Betray the Queen
Their bliss is interrupted early the next morning, when the door of the hut is kicked open violently, almost flying off its handle, and strong arms grab Mary. Her first reaction is to just scream and try and escape the hands, but her mind is foggy from sleep and she is too slow.
Ivar's reflexes are much faster and his hand shoots out to hold onto her, but when the shield maidens yank Mary out of his bed and through the door, all he can do is be pulled with her until their fingers slip and he is forced to watch her be dragged away.
But Mary isn't going silently, screaming and struggling against the hands that are holding her, throwing her weight around and ignoring the hard pull on her joints. The last thing she sees is Ivar, trying to crawl after her but quickly falling behind on the uneven path.
Many of the warriors are still asleep, both in the houses and on the streets, but Mary's blood curdling screams wake even the one's that are still drunks from the night before.
"Let go of me, you spineless, bastard. Let go of me. Ivar." She screams, her feet digging into the ground. Pebbles and sticks cut into her soles, but she doesn't care.
"You can't do this. Let go of me." She screams again, and then "Ivar. Ivar, help me. Ubbe, Sigurd. Please." The last word is nothing more than a wail as she starts sobbing in the warrior's grip.
But no one comes to her help. Not when she is dragged into the great hall and not when she is thrown on her knew in front of the queen. Lagertha's eyes are as sharp as last time, but rather than a look of false boredom, she is wearing her distaste clear on her face.
"Mary Freyasdottir, you are accused of lying to your queen and conspiring with her enemies behind her back." She declares.
"I did not lie. I am here as a slave." Mary screams back.
"We found her in Ivar's bed." One of the women confirm, but Lagertha is unbothered.
"Astrid." she commands and a shield-maiden with short, dark hair steps forward and yanks Mary's nightgown up until the cross on her ribs is exposed together with most of her left breast.
"What are you doing?" Ubbe asks enraged when he enters the great hall, two battle axes in hand, as he stares at the queen.
"I am doing what I should have done a long time ago. You and your brothers have been keeping this girl from me." She answers and then declares loudly "The sons of Ragnar have been keeping a secret from the people of Kattegat. This girl is not a merely a slave, but claims to possess the gift of Seidr."
Mary pulls her nightgown back down and glares at the queen. Everything hurts, her arms, her feet, her shoulders, but the adrenalin pumping through her veins is turning the shock into anger.
"I have done nothing wrong." Mary shouts.
Lagertha's face softens when she looks at her, but the hard lines of displeasure remain when she answers "You did nothing wrong, I believe that. You did what you thought would keep you safe, which I cannot fault you for. But your involvement with the sons of Ragnar and his wife Aslaug means that I cannot trust you."
Mary wants to scream, she wants to cry, because she is scared and humiliated and its only when she looks past Lagertha's throne that she realizes how the queen found out in the first place. Bjorn is sitting in the back, his giant back hunched as he leans on his elbows unable to meet her eyes.
Behind Mary, a wrathful scream sounds and even without turning around she knows that Ivar has arrived.
"Lagertha." He shouts, his eyes murderous as he drags himself through the hall "You have no right-"
"I have every right." She corrects him just as loudly, finally standing in full authority as the short haired warrior, Astrid, steps into his way, sword drawn and pointed right at his throat.
"My armies have been making decisions made on the word of a girl who calls herself a Seer, and you have been keeping her from me. If she is a liar, her words would have devastating consequences." Lagertha says, then she turns to the right. "Helga, bring your girl."
Out of the shadows, a blonde woman with dark rimmed eyes steps into the hall and with her, a young girl with dark hair and dark skin. The girl seems even more afraid than Mary as she struggles against the women iron grip.
"I have heard that one of your gifts is that of languages. If you truly are a Seer, speak to the girl."
Mary stares at the queen and then at the young girl, before pulling herself up onto her knees. She doesn't know what is happening, but she knows that her situation is dire and, once again, she has to play her part to get out of it.
"Where is she from?" Mary asks cautiously.
"She is from Spain. We brought her back as an orphan." Helga explains, her voice almost excited
Spain. At this point, the country is most likely occupied by north African forces.
"Salam." Mary says, bowing her head at the girl and hoping that the word is somehow correct. The girl's eyes widen as she steps closer "You speak my language." Mary hears, even though they are likely not the words spoken.
"Yes. My name is Mary, who are you?"
"Tanaruz."
"That is a beautiful name Tanaruz. I am sorry for what has happened to your people." Mary says and Tanaruz nods sadly, her lower lip quivering as she stares at the ground.
