as if he were now crying, the reins were snapped, making him almost move until remembering her words of stay as he began to whine louder with his ears flattened against his skull as he watched her form grow further and further away in the distance.
Arriving at the destination of the deeply wooded area within Wessex, Alice gracefully jumped down to see her daughters with knives being held to their throats as Athelstan walked out with a deepened scowl before barking out, "Alice Lodbrok, you are to make your way to me calmly, and without raising a single hand to any of us! Do so, and on my honor, I will release both Thyra and Fenra!" Alice then scowled as she spoke venomously, "It appears as if Leif should've let you die on that day!"
Peering down, the mother of the two girls then spoke, "To no matter. What's in the past, is in the past. Release my daughters and on MY honor, I will give my daughters a hug and then walk forward without a complaint. You've screwed me over plenty in my life, so that seems like a fair trade. You know that I do not dare tarnish the honor that I hold, so it's a promise." Knowing that Alice's honor meant everything to her, he nodded to the men, making them release the girls to run to her.
Catching her girls tightly in her arms, tears slid down her face as she kissed the sides of both of their heads before speaking, "My sweet girls, I know I have no right to boss either of you anymore, but all I ask is that you run as fast as you can, and don't either of you stop to look back. Am I understood?" Both nodded as they sobbed against their mother, only for her to give them both one last kiss before pushing them away, "NOW, RUN QUICKLY! AND DON'T YOU DARE LOOK BACK!"
Stumbling away, Thyra and Fenra began running while holding hands as they sobbed. Peering down with a sorrowful smile, Alice began to slowly make her way forward, fully knowing that she was no longer gaining visions from the Gods, meaning her time was almost up. Hitting the trap, her eyes grew large as the cage sprung up to trap her in before Athelstan swiped his hand to the side while yelling, "Don't worry about Thyra and Fenra, they are long gone! Take Alice to the dungeon now!"
With the cage lifted, Alice was then dragged to a secluded area in the woods before taken down into the dungeon. Her cage now placed down, Alice noticed the torturer and the chains dangling from the ceiling. She accepted her fate at this given point in time with a saddened gaze as Athelstan motioned to those hanging chains, "Restrain her and begin your work." The door to the cage was then opened, making Alice take a single step away until she was grabbed and dragged to the chains.
Shackled to those chains now, Alice could only agonizingly hang to stand on the tips of her toes before Aethelhelm walked out, only for Alice to shoot off a vicious warning, "If you think that you will be safe upon my death, you will be in for a rude awakening! Those that you have called your brothers and sisters for all of those years will be out for blood! They will have you begging and crying before they have even made you bleed! Odin hears my words and will relay them to my children!"
Athelstan turned away with massive eyes before leaving, knowing that she wasn't kidding over this little factor in the slightest. They would be out for blood. It was now time for Aethelhelm to pay her back for the humiliation that she caused him so long ago, making him smirk as he spoke, "Why, hello again Alice. It's time for you to give us all of your prophecies, or else." Alice frowned softly before speaking honestly, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I no longer gain prophecies of the future."
Motioning his head to the torturer to begin, Aethelhelm scowled darkly, "Do you think that I believe that nonsense?!" The torturer then cracked a whip against her back so roughly that it instantly ripped her top off and broke the soft skin on her back, causing for Alice to gasp, bite her bottom lip, and wince in pain, "I DON'T HAVE PROPHECIES ANY LONGER!" - "Another," he scowled before another rough snap of the whip was heard, causing for her to wince before scowling deeply.
"Do you honestly believe that I would LIE about losing my prophecies, you dick," she questioningly yelled furiously until gaining another lashing that made her suck in a sharp breath of pain and discomfort as Aethelhelm growled out, "Keep going until she feels compelled to tell us her prophecies!" Lash after lash was given, making the guards posted outside of the dungeon wince each time they heard the cracking of the whip as one whispered, "How does she not scream over that pain?"
Peering over, the other whispered in return, "I have no idea. If that were me, I'd be bawling like a small child." - "ANSWER THE QUESTION ALICE," Aethelhelm furiously yelled as the next crack of the whip slashed her bottoms off as her eyes went out of focus, "BY THE GODS, I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH THAT I DON'T HAVE THEM ANYMORE!" One of the guards outside of the door frowned, "I don't think that she's lying. I mean, what reason would she have to lie about losing her foresight?"
Shrugging, the other guard whispered in return, "I have no clue. Alice is bound by honor though, so I don't believe that she's lying either." Hearing a rough slam from a fist from inside of the room, they both heard Alice gasping harshly before coughing abruptly as one guard chewed his bottom lip, "The real question is why is she not summoning her Gods for aid?" The other guard put two-and-two together rather quickly as he whispered in shock, "I think that she's lost all of her gifts."
"ALICE, ANSWER ME," Aethelhelm roared as she was struck again before she began harshly coughing up a small amount of blood before peering up furiously, "What is there to answer when I have LOST all of my gifts from the Gods?!" Pulling out a knife, Aethelhelm began carving crosses all over her body for blood to begin sliding down. As she cringed in complete agony over the pain, the Gods watched in absolute horror and sorrow over how their beloved new Aesir was now being treated.
It had now been half of a day of Alice's torture, making Aethelhelm motion his head forward and growl out, "Put her to sleep so that we can take a break." Raising his fist, the torturer then struck this beautiful woman right in the eye, knocking her unconscious before Aethelhelm spat to the side, "Toss her back inside of her cage." Unchained, Aethelhelm half expected for all of her injuries to heal until they simply wouldn't as she was hurled into her cage with a beaten and battered body.
Elsewhere, Ragnar finally made it back to the palace to begin looking around in a puzzled manner, only to call out, "Allie?! Allie, where are you?!" Not hearing anything, Ragnar began running around in a panic while yelling, "ALLIE?!" It had taken a long time, but Thyra and Fenra finally made it to the palace while gasping sharply, "Daddy! Mommy was taken! We heard the guards talking about something called 'The Lodbrok Way'. We don't know what in the name of Hel that means though."
"No," he mumbled with mortified eyes before collapsing to the ground in tears, only to slam his fist against the ground so furiously that the skin began to split and break open as he yelled, "No! No! No! Dammit, no!" Thyra and Fenra rushed over to their father before taking his sobbing form in their arms as he gripped their arms tightly to whisper something through his gritted teeth and tears, "It means exactly what it sounds like. Girls, very soon, you will no longer have a living mother."
A messenger then walked inside of the palace to internally gulp heavily before speaking aloud, "King Ragnar, a special invitation has been sent to you from Lord Athelstan for you and Lord Selko and Viggo to attend a warming ceremony in two days' time. Your reply your majesty?" Ragnar lowered his head and nodded, "Relay that Viggo, Selko, and myself will be there." Nodding his head, the messenger bolted out before Ragnar's bank of patience completely dried up and he was killed.
Standing, Ragnar stroked Thyra and Fenra's horrified faces tenderly, "Girls, I need for you to not tell any of your siblings what I have told you. Allow your mother to give a mighty speech of glory and honor before she is eaten alive by a pit of poisonous snakes. Now, go and bring all of your siblings so that I can make them aware that your Uncles and I will be going away in two days." Both girls nodded while wiping tears away from their faces to calm themselves before walking away.
Selko had been in pain all day as he entered the palace without hearing a single word that had been spoken once Ragnar sat at his throne. Shifting his head back and forth, Selko then spoke, "Ragnar, have you seen Allie? I'm in so much pain right now." Internally sucking in a sharp breath, he shook his head, "No, she's been out all day. However, Viggo, you, and I have been sent a special invitation to attend a warming ceremony in two days, so I expect for you both to be ready to attend."
Nodding his head as he rubbed his arm, he nodded, "Alright, we'll be ready to go. Hopefully that ungrateful bastard will finally be grateful for all that Allie has done for him. I mean, if it weren't for her, Leif would have murdered him with the rest of Aethelhelm's camp on the day that Allie had begged for his help." Right then Leif entered and smiled, "Hey you guys, I was invited to a special celebration by Lord Athelstan in Wessex, but I decided to stop here first! This should be a ton of fun!"
With the day following in the dungeon, Alice opened a single eye while groaning as Aethelhelm smirked, "Well, well, our Queen has finally awakened. Now, let's get started." Yanked out of her prison, Alice was hung up again with her body aching everywhere at this point. She had never felt so much damn pain in her entire life. The same questions were asked repeatedly, and she was also beaten half to death. Knowing that tomorrow night was her day, her forehead had a cross carved on it.
Having shackles placed on her wrists and ankles the next day after having the large cross on her forehead cut open again, Alice then had a dirty old attire of hers placed on her that Aethelhelm had kept before she was roughly punched in the eye again to knock her unconscious and basically welded her eye shut as she was placed in a special iron cage and carried outside to a special pit. Raised high up into the air by many soldiers working together to get the job done, the cage was then tied off.
As many people began gathering to watch the spectacle of the heathen Queen being executed, Alice's entire life began to unfold within the safety and comfort of her mind as she laid against the cage. The terrifying moments of her parents, the sorrowful moments, the joyous moments, the heart breaking moments, the memorable moments, the loving moments, the moments that she wished that she could forget, and the moments that she would never be able to forget beyond death.
Ragnar, Selko, Viggo, and Leif had all just arrived and began walking forward until noticing the gathered crowd as the sun began setting. He didn't want to look up, but he forced himself to do so anyway to see the horrid condition Alice was in. Rushing forward, Ragnar came to a terrified stop as the pit was opened. Selko, Viggo, and Leif became entirely puzzled over how Ragnar had just ran forward so abruptly, only to notice his head fixated upward to be staring up at the damn trees.
Coming to a stop beside the King of these lands, all then shifted their gaze up as well to notice that mass loads of trio colored locks hanging loosely from the iron cage. Viggo felt his mouth go bone dry at that moment as tears filled Selko's eyes. Leif felt his stomach now twisting and churning over this spectacle as Alice stirred awake. Large baskets were then brought out, and Alice could only take a wild guess over what was inside of those baskets as she whispered, "The Lodbrok Way…"
Hearing those baskets shaken to make the hissing sounds absolutely furious, Alice shifted her gaze to witness only one poisonous snake being hurled inside of the pit as men held up many regular snakes while cheering as they hurled the snakes inside of the pit. Releasing a breath over this, Alice then watched Athelstan walk out while wearing a crown as if he were the King of these lands. She supposed if Ragnar were here, he would be held back and forced to watch as she died slowly.
