I took a deep breath in, reveling in the cool spring air blowing around my soft blonde hair. The night sky was peaceful as Sun set in the West, painting the ocean with the blood of Sun as she raced away from the chasing wolf Skoll.*

"Tino! What are you doing? Sun is leaving, you must hurry and get inside so that Skoll nor Loki *finds and gets you!" My mother called cheerfully from the door of our hut, a smile tugging at her lips.

I smiled too, jumping up and running as if a Valkyrie* was chasing after him to appease his darling mother. As I reached the door she hugged me tightly, ushering me inside as she did so.

"Your cousin is back from his hunt Tino, he brought with him a large boar." she said happily, gazing at my Norwegian cousin Lukas, as he sat and skinned the animal in front of the fire.

"Oh my Odin*! That is too large! It would twice fill Gerd's* large belly!" I exclaimed, smiling as Lukas glared up at me. "Are we to share this? What is the occasion cousin?" I asked, kneeling down next to him.

"There is no occasion, and no, we are not sharing. It is nearing winter. In less than a week the ground shall be cold and barren, allowing nothing to grow as usual. We shall be able to last the winter with this boar, or at least half the winter..." Lukas grumbled, his soft voice serious as he continued to slice up the boar.

"May I ask how you got this? Tis a magnificent beast indeed! Was it a clever snare, or an amazing ambush?" I asked excited to hear a fine tale from my cousin.

He sighed, "Neither, I found it half-dead already with a broken leg and his throat torn out. It was more of a mercy kill than food. I apologize at my lack of entertainment Tino." he paused and sighed again, standing up, his indigo eyes closing when he heard the cry of his half-brother Bjort from his crib. "Excuse me..." he said quietly, going to comfort the small baby boy.

"Mother, isn't it wonderful?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"What is wonderful Tino dear?" she asked, placing dinner on the small wooden table.

"The Vikings have not come in months! We might actually not have to see them for an entire winter this year!" I say, grabbing wooden plates and setting them in their respectable places at the table. Lukas at the head, me beside him on his right, and my mother on his left, with little baby Bjort in my lap so I could feed him. "There also haven't been any Dragon attacks since the Vikings either!"

"Mmm..." my mother replied, a worried look on her face as she placed a bowl of soup at each place, along with the rye bread and butter.

"The Vikings were either killed off by the dragons, or the dragons were killed off by the Vikings. Either way, one less problem for us. No more Danes, Swedes, or anything else invading hopefully." Lukas said bitterly, handing me Bjort as he sat down at the head of the table, being the eldest male had it's privileges.

"Now Lukas, you should not say such things. They were terrible, but the Vikings have wives and children too, what would happen to them if the Dragons tried to kill them all, and over half of the men died?" My mother scolded him, frowned, blowing on a spoonful of her yummy soup.

"What would happen to them? I could care less! They killed my family, I have every right-!" Lukas began to yell.

"You have no right to kill others Lukas! You wouldn't care if you saw a little Viking girl being carried off by a dragon?" I exclaimed, ashamed of what he was saying.

"That's different..." he murmured, his eyes glazing over.

"How? She's still a Viking, and part of their people. You just said that you wouldn't care!" I argued back, glaring at him. I took a spoonful of the soup and put it in my mouth, savoring the perfectly cooked onions, goat, and cabbage. I spoon-fed Bjort as well, making sure none of it spilled on his tiny purple tunic.

Lukas didn't say anything else, instead standing up and placing his bowl in our cleaning tub, grabbing his cloak, seid book, and stomping out the door.

"Oh no..." my mother whispered, frightened.

"What?" I asked, alarmed. The color had drained from her face, and she was trembling.

"I can sense them coming. The dragons are coming Tino! You must go and find your cousin!" she cried, jumping up as she hurled her soup back in the pot and began to cover anything and everything that would give off a meaty smell. The herbs hanging from the ceiling wobbled and a few fell from their nails, landing everywhere.

I ran outside, my senses tingling from the seid the dragons gave off. There was something horribly different about these dragons. For anything to reek of seid, one must be weary, but for a dragon to reek of the sorcery was far, far worse.

I raced through the woods, having left the house long ago in search of Lukas. I heard a horse shout, and sped up, coming upon a frightful scene.

Lukas was standing within a circle, his arms upraised to protect himself with as he cast spells at a large red and yellow dragon that flew in circles around him.

I could see that Lukas knew that he had the wrong book. The book he held, had nothing but healing spells, the ones he was using now were dangerous since he could not always remember all the correct words, something could go horribly wrong without much prodding.

