Bonnie exhaled a steady stream of air through pursed lips as she stood within the closed doors of the great hall. Once those doors open she was expected to lead the procession of high priestesses, high priests, the seer, and Queen Aslaug to where the sacrifices would be held. She had no idea this would be the case seeing no one said anything about a rehearsal. How in the hell was she supposed to know which way to walk or what to do when she got there? No one had bothered to prep her. Caroline would have a fucking duck!

Queen Aslaug eased next to her. "When the doors open follow the path of flowers. It'll guide you to the harbor, where you'll turn left and we'll go right at which time we'll begin the sacrifice," she said, reaching up to squeeze her arm. "Worry not, you'll do well."

"From your lips to the Goddess' sense of pity," she muttered to herself before the doors swung open.

Queen Aslaug gave her a small smile and a reassuring nod. She returned the nod, and then executed a strut down the flowered path that would've made Naomi give her a standing O. The people who lined the path called out to her. Most she recognized, others she believed to be traveling traders merely curious over the happenings.

Once they reached the point the Queen warned of, she veered left towards an elevated platform. A bald priest whose entire head and face that was painted white, assisted her up the steps to the waiting throne. After he seated her a little girl broke away from the horde lining the pathway and bounded up the steps to her. She recognized her from the feast Queen Aslaug had in Lagertha's honor. She was one of Guthrum's friends. The priest attempted to intercept her, but Bonnie waved him off.

When she made it to Bonnie she leaned forward and took the little girl's hands in hers. Immediately, she sensed the potent sorcery radiating off the girl. She would be a powerful witch one day. "Hey, Super Girl! What's your name?"

"Ingrid," she smiled up at Bonnie revealing two missing front teeth. Reaching up, she touched the white petals in Bonnie's hair. "You wore them!"

Surprise coerced a smile from her lips as her head tilted slightly to the side. "Are you the one who's been leaving those beautiful wild flowers among my offerings?"

Ingrid's cheeks dimpled as her smile grew. Her head bobbed up and down. "Will you make me a trusted like Guthrum?"

Bonnie's brows traveled north. She glanced around for Ingrid's parents. No one appeared to have a look of expectation while they watched them. She looked back down at the little girl who did look at her with expectation dancing in her eyes. Resolve dropped her shoulders as she waved over the priest.

"Supreme?" He bent into a full bow.

"Will you bring me a ceremonial bowl and dagger?" She requested as Guthrum and Hali came racing up.

He paused for a moment to study them before inclining his head and disappearing into the crowd. She leaned down to hug and kiss the boys, before placing Ingrid on her lap. Hali gave her an offended look and she ruffled his hair.

"Where's your parents, Ingrid?" She questioned the little girl.

Ingrid craned her neck to look up at her. "Helping to ready the animals for sacrifice."

"Here are the items you requested, Supreme," The priest said reappearing with a bowl, dagger, and a sprinkler.

She picked up the dagger and sliced open her wrist. The priest's breath caught. She allowed the metallic candy apple red and gold blood to gush from the wound into the bowl. When the bottom of the ceremonial vessel was covered she healed her wound. She then allowed her mystical energy to seep from her palm into the bowl, binding blessings, prosperity, and protection into the components of her blood. By the time she completed the spell, the priest's hands shook, and he was practically foaming at the mouth.

Bonnie dipped her thumb in the bowl, and then swiped the pad over Ingrid's right brow. After placing her back on her feet, she then took the ceremonial vessel from the priest's reluctant hands and gave it to Guthrum. Removing the sprinkler from the bowl, she spritzed all three of the children's faces, while marking them as hers and off limits for any form of possession. When finished, she spelled the contents of the bowl to disintegrate if misused.

"Guthrum and Hali, will you assist Ingrid in blessing the other children of Kattegat?" Bonnie asked, handing the sprinkler to the little girl.

The priest spoke up. "Supreme, there's no need to burden the children. I'll bless-,"

"It's fine, the babes can manage," Bonnie said, cutting her eyes to the priest. "Besides, I'm sure I'll need your help once offerings begin."

