AN: Warning this chapter contains sensitive subject matter that some may find triggering. If you must forgo this one I completely understand. See you on the other side!

Ivar watched Odin lead Bonnie from his personal quarters. Unease stirred within the inner reaches of himself. He'd made a grave misstep. Traveled too far in his journey for vengeance. Without aiming to do so he'd misplaced himself along the way. His heart misremembered the value of the one supreme being he'd treasured more than his own broken life. His love. He tore his gaze from the entrance and spun on his wife. She cowered next to him, her bulging stare still trained upon their beaded doorway.

Unable to even stomach a glance of her he gripped her by the throat and glared into her eyes. "Do you know what you have done, Slave? Do you know the retribution that now stalks you...us?!"

Her head gyrated in small shakes as she attempted to no doubt rasp more lies pass his clench upon her throat.

"Is what she say true, Ivar?" Lord Hvitserk ripped the hanging beads from the entryway and stood before them in full battle rage. When Ivar took too long in his response an ax hurtled a hair's breadth between he and Freydis' faces and buried itself in the wall. "?"

Ivar shoved Freydis away from him. Instead he attempted to slaughter Hvitserk by sight alone. "Who do you think? Were you not there and hearing when she demanded you give unto her a living testament of your affections?" His ever mounting rage and frustration discovered his brother to be an acceptable target as any. "You and you alone shoulder the burden of blame for this, Berserker! For had you not relinquished your wits in favor of scornful anger the moment Bjorn spoke of Bonnie's carrying you would've known the babe nestled in her womb as ours!"

"What?" Freydis uttered, while clawing at her chest. "No!"

Ignoring the worse thing he should've never known, Ivar attended his dullard of a brother. For several moments a battle of glares ensued between them. Then Hvitserk ripped his eyes away. Appearing a man possessed by a legion of the exacting, his brother tore his personal quarters to bits with only his bare hands to aid him. When everything lay broken and in a disarray about them, he snatched his sword from his trousers. Hvitserk marched towards the bed. His slitted stare fastened upon Freydis. The intent in his glare plain. Ivar wanted nothing more than to know the feel of her blood upon his skin. Even more so after her attempt on his daughter's life. Yet the babe she carried for him remained ever innocent of his mother's schemes. Reluctantly, he placed his body before hers to shield her from Hvitserk's attack.

"Brother, spare her!" Ivar pled with his tongue and eyes. "This babe is innocent of Freydis' plots." Hvitserk's expression didn't crack nor did his pity appear to be forthcoming. "You now know the endless agony of losing a babe. Will you settle such a fate upon me...once more?"

Pain fissured Hvitserk's mask of stone. Rage and regret waged a bitter battle in his glare as a growl tore from the depths of his gullet. He sheathed his sword. "I shall spare her for now, but do not mistake my show of restraint, Ivar. For after she's birthed her babe into Midgard her heart will meet the cleaving edge of my sword."

After skewering Freydis with one final glare, he spun about and sought his leave of their personal quarters.

****

Why didn't she tell him? Why hadn't he known? Those two thoughts bandied about Hvitserk's mind in a litany deafening in its silence. Ivar had the right of it. He'd allowed his bitterness to cast him as a fool. For she'd come to him. Even begged him to help protect her—their babe, and he'd turned her away. This is why the gods had allowed Thora to miscarry their son, why they'd taken her womb. His treatment of their Most High had angered them. They'd judged against him and now Thora would be made to suffer for his sins. He never should've reached for her. He never should've desired something more than fate had already ordered for him.

As he approached Bonnie's keep Odin stepped from the shadows to block his path to the door. "I'm here to call upon Bonnie. To sight the state of her and...her babe."

Odin laughed. "Even now that you know the truth of the baby's paternity you still can't manage to call the child yours." He tsked. "Myrieteris, yet you stand before me profoundly unaltered." The All-Father's laughter turned sneering in nature. "Seek out your leave, Lord Hvitserk." He opened his mouth to protest, but Odin's voice thundered. "."

