VIKINGS IMAGINES [BOOK II]

THE ONE WHO ARRIVED IN A BOAT

"My sweet daughter." Harald said as he held her close. She looked at Halfdan and quickly embraced him as well.

"Uncle!" She said and Halfdan smiled as he hugged her back, slightly lifting her off the ground. That being an old habit.

"Dagny." Halfdan said and she smiled at him as they pulled apart. "The gods have served you well I see." He added and she hummed.

"I came as quick as I could." Dagny said and looked at her father. "I didn't have time to clean myself. I sailed right away." She added and motioned for the dried blood that tinted her hair slightly and armor. If one looked close enough there was some stains of blood on her face as well. The royal family only watching the sight in front of them. King Harald Finehair talking with his own daughter beside Halfdan who was the uncle to the young lady.

"What about Earl Ivarsson?" Harald asked. "Chatty as usual?" Dagny smirked.

"Well, I don't know if whining like a pig when I gutted him alive counts as chatting." Dagny said and both Harald and Halfdan chuckled. The uncle patting her back before Harald motioned towards the royal family of Kattegat.

"Dagny this is the royal family of Kattegat." Halfdan said and she looked at them.

"This is Queen Lagertha, her son Björn Ironside and Ragnar's other sons Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd and Ivar Boneless." Her father said and she met their eyes.

"Nice to meet you all however I'm sorry for your loss." Dagny said and they all nodded. She could feel their eyes burn down her body.

"This is Dagny. My daughter. Princess of Rogaland." Harald said and they all continued to stare with wide eyes and mouths hung agape by the fact that Harald Finnair had a daughter. However Lagertha soon broke the silence.

"Very nice to meet you Dagny. You're welcome to Kattegat." Lagertha said as she smiled at the younger woman. Dagny smiled back.

"Thank you. It's larger than I imagined." Dagny confessed and the Queen smiled.

"Maybe you would like a tour?" Hvitserk quickly spoke with pink tinted cheeks. Dagny smiled at him yet before she could answer her father cleared his throat.

"I need to have a few words alone with my daughter. Been a long time since we last spoke." He said and Dagny rolled her eyes yet smiled at the sons.

"I hope you don't mind a feast tonight Dagny?" Lagertha said and the young woman smiled.

"Absolutely not, my Queen." Dagny said and before she left with her father she gave Hvitserk a playful wink. The son's stood back at the dock, not being able to wrap their minds around the fact that Dagny was Harald's daughter. The familiar facial features was remarkable between them which didn't make it possible to neglect the fact that they were father and daughter.

"Who would've thought Harald had a daughter?" Torvi said as she stood beside Björn.

"You think she wants me?" Hvitserk asked and his brother glared at him yet he was smirking widely. "I think she wants me. You saw her wink. She wants this." He continued and his brothers rolled their eyes.

"She needs a real man brother." Ubbe said and they glared at him as Ivar scoffed.

"I bet you that I'll marry her." Hvitserk continued.

"Sorry brother, you have no chance with her." Sigurd said as they saw Dagny disappear inside Harald and Halfdan's tent.

"But you have?" Ivar scoffed.

"Better chances that you'll ever have brother. She hardly recognized you." Sigurd spat back and Ivar clenched his jaw tightly.

"She'll marry someone like me." Ubbe said and Hvitserk hit his bicep.

"You have Margrethe." Hvitserk spat and Ubbe frowned at him.

"You all had Margrethe." Björn spat at them and Torvi tensed beside him. "Neither one of you have a chance." He continued before leaving the dock with Torvi.

In Harald and Halfdan's tent the tension had quickly thickened. Harald and Halfdan looked at her with their arms crossed over their chests and she glared back at them with her head high. Both men were ruthless and greedy killers, yet she knew they never would cause her harm or danger.

"I thought you were happy to see me." Dagny said.

"I am but those are the rules sweetie." Harald said and she scoffed.

"I'm not ten years old. I've proven myself to be able to protect myself." She argued. "I don't need babysitters! I'm twenty years old for the gods sake!" She continued and her father rolled his eyes.

"You'll do as I tell you. I am your father. You'll have guards all the time understand me? And you can forget about getting close to Ragnar's sons!" He said, putting the boundaries.

"Please, why in Hel would I do that?" Dagny said as she sucked her teeth.

"We saw how you looked at them." Halfdan said and she rolled her eyes. Dagny didn't bother to answer her father instead she headed towards the entrance but they blocked her way.

"I'm you father. It's my job to keep you safe." Harald said and she only looked at him. "Thorvald and Frej will follow you." He said and then they moved out of her way. With a snort she left her father and uncles tent. She headed towards the dock with her followers, she decided to keep herself occupied until the feast.

When the evening arrived she had been supervised by her followers, her father and uncle all day. Her father and uncle had been seated outside their tent as she unloaded her ship, talked with some of the locals and talked to Lagertha. Her father had made sure she could take a bath before the feast and once she was in clean clothes and her hair was braided once again.

In her father and uncles company she joined the rest in the great hall. She were about to take a seat next to Ubbe who had an empty seat beside him yet her father took a grip of her wrist discreetly and sat her between him and her uncle. She was facing Hvitserk and she smiled at him. He returned the smile and she bit her lip before giving Lagertha a nod.

During the feast she kept placing at Hvitserk and he glanced back, meeting her eyes every time. She bit her lip as she brought the cup to her lips. He gave her a last glance before excusing himself and she only licked her lips and her eyes followed his gaze. Her father and uncle was occupied with a discussion of their own. She slipped out of her seat and discreetly followed Hvitserk outside. She walked past a dark alley and before she could react she was pulled into the alleyway and pushed against a wall. She was met with Hvitserk's smirking face and she smiled back.

"Your father will kill me for doing this." Hvitserk said and she bit her lip.

"Then let's make it wort it."