"That was impressive." "I modified the Frankish weapon." "It has a much greater range now." "The Franks will not expect to be attacked by their own weapon." "**" "**" "**" "Bjorn must have murdered our Berserker." " It's a pity." " It doesn't matter." "Really?" "How can you say so?" "Because we have eyes in Ragnar's household." "Anything we need to know, we'll find out." "Bjorn's weakness." "Ragnar's weakness." "The time to strike." " Through Torvi?" " Of course, through Torvi." "Otherwise, I'll kill her child." "She knows I'll do it, too." "Lagertha must never know what we did." "Who would tell her, hmm?" "What were you two talking about?" "Erlendur was telling me how he has forgiven Torvi for leaving him." "Really?" "Hmm." "That young man still surprises me sometimes." "I, too, have a surprise." "I am with child." " That makes me so very happy." " Me, too." "More than I can say." "Although it is still early days." "Marry me, Lagertha." "Marry me." "I have always known that we were fated to be together." "Lagertha?" " I'm sorry." " Don't be sorry." "Don't ever be sorry." "Say that you'll marry me." "Who is he?" "You heard." "He's a king." "From Tamdrup, wherever that is." "And you trust him?" "No." "I don't trust him either." "Why do you not care for your daughter, Siggy?" "I care for her." "She just reminds me of things I'd rather forget." "What kind of man takes a mother away from her child?" "You tell me." "You tried to take me away from my mother." "That is not the way it went." "If you remember, your mother left me." "You left me." "It is not easy being a father." "It is even harder being a husband." "Maybe I have failed at both." "No." "I need a bit more slack on the sail." "I have definitely failed at being a husband." "Need a hand?" "Take more than that." "No, three will do." " Bring it here." " Where do you think?" "I want that close to me." "Why would we?" "Oil these oars!" "How many boats and men do you have?" "More?" "No, take more." "Take one more." "I will go get one." "Do you have enough?" "Twenty boats." "About 600 men." "I told Ragnar mine is a small kingdom for now." "Better for the night." "And when will they arrive?" "They must already be on their way." "My brother, Halfdan, is bringing them." "Bring him on board." "Can you fill these?" "Is your brother like you?" "No." "He's much worse." "He's much worse!" "You have such ambitions." "What else is there?" "What are we here for except to achieve fame, just like your father?" "Isn't that what you want too, Bjorn Lothbrok?" " Be honest." " You don't know me." "And fame won't make your small kingdom any bigger." "Rider!" "How many are there?" "Open the gates!" "Werferth." "We are met to decide how to deal with Mercia." "Now, I am almost decided that the only way now is a full-scale invasion of their kingdom." "And, yet, if there were some other way of restoring Queen Kwenthrith to her throne," "I think we must explore it." "Have you any more idea of the identity of the nobleman you knew as "W"?" "Let me help you please, Sire." "The warring factions of my kingdom are always known by the first letter of their leader's name." ""W" stands for Wigstan." "He has royal blood, as well as being one of the most powerful warlords in Mercia." "Yet, he is obviously not part of the Ruling Council." "No." "Wigstan would find it unbearable to belong to any group." "His interests are always personal." " Then you don't trust him?" " Trust him?" "My Lord, no one should ever trust Wigstan." "So there is no dealing with him?" "Absolutely not!" "The only way forward, the only choice now, is for both of you noble kings to raise your armies and invade Mercia and rid my kingdom of all the factions who want to ruin me!" "Me!" "The only legitimate ruler of that poor, ravaged, raped and abused land." "I agree with the Queen." "There is no other choice now." "So it seems." "Very well." "We shall take your advice." "Wife, come to bed." "I said..." "No." "Why not?" "I don't want to." "Very well." "Then go sleep with my father, you whore!" "Yes, yes, and why don't you go and sleep with your mistress, the Queen?" "Gives you another reason to flagellate yourself!" "Go on." "Hit me." "Hit me if it pleases you, husband." "But it makes no difference, either to you or me." "You are husband to me in name only, as I am wife to you." "But you're otherwise free to do as you will." " We had an argument." " Aethelwulf?" "He called me your whore, which I am and have freely chosen to be." "Do you want me to leave?" "This was my wife's ring." "My wife died in childbirth." "I cannot tell you the pain of it." "And I was resolved never to marry again." "But I would like you to wear it" "if you will." "I cannot wait to take control of my northern lands and set up my own court." "You have some business here