The Northmen Series Box Set

by T S Florence

  “What?” Ragnar asked.

  “Nothing,” Hilda said, thinking of the cottage that her father left her mother and brother in, back in Newcastle. She knew she wouldn’t be able to find it now, for the way to its front door was lost to her memory from years of neglect.

  “You can trust me, Hilly,” Ragnar said.

  “Hilly?” Hilda laughed.

  “Yes, Hilly.” Ragnar said.

  “Ok, Raggie,” Hilda said, wrapping her arm around Ragnar’s, and resting her head against his arm as they walked towards the boat.

  Ragnar

  The rest of the crew were lounging on the boat as they returned and Brenna and Torsten were hanging their heads over the side of the boat, laughing and pointing at the fish eating algae from the edge of the boat. Ragnar looked up at the sky, and noticed dark grey clouds coming from the South.

  A large boat was coming in fast, due to the strong winds that were being pushed towards them from the storm. Ragnar looked at the bow of the incoming boat, which was headed directly for the side of his boat.

  “Get off the boat,” Ragnar ordered his men.

  “What?” One man said, looking at Ragnar.

  “Off,” Ragnar ordered again, pointing to the incoming boat.

  “Slow down,” A man called to the boat from the wharf.

  The boat did not slow down. Ragnar grabbed the hands of his men, hauling them one by one onto the safety of the wharf, just managing to take the last man from the boat before the incoming boat struck theirs.

  The sound of wood cracking filled the air, with splinters being flung in all directions. The yelling of men from the wharf did nothing to help the situation.

  “I’ll kill this bastard,” Ragnar growled, putting his hand on the handle of his axe.

  “You absolutely will not kill anyone,” Hilda said, putting her hand on Ragnar’s forearm.

  “He will pay,” Ragnar said.

  “It was an accident, he could do nothing against that storm,” Hilda said.

  “Any good captain could have avoided that,” Ragnar said, turning to Hilda.

  “Well this man is clearly not a good captain, but he shouldn’t die for that,” Hilda said.

  “I will owe Ivar the Clever a boat,” Ragnar said, lowering his voice.

  “I’m sure the riches you took from the men you killed will more than pay for the boat. Why don’t you just give him one of your many rings or arm bands,” Hilda rolled her eyes.

  Ragnar looked back at his men, who had drawn their swords and axes and maces. A smirk crept across his face.

  “I will leave and never speak to you again if you let your men harm these people,” Hilda said.

  Ragnar let out a long, slow sigh. “Sheath your weapons,” he said to the vikings.

  “We cannot let them-” a man began to say, before Ragnar cut him off, “sheath your goddamn weapon or I’ll chop of the arm that holds it,” Ragnar said.

  “Yes Ragnar,” the man replied, submissively.

  “Help them, Raggie,” Hilda said to Ragnar.

  “Don’t call me that in front of the men,” Ragnar said.

  Hilda raised her voice, for all the men to hear, “Oh, Ragnar the Destroyer, great Earl of Fyrkat, would you be so fearless as to help these poor men,” She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  Torsten laughed.

  “Shut your mouth,” Ragnar said to Torsten.

  “You’re so grumpy all the time,” Hilda said to Ragnar.

  “You’re always criticising me,” Ragnar said.

  “You’re very easy to criticise,” Hilda replied.

  Ragnar decided not to reply, for he knew that when it came to arguing with words against Hilda, he was poorly equipped. He imagined it to be like a small child trying to fight against him with a wooden sword. Instead, he leaped down onto his slowly sinking boat, and climbed onto the offending boat.

  “Who is the captain here?” Ragnar boomed.

  “I am,” a stout man said, stepping forwards, swaying on his legs.

  “You’re drunk,” Ragnar growled, stepping forwards.

  “Please sir, don’t harm him,” A younger man, without any hair on his cheeks stepped forward.

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t,” Ragnar said.

  “His wife and daughter were killed,” The young man said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” The stout man dribbled, staggering backwards.

  “Killed by whom?” Ragnar asked.

  “Welsh,” the young man replied.

  “You were in Wales?” Ragnar asked.

  “We tried to settle there, sir, but they fought us out of their lands,” He said.

  “The Welsh are even more mad than Scots, what did you expect?” Ragnar said.

  “We thought god would be on our side,” the young man said.

  “The Welsh also worship your god with the thorned crown,” Ragnar said, dismissing him, as he began to climb from the boat. “You’re a fool for thinking he would take your side,” Ragnar said.

  Ragnar leaped onto the wharf, “We’re going to Newcastle by horseback,” he said.

  “What happened?” Hilda asked.

  “They were betrayed by their foolish god,” Ragnar said, mildly.

  “Our god is not foolish,” Hilda said, hotly.

