Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Stargate SG-1, Reign, or anything else I reference.
Chapter 26: Viking Women
(Kattegat, Norway)
Danny walked through the village with a smile.
The original had decided that they were going to take Rebekah on a vacation. He wanted it to be someplace that they both would like and so he decided to go to Kattegat. This village had been the home of Ragnar Lothbrook and it had been from here where he launched the first Viking invasion of England.
Right now, he was seeing what the market was selling.
"Hello stranger. What brings you to my shop today?" The merchant woman sitting on the other side of the table asked.
She is a rather beautiful woman. She reminded him of what Desiree was described as when she was alive. She looked to be a few years older than Queen Mary and her friends. She had tan skin and long dark, curly hair. Her green eyes drew people in, and her red lips made you want to stare. She had yellow hoop earrings.
"I just had a good feeling about this place." Danny said as he looked around.
"The gods work in mysterious ways." The merchant woman said.
"What kind of stone is this?" Danny asked as he pointed at one tablet that was lying on the table.
He could feel it giving off energy. It was faint like the last moments of a cellphone battery, but it was still enough for him to feel.
"You have a good eye. My suppliers travel all around the world finding hidden treasures." The merchant woman said. "This tablet used to belong to English druids. It is said to bring good luck to those that keep it inside their homes."
The merchant was not sure if what she was saying was true, but it did not matter. The tablet interested him and so he would buy it. He could question the spirits on the Other Side for its true history.
"There are many things that I wish to buy in here." Danny said as he pointed out the items.
His Jaffa handed the merchant woman the money.
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"Is breakfast ready?" Rebekah asked.
"My servants are preparing it." Danny said as walked to the bed.
Rebekah had been worried over how Niklaus would react to her leaving before he revealed to her the Tel'tak. She had been surprised at it
"What do you want to do today?" Danny asked.
"I want to climb a mountain." Rebekah said.
"I was not expecting that." Danny admitted.
"When I was a little girl growing up in my village, I wanted to explore the world." Rebekah began. "When I became a vampire, I travelled but I was not free. Niklaus found my ideas boring and if I tried to fight it..." she trailed off lost in memory.
"You were stabbed by the dagger." Danny finished.
During his time in Sweden, he had learned what Rebekah was like as a child. Her best friends had been Astrid and Heather. The both of them had married earlier than Rebekah had been. When they started hearing rumors of what Rebekah and her family had become, they refused to let her in their homes.
"Yes." Rebekah said.
"Alright then." Danny said as he put her hands in his. "Which is the first mountain that you want to climb?"
"The first mountain that I want to climb is the Feiknstafir." Rebekah answered.
"Where is that?" Danny asked.
"They're a mountain range nearby." Rebekah answered.
"Alright." Danny said. "It sounds like it could be fun. I will go tell my guards to prepare our packs."
Looking over this world from a mountain peak is not something that he had done yet.
There is a knock at the door.
"Come in." Danny said.
Kada walked in with two trays.
"I bet that it will be lovely watching the star from a mountain ledge." Rebekah said as she opened her tray.
"Isn't that why we came?" Danny asked looking at his food. "To see beautiful sights."
"What are you going to be doing while I am waiting?" Rebekah said.
"I have a task to finish before I go." Danny said before ripping his croissant in half and drooping one half of it in his milk.
He wanted to see how the duplicate in Japan is doing.
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(Fekinstafir Mountains, Norway)
."We are here." Danny said as he parked the Tel'tak.
His Jaffa had been reluctant to allow him to drive there without them. They felt that he should not be bothered with that type of menial task. They gave up on that request when he reminded them that he was king and if he wanted to fly a Tel'Tak than he could. He let them know that he would take the communicator with him and that they could contact him every two hours for a status report.
"Great." Rebekah said. "Come on."
The doors opened and they walked outside. Their boots sank a few inches into the snow.
"Does Dinai have any mountain ranges this high?" Rebekah asked.