first, remember?" " Some family business." " I know." "A man can dream, can he not, of dancing naked on the sand?" "In any case, my father needs you." "He needs a strong man to support him and to guide him." " He has Count Odo." " I don't like Count Odo." "Nor do I trust him." "Of course, it's possible that he could die in the fighting." "Slain by some unknown assailant." "And then the Emperor would just have to rely more on you." "Only a coward kills a man by stabbing him in the back." "That is what a Viking would say." "But you are no longer a Viking." "In Frankia, we do certain things differently." "That is something you'll have to learn, my love." "Something you'll certainly have to learn." "You asked for a private audience." "Why?" "Your Highness, forgive me," "I am reluctant to discuss matters which relate directly to my superior." "You mean Count Odo?" "Then absolve yourself of any guilt and just say what you have to say." "Highness, I am troubled that you always trust his word." "Why?" "Should..." "Should I not trust his word?" "Because he is not always worth believing." "Why, pray, is he not worth believing?" "Because he is ambitious." "Ambitious beyond ambitious." "So that even an Emperor's crown would not sit untidily upon his head." "An Emperor's crown?" "I cannot believe it." "What..." "What are you saying?" "Do..." "Do you have any proof of this?" "I have the word of his mistress." "And, as Your Highness knows, a man will always divulge the truth first to his mistress, and only afterwards, if at all, to his wife." "Very well." "Let me talk to his mistress." "For God's sake!" "How should I trust the evidence of this woman?" "Because this woman is my sister." "Is it true?" "Yes, Your Highness." "And?" "Does Count Odo talk freely of his ambitions?" "Yes, he does." "Very freely." "His ambition to replace me?" "To become Emperor?" "Yes, exactly." "His ambition to become Emperor." "Then..." "Then I beg you, please, stay close, to Count Odo." "Report to me anything which might signal his treachery." "Now, go!" "Leave me!" "The forts have been built according to your instructions, Your Grace." "Eventually, there will be an iron chain which can be raised between them to prevent the passage of any boat upriver." "We should still place some boats beyond this barrier, in case they break through." "Hopefully, they will be unable to do so." "You don't know my people like I do." "They don't recognize any barriers, except as obstacles to be overcome." "What has become clear to both the Emperor and myself is that, if we were to lose Paris, we would lose everything." "For then, the enemy would command the Marne, the Seine and the Yonne rivers, and the country would lie open as far as Rheims." "We must hold Paris whatever the cost." "There is no alternative." "No other choice." "When my brother returns, everything will be decided here." "Is this how you looked?" "Yes." "Though my hair was much shorter." "What is the name of your kingdom?" "China." "And who rules it?" "The Emperor Dezong, of the Tang Dynasty." "I want to know about your father." "My father was a..." "A merchant." "Oh." "Well respected." "Rich enough to own a boat." "What about the Emperor?" "Tell me about him." "The Emperor had many daughters with his wives and concubines." "His concubines were looked after by the palace eunuchs." " Eunuchs?" " Men who are not men." "Why are they not men?" "Their manhood was cut off, so they could not have sex with the Emperor's wives or slaves." "I don't like that." "No." "They didn't like it either." "Are you one of the Emperor's daughters?" " My father was a merchant." " I know." "You told me that before." "I don't know you." "And you don't know me." "Yet I want to tell you my most terrible secrets." " Do you want to hear it?" " Yes." "I can share your burden." "I am small, but I have broad shoulders and I am not afraid." "I will tell you when you tell me the truth about your father." "All right." "Then give me more of that medicine." "Bjorn Ironside, come and sit with me." "We should talk to one another." " You don't trust me." " I have no reason to trust you." "You have told me of your ambitions." "Whether my ambitions come true or not, it's not up to me." "As well you know." "'Cause I can make sure they don't." "I will never give you any cause to kill me." "That is not for you to say." "I may find cause where others may not." "Who knows?" "But for now anyway, we are allies." "And we shall go together to Paris." "And we shall fight together." "Is it not so?" "You and Ragnar need my warriors." "You need my ships." "I can't wait for Paris, Bjorn Ironside." "I cannot wait." "We shall destroy those Christian folk!" "They have seen nothing yet." "We are the masters now!" " Is it not so?" " Yes!" "Yeah!" " Is it not so?" " Yes!" "So