AUTHORS NOTE:
I hope that everyone who made it this far has enjoyed the story. I apologize for the short ending. Life has torn me away from this story multiple times and resulted in me losing the creative spark I had going. I hope that I was able to pull it through to the end well enough do it justice.
This story followed my own personal playthrough and how I felt after the DLC ended Ciara and Eivor's relationship. I forgot about Randvi while playing the DLC and thought that it was an interesting idea to pursue.
In the end I enjoyed writing it and am glad to finally have a satisfying ending for my Eivor.
"What do you think, brother?" The air between them was heavy with doubt.
"I think it is the best we can do with the situation at hand. We must assume Randvi will not return."
"Aye, I feel the same."
It had already been a month since Randvi had left, and the threat of war was knocking on their door. The military camps that had been put in were expanding at a rate that was rapidly encroaching on their trade routes, and contributed to the deterioration of the communications with allies. Ships were being attacked daily and their men were growing tired.
Eivor asked once more for assistance from her trusted allies, but only a few responded. With their ships and people being attacked at every turn, it was a miracle that any messages had made it to their respective recipients at all and even more so that their letters of acceptance were returned.
Sigurd and Eivor sat at an empty feast table in the longhouse as they spoke. Flashbacks of the happenings of the battle of Chippenham flooded her mind; it was the last proper battle she had fought, and she wanted nothing more than to prevent unnecessary deaths. She was meticulous as always. Her scouts provided her with maps, guard changes, weapon caches and more. She was sure that she could get in and out without being seen, but it did not prevent the seeds of doubt from sprouting.
Ciara, to Eivor's dismay, had taken Randvi's place. Eivor had no doubts that she would do her job well, she had once been the trusted advisor to a king, but it did not feel right to her to allow her to take on such a position. She did not want to replace Randvi, to force her lover to take on a role not asked for, but what choice did she have?
"Eivor!" a familiar voice brought a smile to her face amidst the wreckage she waded through.
"Vili!" His letter of acceptance had excited her the most.
"You must make more time to call on me when danger is not looming." He winked.
"Aye. Life has not allowed me such pleasures." She knew of what he spoke, but she could not entertain such ideas anymore. Their time spent together was fondly remembered, and if she was not enthralled by an Irish woman, she may have accepted his subtle offer.
"Well, we are here together now. That is all that matters. Plus, it allows me to step away from my duties as Jarl for a moment. I still am not sure how you tricked me into allowing that to happen."
"You can never step away from your duties. They will always rear their ugly head whether you like it or not."
"Isn't that the truth?" He laughed.
"I hope everything is going well? Your letter did not mention the goings on of your settlement, only your wish to join me in battle once more."
"Everything is as well as it can be. I try my best to not speak of trivial matters, especially when I can take a moment to wet my blade once more."
"I can respect that." Eivor laughed. "You will have to wait a moment longer, but the time is coming to set sail. Once everyone arrives, we can go over the plans."
"A few more minutes will not kill me, old friend."
"But that wry grin of yours might, arse-stick." She poked.
Over the next few hours, fellow comrades joined the discussion, as well as Eivor's most trusted Jomsviking, to finalize their assault. It would take more than what she had expected them to agree to, but they all gave a unanimous AYE at the plans she had laid before them. It was going to take more men and ships than what she felt was reasonable to ask for, but to take them all down in one fell swoop and disrupt their entire operation, it had to be done.
The small feast that followed was rowdy, with men who had not seen each other in ages acting like children in her longhouse. It made her smile to see everyone getting along, and made it feel like the world had shifted from one shoulder to rest on the moon for a change.
"Are you sure it is right, telling them that Randvi is exploring England to better understand her role here?" Sigurd watched as everyone walked down the hill and into the main part of Ravensthorpe after the dinner had concluded and everyone had dispersed to their makeshift homes.
"It is only a half lie." Eivor sighed. "It is none of their concern why Randvi left."
"And if she does not return?"
"Then I shall deal with that when the time comes. While I must assume she will not return, I do not feel giving the full details is going to help the situation. If that is selfish of me, then so be it."
"Let us hope it will not come to that." He sighed and turned back into the longhouse, leaving Eivor to her own devices.
The following weeks went by in a blur as the weight of the world felt like it was crashing down on their shoulders again. Eivor did her best to keep the enemy camps at bay but was unsuccessful in stopping them all. With Vili and Ciara's help, she managed to reroute her ships to prevent unneeded casualties, but the camps were growing stronger by the day and the time to act had quickly passed.
Vili, who had come for his love for battle and adventure, was acting as a second Jarl, directly assisting Eivor in the ever changing climate that was her home. He was directing her ships and commanding her crew, traveling the rivers in hopes to stop this never ending madness. The plans that they had settled upon were scrapped again and again as enemy camps settled along their routes. She had never felt so overwhelmed and helpless.