Luckily I had brought my own seid book. I only used it when Dragons or Vikings attacked though, since it was full of dark seid.

I cleared a circle hastily around me, making sure that the markings weren't incorrect. I opened the book and began to chant. "Kuoleman surround-kuluttaa ja tuhota. Puhelut on kaikki isä varhaisena, ja teräs ei ole. Pudota." (A/N: "Death surround consume and destroy. The All Father calls you early, and Hel is beneath you. Fall. FALL!") I cried, flinging my arms out as the spell took hold of the red dragon.

It screeched as invisible bonds forced him down, constricting his throat and body. From the air another screech, albeit far deeper, resounded throughout the woods, and I froze, approaching the wriggling creature.

"Tino! Are you alright? Thank the Gods you didn't get snatched up! These are no real Dragons." Lukas said gravely, holding my arms as we edged away from the wailing creature on the ground.

"What do you mean? Is it all the seid they have? Were they bewitched?" I asked nervously, backing away.

"In part yes. The Vikings made a deal with the dragons. One of the dragons is a Viking leader, empowered by his new body. One of the Dragon leaders can likewise transform into a humanoid form. They are trying to kill us all." Lukas explained, his head jerking when he heard the beast make a noise. "Hurry, we'll be safe in your mother's house. Run! For the God Loki himself chases us!" Lukas cried as the dragon heaved itself up.

We both took off running, headed back the way I had come. Other screeches and wails could be heard, along with the screams of the villagers that were being killed.

Wind ruffled my hair, and I ducked down, dragging along Lukas as we raced across the forest floor, pausing at the edge of the green.

It was also the edge of our yard, but it was a large enough distance for a dragon to pick us and carry us off. I screamed as a dragon dove for the house and plucked at the roof, causing some of it to come off, and a loud scream was heard from within.

"Wait..." Lukas said, his eyes glazed over as he stopped me from running to my mother.

"But-!"

"No..."

We waited, watching the sky for more of those monsters. "Screw it." I said, racing out to the house by myself, Lukas calling for me as quietly as he could. I ignored everything and dashed inside my house, seeing my mother crouching down in the fireplace, holding a wailing Bjort in her arms. She was afraid, and she was crying silently, looking out of the chimney into the dark sky.

"Mother!" I cried, launching myself into her arms.

"Tino..." she murmured, handing me Bjort, "You have to leave, take the baby with you." she instructed.

I nodded, "You shall follow behind correct?" I asked, already accepting her shaking head.

"I can fend off the fire with my seid, but I cannot do that with Bjort here, go to your place in the woods and stay there with Lukas, that book should keep you safe. Also take all the food you can, you don't know how long you're going to have to wait to come back to the village."

I nodded and did as she instructed, gathering food into a blanket and slinging it over my shoulder. A whizzing sound caught my attention, and I saw an arrow imbed itself into a tree not too far from the house. "What the..?"

"Oh Gods Vikings too?" she murmured, tugging on her long black hair. "You must stay safe, my little Flower, I shall see you soon." she said, kissing my forehead. "Go!"

I ran from the house, ducking low when I heard something flying overhead. I made it to the edge of the forest before I paused and looked back... just in time to see a dragon breathe fire into the roof, my home going up in flames. I wanted to scream, but surely my mother- was burning! I saw her through a window, her body aflame, and her hand raised in a farewell gesture.

"No!" I really did scream, almost stumbling back to her, my hands outstretched as if to grasp her.

"Tino!" Lukas yelled, yanking me back to the cover of the forest. I struggled against him, trying to get back to the burning figure. "It's too late! You can't do anything about it Tino... she knew it was her time." Lukas said soothingly, as if that was supposed to make it better!

"Oh Odin she's gone!" I cried brokenly, still struggling slightly.

"She died right, she saved you by getting you out of the house, the All Father shall reward her for that, she may even reside with Frejya Tino." Lukas paused, then turned, Bjort in his arms, "We must leave now, to the hiding place in the woods, we should be safe there, but I wish we had more food..." Lukas sighed, looking at the small bag he held.

"No problem... Mother told me to grab plenty of food... so this sack is full of it..." I mumbled, holding up the strained sack for Lukas to see. "She really did know..."

"Yes, now we must go Tino." Lukas said urgently, trying to drag me back into the forest.

"No... let me watch..." I whispered, staring at the bright flames.

"It will bring you nothing but sadness Tino." Lukas said coldly, tugging on my arm harder.

"It shall bring me peace, to see for myself that she is dead, instead of my heart wondering if she could have possibly made it. Do not question me on this Lukas, I need to see it burn..." my voice had gone hard and commanding, forcing him to let go of my arm with a shrug.