"Ask her for the city she lived in. Tell us the name." Lagertha instructs and Mary turns back to the frightened girl.
"Tanaruz, can you tell me the name of your home? Where you used to live?"
"Madinat Mursiyah." She mumbles and Mary repeats the name to the queen. She looks at Bjorn, who nods.
"I am so afraid." Tanaruz confesses, her eyes darting from Lagertha, to Helga, and over the rows of Viking warriors that are now lining the walls.
"I know, I know. This is a scary place, but there are good people here." Mary says, even though the current situation seems to imply otherwise "Stay close to that woman, she seems to care a great deal about you." Mary advises. She doesn't know if her words are true or not, but what this girl needs right now are words of encouragement.
"I don't know her." Tanaruz says with a quick look at Helga.
"I know. But she will take care of you. Stay with the women, but stay away from the men you don't know." Mary says softly and Tanaruz nods, before turning back to Helga and actually taking the woman's hand before hiding behind her skirts. Helga seems almost overwhelmed at the gesture, staring down at the girl with wide eyes before putting a hand on her shoulder and nodding thank you at Mary.
"Now, Seer. Tell me what will become of my son. Tell me the future you see for him." Lagertha demands.
Mary growls at the man in question, who still seems uncomfortable looking at her. Good.
"Bjorn Ironside, famed son of Ragnar Lothbrok." She says, her voice dripping with false sweetness "His descendants will rule Sweden for hundreds of years and he will make many expeditions to the Mediterranean, finding treasure and victory at its coast."
Lagertha leans back satisfied, looking at her son with pride, but Mary isn't done yet.
"After failing to take rome, he sails back home but his ships are sunk by a storm. He survives by reaching Frankia, only to die there." She says and smiles mockingly "Or maybe he makes it back to Sweden, taking his seat as king, only to be attacked by his own people who do not think him to be a good king."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means, my queen, that the future is far from clear. I can tell you legends, I can tell you stories, but I cannot tell you which one will for sure occur and which one is make believe."
Lagertha's face is grim, but it seems that she believes Mary's words. Folding her hands in front of her, she stands in front of Mary.
"You will be staying with Helga and the child until we sail for England."
Then she looks out over her people, her eyes falling onto Ubbe and Ivar, now also joined by a confused but angry looking Sigurd.
"None of you are allowed to speak to her or visit her. She will share her knowledge with you, and help you plan the invasion, but no other word is to be exchanged with her. Should you disobey my command, she will be punished for it."
When Lagertha nods at one of her shield-maidens, the woman steps forwards and pulls her sword. In one swift motion, she lifts the weapon and lets the wide side come down hard on Mary's hand. The pain is instantaneous and blinding as Mary howls in pain, cradling the bleeding digits against her chest. There is no doubt that at least one of her fingers is broken and the edges of the blade had drawn blood.
Ivar lungs at Astrid, while Ubbe and Sigurd step forwards, weapons raised, but the other shield maidens are faster, weapons pointed at the two brothers before they can so much as come close to Mary.
But Ivar has managed to overthrow Astrid and pulls a knife from the woman's holster which he uses to fend of a second warrior when she steps closer, burrowing the blade up to the hilt in her shoulder. But Astrid uses the moment to throw him off of her, ramming her forehead into his nose before pointing her weapon at him, accompanied by several others.
"If you disrespect me again, or if any of you go against my orders, the girl will suffer." Lagertha says, her voice final as she instructs Helga to take the girl away.
With one last, tearful look over her shoulder, Mary follows.
She doesn't dare look at anyone when she leaves, when Helga leads her to a house far from the town on the shore. To her new home.
Helga tries to help her, asks to see her hand and carefully bends the fingers, while Mary hisses in pain. Its only one bone in her left pointer finger that is broken, but the others are badly swollen already, the purple spreading over her knuckles and into her nails
Tanaruz is, as it turns out, quite knowledgeable about how to treat injuries as she helps Mary bandage the hand and support her finger to avoid it healing wrong. From then on, the girl becomes more open around Mary, making conversation on a variety of topics and, while Helga at first disapproves, she soon tries to join.
Floki, who Mary finds out is Helga's husband and a master boat builder, is suspicious off the new guests at first and only starts staying in the small house for longer periods of time when Mary asks him about Ivar. She stays with them for 46 days. 46 days in which things around her change rapidly as the town, and all of Norway, prepares for war.