"Nope." Danny said as he looked up to see if he could see the peak. "Dinai does not have any mountain as tall as this."
Dinai is a fairly warm world. Even when the season turned towards winter it did not get very cold. Not like Westeros which according to Eric's report apparently had winters that could last years or even decades. He wanted to send Satellites to see just how such a thing is possible.
"I wish that we could have brought Finn along." Rebekah said.
"Really?" Danny asked. "From the stories you and your siblings told me I am surprised that Finn would like such a journey."
"Yes. He has not taken our transformation well but when we were children me and Finn made a promise that if we were to climb the Feiknstafir that we would do it together." Rebekah said with a sad look in her eyes as she looked up.
"Maybe when your brother decides to let him out we can come back." Danny said as he walked to her.
"You are such an optimist." Rebekah said as she looked at him with a smile.
"The future is full of surprises." Danny said as they started walking forward.
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"Rebekah, how are you doing?" Danny asked as he pierced the mountain with a pickaxe.
The communicators they had are in two pieces. The communicator on their wrists and the earpiece to hear. No matter the distance or the weather as long as they were on the same continent, they would be able to hear each other.
They are climbing with ropes that are connected to the Tel'Tak on the ground. He would have preferred to use anti-grav technology, but the original had decided that this would be better.
"The cold is annoying, but I am good." Rebekah said as she climbed behind him. "Do you need a rest?"
"I could do this all day." Danny said as he looked above. "Race you to the top?"
"You are so on." Rebekah said as she started climbing faster.
"My King." Na'du said.
"Yes?" Danny answered.
"It looks like a surprise snowstorm is headed your way. There is a chance it will result in an avalanche." Na'du said.
"Just great." Danny muttered. "Rebekah my guards are telling me that we might have an avalanche. We might want to get to cover."
"No way. We are almost there." Rebekah said.
He imagined that there is a beautiful pout on her face.
"We are not in a rush to reach the top." Danny said. "We are going to be here for close to a week. There is no need to climb during the dark."
"Alright fine." Rebekah said. "Where is this mountain ledge that you want to rest by?"
"I planned on making one." Danny said as he looked to the right of his position and a few miles up.
He tapped his hand on the mountain and felt as the rock transmuted into the shape of a cave. "Now let's get inside."
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"I expected more." Rebekah said as she looked around the cave.
"I did not want to take away from the camping experience." Danny said. "I think it gives the cave an appropriate atmosphere."
He had transmuted the rock so that it would be flat and smooth on the cave walls and floors. He formed stalactites on the walls because he thought that looked cool. Around the area he planned to make a campfire is a ring of stalagmites that reached up to the height of school desks.
"I'm fine as long as the cave doesn't collapse on us in the night." Rebekah said.
"You don't need to worry." Danny said. "I made sure that this place could survive twenty earthquakes."
"That is good given what is coming." Na'du said.
"Huh?" Rebekah asked as she looked outside the cave.
Danny did the same and saw that the snow was falling harder than it had been when they were climbing up. It was now like a curtain of snow and hard to see past it with normal eyes.
"That looks harsh." Danny said. "It seems a good thing we decided to come inside. Climbing up the mountain through that would have been difficult."
"What shall we do to pass the time?" Rebekah asked.
"I have an idea." Danny said as he moved over to his bag and started pulling things out.
He really loved pocket dimension technology. It allowed him to carry everything that he needed.
"What are marshmallows?" Rebekah asked looking at the bag in his hand.
"They are a snack my Jaffa eat when they are hunting." Danny said pulling out logs of wood. "They are even better when they are made into s'mores."
"Here we go." Danny said placing his hands in front of the logs and setting them on fire.
"That feels nice." Rebekah said as she walked through the ring of stalagmites and placed her hands in front of the fire.
"I have been meaning to ask Rebekah but how did you even learn of this place?" Danny asked taking his seat and placing a marshmallow on top of the sticks he brought.
