Honor and Blood - Part I.

The Harbinger of Death

Screams were all around her, tearing at her eardrums. Their pain was so deafening, Vanya wanted to cover her ears. But she couldn't, all she could do was stand there and watch them all burn. Everything was swallowed by fire, as the smell of burning flesh filled her lungs. Tears gathered in her eyes from the lack of clear air, while she gasped for breath.

A man walked out of the flames, clad in a cloak that hid his face. The fires didn't touch him as the stranger mover towards her; she wanted to move back but couldn't. Her feet were rooted to the ground as the man advanced to her. The screams grew louder till it was all she could hear, and the smell of burned flesh was all she could smell. Tears streamed down Vanya's face as the stranger grew nearer.

"Find the Harbinger of death! Find the Harbinger of death! Find the Harbinger of death! Find the Harbinger of death!" The screams chanted till they faded into whispers that stopped when the stranger reached out to touch her. "Find me."

Vanya sat up from the bed with a gasp, a hand on her chest to ground herself. "Are you alright, Hjertet mitt (My heart)? What's wrong?" Ivar's hand stroked her head and back as Vanya caught her breath.

"A bad dream." She mumbled, looking down at her lap; she put both her hands on her stomach where her child kicked. "Just a bad dream."

Ivar drew his wife closer and kissed her forehead as he held her in his arms. Vanya stared out of the window to make sure the world wasn't on fire like in her dream. She has been having nightmares since the letter came. Sometimes, Silas arrived with a battle fleet slaughtering Kattegat; other times, Vanya miscarried before he hit the shores. And once she dreamt of a thrall slicing her throat in Silas's name while Ivar slept. But Vanya never dreamt of a dream like this.

"You look pale, sister," Hvitserk commented at the table, looking at the redhead. She was pale, with dark rings under her bloodshot eyes. Her hands trembled, and she needed help walking for fear of falling.

"Another bad dream, that's all. I will try to catch some sleep later. I promised to visit the farmers again; they wish to thank me for giving them a few thralls to help with the harvest. It would be impolite to refuse." Vanya explained, washing down a piece of bread down with water. She had trouble keeping anything down these days, but the healers advised her to eat for the baby.

Ivar held her shaking hand in his looking at her in concern. He didn't look any better than she did, his hair was a mess from running his hands through it all the time, his eyes bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles just like Vanya's. Every time she woke up, he woke up too and didn't fall asleep until she did.

"It would be unwise to do that. You are in no condition to go anywhere like this. You look like you are one step away from death." Sigurd spat glaring at Ivar, who didn't say anything. He tried to talk her out of it yesterday, which lead to an argument and Vanya crying herself to sleep. Yet she still wanted to visit the farmers, no matter what points he made.

"What are the dreams about, Love? Still the same?" Aslaug questioned in a soft tone, worried for her daughter in laws sanity and the life of the babe. Vanya shook her head and looked at the Queen with fearful eyes.

"This one was different. I saw Hell."

"Hel? You saw Helheim?" Ubbe asked his brows knitted together, but Vanya shook her head again.

"No... I saw Hell. Christian Hell. With the eternal fire and dying screams of sinners. I stood before the flames, and I couldn't move. The voices screamed at me to find someone. But he was right there, in a cloak, he had paint on his face like Floki. And he kept walking towards me, when he nearly touched me I woke up." The hall was silent as everyone looked at Vanya disturbed by her dreams. Usually, they comforted her, saying they were just dreams, and they wouldn't let them become real. But this had nothing to do with Silas.