"So, it seems like Bjorn got caught by the kneelers, huh?" Ragnar asked a black-haired teenager with green eyes.
The boy nodded in return and said, "Bjorn was caught by the Princess of the North and her wolf. I tried to warg into the wolf, but it resisted me."
"Hmmm. It's not something you did wrong, my son. Ivar, it's just that the bond between the wolf and the princess is that strong." Drumming his fingers on the table, he asked Ivar again. "Do you know where they are right now?"
"They're going to the nearest clan to them. And it seems like the bonehead had knelt his knees to the King of Winter." Ivar said as he hit out a piece of jerky.
Squinting his eyes, Ragnar said to himself, "The bonehead won't bend his knee; I know that. But why did he bend the knee now? Is there something that we don't know about the warriors and their leaders from south of the wall?" Ragnar asked, particularly to no one, and Ivar was not going to answer that question, as even he doesn't know what made Bonehead kneel.
Shaking his head, Ragnar asked Ivar, "Is there any other information you have found?"
"The Princess and the Warrior Queen, as the bonehead has started calling her after her battle with the cannibals, both have giant wolves, bigger than the biggest dire wolves."
"That's intriguing. Bigger than the biggest dire wolves." Shaking his head in amusement, he told Ivar, "Ivar, send ravens or something to the other clans about the soldier from the kingdom being here; tell them to march northward. We will be uniting all the clans of Free Folk further north and uniting the Giants and the Thenns."
"As you command, father." Replying to Ragnar, Ivar left the tent where they were and had the meeting with Ragnar.
As Ivar left to do what Ragnar ordered, Ragnar thought about the news he got from his son Ivar: 'The Bonehead has bent his knee to the King, and he is calling the woman Warrior Queen, not the Princess. Is there something that I am missing? Something crucial? Since Bjorn is in their custody, if I leave him there, then the one who captured him will be his wife. Even if I fail to bring the Free Folks south of the Wall, if Bjorn could marry the Princess and negotiate for the Free Folk, that would be good too. Old Gods, I pray that you make my son reach the same conclusion.'
Two months were nearing after the imprisonment of Bjorn at the hands of Alys. Lyanna, the Winter Wolves, and the first clan that knelt went to the adjacent clans to rally together so that they could go south of the Wall as citizens. Ragnar, along with the rest of his sons and men, marched further north to unite the Giants and Thenns with them. Ragnar was moving to the Valley of Thenns by the eastern path, and on the exact opposite path through the west, Lyanna and the Winter Wolves marched further north.
Unknown to both marching groups, through the middle, Owen and his rangers were riding back to the wall at full speed without stopping for anything. But they were confused about why the Wildlings were not attacking them when they were showing any kind of defence. While the two groups were marching northward and the rangers were going back to the wall, a third group consisting of Giants, Children of the Forest, the Thenns, and some clans near Thenn were marching south, led by Reagan and Fenrir. In two days, the scouts of the two groups led by Ragnar and Lyanna found each group.
When the scouts reported it to him, Ragnar said to himself, "It seems the Warrior Queen has amassed a quarter of the Free Folk." Looking at the man with the blonde beard and bald head, Ragnar asked, "What do you think, Floki?"
Raising an eyebrow, Folki told him, "From what I have heard, it would be in our best interest to meet her and know her motive in amassing the Free Folk clans."
"True, we still don't know why they are having all the clans kneel before their king, and I am interested in the Rider of Fenrir too," Ragnar agreed with what Floki said.
Looking around the camp, he saw his sons talking with each other in a sombre mood. Ragnar chuckled at that sight and thought to himself, 'They are sulking because Bjorn is married to the Princess in our custom. And now, I have to see if the kneelers will acknowledge the marriage.'
Shaking his head, Ragnar called for a scout who informed him about Lyanna's group and told him, "Inform the Warrior Queen that I am inviting her for a meeting under the watchful eyes of the Old Gods and that she and her companions will have the guest rights."
"Yes, Ragnar." Nodding at Ragnar, the scout went out of the camp to find the Winter Wolves near the river that flows from the Thenns valley.
Like that, Ragnar and Lyanna decided to have a meeting at a neutral ground the next day itself, and the first to arrive there was Ragnar with his Free Folk army at his back. Half an hour later, the Winter Wolves were spotted by Ragnar and his army. At the forefront of the Winter Wolves were Lyanna, Alys, Bjorn, and Bonehead.
Lyanna, Alys, Bjorn, and Bonehead separated from their group and moved forward to where Ragnar was waiting for them with Floki and two women, who have blonde and red hairs, respectively. When they neared them, Floki offered salt and bread to the four as a symbol of guest rights, and since there were no chairs or anything that could be used, all of them stood there looking at each other.
Ragnar observed Lyanna intently and thought to himself, 'She is beautiful. It's a shame that I am old, though.'
Sensing the intense look from Ragnar, Lyanna spoke in a playful manner, "Don't look at me with that much intensity; my betrothed might gouge out those eyes."