  “Ok, Hilly,” Ragnar said.

  “And don’t be condescending,” Hilda continued.

  “Of course not,” Ragnar said.

  They went to several stables around the kingdom and bought a horse for each man. The stablemen were shocked at the amount of gold that these men carried so freely, for often men were targets when carrying wealth so openly, but no men had the courage to face Ragnar and his band of 30 men.

  “How long to Newcastle,” Brenna asked Torsten.

  “I’m not sure,” Torsten said.

  “Three days,” Hilda interrupted.

  “How do you know that?” Brenna asked Hilda.

  “I used to make his trip quite often,” Hilda replied.

  “You’re full of surprises,” Brenna giggled.

  Ragnar frowned at Hilda, surprised by this piece of information. He knew that there was something about Newcastle that she was not telling him.

  “You do not trust me,” Ragnar said to Hilda, as they travelled along a path that went parallel to a thick wooded area.

  “Do you think you’ve earned my trust in the past four years?” Hilda responded to Ragnar.

  “I think I’ve earned it in the years before that and in this past week,” Ragnar responded.

  “Then you’re more stupid than I thought,” Hilda said.

  “You thought I was stupid?” Ragnar asked Hilda, feeling his cheeks grow red.

  “You’re a typical man, and most men are quite stupid,” Hilda replied, kicking her horse in an attempt to speed ahead, but her lack of experience in horse riding was evident when her horse did not speed up.

  “Father didn’t teach you to ride, did he,” Ragnar said.

  “We didn’t have time, it was just us doing all of the work,” Hilda replied.

  “Of course,” Ragnar said, not wanting to start another argument from his absence over the last years.

  “And slaves aren’t taught to ride horses,” Hilda said, quietly.

  “You weren’t a slave,” Ragnar said.

  “I still am,” Hilda replied.

  “I told you that you are free,” Ragnar said.

  “Free? And how am I free? What shall I do if I leave you? I have no money and no family. I would be homeless,” Hilda shot back.

  “But you have a choice,” Ragnar said.

  “It’s not a choice, Ragnar,” Hilda said.

  Ragnar looked at Hilda’s rosy cheeks, heated from their argument. He felt an intense urge to take her in his arms and calm her down. He wanted to tell her that she would never need to worry about those things again if she just stayed with him. But he knew that’s not what she wanted. She was with him only because she had no other choice; she said it herself.
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  “I will help you with your freedom,” Ragnar said.

  Ragnar was beginning to realise that when Hilda was angry, then his anger was also there, following him like a dark cloud, greying his days. He knew that when she was happy, the clouds began to clear, and he could see a glimpse of his old self. He knew that his happiness was tied to her happiness and safety.

  “Of course, unless you decide to disappear for another four years,” Hilda said.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Hilly,” Ragnar said.

  “Actions speak louder than words, Earl Ragnar the Destroyer,” Hilda replied.

  “Don’t call me that,” Ragnar said.

  “Everybody calls you that,” Hilda replied.

  “You are not everybody. I don’t want you to call me that,” Ragnar said.

  “Then what do I call you?” Hilda asked.

  “Anything but that,” Ragnar said.

  “Raggie?” Hilda smiled.

  “Hilda,” Ragnar groaned.

  “Just Ragnar,” Hilda said.

  “That would be nice,” Ragnar said.

  “I cannot promise you that is what I will call you always,” Hilda smiled.

  39

  Hilda

  Brenna and Torsten’s relationship moved fast. She had come and informed Hilda that she would be sleeping with him on their first night after leaving Kingston.

  “You’re not yet married,” Hilda said, covering her mouth.

  “We’re viking, we don’t need to be married to show love to each other,” Brenna replied.

  “Ok then,” Hilda said, folding her arms over her chest.

  “Just share your bed with Ragnar,” Brenna said.

  “He isn’t interested in me like that,” Hilda said, rolling her eyes.

  “I’ve met blind men who can see more clearly than you,” Brenna laughed, before hugging her good night.

  Hilda sat by the fire, listening to Ragnar’s men talk about what they would be doing when they arrived back in Newcastle. Nerves gripped at Hilda’s stomach as she imagined what it would be like if Jack and her mother, Elsbeth were still in Newcastle.

  She looked at Ragnar as he was taking supplies off his horse. It was a large horse, but it looked normal sized compared to Ragnar. His muscles rippled across his back as he lifted sacks over his head and put them on the ground. She watched him whisper into the horse’s ear, earning himself a pleased whinny from his new companion.

  She felt a yearning for him. A yearning that she had suppressed since the day he had rescued her from Dag. His slow and deliberate movements hypnotised her, and she fell into a silent trance, watching him set up camp.

