After the failed assassination attempt on Lagertha, the great hall became festive once more. She watched Bjorn greet his mother, and then whisper something to her. Sigurd placed a hand to her lower back to remind her he was there, and he needed her. As if he had to make his presence known. He was her enlightenment in a sea of obscurity and doubt. Her atonement and forgiveness in the midst of her sins. She required him as well. Without verbal agreement, they moved to exit the hall.

"Bonnie," Torvi's voice called from behind her.

She turned in time to see Torvi leave Lagertha's and Bjorn's side and rush in her direction. Sigurd groaned next to her. "Give me a moment to speak with her."

Seconds later Torvi dove into her arms. "Bonnie, you were away for so long that I feared you may never return." The petite woman clung to her, and Bonnie didn't miss the slight tremble in her frame. "Things have not been well here since Queen Lagertha fell Aslaug. I'm relieved you and Bjorn have returned." Torvi whispered next to her ear.

Bonnie leaned back from the embrace to stare her friend in the face. It was then she realized Torvi had the look of a shieldmaiden. From her corn rows right down to her leather raiding attire, she appeared prepared for battle. Upon second glance the great hall on a whole looked battled ready. Her shoulders dropped at the thought of the burden to come.

"You have cause to be worried Torvi, but not just for Lagertha." She placed a palm to the woman's cheek as she stared into her eyes. "You must worry for us all. We're standing upon the precipice of the end." She glanced around at the less than familiar hall. "Soon, none of this will be as you remembered. Even now I see, what once was, has already begun to fade."

Even more fear crept into Torvi's wide stricken eyes as they snapped to Sigurd. Uncertainty and genuine concern wildly danced within the depths of her gaze.

Sigurd's hand slipped from Bonnies lower back to rest upon her waist. He pulled her closer into his side. "Valkyrie, we shouldn't delay any longer."

Bonnie glanced up at him and nodded, before turning back to Torvi. "How's Guthrum, Hali, and Asa been?"

"Well," a genuine smile captured the untraditionally beautiful woman's lips, "They've all missed you. Although, Guthrum was devastated when you didn't arrive as the marked box promised."

Bonnie's face crumpled. Poor Guthrum. "We ran into a few things along the way that delayed our return." Torvi opened her mouth, but she raised a hand. "Don't worry, there will be many sagas dedicated to those delays." They both shared a smile, and then Bonnie hugged her once more. "Will you bring the children to me after first meal next rising?"

"Yes, Guthrum will be beyond joyful to hear of your return. So you must seek your leave and rest. For I fear once the babes are in your care you'll not know rest again for a while yet," Torvi said.

Bonnie gave Torvi another smile before allowing Sigurd to lead her from the great hall. On the way to her keep the people she'd come to know over the winter months stopped to welcome her back. They spoke to her of mundane gossip that snatched a few laughs from her. Others she didn't know well, bowed to her and regarded her with reverence. While those from varying parts of Scandinavia stared after her with wide mouths and even wider distrusting eyes.

Once they entered her home, she exhaled her relief. The voyage to the Mediterranean, her impromptu murder along with Ragnar's death and her recovered memories had emotionally drained her. Being back in her sanctuary with her barrier protection spells in place afforded her a certain level of mental stability. A stability that had slowly begun to unravel during her period away.

"Fill your tub so we may bathe and groom one another," Sigurd said, as he began undressing her. "While we do so, you'll confess to me all you've seen and acts you've committed."

Bonnie closed her eyes and used her sorcery to displace the water from the cove into her clawfoot bathtub. She then started to undress him. The tension present on his face when she first spotted him on the pier had ebbed away. Now he looked relaxed, serene even. Once she pushed his shirt from his body, she pressed a kiss to his peck. Then rested her forehead on the center of his chest.

