The Son Of Ragnar



A few years before the tragedy that befell the mother of the boy was a time that was unknown to most.

"King Xenoplahane, I am shocked!" A woman said; it was revealed to be Liv but she was a lot younger and happier.

Xenophanes rolled his eyes at his younger sister, he hated when she used his title because it made her feel like a stranger.

Shut up! Do not make it a big deal!" Xenophanes barked at his sister.

"Does father know?" Liv questioned her brother but Xenophanes' silence gave her the answer she was looking for.

"Father will chew you alive!" Liv smiled in anticipation of what was about to happen because her brother just told her something that she had no idea was possible in his lifetime. 

Xenophanes never showed interest in anyone but war and being carefree.

But it would be strange for a fully grown man to not have had sex at least once.

Xenophanes was a man when it came to it and there was a woman he told his sister about.

Liv was in support of their relationship but she knew her father would flip out because this woman was not even a Dane.

She did not have their blood making her an outsider but this made sense as to why Xenophanes was so taken with her.

She stood out in the crowd but where was her origin? 

Xenophanes did not care as he liked the mystery and planned to take his time to unravel it.

"The love of a woman keeps not only the heart warm but the bed," Xenophanes teased and Liv cringed the moment she heard this as this made her unintentionally picture her brother having sex. 

"You thought about it, did you not?" Xenophanes said, bursting out laughing because he knew that Liv had quite a vivid imagination and her brother knew this.

Xenophanes met this woman in one of his many expeditions and he formed a sort of bond with her; she had the body of a warrior and the mind of a lady.

This was a rare combination in this time and age, Xenophanes liked that she had a strange accent as well and the way she pronounced common words was cute.

Liv knew all about her, she was the only one that did as everyone else assumed he simply had a good relationship with that small village.

He was happy he had someone to talk to about it, he could not keep his excitement all to himself but he did not know how to break it to Fredrik because Fredrik was strict.

He would never accept someone that was not of this land as his family.

Xenophanes met with his father and the tension in the air was evident.

"What brings you here? Do you not have a Kingdom to rule?" Fredrik asked in a cold tone.

"I am King and I have the right to see you when I please. I am your ruler, Father…" Xenophanes said bluntly and this seemed to amuse Fredrik who cracked a cheeky smile.

Xenophanes knew when to be serious and his father was proud that he could stand up to him.

"Well said, what does MY King want?" Fredrik made sure to stress the word "MY" as a form of mockery and Xenophanes hated this but he understood he would not be where he was today without his father so he was grateful for that much.

Fredrik did love his children, he just gave them tough love.

"I have met a woman I would like to take as my Queen," Xenophanes said bluntly, he was not taking his permission. He was King, he could do as he pleased.

"A Queen? Who is this woman and have you come to ask for my blessing?" Fredrik questioned his son because that was what it looked like.

"She is with my child, I came to inform you. You may do with that information as you please," Xenophanes blurted out but he was startled by a loud bang, flinching as he looked at his father banging the table in front of him.

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY!" Fredrik raised his voice and Xenophanes was surprised.

The fact that Fredrik could make a seasoned warrior such as himself flinch showed that he put his hands on him when growing up and Xenophanes body responded instinctively to this before bursting out laughing.

"Fredrik, the man feared throughout Kattegat and my despicable father and yet, the man I love the most. I cannot deny your genius but if you speak to me that way again… I promise you Father, you will lose the ability to ever speak to me again," Xenphanes threatened his father for the first time and Fredrik was not offended but rather, happy despite not showing it.

Xenophanes always portrayed himself as a carefree person but this was his true personality, this was who he was behind that smile.

"You truly are my son," Fredrik said proudly as their discussion concluded.

A few weeks passed since that fateful encounter as Xenophanes was laying in his room.

A messenger rushed into the room he was in, Xenophanes raised his brow because he made it clear that no one should disturb him in his alone time so this had to be urgent.

"King Xenophanes!" The messenger screamed as he handed him a piece of paper.

The moment Xenophanes grabbed the paper, his eyes widened in horror because he recognized the handwriting.

"Irmuska!?" Xenophanes thought; this was the name of his love. It took him less than an hour for him to assemble a party. 

The letter was her calling for Xenophanes to come to her aid, she could not move about because she was pregnant and almost due.

Her water was going to break at any moment from now and Xenophanes wanted to witness the birth of his child more than anything in the world.

Xenophanes rode off, he knew he would kill anyone that dared to touch his family because he understood how important family was.

But he was too late, he met carnage and death, there was nobody that was left alive,

Xenophanes' face broke, he jumped off his horse and called her name, he called it but there was no answer.

The silence told him one thing and that was, she was either dead or found a way to escape but he knew with how far in she was, the latter looked highly unlikely.

He rushed into the tent and his knees buckled, Xeonphanes broke down the moment he saw his dead woman on the bed with her neck slit.

Xenophanes held back his tears because he knew that this was no time to mourn.

"The baby…" Xenophanes muttered as he looked to his right and left.

Xenophanes started to look around for the child but he could not see him nor a corpse.

"Spread out! Find any baby you see and report to me!" Xenophanes commanded and they did just that. They spread out but they could not find anybody and this told Xenophanes that maybe his child was alive.

He looked won at the corpses and burned the crest into his memory, he did not know where to search for them because they moved around constantly but he knew that there was no way that Irmuska did not have enemies but this attack did not feel personal.

She had a Germanic name, this was her heritage but that was about it, the village she stayed in. They took her in because she had knowledge of medicine and gave them that knowledge in exchange for this hospitality.

The rest was history, Xenophanes reported that his wife and child had died because something told him that his father had a hand in this. 

He did not need to approve of their marriage if he could remove the girl from the equation.

Everything now made sense, this was why Xenophanes sent him to Vestfold for a new life.

-

Asmund did not know what to say, he did not know that this was the cross he was carrying on his shoulder. He could not believe he did not know that his best friend had experienced so much grief in such a short period and wondered how he could still put on a smile for the rest of the world.

Asmund stood up and walked quietly towards his friend before embracing him in a bid to console him.

"I did not say I am into men, Asmund…" Xenophanes teased and Asmund immediately regretted his decision as he let go of Xenophanes but if Xenophanes suspected Fredrik of having a hand to do with the death of Irmuska, a motive came into play.

Why did Fredrik endorse Askild's ascension as King going as far as giving him his daughter after killing his son? What if Fredrik was the one manipulating Askild to do these evil deeds?

What if that was why Birger killed him? There were so many what ifs but they were only speculations at this point.