"Please, I only wish to know how my daughter far-,"

"," Odin hissed, while closing the distance between them. An all-consuming fury slashed through Hvitserk. Searing heat scorched the inner lining of his sockets. A perceptive glow lit the All-Father's gaze and reflected within his smirking lips. "Greetings, brother. Was wondering when you planned to stop hiding and make an appearance."

"" A voice that wasn't altogether Hvitserk's rumbled from his throat.

Odin's eyes flashed methane bright as two cloaked figures halted next to them. Potent Mystical energy which could be likened to Bonnie's flared about them. "You two shall not total out your sums against each other at this moment in time!" One of the figures bit out in a lowered hissing tone. "My descended daughter will suffer greatly this eve. What she shall not suffer is the pride and pissing sports of men. I won't allow it!" Her glare cut to him, her large dark eyes turned mournful. "Your business here is done, Son of Ragnar. You've chosen the trail upon which you mean to travel. I suggest you go trek it." Her gaze then moved to Odin. "Do not linger long here. She shall soon awaken and have need of you. Come, Ingrid, we have much to attend before it begins."

After the two figures entered the keep Odin's blood hued gaze rediscovered him. "Go home to your wife. Ayanna's right, brother. Your business here is done."

With that said he turned and followed the two others inside. Not knowing what else to do with himself he did as instructed. He returned to his keep. When he entered Thora waited near the hearth. Upon sighting him, she rushed into his arms. He held her close needing her comfort.

"How is the Supreme? How does she and the babe fare?" She questioned while angling her face up to stare into his eyes. "I've heard much talk in the pathways. People are saying Queen Freydis sent warriors to harm the Supreme and her babe. If this is true..." Her words drew to a halt as her scrutiny searched his face. "What's wrong, husband? Has something more come about?"

"When Bonnie went to the long house to confront Freydis, I heard her say she carried the babe for me and Ivar." He released her to sit next to the hearth. "After she sought her leave I questioned Ivar about her claims and he confirmed what she spoke to be true."

The instant shine which polished Thora's eyes nigh shattered his heart. "Now that you know this to be true, do you wish to leave our marriage to return to the Supreme?"

Hvitserk shook his head and held out a hand to her which she readily accepted. He pulled her slight frame into his lap. "I could never break a vow. Especially a vow I made to you, My Joy."

"I release you of any vow you've given me. I can no longer bear your children," she said, meeting his gaze with a raised chin and an unwavering stare. "And a name such as yours should-,"

He exhaled. "Thora, that is not something I want-,"

She placed a finger over his lips as tears leaked a path down her cheeks. "Once ease has returned to our lives and you have settled your mind upon being the father of the Supreme's babe, offer me your vow again."

He kissed her and then cuddled her close to his chest as his mind turned to the one he'd loved once before. "I turned Bonnie into someone worthy of my hatred. Someone my heart would readily forsake." Glancing away, he considered the thin air before him. "I couldn't risk forgiving her. Not if my forgiveness only led me to more suffering. So I made her into a monster deserving of my loathing and she allowed this, upheld it even. In this her thoughts and plots were likened to mine." He laughed to himself even though no humor presented itself. "From her entering into matrimony with Halfdan the Black to allowing us to ponder the worse of her. All of the transgressions committed on her part was done so to repulse our need to claim her. For she'd failed in concluding her own desire to possess us. She thought overcoming the Lothbroks would make her a better Supreme to her Sons and Daughters. Why didn't I see it all before?"

"You were broken and needed time to heal." Thora grabbed the sides of his face and pulled until his eyes collided with hers. "I can't imagine our Supreme not forgiving you. She's merciful and her heart is unconditional."

Hvitserk rested his forehead on hers wanting to believe his wife's words. Yet he knew Bonnie in a way her trusted never would. She loved hard and revenged even harder. "If our daughter enters Midgard this eve cloaked in stillness then never again shall I feel the warming mercy of our Supreme's forgiveness."

****

Bonnie hummed as she swayed back in forth in the rocking chair. She stared into her daughter's faultless face with a tiny smile perched upon her lips.