"Bjorn's returning to the Mediterranean after he gets vengeance for Ragnar," she said, dreading taking the trip again. What she watched them do to those people took away her taste for raiding. "Sigurd, I don't have it in me to go back. I saw a different side to Bjorn, a different side to them all." She lifted her head and shook it. "They were so vicious, and those people were just living their lives. Harald even slit a woman's throat in front of her daughter. Like it was nothing! He stared the little girl directly in her eyes as he did the deed." Her vision blurred as her strength drained from her body. She walked over to the sectional and dropped onto the cushion. "I'm all for bloodshed in the defense or retribution of those I love, but for sport...,"

Sigurd studied her for a moment before coming to kneel in front of her. "You witnessed a different side to Bjorn, Hvitserk, and the others because when they depart from these shores they can no longer be husbands, fathers, brothers, or sons. Not if they want to come back to those they've left behind." He took both of her hands in his. "So to secure they're return they have to be stronger, colder, and crueler than those they may encounter in their travels. They have to become Vikings. These changes doesn't mean the people you thought you knew are false. For Bjorn and Hvitserk are who they've always been. It just means you've seen more of them than you ever wanted revealed to you."

"Yes, I have," she shook her head and stood. Crossing the keep, she finished undressing as she headed towards the tub. "And do you wanna know what the hell they were doing while Harald was killing me?"

"King Harald is the one who plunged a blade into your chest?" Sigurd questioned, his demeanor going from warm to arctic.

"It's fine, I've already handled it," Bonnie nodded as she waved it off, "but it never would've happened if Bjorn and Hvitserk wasn't busy raping and enslaving an entire harem of women. What kind of men, Viking or not, does something like that? It's as if I had a preview of the horrors of what women of my race has been through and what they'll one day go through. And it was all at the hands of a man I'd thought myself in love with." She shook her head as she palmed her face. "Goddess, if only black twitter could see me now." She motioned for him to climb in the tub.

"Bonnie, you have to start allowing me to defend you," he said as he settled back. When he'd positioned himself for comfort, he held out a hand to assist her in the tub. "Permit me to make an example out of Harald. Once he's impaled on a pole and his entrails are falling-,"

"Sigurd, no!" She attempted to turn and face him, but he tightened his arms around her holding her back to his chest. After a moment of struggling, she gave up and relaxed against him once more. "You can't kill Harald. As much as I hate the disgusting little troll, he's too important to historical events. Now promise me you'll not kill, torture, maim, or stalk him, Sigurd!"

"I'll not kill, torture, maim, or stalk Harald," he said all too willingly.

She craned her neck to eye him over her shoulder. "You'll not, hurt, kill, maim torture, or stalk Halfdan either. All physical, mental, and emotional torment is out of the question." When he took too long to respond, she slapped him on the knee. "I mean it, Sigurd."

"Alright," he said, raising a hand to palm her breast, "however, the next son of a whore who has a mind to harm you will not know the grace of your forgiveness, but they will become well acquainted with the bite of my most dullest rusted blade."

"Would it be weird for me to tell you right now, how much I love you and missed you?" She questioned, biting her bottom lip as he tweaked her nipple.

His free hand crept down her abdomen. "You've been away from me for six full moons, I think it odd you've yet to say it."

"Well, my apologies for keeping you waiting, My Devoted Savage, agh!" His thumb grazed her clit, while his middle and index finger teased her slit. "I love you, Sigurd and missed you like crazy every day I was away."

He spun her around, so she straddled him. His rock hard manhood pressed firmly between them. "Then show me, Valkyrie. Give to me what you'll never offer to another."

A smirk slid across her face, before she dropped her guards and allowed her sorcery free reign.

****

Hvitserk halted at the entrance of Kattegat's stables. He took a deep breath as he attempted to think what he'd say to Margrethe to convince her to marry him. After everything which transpired between he and Bonnie in the Mediterranean, he no longer held any hope she'd one day be his wife or the mother of his babes. He now knew better. Those visions were no more than some sort of trickery brought on by ingesting her blood. Something he planned never to do again. He'd acquired a craving for her. It was all he could do not to hit her over the head, pilfer her away, and then bleed her dry. No, she already thought him a monster, yet if she even knew half of what he pondered about her, she'd think him a demon.