Those baskets of riled up snakes were then dumped inside of the pit as multiple torches were lit as the sky darkened further as furious storm clouds gathered. As she sat there, Alice could only continue hearing those furious hisses as she stared at Athelstan before everyone began to pray for her devil soul to be "saved" from the damnation of the fiery pits of hell. Once the "amen" was heard, Alice's only good eye stared at Athelstan for a moment, but figured that she should make a speech.
Holding his hand up to quiet everyone, Alice smirked, "You must feel proud of yourself for such an ORIGINAL idea to kill a Lodbrok in a pit of snakes, Athelstan! I swear, I NEVER saw it coming from a mile away! The Lodbrok Way. Capture the Lodbrok, torture the Lodbrok, and feed the Lodbrok to a damn pit of snakes! No one has ever thought of this idea before! Except for King Aella! How did that work out for him again, my memory is hazy from being punched in the eye so much!"
Snapping her fingers, Alice then grinned devilishly, "Ah, that's right! His ass was given the blood eagle by the Ragnarssons! However, if you believe that I fear death, then you are sorely mistaken!" Athelstan then called out, "Ragnar Lodbrok!" Ragnar was about to turn around until he was grabbed, kicked to his knees, and had the back of his head grabbed tightly as Athelstan continued, "Relinquish your title as King of England to me! Do so, and I will spare your sweet and loving wife!"
Panic was held in his eyes, and just as he went to give Athelstan the crown, Alice yelled, "My husband will NOT bow to the likes of a BASTARD son of Edward that couldn't even come up with his own way of killing me without using the past as a reference to kill a Lodbrok! You know that you're just a damn PUPPET for Aethelhelm! What did he tell you? That this was a fitting way for a Lodbrok to be killed?! We are the descendants of the mighty Odin, so you will not disrespect us!"
Everyone listened intently as Alice took a deep breath as a massive crash of lightning erupted in the skies before rain began to fall to the ground, making her peer up as she struggled to stand, "As of this moment, it warms my heart to know that Odin prepares a feast in my name! When I arrive, we shall drink ale from curved horns and toast to my bravery in life! This hero that now stands before you all, bound to die to enter into the realm of Valhalla, refuses to lament her own death!"
Glancing at Viggo, Selko, and Leif for a moment once she forced her other eye open, she then looked out at the crowd, "Fear is not what crosses my mind when I think of entering Odin's halls! My life has been full of wonders and joy! I have laughed and cried, no different than the rest of you all! Upon my death, I shall patiently await for my husband, brothers, and children to make their way to my side. My husband will REMAIN as your rightful King proudly for many years to come!"
Shifting her eyes to Ragnar, her gaze softened as she continued, "And when he finally takes his last breath in this pitiful realm of Midgard, I will proudly raise a cup to all of his achievements that he is sure to bring the kingdom of England as his wife! This GREAT man who I have loved so much for as long as I can remember, and is called your King, will do grand things for you all, that I can promise! Athelstan, a PRETENDER to the throne, will accomplish nothing for this mighty country!"
Taking a breath, Alice frowned, "My older brother, Viggo, and my own twin brother, Selko, will be there to help him for those long years that Ragnar is to reign over you! My heart breaks that I will never see Leif again after my passing, but I know that he is bound to make history and continue living on in the hearts of all for the rest of time! I ask you four to not cry over my departure from this world, but you all know what must happen upon my passing. Hide my body and blade well!"
Clenching the bars of the iron cage, Alice became furious as she snapped her gaze towards Athelstan, "MY DEATH COMES WITHOUT APOLOGY FOR ALL THAT HAS BEEN CONQUERED, DESTROYED, AND LOVINGLY REBUILT! The Aesir will proudly welcome me into Asgard and the Einherjar as one of their own! Ragnar, Viggo, Selko, Leif… know that I love you all with all of my heart and soul. Don't fret, or cry, over something that all four of you knew was fated by the Gods to occur anyway."
Right then, Alice gave a challenging dark smirk towards Athelstan with eyes that pierced his own. If she were going to die, she would stare that death that she had cared for, tended to, and helped train to be as good as a fighter as he now was, not once daring to look at Viggo, Selko, Leif, and mostly the heartbroken Ragnar before she continued to speak out, "So, I now say my farewells to you all as your rightfully standing QUEEN. I NOW WELCOME THE VALKYRIES TO SUMMON ME HOME!"
With the crown not being handed over to save Alice's precious life, Athelstan yelled out, "THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE GOD! So now, I ask for God to rid the world of this evil heathen! O' Lord, deliver us from thy enemy!" Alice smirked at Athelstan as the bottom of the cage was opened for her to plummet into the pit of snakes. All heard that tiny body slam to the ground as Ragnar screamed in agony while clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his calloused palms deeply.
Having his head shoved forward as he was held back, Ragnar's eyes widened in horror as he was forced to watch as Alice was bitten various times by many furious snakes that had been landed on, making her shackled wrists and ankles weakly struggle in pain. Looking up with tears sliding down her face, she spoke, "I do not fear death. The only thing I fear is how much that I will miss, so do not cry for me, my love. We will see each other again once it is your time. I promise you that."
Right then, the most venomous snake then bit her where her snake bite tattoo was for Ragnar, making her eyes go out of focus as everyone watched this Queen, who had done nothing except rule fairly, while in tears. Athelstan then walked forward to look down, only to witness furious hungry snakes continuing to bite at her body that was now fighting to even stay awake at this point. Lowering his head, Ragnar then spoke firmly, "I do not fear death, so push me in with my wife."
Thinking that he had won, and about to push Ragnar in as well, Selko and Viggo pulled out a furious blade as another massive crash of thunder was heard, "Allow for my sister to die in peace without worrying over her husband's life, you filth! You heard Allie, Ragnar will be King for many years to come!" Alice weakly raised a single shackled hand up into the air to her twin and Ragnar, only for them to look down at her as her eyes began to roll into the back of her head before focusing.
Ragnar, Viggo, Selko, and Leif watched in horror as Alice began to struggle to breathe as her head tilted to the side once foam began to choke her. Selko then peered up with tears in his eyes as he witnessed what others could not, "The Valkyries are coming." Spitting the foam to the side, she spoke her final words before her eyes fluttered shut for good, "Ragnar… I'll always… be with you… my love…" With her love given, Alice's hand slowly fell limply to the side, her body now motionless.
With the death of Alice just now completed, Björn could sense something was off as him and Sitric walked outside to see the storm of ravens oddly now circling the skies, making them gain a pit of unease in their stomachs. Sitric then frowned deeply, "What in the name of the Gods is going on? We have never witnessed something like this before." Björn's pit of unease could only magnify at that moment, "I have, during my first life. My father had been slain and Odin came to tell us."
Taking a few steps out of the palace, every little thing was now making them incredibly uneasy as they shifted their gaze from side to side in a rather anxious manner, only to hear their mother's voice echoing out in their minds, "If you think that you will be safe upon my death, you will be in for a rude awakening! Those that you have called your brothers and sisters for all of those years will be out for blood! They will have you begging and crying before they have even made you bleed!"
Björn and Sitric decided to calm their nerves by taking a walk to the field, only for the both to witness Odin approaching them until right in front of them the moment they blinked. Absolutely nothing needed to be said for both of the brothers to gain tears in their eyes and take an uneasy step back before finally releasing a breath as Sitric spoke, "It can't be true, it can't be." Björn then shifted his head down with widened eyes as he spoke out as he gripped his fists, "Our mother is dead."
Knowing how much her rebirthed sons had loved her, Odin vanished before appearing in front of Ivar, who was currently creating a brand new blade, only to look up as the All-Father approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder before claiming in an even tone, "Ivar, your mother is dead. Killed by serpents in the same manner as your father. She now lies all alone and cold, in the cold iron earth. You know what you must do to reclaim her honor that has been stolen from her."
This whole time, he had been wondering where his loving mother had been, making him fall to his knees and clasp a hand over his mouth before shaking his head, "No! Show me the end of her life!" Odin could only frown at the love that this son held for his mother and nodded before he passed on the knowledge that he now held. As he watched, Ivar felt as if he were going to be sick as fury began to boil in his blood at that very moment, "Why didn't father save her?!" - "Ragnar couldn't."
Vanishing from Ivar, he stood and began to furiously hammer that blade before something inside of him snapped as he yelled out in fury and misery. Halfdan, standing by the docks to look at his mother's massive pet shark while leisurely twirling an arrow in his hand, gained an odd feeling the moment he heard the mournful cry of Muninn, only to turn around for Odin to speak, "Halfdan, your mother is dead and has been dishonored." Halfdan froze at that moment, only to snap that arrow.
Appearing before Ubba, who was trying to cheer poor Fenrir up, knowing that the pup had kept his word as he spoke sternly, "Ubba, Fenrir." Turning around, Ubba nodded until he dropped the bowl of food meant for Fenrir, "Your mother is now dead. Dishonorably left in a pit of serpents to never rest." Fenrir shot up at that moment with a burning hatred held in his eyes. He should have disobeyed to follow her anyway! Why hadn't he when he could feel that something hadn't been right?!
Sitting in a forest, Sigurd oddly heard Muninn in confusion due to how sad he had sounded. Shifting his head over, Odin approached, "Sigurd." Nothing more needed to be said due to letting him witness what had happened, only to vanish before Sigurd furiously stood, "That's it, you mother fucker. We have tolerated your defiance, but you killed the one person that means everything to this family. You'd best believe that you are going to die an extremely slow and painful damn death."
Hvitserk now stood by a cliff to stare out at the waters when he heard Muninn's call of misery, making him turn around to see Odin, "Hvitserk, your mother is dead. She has been dishonored in death." Taking a staggering step back with massive eyes that had filled with tears once he was shown the entire death, Odin then vanished to appear before the youngest son, who had also heard Muninn. Turning his head, Odin approached, "Lodbrok, your mother now lies in the cold ground."
All sons sulked furiously to the castle once Odin finished showing each son their mother's death. What sent all over the edge was when a missive arrived claiming that Athelstan now held their father, Uncle Selko and Viggo, and Uncle Leif as their captives, that was it. Giving a declaration of war to their messenger, he then left in a hurry. All of their eyes burned with hatred at this point in their lives. No one disrespected their mother's, father's, and all Uncles' honor. Calling their forces, they left.
As of now, Ragnar sat inside of a prison with a lock of Alice's hair in his hands to stroke, only for Odin to appear, "Ragnar, Viggo, Selko, Leif. Alice has been dishonored. Athelstan left her body in that pit without properly sending her off. Selko, you witnessed the Valkyries, but did you witness them take your sister's soul?" This made Selko's eyes widen when he realized that he hadn't. Odin then spoke out, "Her final speech still echoes in the air, making all believe that she cursed the lands."
