DIVINE [HVITSERK RAGNARSSON]

11: THE RETURN

CHAPTER ELEVEN - 'THE RETURN'

The trees were still and silent as Asta's footsteps crunched on the ground beneath them. Only the tallest and eldest trees creaked, slowly, as a slight breeze carried itself through the highest leaves of them.

Hvitserk was not dead. Thank the gods. She'd seen him in Kattegat with his brothers. They'd been planning their revenge for days - people were saying it would be the greatest army ever seen.
And Asta would be a part of it.

Knowing that The Great Army were to travel soon, Asta wanted to train for every moment that she could. She was also hoping to see Hvitserk at the training area. Besides, she could hardly stay at home - her father would still not accept the fact that she was training to become a shield-maiden. His protective side was showing with constant questions of her whereabouts and her well-being. That morning, she'd tied her hair back with some fabric she'd found lying in the cabin and told herself that she would train harder than ever.
Asta wandered through the trees, noticing her familiar markers that led to the training area. However, she no longer needed the waypoints as the way to the area was ingrained in her mind.

She paused next to a tree, thinking that she could hear something. Aside from a few birds tweeting high above, there was a noise only footsteps away. A giggle. She was close to the training area, but it wasn't a man's laugh, not belonging to a Ragnarsson. A high pitched giggle. She pushed some twigs and vines away from her face as she moved through the forest, towards the sound.

Her arms fell to her side as she walked upon a leaning tree, the back of a blonde slave girl's pressed against its side and her dressed hitched up to her waist. Her giggles were mixed with moans of pleasure, for Hvitserk's head was between her legs.
Asta stifled a breath, unsure of whether to be shocked or just disgusted at what she'd walked upon. She took a slightly stumbled step back, her foot cracking a twig in half as she did so. The girl's blonde head turned and Hvitserk stood up, his face not knowing how to react at Asta's presence. A breeze tumbled through, pushing Asta's hair back as she looked to the side, away from Hvitserk and the girl.

"I-I didn't..." Asta trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry." She muttered quickly before she rushed away, her heavy footsteps trampling the forest bed beaneath her. Her walking was rushed and breathless until she reached a large clearing in the forest that was home to a huge fallen tree, it's decaying trunk laid down peacefully in the middle. Sitting herself down on the trunk, she took a quick gasp of breath and closed her eyes. She was unsure of what emotions she was feeling - hurt, shock? Heartbreak? No, it wasn't heartbreak. She had regarded Hvitserk as a friend, as someone to spend her time with while she trained. That was it.

"What are you doing here?" Hvitserk's voice sneered at her as he appeared in the clearing. He looked disheveled.
"What do you think I am doing here? I wanted to train." Asta spat back at him.
"No." His voice was stern, taking Asta aback. "I know what you did and I will never train you again."
"What I did?" Asta questioned him, confused.
"You fought with Lagertha when she took Kattegat. When she killed my mother!" He erupted suddenly and Asta understood. She understood the hurt, the pent up anger inside of him. He'd lost his mother and his father.
"Hvitserk, I—"
"No. Don't give me sympathy now, Asta. You will not see me again and you will never fight in a battle with me." He was so close to her face now as he sneered the words at her, his finger pointing angrily at her. He didn't give her a chance to respond before he stormed away, leaving her holding back tears in the clearing.