Nerida's eyes shot open, her vision blurry as her entire body felt heavy and a throbbing pain shot up her leg. She slowly sat up, her brow furrowing as she realized she was laying on a warm straw bed and covered in fur blankets. She pushed the blankets from her, shocked to see her leg heavily bandaged.

"Please—do not move, your wound has to heal." A soft voice said from the shadows, Nerida's eyes going wide as she saw two blue eyes staring at her, the light from the small fire barely illuminating the figures face.

Nerida knew from the language that she was much farther North than she had intended to sail, her heart starting to race as she realized her dagger was no where on her body. She scooted further down on the bed, her eyes connected to the eyes staring at her from the darkness.

"Show me—You. You—show." She tried to say, her broken dialect of the language reminding her that she was far from home. She had encountered North Men before, but she had been young, and the need to fully learn their language was lost on her. She watched as a young man came from the shadows and dropped onto the bed, her body jerking back as she pushed her back against bed frame.

"Legs? You—legs?" Nerida spoke as she pointed to the mans's legs, legs that were bound together by leather and looked almost broken. She scowled at him, their eyes still locked as she pulled her leg up to her chest.

"Are you hungry?" The young man asked as he waved his hand through the air, a woman coming from the shadows with a plate of food, Nerida looking all around her as fear started to creep into her mind. She was not in shackles like she had been in England all those years ago, but she did not feel entirely free.

She grabbed the plate from the young woman's hands and tore into the meat, her mouth watering as the savory goat meat touched her tongue. It had been so long since she had been fed so well, and she was not going to leave a spec of food upon the plate.

Nerida took the cup filled with fresh water from the servant's hands, the water running down her chin as she savored every drop. "Ship." She said as she wiped her mouth with her hand, confused as to why the young man was gazing at her as if she was Hera herself.

"You need to rest." Another voice said, Nerida furrowing her brow as she saw a tall beautiful woman walk to the bed, her smile was warm, but her eyes were cold. She watched as the man spoke fast to the woman, their words jumbled as she tried to understand them.

"I—go! I go!" Nerida said as she slipped from the bed, her eyes catching movement as she saw two men standing close holding large perfectly crafted shields. Her large jacket was gone, leaving her feeling naked in her black breeches, and a red leather tunic over her grey blouse, a prize she had taken from a princess in Italy.

"No." Was all Nerida understood as the tall Nobel woman tried to push her back into bed. She pushed her down and ran through the darkness slamming into one of the men with shields causing them both to fall to the hard floor.

"Let me pass!" She screamed in her own language of Greek, watching as everyone around her gazed at her in confusion. "Do you know who I am? I am Nerida The Ferocious! I will kill all of you! I am not your slave!" She screamed her eyes turning to the young man who had crawled his way from the bed to her side.

"Please, sit—your wound is bleeding." The crippled young man said as Nerida looked down at her bloodied leg, the blood running down her leg and onto the wooden floor. Her head spun as her body felt weak as she fainted to the floor, her hands and arms pushing away the hands of the cripple.

"S-stop." She whispered as she tried to grab hold of the young man's leather attire, her eyes rolling back into her head as everything once again faded away.

"That language—what was she speaking?" Ivar asked as he scooted back so the nurse could rebandage the mysterious, yet beautiful woman. He looked up at his mother Aslaug, her eyes so warm and loving as he looked down at her. Ivar was certain that his mother was the only one who loved him, or the only one that could ever love someone like him.

***

Ivar watched closely after Nerida, his eyes taking in every inch of her exotic beauty. Her skin had an olive tone and her hair was dark but kissed by many days in the sun. Her arms held many scars, scars that Ivar recognized to be cuts from the blade, telling him that she had seen battle. The markings on her body were smooth and intricate, some of which he had never seen before.

He knew that she was a pirate due to the very recognizable skull and sword tattoo on her wrist. She has another tattoo that confused him, but his brother Bjorn looked at the marking with familiarity as if he had seen it before. Ivar wanted to memorize her, he wanted to know everything that there was to know about her.

