CHAPTER THREE:

Daena cradled a sleeping Aegon in her arms and followed Athelstan outside. He brought along two bowls of warm stew. He was a strange fellow, the center of his head shaved and he was wearing a strange chain with a cross at the end. Though he was very knowledgeable about the ongoings in Westeros.

"Did my brother and sister manage to escape Dragonstone?" Daena asked. She was worried about them, especially Viserys. He was a young boy of eight who would have to take care of his newborn sister. Daena was frightened how he would handle himself after learning of the death of his beloved brother, Rhaegar. He would be crushed, Viserys adored his elder brother and wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Rhaegar led us to our ruin, Daena thought angrily.

Athelstan glanced at his companion, "Yes, they did. They are currently in Essos."

Daena was quite troubled as Viserys had no information of her current whereabouts. To him, his elder sister, and niece and nephew were dead, killed by the Usurper Baratheon. It would be futile to contact the Spider as she did not if her message would even reach Westeros.

There were also the Lannisters and their greedy paws, as far as the throne was concerned they could not be trusted. In fact, no one could be trusted. Not until she could confirm Athelstan's proclamation. She prayed they were safe wherever they were.

"I presume you and the children were on your way there." Athelstan assumed. He gestured both bowls of stew to Gyda and Rhaenys. Both girls stopped playing and made their way to Daena and Athelstan. The younger boy, Bjorn, was most likely off on his own adventure.

"Yes, we were, then our helmsman fell into the sea." Daena said. She cursed at her bad luck, she should be in Essos right now taking care of her younger siblings. They were the only dragons left in the world. And dragons needed to stay together, lest the Usurper send out assassins to murder them.

A young woman, mother to Gyda and Bjorn, interrupted, "Lagertha." She said, gesturing to herself.

Lagertha gestured to Daena to follow her. Daena looked back at Athelstan, "Do not worry, I will make certain the girls eat all of their food."

Daena only nodded in return and followed Lagertha.

Inside the house, Lagertha led her to the back where the bedroom was located. There was a wooden basket, outlined with soft cloth made to hold a babe. Daena sighed in relief, her arms had been hurting for the past few hours. She laid the sleeping babe into the basket and allowed Lagertha to place a blue blanket over Aegon.

Lagertha turned around to open a wooden cupboard, she brought out a soft cotton green dress. Daena grabbed her hands, "Thank you so much," she said, with a grateful smile on her face. Daena's eyes shone with relief and in that moment, the tension and stress she kept coiled up eased.

A refreshing bath later, Daena emerged from the home with her silver hair shining in the moonlight and her lilac eyes sparkling with renewed energy. She looked across the courtyard and saw Rhaenys curled up against Gyda, a thick woolen blanket covering them from the coolness of the night. A small fire was lit, Bjorn and his mother were warming themselves as he talked to her about his day.

Athelstan fell in step beside her, disrupting her thoughts. He is stealthy for a monk, he would have made a great addition to the Spider's little birds, Daena mused.

"She is a strong child," he said, as the both of them gazed at the sleeping children.

Athelstan turned toward her, "You will be safe here. Ragnar is a good man."

"A good man who keeps a slave?" Daena countered. It was concerning the respectful and kind family of the Earl kept a slave. Slaves had been banned from Westeros for many centuries and those who kept them were in the Free Cities.

"It is the culture of Vikings. They raid, hunt, and plunder villages for their necessities. They worship pagan gods and feast on violence." Athelstan explained.

"What of Earl Ragnar?" Daena asked firmly, her arms crossed. The culture of the Vikings reminded Daena of the stories her septon told her about the Dothraki. They were known to be vicious savages, men who did not care where you were from or which noble family you were born to. All were slaughtered in the end.

"He is a good man, he could have killed me the moment he raided our monastery. Yet, he did not. I spoke Norse, you see. He became fascinated." Athelstan recalled, walking forward a few steps as he spoke.