"Well, your sons have been notified and are now gathering your troops to wage a one-sided battle. However, Ragnar, your time is almost up, not to mention you will be dishonored again," he claimed before vanishing once the door slammed open. Athelstan noticed how docile Ragnar was before he looked up, "If it's my time, then it's my time." Walking out with no given fuss once he was shackled, he could only muse, "Ah, round two of being given a dishonorable death. I can't wait, again."
Exiting, he, of course, was tortured before hung in a cage beside where his wife now laid to rest, only capable of hearing her voice echoing through the trees with a smile as he called out, "I am honored to know that I will be put to rest beside my wife! The dishonor you put us through will be your undoing! You might rule for a decade, maybe more, but you had best believe that my children are coming for revenge! Their mother was their entire world that even saved your life long ago!"
Hearing his wife's speech, he grinned, "Odin now prepares for yet another feast for another mighty hero that has fallen! Soon, I will be reunited with my wife, and that's sweeter than any ale to be tasted! Once we are avenged, I will enter Valhalla with my wife, not regretting a single moment of time spent on Midgard!" Shakily standing and gripping the bars of his hanging iron prison, he called out, "You might kill us now, but how can you be so damn sure that we will not emerge again?!"
"It's a sick and twisted fate to live, but I will not fear, nor lament my own death! You will be your own undoing," Ragnar yelled as everyone gained nervous eyes once they continued to hear Alice's voice distantly echoing off of all of the trees, "As my wife said, I REFUSE to bow to the likes of you! You are a man UNWORTHY of the Sword Of Kings! That's why I left it back in Lunden! Once our bodies are finally retrieved, we will be hidden so damn well that no one will ever find our blades!"
Taking a breath, he continued, "Athelstan, you are a COWARD that won't even face us! You resorted to underhanded tricks by kidnapping Thyra and Fenra, girls you used to call your sisters, in order to get my wife… not knowing that she would NEVER permit me to hand over my standing title as the King! So, tell me," pausing, he gripped the cage tighter and smirked, "How did it feel placing your own MOTHER to DEATH?! She LOVED and ADORED you as her very own birth child!"
Athelstan appeared mortified at the next thing Ragnar spoke, "Your mother didn't even care about your preferences to males, considering she had WALKED IN on you holding intercourse with another man! She became so flustered, but she ignored what you were doing to gather your dirtied clothing! I know enough about Christianity to know that, THAT is a sin, son! Have you repented for such sins?! Maybe your God will NEVER forgive you for such a sin committed, not that I care!"
"I never taught you such things, I mean, I had an outstandingly gorgeous wife! I'm just the DEVIL that raised you, so knowing you… the blame will most likely fall on my shoulders by you claiming that we poisoned your mind! However, much like YOUR MOTHER, MY DEATH COMES WITHOUT APOLOGY!" Feeling Alice's comforting arms around him, even in spirit form, he released a breath as he stared Athelstan down like a vicious attack dog, "You don't know what you even did to Alice!"
Wearing Ragnar's crown that the man never wore anyway, he motioned for him to continue, making Ragnar growl out, "The reason we all can still hear your mother's final words is because you cursed her, you bastard! I cannot be sure, I mean, I've never cared enough to read the bible… but by you saying what you did before her death, you placed DISHONOR on her soul so that she COULDN'T ascend to Valhalla! You cursed her pure soul to remain on the lands until she's avenged!"
Noticing his horrified face that he had barred his mother from Valhalla, Ragnar shouted furiously, "Her voice will torture you wherever you go until you meet your own gruesome death by the hands of our sons, and perhaps even some of our daughters… such as Aelfwynn, Havi, Sassa, and Lagertha! From how black the skin around your eyes are, I would say that you haven't gained a single night of decent rest ever since you decided that it was a brilliant idea to KILL your mother!"
Lowering his eyes for a moment, he then shifted his eyes back up, "I refuse to enter Valhalla without my wife, so you WILL be doing the same thing to me! My spirit will be reunited with my wife's spirit on the lands of Midgard until we have been avenged. Make no mistake, should you die before our children get their hands on your treacherous soul, then we will go after your entire bloodline until we have been given our vengeance! That is something that will never be taken away from us!"
Appearing horrified that Ragnar was basically telling him that since he had cursed his mother, then she will now torment his children, Ragnar internally smirked while thinking, "Dunce, neither of us can actually curse you, but you have seemed to take the bait." - "NOW CURSE ME IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU HAVE CURSED YOUR MOTHER! BECAUSE I NOW WELCOME THE VALKYRIES TO SUMMON ME HOME!" Swallowing heavily Athelstan motioned his head, "DROP HIM THIS VERY INSTANT!"
Ragnar, no matter how sore he was, laced his arms through the iron bars and folded them to grip the iron, "I WILL NOT FALL UNTIL YOU DO THE SAME TO ME, NO MATTER HOW LONG I HAVE TO HANG HERE!" The fire held in Ragnar's eyes showed that he wasn't kidding in the slightest, so he let him hang for hours, completely unwilling to fall with his damn brand of stubbornness that was actually being held up by Alice's spirit, making Athelstan grit out, "O' Lord, deliver us from thy enemy!"
Alice released Ragnar at that moment, making him softly chuckle out, "Thank you, love…" Pushing himself from the cage, Ragnar dropped into the pit of snakes, and as he laid there being attacked by hungry and furious snakes, Alice held him close to her to give him the comfort that she had been completely devoid of. Athelstan then walked forward and looked down to see how peaceful his eyes appeared as his eyes slowly began to droop until fully closed while holding a gentle smile.
Odin appeared inside of the prison that Selko, Viggo, and Leif were now inside of, making him frown, "Ragnar is now with Alice, both dishonored in death. Leif, you will be released to return to Vinland since you are a Christian. Selko, Viggo, you both are being released since Athelstan doesn't want to be cursed by anyone else. Now, I must go and inform all of their children of Ragnar's death. All rebirthed sons will be absolutely furious that this is the second time happening to their father."
As the years began to pass by, all people who ever entered the newly named 'Forest Of The Seers Spirits' would continue to hear the voices of Alice and Ragnar's voices. For those who had never been in the forest became overly startled the moment they entered this specific forest that most claimed to be extremely cursed before rushing out as fast as they could in fear of the evil spirits attaching themselves, or cursing any of those who dared to stay for too long inside of the forest.
With land now covering the pits, they had to admit to one another that it would be extremely hard to find where their bodies, along with many dead snakes, were buried. On the twelfth year anniversary of their death, both began to lose any and all hope of ever having their bodies recovered. In spirit form, the two stood by the river with Ragnar holding his beloved wife around her belly. They couldn't speak to each other, but they could give loving and doting gazes towards one another.
Elsewhere, Athelstan now rode to a battlefield with only being notified that only Sitric and his company now stood on the battlefield to face him, making Athelstan scoff, "That's it? It appears that without Ragnar and Alice, the Great Heathen army is no longer great in the slightest. It should be easy enough for us to defeat a small army." Arriving to witness Alice's first born son standing there with a small company as Athelstan scoffed, "Well, you can't exactly call this a great heathen army."
Pulling up his mother's horn, Sitric twirled it around in his hand once Athelstan and his army came to an abrupt halt. Once the two held a staring showdown, Sitric smirked devilishly as Björn and his army made their way forward, and then Haldan and his army, and then Ubba and his army, and then Sigurd and his army. This made Athelstan puzzled as he mumbled, "Where in the name of God are Ivar and Lodbrok?" Tossing the horn over, Björn caught it and held it up before blowing it.
That's when Athelstan realized as to how damn screwed he actually was, considering Aelfwynn, Havi, Sassa, and Lagertha appeared with their armies behind them before Havi then blew her mother's spare horn for Ivar and Lodbrok to pin them in on the sides, making Athelstan pale at how much larger their armies were compared to the rest. With Ivar the merciless and Lodbrok the blaze-of-glory, they knew they were all done for. Those two then rode out to realize Fenrir beside Lodbrok.
Lodbrok then yelled out furiously, "On this day, we reclaim the honor that had been stolen from the mighty Ragnar and Alice Lodbrok! We will hold no fear as we fight! We will ride forward with nothing but honor! And we will not fear death in the same manner that my brothers, sisters, and my own parents faced death in the face with nothing but honor, glory, and the desire to reach Valhalla! We will RECLAIM that honor that had selfishly been torn away from them by Christian prayers!"
"CAPTURE THEIR DAMN FALSE KING ALIVE," Ivar yelled and pointed his blade forward as Björn yelled, "WE FIGHT FOR HONOR, GLORY, AND VALHALLA! NOW GO AND SHOW NO FEAR MY WOLVES, FORWARD TO THE HUNT!" There was nowhere to run or hide, so Athelstan closed his eyes for only a split second until he was tackled from his horse to slam to his back with Fenrir's hatred fueled crimson eyes blazing and burning brightly as he bared his fangs spitefully at one frozen Athelstan.
His army had been slaughtered so fast that it had only felt like he had only had the chance to blink once before Lodbrok tied his ankles to Fenrir's collar while yelling out, "You will show us where our parents are dishonorably buried without any complaints, am I understood you filth?!" Nodding his head, he began to direct Fenrir for him to drag this tool all of the way back once he had been stripped by Lagertha for her to muse, "Your cock is so little that I feel better for all of the men!"
Poking at the child sized penis that had begun to grow and twitch the moment that Lodbrok had removed his shirt to wipe away all blood from his face, Lagertha laughed aloud hysterically, "Oh my Gods, you find Lodbrok sexy?! This means that you found our FATHER appealing too! Did you hate our mother for holding all of our father's attention?!" Turning bright red over this comment, Athelstan watched as Lodbrok placed his top back on with a scowl the moment his face was clean.
"START DIRECTING, NOW," Lodbrok yelled once they were all on their horses. Thinking that he would be placed on Fenrir's back once he started giving those directions that he barely even remembered any longer, Athelstan was then shocked the moment that Fenrir began to run at a pace that all of the horses could keep up with. Screaming and yelling in pain, Athelstan then yelled out, "I can barely remember where it happened anymore! Think about it, that happened twelve years ago!"
Ivar then scowled deeply as he spat out, "Then I advise that you begin remembering much faster before any of us begin to lose our patience!" Noticing the clearing, Athelstan yelled, "STOP! It was here! They are side-by-side!" All then jumped down to walk forward as Alice and Ragnar's final words echoed out in a distorted and distant yell that mixed with one another. Lodbrok was the only one who held this specific ability, so Björn asked softly, "Lodbrok, can you locate their bodies?"