"Alright, but if you're not back by sunrise, I'm going to come back and drag you back even if it's not totally burned. Got it?" he said angrily, beginning to stomp away, little Bjort still sleeping in his arms.

"Yes..." I replied, looking back at the flames that lept and glowed against the dark sky. I stood, watching my home burning for hours, silent tears running down my face. When I could see the inside of the house, I broke down, sobbing at the edge of the forest, it was just too much.

I heard a shuffling noise, and a groan. The groan turned to a low roar, and I stood, my eyes wide as I looked for the thing that made such a noise. I scanned the inside of the forest and saw nothing; I scanned the countryside beyond my house. Nothing was there except smoldering remains of other houses that had been hit last night.

I saw the sun rising in the distance, and heard another shuffling sound. I turned back to the forest, expecting to see Lukas, but nothing was there. With a jolt I looked up, fear freezing me in place. A scream ripped from my throat as I beheld the massive dragon that crouched in the tree above me.

It jerked back its head, fire in its eyes. The dragon was so massive it couldn't have fit inside of Odin's Hall. The eyes were a peaceful turquoise that lit up with molten fire. Its scales were a solid bright sky blue, with streaks of sun yellow making patterns that could almost be called tattoos curving around its body. The wings were folded back, but looked to be the same color.

I knew that was face was deathly white, and I could feel my head growing light as this beast continued to stare at me. I flicked my eyes into the forest, seeing no Lukas at all. A growl drew my attention back to the dragon that was still staring at me.

I felt my knees giving out as the dragon lurched forward, catching me in its claws, hefting me up into the air.

I was sure I screamed again, but I also didn't see anyone at all in the surrounding area. I was going to faint, I just knew it! But I had to secure my bag, had to make sure that my book of seid was still with me when I awoke. I tried to maneuver myself, twisting my body so that my arms could put the book inside of my shirt, tucking it away from the eyes of the enemy. Hopefully this dragon did not know what I could do, and had not seen my book at all. I placed the bag of food and other things in the crevasse between my body and it's large claw.

My vision grew dark as I saw something white flash up and my body being thrown around, the bag flying out of my grip.

My head and body ached. My chest felt crushed, the book still wedged in my shirt in an awkward position. I felt warm hands trying to take off my shirt, but I let out a shrill shriek, my chest hurt too much to move.

The sounds of people around me was almost enough to make me open my eyes, but I ignored everything, trying to figure out why my chest hurt so much.

After some time I discovered that I was curled in on myself, like I was protecting myself against everything on the outside.

"Wake up please," a voice could be heard, begging me to open my eyes. It was a woman's voice, and she sounded afraid, "Please wake up, he will not wait much longer... oh Gods please sir wake up!" the voice cried, tugging on my arm with alarm.

My eyelids twitched, and I almost believed her, until I heard a rough voice.

"M'gret, th'nk you fer helpin' meh. I c'n see h'll w'ke up now." the voice was low and powerful, talking to the woman that had cried out.

Damn her! She had tricked me into letting on that I was aware of my surroundings! Well, let's see how that works?

"W'fe? W'ke up pl'ase..." the voice said softly, causing me to jump despite my decision.

My eyes snapped open, "Excuse me? I not a woman!" I said, anger flashing in my eyes before I took in the man before me. He was massive, broad shoulders, strong chin, long muscular legs and arms that looked like they could snap me in two. He had blonde hair that was golden, and deep bright turquoise eyes like that dragon had, and he was looking at me softly, even though I had just yelled at him.

"I kn'w ye w'ld w'ke up w'fe. Are ye a'ight?" the giant man asked me softly, scaring me so bad my eyes began to roll back into my head.

I fell back onto the bed that I had been placed on, my vision hazy again. I pressed my side, where the pain was worst. It felt sticky and warm. I pulled my hand to my face, seeing the blood coating it. My eyes widened, and I yanked my book of seid out from my shirt, praying that it wasn't ruined.

Only the back cover had any blood on it. I relaxed, tuning out the frantic deep voice that was saying something to me.

My vision was still hazy, but I sat up anyway when I felt hands trying to unbutton my shirt.

"No!" I cried, curling up again so they couldn't reach my blood. I knew they were Vikings, that dragon that had captured me had probably brought me back thinking I would make a fine bride for their leader. I would die first before some filthy Viking would take me as his bride!

"Stay away from me you monsters!" I cried, squeezing my eyes shut as I felt rough hands try to force my chest open to them.