"She's not there," a figure cloaked in tattered black robes said as he shuffled by. The Seer!

Hvitserk fell into step next to him. "Who's not where?"

"The lunatic who molests the horses when she thinks no one sees. Margrethe, ugh!" The Seer spat as his face twisted in disgust. "She no longer harasses those unfortunate animals anymore. Not since your brother freed her."

"My brother, Sigurd?" Hvitserk questioned confused of why anyone other than him would choose to free Margrethe.

"Not, Sigurd! Ack!" He glowered in his direction as if he could see him. "I misremembered I'm speaking with the simpleton. Your elder brother Ubbe. Heard it spoken he intends to marry the mad horse jerker."

Hvitserk halted as the Seer continued. Did Ubbe even love Margrethe are did she serve as a consolation token since he knew Bonnie would never again turn his way. Something he understood. For hadn't he plotted the same course? A hard surface slapped at his ankle and nigh toppled him.

"Mother and father are dead and instead of seeking vengeance, you just stand there with the likeness of a dung beetle trapped in a pile of muck." He glanced down in time to see his youngest brother slither away.

He released an exhale, then turned in the direction of Ubbe's keep.

****

The rising after Sigurd left Blida and Hilda visited. They informed her on everything that had occurred in Kattegat during her absence. From Lagertha's slaying of Aslaug to Ubbe freeing Margrethe so he could marry her. None of which surprised her. She'd known fate would have her way in the case of all of the above. What did surprise her, however, was the news that Torvi had taken to sleeping in the long house with Lagertha and Astrid. Now what the hell was that all about? After an hour or so of tea sipping, her shieldmaidens made it their mission to get her house in order and to start organizing the offerings which had begun to arrive that morning.

A little around midmorning she heard a knock at the door. When she answered, Guthrum and Hali raced in and wrapped themselves about whatever body part they could. Asa gurgled happily at her from Bjorn's arms. Without offering him a greeting to the first, she plucked the gorgeous little girl from his arms and slammed the door in his face. Which he promptly slapped back open to barge in uninvited. Ignoring him, she ambled to the sectional with children practically hanging from her.

"Guthrum, who told you it was okay for you to grow two inches without me here to watch?" She questioned as she made faces at Asa who laughed at Bonnie from the bottom of her belly. "Hali, is this your doing? You seem to have swallowed one of Jack's magical beans as well." Hali grinned as he shook his head "Hmm...,"

Guthrum took her hand and rested his head on her shoulder. "You missed it, because you didn't come back when the marked box herald you would." His tone was gentle, but still accusing.

"When you begin to raid, you'll learn journeys aren't dictated by marked boxes," Bjorn snapped, from his place by the door.

Guthrum's grip on her hand tightened, and she shot Bjorn a hatemaker conceived and bred in the deepest and darkest part of the Christian hell. "Is there anything else you needed, Bjorn?"

Agony tipped-toed across his features, and then blended into the stern expression dominating his face. "Ubbe and the slave are marrying."

"She's not a slave anymore. Ubbe freed her," Hilda said as she placed a bowl of honey before a grunting Wilbur.

His face scrunched as he waved off Hilda. "You will join me and Torvi at the ceremony."

"The hell I will," she said with a smile plastered on her face for the benefit of the children.

"We must come together and remain so if we're to confront Alle and Ecbert on the same accord." Bjorn moved further in the house and sat in her favorite wing chair.

The eye she gave him went from evil to Satan approved. "Guthrum you and Hali gather the assignments you worked on while I was away. Give me a minute to speak with your father and I'll be over soon after."

Guthrum nodded, and then released her hand to grab Hali's. Once they were behind the wooden partition where she kept all of their learning supplies, she turned back to Bjorn while gently bouncing Asa.

"Bonnie, you know I speak the truth," he said, speaking down to her as if she were an uncomprehending child.

A sneer curled her upper lip. "What I know is your so full of shit I can smell you over here. Ubbe and that dizzy ass Margrethe could care less if I attended their wedding. So what's the real reason you want me at your side to watch my ex marry his delusional side chick?"

