Summary: After her outburst at Halfdan, (Y/N) decides to turn things around. She won't stand for anymore embarrassment.

Characters: Halfdan The Black x Reader

Meanings: (Y/N)= Your name

(Y/F/N)= Your friends name

Warnings: Shouting, arguing

The sun was just rising as I made my way up the hill, (Y/F/N) further ahead. She was much stronger than I, her stamina was amazing. As she waited for me, I wondered if this was really a good idea.

"(Y/N), are you sure you want to do this?" she asked as we made our way to a clearing atop the hill.

"Yes. I need to learn at some point." I breathed out, slightly worn out after the trek.

"Won't Halfdan be worried about where you are? Does he know you're going to start training?"

"I don't care what he thinks. Let's start."

After realising that Halfdan wouldn't be taking me seriously anytime soon, I had decided to enlist the help of (Y/F/N), one of the greatest shieldmaidens I knew (no, I was not biased). I didn't want to go into battle, I just wanted to show that I could defend myself. Halfdan could see I was weak, that needed to change. No one knew I was out here, it was going to be a surprise to everyone.

"This isn't going to be easy." (Y/F/N) admitted as she handed me a sword.

My hand bent at the weight, not expecting it to be that heavy."I know. But I need to do this."

We were up there for hours, as we finished the sun was now high in the sky, though no where near noon. I was sweating profusely, as was my trainer. After taking a few moments to rest, I reflected on what I had achieved that morning; I was beginning to grasp the basic blocks and attacks but had received quite a few scrapes along the way.

"You did well today (Y/N)." (Y/F/N) wrapped an arm around my shoulder, smiling at me.

"Thank you. You make it seem so easy." I laughed.

"I've trained since I was a little girl. No one becomes a great fighter in a day."

We parted ways outside my house, hugging one last time before I hesitantly went inside. I couldn't be sure if Halfdan was still there. As I shut the door behind me, I heard heavy footsteps quickly approaching me; I had only just turned around when Halfdan was in my face.

"Where have you been?!" he demanded to know.

"Good morning Halfdan. I trust you slept well?" I said, trying to put on a confident act as he trapped me between him and the door.

"Do not joke with me woman. Where were you?"

"I was out with a friend, is that a crime now?"

"Then why are you covered in sweat? Does it have something to do with this so called friend?"

I knew what he was implying."Yes, it does actually."

I left it at that, walking away to our bedroom. Once I shut the door, I felt my breathing get out of control suddenly, as if I had been holding it all in. Taking a moment to calm down, I realised that I had to stop acting and become confident in front of my husband. It was going to take time, just like the training. When I walked back out to gather water for my bath, Halfdan was no where to be seen. This relaxed me and I began to run my bath.

It was peaceful for a moment. The warm waters felt good on my aching muscles. As I settled deeper into the water, I heard the front door open, my good mood instantly leaving. Just as I tried to focus on how soothing the bath was, Halfdan burst into the room, causing me to face away from him as I tried to cover my body.

"Get out!" It accidentally escaped my lips.

I peeked over my shoulder as he stripped off his shirt, rummaging around for another one. The shirt on the bed was splattered with a lot of blood. It wasn't his either.

"H-Halfdan, what have you done?" I muttered.

"Relax. It was a little scrap." he brushed it off.

"That's a lot of blood."

"I had to set an example."

"An example? What did he do?"

"What's with all the questions?" he turned to face me, his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

My head whipped around, avoiding his gaze."I-I'm just concerned! You can't just go around attacking people."

I heard him get closer."It was for a good reason. That's all I'll say."

After that encounter, Halfdan was gone all day again. I decided to venture out to the village, hoping to find some friends along the way. Luckily I spotted Margrethe amongst the crowds at the market stalls, startling her as I clamped my hands on her shoulders.

"I hate it when you do that." She huffed as I laughed.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. Mind if I join you?"

She held out her arms for me to link with, we carried on walking together."It is strange to see you out of the house. How are you after...what happened the other day."

"I'm trying to forget it. There's no point thinking about it, I can't change what's happened. But I'll let you in on a little secret."

She leaned in closer.

"I've started training."

"Training?"

"Yes. (Y/F/N) is teaching me some self defense. I haven't told Halfdan."

"You want to impress him."

"That's one way to say it."

We carried on walking, trying to talk about other subjects. I was smiling a lot, I hadn't smiled this much since before I got married. Dusk was upon us quickly so we parted ways, promising to meet each other that night in the hall. My body became slumped, sad that I had to retreat home and perhaps face my husband. Maybe he wasn't there. Hopefully he wasn't there.

Cautiously entering my home, I listened out for a few seconds, coming to the conclusion that he wasn't there. The fire pit was cold meaning that he hadn't been here all day either. I headed to the bedroom, stopping in my tracks as I spotted the bloody shirt still left on the bed. It scared me to think what he could have done to that man and why. Would he just randomly attack me if I did something wrong? Even with (Y/F/N)'s lessons I wouldn't be able to defend myself against him. I pushed it out of my mind, grabbing some dresses as I tried to decide what to wear.

Halfdan was still not home for another hour. It was time to head to the hall but I wasn't sure about leaving without him. He could already be there and not have someone fetch me. I huffed as I tied my cloak around me, braving the dark night as I made my way there.

As usual the charter and music could be heard from miles away as well as the delightful smell of food. The warmth from the hall was inviting, I was greeted by everyone I passed.

