Chapter Text
Tegan and Gyda had woken up early the next morning, wanting to make sure that the goats were looked after before they left. It was still early, and neither Athelstan nor Bjorn had woken yet. Tegan was a little surprised that Bjorn had slept as long as he did, seeing as he had been so delighted the day before that they were going to meet Lagertha and Ragnar in Kattegat.
The only sound that could really be heard was the goats, and some of the other people around the farm, though it was Gyda that broke the silence, speaking softly.
"Do you and the priest have any family?"
Tegan paused her movements and looked up at the young girl. Gyda was standing with a bucket full of food for the goats, while Tegan was sitting, petting one of the goats softly.
"We did have four other brothers, all four of them died of a fever, like mother and father did. Athelstan was lucky, he was sent to the monastery as a very young child, so he was not living with us when they died. I do not know how I survived it, but I somehow did. I later found out that father had made one attempt to marry me of, and you already know that story" Tegan's smiled was sad, the pain from loosing her family still fresh in her heart, even after so many years. She mourned for her lost brothers, her parents, and her children. She could not bring herself to mourn her husband, and while she had done what was propper when he died, her period of mourning had been so short that the people on nearby farms had nearly missed it.
"Why did they put Athelstan away?" was the Gyda's next question.
"We were simply to many. Mother and father had trouble to keep us all fed, and as Athelstan was the youngest, he was given away"
"How old were you?"
"Athelstan was five, I do not think he remember much of our family, I was seven. We did not have any contact after that. Then our family died and I married Ianto, and I had Nia, and Sion. Then they all died as well. And I left my home to find my brother" Tegan was not sure how much of her life story Gyda was willing to hear, she was not even certain how much she was willing to tell, so Tegan kept it vague.
"So you are alone, the two of you?"
"No. Our God is with us, so we are never alone, he is always keeping watch, and taking care of us" Tegan smiled up at Gyda, though the conviction in her words were wavering.
"What does your god look like?" Gyda put her bucket down and sat down next to Tegan.
"I do believe that Athelstan would be better at answering these questions, as he is the one that was taught these things, but I will give it a try" Tegan said, pausing to think about an answer that would please Gyda. "No one can really know what God looks like, I believe it is more about what God feels like. Where we feel him, how we feel his presence, but how his face is shaped, and how he wears his hair, no one really knows. He is bright though. Bright and warm, and I think I overheard a priest once, that said looking at God would be like looking into the sun and that it could not be done"
Gyda did not seem satisfied with her answer, not that the young girl looked angry, just more curious than she did before asking her question.
"He did, however, send his only son to Earth, to protect humans from themselves, and he looked like a man." Gyda seemed to think about her answers for a second, then she smiled.
"Odin, Thor and Loki are like men!" she exclaimed.
"Those are some of your gods?" Tegan was curious about the northern gods, and she was eager to learn more. She was hoping that maybe hearing more about other gods would help her back to her belief in her own.
"Yes, though there are many more" Gyda's excitement made Tegan smile.
"And I am looking forward to learning more about all of them" Their conversation was broken off when Bjorn joined them, his eyes wide open and eager.
"I did not see you wake up, I was waiting for you to get out of bed!" he exclaimed, smiling sheepishly. "Was it you that convinced the Priest to let us go to Kattegat today?"
"I did not. Athelstan decided that you and your sister should be able to great your parents when they come back, and I agreed with him" Tegan answered, smiling softly. Bjorn only nodded, then he muttered something about breakfast before he bounded back inside. Tegan and Gyda followed after him slowly, Tegan nodding towards her brother as he got out of bed to start breakfast.
It was a quick meal, and Bjorn finished first. He was sitting impatiently in his seat as Tegan and Athelstan finished up and put away the dishes. Gyda was quietly drinking from her cup of water, waiting for the siblings to finish.
"Come on! We have to leave now if we are going to make it in time!" Bjorn groaned as Tegan put away the last plate.
"We are about to leave, be patient Bjorn" she said as she rose from her knees. Athelstan wrung water from a cloth and put it on the counter, then they were ready to leave.
The walk to Kattegat felt shorter then the time Tegan had walked to the farm, and she was grateful that she now had shoes. They all walked in silence, Bjorn running a little on front of everyone else, and occasionally urging them to hurry up.
When they finally reached Kattegat it was already a little after midday, and it seemed that Ragnar and Lagertha had already returned. While Tegan was relieved that they were home, and in Kattegat already, she could not help but feel like something was wrong. There was something about the feeling in town that made her shoulders tense up.
"Bjorn, come over here" Tegan called anxiously as they entered the town. She was certain that no one would hurt Bjorn, as they very well knew who his father was, and that he was a free man, but she could not help but be careful anyway. The young boy came over to her with an annoyed huff, but he did try to run away again.
"What is wrong, Tegan?" Athelstan asked. He was walking a step behind her, Gyda's hand in his to make sure that the young girl did not wander of.
"Something is wrong. I am not sure what, but I think we need to find Lagertha and Ragnar as soon as possible."
The four of them did not have to look for long, they were down by the docks when Gyda saw her mother. The young girl tore her hand out of Athelstan's grip and took of, yelling for her mother. Lagertha turned towards them with a stressed out expression on her face, but as soon as she locked har gaze on them, she visibly relaxed.
Bjorn took of towards his mother, but unlike his sister, he did not throw himself at her for a hug. Tegan and Athelstan followed the two children quickly, and reached the others while Lagertha was still looking over her children.
"Welcome back" Tegan said politely, and Lagertha sent her a small smile.
"Mother, where is father?" Bjorn asked, craning his neck and looking around the docks.
"He has been arrested. The Earl believes he murdered Knut" Neither Tegan nor Athelstan knew who Knut was, but both's eyes went wide with surprise at the accusation.
"What is going to happen now, mother?" Gyda asked, clutching at Lagertha's shirt. Tegan lifted her hand and drew it through her hair, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.
