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168Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Perseus POV

The entire time that Ragnar was gone, I was nervous. I knew I could step up for anything that my village needed, but I knew that once Ragnar had left with most of the men, we would be targeted. But it's been three weeks, and nothing has happened.

I took over Ragnar's role as chief in his absence. I helped anyone needing help with fishing, labor, smithing and farming. Even though I couldn't see, I knew where everything in the village was. The ones still here in Kattegat were thankful for my help whenever I could. I still had to chief duties to attend to like making sure there was enough food for winter and serving in the guard rotation. But I was glad that I could be of help.

Lagertha made an appearance yesterday with many of her followers. She was surprised to only be greeted by me, not Aslaug. She would be in Kattegat for a week before returning back to Hedeby. While some of our slaves took them to guest rooms, I pulled aside our guards. "Keep an eye on her. I do not trust her to not be here for without reason. We might be allies, but be wary of her activities here." I advised them. They nodded at me seriously and left to return to their posts.

I made my way to the chief's home and found Lagertha relaxing in the chair meant for Aslaug. "That is not your seat, Earl Ingstad. As much as you wish to take it back, I will not allow you to take my home from me." I called out as I made my way into the room.

"And how do you know where I am sitting? If I'm not mistaken, you are blind in both eyes." Lagertha asked getting up from the chair and moving towards me.

"You are correct, but I know exactly where everything is in Kattegat. I could hear the sound of you sitting in a seat. I could hear your necklace touch your collarbone and knew the distance from me to you was. By default, you were sitting in Aslaug's chair, and you are now standing in front of me as I can feel your shadow." I explained as she stopped right in front of me.

I heard the door creak open and turned halfway around, not wanting to turn my back on her. "I have brought someone I know you wish to see as often as you can. Thora come here." Lagertha told me as she called out from behind me.

But something wasn't right, the Thora I knew would never walk over to me. She would run up to me and hug me tightly, telling me how thrilled she was to see me. Thora was nervous, I could tell. She hugged me and ducked her head to my chest and sighed deeply into my chest. "What is the problem Thora?" I asked her as I kept her in my embrace.

"My family has contracted a fever and are dying. If I lose them all, I will have to become a slave. And you aren't allowed to marry sl-" I cut off her ramblings with a soft kiss on her lips. She relaxed against my lips.

When I broke the kiss, I rested my forehead against hers. "I will do all I can to help you Thora. I care a lot about you, I really do. In a couple of days I turn fifteen, and on that day, I will fill out your marriage contract. We will get married after Ragnar comes back, as the chief must be present for a wedding per traditions. Everything will be alright Thora." I promised her softly.

"I know." Thora responded, catching me slightly off guard. Then it all clicked. Her nervous movements, her shaky voice, and Lagertha still standing behind me silently.

As I heard a grunt behind me as one of the guards I had posted nearby get incapacitated so I pushed Thora behind me as I leveled a hidden blade against Lagertha's throat stilling her movement.

Everyone in the room froze as they saw Lagertha's predicament. They waited for her call. I had a blade right against her throat and my other one out in anticipation of someone making a move behind me on Thora. "Lower your weapons!" I yelled out.

They all lowered their weapons as did Lagertha but didn't move from their spots.

I looked at Lagertha and sheathed my blade. "I am sparing you this one time. If there is a next time, I will not show you the same curtesy. You have overstayed your welcome in Kattegat, and it would be best if you left. We will still be allies after today, but not anymore if you try again." I warned her.

When she walked towards the exit she turned around. "Thora we are leaving now." But I held onto her, around her shoulders. "Thora is staying here in Kattegat. You do best to remember that Lagertha. She will no longer stay in Hedeby, as she is my wife-to-be." I barked out to Lagertha who quickly left after I made myself clear.

Thora looked at me confused and worried. "I must go back home Perseus."

I shook my head no. "Lagertha would have taken out her anger on you when I was not around to protect you. She is angry that she could not take over, and she would take it out on you. I've met women like that Thora, they are ambitious and prideful. And when they get denied anything, they become vengeful." I warned Thora, pulling her into a tighter hug.

It was a month before Ragnar and his fleet came back from Paris. They came home with mixed results. Rollo, Ragnar's brother had joined the French royals and betrayed all of us. And Bjorn was gravely injured after taking a couple of crossbow bolts to his chest. The ending battle had come into a draw, neither side the victor.

But they came back with thousands of gold coins in many chests. After all of the wealth was distributed, no one had to work as a slave if they wanted to. Some still stayed as slaves for the chief's family as it was so big, but they could afford shelter. No one was poor and homeless.

Ragnar and Bjorn also came home with new allies. Harold and his brother Halfdan. They were both earls of their respective clans. They both chuckled when they saw that I was blind in both eyes. But I merely smiled back at them, resting an arm on their shoulders before unsheathing a blade near their necks making them freeze. But I sheathed my blades and stepped away.

I heard Bjorn warning them of my skills. That I took him out bare-handed while Bjorn was wielding a sword and shield. That I might be blind, but I could handle myself against anyone. Others from neighboring tribes had come from all over to face me in the ring and lost to my weapon skills. I had no match in sword, spear, bow and knife fighting. I was teaching anyone boy or girl willing to be taught by a blind warrior.