Telling stories is a common trait for campfires. So why not start now?
"I heard about it in the stories that Gothi would tell us." Rebekah said.
He could feel that she was filing with nostalgia alongside the marshmallow.
"Gothi?" Danny asked.
"She was a village elder." Rebekah explained. "When we were kids, we thought that she knew everything. She knew about medicine, history, the stars. Kol never liked her. Probably because she kept hitting him with her stick to stop him from causing mischief."
"I doubt that he took that well." Danny said.
"You would be right. He dedicated five years of his life to following the path of Loki as a response." Rebekah said clasping her hands.
Loki is the Asgardian that the Norse believed to be god of trickery and mischief.
It was how they understood his actions.
Loki is actually an Asgardian scientist dedicated to figuring out how to fix the deterioration of his species. Given that just one of his experiments resulted in him creating a clone of O'Neil and sent it back to his friends probably explained why the Norse thought he was a trickster.
The only reason SG-1 figured it out was because the clone was flawed.
"I have not thought of Gothi for such a long time. Anyway, Gothi told us a story about this paranoid Viking. His Name was Harald Bloodhair. This was during the time of the Grand Summer Army." Rebekah continued.
"I have read about this." Danny said. "It was led by the children of Ragnar Lothbrook to get revenge for the murder of their father by King Aella of Northumbria. It is said that he was dumped into a pit of live snakes."
"After King Aella died many Vikings stayed behind in England. They wanted to conquer lands and find treasure. Hordes of gold were shipped back to Norway." Rebekah said. "However, Gothi told us that Harald grew paranoid that others would take his gold and feared about what he would bring to the afterlife, so he brought it to this mountain range and built a temple somewhere as an offering to the gods to hide it and keep it safe."
"So did he come back before he died?" Danny asked.
"No. He died in England in a duel with Haestan Storrison." Rebekah answered.
"So, you believe that the gold is still there?" Danny asked staring into the flames.
"Finn has always been interested more in the gods. I on the other hand just want to see the view." Rebekah said taking one from him and squeezing it.
"Sounds like this will be a good trip all around." Danny said with a smile.
They spent a portion of the night telling stories.
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"Come find me." A voice said.
Danny woke up.
He could feel a spirit from the Other Side nearby and watching their camp.
"What's going on?" Rebekah mumbled next to him feeling him move.
"I am going to go check something." Danny said. "You can stay asleep."
Danny rolled away from Rebekah, put on his clothes (Black Hakama pants, Purple kimono top, with a green sash) and walked out of the tent and walked to the ledge he created.
The snow was lighter than it had been when they had come inside.
"Come find me." The voice of the spirit said as it echoed through the wind.
Alright. He did not know whose spirit this is, but he just hoped that they did not intent to waste his time.
Danny enhanced his vision to see the area around him and saw that the spirit standing on the side of the mountain.
He flew to her.
'Who are you?' Danny asked staring at the blonde spirit in front of him.
She was shorter than him. She had blonde hair that looked to be in need of a good wash. On her face are blue tribal markings. She had a brown coat over a blue dress.
"Come find me." The voice of the spirit repeated as she started flying higher up the mountain.
It was not hard to keep track of her. He could feel the malevolence rolling off of the spirit. Whoever she was in life and however she met her end he was certain that it was not pleasant. It may have been a bad idea, but he teleported after her.
"Who are you?" Danny asked.
"When I was born my mother named me Skade after the goddess Skadi." Skade said.
That name was something he would ask Rebekah about later. She had grown up learning about the Norse gods and though she and her siblings had let go of their gods they still held many norse traditions.
"Alright Skade." Danny said. "What do you want with me?"
"I have heard of you. The king that makes deals with the dead." Skade said. "That can make new bodies for vampires."
"That is true." Danny said. "So do you want to make a deal?"
"I want you to return me to the land of the living." Skade said. "I want to feel the warmth of the sun again. Hear the song of the trees, Taste a chicken."