we are agreed, we'll raise an army and attack Mercia." "There is no alternative, my Lord Aelle." "Not if we wish to see Queen Kwenthrith placed once more upon the throne." "Travel safely, my Lord." "You are the best of allies." "I'm a simple man at heart, but full of conviction." "Your convictions do you credit." "Farewell, my child." "Take heed of what I've told you." "I will always listen to you, Father." "But also to my own conscience, and weigh such things in the balance, as it please you." "It does not always please me." "But enough." "Women are frail." "Farewell, children." "Remember your duties, say your prayers, and banish the Devil from your thoughts." "Such good advice, my Lord Aelle." "Farewell." "King Ecbert?" "Front King's Guard!" "Yes, Queen Kwenthrith?" "All men forward!" "Move out!" "I need to know that I can trust you." "That you will do what you promised me." "Why would you doubt me?" "You've heard me speak plainly and in public." "I doubt you for one reason only." "And that is that you and I are somewhat alike." "Then do not judge yourself too harshly." "Lord," "you know me for a sinner." "My sins are carnal, venal," "and unforgivable." "I know that." "And I think you have already decided to cast me out into the darkness, like a fallen angel, to suffer in purgatory, or the fires of hell, for all eternity." "Think you, Lord, that I can look upon such scenes with equanimity?" "That I do not dream, in the dead of night, of returning to your light and the promises of heaven?" "Am I not a man like other men?" "And yet," "I would sup with the Devil if he would show me how to achieve my earthly goals." "Your kingdom, Lord, as you have said, is not of this world, but my kingdom is." "And therefore, there is no help for me." "No other way for me but eternal damnation." "A boat's come in!" "They're here!" "Bring him in!" "Over here!" "Brother." "Brother!" "This is Kattegat!" "This is Kattegat." "Come." "King Ragnar, this is my brother Halfdan." "Meet the notorious King Ragnar." "It's a great honor." "When do we sail for Paris?" " You seem eager to fight." " Yes, it's true." "Not just for the sake of fighting, but for the beauty of it." "And against the Christians, yes." "I hate the Christians." "In the name of Odin, I would kill them all." "You'll have the opportunity to kill a great number of them once we reach Paris." "Faster!" "They'll be wondering where you are." "I doubt it." " What are you thinking about?" " Paris." "You must be excited to be going back." "No." "I feel so old." "When I was young, I had the passion to win, but now, with age and all that comes with it," "I have lost the desire." "And the strength." "A few years ago, I established a settlement in a distant country where I took many of my people and friends to make a new life for themselves." "But shortly after my departure, they were all slaughtered." "Their homes destroyed and burned." "I live with such guilt because of it." "And nobody knows." "My father's the Emperor." "They say he left Kattegat a boy and came back a man." "Killed a bear with his bare hands." "With his own hands?" "Hmm." "Who is that?" "It is Floki, the boat builder." "For some reason no one will tell me, he has fallen out with King Ragnar." "Ask him." "Floki." "Boat builder." "Sit down with us." "Yes, Floki." "Sit down." "Make room." "Both of you join us." "Fill the horns." "Sup." "This is my younger brother, Halfdan." " He's keen to know you." " All right." "So, you are the genius that built the boats that changed our world, and helped make Ragnar so famous!" "Why would he fall out with someone like you?" "Because I killed his pet Christian." "Floki!" "Skol." "To new friendships." "Skol!" "Skol!" "Skol." "My turn!" "Here, catch it!" "Mine!" "Ivar, do you want to play?" "Got it!" "It's mine, give it back!" "Now you go!" "Here!" "To me!" "Throw it!" "Here!" "Give it here!" " Not to him." " No, you..." "Higher!" "My turn!" "To me!" "Come on!" "Here!" "Do not be afraid." "It's not your fault." "Everything is all right." "Everything will be all right." "What is that?" "Can I see?" " Where did you find this?" " I took it from someone." "Why are you so interested?" " I want to talk to you." " What about?" "Us." "We have moments when I feel so close to you, especially when you're inside me, but then you don't want to talk, and I wonder why you really came for me and took me away from my child." "Torvi." "I talk to you." "By the way, that was Erlendur's ring." "He got it from his father, King Horik." "You look..." "Lagertha, you look so beautiful." "This is always how I imagined this moment." "Wherever I am," "I don't ever want to forget how you looked on our wedding day." "Earl Kalf is dead." "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!" "Long live Earl Ingstad!"