The Valkyrie's Daughter | Vikings

Chapter Sixteen

Rona did attend Bjorn's briefing. But she wasn't all there. All she could think about was what had happened with Ragnar in her last vision. How could he see her? Did he have similar abilities? Did Rona want to interact with him so much that she somehow managed to reach him? Was it the Gods (whose existence Ragnar had now denied) helping Rona reach her friend when he needed her the most? Also, why did Ragnar not explain his plans to her? Understandably he may not have wanted to tell his sons about his plans but Rona and Ragnar talked about everything. Why did Ragnar plan to go to England to die in the first place? Rona wracked her brain trying to find any possible answer but to no avail.

Throughout the briefing, Bjorn kept sneaking glances at Rona. He knew that something was disturbing her. He knew that she must have had another vision of some kind. But something was different this time. Rona seemed more disturbed than she had ever been with these visions and dreams. Something different had happened and Bjorn had to find out what that was. He could not have his friend going into battle (despite the fact that he knew Hvitserk would protect her with his life) in this mental state.

It did not take long for Hvitserk to notice Rona's unusual state. She was just staring towards the horizon, taking practically no notice of what Bjorn was saying. Hvitserk was worried about his friend. But should he talk to her? Rona never liked being questioned about anything.  Did Hvitserk really want to start another fight with her? The answer to that was a resounding no. Hvitserk could only hope that Bjorn would somehow manage to persuade Rona to talk about what was going on with her since he seemed to be the only person she wanted to talk to at the moment. This did make Hvitserk a little bit jealous. Granted, Bjorn and Rona have a strong bond, mainly due to Bjorn's friendship with Rona's father. But Hvitserk was the one who had the most in common with Rona and he was the one that she spent most of her time with (at least until recently). Even though Hvitserk knew very well that Rona and Bjorn's relationship was purely platonic, it still make him envious of the amount of time they spent together and of how open they seemed to be with each other. Hvitserk wished that Rona would be as open and honest with him as she was with Bjorn. However, Hvitserk pushed his jealous thoughts to the back of his mind. He had to focus on making sure Rona was okay, not on his selfish desires.

After the briefing it was dinner time. Rona sat between Bjorn and Hvitserk. Hvitserk attempted to make conversation with her but she would just give one word answers and did not seem interested in exchanging pleasantries. Bjorn on the other hand decided to let Rona be as he was busy talking with Harald and Halfdan. He would talk to Rona before they left camp in the morning.

Dinner went by quickly and many of the fleet had decided to stay up late and continue drinking and have somewhat of a celebration. Rona decided it would probably be best for her to get some rest.

Rona was stood up, about to leave her place at the table when Bjorn took hold of her wrist and stood up. He leaned in towards her and spoke to her in a whisper to prevent anyone form hearing what he has to say.

"I realise you probably want to rest but I need you to talk to me before we go into battle. I sense that you have had another vision and I will not have you entering battle, especially your first battle with a clouded mind." Bjorn explained. Rona looked to the ground and simply nodded, unable to make eye contact with Bjorn without tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She would have to tell Bjorn about his father sooner or later. But right now, she had to get her mind straight and figure out how she was going to tell Bjorn what she knew before they went into battle.

"I will talk to you. I promise," Rona replied in a hushed voice. "But I need to figure out what this vision means. It's confusing me. But I will talk to you about it in the morning." Rona explained. Bjorn nodded and gave Rona a kiss on the forehead. Rona patted Bjorn on the shoulder before turning around and walking away from the festivities and she went to her tent to try and get some sleep.