"Hehehehehe/" Ragnar chuckled at her threat for a few seconds, and when he felt two pairs of eyes staring at him from the back, he chuckled even more and said, "And pray tell, where is this man?"
"He went to the Land of Always Winter." Alys was the one who spoke instead of Lyanna this time.
Ragnar looked at Alys and said, "That is good to know, good daughter."
When there was no response from Alys, Ragnar just shrugged his shoulders and looked at his son, Bjorn. They communicated with their eyes, and Bjorn just smiled in return, as he had found a treasure trove. Ragnar chuckled at that and said, as he looked back at Lyanna, "It seems that we should introduce ourselves." When Lyanna didn't say anything, he continued, "King Ragnar, that is my name."
"Lyanna Mormont." Lyanna introduced herself, and Bonehead, who was standing next to her, chimed in from the side, "The Warrior Queen."
Ragnar just nodded at that with an intrigued look on his face, but before he could speak again, all of them, including the Winter Wolves and the army of Free Folks, heard a howl from the north.
"Awooooooooooooooo" Hearing this howl, all the wolves with the Winter Wolves lowered their heads to the ground.
Lyanna smirked at the howl and said, "It seems my betrothed is here."
Ragnar didn't say anything, as he was seeing a giant black wolf coming towards them from the backside of the mountain. On top of the giant wolf, he saw a man sitting with a childlike figure in front of him. On either side of the wolf, there were giants, children of the forest, and some free folk. Ragnar was brought out of his stupor when he heard Floki mutter in a low voice nearby, "The Great Wolf."
When the Fenrir neared them, Reagan dismounted him with Leaf. He went straight towards Lyanna and kissed her in front of everyone without any reservation. Some of the Winter Wolves howled in the back as they kissed each other. Separating from the kiss, Reagan said to her, "I missed you."
Lightly kissing him on the lips, Lyanna told him, "I missed you too."
Kissing her forehead once, he hugged her sideways and looked at Alys, who was standing close to Bjorn. Seeing that, he only sighed and told her, "I'll hear the details with my father and mother. Just make sure that he will keep it in his pants."
"Don't worry, he will keep it in his pants. Won't you?" Alys said with a gleam in her eyes, and Bjorn just nodded in reply to her question.
"Heh." Ragnar snorted at his son's action, and that attracted Reagan's attention to him.
Reagan looked at Ragnar and said, "You must be King Ragnar."
Observing Reagan back, Ragnar said, "And you must be the Rider of the Great Wolf Fenrir." Looking at Fenrir, who was staying near them at the size of a horse, Ragnar asked Reagan, "What was the reason for you to cross the wall and make the Free Folks bend their knees? And from the looks of it, you have the loyalty of the giants and the children." Looking back at Reagan, he continued, "I want to know what your end goal is."
Nodding at the question of Ragnar, Reagan said, "I believe that; you know about the enemy of men?"
"Yes, the others. What about them?" Ragnar asked as he crossed his hands together.
"I am sure that they will come back to attack the realm of men one more time, like they did in the Long Night. And I don't want to increase the number of deaths in their army with you staying here. So I proposed to my father and the other lords of the North that the Free Folks should be allowed to pass through the Wall and live in my kingdom. If and only if they are willing to bend the knee." Reagan told Ragnar.
Ragnar squinted his eyes at Reagan's long answer and asked back, "What do we get in return for renouncing our freedom?"
Smiling at him, Reagan replied in an easy manner, "You will be given the island of Skane. You can freely live there as you want; in return, you will pay tax in the form of grains and products that you will produce on the island, and you will be trained to be fighters by me, so that you will take up your arms and fight with me against our enemies."
After a few moments of silence, Ragnar spoke up, "Do you know why I started to unite the Free Folks?"
Reagan shook his head in detail, so Ragnar continued, "My wife had a vision of sorts. She saw in her dreams that we were able to pass through the wall and live on land that gave us food in abundance for generations to come." Pausing there, he looked at the red-haired women and continued, "She said I was the one leading the Free Folks south of the Wall, with two black wolves with me. And I have been trying to find those two wolves since the day I heard about her dream."
Running his hand through his beard, he continued while he looked at the ground. "And now, it seems that those two black wolves are you and the Fenrir itself. Even though you are clearly a black wolf."
"Mmmhmmm." Reagan just nodded at Ragnar without giving a comment on what he said.
Suddenly. Ragnar kneeled in front of Reagan and said, "I will kneel before you and your father. I ask you for a safe passage through the wall for my people."
Floki and the two women also kneeled before Reagan, closely following Ragnar. Smiling at his words, Reagan said, "Ask, and it shall be given to you. Now, raise Lord Ragnar; we will ride to my kingdom and have mead and meat at my table."
"Aye!" Ragnar responded as he stood up from the ground.
History was written that day, when Ragnar the King Beyond the Wall was allowed to pass through the Wall with his Wildling Host under the direct order of King Reagan Stark when he was still the Crown Prince.