Looking around at the clearing as everyone continued to hear the voice of their mother and father echoing through the trees with tears stinging their eyes, Lodbrok found both of their bodies that had fully healed once all of the snakes had died, he walked forward to place both of his hands against the ground with tears stinging his eyes, only to speak through the tears that now gathered in their eyes, "Here." Raising a single hand, he spoke in a choked up tone, "Father's body is right here."
Shifting his gaze over with tears now sliding down his face, Lodbrok then lifted his hand to place his opposed hand down to rest over the next pit as those tears began dripping to the ground, "Mother's body is right here." With Fenrir placed on guard duty to make sure that Athelstan stayed where he was, all began to dig the layers of earth that had covered the pits. Once plenty of the ground had been dug up, they found the weathered ropes before pulling those ropes for both to open.
With both bodies fished out and carried to the surface, all of their eyes went out of focus to see that their father and mother had reached to each other after death. Motioning to Ivar to start, fury was all they witnessed when he began to angrily carve the blood eagle on his back before furiously whispering, "I hope you never make it to your Heaven for killing the two people that had raised you with such love and compassion! Now I curse you to enter the cold and dark lands of Niflheim!"
Athelstan screamed in agony as his skin was pulled back out of fury, only for Ivar to begin sobbing as he used his axe to begin cutting away at his ribs while yelling, "I will not mourn your death in the same manner that I still mourn for my parents that were taken from us too soon! Do you have any idea of the great pain that you've caused this family?!" Soaked in blood now from only that part, Ivar then furiously grabbed Athelstan's lungs and ripped them out as he spoke, "Good riddance."
Once Athelstan died and was strung up to hang over where their parents had been executed, Lodbrok and Björn then sat beside their parents to place the Swords Of Kings and Queens in their hands before both kissed their parents forehead to shakily whisper through all of their sorrow, "All of your honor has now been regained, mother, father. Let the Valkyries finally come to take you both home. Now, be at peace and go to Valhalla so that you both can be with one another again."
Noticing the Valkyries finally descending for their parents souls after twelve long years, they watched once those souls were lifted by the Valkyries to be carried to Valhalla as both of their parents smiled softly at their children, knowing that one day, they would see them again. All stood up straight and slowly began to pound their chests with their fists to show them the full honor that they deserved until they vanished. Björn then lifted his father as Lodbrok lifted his mother, "Let's go."
Riding Fenrir in Norway, who now scaled the side of a mountain that held a massive tree at the top to reach the place that Björn and Lodbrok had found and placed a large diamond casket inside for the blades and bodies, once found. Holding flattened fluffy ears over now holding his motionless mistress on his back, Fenrir then came to a slow stop and laid down for both bodies and blades to be placed inside, making Björn and Lodbrok jump down and approach before placing both parents inside.
"Now they will never be apart from each other," Björn spoke as he placed his father's blade in one of his hands, and his mother's blade in one of her hands, only to then lace their free hands together. Everyone then approached and placed something of high value inside of the casket and gave their parents their love for the last time before whispering that they would meet them in Valhalla once it was their time. Many tears were shed once the heavy top was lifted and placed over it.
Implicit directions had been left by his mother and father that upon their deaths, their bodies and blades had to be well protected, so two would stand guard for a month at a time. Anyone who wished to enter to see their bodies, if not family, had to be questioned extensively. Though, it was highly unlikely that anyone would even be capable of even lifting the top off due to how heavy it had been. Selko stood at the entrance with Viggo first, so since many were now married, they had to go.
Years later, many began to see Ivar's heart had still yet to heal, and instead, continued to feel the deep loss and pain that his mother and father had left, so he turned to become as he once had been in his first life. In simple terms, he had become sadistic. Björn was now reading a declaration of war from Ivar, making all of the color from his face flee to become as pale as a ghost while mumbling, "Dammit Ivar, you made mother a promise, and now you plan to break that sacred binding?"
Standing up and walking outside of the city boundaries that he ruled, which was now a built city in the place that his mother had been born in, Björn stared out at the sea that Atseta guarded. There were three other towns joined with his own that were jointly ruled by Sitric, Ásdís, Lodbrok, and himself. Noticing Ásdís and Lodbrok's eyes, Björn approached them before speaking, "What can ya see out there Lodbrok? Please tell me that it's not who I think it is, who's only here for trouble."
Ásdís then walked to, oddly enough, her husband as her eyes stopped glowing, making Björn wrap his arm around her to keep her safely tucked beneath. His eyes, that now glowed brightly, focused intently and snapped around to see everything, making Ásdís speak for her twin brother that was now so intently focused on what he was now currently witnessing, "Ravens are now circling around Ivar's boat as a warning from Odin to stop his pursuit before he breaks his promise to mom."
No one knew why that out of all of the children held, Ásdís and Lodbrok had been born as gifted as his mother and father had been. Björn could guess as to why those two were as gifted as they were rather accurately. It was because his mother's birth name was Ásdís, and had taken the surname of Lodbrok, while other than Lodbrok and Sitric, all were rebirthed sons. Lodbrok continued to stare intently at Ivar with those unnaturally glowing eyes that Björn could remember on his mother.
Now feeling uneasy with how silent his younger brother was being, Björn began to speak out, "Lodbrok?" Lodbrok's eyes narrowed at Ivar's longship, that was too far away for any normal person to see, before he spoke out seriously, "Björn, he's come to fight all four of us, well, except Ásdís, for mother's birthplace. You in specific since we gave you the full rulership of Norway." Muninn then landed on his shoulder before he called out swiftly to the family wolf rather abruptly, "Fenrir, come!"
Selko had given Fenrir to Lodbrok after his loving twin sister's death due to finding it too painful to have the pup around him, but believed that Lodbrok should have him, along with Muninn. Atseta had been given to Sitric and Björn since she was only familiar with them. Considering that Muninn was linked to all children, just the most connected to Lodbrok and Ásdís, she held her hand out to the raven, "Muninn, come here." Hopping onto Ásdís's wrist, she then raised her arm, "Now fly!"
Taking flight towards Ivar, Ásdís called, "Muninn, show Ivar what we can SEE! Become our mirror!" Rushing towards Ivar, Muninn then landed and tilted his head before Ivar was called to. Walking forward once he heard the commotion, Muninn shot his head forward for his gaze to forcefully connect with Ivar's before he took flight to look towards his two handlers. Noticing Lodbrok's bright eyes that now glowed unnaturally and appeared furious, Ivar swore out, "Dammit! Lodbrok knows!"
Sitric then covered Fenrir's ears before he gave a sharp whistle, "Atseta, make them stop!" The beyond massive shark swam right in front of Ivar's ship for it to hit her body. A few men were hurled overboard to see this monstrosity of a shark, only to panic. All of those that had been hurled off were now dead thanks to the hungry shark that had been out hunting when called upon, except for one man who had both legs missing when he was pulled on board to claim, "A massive shark!"
Ivar then witnessed, through Muninn, that Lodbrok was now grinning devilishly since he had sent Fenrir to the front gates to take full form to begin barking and snarling, making all inside of the town quickly cover their ears over that much sound flooding their ears. Swearing even louder, Ivar pointed back, "Turn back now! This isn't over my brothers! Not until mother's hometown is under my leadership!" Ásdís frowned deeply over this, "This has to be pissing mommy off to the extreme."
Björn could only sigh over this and shake his head, "He won't leave love. I want you to take the children and find a place to hide." Shaking her head with a scowl, oh, she argued, "I won't leave you, Björn! Don't ask me again!" Lodbrok folded his arms and glanced towards his sister with a serious gaze, "Ásdís, do you really want your young ones, Ragnar and Eivor, to be killed? Mom wouldn't have ever done that. Even little Ragnar and Eivor know that from all of the sagas told about her."
Looking down, Ásdís then spoke softly, "She never would've abandoned daddy either." Lodbrok became furious at that moment and began to yell at his twin sister, "WELL, OUR MOTHER IS DEAD! NOW LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR HUSBAND HAS TOLD YOU!" Bursting into tears, Lodbrok sighed and pulled his sister to his chest, "Ásdís, I would bring them back if I could. However, even with all of the power that the two of us hold, it's nothing compared to mom and dad, who could raise the dead."
Lying in bed months later with his wife sleeping against his chest, Björn felt a strong disturbance, making him internally sigh and gently shake her awake, "Love, Ivar is waiting for me, and me only. It's something that far surpasses this day and age, so I don't want you to complain. I need you here with the children." Nodding her head as he sat up, Björn then rubbed his face and put her mind at ease, "Don't worry, I actually do have a plan that will mortify Ivar completely and entirely."
Placing all of his gear on, he then gave his wife a kiss, "Don't worry, I'll be back before you even know it." Walking out with a serious facial expression, Björn slung his leg over his horse's saddle and took the reins before giving little clicks for his horse to move. Reaching a field to see Ivar, Halfdan, Ubba, Sigurd, Hvitserk, and an army that made him cackle, "You need so much for one man?! You only called for me, so I am here brother. Though, you might wish to reconsider even trying."
Ivar scowled deeply before yelling out, "Hand over the rights to mother's hometown to me! If you refuse, then I will kill everyone inside once I am done with you!" Looking up to see Muninn, he sensed that he hadn't been sent by either of the twins, making him lower his head and smile, "If you wish to try, then be my guest! Just let me warm up!" Holding his hands up and closing his eyes, his brothers knew that he couldn't summon the Einherjar, so they were now extremely puzzled.
"Hear my voice! She who has given her love and guidance to me, and he who has given his power and stability," he paused as he heard his brother's mocking him and fire an arrow as he finished, "FATHER, MOTHER," he called out, only for Alice and Ragnar to appear and slice the arrow clean out of the air. All sons currently there now held eyes that were out of focus and filled with tears. Ubba rushed forward while sobbing, "Mommy!" Catching her son, she held him close, "Go to Björn."
Nodding his head, he ran to his father, who also caught him. Halfdan then rushed forward and held his mother close, making her eyes soften, "I know honey, you never even got to say goodbye. Now go to Björn." With Ivar now losing his brothers as allies, Sigurd and Hvitserk bolted towards her, gained hugs and walked to Björn. Ivar felt so mind-fucked right now, that all he could seem to claim was, "How in the name of the Gods are you even here?! We watched your souls go to Valhalla!"
Björn then snorted out a laugh, "Brother, I think that you're forgetting that mom and dad are an Aesir! She taught me, and others, on how to summon her and father after their death. I mean, I watched her teach this to everyone. Well, everyone except you." Alice furiously took slow, hateful, and murderous steps forward before yelling, "IVAR, YOU MADE A PROMISE!" Slamming her blade to the ground, she spoke to him, "You coward! You need an army for one man that is your family?!"