"We will all go to the trial, and pray to the Gods that your father will be sat free"
The town hall was filled to the brim when the five of them finally got there. Lagertha, Bjorn and Gyda entered first, making way to the front of the crowd, and Athelstan and Tegan followed timidly behind them, clutching each others hand tightly. They stopped close to the podium, and Tegan made sure to keep her attention away from all the people around her. She was keeping her focus firmly on her brother, who did the same.
The siblings stumbled slightly to the side as someone broke through the crowd to stand in front of the podium, and Tegan glanced up to see who it was.
Her entire being froze as her eyes landed on Rollo's strong frame. Athelstan gave her a confused look and turned around to follow her gaze. He abruptly turned around again and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're fine sister, he will no reach you here, and Lagertha would never allow it. You know that" he whispered to her. Tegan nodded, still taking one step closer to her brother, hiding her face in his shoulder. It did not seem like Rollo noticed her.
The Earl and his wife was the next to enter the room. The two of them walked together up to the podium, gracefully sitting down in their seats as they glanced over the crowd.
"Bring in the prisoner" the Earl said. The front doors were opened wide, and Ragnar was pushed into the building and though the crowd by guards. His hands were in chains, but he did not look afraid nor weary. The people around him started yelling at him, insults and other angry words flying through the room. Tegan could see that Bjorn whispered something to his mother, but she could not hear what he had said above the noise in the big room.
"It's all right boy" Ragnar sent his son a small smile before he turned to face the Earl.
"We are all aware of the sacred nature of our nature here today. You stad accused of the wilful murder of Knut, my brother. Knut, as some of you know, was the bastard son of my father, but I loved him like a brother" The Earl talked both to Ragnar and to the crowd as he spoke, but there was something about him that made Tegan want to leave. She had been dealing with power hungry men her entire adult life, and while she was not that old, she had seen her fair share of false trials, where innocent men had been hung for crimes they did not commit so that the man accusing him might get his property. It was awful business, and Tegan did not want to be a part of it.
"I asked Knut to go with Ragnar Lothbrok to England, where they raided a town and bought back many spoils" the Earl continued his trying to convince the crowd of his obvious lie. Tegan had not known Ragnar for long, but she prided herself on being a good judge of character, and Ragnar did not seem to be the type of man to murder one of his own in cold blood. "While they were raiding this town, Ragnar Lothbrok took it upon himself to cold-bloodedly kill my brother."
The crowd grew louder, and the insults seemed to grow harsher. Tegan and Athelstan could not understand the words they used, but judging by Lagertha's and her children's posture it was bad. The Earl let them all simmer for a bit before he gestured for them to calm down.
"It's easy to imagine why a man like this would do such a thing. This is an ambiguous man, he doesn't care to share his spoils, and he resents the fact that he owes me loyalty and obedience, as his chieftain" Tegan could feel her own anger and frustration grow with the man's words. She knew very well of what Ragnar had done to her brother and herself, but she also knew that they could have ended up in a much worse situation, like poor brother Bevin, or even worse, with Rollo.
"This is a man who does not believe in our traditions. This is a man who does not believe in our laws!" The crowd went wild again, shouting louder and pushing forward, like they were ready to punish Ragnar themselves.
"Silence! Silence! What do you have to say, when you stand stand before us, and know that you must tell the truth?" Ragnar took a step towards the podium as the crowd silenced.
"It is true that I killed Knut, sadly, your brother. But I killed him when I found him trying to rape my wife" a shock went through the room, and Tegan's eyes snapped to Lagertha. The older woman did not let any feelings show, so whether she had not been affected by the assault or if she tried to hide it was not certain. Tegan felt shocked, she knew all about being forced into sexual encounters, and while she had never tried to get away from it, she had never enjoyed sex, ever.
"I ask all of you freemen, what would you do if you were in my place? Would you have just stood back and encouraged the culprit? I don't think you would!" Tegan could not help but think about her own husband, who had done just that, stood back, watched and encouraged it, and she quickly shook it of, refusing to let him have that sort of grip on her, even after his death. "And even if I had known at the time that he was your brother, I would have carried out the same sentence"
"Do you seriously ask us to believe your story?" The Earl's servant scoffed, the sounds of protest in the room rose, and whether they were protesting against Ragnar or the Earl, Tegan had no idea. She did not know what they thought about the rape of free women in this country. In England it was frowned upon, but it was usually the woman who took the blame.
"I can confirm the story!" Lagertha took a step forward, placing herself just inside the circle of people, closer to her husband than to her children. Tegan was tempted to take step forward and stand with her, but she knew that the consequences could be bad, at least for her. So she stood her ground by her brother, and put one calming hand on Bjorn's shoulder. Gyda took a careful step backwards, and her hand found Athelstan's, squeezing it worriedly.
"You are the wife of Ragnar Lothbrok?" the Earl asked. Lagertha nodded in response.
"I am, lord"
"How extraordinary that you both happened to be there at the same time. Your husband is lying, and you are so under his thumb that he has convinced you to lie as well" the Earl's voice sounded so convinced that Tegan nearly believed that he thought that to be the truth, but there was something in his eyes that told her that this powerful man knew exactly what he was doing.
"May Thor strike you dead" came Lagertha's deadpan answer. Tegan, Athelstan and the children both froze to the spot. Tegan's hand strengthen her hold on Bjorn's shoulder as she saw the young boy move to stand with his parents. Athelstan's hand tightened his hold on hers, and they stood staring in shock on the scene playing out in front of them.
"What did you say?" the Earl hissed out. Everyone in the room was completely silent, holding their breath while they waited for some sort of reaction from the main people in the room.
"My husband did not kill Knut Tjodolf" Lagertha said, her voice was calm and collected, but at the same time, Tegan could not help but feel a shiver run down her spine at the ice in her voice.
