I fell in love with Vikings during the very first episode. As much as I love it I realized something, everything bad that happened to Rollo was because of Siggy. I know Rollo had some issues with his brother being more famous than him, but Siggy whispered in his ear adding fuel to the rivalry. Then she convinced him to betray his brother and now…well if you've been watching the show then you know. Well I like Rollo, I think he's a good guy and I want him to have a woman who won't try and make him something he's not. One who will allow his destiny to unfold instead of trying to shape it. So since there are multiple languages going on here this is how I'm going to do it.

Viking speech.

English speech.

Gaelic speech.

Enjoy and as always please review.

oOo

After weeks of being at sea, the sight of land was heaven. Vikings may rely on their ships to carry them to greener pastures, but even the hardiest of them can get tired of the endless rolling of the ocean. The mists gave the Viking ships the cover they needed as they navigated the shore. The ships were looking for a safe haven to anchor.

"Look there", Floki shouted pointing. The Vikings looked where the ship builder was pointing and saw the opening of a small but deep river.

"The gods have smiled on us", Ragnar said smirking. The Vikings turned their ships towards the river, wary, and sailed into England.

The gods remained by the Vikings side, they saw no one and were able to sail deep into English territory. They found a cove to dock their ships, unload, and to set up their defensives. While their numbers were few, only two ships, Ragnar still made sure to send a few to serve as look outs and guard their only route to the sea. As long as they could reach the sea, they had nothing to fear.

The Vikings enjoyed a few days of hunting before they discussed raiding. They were amazed at the fruitful nature of England. The woods were always lush and teeming with game. Ragnar ran the rich, dark earth through his fingers. It his homeland had earth and climate like this they would have no need to raid their neighbors for supplies, only for glory.

"How much longer must we wait brother", Rollo demanded running a wet stone along the edge of his ax.

Ragnar smirked at his elder brother. "Tomorrow." The scouts had discovered a decent sized village a half a day from their camp. When the other Vikings heard this, they smiled their killer smiles.

oOo

The air reeked of earth, water, and unwashed human bodies. The only light came from a few small windows that only allowed a sliver of light to pierce the darkness. Chains clinked together and occasionally the wearer of the chains let out a moan. That is except for one, a small woman who was huddled in the corner of her cell. Her body was covered in filth and cuts. She wore only a simple shift that was just as filthy as her body. With her knees drawn into her chest you could only see her white blond hair. It used to gleam like snow in the sunlight, but now it was dingy and matted with blood.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside her cell, but the woman paid them no mind. She didn't even look up when a guard stopped in front of her cell. She did tense when she heard the ringing of keys and the lock turning. She moved when she heard the heavy wooden door of her cell swing open. She turned towards the door, not lifting her head.

"We'll finally be rid of you tomorrow", the guard sneered. "And before then I intend to exact a pound of flesh from you.

Three more guards entered the cell, all sharing the same smirk. The woman remained still and silent. Two guards grabbed her arms and pushed her to the floor. One guard stayed by the door keeping watch, not that it mattered. The first guard grinned mercilessly as he unbuckled his belt letting it drop to the floor. The woman then realized what they were planning to do and started to struggle. This only caused the guards to laugh. The first guard fumbled with his pants freeing his manhood. The woman tired to free herself to no avail. When the guard entered her she went still, refusing to scream or to fight. She wouldn't give them the pleasure. It would be a long night for the woman and the four guards extracted their pound of flesh from her. Only when they left did the woman allow herself to cry, if only quietly. To rape a woman was a great offense to her people, but these English barbarians had no respect for women or anything else for that matter.

oOo

The raiding party past field after field as they drew nearer to the village. The farmer in Ragnar noted the poor quality of the crops. He laughed inside. It was good to see that this land also had bad years from time to time. Sounds of shouting brought him out of his revelry. The Vikings looked at each other uncertain. By their reckoning it was Sunday so the village should have been in the chapel. Rollo ran his thumbs over the ends of his axes. He wasn't afraid to die, but he didn't want to just yet.

