Askeladd - Thorfinn x reader -

59.

Chapter 59
A hug 

The sight before Y/n's eyes when they'd finally reached the barn where Ketil was made her skin pale. 

When she first met Ketil she was convinced the man couldn't hurt a fly, but now, seeing as he brutally beat a defenceless woman with a stick it made her want to throw up. She couldn't help but think to herself when her stomach had grown so weak? Growing up she was surrounded by meaningless violence, seeing innocent woman taken advantage of wasn't rare. So why is it now she had to tear her eyes away from the brutal act?

Though she wasn't fond of the man Snake she was more than thankful for him being there when he stepped up to stop Ketil. Hand wrapped around the end of the stick, Snake eyed the clearly outraged man in front of him. 

"To be fair, a stick beating is probably right for the severity of her crime.. But any more and it'll turn into an execution." 

Snakes words only made Y/n question just what the hell Thorfinn, the man named Einar, and this woman had gotten themselves into?? Her face morphed into one of concern for the stranger who laid lifeless on the floor, watching as Pater rushed to her side. 

"Arnheid is your slave, master. You have the right to kill her. If you want to put her to death.. I will let go." Snakes grip on the wood loosened, the statement making Y/n cringe. Ketil huffed like a predator, and Y/n could only think about how he was a completely changed man from when he visited Canute. 

Relief filled her entire being when Ketil let go of the stick, and she could tell the same feeling went through Snake as he drew out a long exhale before dropping the weapon. 

"Tend to her Pater," was all Ketil said before he turned to leave the barn and go god-knows where, not even sparing Leif or Y/n a glance. That was until Leif called his name--

"If you don't want the slave girl, will you sell her to me?" Leif proposed, going along with what Pater had asked of him. "I've heard that you have two other slaves in addition to Thorfinn. They are friends of his, I understand? I would like to pay you for them." 

Pater eyed Ketil curiously, anxious for Ketil's reply. 

As Y/n stared at the destroyed man she didn't know if she were supposed to feel bad for him or not. 

He was driven to a state she didn't even believe he had in him by Canute, this wasn't supposed to happen to him; he was unlucky.

Much like the people living in the villages Y/n ransacked with vikings years ago. 

If it weren't for Canute's plan this woman wouldn't have had faced such a brutal punishment, or at least that's what Y/n wanted to believe. She needed someone to blame for this. 

"I am finished with Thorfinn and Einar, take them wherever you will. But I will not sell Arnheid, she is mine." 

Glancing at the woman on the ground a frown settled on Y/n's face, wasn't she supposed to be happy? Ketil finally said the words Snake needed to hear to grant them permission to reunite with Thorfinn. 

What was this burning feeling in her chest? 

Why did she feel responsible for this?

Is that why she felt like throwing up when she first made it hear to the barn? Was it because she felt as if she were the one inflicting the blows on the young woman?

"You heard the man, I'll take you too him." Snake said, cutting through the tension in the air with his voice. Turning on his heels he began walking the familiar path they'd just came from moments not too long ago, Leif and his step son quickly following behind. Ready to leave the brutal scene, but Pater stayed behind-- it looked like he was thinking to himself how he was going to pick up the unconscious woman.