"The who did?" the Earl's servant scoffed, his expression was puzzled, and for a moment, it seemed like the Earl had lost the hold of the situation. At Lagertha's next revelation, the room started shouting again.
"I did! I killed him!" she shouted. "I stabbed him in the heart when he tried his best to rape me!" Lagertha's face was furious, and neither Tegan nor Athelstan could help but shrink under the tension that was filling the room. At the same time as she felt the anxiety built up in herself, Tegan could not help but admire Lagertha. Her strength, her fire, her willingness to stand up against the people that was sitting above her without fear of the consequences. If Tegan had done something similar back in England when her husband was still alive, she would have been laughed at at best, and hanged for adultery at the worst.
The Earl's manservant spoke up again, addressing the room with a mocking grin on his face. "A murder has been committed, and the only witnesses are husband and wife."
"Unfortunately we cannot tell who committed the crime, because they both claim credit for it" The Earl's face was hard to read, and Tegan was not certain whether he was amused or angry, and she was not looking forward to find out.
"Tegan" Athelstan's warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered quietly to her.
"Yes, brother?" she answered, not taking her eyes of the situation in front of them.
"What do we do if they are both claimed guilty?" Athelstan's worries were real, and Tegan could not help but fear for their lives if it came to both Lagertha and Ragnar's death. Tegan took a pause to think.
"If it comes to that, we get the children out of here, and back to the farm. We have no idea what happened here, and we protect the two of them, like we promised. If they come for us, we can only hope, dear brother. May God be with us" Tegan muttered, squeezing his hand. Her words were strained, and she could feel her heart speed up as her eyes followed the movement of the people by the podium.
"You didn't kill my brother, look at you, how could you?" Tegan could see Lagertha tense up at the Earl's words, and somehow she felt relieved that Lagertha would not get the blame. While Tegan fully believed Lagertha's story, and she knew that the older woman was fully capable to actually kills someone, she was glad that the Earl thought otherwise. "He killed my brother! Ragnar Lothbrok killed my brother!" the Earl pointed an accusing finger at Ragnar, and Tegan's free hand got a tighter grip on Bjorn's shoulder as the young boy was about to step forward again.
"We have proof, we have a witness to the killing" the manservant's words seemed to shock both Lagertha and Ragnar, and Tegan could feel her entire being tense up again, even Athelstan's posture seemed a bit stiffer. What happened next seemed to be an even bigger shock to the entire Lothbrok family, and Tegan nearly took a step backwards as the man stepped out in front of the crowd. Rollo did not look at his brother, but kept his gaze firmly on the Earl.
"You say you are a witness to the death of Knut Tjodolf?" the manservant droned on. Tegan had never in her entire life encountered a man with a more condescending voice.
"Yes" Rollo's answer was short, and he seemed uncertain and uncomfortable with the attention. Tegan saw some of the men that had sailed with Ragnar and Rollo the day they had caught her and her brother, and she saw them give disbelieving and angry looks towards Rollo.
"Will you swear this upon your armring?" the manservant continued. Tegan had understood long ago that there were traditions in this land that she did not understand, the arm rings being one of them. She understood that they were important, as she saw that every free person in the room had one, but she did not know why.
"Yes, I was there. I saw everything" Rollo's voice was clear, and any doubt seemed gone from his face. He glanced over at Ragnar and Lagertha, then he looked back to the Earl.
"So, who killed my brother?"
"Ragnar Lothbrok killed him" Rollo's confession caused murmurs to spread through the room, and Tegan nearly lost her grip on Bjorn's shoulder when he tried to shake her off.
"In cold blood?" the Earl seemed satisfied, and nearly happy about how the trial turned out, until Rollo answered him again.
"No Lord, for a good reason" the entire Lothbrok family seemed to breath out in relief. Gyda clutched tighter onto Athelstan's robe, Bjorn stepped back so that his back was nearly resting against Tegan, Ragnar and Lagertha's postures became a little more relaxed, and even Athelstan and Tegan felt a little less anxious. "What Ragnar Lothbrok has sworn, is true. Your half brother was caught raping a Saxon woman then he attempted to rape Ragnar's lawful wife, Lagertha, the shield maiden. So unfortunately, you cannot punish him" Ragnar was smirking, nearly mockingly, up at the Earl as his brother spoke. Tegan could not tell for certain, but she guessed that Rollo had been paid to support the Earl, and betray Ragnar. It seemed that Ragnar had drawn the same conclusion.
The room once again broke into murmurs and whispering as the Earl sat back in his chair. Ragnar sent him a winning smile and held up his wrist, ready to be sat free of the chains. "Now who has the key?"
That night Ragnar, Lagertha and all their friends had a feast. Tegan and Athelstan was also there, as they had no other place to be, but they were all sitting a way away from the others. The main group of the party was sitting around that fireplace in the middle of the room, some of them drinking, some of them singing, and some of them talking. Tegan was watching them with a small smile from her place across the room. She had not let go of her brother's hand since Ragnar was declared not guilty of murder.
"Tegan, what do you think will happen now?" Athelstan kept his gaze forwards, though it did seem like he was looking without seeing. When they returned from the Earl's house, and the men had started drinking, Bjorn had begged his father for a tale. And Gyda had persuaded him to talk of their recent raid in England. Ragnar had lapsed into a great tale about their raid, killings, and the treasure their second trip to England had brought them. The two older siblings both felt sick, though Tegan was certain she stomached it better than Athelstan did. She knew about the cruelty of men, she knew what was to be expected, and had come to terms with this already before Ragnar and Lagertha was due to come back.
Athelstan however, had lived a protected life in the monastery, and even though he had lived through the horrors of an attack by these northmen, he did seem unwell as Ragnar went into detail of what they had done to the village and the church they found there.
"You mean what will happen to us? Or to the northmen?" Tegan switched over to Saxon, wanting to keep their conversation private despite being in a room full of rowdy and slightly drunk men.
