"**" "There's no sign of him." "Perhaps they won't come." "Oh, Jarl Borg has many reasons to come, so he'll come." "We will wait for the treacherous devil, as well as your brother." "Unless you have heard from Rollo otherwise." "No, King Horik." "I've had no message from my brother, but I still believe in my heart that he will not betray me," "for he has no reason." "Who needs a reason for betrayal?" "One must always think the worst, Ragnar, even of your own kin." "That way, you avoid too much disappointment in life." "There is the treacherous one." "I was right, Ragnar." "I was right." "Any regrets, Rollo?" "No regrets." "Then let us fight." "Let the gods decide the outcome." "Rider approaching!" "What is it you want?" "I'm here on behalf of Ragnar Lothbrok." "I want to speak to his brother." "Then speak." "Rollo, you and I fought together many times." "I don't suppose you've forgotten." "I think of you as a brother." "But over there is your real brother, your own flesh and blood." "Are you sure you want to raise your ax against him?" "Did Ragnar send you?" "What answer shall I give him?" "Tell him I shall answer him with blood." "Shield-wall!" "Shield-wall!" "Spears!" "Charge!" "Hold the wall!" "Your death is on its way!" "Floki!" "Is this what you really want, brother?" "I cannot fight you." "Without being defeated, we have grown weary of the slaughter of our young men." "So, Jarl Borg," "I offer you one third of the profits from the disputed lands." "Unless you continue to dispute my claim to it." "I would rather go back fighting, than receive such scant justice." " So, you will not accept my fair offer?" " No." "Why do we continue looking inwards?" "Why?" "Why do we fight each other about this piece or that piece of land?" "Why are we not looking outwards." "I have already found a passage west." "We, we have seen rich and arable land over there." "And there must be more." "We must stop this." "If we raided together, we would not need to fight amongst ourselves." "We would not need to kill any more of our young folk." "But instead, offer them land," "land that they can farm." "**" "My mind tends the same way as Ragnar's." "It is my intention to join with him and sail west." "What do you say, Jarl Borg?" "Yes," "I will raid with you, and so I accept your offer." "Not that you'd care, brother, but your niece, Gyda, is dead." "Time to go home." "Floki!" "Floki!" "Don't die." "Please don't die." "We fought all day." "Jarl Borg would not give in, nor us." "Many died." "One-Eye died." "Arne?" "Rollo killed him." "And Floki may not survive for he is so badly wounded." "This was not your quarrel." "You should not have become involved." "Look what has happened!" "No man can walk through life without things happening to him, Lagertha." "You chose." "Yes." "I chose, and Rollo chose." "And Rollo's choice led to all of this!" "Don't argue, you two." "I am weary and I'm blood-sickened, and that is the truth." "Who is Aslaug?" "Stop." "Who is Aslaug?" "She's a Gotland princess." "We met her over there." "You just met her?" "Lagertha." "What has the boy told you?" "What did you tell her, boy?" "It doesn't matter what Bjorn says." "What do you say?" "I say..." "We should not wash our dirty clothes in front of others." " Did you have sex with her?" " Yes, I had sex with her." "How many times?" "Once." "I don't love her." " How can I make you let this go?" " Never see her again." "Done." "Never again." " Why are there such problems between you?" " You know why." "But I don't want there to be problems." "Can't you just say sorry for what you've done?" "It's not so easy with your mother." "And what will happen to Rollo?" "I cannot judge my own brother." "We will have an assembly and the Law Giver will judge." "We will take Rollo up to the Law Rock and that is where his fate will be decided." "What's that you have?" "A gold coin." "From England." "You see?" "It even has King Aelle's face upon it." "So it's worth a fortune?" " What do you want?" " To talk to him." "Rollo." "Rollo, it's me." "Don't bother." "You cannot warm up a dead man." "He is without honor!" "**" "**" "**" "**" "**" "**" "People, as your Law Giver" "I have been asked to determine the fate of this man." "This man chose to fight with our enemies, chose to fight against his brother." "Traitor!" "He killed many of our sons, brothers, fathers." "What hope is there for him?" "He has no defense!" "He has no defense!" "This man deserves to die." "Yeah!" "We all know that." "But, I have decided to spare him." "What?" "No!" "I have taken the advice of the gods." "If they had wanted him dead, he would have died in battle." "But they spared him." "He came forward and threw himself upon the mercy of his brother." "He behaved in an interesting and unexpected way, and therefore, I conclude" "that the gods have made their own judgment, which I cannot overturn." "I therefore order this man be set free." "Kill the traitor!" "We should kill him anyway." "You are the earl!" "No." "We must obey the law." "Who is the Law Giver?" "Just an ordinary man." "Not when he stands on the Sacred Stone." "I wanted to step out of your shadow." "You understand that, don't you?" "But when I stepped out of it, there was..." "There was no sunlight." "No sunlight at all." "What are you doing?" "Leaving." "Everyone hates me here, with good reason." "I have betrayed them." "There is no point in my staying." "But you are going to leave and not even say goodbye to me?" "I thought you would prefer it that way." "Do you really know me so little?" "I have nothing to offer you." "It would have been better for you, for me, for everyone if I had been executed." "So you take no account of the gods?" " What is it the gods have offered you?" " A lifetime of humiliation." "No." "That is not it." "The gods