  After shaking herself from herself back awake, Hilda began to take her own supplies from her much smaller horse, and started laying down blankets under a nearby tree. A large warm hand on her shoulder caused her to jump.

  “I will be sleeping with you tonight,” Ragnar said.

  “Excuse me?” Hilda said, her eyes growing wide.

  “Not like that,” Ragnar laughed.

  “I will be staying close to you when we are on the road. It’s not safe out here,” he said.

  “If you say so,” Hilda replied, feeling secretly excited at the prospect of spending the next night or two in Ragnar’s arms.

  As much as her head fought her, she couldn’t help but feel the same closeness she felt when they were younger, only this time, other feelings were flowing through her mind. After eating some of the hard cheese and dark bread that Ragnar had bought in Kingston, she lay down on the furs, and quietly watched Ragnar give orders to his men. Several of them nodded wordlessly, and put down their drinking cups.

  Soon, he made his way to their bed, and removed the great dark bear fur that was wrapped around his shoulders.

  “Where did you find that bear fur? It is twice the size of a normal bear, if not more,” Hilda asked.

  “We went to a strange land, filled with rich ground and great flowing rivers,” Ragnar said.

  “Tell me more,” Hilda said.

  “In this land, trees went up into the sky and past the clouds, and were so thick that ten men could not link their arms around it. There were so many deer that you need not leave your bed to shoot one down,” Ragnar said.

  “You’re making this up,” Hilda laughed.

  “I would never lie to you,” Ragnar smiled, before continuing, “Of course, along with all of the other enormous animals that were found on this land, there were bears. These bears weren’t only twice the size of a normal bear, but three times the size. Still, not as big as the great white bear that Ivar the Clever had slain, but these were enormous bears,” Ragnar said.

  “And you killed one?” Hilda asked.

  “Yes. I wanted to test myself. This one was particularly aggressive, and was stalking our group for days. Finally, I left on my own, trailed around, and stalked the great bear. Killing it was the most terrifying and exciting thing I have ever done. When it took on its back feet, it was twice as high as a man,” Ragnar said.

  “I can see, judging by the fur,” Hilda said quietly.

  “Yes. As you can see, I killed it,” Ragnar said, going quiet before continuing, “but it wasn’t the bears that made us leave these lands rich with animals and free flowing rivers that were full of fat salmon. It was the people. They had skin the colour of men who spend their lives in the sun, but still slightly darker. They wore feathers in their hair and shot bows and arrows from their horses like demons. And their horses were fast. Too fast. They would howl as they chased us, sounding like demons from the Underworld” Ragnar said.

  “And so you left?” Hilda asked.

  “Yes, well we had to. It was their lands, and they would not give them away. I would not have given them away either,” Ragnar said, growing quiet.

  “It sounds like an amazing place,” Hilda said.

  “It was the most beautiful lands I have ever seen in my life. You should have seen the rivers, Hilda, so blue and flowing so fast,” Ragnar moved towards the bed, now topless, showing his rippling muscles.

  “Would you ever go back?” Hilda asked.

  “I don’t think so. These people did not live in small towns like the English,” Ragnar said.

  “How did they live?” Hilda asked.

  “In small triangular huts, made of branches from trees, wrapped in animal skins. They were made simple and light so that they could move quickly and easily. We couldn’t attack a town, for they would move through their trees like ghosts. They would not be seen unless they wanted to be seen,” Ragnar said.

  “That sounds terrifying,” Hilda said quietly.

  “They were a part of their land. They didn’t just use the land and give nothing back, but they existed with it. They were the land, just an extension of it,” Ragnar said.

  “That’s the most thoughtful thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Hilda giggled.

  “I had a lot of time to think about it on the boat, coming back to England,” Ragnar laughed.

  “Of course,” Hilda said, quietly.

  “What?” Ragnar said.

  Ragnar’s comment that he had gone back to England instead of going to Fyrkat made her wonder if he’d considered going back to Fyrkat at all.

  “Nothing,” Hilda said, curling up under the furs on her side.

  Ragnar gently lay down next to her, rolling her over to face him.

  “What are you doing?” Hilda frowned at him.

  She looked into his intense blue eyes and pushed his dark hair from his face.

  “Ah, now I can finally see your pretty face,” Ragnar smiled.

  “Stop it, Ragnar,” Hilda sighed, though the compliment made her warm with desire.

  “You don’t like it?” He asked.

  “I didn’t say that,” Hilda said, enjoying their closeness, his body warmth radiating against her.

  “Good,” Ragnar grumbled, pulling her closer into him.

  “Ragnar, don’t crush me,” Hilda said, as her face buried into his chest
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  “This is gentle, Hilly,” Ragnar said.

  “Nothing about you is gentle,” Hilda sighed.