"To us, and to England." Athelstan switched language as well, and for the first time since the trial, he both looked at and saw her.
"I believe, as long as we live with Lagertha and Ragnar, we will remain safe. Or at least as safe as we can be in this country. And when it comes to England... I believe that they will keep going there. They have found too much riches not to, and while they may be barbaric, they are not stupid" Tegan's smile was sad, and Athelstan's frown deepened at her words. "You have to understand, dear brother, that there is nothing the two of us can do to stop them. I wish, just as you do, that there was something we could do to prevent them from harming people, but there is little we can do from here. And you have to understand, that this is absolutely not your fault. As I have already said to you, they would have figured out everything you told Ragnar regardless of us being here. The only thing we can do, is stay alive and pray."
Her brother did not answer, and Tegan was sure that they would have to have this conversation again sometime.
Her attention was drawn away from her brother, who had started to play with her fingers, when she saw Bjorn stumble into his mother, clearly drunk. She shook her head slightly, as seeing children as young as Bjorn drunk was one thing she was not used to. She saw some of the older men tease him, but she could not hear what they were saying. The men surrounding Lagertha and Gyda, who was cuddled up against her mother's side, grabbed a hold of Bjorn and helped him sit down by Lagertha's feet, letting him lean on her knees.
Tegan let out a small chuckle and let her eyes drift across the room. She halted in her movement when her gaze landed on Ragnar and Rollo, who were standing a little away from the others, speaking quietly. They seemed to come to an agreement, and Rollo clasped his brother's shoulder as the two of them chuckled.
Tegan felt a chill run down her spine, she could not understand how such a tolerable and nice man as Ragnar could be related to someone like Rollo. She knew that the two were very unlike each other, but the differences she saw in the two brother's were astounding.
Another man, whom Tegan did not know the name of, walked over to the brothers and slung his arm over Ragnar's shoulders.
"Let's drink to Ragnar Lothbrok. To his future, and his freedom!" the man exclaimed, raising his cup as he grinned at the man he obviously saw as a leader.
"No, no, no, no. To friends, and freedom!" Ragnar interrupted and raised his massive cup in a toast to the rest of the room. Ragnar's friends cheered loudly, and raised their cups in response, echoing his toast.
One of the men sitting closer to Lagertha got up as Ragnar moved closer to where Tegan and Athelstan was sitting. The siblings had occupied a bench, just the two of them, making sure to create a small distance between themselves and the northmen.
"You will never be free of us!" the drunk man exclaimed, draping himself over Ragnar, although it did seem more like he fell over the taller man. Both Ragnar and his friend fell down next to Athelstan, who moved himself slightly closer to Tegan.
Tegan held her breath as she pulled herself away from the drunk men. She could smell the ale on them, and it was not a scent she wanted to be reminded of. The other men around the room laughed loudly at the drunk man's antics, and Ragnar teasingly kicked him of the bench, where he was now sitting beside Athelstan.
"Tegan! Will you come here and sit with me?" Lagertha's request startled Tegan and her gaze snapped towards the older woman. Lagertha sent her a comforting smile and beckoned for her to come over and join them.
"Will you be okay?" Athelstan asked her, sending Ragnar a careful look as he used their shared Saxon language.
"Will you?" was Tegan's reply. Athelstan smiled carefully at her, and nodded assuringly. He squeezed her hand as she stood up, and did not let go until she had to pull herself out of his grip. It was not until they lost contact with each other that Athelstan turned his attention towards Ragnar, who had watched the siblings interactions with mild amusement.
"You truly care for your sister do you not?" Ragnar asked, though it seemed unnecessary, as the answer was clear as day.
"I do" Athelstan kept his answer short as he switched back to the northmen's language.
"Will you drink with me?" came Ragnar's next question, though it did seem more like a command as he pressed a drinking horn into Athelstan's hand.
Tegan felt herself tense up as her brother let go of her hand while she moved to cross the room. Her eyes was fastened to Lagertha, who kept smiling encouragingly at her. She was stopped halfway across the room however, by a man she had hoped she would never have to speak to again.
"Hey, I think I might be in the mood for our second round." Rollo was way to close for Tegan's liking. His ale scented breath hit her in the face, and the way his muscled frame towered above her sent chills down her spine, and not the good kind.
"I believe that now is a bad time. My mistress is calling for me" Tegan whispered out, cursing her self silently for showing her weakness. Rollo glanced over his shoulder towards Lagertha, who was curiously glancing over to them with something that looked like a protective glance, but her main focus was on her daughter, who was whispering something into her ear.
"She seems a little occupied at the moment, if you ask me. I do believe that she would not notice if we sneak away for a bit." Rollo's voice was low and husky, and one of his strong arms wrapped around Tegan's middle, pulling her body flush against his, while his other hand went to cup her cheek. How neither Lagertha, Ragnar nor Athelstan noticed what was going on, Tegan had no idea, but she knew that for the moment, she was on her own, even in a room full of people.
"I don't think that would be a good idea" Tegan muttered, trying to take a step backwards. Rollo had anticipated the movement however, and his hold on Tegan's waist tightened, pulling her even closer to him. His knee sneaked it's way between her legs, pressing slightly upwards, just so Tegan could feel it through the fabric of her dress.
"Hey guys! Look Rollo is getting it!" Someone yelled from across the room, and suddenly all attention was on the pair. Rollo did not seem affected whatsoever, but Tegan could feel her face flush in embarrassment.
"Rollo! What do you think you're doing!?" Lagertha's voice was ice cold, and Tegan nearly flinched, even though the anger in her voice was not directed at her.
"I'm just having some fun, Lagertha. You do owe me, after all" Rollo did not turn to the angry woman, his eyes trailing down and locking onto Tegan's cleavage, where the cliff between her breast peaked form the top of her dress.