Even though my skill was not matched, some people didn't trust me to train their children in combat. That was alright by me, they acknowledged that I am the best, but they have the right to say who trains their kids.

Lagertha had come to Kattegat to see Ragnar's return and collect her share of the wealth brought in. We greeted each other normally so no one could tell that a confrontation had happened between us. But we steered clear of each other as to not provoke one another.

Thora and I were getting married in a month. We revealed the news the day after everyone got back. Most of everyone was surprised to see that I wasn't marrying a girl from Kattegat, but didn't complain. Bjorn and his wife were teaching the both of us what to do in the ceremony as they were both newlyweds. We were also incorporating something from my world. The marriage wouldn't be consummated publicly. It would be in our own home that I had already built for us.

I had been visited in my dreams by mother and father a couple times. They were ecstatic that I was getting married to a girl that I loved. Even if it was at such a young age, they were supportive. They especially liked that Thora loved me despite my disability. They had informed me that Artemis was still furiously searching through Greece and Rome to find me, but couldn't.

Today was the day I was getting married! But I was in an awkward situation. Viking parents didn't have "The Talk" with their children. That information was passed on, in its embarrassing entirety, during these ritual bathing. For the men, that meant an informal contest to see who could make the groom blush the reddest.

"Always remember, women never say what they really mean." One of Ragnar's men advised to me. "If she says, 'Stop,' that means keep going. If she says, 'Slow down,' that means go faster. If she says it hurts, that means she likes it, so do it some more."

"And if she wants to stay up and talk afterwards, that's the kiss of death for a good Viking marriage." A guard added. "You have to show her who's the man of the house, by doing things your way. That usually means you'll want to roll over and fall asleep."

"If she gouges up your back with her fingernails, that's natural for her," said another man. "Just ignore it the best you can."

"You guys make this sound like I'm getting into bed with a bear." I stated in embarrassment.

"A bear! Yeah, that's about right!" Ragnar shouted with delight. "Claws, teeth, bad temper...she'll have it all!" That set off a round of raucous laughter from everyone in the chamber except myself. They then proceeded to describe, in agonizing detail, exactly what I was expected to do.

3rd POV

At last, his adoptive father, Ragnar stepped into the open doorway, flanked by Floki and Bjorn. "It's time," Ragnar said.

The men led him to a little-used clearing near the forest. The Norse gods played only a ceremonial role in the lives of Vikings, but when it came to important matters like launching a ship, choosing a new chief, or performing a marriage, no one was willing to shut them out completely. The village priest had very little to do in the way of religious labor, which is why he spent most of his days helping the fishermen mend their nets instead.

Today, however, was a wedding, and a very important one. There had to be an animal sacrifice, and prayers, and invocations and ceremonies of various kinds. Perseus never had much use for any of those rituals. He was raised by primordial beings, so this was kind of new to him.

Ragnar, as the village chief, now took charge of the ceremony. "Present the swords," he commanded. Lagertha, representing Hedeby, stepped forward, holding out a long sheathed sword in both hands. Bjorn did the same for the people of Kattegat. Each of them drew his/her sword in turn at Ragnar's nod.

The sword of Hedeby drew some ooh's and ahh's when Lagertha drew it. It was a fine weapon – double-edged and sharpened like a razor. Ocean-wave patterns were engraved on the full length of the blade. The hilt was shaped like a long ship, with engraved anchor ropes running down the handle to the anchor that decorated the pommel. It would have been the centerpiece of any wedding... except this one.

When Bjorn drew the sword Perseus had crafted, it drew gasps from everyone present. They knew that sword! "The Storm-blade!" several of them exclaimed. This was one of the most famous swords in Viking history! They all looked to him for an answer.

"It's a replica," Perseus said, shrugging. That took nothing away from his achievement as it was a near-perfect replica, from the shape of the blade down to the smallest decoration on the pommel.

Everyone there knew the work of a master swordsmith when they saw it, but no one had a clue that Perseus was the one to craft it because he was blind. The only ones to know that it was Perseus' work was Ragnar, Bjorn, Floki and Helga.

Bjorn passed the sword to Perseus, while Lagertha gave her sword to his bride. Bride and groom held their swords straight up and down with one hand, and reached out with their other hand. They balanced their rings on the tips of their swords, prepared to pass them to each other.

The exchange of swords went perfectly, as though they'd practiced it before. Each reached up, claimed the ring on the end of the sword they now held, and slipped it onto their left ring fingers.

Many Viking wedding ceremonies would now include a race between the groom's guests and the bride's guests to the Mead Hall, where the losers in the race would serve the winners. Kattegat was too crowded a town for a race like that, so the entire group marched solemnly up to the Mead Hall for the after events.

A/N: I have to give out a warning for the next chapter. It will be 100% sex. So if you don't want to read that, then wait for the next update to come out. This story won't be as sex-heavy as 'True Alphas' was. I plan on only having two or three chapters with lemon action inside.

Also, I've been working on two more stories to start after this one and 'No Matter the Cost' is done. I'll even give you a sneak peek as to what the story fandoms are of. The first is a crossover between Percy Jackson & Arrow. The second is a Hunger Games story, just over the first book.

Updated: 07/21/2018