Warnings: violence, shit parenting (Bjorn), child abandonment, language, canon divergence, murder, blood, kidnapping, visions of death
Tags:
@pieces-by-me
I don’t own the gifs.
The snow was falling all around Siggy. The cold wind was biting into her cheeks and numbing her toes. Any longer, and she would freeze. But fighting in her coat got her too sweaty, so she threw it off.
She glared at her enemy, standing there unbothered by her attempts to kill him. How arrogant of that bastard. The blonde charged forward again, hitting him left and right, his insides flying around the air. Siggy grinned in victory and hit him in the iron plate around his chest, the blade screeching in protest.
"You are gonna dull the blade like that." A voice called, startling her from her concentration. Siggy twirled around and pointed the blade at the intruder. But luckily, it was just Floki.
"A real warrior fight steel with steel. Christians have steel armor, and I want to destroy it." She bragged, slicing her opponent's neck.
Floki chuckled and skipped over to her. He picked up her coat and duster the snow off it. "Your Christian is dressed like a Viking. And he is made off straw." He plucked a piece of straw from her hair and pointed at the makeshift training dummy.
"You have to aim for weak spots: neck, head. Cut the legs to make it harder to walk, the arms to weaken the muscles. Think, don't just kill."
Siggy frowned and glared at the snow that fell on her nose. "Why overthink if I know that they will die anyway?"
"Thinking is so you survive, not that they die." He fixed the fourteen-year-olds stance and lightly slapped her shoulders. "Now fight. The gods are watching."
Siggy sat behind Rollo, picking at her nails with her freshly sharpened dagger. They were nearing a port which meant new provisions and probably bloodshed. Finally.
Floki kept looking at her whenever she went still for a little too long. He was so worried that she would have a vision in front of all these people. It was a well-kept secret, including her other skills. According to him and Aslaug, it was better if no one knew that she had a gift from the gods. People with her set of skills were cherished but also cursed as witches. It wasn't safe for people to know that she knew how to curse someone or see their future. Not that she got to decide what she saw.
It was nighttime by when they docked into the strange place. Siggy was one of the first people to jump off the ship. She drew her sword; it was specially made for her first raid, decorated with runes for strength and protection.
"The gods are watching." She whispered giddily and skipped behind Hvitserk into a marketplace. This one was far bigger than the one in Kattegat. The people were of darker skin and spoke in a foreign tongue.
Siggy walked between the people, watching their strange products and clothes. In her leather armor, she looked like an outsider. The blonde twirled in a circle, grinning at the fabulous view. The world outside her home was... breathtaking. The terrified screams of the dying people added a certain flair to it all.
With one last twirl, Siggy charged into the masses of fleeing foreigners and joined in the slaughter. It was like she was born for this. The scared look in the people's eyes before they drew their last breath gave her a new kind of rush. She had killed before, of course, but never so many and so terrified.
The shieldmaiden cheered while slicing through the merchants and costumers, ignoring the loots in favor of the battle. She pierced a woman's chest with her sword, stopping at the stall where her body fell. Blood poured from her chest and mouth, her eyes wide open while her body gave its last twitches.
The merchant that owned the stall hid behind the table, watching the bloodied Viking looking down at the poor woman, her eyes crazed and her hands shaking. He kept babbling something frantically, but the blonde couldn't understand a word.
The begging only reminded her that he was there. She looked up at him and frowned at the strange things on the table. He sold animals from foreign places. The horrifying creature in his arms was screeching and biting. It was small and hairy with a tail.
Curiously, Siggy reached her hand out to touch it, only for the merchant to flinch and loosen his hold on the animal. The monkey broke free and climbed up the beam onto the roof of the stall. Shocked, the man called out to it, reaching for its little furry tail.
Siggy frowned and looked between the man and the animal. She sheathed her blade and carefully climbed up onto the frail stall roof. She balanced on one foot and pulled the animal into her arms.
It fought back, scratching, screeching, and biting her arms in an attempt to escape. Siggy jumped back on the ground and held the fighting monkey out for the man to take back. He slowly took it from her arms and nodded in thanks while blubbering something to her in gratitude.
The blonde unsheathed her sword to return to her murdering spree with a smile, ignoring the stall owner and his animals. A spear pierced the man's head, the tip poking out of his open mouth. The man dropped to the ground, and the monkey escaped once again.