"You can have anything but her, Rollo. She is my property, and you will no touch her" Lagertha had stood up now, and she slowly made her way over to them. Tegan tore her gaze of the floor and glanced up at Rollo, who simply rolled his eyes and let her go. He pushed her away from him, causing Tegan to stumble backwards and fall over.
The room was dead quiet. Even the drunkest of the northmen eyed the conversation wearily as Lagertha's shoulder's tensed. The tension in the room rose, and several men got to their feet.
Lagertha's face was set in stone, and even Rollo seemed to shy away from her.
"If you as much as glance at her again, Rollo, then what you did today will be forgotten. If I ever hear that you have touched her again, I will not hesitate to punish you for it. Understood?" Lagertha's voice was filled with ice, and several men in the room looked anxious.
"Understood" Rollo muttered. He threw one last glance down at Tegan, then he stalked away from them, settling down in a corner away from the others.
"Are you harmed, Tegan?" Lagertha asked as she helped Tegan back to her feet. The two women were standing close, and all eyes in the room were on them. Tegan nodded numbly, another shiver running down her spine, seemingly sending her out of her state of shock.
"No, I am fine. Just a little startled" she muttered back, she held her gaze fastened firmly at the ground.
"Hey, something is wrong. I am not blind Tegan." Lagertha's hand grabbed a gentle hold on Tegan's chin and made her lift her gaze. "Now tell me, what is worrying you?"
Tegan did not speak for a minute, and she averted her eyes, looking at the wall behind Lagertha as she took a deep breath.
"Will you... Will you and Ragnar ever... let someone-" Tegan let the sentence die out, not wanting to believe that Lagertha would ever be like her husband, but she could not help but wonder.
"If Ragnar and I will let others use you?" Lagertha's voice was icy cold again, and Tegan's attention snapped back to her face. There was a mix of cold anger, shock and horror that covered Lagertha's expression. Before Tegan could reacted, she was pulled into a tight embrace, Lagertha's arms wrapping completely around her.
"We will never let anyone use you like that again, Tegan. You are ours now, you are mine, and no one will ever get to touch you like that, ever again. Okay?" Tegan nodded into her shoulder, unable to form propper words to voice her gratitude. Lagertha slung her arm around Tegan's shoulders and led her to the middle of the room, where the two women joined the others around the fire. Tegan was a little vary about the men surrounding her, but she was squeezed between Lagertha and Gyda, and Bjorn had shifted so that he was resting his head against her knee. And as she sat silently and listened to the men around her joking with Lagertha and her children, she felt her shoulders grow less tense. Her shoulders shot back up as Lagertha moved however, the older woman giving her a soft smile as she left the fire and walked over to Rollo, but Bjorn took her place before anyone else could, at a surprising speed considering how drunk he was.
Tegan did not let her gaze linger on Lagertha as the older woman talked to Rollo, but let her eyes wander across the room and rest on her brother, who was drinking ale with Ragnar. Tegan had been offered ale as well, but she had declined, as the smell of it was making her nauseous.
Lagertha wandered from Rollo over to Ragnar and Athelstan, something Tegan only noticed when the older woman sat down next to her husband. The man that Tegan now recognised as Floki turned to them, though Tegan could not make out what he was saying over the noise in the room, but the others seemed to find it funny. The rest of the evening seemed to pass in a blur of drunken men and joking, and Tegan found herself relaxing slightly, even laughing at some of the jokes that were being told.
The feast were interrupted however, when armed and angry looking men stormed into the house. Everyone around Tegan rose to her feet, and she hurriedly grabbed a hold of both Gyda and Bjorn.
"Ragnar Lothbrok?" one of them snapped.
"I am unarmed" Ragnar said calmly, holding his hands up. The tension in the room grew as the clinging of weapons filled the air.
"Get the children, and the siblings" Ragnar muttered to his wife, the only sound other than heavy breathing that could be heard through out the room. Lagertha went to move over to Tegan, Bjorn and Gyda, and that was when everything broke loose.
One of the angry men were the first to attack, and he went after Lagertha with a roar. Lagertha simply jumped out of his way and let one of the men Tegan had just listened to take care of the attacker.
Lagertha was by Tegan's side in seconds, and she grabbed a firm hold of her children, pulling them to their feet and pushing them towards Rollo, who had rosen from his seat as soon as the attack started.
"Hurry!" Lagertha shouted, though whether it was to her or the children, Tegan could not tell. She did not have time to ask, as Lagertha now pushed her after her children, past Rollo and to the back of the room, where her brother was covering in a corner.
"We can... we can help!" Bjorn shouted, turning to help his parents and their friends with the attackers, but he was slurring his words and stumbling. And while Tegan knew that Bjorn was surprisingly skilled with a blade, she also knew that the amount of ale in his system were far to much to let him stay in control of his movements.
"Not at the moment, Bjorn. The best thing we can do is to stay out of the way" Tegan shouted back over the commotion. The young boy did not protest, and just stumbled into Athelstan, who jumped at the sudden contact. Tegan pulled Gyda close and huddled the young girl and her brother between her own brother and herself, hoping that their bodies would shield the children, keeping them out of harms way.
Turned out that Tegan had little to be worried about, as Ragnar, Lagertha, and their friends came out of it with minimale injures. Only a man that Tegan did not know the name of had been killed by Lord Haraldsson's attackers, and while Athelstan, Tegan and the children had stayed inside with the man's body while Ragnar and Lagertha had went outside with the others to pile the dead soldiers into a wagon to be sent back to the Lord.
In the early morning, long after the wagon had been placed in front of Lord Haraldsson's house, the mans wife and adult son made their way through the doors, sitting down next to the body of the older man.
Tegan had not known him, but he had seemed nice enough the night before, and she was certain that both Athelstan and herself would pray for him, although she was not certain which gods she would pray to, if she would keep to her God, or if she would turn to one of the northern gods. She secretly wished to learn more about them, but it hardly seemed like a questioned to be asked in a setting such as this, and she pushed it away for now.
