Through life comes death. Through war comes heartache and destruction. The gods work in mysterious ways and it is up to you to follow the path they have laid for you, but you don't always have to do it alone.
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The feast was amazing, the people were welcoming considering I had just arrived. Even Edward and Thomas were settling in well. There was cheering and music, ale and food, laughter and happiness. My face was sore from smiling and laughing so much. Hearing stories of their gods and their triumphs, this was so much better than home.
Home.
Benji.
In a brief moment I had forgotten my brother, I was overtaken by guilt and retracted from any conversation as I thought about my brother and about Wessex. "Hey, are you okay?" Sigurd asked with concern. "Oh...sorry, yes I'm okay," I lied. After many drinks I was a giggling mess again. Enjoying the night ahead of me, Margrethe asked me to dance as songs were sung. "So Arini, where are you going to stay?" Ubbe asked as we all sat down at a table enjoying yet another drink. "I'm not sure Ubbe, I have not really thought about that in all honesty," I replied. "You could always stay with us," Margrethe raised her eyebrow in a suggestive way. I was unsure why she was looking at me the way she was but I didn't have anywhere to stay so I took up the offer.
We made our way back to Margrethe and Ubbe's home, stumbling through the door. The brothers had missed each other so much Sigurd and Ivar decided to stay the night as well, we shared more drunken stories when we were inside. "Arini, what's it like in England?" Margrethe asked, she had never travelled so it was only natural to wonder. "It is extremely boring. The woman cook and clean after their husbands never learning about the world that lies beyond our own gates. The men bicker about pointless things and end up in wars because of it, oh and we pray to god almost every second of the day," I say in an unamused tone. "We are never allowed to do anything, unless the lord says we can. We can't even drink unless we are told we can," I blurt out as I lean my head back on the bed staring towards the ceiling. Out of nowhere Margrethe climbs over my lap on top of me and I tense up not knowing what to do. She stares at me with a look I've never seen before, my eyes are wide wondering what she is going to do next. My heart was pounding with such intensity, I didn't know what Margrethe was doing. She placed one of her soft hands on my face, cupping my cheek. I could see all three brothers staring intently, watching what was about to unfold. Slowly but surely she began closing the gap between us, there was a mere inch of space between us and I could feel her warm breath dancing across my skin. I don't know what came over me but I leaned in closing the gap completely as our lips connected. I had only ever kissed one person before and that was Gale, he was a stable boy and we were only twelve. We were friends and wanted to know what it was all about, he ended up marrying Anne when we turned sixteen and never spoke to me after that.
Margrethe was gentle and continued to caress my cheek as we kissed. I'm not attracted to girls if I'm being completely honest however I was in a foreign land, surrounded by people who didn't shame you for liking different things, there was no time like the present to try new things. I did feel a little bit uncomfortable considering Margrethe was Ubbe's soon to be wife and we were kissing in front of him but he seemed to not mind. She pulled away and stared at me. There was an emotion pooling in her eyes that, again, I did not know what it was, that was until she whispered in my ear only loud enough for me to hear, "where did you learn to kiss like that, you're much better than any of the Ragnarssons" she smiled as she pulled away. Sighing I rested my head back on the bed, closing my eyes as I basked in the warmth of the fire. Margrethe sat back down with Ubbe and began talking about getting married, I still found it weird that they would be married soon but Ubbe was content with sharing her with his brothers. I passed no judgement but was unsure if I could personally feel comfortable in that situation. Another hour passed when Sigurd spoke to the group, "we should head to bed now, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Lagertha wants to get started on building better protection around Kattegat." We all sighed even though Sigurd was right, I just wanted to stay in this moment for a while longer. It made me forget all of the bad that had happened and it took some of the guilt away of leaving Wessex, leaving Benji and leaving home. We all got ready for bed, the hot fire and furs surrounded me with a warmth I could not get at home. Darkness fell over me as I closed my eyes, dreaming of my life ahead.
**
It almost feels like that night was a blur, it had been a week since that night of laughs and late night talking with the three brothers and Margrethe. We had been constructing new defences as instructed by Lagertha. I have not seen Thomas for a few days and feared something bad may have happened but there was no time to worry, we were all too busy. After I was finished here I would be heading off to the brothers training area, it was situated in the forest not far from Floki's home. The boys had shown me where Floki's home was even though Floki was with Bjorn and Hvitserk. "Arini, you can finish up here now. You have been working long enough today, thank you for your help," Torvi smiled as I finished up my final job. I quickly headed to Margrethe and Ubbe's, they had been letting me stay ever since I came to Kattegat. I grabbed my sword that Benji had made for me when I turned seventeen, it was strong but light and had intricate designs engraved into the blade itself. I headed towards the sound of swords clashing together, seeing Ubbe and Sigurd practicing as Ivar watched. "Oh Arini, nice of you to finally indulge us with your presence," Sigurd laughed. Rolling my eyes I stood next to Ivar as he sat on a tree stump, "Looks like he's getting his ass kicked," I snickered as Sigurd fell on his back. Ivar and I both laughed at the downfall of poor Sigurd, "what's so funny you two? I bet I could beat you Arini," Sigurd was annoyed. Shrugging my shoulders I stepped out onto the field where Sigurd was, exchanging places with Ubbe. Before I knew it Sigurd began swinging his sword like a madman, this guy was terrible at fighting. I deflected his hits with ease and ended up with the upper hand. With one quick swing of my blade Sigurd was on the ground yet again as we all laughed.
"Ubbe...Ivar...Sigurd...your brothers have returned," Margrethe came running towards us. I was finally going to me the other Ragnarssons.
