Fighting, Honour and Valhalla || Vikings x The Originals x TVD

Hexham

King Aelle sat on his throne having returned to his castle, his wife and daughter begged him to stay and continue the search for Blaeja, but he could ill afford to do such things with how chaotic his land had been. The burning at Lindisfarne only seemed to be the beginning, the Picts were pushing into his land and now he had to deal with an unknown invader. 'Are you testing me, Lord?!' He thought as he looked up at the cross that hung in the centre of his hall.

His land had known peace for nearly his entire rule, the only problems being occasional raids from the Picts up north, but his Ealdormen had been able to beat them back time after time. Now his daughter was missing and one of their religion's most holy places was burned down. He had sent orders to all of his Ealdormen to start sending patrols out across their land and to be vigilant, he didn't know who these villains were but he would find out and bring down divine punishment as an instrument of god.

King Aelle was snapped out of his thoughts when a messenger walked into his halls. The man's face was red and he breathed heavily as he almost ran before the King; he knelt before Aelle "I have urgent news for you sire!" The messenger said through deep breaths.

King Aelle sat up on his throne his interest piqued by the man before him. "Take a breath, good man, Give him some water!" Aelle commanded. A servant immediately poured a cup of water from a pitcher and gave it to the messenger who drank deeply from the cup. "Thank you sire, I rode here as fast as I could," he said as he drank from his cup again emptying it.

"Speak, tell me your news," King Aelle commanded. The messenger placed his cup down on the ground and looked up the the king composing himself.

"Lord Aldhelm sent me with urgent news, a group of men invaded his land from the sea, they butchered his patrol and have travelled inland," he said much to the King's displeasure. As the messenger talked Aelle's grip on the arms of his throne tightened until his arms were shaking.

"Who were these men? The Picts! Mercians! Tell me!!!" He boomed out making the man jump.

"We don't know sire! The survivors said they were tall, taller than any men they'd ever seen, that they must have giant blood in them," The messenger said in a panic. The stories he had been told to deliver frightened the man, so much so that he didn't even want to return to his lord. The survivor of the massacre cried the entire time he told Lord Aldhelm what happened, it shook the messenger deeply and he weighed the pros and cons of running away.

"Giants blood! Ridiculous! They are dead men!!!" King Aelle shouted out as he stood up from his throne.

"Oswald!" King Aelle shouted.

"Yes sire," the captain of his guard answered as he came and knelt before the king.

"I want you to take twenty men and travel to Lord Aldhems land and join forces with him, these men will not escape!" He shouted.

"At once sire," Oswald said with righteous determination. He had been one of the men deeply shocked and upset by what had happened at Lindisfarne, he remembered his father taking him there as a child where he was allowed to see the holy remains of Saint Cuthbert. Oswald left the room with the messenger to gather the men, he'd get his best men and slaughter those fiends.

Judith had watched the entire scene transpire and after it had finished she left the room —her father never realising she was even there. As upset as she was about what happened at Lindisfarne her thoughts had been drawn to other things of late; mostly her sister, but also Edward. The description of the man who had been seen with her sister could only be him. She knew no one else with white hair and she doubted her sister would've been taken by an old man. 'If she was even taken,' she thought to herself. She had spent much time with Edward and couldn't imagine him ever harming someone, he was gentle and loved learning. 'There must be something more to it.'