Elation lit his face up like a Vegas slot machine. "Of course."

The kids shuffled off careful not to spill the contents in the bowl. For the next hour Bonnie watched the sacrificial ritual. Everyone appeared to be in a daze as they smeared themselves in blood. Some even went as far as to drink the life sustaining fluid. When she saw this, she knew the time to go had drawn near. Not wanting to wait any longer, she sent out a blast of Mystical Energy to her trusted.

Within minutes Sigurd dropped to his knees before her. He stared up at her with glazed eyes as he slipped the dagger from his trousers. Without looking he cut a jagged line down his wrist and held it up to her. Taking hold of his wrist, she trailed the tip of her tongue up the length of the wound. His breathing hitched. A moan resonated from her chest. The first tastes of him rocked her body. Shudders assaulted her from bone to gristle. Grunts vibrated from his throat as she latched on. She answered his grunts with a long drawn out groan. Her senses heightened. Ancient sorcery exploded from her and clung to the air. A golden mist swirled about Kattegat, thickening the atmosphere. Intoxicating and seducing those who were far from innocent in nature.

"You have to stop, Valkyrie, or we'll go too far," he rasped, clawing at the small of her back through her dress.

He was right. She was damn near climbing his body already. Tearing her mouth from his wound, she healed the jagged tear. She then used her sorcery to call for a jeweled dagger from Klaus' ancient Egyptian collection. Gasps, shrieks and praises went through the crowd. She paid none of it any mind. Her enforcer/confessor had her in a zone they normally kept between them.

She sliced open her wrist, "Drink!"

Not one to be told twice, he slurped and gulped her down. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as visions assaulted her third eye. Visions of Sigurd when he was younger sitting at the harbor searching the horizon for Ragnar's boat. Flares of the first time he realized Ragnar would never return. Flickers of the initial moment he'd saw her at Bjorn's. The pounding of his heart when she first kissed him. She even experienced the exact twinkling he knew he'd love her forever. Tears brimmed her eyes as each breath became harder to catch than the last.

"S-Sigurd," she stammered, attempting to maintain her composure. "I c-can't feel the ground. Y-you're overwhelming m-me."

He let go of her wrist to capture her mouth. The taste of her blood and the unique flavor of his tongue once again pulled her under. Her magic poured from her into him, strengthening him and the soul ties they shared. His arms slithered around her waist and lifted her up until he had better access to her lips. The solid bulge in his trousers pressed into the tops of her thighs in search of what was nestled in between. Gasp fell from her lips every time he managed to even graze the mons of her good girl. When his hands moved to the zipper of her dress, a pair of soft but firm hands pulled her out of Sigurd's arms.

Not for the fuckery, Sigurd drew his sword and placed it to the violator's throat. The stunned priest released a muffled shriek. The crowd yelled there protest. Queen Aslaug's objections floated among the rest. The hordes turn up snapped Bonnie back into focus. Her gaze locked with Sigurd's. Vacant solid gold irises peered back at her. His mind dwelled in the land of zero fucks. The priest and crowd needed to back the hell down. Inciting him would not serve them well. Especially the priest. Sigurd would split the poor man from throat to groin and not dedicate a single thought to the deed in the after math. Taking a deep breath to get the situation together, she placed her hand on his wrist which held the sword.

"Sigurd, you dishonor the gods!" Queen Aslaug said, from somewhere behind her.

Slowly, Bonnie guided the point of the sword from the priest's throat. "It's okay, Queen Aslaug. Sigurd's my Enforcer/Confessor. Anyone who attempts to interfere with our connection while we're giving to each other, places themselves in danger."

"Your Enforcer/Confessor?" The queen's bottom lip dropped. "I didn't see that. To choose him for such a position would mean his devotion is rivaled by no other and you trust no other more than you trust him. I just assumed Ivar..." her voice trailed off as her gaze collided with a long procession of people waiting to make an offering to Bonnie. "Surely, all here wasn't chosen to bleed for you."

Bonnie lifted her hand and silently instructed her sorcery to reveal the mark of her trusted. A shimmering metallic red swipe dusted in what appeared to be 24k glittering gold flared into existence over their right brow. Queen Aslaug nodded to her, before stepping to the priest and whispering something to him.