"(Y/N), there you are! We were starting to get worried." Sigurd appeared, handing me a cup of mead.

I thanked him."Sorry, I was waiting for my husband to escort me but to no surprise, he never showed up."

"Halfdan has been here from the beginning. He's with his brother."

Sigurd gestured to where they were stood. Angry with him, I glared, hoping he would turn to look at me; when he did, he had an equally pissed off look. Sigurd noticed, guiding me to the table full of my friends. Nothing had changed since our wedding and I was scared it never would.

When I had arrived, I had told myself that I would have a good time, forget all about my husband. However that didn't seem to be happening. He was constantly on my mind. When the marriage was announced, it was known to everyone that we were not compatible but I at least expected him to be civil with me. It plagued my mind and I grew even more angry over this; he shouldn't have such control over me, especially if I was going to overpower him.

"Wife." he greeted as I stood with (Y/F/N) and Margrethe in the corner of the room.

"What do want? Can you not see that I an with friends?" I snapped, not even looking at him.

"You have not come to see me. It seemed that I had to make my way here instead."

"You were the one gone all day. It's a surprise you even made the effort."

My friends clearly did not want to be a part of this and slithered away, yet I would not look at Halfdan.

"I had important business with my brother."

"And what would that be? Attacking a man? You could have killed him for all I know." I took a huge gulp of mead, finally turning to face him.

"There were no deaths today. Do you want to know why I fought with him?"

"What's your excuse?"

"He was being disrespectful to us. He assumed that we still hadn't bedded each other, that it was wrong. He offered himself to you instead."

"Well, he's not wrong-"

His hand grabbed my forearm harshly, nails digging into my skin. His words were quiet, making them all the more threatening

"Would you stop acting like a child?! I stood up for you today and all you can do is make jokes?"

"Y-you stood up for me? Am I

s-supposed to be flattered?" I stuttered out of fear as his face got closer to mine."Just the other day you fucked another woman right in front of me."

He shoved me back with my arm, teeth now clenched."You are infuriating. I don't understand you women."

"That's obvious."

I could see that pushed him over the edge and instantly regretted saying it.

"Home. Now."

Too frightened to keep arguing, I let him drag me out of the hall, embarrassed by the stares we were receiving. Keeping my head down, I ignored the pain from his grip as I tried to keep up with him. He kicked the door open, slamming it behind him as he pushed me to the middle of the room. We stares at each other for a few seconds before he took long strides towards me. In times like this, I thought that (Y/F/N)'s training would come into play but I seemed to have forgotten everything as I watched him almost charge at me. I stumbled back hastily, tripping over my dress; as a last resort, I threw my hands over my head, trying to stop whatever pain he was about to inflict upon me.

"STOP! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" I screamed out, hearing his footsteps suddenly halt.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please, I don't want you to hurt me." I rushed, curling up into a ball.

"I am not going to hurt you. Why would you think that?"

As I peeked through my arms, I saw that he was now knelt down. I scrambled back slightly, he was too close for comfort.

"I've done something wrong. You're going to hurt me." I sobbed.

"You're my wife. I wouldn't do that."

"Then you need to start showing me that! I feel like a prisoner when I'm with you."

His face showed confusion."Where did you get the idea that I would harm you?"

"You're a ruthless viking, I've heard the stories."

"But those are about my enemies in battle."

"You sometimes look at me like that, like I'm one of your enemies."

He stood back up, sighing as he looking around. I stayed on the floor, not wanting to risk moving one inch. Halfdan reached out a hand to me but I flinched away from it. When nothing happened, I looked up again, seeing that he had just offered to help me stand. Hesitantly letting him help me, I moved away from him as soon as I was back on my feet.

"I did not realise how scared you were." he muttered.

I sniffed, wiping away some tears."You didn't make the greatest first impression."

"But you cannot judge me on the stories you have heard. Why would I treat my wife like that?"

"My last statement still stands." he said nothing and I sighed."There needs to be respect both ways. Yes, I have been difficult at times but that was me trying to show you that I could be the confident woman you desired so much."

He didn't say anything.

"I...I was with (Y/F/N) this morning."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

I ignored his harsh tone."She is training me. I wanted to prove that I could be like those shieldmaidens. Also I wanted to know self defense in case..."

This grabbed his attention."In case of what?"

"In case you tried to hurt me."

He seemed genuinely shocked by my accusations. I started to feel bad for my thoughts; but I had every right to feel that way. Halfdan had not shown me kindness, what else was I supposed to think of him? I started to grow anxious as he didn't speak. What was he thinking?

"I am sorry." he suddenly blurted out.

My eyes widened slightly. I wasn't expecting that.

"I have not been a good husband. The Gods will not be pleased with me. But it is not just the Gods that should be angry. I am angry at myself for making you believe all those things."

"I'm sorry too. I know I have been difficult at times."

Tension filled the room. Neither of us knew where to go from there. No one moved, we didn't even look at each other. Where were we supposed to go from here? Halfdan spoke up again.

"Good night wife." He blurted out before walking quickly to the bedroom.

The door shut and I knew that he didn't like confrontation. He was more of a practical man, not good with words (it was painfully obvious to everyone). I hadn't realised how hard my hands were shaking. As I tried to calm my racing heartbeat, I relished the apology he had given me. I said a short, silent prayer to the Gods, hoping that he was truthful and really meant all that he said. Halfdan was unpredictable and clever; he would do anything to get his way, even if it meant lying.