— 2. Kattegat

As the days passed and they were still at sea, she soon grew used to the name Ragnar Lothbrok had given her.

Tova.

At first, she hated it, but she felt as though it was growing on her. Perhaps it was because she had never had a name before.

"Ragnar Lothbrok," She suddenly heard Athelstan speak up, causing her to turn her head to look at him.

"What is it?" Ragnar asked Athelstan as he turned his head.

"Brother Cenwulf here, beside me, I think he's dead," Athelstan informed Ragnar, who stood up and made his way over to them.

"You're right," Ragnar replied once checking to see if the man was dead, "Leif."

Tova looked up, watching with wide eyes as the two men lifted Cenwulf before throwing him into the ocean without a care in the world.

"We are all going to die. God save us," Athelstan spoke softly and Tova smiled as she shook her head.

"I don't think God is going to help us with this. We are on our own," Tova replied in a soft tone as one of the men began to laugh.

It wasn't long before they neared land, causing a man Tova did not know to stand up and begin to cheer loudly.

Once making to the docks, Athelstan and Tova were among those dragged off the boats with ropes binding their wrists together.

____

It wasn't long before they were dragged into the Great Hall of Kattegat, where all the riches the Northmen had found in England were laid out for all to see.

"My lord, it was easy to take all of these things. The priests in their temple, they had no weapons. They were like babies," Ragnar explained to Earl Haraldsson with a small smile on his face, "Their only slave was a mere girl."

Earl Haraldson and his wife, Siggy, turned to look at Tova after hearing Ragnar's words. They frowned, the girl looking familiar to them.

Tova stared back at them, frowning since she noticed the way they looked at her. Did they know her?

Ragnar tugged Athelstan forward before grabbing him by the hair, "Here is one of their priests. We captured several of them to sell for slaves," He explained before pushing Athelstan back and turning to address the crowd, "It must be true that there are many more such holy places in England. And other lands to the West likewise filled with such treasure, and to sail there will benefit us all."

The crowd began to speak amongst themselves, murmuring and nodding in agreement.

After a moment, Earl Haraldson stood up from his throne, looking directly at Ragnar. "How did you find this place of great riches when all before you had failed?"

"My lord, we were more fortunate than others. We had Thor on our side," Ragnar informed the man and the crowd began to quietly chant Thor's name.

"Yes," Earl Haraldson nodded his head in response, "Then you were indeed fortunate. But you understand that all this belongs to me, by right."

Hearing the man's words while also seeing the priceless look on Ragnar's face, Tova chuckled lowly. She couldn't help but find the man's failure amusing. It clearly didn't go as he expected it to.

"My lord, me and Floki paid for the boat," Ragnar complained as he stared at the man in disbelief, "Surely, we are entitled to...some reward and my crew..."

"You want me to pay you when you took these things as easily as from babies?" Earl Haraldson commented, causing many people in the crowd to laugh while Ragnar and his men looked offended.

He glanced down at Ragnar, who was glaring at him before he turned to his wife. Siggy gave her husband a look and shrugged her shoulders.

Earl Haraldson sighed in defeat and looked back at Ragnar. "Here's what I've decided to do..." He trailed off as the doors suddenly opened, "Each one of you can take one thing from this hall."

"One?" A man named Leif asked Earl Haraldson asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and you'll still be richer than you were before," Earl Haraldson replied with an attitude, "Now, all the world can see how magnanimous and generous is your lord, especially since you disobeyed me. So, Ragnar Lothbrok, what will you choose?"

Ragnar smiled, trying to contain his anger and disappointment as he made his way over to where the riches were. He picked up a golden bowl and deciding to make it all a joke, he placed it on his head. He began to hop around, causing the group to laugh loudly. He flipped it in his hand before turning to look back at Earl Haraldson.

He placed it back down in the pile, smiling at the man who looked unhappy. He turned and began to walk around, sharing a look with each of his men, all of which looked unhappy.

After a moment, he turned back to Earl Haraldson and bent forward slightly. "I will take the priest and the girl for my slaves," He informed Earl Haraldson, causing Tova to look up as her eyes widened in utter disbelief.

Earl Haraldson's eyes widened as well and he turned to look in the direction of where Tova and Athelstan stood. "The priest and the girl?" Earl Haraldson asked in confusion as he looked back at Ragnar.

Ragnar nodded, causing Siggy to begin laughing loudly before everyone else began to join in.

Ragnar smiled widely and looked back at Earl Haraldson. His smile soon faded and everyone soon began to realize that Ragnar was being serious.

"Granted. Even though that counts for two and not one," Earl Haraldson replied in a calm tone.

"One and a half," Ragnar corrected the man in a snarky tone, "The girl is no more than ten years old. She's barely considered a half of a person."