"I need to slake my lust, or I'll have you before you give yourself to Boneless," Sigurd said, staring off into the horde of people for any willing servant girl or unattached woman.

Bonnie tried to play it off with a scoff. "I'm not saving myself for Ivar. And what do I look like saving myself anyway? I've had sex before, so it's really not a big deal losing my virginity a second time."

"Of course," Sigurd said, distractedly before pecking her on the temple and hurrying away toward a group of young women closer to the harbor.

"The Most High's trusted, step forward and kneel," the priest demanded, in a tone brimming with authority.

The people gathered in the already formed line studied the other. Those who bore the mark of her trusted stepped forward and kneeled as instructed. Queen Aslaug guided her back to the throne, and she took her seat. Once seated Ubbe was led over to her. His glazed gaze greedily devoured every inch of her. When he stood before her the entitlement which wafted off of him almost overcame her. He truly felt she was his right.

"Kneel," she said. No sooner had the words left her mouth he took a knee. "Ubbe Lothbrok, is it still your mind to offer me the life which runs through your veins?"

"Yes," he said with so much bass in his voice she would've sworn he had an 808 strapped to his chest.

She opened her hand palm up, and the bejeweled dagger appeared. "Then let's create a covenant between you and I."

He took the dagger from her and used it to tear open his wrist. The priest attempted to give him a chalice to allow his blood to drain in, and she waved him off. Instead, she took hold of the spurting wrist and latched on.

****

Ubbe sensed the moment his blood coursed through Bonnie's system. Visions raced towards his mind like the surge of towering waves accompanied with a raging storm. He saw sparks of Bonnie in a strange land. In different stages of her life. One flash presented her as a little girl all of eight summers. A man of her hue in color spoke of her mother never coming home again.

Another flicker found a much older Bonnie alone speaking into a strange small box. "Don't worry, dad, I'm good. I'll have other birthdays. If that kid doesn't get this heart today he won't live to see his next."

"But it's your sixteenth birthday, Bonnie B! And Sheila's out of town and you're all alone-," The voice coming from the box began.

"Dad, I promise I'm fine. Besides, Care, Elena, and me are probably just gonna chill at the grill."

An image of Bonnie and a dark haired warrior shimmered into focus. Tears flooded her eyes, but one had yet to fall. "You lied to me! I asked if coming back had affected you in any way and you lied to my damn face, Jeremy! And for what? So you could continue seeing her?!" A tear finally dropped. She shook her head. Disbelief present on her face. "All this time you've been seeing not only Vicki behind my back, but also Ana? They're fucking ghosts! Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I love you, but...," The young warrior's voice trailed off.

Ubbe's chest tightened. He too had uttered those words to Bonnie after she'd discovered his indiscretion with Margrethe. Before he could deliberate further on his transgressions, a different vision discarded the one before. In this one Bonnie stood speaking with another young warrior whose hair appeared to known the likes of a great storm or a brutal battle.

"We had to find a way to sever Esther's connection to your family's line," The warrior stated. Reluctance tainted his tone even as shame plagued the depths of his eyes.

Bonnie's stare narrowed as she took a step towards him. "What're you saying, Stefan? Where's Abby, what's..." Her voice fractured. "What's happened to my mother?"

"We had no choice. They were going to kill Elena," The coward of a warrior couldn't even look her in the eyes. "They forced us to decide...,"

"Stefan!" Bonnie yelled. The very air around them shook with her rage.

"Damon turned her," he finally admitted.

Her knees buckled and Ubbe reached to steady her, but she slipped through his fingers. "H-he killed my mother?"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie, but...,"

Once more those same words convicted him. Then the setting changed to yet another warrior. This one gazed upon Bonnie in the same way of his eldest brother. He could tell the man loved her deeply and would give his life in the place of hers if the opportunity ever came to past.

"Are you sure, Enzo? Once you take this, there's no going back. You sure you wanna give up an immortal life to live a boring human existence with me?" Bonnie questioned, hope and doubt present in her tone.