Siggy watched, shocked at the animal run away, her eyes following it till it got lost in the masses of people. She wiped at the blood he sprayed on her face and turned back to the corpse. One of her fellow men was robbing the body of the jewelry. "Rich fool."
He stood up and clasped the golden necklace around his neck in victory. Siggy glared at him and stabbed him. His shocked eyes watched her until his knees gave out, and he slid from her sword. Before he did, Siggy yanked the gold off him. Hiding it in her pocket instead, she kicked him away and left him behind.
Siggy walked through the slaughtered people and robbed stalls with heavy feet. It was strange to see so much bloodshed and death around herself, and it was different to imagine it and see it. She could smell burning wood but couldn't see any fire around her.
She stopped dead in her track and breathed in the air thick with smoke. Her skin burned as the world grew quieter. Her eyes grew milky white, and the world faded completely. Instead of the dark marketplace in Spain, she stood in a burning field.
Everything was on fire; she could hear screams as a burning corpse ran by. Siggy stood there as the flames surrounded her and slowly lapped at her delicate skin. She was dressed in expensive clothes, a sword by her side.
In the distance, somewhere hidden under the sound of burning people and crackling fire, she made out the sound of an arrow being shot. The next thing she knew, she felt a pain in her back. Her mouth opened in a silent cry as the impact made her take a step forward in surprise.
Siggy's trembling hand reached out to her back, feeling the arrow that was stuck in her body. A shaky breath left her mouth as the pain flared up, and she fell to her knees, the world burning around her, the flame igniting her dress.
"Witch." Someone whispered into her ear, a gust of wind ruffling her hair like a gentle caress on her cheek.
The world turned dark, the flames stopped burned, and all left was ash and bone. Bones littered the ground around her, serpents crawling all over them, slithering towards her. Siggy locked eyes with the reptile, its little tongue darting out before it jumped forward, biting into her hand.
Siggy cried out and ripped the snake's teeth from her palm; this alarmed the other serpents. They all attacked her, biting her one after the other. The shieldmaiden screamed in pain, falling to her side from all the venom in her system. She could feel them bite her, laughter surrounding her from all sides. People were cheering.
"Heathen." The snakes hissed out before striking again and again. Then they stopped. She laid on the ground, unmoving, just breathing and thinking. What is happening?
The ground around turned to grass, and the sky went blue while the birds chirped happily. Siggy turned onto her back, watching the sky turning into a familiar rooftop. Slowly she picked herself up and limped towards the door. A person stepped into the doorway; their silhouette was hiding the sun, dark but still familiar. The light changed, and there stood Aslaug.
The Queen didn't talk or do anything. She just stood there, blinking, watching Siggy with hard eyes. "Aslaug?" The vőlva turned on her heel, her red cloak soaked in blood. She slowly walked away, crows cawing behind her. Siggy took a few unsure steps towards her, but another figure passed her, he looked familiar as well, but she couldn't see who it was. The person followed after Aslaug, gates opened in front of them. When they walked through, the gates closed, and Siggy was left standing there. All lone and lost. She sobbed out a weak cry for help, only to wake up to someone shaking her.
"Siggy!" Hissed Bjorn, holding her by one shoulder from behind. Her eyes turned back to normal; she spun on her heel. Her sword aimed for his neck, but she knocked it away, glaring at her. "Get a grip before someone kills you. Why are you standing here?!"
Hvitserk runs up to them, taking the confused Siggy from him. "Got any loot, Siggy?" The disoriented girl looks at him and then sticks a hand in her pocket, and she pulls the golden necklace out and holds it out to him with a shaking bloody hand.
Hvitserks smiles at her while Bjorn huffs. "I promised Sigurd a lute from here. But I can't see any." She whispered to cover up the truth. Searching for a musical instrument sounds better than having visions.
Bjorn shook his head and stalked off with one last warning to watch themselves. Hvitserk pulled Siggy to his side and helped her unsure feet to follow the rest of the raiders. "What did you see?"
But Siggy couldn't tell him. She wasn't sure what she saw, it all happened so fast, and there was so much pain.