"He was a good man" Ragnar said softly, speaking to the sobbing wife and the grieving son.
"The best" was the only answer he got, and Ragnar nodded sadly, leaving the now broken family to mourn on their own.
"We ought to go back to our own farm" Lagertha said lowly to her husband, looking over the now solemn gang of friends that surrounded them. Her eyes drew over to where their kids were sitting, safely between Tegan and Athelstan. The four of them had moved after the attack, and was not sitting on a bench along one of the walls inside the house, but as both Gyda and Bjorn had fallen asleep, the older siblings had refrained from moving to much, in fear of waking them up.
"I agree. I believe that the four of them were scared, the siblings more so than Gyda and Bjorn" Lagertha whispered.
"I think so too. They will have to toughen up soon though, or else I doubt they will survive without us" Ragnar muttered, then he walked away.
Life on the farm went basically back to normal after that, though everything was a little more tense than it used to bee. Tegan could not accurately put her finger on it, but she could tell that Ragnar was the source of the newfound tension. Lagertha seemed more weary around him, and even Gyda and Bjorn were more withdrawn.
Everything a new turn a few days later, Gyda and Athelstan was feeding the goats, Tegan and Lagertha was making dinner in silence, and Bjorn was out watching his father chop wood.
The women were interrupted by the sound of something hitting the front wall from the outside, and they both looked up. Not even a moment later, Ragnar had slammed the door opened and stormed into the house. He was frantically digging through the different chests in the house, pulling out something that seemed like one would bring for sleeping outside.
"Ragnar, what is the matter?" Lagertha tried to ask, but she got no answer from her husband, who only sneaked around them to grab some bread before he again stormed out of the house. None of them made a move to follow him outside, and after a moment of surprised silence, they both turned back to the dinner.
"Tegan, get the others" Lagertha ordered as they placed the finale plate on the table. Tegan did not answer, she only nodded and walked out to find the others. Gyda was sitting with the goats, and Bjorn had taken over chopping the wood his father had left, but Athelstan was not doing what Lagertha had asked him to. He was leaning against the fence surrounding the farm, and looked up at Ragnar, who had sat down on the hillside near the house. Tegan hurried to usher Gyda and Bjorn into the house before she walked over to her brother.
"Athelstan, dinner is ready" she spoke Saxon to her brother, it was something she had promised herself she would do when they were alone, so that neither of them would grow rusty.
"Hmm?" was the only reply she got. Tegan sighed and put a hand on her brother's shoulder, startling him.
"We have to join Lagertha and the children inside for dinner" she explained calmly, softly turning Athelstan around.
"What about Ragnar, he needs food as well" Athelstan protested, turning back to the northman on the hill.
"Ragnar is a grown man, and he needs more food than what he took from the kitchen earlier, then he can come down and get it. But you need food as well, so do not worry about Ragnar right now" Tegan smiled, trailing her hand down Athelstan's arm and took his hand in hers. Her brother let her lead him towards the house, though he did send a reluctant look over his shoulder.
The dinner went on in silence for a long time, although some of the tension had left the house after Ragnar packed his things and went to the hillside. It was Athelstan who first broke the silence, Tegan could see it coming, he kept glancing up at Lagertha with worry and confusion in his eyes.
"What is Ragnar doing sitting on the hillside?"
Everyone stopped their eating and looked up at him, and Tegan could see how uncomfortable it made him to have so much attention directed towards him. Lagertha's stare was difficult to explain, and for a moment, Tegan fared that she would be angry.
"I cannot tell. Ragnar is a very unpredictable man, and I do not know what he is planning most of the time. But I do know that he is deep in thought, and might need some time alone to think" was the answer Lagertha gave. Athelstan did not seem entirely satisfied however, but he let it go, seeing that it was the only answer he would get.
The rest of the dinner passed in silence, and as soon as they finished, Gyda and Bjorn left the house to continue their chores. Athelstan stayed behind for a bit, but he soon followed the children outside, leaving Tegan and Lagertha to take care of the dishes.
"We never did ask, how did it go while we were away? Nothing bad happened?" Lagertha asked as she worked to clean out some plates with water.
"Everything went just fine. We had no complications, and I believe that we managed quite well. Bjorn and Athelstan did argue... or Bjorn argued at Athelstan when my brother refused to do as he said, but I also believe that they have sorted it out, at least a little" Tegan smiled, wringing a cloth so that she could clean of the table.
"Well that is good. We might need you to do this again sometime, but I am not sure when we will go on our next raid, as everything is a little to tense at the moment" Lagertha said, and Tegan only nodded thoughtfully in response. The silence between the two women were again broken by Athelstan walking into the house. Both of them look up and gave him curious glances, and he looked between them.
"I know what Ragnar is doing," Lagertha looked from Athelstan to Tegan and back, a surprised and worried look covering her face. "he's preparing himself."
"Preparering himself for what exactly?" Lagertha sighed, though whether it was because of Ragnar or Athelstan, no one really knew.
"I... I don't know, but he seems focused on something. Like he's waiting for something to happen" Athelstan continued, he held Lagertha's gaze for a minute, then he blushed, turning his eyes away from her and to his sister.
"Well, the Earl seemed quite angry that he had to let Ragnar go, maybe your husband is right in his cautiousness. From what I understand, you can be very violent sometimes" Tegan said, glancing away from her brother to look at Lagertha's reaction to see if she had stepped over a line or not.
Turns out she hadn't.
"You might be right. We never know what the Earl might be thinking, and now that we defeated the soldiers he sent, he might even be angrier" Lagertha was thinking loudly, looking between the two siblings, who only nodded in return.
"What do you think will happen?" Athelstan asked, taking small steps to stand by his sister.