"Enjoy the ocean?' Danny asked.
"I have not liked water in centuries." Skade said with a hard look in her eyes.
Perhaps that was how she met her end?
"Alright." Danny said. "You know what you want. What will I get out of it?"
"I will lead you to the temple that you and your group are searching for." Skade said.
So, she had been spying on his group.
"How do you know about this temple?" Danny asked.
"I was the one that inspired Harald to fill the temple with treasures from our raids on England." Skade said. "I was the witch of his tribe."
"What kind of treasures are inside?" Danny asked.
"Gold and silver." Skade said. "Enough treasure that would make a farmer live like a king."
"I am not that interested in gold." Danny said. "The type of treasure I am interested in is more mystical."
"I have seen many mystical treasures when I was alive. Even more so after I died." Skade said.
"What in your opinion is the greatest treasure you have seen?" Danny asked.
"The greatest treasure I had ever seen was a cup." Skade answered.
"A cup?" Danny asked. "That is what you think I will want the most? Enough to bring you back from the dead?"
"The cup has powerful magic." Skade said. "If you drink from the cup then whatever previous injury you had will disappear."
"Really?" Danny asked.
She had his interest now.
"It holds incredible power." Skade said.
"Give me an example." Danny said.
If the cup had such power, then she should know stories about it.
"There was once a pair of brothers. One day the older brother was made lord of his lands. The younger brother grew jealous of his brother and thought he was unfit to lead the family. He stabbed him through the belly."
"Wow." Danny said.
"The older brother survived though he lost the ability to walk. Though his brother tried to kill him he chose to forgive instead of seeking vengeance. The younger brother overtaken by his mercy went on a quest to find the cup and brought it to the elder brother. Once the older brother drank from the cup he healed and regained the use of his legs." Skade said.
"If you story is true, I would be willing to talk about it." Danny said.
That is the most that he would give her. The malevolence she gave off made him hesitant to trust what she was saying. He was going to ask Qetsiyah to see if what she was telling him was true. He was also going to ask Rebekah more of what she knew about Harald.
He had plenty of time during this trip.
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"How long is this chat going to be?" Rebekah asked standing over him.
"Not long." Danny said as he sat on the ledge of the cave he created in a meditative pose as he connected with the Other Side. "We will start climbing again real soon."
"You wanted to talk?" Qetsiyah asked as she appeared.
"I had an encounter with one of your guests." Danny said. "She wants to make a deal, but I am reluctant."
"Who?" Qetsiyah asked.
"A witch that says her name is Skade." Danny said. "She wants to offer me a cup in return for freedom from the Other Side."
He was not suspicious at the idea of a special cup.
"What power does this cup have?" Qetsiyah asked.
"She says that it has the ability to heal the injured." Danny said.
"You want me to look around and learn her history." Qetsiyah said.
"I would like you to look into her and into the cup." Danny answered her. "I want to know that helping her won't bring a plague down on the land."
Her desire was different from the others. Esther had wanted him to give her vampire children human bodies, Elizabeth of York wanted him to make sure that her granddaughter Elizabeth was safe, they both just wanted their living children to be safe. Qetsiyah had wanted vengeance.
Skade on the other hand wants to come back to life.
"I can search among the witches." Qetsiyah said.
"Thank you." Danny said before Qetsiyah disappeared.
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"We made it!" Rebekah yelled as she jumped atop the mountain.
"That's right. " Danny said as he moved to grab her hand and looked into the distance. "We made it.
He felt like he did when the original first stood atop a flying Ha'Tak. That there was no place that he could not go. That there is no challenge that he could not overcome.
"Have you ever thought of becoming a vampire?" Rebekah asked out of the blue.
"Not really." Danny said.
His current status was better than a vampire. His abilities let him blend in better with people than theirs did and he already had all the advantages they had with none of the weaknesses. He also had no desire to have any traits in common with the Wraith.