"It's as I said," he said, continuing to watch her with eyes which burned. "Your presence there will be a kindness to them both. It'll signify progression from erstwhile conflicts to favorable alliances."

She straight face the hell out of him. "And my attending their wedding says all of that, huh?"

"And more." The smugness which wafted off of him turned her stomach.

She gave him a huge fake smile, while addressing him in a syrupy tone. "Get the hell out of my house before I stick my foot so far up your clapper I'll have to wear your big ass as a thigh warmer for the remainder of the Viking Era." Her grin doubled as she noticed Asa smiling up at her. "You better tell daddy he don't want none of Aunt Bonsie. No he don't, no he don't!"

"The ritual will take place after second meal in the clearing in the forest," Bjorn said, and then rose to leave.

The clearing in the forest? The place they used to creep together? Wow! A respect was due to a dog and here she was the Supreme receiving none to the first. Okay, Bjorn wanted her to attend Ubbe's wedding, so be it. She'd do just as her mighty protector requested.

****

Bonnie's entrance couldn't have been more on point even if perfection had timed her itself. She waited until Hvitserk handed Margrethe off to Ubbe before she began her stroll down the same pathway the bride had walked only moments before. Her mystical energy swirled about her, casting her entire frame in a golden glow. Everyone turned to watch her Naomi strut own every inch of the ground she treaded on. When Ubbe and Margrethe noticed they were no longer the center of attention, they followed everyone's gazes back to her. Ubbe's breath caught, while his bride whimpered her distress.

Not feeling a least bit of shame, Bonnie stood before them looking her Vera Wang Viking best. That's right! She'd worn the wedding dress in which she'd planned to marry Ubbe. From her elaborate messy bon to the French tips on her finger and toe nails, she'd prepared herself as if she would be the one saying I do. Yet, this was her making a point. She knew Ubbe had his doubts that she really planned to marry him. Though at one point, in the beginning before all the cheating and choosing, she'd dedicated herself to the idea of being his wife with her entire heart. The same way she did when she agreed to marry Klaus.

As she passed she reached up to palm Sigurd's cheek. His gaze held a knowing look all while concealing every one of her secrets. Bjorn came next, but she barely spared him a glance. Instead, she offered Torvi a smile who leveled her with a well done smirk. She stopped next to Ivar who graced her with one of his smug half smiles. He slipped an arm around her waist as she rested an arm on his shoulders.

"You're breathtaking, My Love," he said, allowing the sincerity of his words to linger in his eyes.

Leaning down, she kissed him on the lips. "Thank you, Babe."

Murmurs rippled through the guests. When she straightened, she locked eyes with Hvitserk. They watched each other for a long moment before something deeper within the woods caught her attention. After a moment of watching the area a cloaked figure stepped from the shadows into the light at the edge of the clearing. Silas.

"Ubbe, look! It's Odin!" Margrethe literally bounced up and down. "If he's here then it means he favors our marriage."

Disbelief left Ubbe's features an array of unawares. "The All-Father."

"Supreme?" The high priestess called with reverence. "Will you bleed for this union?"

Bonnie lifted her chin, staring down her nose at Ubbe and Margrethe. "This woman is not a daughter under my dominion. In fact, she's a betrayer to all supernatural kind and to me personally. The only fruit born of this union will be of the rotten and parasitic variety. For her womb is as diseased as her mind." The high priestess sucked in so much air Bonnie thought the rest of them would suffocate, while the guest whispered their outrage to each other over her supposed curse. Leaning down, she kissed Ivar once more, before looking back to the miserable couple. "Have a happy life, Ubbe."

With that she made her way to the edge of the clearing where Silas waited for her. When she was within striking distance of him, he bowed to her once again. "Nothing's changed, you're still the show stealer I see."

"Get me the fuck out of here," she said, pissed with herself for losing her cool.

"Thought you'd never ask, Bennett," he took her hand, twirled her into his arms, and then spun them into nothingness.