"Do you know what they say of you?"
Is he allowed to look quite so p r o u d, he wonders briefly. After all,
Ragnar has had no hand in Lagertha’s rise, simply been a bystander
in her greater story. A chapter in a book filled with great tales and
even greater glories, no doubt.
She was never to be just a farmer.
Just like Ragnar himself.
And such a feeling it settles into
him, to see her r i s e like this.
"Should I begin to call you Earl Lagertha
from now on?”
❝ what is it they say? ❞
perhaps she should not have allowed herself to divulge
in trivial matters of speculation but there was a foolish part
of her that pondering what picture others’ words had painted
of her. it would be proper to dispel any falsities that may have
reached Ragnar’s ear.
when she thought her fate would reveal only darkness,
the Gσ∂ѕ smiled on her, allowing her to bask in the warmth
of their fortune. sacrifices were promptly made in their honour.
her former husband’s inquiry sparked a simper, humble with
pride lurking behind it. the title she gained with crimson staining
her hands seemed to distance her from those she was close to. a
mere formality that she would never allow to break the bonds she
fostered.
❝ no, Jarl or not, i will always be Lagertha. ❞