"I really do not know what to expect, seeing how things are now, anything is possible"
Ragnar entered the house early the next morning, sitting down by the table as the others ate breakfast.
"Did you talk with the Gods, father?" Bjorn asked, looking up from his cup of water.
"They did" Was Ragnar's answer. Tegan could see by his tense shoulders that whatever answer Ragnar had gotten was not pleasing, although with the experience she had from her own God, she was not certain what the man had expected.
"Did they tell you anything?" Gyda asked, glancing eagerly at her father.
"They did" Ragnar repeated. The rest of the meal went quiet, the others quickly noticing that Ragnar would not speak of what had happened on the hillside.
After breakfast, Ragnar insisted that Athelstan would join him on a fishing trip, leaving Gyda and Bjorn to take care of the animals, and Lagertha and Tegan to clean up after their meal. The first few moments went in silence, the tense atmosphere from the meal still lingering. Tegan felt nervous and wary, her hands shaking as she used a cloth to clear the plates.
She nearly jumped as she felt a pair of hands slide around her waist, and hands taking a hold of hers. "You need to calm down. Everything will be fine. Ragnar knows what he is doing, and if something were to happen, I would be there to look after you, to make sure you are safe" Lagertha's voice was calm in her ear. Low and assuring, and her warm hold on Tegan helped calm the younger woman somewhat.
"I am sorry. I have not felt this nervous since Ragnar took us from England" Tegan sighed, putting down the cloth and the plate. Lagertha's hold on her tightened and they both took a step away from the counter. Lagertha slowly turned Tegan around in her harms, making them stand face to face in the kitchen.
"What happened when you were taken from England was the best outcome of the situation. If Ragnar had not taken you in, you would have been raped and killed," Tegan did not comment on how she had been raped anyway, knowing that Lagertha meant it could have been worse. "I cannot say that we do not usually do things like that, but that would be a lie. Raids like those are what we live of, that is our income, and while it does bring terror on others, it is our way of life. But there is one thing you can be sure of, and that is that I will not let you go through that again"
Tegan felt her cheeks redden at Lagertha's voice. It was deep, and warm, and assuring, and filled with something Tegan would have called admiration, had the situation been different. She knew about men and women who preferred to lie with those of their own sex, but she also knew very well what God and the Church though of those people.
Still, she could not help herself from letting her forehead fall and rest on Lagertha's shoulder and her own arms to wrap themselves around her, breathing in the older woman's scent heavily. They stood there for a while, completely silent in each others arms.
Then their embrace was broken by Gyda calling for her mother's help outside.
"I will go and see what she needs, you finish up here. And when you're done, please continue with the weaving" Tegan carefully moved out of Lagertha's arms and turned back to the counter so she could finish the dishes. She carefully listened to Lagertha leaving the room, quickly glancing over her shoulder as the woman walked through the doors.
Tegan worked quickly with the dishes, and it did not take long before they were all put away and the kitchen was clean. She then moved onto the weave, struggling for a moment to get started, but once she had managed to get the thread right, she worked quickly with that as well.
She did not know how long she sat there, but after a while she was joined by Athelstan and Ragnar, who both had a basket of freshly caught fish that would needed to be gutted and salted for storage. Tegan had stood up to offer help to her brother, but Ragnar waved her away. She spared a glance over at her brother, who only smiled and nodded for her to continue weaving.
The two siblings worked in silence, occasionally looking over at Ragnar who was lying down on a bench, throwing a ball in the air to entertain himself. Tegan also kept glancing over at Athelstan, seeing that her brother was obviously wanting to ask something, but to cautious to come out with it. She caught his eye and smiled, nodding carefully over at Ragnar. The two of them had been with each other a lot ever since they came from England, and if their friendship had developed as Tegan and Lagertha's had, then one question would not harm.
"May I ask you something?" Athelstan finally said, putting down the knife and a half gutted fish. Ragnar did not answer, just took a firm hold of the ball and moved his head so that he was looking right at Athelstan. "Are we still your slaves?"
Tegan's fingers immediately paused the repetitive movement of the weaving, and she moved all her attention towards the two men.
"Does it matter?" Was Ragnar's nonchalant response. He glanced at his fingers, biting down on one broken fingernail. Tegan felt herself grow irritated by his response, but knew that she should expect to die as a slave. She still somehow felt freer that she had in a long time though, which was something she did not know what to feel about.
"It matters because that I noticed that on your world, this world, slaves are treated worse than animals" Athelstan's voice was thinner than when he asked his first question, and Tegan could tell that Ragnar's response had made him nervous.
"Do I treat any of you like animals?" the northman asked, sparing a quick glance over at Tegan. The young woman quietly shook her head, not moving her eyes from her brother.
"I do not believe that was my brother's point, Ragnar" Tegan spoke carefully, standing up from her place at the weave and moved towards her brother.
"No, it wasn't. You could legally beat both of us to death and there would be no penalty" Athelstan's voice appeared calm, but Tegan knew him well enough to know that he was on the brink of panic. She placed a calming hand on his shoulder, and used her other hand to gently grab onto his. "Everyone else in your world is subject to the law, why not you?"
Ragnar only scoffed and smiled tiredly at the question, and Tegan could not help but think that Athelstan had gone to far. "That is just the way it is"
"I have also been wondering. A man can rape his female slave, but not a free woman? Why is that any different?" Tegan did not know she had spoken until the words had been said, and she felt her eyes go wide as the question rung across the room. Athelstan could feel her stiffening, and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"It is true that we distinguish between those captured in battle, and our own free men and women" was the answer she got, and again, Tegan's body acted before she knew what had happened.
"I would not call the attack on Lindisfarne a battle. You came and either slaughtered or captured all of us, no one was fighting back" she scoffed. There was no reply.