The Vikings scattered to the brush and slowly crept towards the shouting. What they saw was enough to shock these harden warriors. It looked like the entire village was out in the field and they were angry. They shouted words that the Vikings couldn't hear, let alone understand, and were throwing things at what appeared to be a woman tied to a large pole that was surrounded by more wood. Ragnar shared a look with his brother who only shrugged. Floki spat at the sight, something about it had the boat builder on edge.

Silently, Ragnar told his fellow Vikings to wait while he, Rollo, and Floki eased closer to better assess the situation. Ragnar stopped when could make out what was being said. He was still learning English so he only understood one word out of three.

A priest was shouting as loud as the villagers pointing from the bound woman to the failing fields. The meaning was clear; the village blamed this woman for the failing crops. Ragnar's ears perked when he heard the word pagan. Was this woman a Viking like them, or was she something else entirely. The thrill of new rang through Ragnar's veins as well as something else; something of the gods.

The woman slowly lifted her head and looked Ragnar right in the eyes. Instead of shouting a warning, the woman smirked. Ragnar and the others were surprised by her reaction to seeing them. They were used to people screaming and running in fear, not this.

The woman strained against her bonds and inhaled deeply. "ODINSONS!" She shouted. Everyone present froze; there was power in her voice. Without thinking Ragnar leapt from his hiding spot and charged. Floki and Rollo shared a quick glance then followed their leader with the rest of the Viking hoard hard on their heels.

Surprised, the warriors were slow to react. The priest, however, recovered quickly and threw a torch on the pile of wood beneath the woman. The wood caught flame quickly but the woman did not scream.

Soon the villagers were fleeing towards the safety of their walls. Majority of the Viking hoard went after them, except for Ragnar and Rollo. Ragnar kicked the burning wood away from the woman. Rollo helped his brother but wondered why he was wasting his time. Finally, Ragnar was able to cut the woman's bindings. He carried her away from the fire and laid her out on the grass. The fire had only started to singe the bottom of her shift. Other than that she appeared to be unharmed but she did not move. Ragnar tapped the sides of her face.

"She's dead", Rollo stated. "Leave her."

The woman started coughing and turned over on her side. Ragnar and Rollo spared a quick glance. Ragnar called over a shield maiden who was scavenging from the fallen. "Take this woman back to camp." The shield maiden raised an eyebrow but complied. Who knew what went on in Ragnar's head.

"Ready", Rollo asked. Ragnar nodded and the two joined in the raid.

oOo

Her lungs were on fire. While the flames hadn't reached her, the smoke had. All around her were strange sounds. She knew that it was people speaking but it wasn't in any tongue she knew. Someone gently lifted her head. When she opened her eyes she saw a bloody woman holding up a cup of water. The bloody woman helped her to drink. The water was like a gift from the gods, soothing her throat. The bloody woman gently laid her back down. She had no idea how she had been saved from the stake but at this moment she really couldn't care less.

oOo

The Vikings were in high spirits when they returned to their camp. Just like every other village, this one was rich beyond their imaginations. Ragnar was more subdued. His mind was still on the woman he had saved from the flames. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do, but now he wasn't so sure. He had found the priest and when questioned, the priest told Ragnar that the woman was an evil sorceress that killed their crops, their livestock, and innocent babies still in the womb. If what the priest said was true then Ragnar would kill the woman himself.

"Where is the woman", Ragnar asked as he set down his treasures. A Viking pointed to Ragnar's tent. Rollo and Floki followed Ragnar. They stood near the flap ready to defend their comrade and to satisfy their curiosity. The woman was asleep. Ragnar woke her by nudging her with his boot. She sat up quickly and stared at them from behind her hair.

"Who are you?" Ragnar asked in his native tongue, but the woman didn't reply. "Who are you", he asked again switching to English. The woman cursed in some language the Vikings had never heard. "Who are you?"