Ragnar was trying so hard to not laugh, only to look up at Björn with a sheepish smirk, "Married your sister, did you? Little Ragnar and Alice are adorable. We see everything through our two youngest eyes." Alice stood there with a smirk once Ivar took a shaky step forward, "What's wrong Ivar the merciless?! HAVE YOU LOST ALL OF YOUR BONES AGAIN?!" Feeling his legs give out, Ivar fell forward as Alice scornfully spoke, "I warned you to never attack your brother during your first life!"
Sobbing against the ground, Ivar clenched his fists tightly, "I'm sorry mommy! I'm taking your death out on everyone! I miss you so much that it hurts!" Feeling her heart clenching tightly over the sight of her fully grown son sobbing like a child, all she could truly see was her little boy that scraped his knee and now needed to feel her love to feel all better. Making her way forward, Alice got on her knees to pull her son up to her chest so that he could hold her, and he clung to her tightly.
Hushing her son, Alice stroked his hair while tears slid down her face to tap against his to heal his legs. However, a promise had been broken, and she stood him up with a choked up tone, "Odin, no! Don't make me kill my son!" Appearing, Odin walked forward to speak, "He wanted a strong and able body, gained what he had asked for, and betrayed the promise made to you! This time, there is no room for negotiations Alice! He will go to Niflheim for such dishonor placed on himself!"
Pulling out her knife, Alice held it to her throat, "That is my damn son you are talking about! I will gladly give him my honor to not suffer, but I think you already knew this!" Odin swore beneath his breath, only to point at Ivar, "CLEAN YOUR ACT UP! To regain any and all discarded honor, you will now be under your brother's command!" Turning and pointing to the rest, Odin continued, "As will the rest of you! If any of you should choose to betray Björn, then I will personally throw you into Niflheim!"
Noticing swift head nods from all, Odin vanished before Ragnar walked forward and placed a hand on Alice's shoulder, "Honey, it's time to go back to Valhalla. Selko is most likely spazzing out that our bodies vanished. Björn, you are to choose who guards over our bodies next to give Viggo and Selko a break. You all were supposed to rotate out every so often, yet you haven't rotated once. Alice's poor brothers are on the verge of collapse, and Leif came by to give them both time to rest."
Seeing Alice frown, Ragnar smiled and continued speaking, "Besides, I don't think any of you ever realized it, but each time Viggo and Selko talk, or Selko's goofy ass gets chased by a bird, we are fully capable of seeing and hearing everything that is ever spoken. Much like when Selko hauled his ass up the mountain while screeching that a damn dragon was chasing him, only for Viggo to see that he wasn't kidding this time. They both ran inside of the room about damn ready to die."
All sons that were present laughed as Ragnar sighed, "Alice, Odin is letting us stay for a bit to talk because he knows you're stubborn." Nodding with a smile and snickering, Alice motioned her hand for his story to continue as she sat down with Ivar glued to her by sitting behind his mother to hold her against his chest, only for everyone else to take a seat as well before Ragnar chuckled, "Well, the dragon found our bodies, and what do you think happened? The damn thing glued to Allie."
Björn's mouth dropped wide open at that moment, "You're kidding, right?!" Noticing Ragnar's dry face, he then snorted, "Son, your mother has a massive damn pet shark, so what do you think? Well, in short, our bodies now have an additional guardian that likes chasing Selko. The thing is actually really beautiful. It's white with scales that literally sparkle, and it holds icy blue eyes, wings, and talons. Your mother even named the massive thing 'Syn' since she has a great imagination."
Laughter was all that could be heard from her sons who felt as if they hadn't laughed in ages. Ragnar's face then paled, "Oh shit. If our bodies aren't there anymore, Syn is probably out looking for us! And when I say us, I just mean you, Allie!" Right then, a holler was heard from Selko's frantic voice, "Syn! Why do you only terrorize me?! Why don't you ever terrorize Viggo for a change?!" Everyone turned their heads for their mouths to drop wide open as Björn mumbled, "Holy shit."
A massive slam to the ground was then heard and felt once Syn landed, only to toss the hollering Selko to slam against Alice's breasts to hurl the two away in one massive trio colored ball of goofiness as Selko hollered, "Dammit Syn! I don't need a damn booty call!" Ragnar snorted out a laugh at that before walking to the dragon to give her some love while speaking, "Ah, Syn, it was wonderful of you to bring the hollering goofball to us!" Syn then whined softly and pressed against Ragnar.
Each brother either watched the ball of stumbling dummies, or their calm father with a massive beautiful dragon that he began to name all of his sons that were currently here. Alice's fury went from zero to I'm going to kill you at that moment, "SELKO! Did you just call me a damn booty call?! What in the name of all of the Gods does that even mean?!" Hearing his sister's voice out loud for once, Selko froze and nervously laughed, "Ah shit. It means, uh, I actually don't really know!"
Only her brother would say something that he had no clue to what it even meant in the slightest, making her sigh and stand up, "By the Gods, you're a moron." Turning around and huffing at her dummy of a brother, Alice then opened her eyes to see Syn's head pop up in anticipation, only for Alice to rush forward and happily hug as much of her huge snout as she could, which to say the least, wasn't much. Feeling a gaze fixated on them, Syn snapped her eyes in the direction of the town.
Noticing the dragon's confusion, Alice turned her head for her eyes to begin glowing unnaturally to see Lodbrok doing the same exact thing, making her motion her finger towards her with a teasing wink. He was gone so fast that Alice lost track of him, "What in the name of Loki? I've never seen him," pausing, Alice was then tackled by Fenrir, who growled angrily at her for dying. With softened eyes, she stroked his big fluffy head, making him whine and cuddle up against her as if crying.
"Fenrir, my baby, I've missed you so much," she softly spoke as tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. To this day, the Gods still had no damn clue how Alice had accomplished the task of settling Fenrir down to the extent that she had. Right then she heard her little mini-me speaking to two little twins, "Ragnar, Eivor, this your grandmother and grandfather, the Aesir, Alice and Ragnar. My parents." Shooting her head over with tears in her eyes, Alice darted over and scooped them up.
Not willing to share with Ragnar, uh, her husband, Alice then snickered, "Don't you find it weird that you named your twins after the two people that made you?" Ásdís snickered at that and wiped a tear from her face, "We knew that if you ever stubbornly came back, you would say that. So, we spelled her name E – I – V – O – R." Ragnar, sick of waiting for his turn, snagged Eivor to cuddle and dote upon her as Alice gained a devilish grin, "Ragnar, dear?" - "Hm?" - "You're finally a grandfather!"
Oh, the dread held on his face was almost too much to handle, considering Alice burst into a fit of non-stop laughter, making both little twins giggle as well. Twirling around with little Ragnar in her arms, Alice chirped out, "Ya can't even tease me about this, because I'm simply overjoyed that our bloodline is continuing! Maybe in an odd, and when I say odd, I mean EXTREMELY odd sense of way. Björn had to internally agree, and to be honest, he wasn't all too happy with Ásdís as his wife.
Noticing this, Alice placed mini Ragnar in her husband's arms before approaching him to take his hand and walk away, "Let me guess, you all got drunk one night and this happened. Feeling bad, you married her out of guilt. Björn, you need to tell her before she believes something completely different. Let her down easily, I mean, she's about as sensitive as I am over emotional topics. Whatever you choose to do, just know this, I am so proud of you for taking responsibility of your actions."
"Allie, love, Odin is becoming impatient with you now. You don't want to further piss him off, do you," Ragnar questioned as he handed the children to his daughter. Alice then walked to Lodbrok and hugged him close, "My little blaze-of-glory, I love you so much. Don't ever change, my baby boy." Giving a hug in return, he nodded, "I love you too, and one day, you will see me again in the halls of Valhalla." Giving all of her children hugs, both Alice and Ragnar took hands before vanishing.
Through the passing of time, and after the rest of her family had joined them, along with Fenrir, everyone that now sat in the realm of Valhalla began to see their old ways vanishing as Christianity began to take the world on by storm. However, there were still devoted practitioners. With how they had become nothing except legends, their bloodline basically all but gone now, they were always a fascinating topic to be either watched through actors, or to read about to make the mind think.
The cavern that held their bodies on a mountain that had been protected by their family and a dragon for generations had been hit during a war and had killed Syn and made the cavern collapse completely. With them being nothing but legends, people always claimed that she hadn't lived, fought, bled, and died. It was no different for Ragnar though. However, not many people knew that Alice had kept an extensive diary that held warn ink, and was only passed down through her family alone.
Entering her very first day of college to become an archeologist, a girl named Allison "Allie" Lodbrok took a seat. After time, people in their lineage had feared that this would happen, so they were given the last name of Lodbrok. As the professor began to take role for his first class, he was about to call her name out lazily until noticing the name, "It appears we have a Viking "legend" in our class! Allison Lodbrok?" With a furious expression, Allie flicked her long naturally trio colored locks over her shoulders, "I'm here, you dick."
Allie wore the extremely well preserved Thor's hammer amulet necklace that had once been worn by her ancestor, considering her ancestor, Alice, still wore her Yggdrasil necklace and Thor's hammer amulet bracelet. With the lesson starting, Allie drummed her fingers against her desk as her bright blue and gold eyes stared at this professor as if he were stupid. Not able to handle it the moment he claimed that Athelstan was the first King of England, Allie scoffed, "No, he actually wasn't."
"If you are referring to the LEGEND of Alice and Ragnar Lodbrok, then you may quiet down Allie," he spat out, only for her to hold up that ancient diary, "Keep running your mouth about my lineage, I dare you. This was the diary of the first Queen, Alice Lodbrok. It even has her BLOOD in it from when she was tortured. Must I go on?" Everyone in the class was now paying attention to her, and not the professor as she opened the parchment that had been laminated to not damage anything.
Motioning her down, Allie stood and walked down while holding that diary, he took it from her hands and opened it to see faded runes before looking at the girl, "You can actually read this?" Allie nodded her head with a challenging smirk, "Us legends like to keep up with the old ways." Motioning his hand, he then pressed, "Please, read the first page to us." Allie internally groaned and cleared her throat, "She started this to record her life, so it will be a long saga, um, I mean story."
Pushed to read something so historical, Allie cleared her throat again as she began to read, "This is the story of one who shall most likely be forgotten, not cared about, nor will it hold any meaning. I was told to write whatever was on my mind, or the visions that I have encountered, but I find that to be a waste of time. I will begin my saga on this day. Birthed first into this world out of two, I carried the name Ásdís Eyvǫr. However, I wished to be called something much more simple. Alice."