"Mother says it's better if you talk about it." Right yes. Aslaug... But how is she supposed to tell Hvitserk she saw his mother enter Valhalla? If it was even that.
"I don't know. I will ask the Gods." And with that, the conversation was over. But Siggy still clutched the necklace in her bloody fist.
She could see Rollo murdering a merchant easily; he looked in his element. "Did you miss it?" The Duke looked up to see her wide eyes and shaky steps.
"What?"
"Did you miss the slaughter? The raiding?" She pulled a crazy smile and giggled madly. "You looked so pathetic when you came on the boat. I mean the hair. The clothes."
Siggy kept on giggling and walked over to the corpse on the table. She trailed her fingers over the slit throat and used them to paint the rune for strength on his cheek. "You still look stupid. But I think that's just your face."
Rollo pulled her hand off his cheek and looked at her. The blonde looked deranged, shaking, covered in blood, giggling like a madwoman. Whatever he deduced from all that made him pause. "This your first battle?"
"What if it was?" She whispered as another corpse fell near them. Rollo pulled her closer and pried the necklace from her hold. He stuffed it in her pocket, followed by an arm hoop from his latest murder.
"Hide them well. Stay alert and don't freeze." He looked back into her eyes and brushed down her wild hair. "You have the same eyes, and I always hated those eyes on Ragnar."
"That makes two of us." Rollo patted her cheek and stalked off, leaving her behind. Siggy sighed and spat on the ground, moving into the city walls. She cut through the fleeing masses, stealing where she could to bring back home.
Helga ushered her to her side, a group of Vikings moved into a place with black curtains. A single man stood there, protecting whatever hid inside the building. He took out a dagger, staring at the raiders, terrified.
Bjorn tutted at him. The man charged forward with a war cry but fell dead the next second as Bjorn cut him down effortlessly. Helga ran off looking for something while they moved into a place where men kneeled on the ground, foreheads touching the ground, muttering the same words.
Floki was already inside, watching them do their strange ritual. Siggy moved around the praying men, watching them as they praised their gods. She passed by without harming anyone, too curious about their beliefs to stop them. Other than Halfdan, who cut off a man's head.
"No more killing! Not in here! Not in this place!" Floki ordered holding them back from harming any more Arabs. "I forbid it. If you want to kill these people, you have to kill me first."
Harald watched Floki for any sign of his joking manner but found none. He stepped back and looked at the men. "You heard what Floki said. We're not going to kill these people. Leave. Leave."
Harald left, but Halfdan stared the boatbuilder down, waiting for either a sign of weakness or an explanation. The man who killed Ragnar's Christian and paid the price, and now he protected some Arabs from the same fate. I Halfdan's eyes, it meant he grew weak.
Siggy slipped by Halfdan's retreating figure and tutted at his sour mood. "These people pray to different gods."
Floki looked at her with hard eyes. "They are devoted; it doesn't matter what gods they pray to. Half of the Vikings we know aren't as devoted."
The blonde took his hand in hers and stared him down for an answer. "Christians are devoted to their god, and I would never hesitate to kill a Christian. And you taught me that neither would you."
"People change."
"Not me."
Floki sniggered and ruffled her bloody matted hair. "If you say so." He walked away, watching the praying people, unbothered by the corpse in front of them. "It was never about faith in the gods for me, and it was faith in Ragnar."
What was so great about that shell of a hero? He was a mass manipulation with charisma and crazy dreams that became a reality. Siggy strived for real things. Like murder and mayhem, no matter where. Fuck what people think; one day, they would rue hating her. Spitting when she walked past would turn to cheering.
Siggy followed Hvitserk into a room filled with mirrors. Stopping by one, she stared into it. Her reflection was strange, and it looked so much how a Viking should, covered in blood and armed with a weapon. Yet it looked nothing like her. Her usually crazy eyes were dull; they looked empty and soulless like Bjorn's do when he is angry.
She snarled and drew her fist back to punch the mirror. A hand clasped her own and tugged her away from the mirror. "Quiet," Rollo ordered, dropping her fist. He mentioned with his head to follow Bjorn and Hvitserk.
Hvitserk engaged in a battle with a man; Siggy rolled her eyes and moved on, confident in Hvitserk's ability to survive. "Watch out!" Rollo called out; the blonde saw Bjorn move in from the corner of her eye.