"She is beautiful, My Treasure," Ragnar's voice drifted to her from over her shoulder.

She cast her gaze over a shoulder to lock eyes with his blazing methane blues. Her smile doubled in size as a sense of complete contentment overran her. "That's because we work well together, My All. Of course our daughter would enter Midgard as perfection personified."

"Our daughter," his fingers skimmed the hollow of her cheek. "Oh how I long for this to be true."

The skin between her brows wrinkled as a menstrual cramp on steroids dipped in speed ripped through her pelvic. "Agh...what'd you mean?"

"Don't be afraid..."

^^^^

Bonnie awoke screaming. The pain which shredded her lower back and abdomen snatched the breath from her lungs. She struggled to an upright position as the mattress beside her dipped. A hand slipped in hers, while an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Bonnie, I'm here," Silas' voice pierced the veil of torture that imprisoned her. "Don't be afraid. The baby is coming."

"The baby's...c-coming," she managed to sputter between gasps.

His head dipped twice. "Yes, but everything's gonna be fine. Ayanna's here too and we're going to get through this, Bennett. I vow it."

Her head bobbed as her gaze caught sight of the cloaked figures pulling various items from a satchel. "O-okayyyyy!!!!!" She wailed.

"Splay her legs so I may check her progress, Immortal," Ayanna's voice drifted from underneath one of the cloaks.

Bonnie wasn't sure which because she found it difficult to center her focus. As Silas moved to do as Ayanna instructed, her eyes rolled and specks of black dotted her vision until only blackness remained...

A radiant light fell upon rolling emerald hills, snowcapped cliffs, and aqua oceans. Peace wove itself through the atmosphere of the Eden like utopia. Birds chirped their soul stirring songs in harmony. Each lending a lilting melodic soundtrack to the overwhelming sense of rapture. Bonnie didn't know how she'd come to exist in such bliss. Yet a splinter wedged in the back of her mind agitated her awareness. The mental disrupt led her to believe she'd just been delivered from hell.

The sheer white sun dress she wore connected with the breeze and swirled the soft wispy fabric about her thighs. Amber jasmines scented the air. She inhaled. The fragrance was her favorite. Upon closer inspection everything appeared almost identical to a mental refuge she used to retreat to in her head as a child. She spun to take it all in once again. What was this place? Nirvana. Her sorcery whispered.

"How do you grow even more beautiful every time I see you?" A familiar voice halted her twirling.

Her heart froze. She dare not hope... "H-Halfdan?"

"The one and only," he whispered next to her ear.

Bonnie spun around and discovered herself in a pair of arms for which her soul still longed. Her mouth collided with his. After several long moments of nearly sucking his face off, he laughed as he broke the kiss. Joy radiated from his face as if he gazed at the very thing that kept his universe turning.

"How is this possible?" She questioned, cupping his face in her hands.

The joy faded from his features as he took hold of her wrists to entwine his fingers with hers. "You weave in and out of the veil."

"What...why?" The splinter at the back of her mind increased in size a now jugged at her thoughts with the force of a shard.

Halfdan's eyes drifted downward to gaze at her flat midsection. Wait...flat midsection? That didn't seem right. A monster of a cramp tore at her uterus. She squeezed her eyes shut as she huffed and puffed her way through breathtaking agony. The hell? Another womb decimating spasm followed on the heels of the first. This pain buckled her knees. A scream ripped its way free of her throat.

"What's happening, Half-," Her eyes flared open and she locked gazes with Enzo St. James. "Enzo?"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead as a mournful gleam lit is eyes. "I love you, Bonnie Bennett. Remember, no matter the situation or enemy, you're stronger than those who think to make you weak. You'll survive this, you'll survive it all."

She shook her head as she gritted her teeth against another cramp. "I don't understand."

"And I wish you never had to..."

^^^^

"Why is this taking so long?!" She heard Silas bellow.

"How long do you believe it should take for one life to give over another, Immortal?" Ayanna questioned in that cutting tone of hers.

"She's awakened!" Another voice informed she didn't recognize.