He turned around, moonlight casting shadows across his face, his kind face. He smiled. "I may be a slave to the rest of the village, but in this home, I am considered a close friend. A well wisher of sorts."

Daena felt she could rest easy after Athelstan's explanation, "Thank you, Athelstan. It's been a trying time for me. I truly appreciate your support."

Athelstan turned red, blushing, "No need to thank me, Princess. I will continue to help you to the best of my ability."

"You shall start teaching me Norse in the morning," Daena said, "I wish to know what they are saying."

Athelstan nodded in reply.

Daena and Athelstan walked over to where the girls were napping and gently woke them up.

It was later in the night, the salty breeze strongly brushed through Rhaenys' hair, sweeping it to the front. Daena carefully picked Rhaenys up onto her right shoulder, the one that was not aching. She shivered violently in Daena's arms. The air was getting much cooler.

Daena led her inside to the warmth. A quick bath later, Daena eased Rhaenys to sleep on the floor beside her.

Warm sunlight peeked through the gaps of the curtain. Daena brought her hand up to block the light, her eyes crinkling as the light roused her. She sat up from the hard ground, stretching her arms, her back throbbed in pain. Daena yawned, her hand covering her mouth.

She turned to wake up Rhaenys and Aegon, yet there was empty space. They were not there. Aegon's basket was gone and Rhaenys' blanket crumpled to the side.

Daena breathing quickened. Her eyes frenzied, she panicked, "Where are they? I pray they are not hurt..." she mumbled to herself. The front door was open, letting in warm sunlight and fresh salty air. There was no one in the home, only a bowl of leftover stew was on the dining table.

She got up quickly, unraveling herself from the blankets and ran outside.

Rhaenys and Gyda were sitting on the log, breaking their morning fast. Gyda was teaching a few Norse words to Rhaenys, which she repeated back. Lagertha was sitting on a log opposite the girls, rocking a sleeping Aegon.

Both girls stopped giggling and looked up to see Daena's disheveled appearance.

"Rhae! Where is your brother?" Daena asked. She clutched her skirts and rushed over to where the girls were sitting.

Rhaenys stood up, holding her bowl, "Lagertha." she said, pointing outside.

"Where?" There was an urgency in her voice. Daena did not know if the Usurper's assassins could reach her here, and she did not want to put her nephew at risk, no matter how nice the Earl's family seemed. Elia was like a sister to her and Daena would do whatever it takes to protect her children.

"Come!" Gyda turned around and gestured for Daena to start following. Rhaenys grabbed her hand and they hurried after the little girl.

They passed by several sloped brown coloured houses. They stopped in front of a medium sized house. In the courtyard, Ragnar was overseeing reparations, directing workers to fix up certain parts of the house. Athelstan was one of them, he held the ladder still as the roofer mended the roof.

Lagertha cradled a sleeping Aegon in her arms as she sat on a nearby log. She was gazing at the workers, making sure they were doing their job right.

Gyda ran over. She placed her hands on Lagertha's shoulders, diverting her attention, "Mother, mother, Daena wants Aegon."

Lagertha's head snapped to the courtyard's entrance. An unkept silver haired young woman looked worried, her hand clenched on the young Rhaeyns' shoulder. Lagertha sighed and got up to greet the woman.

Daena met the woman halfway, picking the sleeping babe from Lagertha's arms. She held Aegon close to her chest, her eyes closed in relief. The morning tension and worry eased.

Aegon gurgled, almost awaking from his nap. "Thank you." She whispered, rocking the babe back to sleep.

Lagertha smiled wanly in response. "Athelestan, come here!" She called out.

Athelstan called for another worker to take his place. He unrolled the sleeves of his long brown robe and wiped the sweat off his brow. Ragnar nodded to him and continued giving instructions.

"Tell them what we are doing here." Lagertha instructed. She left them to their devices and went to stand beside her husband, Earl Ragnar.

Rhaenys looked distressed at the thought of leaving her aunt alone, but Daena gave her a tiny smile and gestured to go play. Gyda led Rhaenys away to play ball, giving the adults room to talk.