"You cannot just sit there looking at her like that." His brother Ubbe said as Ivar rolled his eyes at his brothers stupidity. He hated that his brothers looked down on him with pity, each of them thinking that he was nothing more than a cripple.

"I can look at her for as long as I want, I laid claim to her." Ivar announced as he turned his gaze back to Nerida, a yell escaping as she punched him hard across the face sending him down to the floor. He watched in fascination as she shoved his brother so hard, he toppled to the floor, knocking him out cold. He listened as she yelled and screamed as she tried to overpower the shieldmaidens. Ivar crawled until he finally saw her, sword in her hand as the other motioned for her brother Bjorn to step forward.

Ivar watched hypnotized by the movements of this remarkable woman, watching as she blocked each attack of his brother's sword. He smiled as she laughed in Bjorn's face saying something in her language as she circled the tip of the sword at his groin.

His smile grew wide as he watched her take her brothers sword, a small fear growing inside him that his brother's life was about to end. Ivar watched as the woman threw both weapons on the floor the moment she was surrounded by the warriors, Ivar's mother kneeling by his side as she tried to wipe the blood from his face.

"Do not put her in shackles!" Ivar yelled as he tried to crawl as fast as he could after his brother Bjorn and Ubbe. "BJORN! STOP!" Ivar screamed, a frustrated yell tearing through his lips moments later as he watched his brother placed her in shackles and had her taken from him.

"BJORN!" He screamed again as he shoved from his mothers' arms and crawled as fast as he could through the Great Hall an anger flowing inside him so burning hot, he feared he would never know solace or happiness again.

***

Nerida sat on the cold ground, her body shivering as the smell of old fish filled her senses and reminded her of home. Her arms and legs were shackled, a small smirk on her face as she remembered the anger in the man's eyes as she taunted him. Her body tensed as the door opened, her eyes going to the bruise on the mans face, the bruise she had left him.

She watched as he crawled over to her, Nerida's eyes looking him over as she knew there was far more to him than showed. She could sense that he was a strong man, but a strong man with a very bad temper since she could hear his screams when she was being carted away.

"Are you okay?" Ivar asked as he saw the woman's gaze turn darker by his words. He knew that she couldn't understand him, his heart growing heavy as he just wanted to speak with her.

"Hurt?" She slowly asked as she pointed to his mouth, the sound of the simple Viking word on her tongue making him smile. He had never heard an accent such as hers, her voice was soft yet firm, a voice he could get lost in.

"No, not hurt." He replied as he sat against a chair and pulled his legs around in front of him. "You do not look at me strangely." He continued watching as her brow furrowed in confusion from his words, Ivar sighing as he knew he had to figure out a way to speak to her. He was not bothered by how she had wielded a sword at his brother, or that she punched him in the face, since he too would have done the same.

"Ivar." He said as he pointed to himself, his eyes locked with hers as he hoped this would work. "Me—Ivar." He said again as he tapped his chest with his hand, his heart racing as he had never felt this way around anyone.

"I-var." She repeated as she pointed at him, Ivar smiling big as he nodded his head yes. They sat in silence for what seemed like forever, Ivar unsure of what needed to be said.

"Nerida." She finally said as she pointed to herself, a calmness falling over her as Ivar felt almost safe in her presence.

"Ner—ida." Ivar repeated watching as she nodded her head yes, his heart swelling as he finally felt a glimmer of hope. He knew it would take time, but he had all the time in the world. First, he had to demand that she be released from her shackles, but Ivar also knew that his brothers would not feel safe with her around.

Ivar gently placed his hand on her knee watching as she darkened her gaze, a feeling stirring inside him as the words of the Seer still rang in his head. "I will get you out of here Nerida. You are my gift, and I will not let them keep you in here." He smiled as he turned his body and crawled out of the shed, the cold wind stinging his face as he knew exactly who he needed to speak to.