Ragnar Lothbrok returned home, a mix of excitement and apprehension coursing through him. The child in his possession was a significant addition to his life, but he was unsure how his wife, Lagertha, would react. Timing would be crucial when telling her. Luckily, Bjorn was outside, maybe someone his age would get him to loosen up and Ragnar did just that, pointing at Bjorn and nudging him gently.
"Go," Ragnar said softly. The child hesitated, his gaze flicking between Ragnar and Bjorn. Encouraged by Ragnar's repeated gesture, the boy reluctantly took cautious steps forward. This was unfamiliar territory, but compared to his previous life of slavery, it didn't feel hostile. Running away was not an option; the uncertainty of the unknown kept him rooted.
"Bjorn! No bullying!" Ragnar shouted as the boy timidly approached the son of Ragnar..
Ragnar, on the other hand, made his way into his home with Lagertha arranging some clothes on the table in the corner, Ragnar snuck up behind her and wrapped his hands around her.
"Lagertha…" Ragnar whispered in her ear and this sent shivers down her spine, Lagertha was weak when it came to the sexual advances of her husband, a formidable warrior who conquered battles and her body with equal fervor.
"At least let me finish, Ragnar…" Lagertha whispered trying to focus on her task, she could feel his hot breath brushing against her earlobe and tried her hardest to finish but Ragnar saw her 'differently' right now.
"My beautiful Lagertha," Ragnar crooned, his words smooth and deliberate. "Battles are won with aggression, my maiden, but with a woman…" His hand traced gentle patterns on her skin, and she found herself struggling to resist.
He could feel the heat emitting from her body, he liked it when he had to 'convince' her to let him have his way, this was far more exciting than when she submitted without feigning resistance.
"A woman's body requires a gentle touch…" Ragnar kept whispering sweet words to his wife.
"… A touch that makes her yearn...'" The warrior continued and Lagertha was loving it.
This was a common thing with Ragnar and Lagertha, she knew there was something her husband had to tell her when he puts on such moves on her and she also knew this was his way of making her more compliant to listen to his words and that was exactly why she made him work harder each time.
Lagertha had taken the role of a traditional wife ever since leaving the battlefield and that was how she was able to raise such a respectable kid such as Bjorn and retain her feminine traits despite having been a warrior with a strong reputation.
Inevitably, Ragnar's persistence won the day, as it often did. Their playful passions carried on, the muffled sounds slipping through the walls and reaching the children outside.
The child flinched at the noises emanating from the house. They sounded strange to him like an unfamiliar kind of battle. Alarmed, he wondered if Ragnar's gentleness was a facade.
"Don't worry about it," Bjorn said casually, noticing the boy's unease. "Father is just playing with Mother." Bjorn turned his attention back to the child, studying him closely. The boy's dark skin caught his eye, a stark contrast to anyone Bjorn had ever met. His curiosity bubbled over.
"Why are you dirty?" Bjorn asked, splashing water on him but nothing seemed to happen.
"Where did father get you from?" Bjorn asked, with the boy shielding himself from another water barrage but this was his skin, something Bjorn soon realized as he was amazed by it as a matter of fact.
"Are you a slave?" Bjorn asked, he noticed the brand of the thrall (slave) on the forearm of the child but the boy simply repeated the word "slave".
"You do not speak our language?" Bjorn asked, the boy remained silent, watching him cautiously. Bjorn sighed. "You'll have to learn, or you'll be of no use to Mother or Father," he said, resuming his activity of skipping stones across a water trough..
Ragnar was right, him being around someone his age made his tense shoulder loosen up a bit, watching closely as Bjorn skipped rocks.
The boy copied him and picked up a stone, before removing the barrel of the almost emptied water tank slightly to the left.
"What are you doing, slave?" Bjorn asked. The boy didn't reply, merely hurling the rock. It soared farther than Bjorn's stone, landing with a distant plop. Bjorn's eyes widened in astonishment..
"Woah! How did you do that!?" Bjorn asked, he was taken aback by this and wanted to learn about it as soon as possible. Bjorn was an innocent child that did not have many friends as he preferred his own company and getting stronger by training with his uncle, Ulf.
The boy noticed his excitement, and picked up another rock to replicate what he did moments ago and this time it went even further than last time, Bjorn could not believe his eyes.
"Show me!" Bjorn demanded eagerly, then realized the language barrier. Frustrated but undeterred, he switched to gestures, attempting to communicate. his motions were unclear, and the boy seemed not to understand the sentiment.
Bjorn was not frustrated but quite the opposite, he was excited about the prospect of having whoever this person was in his life and now he was glad that Hagen did not let his uncle Ulf kill him.
Bjorn was a competitive child and met someone better than him in the one leisure activity he fancied and chuckled in content to this discovery.
"I, Bjorn Lothbrok, declare you my rival!" Bjorn proclaimed, his voice filled with conviction. Though the boy didn't understand his words, something about Bjorn's energy made him smile a small, tentative gesture of hope