"Would you ever want to be one?" Rebekah asked. "I know that witches loved their connection to nature and losing that would be crushing but I believe that we would be happy together and that eventually you could get over it.
He could feel the emotion that caused her to ask the question. She was happy with their relationship, but she believed that eventually as the decades passed Danny would age and die while she remained the same age.
"Not really." Danny said.
"That means that we are going to part one day." Rebekah said.
He ignored her words and read her feelings. Her heart felt like it was breaking. She had not been so happy in a long time. Most of the men that she found interesting either fled in fear of their nature, betrayed her, or were killed by her brothers. Now was the time to tell her about his meetings with Esther.
"Not necessarily." Danny said.
"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked.
"Not here. For now, let us enjoy breakfast and the rising sun." Danny said with a smile as Rebekah leaned into him.
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"Why have you brought us here?" Rebekah asked as they met in a field of wisteria flowers. "I have to tell you for as romantic as you can be I also knew you love being dramatic."
"You say it like that is a bad thing." Danny said.
"Sometimes it can be tiring." Rebekah said.
"I have something that I want to tell you." Danny said as he laid out a blanket. "Sit down."
"What is it?" Rebekah asked as she laid down on the blanket.
"I have talked to your mother Esther." Danny said holding her hand.
"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked as she let go of his hands and touched the necklace she was wearing.
It had belonged to her mother, and she had taken it when she had found her body. All these centuries later and she still kept it.
"You know that witches go to the Other Side when they die. It takes very little to make contact with one or for them to make contact with the living." Danny said.
"What did she say?" Rebekah asked.
Esther had told him many stories about their family. She told him it was a way he could break apart their bond by revealing the truth Niklaus had hidden from his siblings for centuries. He did not want to do something that cruel unless he had no other choice.
"She has seen your suffering for the past five hundred years and wanted me to comfort you." Danny said. Again, not a lie but not the whole truth.
"She has?" Rebekah asked.
Though a part of her was angry at her mother for cursing her another was happy that her mother was still watching over her even if she could not see her.
"Yes. She wanted me to tell you that she wants to offer you a way to freedom." Danny said as he held her hands.
"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked.
"I mean she wants to turn all of you human again." Danny said.
"You must be joking." Rebekah said as she pulled away from him. "I have heard a similar promise from Alexander, and it ended with him betraying me and trying to put my family to sleep with those damn daggers. The cure is gone. The brotherhood of the five is dead."
Qestiyah had informed him about that. Back in 1110 her hunters had decided that before they went to kill Silas that they would take down the vampires species. They tried to put the Original family to sleep with enchanted daggers soaked in the ash of the white oak tree.
Clearly that plan had not worked, and it ended with all of them suffering horrible deaths.
"The witch who made the cure is long dead which means she is on the other side. I am in contact with both of them." Danny said.
"Are you serious?" Rebekah asked.
"Yes. Esther feels like she made a mistake turning the lot of you and wants you to have the chance of a normal life again." Danny said.
"Nik would never want this." Rebekah said. "He loves being a vampire."
She was clearly torn on who to side with. Her long wish was suddenly in front of her but all it would do was place her in danger because of Niklaus's love for power. If he turned human, he would lose everything he loved. Power, strength, immortality, and an indestructible body.
However, that was not what Rebekah wanted, and it was there that he struck. She had spent the last five hundred years feeling trapped in a cursed body.
"I know but think about it you would get to have the life that you always wanted. Having a family of your own and freedom from the desire for blood." Danny said.
"I need time to think on this." Rebekah said.
"Alright just remember that Niklaus has been putting you and your siblings into enchanted sleep for decades as punishment." Danny said.
Though the Brotherhood's plan failed Niklaus kept the daggers for his siblings when they disappointed him. Finn had it the worst given that he had remained daggered since that night. Niklaus keeps him in a box so that he is easy to transport when he and the siblings move.