The reflection behind him showed a bulky man with a small scythe-like blade gaining upon her. She spun on her heel and slashed at his head with her sword. Her attacker was faster, though; he stopped her attack and hit the weapon from her hand. Bjorn moved closer with his ax ready.
Siggy growled at him and slammed her fist into the man's belly. He stumbled back and slashed at her. The unarmed shieldmaiden spun out of the way. Her back hit a mirror, she ran up at him, jumping on top of his back.
The bald man was taller, bulkier, and older than her but stupider. He slammed himself against a mirror, trying to shake her off as she choked him out. He repeatedly kept hitting her against the mirror, hoping she would let her grip slip.
Bjorn slashed at him with his axe; the man moved away. Siggy used the next moment he tried to slam her against the mirror to plant her feet against it instead. She pushed them both off; the man lost balance and faceplanted the ground.
Siggy rolled off him and turned him on his side. He reached for her throat, but the young Vőlva swatted the hand away and pushed her thumbs into his eyes. The man screamed in pain as she squeezed his bald head and pressed his eyes in. He tried to push her off, but Siggy didn't budge.
Bjorn, Rollo, and Hvitserk stood by as Siggy slowly squeezed his head till it cracked like a ripe watermelon. What once was his head was now a mess of bones, brain, and bloody flesh. Siggy still sat on his belly, her hands squeezing the remains of her attacker's head.
She slowly stood up and lifted her gaze from his corpse; she flicked her hand at the ground, the droplets of blood and brain flying off. Her cold expression slowly lifted into a crazy primal smile; she giggled and mock bowed in front of the trio. "I don't need your help."
"Obviously," Rollo commented, pride visible on his face. "Let's move."
They slowly crept into a dark room, Bjorn leading the way with Siggy in the very back. Rollo stopped by a curtain and signaled at Bjorn to walk over. The Ragnarsson opened the curtain, ready to strike down the man if it weren't for Rollo.
"Wait," He mentioned at the open eyes of the guard. "He is already dead. He killed himself."
The men ignored him and moved on; Siggy walked past the man and her uncle with no concern for either. She just cracked a man's skull open; what was a suicidal man to her? She got to find a rag, or else the blood would be a pain to wash off. Obviously, her issues had a bigger value. Maybe because the man was dead and no longer had problems to worry about.
"What do you think he was guarding?" Rollo asked, showing off the key that the dead guard had in his hand. They kicked the now unlocked door in, startling the women hiding behind it. They ran off in fear, the group of men and Siggy walking inside. Hvitserk snickered and Rollo in the shoulder. He was giddy and horny, and honestly, it was so tiring for Siggy. He was like an excited puppy without a leash, and what was she supposed to do? She had no interest in women.
Despite that did she walk in, watching the room from her spot in between Rollo and Bjorn. "Suppose there is nothing for you." Rollo joked, only for her to roll her eyes. She stalked off and pulled a woman up from her cushions. The scared woman shrieked in fright, begging Siggy in a foreign language. Siggy tutted at her, reached for something on the pillow behind her.
Smugly, she held the instrument up for the men and woman to see. "I promised Sigurd an instrument. You do what you want to." With that, she stalked off, leaving the women to their fate. Stealing and murder were one thing; she had no desire to watch them rape, especially if anyone from her blood relations decided to participate.
On her way out, she passed Halfdan and Harald. "Siggy." Halfdan mussed, watching the bloody shieldmaiden pass them by with a lute in her hands. Siggy nodded at them and left the whorehouse. She was too tired for this shit, and her head felt heavy, hands and legs weak.
She let the crowd of singing Vikings push her towards the ships; her eyes are unfocused as the aftermath of her vision set in. Luckily it wasn't the worst vision she had, and it was tiring but not so much that she couldn't make her way back alone.
A slender hand took her by the shoulders and led her forward faster. Siggy's blue eyes trailed up the man's body to see Floki. The boatbuilder made his way up to Helga, who dragged some scared foreigner girl with her. "Helga!"
"Floki!"
"Who is she?" The girl tried to flee, but Helga tugged her back, shushing her while walking behind the other slaves.
"She is an orphan." Her eyes were pleading. Siggy glared down at the small, terrified child.