Ragnar turned and exchanged a look with Tova, sending her a small nod as she stared at him in shock.

_____

It was nighttime in Kattegat. In the Great Hall, Siggy Haraldson was standing in a room, running her fingers over all of the gold her husband had taken from Ragnar and his men.

She picked up a golden necklace, smiling down at in admiration.

"That girl..." Earl Haraldson spoke up as he looked downwards with an almost saddened look on his face, "She reminded me of someone. Our lost daughter. Skadi."

"Skadi died long ago," Siggy reminded her husband, a sad look on her face as she turned to glance at him, "She was taken from us as a young girl, just as our sons were."

"But unlike them, we never saw the body," He complained and Siggy sighed in defeat.

"That girl is a Saxon. She is not our daughter," She argued as she shook her head at his words.

"She is the same age that Skadi would have been. She has her light hair, too, and her blue eyes," He continued to explain, causing Siggy to feel uneasy.

"Do not say such things," Siggy pleaded in a whisper as she stood up and walked toward her husband, "It can't be her."

"In any case, Ragnar now has her," Earl Haraldson admitted softly with a defeated look on his face.

____

It wasn't long before they arrived at where Ragnar lived, which happened to be a farm. It was something Tova never expected. Were many Vikings warriors that lived on farms?

The moment they entered, Tova laid eyes on a young girl that was crouched down on the ground. She looked about her age. She continued to look around, only to look annoyed when she saw Ragnar tie her and Athelstan's ropes to a wooden post.

"Did he just tie us up like a dog?" Tova whispered to Athelstan in their native tongue.

"A slave. He tied us up like a slave," He corrected her in a calm tone, "Now, whatever they do, you must let them. You are a slave. You must act like it."

"I've been a slave my whole life. I think I know how to be one," She complained as she gave the priest a weird look.

"Father Cuthbert treated you better than any slave that came before you. Don't go there," Athelstan argued, earning an eye roll from Tova.

They watched as Ragnar greeted his daughter, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Father! You're home!" A boy suddenly exclaimed as he ran out of the house. Like his sister, he had blonde hair and blue eyes and from the looks of it, he was about a year or two older than her.

Ragnar stood up and extended his arms out, allowing his son to run into his arms. "Little man!"

"Did you reach the West?" The boy asked his father with a large smile on his face.

Tova turned her head again and watched as a blonde woman exited their small home. She immediately assumed she was Ragnar's wife and the mother of the two children.

She tilted her head, watching the scene closely. They all looked so happy, which was something Tova had never seen before. She had never seen any kind of family before nor did she ever see children her age. She couldn't even remember the last time she saw a woman at all before she arrived in Kattegat with Ragnar.

The woman smiled as she walked over to Ragnar. She cupped his face and kissed him, causing Tova to frown since she never saw such a thing happen before. She assumed it was normal for a husband and wife to kiss each other on the lips.

"So..." The woman trailed off, smiling as she pulled away from the kiss and looked up at him, "Where's all the treasure you promised?"

"The Earl took it all for himself," He informed her, causing the woman to look disappointed, "But I found it, and it filled the boat."

The couple laughed, delighted by the news. "I believe you," She told him as she leaned closer to Ragnar.

"You ought to believe," Ragnar responded, backing up before he made his way over to Athelstan and Tova, "This is a priest from the temple to prove it. And I found this girl as well. She was a child, living with all men as their slave. From what I've learned, she has never seen another child before nor another woman. She was kept in the walls of the monastery and never let out. She is as sheltered as they come. I have named her Tova. Preist, Tova! This is my family. The priest's name is Athelstan," Ragnar introduced the duo to his children and wife as they all made their way over, "Although he's a foreigner, he speaks our language. They both do. Don't you?"

"A little, yes," Athelstan nervously nodded his head while Tova smiled, shaking her head slightly.

"Though Tova here speaks it as though it was her foreign tongue, don't you?" Ragnar asked the girl with a smile on his face and Tova shrugged.

There was a long moment of awkward silence, just before Ragnar grabbed the back of Athelstan's neck with one hand before using the other to grab ahold of his son, Bjorn's hand. He lifted Bjorn's hand, running it over the bald spot on the top of Athelstan's head.

"What is wrong with your head?" Bjorn asked Athelstan in disbelief.

"When we become monks, they cut our hair. It marks us out," Athelstan informed Bjorn as Tova quietly scoffed.

"Marks you out as foolish cowards who hide behind God whenever something bad happens in your life," Tova muttered under her breath.

Hearing the girl's words, Athelstan shot her an annoyed look while Ragnar found himself smiling in amusement.

"If you're a priest, which God do you like best?" Ragnar's daughter, Gyda, asked Athelstan curiously.

"There is only one God," Athelstan complained as he gave her a weird look, causing everyone to stare at Athelstan in confusion.