The war room was buzzing with everyone looking over the map, trying to find the best place to raid for the next supply cache. Even though they had taken down many military encampments, more popped up each day, and she was growing tired. It was much harder without Randvi, but they were managing; they had zero casualties, but with the upcoming winter, Eivor needed her trade routes back up and running.
"I've done this plenty of times, with and without the men." Eivor pushed from the table, frustrated at the extreme amounts of planning going on for a simple raid. "I will go myself if I must."
"You should listen to them, Eivor. You shouldn't go into battle without a plan."
"It has never stopped me before." Eivor scoffed and turned to the person who dared to tell her what to do. "Randvi?" Her frustrated expression faded.
Randvi pushed free from the wall with an amused expression that seamlessly faded to serious and hovered over the map; her trained fingers pointed as she spoke. "If you're planning on raiding here, you should go in from behind. Running in from the waters is going to result in unnecessary fighting. If you stop the longship here and go in from here, you should be able to catch them off guard and take out their guard posts before they can sound the alarms."
Eivor's eyes stayed glued to her as she tore down their battle plans and built them back up in only a moment, not listening to a single word she said. She could not believe that she was here, standing before her once more, reading the battle map like nothing had happened. Randvi locked eyes with her and smiled. She looked as though she had lost a little weight, her hair was longer and her skin a little bronzer. She looked content.
"Can we talk?" Randvi asked, her tone more chipper than Eivor imagined it would be if she ever saw her again.
"Yes, whatever you need." Her crossed arms fell to her side.
"Alone?" Her eyes drifted around the room to the many familiar faces that looked back at her.
A clearing of Eivor's throat and everyone left in one swift motion.
"How have you been?" Eivor's question was clunky and unnatural to her.
"I have been well. I explored more of England than I thought I would ever see; it is quite beautiful."
"Aye, it is. I wish I could have taken you to see more of it, but it was too dangerous when we first arrived."
"Yes, well, there are still many dangers that we face. Many still do not agree with us being here, I have found."
"It will take some time for us to be welcomed. Even with all the work we have done, we still have a long road ahead of us."
"Indeed." Randvi tore her eyes from the map and looked over at Eivor, who stood somewhat awkwardly across the room. She knew she had not been expecting her and that seeing her was a shock. "I see that you have been doing well without me."
Eivor loosened at the sarcasm. "We are keeping it together, but I will not lie to you. It has not been easy." Her voice was exasperated as she spoke. "Everyone misses you."
"Do you?" Her voice was pointed, and it caught Eivor off guard.
"I'm not sure I understand." Her heart picked up as Randvi questioned her. She knew what she was asking, but she needed a moment to collect herself.
"Did you miss me, Eivor? Or did you only miss what I do around here?"
"You have never not been on my mind, Randvi. I wonder day and night if you are safe." She stepped forward. "You are beneficial to Ravensthorpe in more ways than one, in more ways than I ever thought, but that does not mean that is all I think of you. You are a good friend and I cannot go without knowing you are okay. It has killed me every day you have been gone, not knowing."
Randvi sighed as she processed her words. "I am glad. I battled with whether I should return and whether I would be welcomed if I came back." Her hands twisted together. "I understand why you did it; I see now that your actions were similar to those of when Sigurd was gone and I pursued you. It was something new and exciting to help me through dark times, but you were right, our love was fleeting. We have not loved one another in that way for some time, but I was too naïve, enthralled in my own fantasies, to see that what we had was over. She has something I never had and I cannot stand in the way of that."
Eivor listened as Randvi pored over her findings. It was refreshing hearing her words, how she had run over the ins and outs of their relationship in her time away. She always believed one needed to go out and explore the world, to spend some time alone to really get to know one's self; Randvi had finally found herself and it made Eivor proud.
"But," Randvi's voice broke her train of thought, "I have not yet forgiven you. What you did was not the proper way to handle our situation and I wish you had come to me before doing something so rash. I do expect that you will understand."
"I know what I did-" She tripped over her words. "I do not condone my own actions. I too have done much thinking and I do not blame you for not gracing me with your forgiveness. I do, however, appreciate that you have come back to tell me how you feel."
"Yes, I did not think it was right for me to stay away when there was still more that needed to be said."
Eivor bit her lip as she stared at Randvi. There was still one more question that burned in her mind. "Did you only come back to tell me this?"
"I came back to finalize my decision. How you reacted to my return was how I was to determine if I would stay or not." She allowed Eivor to stew on her answer before continuing. "I feel, after talking, I will stay but only under one condition."
"Anything." Eivor fought the smile that played at her lips as she grew excited at the thought of Randvi's return.
"I will come and go as I please. I realize now that I have kept myself shut away for far too long and I deserve to see the world just as much as any of you. I will train someone else to read the maps while I am gone, of course."
"I too think you have been shut away for too long. You deserve to see the world as we have."
"Thank you, Eivor. I am glad to be home."
"I am glad you are home."