"So?" Siggy nodded sluggishly. The two already took in one orphan, and that was Siggy. And the girl liked being an only child, and it was nicer that way, with no annoying siblings to snoop around. That was Ivar's job anyway.
"She is the same age as Angrboda. The same age that she would have been." Helga explained, frantically waiting for her husband's approval.
"What do you want to do with her, Helga?"
"I want to take her with us."
The two struggle as Floki tries to pry the girl away, but Helga runs off, leaving her husband and adoptive daughter behind. Floki watched her in disbelief before softly turning to the confused Siggy.
He bent his knees to be her height and cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Did you have a vision?" He, eyes looking for a sign of injury or damage.
"I am alright. We have to let the girl go." She mumbled and stumbled after Helga. Floki watched her try to make her way back before he took her by the elbow and subtly guided her before she tripped and fell.
The next day, Floki left to join the men while Siggy stayed behind with Helga and the hostage. Because that is what Tanaruz was, to Helga, she was a new chance at raising a child. But the reality was that the girl was taken from her home and people and kept close as some sort of symbol. Tanaraz was an orphan because of the Vikings, and now they are forcing her to play house. Siggy pitied the girl.
"Not in front of Tanaruz!" Helga pleaded, hiding the girl's face in her bosom. Siggy sighed and looked up from her work. She stayed behind to talk to the gods, not to babysit Helga and her little prisoner.
Siggy dropped her dagger back into the wooden bowl and rolled her eyes. "I had a vision with Aslaug, and I need to know why. I am going to pray to Odin. Floki stopped me yesterday 'cause I was weak. Now I have enough energy and can't do it because of her."
"Her name is Tanaruz, and she is your sister." Helga insisted, shushing the scared girl. Siggy watched the shaking girl with skin the color of mud. Her eyes trailed back up to Helga, disbelief obvious on her face. "Go out the back of the tent; I will watch."
With a dramatic sigh and eye roll, Siggy stood up and stomped her way outside. She sat on the grass and cut a line down her palm. Slowly she watched the blood drip into the bowl. Closing her eyes, she whispered the words to praise Odin.
"Hail to Odin, Allfather, breath-giver,
seeker of wisdom, seizer of knowledge,
a gift for a gift, value for value,
pain for insight, all you know well.
The sons and daughters of ash and elm
call to you, wise one of many names.
We give you thanks for our own might,
we give you thanks for the gift of will,
for choices offered, for the long view taken.
Hail to Odin! Hail the wanderer!"
Her mind started to go blank; she dipped her fingers into the pool of blood and dragged them down from her eyes to her chest. The blonde bought the bowl of blood to her pink lips and chugged the red liquid. The iron taste in her mouth made her sigh in satisfaction. Her ears grew deaf, her eyes blind, and her mind blank. Odin heard her prayer and came to answer.
When she came back to consciousness, Helga was sitting by her side on the bed. Tanaruz watched the girl from her spot on the floor, her eyes trailing to the cut on Siggy's hand. "This was one worse than any before." Helga fretted, running to change out the water that she cleaned her face with.
That left Tanaruz and Siggy alone. The two watched each other with wary eyes. Finally, the blonde led in and rose from the bed. She trotted over to the table and drank the whole flagon of water. The sounds as it dropped to the ground startled the poor little girl. Siggy looked at her and threw something her way.
Tanaruz flinched; she hid her face behind her hands and waited for it to kill her. But instead, something hit the ground before her. The girl looked down at the ground from between her small fingers, and there laid an apple.
She looked at Siggy in disbelief; the tall blonde just stared back, another apple in her hand. Not breaking eye contact, Siggy bit into it loudly, the juices running down her chin. She raised her eyebrows at the girl and pointed at the apple.
Tanaruz picked the apple up and slowly took a tiny bite that made Siggy smile. With a finger in front of her lips, Siggy signaled for her to be quiet, and then she left the tent. By the time Helga returned with freshwater, Siggy was gone, and Tanaruz ate the apple. The older blonde sighed but praised Tanaruz for finally eating.
Rollo, Hvitserk, Bjorn, Halfdan, and Harald stood up on a cliff, watching the place they conquered. Siggy climbed up the cliff, the scarf she wrapped around her head whipping in the wind. The cawing of crows followed her like devoted servants. She could feel Odin's presence near, so she let it guide her to the men.