"Bryna", she replied through gritted teeth.

"Are you English?"

The woman looked confused then slowly shook her head. Floki shifted excited in the back ground.

"You?" she asked. The Vikings laughed.

"You call us Northmen."

"What do to me now", Bryna asked still hiding behind her hair. Ragnar smiled at her but she didn't return it. He liked this strange girl. She showed no fear. Also he wanted to know where she came from. New lands were always exciting.

"You will come with us", he said getting up.

"NO!" Bryna shouted. She threw the furs off her body and threw herself into a corner of the tent. The Vikings were not only startled by her reaction but by her eyes, which they could now see. They were golden and seemed to burn with a fire that chilled them to their core. "No go. No slave. Die first."

She saw a dagger and pounced at it before any one the Vikings could stop her. Her eyes still burned as she turned the tip towards her positioning it over her heart. She closed her eyes and whispered words too low to hear. She raised the dagger and brought it down but before it could tough her, Rollo grabbed her wrist. Her eyes shot open and she yanked her hand free. Rollo put his hands around her throat. Bryna struck out with the heal of her palm, hitting him in the nose. Rollo released her. Bryna lunged at Rollo taking the large Viking to the ground. He tried to throw her off but she held on and the two tumbled out of the tent.

The Vikings leapt to their feet drawing their weapons as the two rolled on the grass. Once they saw what was happening they laughed and sheathed their swords and axes. Rollo could handle one girl. Ragnar and Floki ran out the tent just in time to see Bryna break free from Rollo. She rolled to her feet and for the span of a breath remained poised on the balls of her feet. Quick as a cat she lunged again, her fist connecting to the side of Rollo's face. The large Viking stumbled back. He rubbed his face and pulled free his axes. Although his face was calm, inside he was raging. Ragnar saw this and quickly intervened.

"Stop. Stop", he shouted placing himself between the two. Rollo relaxed his stance but not his grip on his axes. Ragnar turned to Bryna. He wanted her to come back with him but he knew that she would find a way to kill herself if they took her as a slave. But Rollo also needed to save his honor. "Clearly you can fight. If you can win in combat then you are freewoman and can choose to come with us or stay here."

Bryna stared at Ragnar and then Rollo. She nodded her head. "I will fight to keep my freedom. But if you should lie, my gods will descend upon you and you will never return to your land." None of the Vikings understood what she said but her meaning was clear.

Soon Bryna and Rollo were encircled by a ring of Vikings. Someone had given Bryna a sword, though she turned down a shield. Bryna and Rollo slowly circled one another then without warning, Bryna attacked. Rollo quickly blocked her attack and swung around to only have to block again. Rollo swung his other ax, causing Bryna to jump back. Her sword gave her a longer reach, but Rollo's arms were longer and he was deadly with his axes. The Vikings cheered on their comrade as he attacked the small woman ferociously. Ragnar chewed on this thumb as he watched his brother and the foreign girl fight.

She was skilled. That much was clear. She was holding her own against her larger opponent but Ragnar felt like she was holding back. His guess proved true when Bryna managed to fling Rollo's axes away using her sword. Rollo was clearly stunned, as were all the other Vikings watching. Rollo looked to his brother and Ragnar tried to convey his desires through his eyes. Bryna must have picked up on it because she lowered her sword and inclined her head to Rollo.

"Shame to lose good fighter", she said in her accented English. "No wish to kill, but still won."

Ragnar looked at his brother who just shrugged and walked away to retrieve his axes. "The choice is yours, stay or go." Ragnar told her.

Bryna looked around at the Vikings and then back towards the village that had tried to kill her. "I go." Ragnar smiled then walked back to his tent.

"This girl will be trouble", Floki told him as he picked his nail.

"Maybe", Ragnar replied, "but interesting too." Floki nodded and followed his friend inside.

Well there you have it the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and as always please review.