It had been written that the daughter of Ragnar Lothbrok was taken to Valhalla as a young girl.
But what if the gods didn't take her? What if the gods spared her?
Gyda Ironside, the only daughter of Ragnar and Lagertha rejoins her family as a train...
Everyone follows their orders. Mother and father take the lead with the king, Bjorn stands among the other young warriors and I take my place on the side along Eira, our bows at the ready. Aiming towards the herd of horses and the soldiers that make their way towards our camp.
Everyone on both sides is still. Yet ready to fight. I watch as one of the Saxon men climbs off his horse, taking out his sword and holding up in surrender. He then places it to his feet, signifying peace.
Slowly the man walks towards our shield wall, the warriors let him through towards father and the others. The man make a sort of smirk as he sees father. He walks towards him like he was greeting an old friend.
"Ragnar Lothbrok." The two men have met in the middle now, "My father, King Ecbert sends his greetings. He hopes you will be prepared to talk to him."
He speaks in English of course, a language Athelstan taught Bjorn and myself when we were younger.
My father acknowledges the princes words as he looks back to all of us behind him, "I am prepared. But we would have to exchange hostages."
The prince nod. "Of coarse and my father also sends you this—." The prince reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of our golden arm rings, "As a token of his good will."
Father gratefully takes the princes offering, sending the prince a smirk as he turns to the rest of us holding the arm ring up.
"This was Athelstan's. I gave it to him."
At my fathers words, I loosen my grip on my bow, lowering it down. Athelstan.
"Then he is alive." joy evident in mothers words.
Father walks back to the prince.
"Athelstan is waiting to see you at my fathers villa. You have my guarantee of safe passage as well as my fathers."
"We will all come to your father's villa." father speaks.
I watch on as the prince pats my father on the shoulder in a sign of friendship as he walks back to his horse and his men. In no time at all we are standing down and continuing our work back at camp and they are on their way back to their castle.
As I place my bow across my chest again and start towards my tent, screams are then heard followed by horses cries.
In an instant my sword is pulled from my holster. The screams have gotten louder and they are coming from the direction in which the prince just rode off too. Only one man could be foolish enough to do anything like this. Looking around there is no sign of Horik or his son, as well as most of his men.
As I piece together the horrors that have occurred, I ready myself to run towards the scene, but an arm pulls me back.
I turn in anger to see my father holding me back whilst looking out to the bushes, where a dishonourable act was being done.
"Father?" He doesn't meet my eyes but only utters a few low words.
"There's nothing we can do to stop them Gyda. That snake Horik has already accomplished what he must have been planning for a while now."
"He has just sent a message of war. Hundreds of men are going to die because of him. Why don't you let me go stop them!"
"Because you are my child. Mine! And I won't let you get yourself killed."
I rip my arm from his grasp in defeat, throwing my sword to the ground in anger.
"Mark my words Gyda. There is something coming to that man and I pray the gods do it in the most cruelest way possible."
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As night falls over and everyone has meat in their bellies, ale in their hands and a fire keeping them warm, father finally calls out Horik.
"King Horik, your behavior has made it very difficult to talk peace or to negotiate with king Ecbert." father stand by the fire pit.
"I never had any intention of negotiating with king Ecbert. I thought you were aware of that. I only want revenge. I want to kill King Ecbert, and then Perhaps I will talk to him." Horik speaks as he sits on a log beside the warmth of the pit, all his men and surprisingly Floki, laugh with him.
"If we defeat Ecbert in battle. He may be prepared to offer us more. In terms of not only in gold but of land." Mother tries to portray the voice of both sides, trying to solve the conflict.
Father Interrupts her, holding the arm ring out to her face, "This was in an act of good faith."
"What is good faith?" The kings questions. I see father visibly tense at the kings obvious taunt. "Why should there be good faith between us and Christians?" He throws his hands around in frustration. He glares at father who happily glares back.
Horik then decides to take another step further in provoking father with his best friend,"What do you say Floki?"
The jokester shrugs his nonchalantly, "They worship a false god. They're fleas and vermin."
"I will go myself and talk to him." Father puts forth.
"You will not divide our forces Ragnar! You seem to forget, I am King! We will strike first tomorrow. Armed and ready we will go and seek battle as our father Odin has taught us." The kings gets up and walks away with his men and son.
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"I can't sleep. I'm thinking about what it is like to die."
Bjorn joins me and father around the fire near our huts. Father replies amusingly,"Only those who have died would know."
Looking up from the fire, Bjorns words go on.
"The seer would know."
"He is not truly dead," both father and Bjorn look to me,"That is his curse. Such power comes with such a price."
Father then nudges me with a smile, "He told me something about you—About both of you." We both turn to him in anticipation and wonder.
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"Bjorn would marry a daughter of a king or sail around a sea that has no tides." It was fitting. Bjorn is a restless spirit, like father. He craves adventure, the unknown.
"And what of me?" I inquire.
"Gyda would be the uniter of people. He told me that many will seek your beauty but you will give your heart to a great man."
"So according to the seer, both of you should not worry. For you are not destined to die tomorrow. But do not take his word for it, things change with every choice we make. Who knows what the gods have in store for us."