The warrior rested his hands on the entry way of the keep she stood in. "The only tomorrows I care about are the ones we'll spend together. Bonnie I can't wait to have a boring human existence with you. I look forward to you choosing me before all the people who thought you never would." Tears welled in her eyes as she reached up to place a palm to his cheek. "My heart quickens when I think of the family we'll one day have together. I'm going to cherish every nightly change, feeding, or cantankerous moment we experience with each of our seven children."

"Wait," Bonnie laughed. "Seven, Enzo?"

"Yes, bloody seven," He leaned down to kiss her lips, "Honestly, I don't care how many children we have as long as I'm able to spend the remainder of my life loving you."

"How about the remainder of the next thirty seconds?"

Suddenly, the warrior's face contorted into a grimace. His skin turned as white as ash. He fell into Bonnie's arms, clearly he no longer dwelled among the living. She sank to the ground with him.

"Enzo?" The ache in Bonnie's voice nearly undid him.

The warrior whose hair appeared to have just escaped a wind storm stood in the open door way. His face, that of a demon's. He tossed her lover's heart down next her, and then snatched her from the keep by the hair with unnatural strength. For the next several moments Bonnie fought the evil being with great honor until he held her by the throat. Ubbe was sure she was a mere step away from the gates of Valhalla.

"Why do you care about Elena anyway?" The creature tilted his head as he studied her. "You're gonna be dead in a minute."

"No," Instead of begging for her life as many women would, Bonnie laughed. She laughed a laugh he'd only heard from her once before. "You're gonna be human." Swifter than he believed anyone capable, she jabbed something into his side.

Immediately, the demon folded in on himself and dropped her. No longer concerned about her own safety she ran to her now dead lover. He could tell by the look on her face she still held hope he'd somehow survived. Yet, the state of his body pilfered away such a child's notion.

"Enzo," she whispered, "please..." she begged.

Pressing a kiss to his lips, she pleaded and bargained for a moment longer before awareness dawned that the gods had no intention of bending to her will. Rage saturated the air and heightened in intensity until it all felt unbearable. Bonnie's eyes burned solid gold. Heat radiated from her as she threw her head back and released a scream that tore through existence and created an entire new reality. The blow knocked his mindfulness back to vigilance.

****

Bonnie scrutinized Ubbe's expression. He looked as if he'd just had a spin around the dance floor with the Christian devil. She removed the dagger from his dead man's grip and sliced open her wrist. He took a few sips, before ripping his mouth away.

"Ubbe?" She questioned her tone calm. "What'd you see?"

He shook his head, stood and hurried away. Before she could call out to him the priest approached with Halfdan. She exhaled her resolve to speak with Ubbe later. Halfdan knelt before her without being told to do so.

"Halfdan the Black," Bonnie came to perch on the edge of her seat. "You've volunteered to bleed for me. Yet you don't know me. I sense that though your energy is wild and at times violent, it not only trusts me, but it's also loyal to me."

"Yes," he said gazing straight into her eyes.

Her head slightly tilted as her eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because I love you," he said with so much conviction she almost believed him, but how many times had she heard those words spoken. "And even as I look upon you now, I know without having the gift of second sight I'll never know what it is to love another."

"Show me," she challenged.

He leaned forward, holding himself within her reach. She placed her palms on either side of his head. Instantly, a flood of endorphins rocked her brain harder than a heroine shot ever could. Visions of her at the cove assaulted her third eye. Whereas everything around her was drab and painted in faded colors, she glistened brighter than the blazing sun. Every image of her shone more exaggerated than the last, while coupled with an overwhelming emotion which made it difficult for her to breathe. She pulled her hands from his head, confused.

"I don't understand," she said, while searching his face.

"From every saga I've heard in its honor isn't that the way of love?" His whiskey browns stare seared into her. "Always feeling it, yet never understanding it."

"Halfdan, I-," she said, not even knowing where to begin to let him down.

Halfdan withdrew a dagger from his trousers and gouged the point into his wrist. He raised the bloody extremity to her. "Will you accept my offer?"