Honor and Blood - Part I.

Meeting the family

She chose a red dress and then changed into a green one; finally, she let Margrethe choose her. The blonde thrall chose a pretty pink dress that made her look innocent.

She also changed her hairstyle at least twice before Margrethe told her she wouldn't change it anymore. Servant or not, the girl was fed up with Vanya's nervousness.

It's kind of funny how Vanya is more nervous about meeting Floki and Helga than she was when she met Aslaug. But a man like a boat builder is more intimidating than the Queen of Kattegat.

Ivar kept telling her that the older Viking wouldn't do anything more than mock her at worst. But yet she was still nervous on her way to them. She imagined a tall man with many muscles with a glare made of hellfire.

That's not what she got. The lean man giggling by a tree was far from a spawn of Satan. Vanya had a feeling all the rumors of Viking must be false. They were human; some were even kind, far from demons from hell who didn't bleed when you struck them with a sword.

"Why did you drag yourself here, cripple?" The strange man called out in a mocking tone. Vanya froze in her place behind Ivar. She hated the way he spoke to him.

She opened her mouth to tell him off, but Ivar spoke up instead. "To see your insane old ass. I want you to meet Vanya." Well, that went better than she expected.

"Hello." The kind voice that spoke behind her startled her. The blonde woman looked so happy to see her, Vanya couldn't help but smile back.

"Don't bother, Helga. The Christian doesn't understand." Vanya frowned at his words, with Helga mirroring her. The kind female opened her mouth to scold her husband, only for Vanya to intervene.

"It is very nice to meet you, Helga. You too, Floki. Ivar told me a lot about you." Helga and Ivar looked at her with pride. Meanwhile, Floki narrowed his eyes at her as if he was looking into her soul. Funny considering he didn't believe they existed.

Afterward, he giggled before walking over to Ivar and patting him on the head like a dog. The Prince swatted his hand away and hit him in the knee, causing the other man to jump away laughing. "He talked about you too. I did not expect you to talk at all from what he told me."

Vanya looked down at Ivar and raised a curious eyebrow at him. She wondered what he told the man he saw as a father figure, especially if Floki saw her as a mute.

"Sit. Let's talk." Helga ushered them around a put out fire with logs around it. Vanya sat down next to Ivar, who heaved himself onto the wood effortlessly. She admired his grace and strength. And his muscles. Especially his muscles.

She liked Helga already; Floki was a whole different story. He didn't mock her as much as she expected, but he obviously hated her faith. At least they had something in common.

"Ivar says you won't be a Christian after tomorrow. How do you feel about that?" The accusation behind that sentence was so evident it hurt. Yet Vanya didn't dwell on it. Her husband to be mentioned that Floki always hated Christians. Especially the one who befriended Ivar's father, Ragnar. The story of how he killed the monk wasn't exactly a vote of confidence to her.

She blinked once before she looked up to the sky to escape his mean gaze. "Well, I don't know. I like the gods Ivar speaks of. They seem better than mine. But he is my family's God. Even if he isn't that helpful."

"Helpful?" Great, now Ivar's questioning her too. She had a suspicion that the two planned this whole conversation to find out where she stood with her faith.