have offered you a chance to be reborn, to be redeemed, to gain Valhalla." "That is what they have offered you." "But you, you want to run away." "You want to hide in a hole somewhere." "Where else can I go?" "Why do you have to go anywhere?" "Gyda," "I have come to say goodbye to you properly." "I have been thinking about you, about when you were small." "You were so lively." "You could run as swiftly as the wind." "You were like quicksilver." "But then, before I knew it, you stopped running here and there and everywhere and you became still." "At 12 years old, you had the stillness and the calm of a fine woman." "What children you would have produced." "What joy that would have brought to all of us." "Dear child, Gyda, you are not gone because you are always in my heart." "They say that a man must love his sons more, but a man can be jealous of his sons," "and his daughter can always be the light in his life." "I know very well that you are with the gods, but I will wait here awhile, and if you want to come and talk to me, then come and talk," "and I will gently stroke your long and beautiful hair once again with my peasant hands." "Father!" " What?" " There's someone coming." "Keep steady!" "Take the oars!" "Pull in the ropes!" "You must believe me, I had no idea." "I did not ask her to come." "Lagertha, Princess Aslaug." "Princess Aslaug, Lagertha." "I know who it is, Ragnar." "Princess, welcome to Kattegat." "Thank you, Lagertha." "This is our son, Bjorn." "I know Bjorn." "Hello, Bjorn." "You must have had a tiring journey." "Come and eat." "Thank you." "You're very kind." "I knew you would be." "Bjorn told me that your mother was the shield-maiden, Brunhilde, of whom we've all heard?" "It's true." "Although she died when I was very young." "And your father?" "My father was Sigurd." "Sigurd?" "Just Sigurd?" "No, I mean the Sigurd who, according to the sagas, killed the dragon Fafnir." "Then your father is also a hero." "People talk about him, it's true, and I'm proud that he was my father." "But I never knew him." "What about your parents?" "They were just farmers." "Surely nobody is just a farmer." "Believe me, Princess, that is exactly what some people are, and are happy to be." "Forgive me." "Do you remember me, Bjorn?" "Do you remember we stood in front of the tree of life?" "It wasn't Yggdrasil." "It was just a tree." "You're right." "We both know that." "It creates a bond between us." "I don't think so." "We don't have any bond." "I don't want any bond with you." "Why don't you just tell her that she has to leave soon?" "She can't stay here." "She is carrying my child." "She brings unhappiness and difficulty." "Can't you see that?" "Are you blind?" "I know it is hard for you to accept, but unhappiness is more common than happiness." "Who told you, you should be happy?" "You've come to an age where you must grow up and be responsible about such things." "When I was your age, I had many friends." "All are dead." "Their happiness is neither here nor there." "How much do you know about this woman?" "Only what Bjorn told me, which was not much." "He did not wish to be disloyal to his father." "I did not know she was carrying his child, though." "And you believe it?" "Ragnar believes it." "What of all her stories of Brunhilde and Sigurd?" "I suppose so." "She is clearly different from us." "What are you going to do?" "I don't know." "I must do what is right for my son." "Floki." "I'm not dead yet, Bjorn." "No thanks to you, Ragnar." "Oh, say what you'd like about me." "I'm just glad that the gods were stupid enough to save you." "The gods and Helga." "You must regain your strength." "There's much to do." "A whole fleet of boats to be built." "You and I have seen nothing yet." "Our journeys have just begun." "It's true!" "I thought I was dead and while I was dead, I was dreaming of other places, the places that you and I shall sail to, Ragnar." "Rest." "Come on, boy." " Floki!" " Hey, Floki!" " Hello, Bjorn." " Floki!" "I hope you will accept what I have chosen and prepared for you." "I did not expect you to go to so much trouble." "It is no trouble, if it is pleasing to you." "To tell you the truth," "I did not imagine you could cook." "I can't." "My women cooked," "I just bought the ingredients." "Looking at both of you here, in my home," "I see no reason why you two should not get on together." "You two are very different, yet both strong." "I have heard that similar arrangements exist all over this country." "What arrangements?" "That an earl can live with more than one woman." "In fact, it is not unusual." "It works to the benefit of everyone, especially the children." "Of both marriages, of course." "It's true." "I know of many such instances." "Yes." "Is that what you're suggesting?" "If I were," "what would you say?" "I'm sorry, but this woman is carrying my child." "I must take care of her." "You must accept her." "When we lost our unborn son, it broke my heart." "I had failed and I will not fail again." "I cannot turn this woman away." "I have to take care of my child." "Don't forget the ax." "You are leaving then?" "Of course I'm leaving." "Is Bjorn going with you?" "That's up to Bjorn." "Bjorn, you have a big choice to make." "I admire your mother." "We all do." "But you have to stay with your father." "If you don't, you will regret it for the rest of your life." "Remember, your father is Ragnar Lothbrok." "Bjorn." "You have to choose." "Say it now." "I choose my father." "Very well." "What?" "Mother's left." "Move!" "You're really going to abandon me without even saying a word?" "You insult and humiliate me." "I have no choice but to leave you and divorce you." "I don't want you to go." "It's fate." "I've changed my mind." "I'm coming with you." "Look after your mother." "Come on." "Move on."