"And I thought I was going to make this awkward," Tova commented as she rolled her eyes in annoyance before turning to Gyda, "I like Thor."

"Good choice," Gyda complimented the girl as they both began to smile.

Ragnar extended his arm out, holding out Tova and Athelstan's ropes to Bjorn. "Here, you can touch them," He informed his two children, earning a weird look from Tova.

"Are we keeping them?" Bjorn asked his father as he and Gyda began to examine Tova and Athelstan as if they were pets.

"Hello," Gyda politely greeted them as Ragnar and Lagertha walked away together.

"She does not look like a Saxon," Gyda told Bjorn as she eyed the clothes Tova wore.

"No, she looks like a slave," Bjorn commented, smiling in amusement, "I mean, look at her rags!"

Tova glared at Bjorn after hearing his words, watching as he turned to Athelstan.

"Why do you wear this?" He asked Athelstan curiously.

"All monks do," Athelstan informed them as Bjorn turned to Tova once more and began to run his hands over her clothes, poking her as he did so.

"Can you stop poking me?" Tova complained as she gave Bjorn an aggravated look.

"Why should I stop poking you?" Bjorn retorted as he let out a large scoff.

"Because I don't like it," Tova answered as if it were obvious, only to have Bjorn laugh in return.

"You are a slave. It doesn't matter what you like," He reminded her, earning an offended look from Tova.

"That's rude," She complained and Athelstan couldn't help but scoff.

"You're the last one to talk of rude," Athelstan complained, earning a glare from Tova.

Hearing Athelstan's words, Gyda couldn't help but laugh while Bjorn smiled in amusement.

Tova ended up turning to Bjorn, who was continuing to poke her. Having had enough, Tova lifted her right leg and kicked him in the shin, causing Bjorn to cry out in pain.

"Ow!" He yelped, beginning to hop around as he clutched his shin.

Amused by the sight, Tova began to laugh in amusement alongside Gyda.

_____

That night, Tova ended up being forced to share a room with Gyda and Bjorn. She didn't really care, though. It was just odd to be sharing a room with other people. Not to mention, the room was larger than the one she grew up living in.

She had told Gyda that and the girl frowned, informing her that the room they were in was actually considered small.

Tova was sitting on the floor in the corner in front of Gyda, who was braiding her hair. Tova smiled as the girl did so. She had never done her hair before and the fact that someone else was doing it for her was even more foreign to her.

She had been around four when she was brought to the monastery and since then, she didn't think that she had ever seen a child or a woman before. Only the monks and Father Cuthbert. It was good to have Gyda around, especially since the girl was the same age as her.

Just then, Tova turned as Bjorn walked into the room, shooting both his sister and Tova an annoyed look. "You shouldn't be braiding our slave's hair," Bjorn complained as he walked past them and over to his bed.

"You shouldn't talk about me as if I weren't here," Tova argued, shooting Bjorn a glare.

"I do not like you," Bjorn retorted as he glared back at her, "You are cruel."

"I could say the same to you," Tova replied, smiling at him sarcastically.

"You're the one who kicked me," Bjorn reminded her and Tova let out a large scoff in disbelief.

"You kept poking me, even when I told you to stop!" She complained in a defensive tone.

"At least I wasn't raping you. That is what many men do to slave girls," Bjorn argued back and while Gyda stared at her brother in shock, Tova frowned in confusion.

"What is...raping?" Tova asked, causing Bjorn and Gyda to share a puzzled look with each other. Neither of them could understand how Tova didn't know what that was.

"You know, like sex?" Bjorn tried to inform her and Tova continued to stare at them in confusion.

"Sex?" Tova frowned in confusion as she glanced between Gyda and Bjorn, "What is that?"

"How do you not know what sex is?" Gyda asked Tova, which caused the girl to feel out of place since Gyda was about her age and knew what sex was while she did not.

"Am I supposed to know?" Tova asked, leading to both children nodding, "Tell me, then. What is sex?"

Bjorn laughed in Tova's face and shook his head. "I am not talking about this with a slave and my little sister," He complained, walking away without another word said.

Tova sighed in defeat and turned to Gyda, a pleading look on her face.

"I will not tell you, either," Gyda replied in a kind tone as she shook her head, "You should ask my mother or maybe even Athelstan."

Tova sighed in defeat and nodded her head. She leaned her head downwards, allowing Gyda to continue braiding her hair.

She felt embarrassed for not knowing all these matters that Bjorn and Gyda knew about. She was raised in a place full of monks and while she was knowledgable in some areas, things that were considered common sense by Bjorn, she didn't seem to know. It made her uncomfortable.

Tova is so clueless about stuff that it's both sad and funny 😭😂

She and Bjorn REALLY don't get along tho 🤣