Continuing this beautiful, exciting, loving, and painful saga that she loved, Allie ran her finger under the runes as she spoke, "Upon arriving in these strange lands that I held no knowledge of, all I could think of doing was exploring. Ragnar Lodbrok, merely five winters older than I, was forced to raise my twin, Selko, and I as if he actually knew what he were doing. Though, I had to ask myself if anyone knows what to do when it came to the art of raising a child. And raising one such as I is no simple feat."
Hearing her saga being told aloud, Alice hushed everyone as Allie continued, "One, such as I, holding such a strong sense of freedom and adventure for all that is good and green, shall never be easy to keep tethered to the ground. Ragnar always explained to me that with a world this cruel, and people that hate you for even breathing, you hold no choice but to fight so that you can survive. So, those lands that were green swiftly became stained in the agonizing and disturbing shade of red."
Taking a breath, she pushed forward, "I never understood why it was such a difficult aspect to understand that holding another religion was such a bad thing. Heathens, we were called, and children are children, no matter what religion that one may hold. I often dreamt of a future where all religions were accepted, but it often felt unobtainable. Religion is a powerful tool to become one's greatest ally and comfort, or it can become the bane of your existence, should it not be your own."
Looking at her professor, he motioned for her to continue, making her nod, "What we fail to comprehend is that we are all simply alive until the Gods, or I suppose a God, deems it fit that it be your time to pass. I made many connections with Christians during my time. My most treasured Christian friend was King Alfred, whom I gifted the title of "The Great" to. Many do not know, and far less cared to listen, but he held a dying wish that I personally carried out. King Alfred asked for me to make him a Pagan."
Allie smiled softly as she kept reading, "To those who read this once I have lost all life in my body, I should hope you to be a Lodbrok to know of what you are capable of. Do not fear the prophecies that you are to gain, unless you should block them, to which would be a mighty shame. Many Christians claimed me to be a witch, but no. I was a seer of the Gods that was capable of great things in my life. Healing with no use of the aid of poorly crafted medicine, and could even call upon the Gods for their aid."
This professor could only spit to the side, "Right. As if ANYONE can call upon God, the Gods, whatever you might call them." Allie ignored this comment as she continued to read, "Many will doubt you and what you are capable of achieving, but pay them no mind. As I was saying, the moment Alfred passed into the realm of Valhalla, he was made to become one of the Einherjar. I became married to Sigtryggr, only for a woman named Cadhla to make up false claims that they were married."
Frowning, Allie pressed on, "With the lie made, and the law speaker handsomely paid to speak the lie while I was pregnant with my second set of twins, I was then kicked out of Eoferwic until I managed to give birth. Upon giving birth, I "died" giving birth to my second pair of twins, only to then be sent to Jötunheim." Right as she was about to continue, the professor yelled out, "My GOD, just stop with all of this Pagan NONSENSE already! It's nothing real, so just stop!"
Gaining a dry face, Allie snorted out in an undignified manner, "Right, because as if any of your God bullshit is anymore true! Anyway, at the end of the diary, there are coordinates. What it leads to? That, I am unsure of. Perhaps it's buried treasure, or maybe it's even her body that has been laid to rest. I mean, it would be nice to know that they did actually exist and I knew that all of the legends weren't just lies. I mean, my entire Lodbrok family line did have to start somewhere."
Ragnar propped his handsome face up in his palm as he spoke, "Boy, she's a smart little thing. She reminds me of you whenever you were little." Swatting Ragnar's bulky bicep, Alice growled out, "Knock it off and behave for once!" Chuckling as he lifted a single brow, Ragnar gripped her backside, making her jump and blush as he teased aloud, "You and I both know that is never going to happen. Besides, she is a direct descendent to us both, so she won't behave in the slightest either."
Hearing about this ruckus in the freshman history class, Allie was approached by the lead archeologist, only to hold his hand out to her, "My name is Professor Björnsson. Nice to meet you Allie Lodbrok. I heard that you made quite the commotion in your history class. Anywhere I go, all I keep hearing about is how a student named Allie LODBROK slandered the pompous history Professor. It's nice to meet you, cousin. For the longest time, I have looked for clues to locate the Lodbrok's."
Quickly shooting her hand out and taking his hand, Allie smiled brightly, "Professor Björnsson, you are LEGENDARY for all of your finds concerning the Viking era! Can I help you?" Nodding his head, he then pointed to Allie's passed down journal, "I think that we can help each other missy. After telling the headmaster over the commotion that you made today, he finally gave the fundings to find Ragnar and Alice Lodbrok. I would like for you to be a lead team member on this expedition."
Nodding her head frantically with a bright smile, Allie could only chirp out, "Oh, yes sir! That would be such an honor!" He then looked around for a twin brother to ask, "The Lodbrok family is notorious for only having twins, one boy and one girl." Allie's face fell dramatically at that point in time, only to speak, "From what I was told, we were the first and only set of twin girls to be born with the Lodbrok surname. Her name is Havi, and she's an English major. She's a converted Christian."
"Well, I can't see any worse way to slander the All-Father with the name that she holds," he chuckled out as he showed his own family heirloom Thor's hammer amulet necklace. Allie then softly blinked at this before remembering his name, "Oh - Oh my Gods, Björnsson! I was wondering why you called me cousin!" Snickering, he motioned to the lesser portion of gold and blue in his hair, along with his mostly crystal blue eyes, "I'm a descendent of Björn Lodbrok, Ragnar and Alice's son."
Frowning, he then continued, "My hair and eyes are lesser because our names no longer hold ties to Lodbrok. It's to my belief that the longer more Björnsson's were made, the less our hair and eyes appeared like Alice's. Anyway, you can just call me Erik. I think Leif Eriksson wasn't meant to convert to Christianity. It's also my belief that Alice, Selko, Ragnar, and Viggo were very close to Leif. I can't be sure of that though." Allie lightly gripped the journal, "Yes, they were extremely close."
Snickering as he began to walk, Erik spoke, "Well, I'm a descendent to both Leif Eriksson and Björn Lodbrok. My mother argued that I should hold the Eriksson surname, but my father put his damn foot down and basically said fuck that shit. So, when my mother fell asleep, he named me Erik Leif Björnsson. My mother was furious over it too and tried to get me baptized as a Christian, which my father also said absolutely no to. I hold some seer qualities, but they are incredibly weak."
Reaching his office and holding the door open for Allie, they both then sat down before he asked while motioning to the diary, "May I?" Nodding her head, Allie handed the diary over for him to begin reading, "By the Gods, this is fascinating. Alice was well educated and versed in how to read and write for people of her times." Allie nodded at this and smiled, "From all of the sagas that I've been told, Alice was one of the most well-educated women of her time. She could read, write, and fight."
As hours passed of him reading this well-scripted saga, Erik finally flipped to some of the last pages, only for his eyes to widen slightly in shock and absolute horror, "Is this what I think it is?" Allie chuckled playfully, "That depends on what you are thinking." Erik stared at the stains while blinking tears away, "Alice's blood from when she was tortured." Allie nodded at this with a slight frown, "Yeah, it really is. To us Lodbrok's, that blood is considered as blessed, sacred, and vital to the Gods."
He then spoke aloud the last page of words written, "It gladdens me to know that Odin prepares for a grand banquet! Soon I will no doubt be drinking ale from curved horns! This hero that is soon to enter Valhalla does not lament her own death! There will be no fear held in my eyes when I am to enter Odin's hall! There, I will await for my family to join me. And when they do, I will revel in all of their mighty tales of glory and honor. The Aesir will gladly welcome me as one of their own!"
"MY DEATH COMES WITHOUT APOLOGY FOR ALL THAT HAS BEEN CONQUERED, DESTROYED, AND LOVINGLY REBUILT! So, I now say my farewells to you all as your rightfully standing QUEEN. WITHOUT FEAR, I NOW WELCOME THE VALKYRIES TO SUMMON ME HOME!" He could only imagine over what she had actually said due to how powerful those written words were, making him take a deep breath as tears filled his eyes and began to slowly roll down his face over thinking over it all.
Allie then softly spoke the final words written, "And thus, for a grand new saga to be written by another, the current must be stained in the blood of the old, but not once forgotten by the minds of all through the passage of time. -Alice Lodbrok." Alice could no longer sit still as she vanished to gracefully arrive in the room before waving, "Hey! Fuck, new terms are weird." Both eyes widened immensely as Alice looked around in a puzzled manner, "I am speaking English, not Norse, right?"
Folding her arms, Alice smiled once Erik gave a shocked nod, "Oh goody. Fuck a CHINESE duck! You guys speak too damn proper! Anyway, Erik, I heard your thoughts of wishing to see my full death speech. I will not tell you where my body is, that's in the coordinates in my diary. Now, are you absolutely sure that you wish to know? I can only show you and Allison because Ragnar and Leif were at my execution. However, this will not be pleasant, especially for you Allison. You will be me."
Swallowing heavily over that little comment, she figured that if Alice had been strong enough to go through with this without fear, then she could do the same, making her nod. Alice smiled softly and stroked Allison's hair, "Allison, all you have to remember is that this was my death. If you are ready, close your eyes, relax your bodies, and by the time you return, I will be gone." Both closed their eyes and relaxed before Alice touched both of their foreheads to transport their spirits back.
Coming to a stop beside the King of these lands, all then shifted their gaze up as well to notice that mass loads of trio colored locks hanging loosely from the iron cage. Viggo felt his mouth go bone dry at that moment as tears filled Selko's eyes. Leif felt his stomach now twisting and churning over this spectacle as Alice stirred awake. Large baskets were then brought out, and Alice could only take a wild guess over what was inside of those baskets as she whispered, "The Lodbrok Way…"
Hearing those baskets shaken to make the hissing sounds absolutely furious, Alice shifted her gaze to witness only one poisonous snake being hurled inside of the pit as men held up many regular snakes while cheering as they hurled the snakes inside of the pit. Releasing a breath over this, Alice then watched Athelstan walk out while wearing a crown as if he were the King of these lands. She supposed if Ragnar were here, he would be held back and forced to watch as she died slowly.
Those baskets of riled up snakes were then dumped inside of the pit as multiple torches were lit as the sky darkened further as furious storm clouds gathered. As she sat there, Alice could only continue hearing those furious hisses as she stared at Athelstan before everyone began to pray for her devil soul to be "saved" from the damnation of the fiery pits of hell. Once the "amen" was heard, Alice's only good eye stared at Athelstan for a moment, but figured that she should make a speech.