"You keep saying 'your world' , why is that?" Ragnar said after a brief silence, letting his eyes rest on Athelstan. "You live here now too, both of you, this is your world. And I have never seen you try to escape"
When both siblings hesitated to answer, Ragnar gave a winning smirk and went back to biting at his nails.
"We are less and less interested in escaping now. Even if we could. Your people are brutal and raw, where I grew up, women are not taught to defend themselves, we are weak, and Athelstan grew up in a monastery, they do not teach violence. Without you and Lagertha to claim ownership over us, we will be killed quickly" was Tegan's response, after another brief silence. Ragnar did not answer, he just moved his attention to a nearby candle, and started playing with the flame.
Athelstan shrugged Tegan's hands off of him and walked closer to Ragnar, looking down at the man. "But I would still like to be a free man"
"If it matters so much to you, both of you" was the response Athelstan got, and he looked over his shoulder to smile at Tegan, who gave him a gentle smile in return.
"It does" Athelstan said as he turned back, his voice now firm and sure, as he felt more secure in what he was trying to achieve.
Athelstan looked like he was waiting for a response, but when no came, he walked closer to the bench and sat down next to the small fire that was still burning. Tegan followed after him, and stood behind her brother with her hands resting on his shoulders.
"What are you preparering for?" Athelstan asked as he examined Ragnar's face. Tegan squeezed his shoulders in warning, hoping that she could signal to him to not push it too far.
"What do you mean?" Ragnar's response was tense, and Tegan could not help but wanting to step in.
"I've watched you, you're about to do something. You've made yourself very strong" Tegan was unable to hide her smile at her brother's words, knowing fully well that her brother had kept a close eyes on Ragnar ever since he walked up to the hillside.
"Perhaps not strong enough" the tension in the room seemed to both grow and shrink at the same time, and Tegan felt if possible even more uncomfortable than she had only seconds ago. She could not hide the flinch that followed her brother's next words, for as teasing as they were meant to be, the mocking could not be hidden from Athelstan's voice.
"What do you know about our Gods, Priest. Or you, girl?" Ragnar sat up on the bench and looked over the siblings with a judgemental eye, and Tegan could not helt but squeeze her brother's shoulders just a little more than what was deemed comfortable.
Ragnar got no response from either, as Tegan was to shocked to really take in what had just happened, and Athelstan was trying to stutter out a proper answer. Neither of them had any time to think up an answer before Ragnar abruptly stood up, a angry look taking place on his face.
"Finish the fish, and the weaving. In silence" Athelstan stood up in surprise, and Tegan took a shocked step backwards, feeling her old instincts to move back kick in. None of the siblings said anything after that, both of them quickly and quietly making their way back to their work as Ragnar laid back down on the bench an unseen look of regret and confusion taking its place on his face.
The northman had seen the shocked and almost scared look on the young monks face, and the fact that the girl looked terrified. Ragnar knew that the girl was closer to his wife, so she would be fine. But the scared look that had shown on the Priest's face, and the fact that it was there because of him, because Ragnar had scared him, was not something he liked, and he hoped that he could avoid it in the future.
It turned out that whatever Ragnar had been preparering for would be happening later that day. It was still fairly calm on the farm, just as it was any other day. Lagertha, Gyda and Athelstan was inside, Ragnar was out in the forrest hunting, and Tegan was outside with Bjorn, working to untangle some fishing-nets when it happened. Tegan and Bjorn had a decent and nice conversation going between the two of them, but their talk about good fish were interrupted by a thud and a scream.
The two of them were on their feet in seconds, the fishing net disregarded at their feet as they took in the scene in front of them.
One of the older men that worked on the farm had been shot, an arrow sticking out of the now dying man's chest.
"No" Tegan muttered. She did not know the man well, but he had been kind to her while Ragnar and Lagertha was away, helping her in caring for the farm. Completely forgetting that there would probably be more arrows coming, Tegan ran over to the man, falling to her knees in the sand next to him. She fumbled with his hair for a moment and reached down to his throat, checking for a pulse. There was none.
She sighed heavily and stood back up. Bjorn was not at her side, and the two of them, along with others on the farm turned in the direction the arrow had come from.
A little further down on the beach were the Earl and his men, shields up and weapons ready.
"Bjorn, run" Tegan whispered, pushing the young boy behind her and towards the house, hoping to get him out of harms way before the men attacked. She was to slow however, and the men riding horseback were hurrying forward before they managed to get out of the way, the men attacking on foot following quickly after.
"Run Bjorn!" Tegan screamed, now turning towards the house herself and sprinting after the young boy, completely missing the attackers that were now cutting down everyone they rode past.
The two of them were nearly at the house when it happened. Tegan had hoped and prayed to any god willing to listen that they would make it back unharmed, and it seemed like her prayers were answered. In her relief she became careless, and one of the attackers managed to reach her. She would not be able to tell where he had come from, and she could not bring herself to care about it in the spur of the moment. The only thing she managed to focus on, was getting Bjorn safely out, and making it back to the house.
The brutal man showed her to the ground and fell on his knees on top of her, his raised knife shining in the sunlight.
"What do we have here? Ragnar's Saxon Slut?" the man let out a loud laugh as he let one hand trail down the side of Tegan's face. She struggled in his hold, trying to buck her hips so he would fall of, but her efforts only seemed to amuse him.
"Imagine all the fun I could have with you" he chuckled, bringing his knife down to caress the valley of her breasts, letting the knife trail down to her left arm, where he put pressure on it, letting the knife slide one inch into her skin. Tegan let out a pain-filled cry as the man dragged the knife down, cutting a bloody and vertical cut in her upper left arm. Blood poured out of the wound in a steady stream and was soaked up by her dark brown dress.
The weight of the man was abruptly moved and Tegan looked up to find Bjorn standing over her, a worried look on his face. When he saw that she was mostly fine, he reached his hand down to her, and Tegan grabbed on, letting him help her to her feet to continue their run towards the house.