Athelstan nodded, he turned to look at Daena. "We are mending this house for you and the children, my lady."

Daena's heart filled with happiness, she now had allies in this foreign land. She smiled widely, her eyes crinkling, "Thank you so much, Athelstan."

The tips of Athelstan's ears turned red, he looked at the ground to avoid meeting Daena's eyes. "I had no hand in it, Earl Ragnar wants you and the children to live in peace."

Daena's brows furrowed, "I must tell you, I wish to travel to Essos. I do not want to stay here permanently. This is not my home."

"You must understand, Athelstan." Daena continued. She placed her hand on Athelstan's arm, catching his attention. He stared at her in shock, it was uncouth for a lady of her standard. "I have to protect my younger siblings, the Usurper will have them killed." Daena's eyes bore into his, pleading him to understand the situation.

Athelstan shook her hand off, "Forgive me, my lady. You promised Ragnar the route to Westeros. They will not forget that." He walked away a few steps, turning his back.

Daena let out a sigh, "I understand."

She closed her eyes in contemplation, "Will they let me leave once I lead them to my homeland?" She questioned.

It was a question that plagued her mind ever since the conversation with the Earl and the boat maker. These men were Vikings, it was in their nature to raid and kill. What was the guarantee they wouldn't hurt the innocent people of King's Landing. Though the Usurper was ruling, it was still her ancestral seat and she did not wish ill on the townsfolk.

Athelstan turned around, facing the silver haired woman. "Perhaps, I do not know," he clasped his hands, pondering the thought. "Earl Ragnar can be generous. If you take him and his army to Westeros, there is a chance he may let you and the children go."

"I will ask him to consider it once you finish teaching me Norse." Daena stated, giving the man a forced smile.

"Come, sit, my lady. I shall teach you the language of these men." Athelstan said, gesturing her to a nearby log.

The two walked towards a large log, suitable to carry the weight of four grown men. Daena heaved a sigh of relief, her back ached from sleeping on the ground. Her stomach grumbled, loudly. Daena's face reddened, she held Aegon closer to her bosom.

"Get me something to eat first. I did not break my fast this morning."

"Yes, my lady." Athelstan replied. He left the woman and babe sitting on the log and returned to Ragnar's home. He expected the Princess to eat the bowl of leftover stew before arriving at her new house, though, he presumed, the concern for her nephew overtook all sense of understanding.

Daena looked down at the child, Aegon, he resembled Rhaegar entirely. There was no hint of Elia's Dorish genes. It was all given to Rhaenys, save for her purple eyes. Though, Daena could see Elia's nose and eye shape in the boy. The babe gurgled, waking up from his nap, lilac eyes met similar lilac eyes.

Ragnar turned away from the ongoing construction and studied the foreign Princess. She was an enigma. Her kingdom was an enigma. He dreamt of travelling the world, discovering different countries and learning about their people. He was getting closer to his dream. Though he did not trust the woman.

"What are you thinking?" Lagertha asked, jolting Ragnar from his thoughts. He turned to look at her, his beautiful wife, his support. Without her and their children, he would be nothing.

"The Princess," He stated, his hand rubbed his chin as he voiced his thoughts, "Do you believe she is trustworthy? That she will lead us to her lands?"

"Trustworthy? No I do not believe she is," Lagertha answered, "But she will do anything for her children."

"I will not harm the children." Ragnar said, indignant. He would never think of harming innocent children, never. It was not the way. Not his way, at least.

"I know," Lagertha soothed, her hand caressing Ragnar's arm, "She will have to prove to us that she is worthy of our trust." Her blue eyes locked into his.

Ragnar sighed, his eyes lowering. He ran a hand over his braid. "Agreed, my love."

"This will be our step towards that." He stated, gesturing to the workers milling around the house.

A/N: So sorry for the long wait. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it. This chapter took me so long to get through. We'll get to the budding romance and adventure soon! Hope you like this chapter.