Holding his hand up to quiet everyone, Alice smirked, "You must feel proud of yourself for such an ORIGINAL idea to kill a Lodbrok in a pit of snakes, Athelstan! I swear, I NEVER saw it coming from a mile away! The Lodbrok Way. Capture the Lodbrok, torture the Lodbrok, and feed the Lodbrok to a damn pit of snakes! No one has ever thought of this idea before! Except for King Aella! How did that work out for him again, my memory is hazy from being punched in the eye so much!"
Snapping her fingers, Alice then grinned devilishly, "Ah, that's right! His ass was given the blood eagle by the Ragnarssons! However, if you believe that I fear death, then you are sorely mistaken!" Athelstan then called out, "Ragnar Lodbrok!" Ragnar was about to turn around until he was grabbed, kicked to his knees, and had the back of his head grabbed tightly as Athelstan continued, "Relinquish your title as King of England to me! Do so, and I will spare your sweet and loving wife!"
Panic was held in his eyes, and just as he went to give Athelstan the crown, Alice yelled, "My husband will NOT bow to the likes of a BASTARD son of Edward that couldn't even come up with his own way of killing me without using the past as a reference to kill a Lodbrok! You know that you're just a damn PUPPET for Aethelhelm! What did he tell you? That this was a fitting way for a Lodbrok to be killed?! We are the descendants of the mighty Odin, so you will not disrespect us!"
Everyone listened intently as Alice took a deep breath as a massive crash of lightning erupted in the skies before rain began to fall to the ground, making her peer up as she struggled to stand, "As of this moment, it warms my heart to know that Odin prepares a feast in my name! When I arrive, we shall drink ale from curved horns and toast to my bravery in life! This hero that now stands before you all, bound to die to enter into the realm of Valhalla, refuses to lament her own death!"
Glancing at Viggo, Selko, and Leif for a moment once she forced her other eye open, she then looked out at the crowd, "Fear is not what crosses my mind when I think of entering Odin's halls! My life has been full of wonders and joy! I have laughed and cried, no different than the rest of you all! Upon my death, I shall patiently await for my husband, brothers, and children to make their way to my side. My husband will REMAIN as your rightful King proudly for many years to come!"
Shifting her eyes to Ragnar, her gaze softened as she continued, "And when he finally takes his last breath in this pitiful realm of Midgard, I will proudly raise a cup to all of his achievements that he is sure to bring the kingdom of England as his wife! This GREAT man who I have loved so much for as long as I can remember, and is called your King, will do grand things for you all, that I can promise! Athelstan, a PRETENDER to the throne, will accomplish nothing for this mighty country!"
Taking a breath, Alice frowned, "My older brother, Viggo, and my own twin brother, Selko, will be there to help him for those long years that Ragnar is to reign over you! My heart breaks that I will never see Leif again after my passing, but I know that he is bound to make history and continue living on in the hearts of all for the rest of time! I ask you four to not cry over my departure from this world, but you all know what must happen upon my passing. Hide my body and blade well!"
Clenching the bars of the iron cage, Alice became furious as she snapped her gaze towards Athelstan, "MY DEATH COMES WITHOUT APOLOGY FOR ALL THAT HAS BEEN CONQUERED, DESTROYED, AND LOVINGLY REBUILT! The Aesir will proudly welcome me into Asgard and the Einherjar as one of their own! Ragnar, Viggo, Selko, Leif… know that I love you all with all of my heart and soul. Don't fret, or cry, over something that all four of you knew was fated by the Gods to occur anyway."
Right then, Alice gave a challenging dark smirk towards Athelstan with eyes that pierced his own. If she were going to die, she would stare that death that she had cared for, tended to, and helped train to be as good as a fighter as he now was, not once daring to look at Viggo, Selko, Leif, and mostly the heartbroken Ragnar before she continued to speak out, "So, I now say my farewells to you all as your rightfully standing QUEEN. I NOW WELCOME THE VALKYRIES TO SUMMON ME HOME!"
With the crown not being handed over to save Alice's precious life, Athelstan yelled out, "THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE GOD! So now, I ask for God to rid the world of this evil heathen! O' Lord, deliver us from thy enemy!" Alice smirked at Athelstan as the bottom of the cage was opened for her to plummet into the pit of snakes. All heard that tiny body slam to the ground as Ragnar screamed in agony while clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his calloused palms deeply.
Having his head shoved forward as he was held back, Ragnar's eyes widened in horror as he was forced to watch as Alice was bitten various times by many furious snakes that had been landed on, making her shackled wrists and ankles weakly struggle in pain. Looking up with tears sliding down her face, she spoke, "I do not fear death. The only thing I fear is how much that I will miss, so do not cry for me, my love. We will see each other again once it is your time. I promise you that."
Right then, the most venomous snake then bit her where her snake bite tattoo was for Ragnar, making her eyes go out of focus as everyone watched this Queen, who had done nothing except rule fairly, while in tears. Athelstan then walked forward to look down, only to witness furious hungry snakes continuing to bite at her body that was now fighting to even stay awake at this point. Lowering his head, Ragnar then spoke firmly, "I do not fear death, so push me in with my wife."
Thinking that he had won, and about to push Ragnar in as well, Selko and Viggo pulled out a furious blade as another massive crash of thunder was heard, "Allow for my sister to die in peace without worrying over her husband's life, you filth! You heard Allie, Ragnar will be King for many years to come!" Alice weakly raised a single shackled hand up into the air to her twin and Ragnar, only for them to look down at her as her eyes began to roll into the back of her head before focusing.
Ragnar, Viggo, Selko, and Leif watched in horror as Alice began to struggle to breathe as her head tilted to the side once foam began to choke her. Selko then peered up with tears in his eyes as he witnessed what others could not, "The Valkyries are coming." Spitting the foam to the side, she spoke her final words before her eyes fluttered shut for good, "Ragnar… I'll always… be with you… my love…" With her love given, Alice's hand slowly fell limply to the side, her body now motionless.
Out in the world now after they had the parchment on Alice's diary to find that it actually had come from her era, Erik, Allie, and the archeology team were finally given the full funding to head out. Now getting on a plane to take her all of the way to Norway, Allie looked back for a moment, remembering when she had told Havi that she was finally going to see what was on the coordinates, only for her twin sister to roll her eyes and tell her to not get her hopes up over nothing but a lie.
Furrowing her brows for a moment, Allie then turned back to board the plane. Finally making it to Norway after a flight that had felt as if it had taken ages, all grabbed their gear and made their way off of the plane wearing thick winter coats. Not used to conditions such as this, she stepped out of the airplane, only to instantly shudder and hug her arms tightly. With her warm breath fogging in the air, she looked up to notice a raven flying over her head, not knowing it was actually Muninn.
"Allie, c'mon! You speak more fluently than me, and we need to check in! We are going to rest before we head out," Erik called out as Allie continued to look at that raven for a moment, only to lower her head and nod, "Okay, coming." Entering the lodging, Allie checked all of them in and handed the room keys over before heading to her room. Entering, she sat by the window to stare outside for her visions to finally connect to see a young girl rushing outside in odd attire for this era.
Not understanding that this was a vision, Allie stood while mumbling, "What is she doing? She will catch her death running around with no shoes or a coat on." Exiting her room and heading outside, Allie looked around to see that the town no longer appeared modern. Hearing that young girl laughing and twirling around, Allie approached, "Hey, what are you doing? It's freezing outside." Turning her head, the young girl appeared startled over Allie's looks, "Uh, who are you? Ya lost?"
"Alice, Selko!" Squeaking over hearing her name being yelled, Alice waved with a bright smile, "Sorry, I have to go!" Rushing off, Allie watched as the young girl grabbed a boy that looked like a male mirror of her. Looking around at how ancient everything appeared, Allie walked around in amazement while wondering if they had just decided to keep this portion of the city appearing as it once had long ago to preserve it as a historical landmark to keep the memory of their ancestors alive.
Reaching where the longhouse had once been, yet in her eyes, it was still very much there. Entering a place that was actually vacant, Allie looked around in fascination. No one seemed to pay her any mind as if she weren't even there, but Selko and Alice could see her, making them speak, "Um… Papa?" - "The two of you can wait." The two then gained visions of their own, making the twins yell out, "Papa!" Right then, a fight began outside that made Allie snap her head around in fear.
From the inn that they were staying inside of, Erik stood by his window while drinking a hot cup of tea to notice Allie wandering outside. Placing his cup down, he looked at her in confusion before exiting his room to head outside. Allie was terrified as she ran out into the streets that now ran red with blood, making her so terrified that she slammed her eyes shut while muttering, "It's not real Allie. It's not!" Bolting, Allie crashed against Erik's chest for him to feel her shaking, "Allie! It's me!"
Snapping her eyes back into focus, the normal town had returned, only for her to turn around to see no longhouse there, "But… I was just inside of the longhouse. How is it gone?" Erik appeared completely confused until remembering from Alice's diary that this had been the location of her hometown. Chuckling, he then sighed, "Damn, I wish that my visions were as good as your own. I would have loved to see what the longhouse looked like." Looking up, she spoke, "There is a way."
Confused, Allie took his hand to lead Erik to where the pyre was held for Alice's mother, only to speak, "Alice's mother was also a seer. Now, sit down." Taking a seat, Allie took his hand and placed it over the spot before speaking, "Don't block anything from your mind. Allow it to go blank so that the voices of our ancestors may be heard from Valhalla." Clearing his mind and closing his eyes, he then felt a gentle pair of lips against his forehead before speaking, "Allie, it's not working."
Not hearing her, Erik opened his eyes to see a burning boat as Alice spoke her farewells to her mother while completely ignoring that he was even there, only to mumble out, "What in the name of the Gods is going on?" Once everyone from her crew had walked away, Alice answered, "This is your first clear vision, I'm guessing. They are always startling when they first come in so clear that everything around you changes. Your perception of everything has changed through the Gods."
Turning to look at him, Alice smiled gently, "Ah, a descendent of mine that has lost his power. Well, allow for me to gift what has been lost through eternity back." Approaching him, Alice ran her hand through his full head of neatly spiked hair to gift those full two strands of gold and blue locks before pressing her lips to his for his eyes to gain those full golden streaks. With everything now much clearer as if it were reality, Alice chuckled, "I must say that only my twin holds a full head of hair."
"I must admit though… It's very strange. So, what time do you come from," she questioned, making him chuckle, "I come from the year twenty-twenty-four." Alice gained a dumbfounded facial expression, "My, that is quite a long time from this day and age. Please, if you know how I die, I ask that you don't tell me. That would merely cause much stress that I honestly don't need. I see, your name is Erik. Now, Erik, calm your mind for the vision to fully fade. You don't belong in this era."