Further up, she could see Hvitserk and Bjorn wander off, probably looking at the crows. Finally, she made her up the hill to meet them. The others turned to face her as well. Rollo looked down at her bandaged hand and frowned. "Did that happen yesterday?"
Hvitserk looked at her and frowned; he knew that vacant look all too well. "Maybe you should rest, no?"
"Your father is dead." She spat, startling everyone present. "Killed by serpents. Cold in the cold, iron earth, Ragnar lies."
Silence fell over them, no one doing anything for a moment. It was like the world stopped. Hvitserk wracked his brain for an explanation why Siggy said those things. But nothing came to his mind. Luckily Bjorn spoke up. "So you heard it too... Odin came to tell us as well."
Siggy walked up to Hvitserk and frowned at him with a bittersweet smile. "Queen Aslaug, daughter of Sigurd and Brynhildr, Princess of Götoland is dead, and her blood is on the hands of the new ruler of Kattegat."
Hvitserk watched her with moist eyes, took her by the shoulders, and shook her. "Did Odin tell you that?!"
Siggy frowned, the cawing stopped, and Odin was gone. She was all alone now, surrounded by power-hungry men in need of answers. "I know what I know, and I said what I said." She hugged him and buried her face into his neck. "I am sorry. I thought she came to me to tell me of Ragnar. If I had known she came to say goodbye."
She pulled back and stared into Bjorn's curious eyes. "Let's return to the camp, and we need to go back." He replied and walked past his blood daughter. Siggy turned to see him go and frowned.
"They will pay in blood for what they have done. Odin said so. Ragnar requested it."
-ARRANGED MARRIAGE, TOXIC FAMILY, PREGNANCY, LOOOONG STORY
The Saxon princess Vanya is forced by her family to marry Ivar as a peace offering. She slowly turns from a meek girl to a confident woman and falls for him.
A one night stand between Ivar and Skuld leads to a toxic relationship that neither wants to admit is wrong.
THE DROWNED GIRL (NO LO UNTIL SEASON 6 - HEAHMUND)
- CANON DIVERGENCE, VIOLENCE, CHILD ABANDONMENT, AGE DIFFERENCE
Bjorn’s daughter Siggy survives childhood and is raised by Floki and Helga instead. Tries to find her path in the world as a Shieldmaiden and Vőlva.
FAMILY (NO CANNON LO)
- SLAVERY, LESBIAN, MAGIC, HUMAN SACRIFICES, CANNON DIVERGENCE
Sold to Ragnar as a Healer, the Seeress Eir is helps lessen Ivar’s pains and helps Aslaug raise her children. Would do anything to protect her surrogate children, even stand up to the Odin himself.
BLOOD ON THE SNOW (BJORN IRONSIDE)
- MASS MURDER, CANNON DIVERGENCE, VIOLENCE, CANNIBALISM, REVENGE
In the mountains Bjorn encounters a berserker with no social skills and a pet wolf. Trying to get over the loss of Þorunn , he falls for her and brings her back to Kattegat that kick starts a series of bloodshed and revenge for Nanna.
Ubbe has been courting Ivar’s best friend Hela for years, their relationship is in danger, as the aspiring shieldmaiden leaves with Ragnar to England and is believed dead by everyone. In truth she is married to a christian lord and forced, plotting her escape.
MORAL OF THE STORY (BJORN IRONSIDE)
-SLOWBURN, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, SINGLE DAD BJORN, PAST ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP, SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES
As a single father, Bjorn doesn't have much time to move on from his wife Thorunn. When Marjorie Potts stumbles into his life.
Her mother left when she was a baby. Her father ignored her and the woman who was supposed to care for her had no time. Nearly drowned at 3 years old. Was raised away from people, rumored to be crazy. Struggles with epilepsy and visions.
Bjorn looks at the baby as if she was all he ever wanted. Only to grow neglectful after Porunn leaves. She reminds him too much of her mother. And the older she grows, the more he hates to look at her.
Porunn looks at her baby in fear and shame. Shame that she failed as a Shieldmaiden, fear that Siggy will turn out like her. Seeing her after all these years was hard. Especially when she looked so much like she once used to.