The mattress dipped. "Bennett, I'm here," Silas said as she felt fingers push strands of hair from her forehead. "Ayanna says you're almost ready to push."

"Almost?!" She rasped as her eyes parted enough to see his face hovering over hers. "Is my baby alright, Odin?" A thought gripped her mind and refused to let go. "She's breech isn't she? That's why it's taking so long, isn't it?"

His face crumpled as he glanced over his shoulder. "Bonnie-,"

"This will take as long as it'll take. Do not burden yourself with troubles that are not yet yours to claim," Ayanna said, appearing at Silas' side to place a wooden cup to her lips. The taste of green tea filled her mouth and slid down her throat. "Now rest, you'll need your strength when it's time to push the babe from your body."

Bonnie's lids grew heavy...

She walked down a long dim hallway. Wails of the disheartened met her ears. Despair tainted the air. Wasted time dwelled in the Ancient of Day's Purgatory, trapping the occupants who remained there in an endless loop of more waiting. Such a place gave her bad vibes. It agitated her sorcery. For no one should be made to wait to know the forecast for the rest of their eternity. Normally under any other circumstances, she wouldn't have entered the Christian in between, but one of hers called out to her.

The second door to the last swung open near the end of the corridor. Inside the barren room a figure crouched in the corner. Her sorcery flared and filled the tiny cell with a gilded light. Heahmund's hands shot to shield his eyes from the ethereal radiance illuminating all four square feet of the space. When he chanced a peep through is fingers his sobs added to the cacophony of wails pouring in from the hall. He scurried over to her on his hands and knees.

"Intercessor," he wept as he wrapped his arms around her legs and rested his face on her boots. "Has our father reconsidered his judgement of me? Will he now allow me entrance into his kingdom?"

She reached down to pull his face from her feet and knelt in front of him. "I'm sorry, Heahmund. I've come because your essence cried out for me to do so." Placing a hand to the center of his chest, she peered into his inner depths.

What she saw there confirmed a truth she already knew. A truth she'd known since the first time he'd called her to him in England by way of his mind. She opened her eyes to gaze in his eyes. "Heahmund there's a verity between you and I of which I'm sure you're very much aware. A verity which the Goddess has all but reaffirmed. Yet like the Ancient of Days she believes your will is free. So you have a decision to make."

"A verity and a decision?" He questioned as his reddened haggard stare searched her face.

She pulled away from him to stand, and then reached down to help him to his feet. Once he towered over her, she entwined his hand with hers. "Come, Heahmund. Let's take a walk and have a conversation." She led him from the cell and down the corridor. After they'd walked for a while, she began to speak. "When we first met do you remember what you told me about yourself?"

"Though I only spoke a few truths about myself to you, I'm unsure to which truth you refer." His grip on her hand tightened as his anxiety rose. Purgatory had a way of triggering ones unease.

"You told me you were a warrior of god." She placed a hand over there joined appendages. "In this assumption you are right and wrong. You are a warrior. A defender of the faithful even, but your fight is for the Goddess. Not the Ancient of Days. Your name never resided in his book of life. It's scribbled across the ether that marks the dawn of our kind. A resounding proclamation engraved by fire upon her mystical energy."

He shook his head as disbelief resided on his face. "I love my lord, and though I'm only a man I strive to keep his commandments."

"And I'm not questioning your dedication to him. I know of the Ancient of Days grace...of his love and forgiveness. Yet I also know just like the Goddess he knows the heart of his children and those meant to be his." She paused to see if he received her meaning. "You know his word, Heahmund, and yet you twist it to suit your agenda...that's a big no. By doing so you are violating and corrupting what is sacred. For you know as well as I his word has life."

"I walked his path when the world allowed and I adjusted to secure the church victories! A great many victories!" his voice rose as his passions soared.

"He'd rather have you hot or cold. If you're lukewarm, he'll spew you out," she said, stopping at a set of double doors and then turning to face him. "Heahmund as I said before, you have a decision."

"A decision?" He uttered as his gaze strayed to the double doors.