Calming himself, Erik closed his eyes to hear, "Until we next meet, farewell, Erik." Opening his eyes, Allie peered over at him, "You saw Alice again, didn't you. Well, this is where her mother's pyre was held, so it makes sense. I see that she gifted all that has been lost through time back to you as well. You might as well be a Lodbrok now," she snickered out and stretched as she stood up and smiled, "We really should get some rest. I'm sure that we will have a long and hard road ahead."
Now walking around to find the coordinates, all stopped to look at the map, refill their canteens, and eat something. Taking a drink, Erik spoke out, "We should be getting close, but I don't see anything resembling a Viking shrine, pyre, or pit. We've basically dug holes around this entire damn mountain by this point." Allie nodded and hummed as she thought about all of the visions that she had held while in Norway. Allie had to wonder if Alice had ever felt this stressed out over visions.
Hearing a raven calling out to gain attention, Allie looked up to see it circling around an old man that now stared at the mountain that they were near with his hands neatly folded behind his back, making her tilt her head. That was so peculiar that an old man was now standing and staring up at this mountain. Standing up, Allie began walking away from the group without anyone noticing, only to then begin approaching him out of curiosity over this man just staring at this mountain quietly.
Without him turning around for him to even notice that she had been approaching him in the first place, he spoke out evenly in a deep tone of voice, "You should beware of the mountain." Puzzled over this warning, she simply had to question out, "Why? Is it collapsing?" Still not turning around, he then told a lie since Alice had gone against his wishes to show her descendent the past concerning her death, "It was said that long ago a powerful curse was placed upon it by wicked sorcery."
Noticing all of the ravens circling around the summit of the tree, Allie questioned, "How do you know if it's true if you've never ventured up it?" Still not turning around, he merely spoke, "Heed my warning, young lady. It is also said that a dragon lives near the top that have made many of the youth who are foolish enough to dare to climb the mountain to die mysterious deaths." This girl was far too much like Alice, considering she dryly claimed, "Now that sounds like a damn challenge."
With no choice now, Odin turned around for Allie's eyes to widen while speaking a mumble, "All-Father…" All he did was speak again, "Allison, don't climb the mountain." The moment she blinked, he was gone in a scatter of ravens as Erik called out, "Allie?!" Jolting out of it, Allie turned around with massive eyes, "Erik… please tell me that you saw him too…" Appearing puzzled, Erik questioned, "Huh? Him?" Allie nodded and swallowed heavily, "The All-Father was just here talking to me."
Looking around, he shook his head, "No, I didn't see anyone. Anyway, I have a hunch from reading the journal again that there is a cave up on the summit of the mountain. Perhaps it caved in during one of the wars." Allie then looked up and gained a cold sweat, "He warned that the mountain is cursed." This made him nervous as well, but they didn't come all this way to stop short the moment that they were so close, making him sigh, "Allie, are you ready to give up just like that?"
Not knowing what to say, Allie peered down, "Well, what if he's telling the truth?" Erik snickered at this, "Do you really believe that your ancestors would curse the resting place of two of the most powerful and respected individuals? I highly doubt that." When he put it that way, she released a breath, "Okay, let's go." Climbing the entire mountain, they then found the caved in entrance before speaking, "Alright, let's get to work! Hopefully, we will strike gold and truly find them this time!"
It was an extremely slow and delicate process, and after the first month of being there, they only had a small portion removed that was nowhere near the bodies. Allie entered the small entrance to look at the wall to notice something odd, only to call out, "Hey Erik, hand me your flashlight!" Given his flashlight as all of the workers took a break, Allie clicked the flashlight on to begin reading the small portion of what had been written on the wall, "We were here first." Yeah, that made sense.
Furrowing her brows, she then noticed, "V, S, and L." This made Erik laugh softly, "Like versus?" Allie could only hum at that softly as she exited to sit beside him, "That wouldn't explain the 'L'. Maybe it's referring to Viggo, Selko, and Lagertha, or maybe even Leif." A year later, and they were still not much closer to retrieving Ragnar and Alice's bodies, considering planes that flew over the mountain would have loose chunks falling inside the cave to pile up all over again to set them back.
When the workers would take a break, Allie would enter to read more, "Two. L and A. Three. H and S. Four. I and S. Five. L and B. Six. H and T. Seven. U and Å. Eight. S and S. Nine. H and F. Ten. L and Á." Pulling out Alice's journal, she began to hypothesize, "I think these are all names of people who guarded the cave for a point in time. Each carving holds a different handwriting." This made Erik tilt his head, "So, who do you think they really belong to? I mean, it could've been a game."
Humming as she eased the pages in the journal over, she then reached all of their children, "Well, L and A are tough. Maybe it was Leif staying to replace them, or maybe it was Lagertha. But, if you look, it looks like a man wrote it. So, I believe it was Leif and Aelfwynn. Now, if you simply go down the line and look at all of the names by going in order by the sets of twins she had, the answers come out extremely clearly, but that, I can only make hypothetical speculations over the matter."
Taking a breath, she tapped the L and A, "If this was Leif and Aelfwynn, then the next obvious set of guardians would have been Havi and Sitric. Then, Ivar and Saga. Then Lagertha and Björn. Then Halfdan and Thyra. Then Ubba and Åsa. Then Sassa and Sigurd. Then Hvitserk and Fenra. And finally, Lodbrok and Ásdís. After that, the people didn't carve in their first initial well enough for me to even make a speculation over who it might have been, but I'm going to guess it was all family."
By the end of year three, they found the supposed "dragon" that Odin had spoken of, making them all pale once all bones had been collected and laid out, making Allie squeal, "Oh my GODS! They actually had a DRAGON guarding them! I was wondering why there was a passage that said, "And here the sacred guardian, Syn, shall remain." This is AMAZING Erik! I mean, look at how MASSIVE she was! I'll bet that she was beautiful!" That made Erik nod at the impressive sizing as well.
As Erik and Allie began to carefully pack the bones away, someone from the cliff yelled down to them, "PROFESSOR! ALLIE! YOU REALLY MIGHT WANT TO SEE THIS!" Erik motioned his head for Allie to go, so she chuckled and hollered back up, "COMING!" Jogging all of the way up to the cave, Allie walked in before freezing to see bodies that held no decay at all, along with the writing engraved in the diamond 'Ragnar and Alice Lodbrok'. It also held their date of death of 'Both died 927.'
Clasping her hands over her mouth, Allie cried that she had found Alice, and not to mention Ragnar. Both were no longer mere legends, now they were simply legendary. Both were so stubborn that they even refused to decay. However, now came the question of the century that Allie blurted out, "How in the name of the GODS are we even supposed to move this?! That is a royal coffin if I have ever seen one! A DIAMOND coffin!" Erik then walked in and froze, "Holy shit, we found them!"
Making a lift that would be capable of withstanding that much weight, the team wasted no time for another airplane to fly over them to cover them. Having their bodies lowered from their cave, Allie watched them both with tears in her eyes since they held the Swords Of Kings and Queens in one hand, while their other hand held each other's securely. Placing a tarp over their coffin so people didn't get the spontaneous idea of stealing their find, they all left to head back to England.
Entering the headmaster's office, he gave a dry expression, "Well? I see nothing. Good work on another wild goose chase that has almost made the college bankrupt, Erik. That's it. You're fired." Allie then cleared her throat and motioned for him to follow, "Please follow us." Standing, he followed the two as Erik snickered, "Well, since I'm fired, Allie and I can take our find elsewhere." With that, he grabbed the tarp and pulled it off for the headmaster's eyes to become massive, "Dear God."
"We will make a fortune off of finding these two barbaric heathens," he spoke with a smirk, making Erik and Allie both scowl at this and speak at the same time, "Um, EXCUSE me? They were not barbaric! They held NOTHING except honor in their hearts and souls!" Elsewhere, Allie's twin sister was called out of class, making her extremely confused until seeing her twin sister had come home. As her twin entered, Allie turned around before motioning, "What was it that you told me, Havi?"
Snapping her fingers, Allie grinned, "Ah, that's right, you said don't get my hopes up over something that's nothing but a lie." Havi ignored her sister and approached Ragnar and Alice with tears in her eyes, "I might have said it Allie, but I've never once doubted that if they were out there, that you would find them. The moment I converted to Christianity, I lost all of my visions, I lost my healing seitr, I lost my connection to the Gods, and have felt my body become weaker each day."
Odin then appeared out of nowhere, "Goodness, you descendants are going to kill me." Havi's eyes widened immensely at this and swiftly kneeled, "All-Father, please forgive me!" Chuckling, he then sighed, "Alice, come." All watched her body vanish from the casket before she walked in gracefully, only to punch Odin across the face abruptly, "Did ya have to make Allison's job THAT much harder on purpose?!" Taking the blood from his mouth, Odin designed the tree of life on Havi's face.
Witnessing this headmaster's face, Alice smirked, "Ah yes, I am heathen, I am godless - to your God, and I am capable of kicking your ass. You will not be selling our bodies." Allie then smiled softly, "I planned to give your bodies to the new Uppsala. There, you both will be worshiped for all that you have done in your life. You were the true first Queen of England that was wrongfully executed by a boy that she raised. Your body and soul are so pure that it will never decay or rot."
Alice could only chuckle softly at how much this girl was just like her, "You are just like me. Fully incapable of listening. He can't sell our bodies, but you can. Besides, we've become restless in Valhalla. Our lives are always on a series of loops, so you might even see us again, but we won't know who you are. Ragnar and I are wandering souls that go wherever the seas might take us in life. We've relived our lives as Vikings so many times as an Aesir, and we die the same way each time."
Turning away, Alice smiled as she twirled her knife out once Ragnar walked out after vanishing from his tomb, "Our bodies will return once we have done this, so fret not over what you are about to witness, for you have witnessed it more times than you believe." Pressing her lips to her husband's for a moment, Alice then spoke the moment both rammed their knives into each other's gut and fell to their knees, "Allison, when you think about it, we all live in some sort of Wonderland."
Coughing up blood, she then spoke in quiet agony, "It's just up to those who have entered the Wonderlands to discern if they are truly in Wonderland, or not." Quickly flipping to the bloodied parchment in her diary, she pressed Ragnar's and her own blood to the top of the page as they both spoke, "And thus, for a grand new saga to be written by another, the current must be stained in the blood of the old, but not once forgotten by the minds of all through the passage of time. -Alice and Ragnar Lodbrok."