"Monster eh? Maybe you were wrong to bring this little thing here Berwald. She sure looks pissed. How'd she get so wounded anyway?" a rather annoying voice asked in the distance, footsteps signaling that they were getting closer.

"St'y out of it Matthias." Berwald grumbled, "S'me m'n from th' w'd was sh'tin' fire at us. He had bl'nde hair and a l'ttl' babe so I didn' fire back."

I stiffened, Lukas had shot at us? He was in the forest looking for me after all! He had seen me being carried off and knew... he had been trying to save me from this fate! Tears stung my eyes as I thought about this.

"What?" the man named Matthias asked. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me. "What did you say ya little runt?"

I looked up and glared at him. "Go to Hel." I spit out, anger making me leap at him, punching his face.

The man was so stunned he didn't move at first. "What the-?" the man began to fight back, and I felt the other man, Berwald, trying to pull me off of Matthias. Berwald grabbed my wounded side and I screamed, pain nearly knocking me out.

I had gone limp in Berwald's arms and he was shaking me slightly, worry on his face. I could dimly hear him saying he was sorry for hurting me in the background. But I saw Matthias' enraged face.

"Be careful Berwald, or your little wife is going to die..." he spit out the word 'wife' more like a curse than anything else.

I glanced at Berwald and saw him look up at the man, glaring at him. "Summ'n a heal'r, he sh'll liv'. Ye w'ld d' well to 'm'mber I c'n kill ye j'st as eas'ly as ke'p ye aliv'. Ye p'wer comes fr'm meh, an' I c'n yan' th't aw'y." He growled, his accent so strong it was difficult to understand him.

I placed my hand over my wound, grimacing to feel how much more wet it had become in the last few seconds. "Perkele..." I murmured, looking down at the blood on my hands.

"W'fe..." Berwald mumbled, cradling me to his broad chest.

I flushed and swooned at the same time, but for different reasons. "Put me down you-!" I tried to say, but my voice was very faint. I winced at how weak it sounded, my head still swimming.

"Heal'rs, pl'se help 'im. 'is wound r'open'd, an' it won' stop bleedin'." He explained, his voice still barely understandable.

But they nodded and took me out of his arms. As I was being lifted away, I heard a muffled growl almost, as if this man was angry at them handling me; like some primal beast.

Apparently I hadn't imagined it because one of them flinched away, jostling me. I groaned in pain, black dots forming in my vision. A warm hand was placed on my forehead and I heard a whispered word.

"Tyhjentää kaikki pään vaimonsa. Kaikki on hyvin." The words of seid shocked me, yet they did clear my head. (A/N: "Clear your head wife. All is well.") this man had the magic of seid in his veins.

"Thank you Befälhavare Drake, he should not panic as much now. We can fully treat his wounds." a healer sighed, freezing my blood. (A/N: "Master Dragon")

He was...?

My head nearly exploded at this point, so instead, it did the next best thing. I blacked out.

"Oh Odin All Father my head!" I exclaimed, sitting up and holding my pounding head. I still remembered everything, I knew that Berwald was the leader of the Dragon's in human skin, and that Matthias was probably the Viking leader that could put on a dragon skin. I also knew that Berwald was the dragon that had captured me, so it was his fault that I was injured in the first place. I also knew... that I was doomed to be his 'wife' until I died, or he killed me, or until I killed myself.

Dark thoughts clouded my mind, I jumped when I felt a rough hand caress my face. I leaned into the touch, nearly purring at how nice the warmth felt against my skin.

Wait what?

I didn't jerk back, but I did pull away from the hand to lie back down so I didn't faint again from hyperventilating. I noticed that my side was no longer in angry flames of pain, but a dull ache that would most likely stay with me for the rest of my life, successfully removing me from any sexual activities. Perfect.

"Are ye a'right?" Berwald asked softly, his face leaning in close, a look of gentle concern on his face.

My cheeks felt hot at being stared at in such a way. I nodded though, opening my mouth to ask him something. "Is your name Berwald?" I asked rather stupidly, making sure I wasn't mentally calling him something random I had heard in a fevered dream.

"Ja." he replied simply, a soft blush forming on his cheeks. "H'w is yer side?" he asked, leaning back so I could sit up if I wanted to.

I smiled ruefully, "Well I'll die a virgin." I almost chuckled at the comical expression of horror on his face, "And if I ever get to leave, which I probably won't, I'll die of starvation from never being able to do honest labor again. Either way, I don't really have anything to look forward too in life." I finished, glaring at the ceiling, a stray tear leaking out of my eye.

"Th' heal'rs wer'n't abl' to do an'thin'?" he asked, a lost emotion swimming in his eyes. "Ye won' be abl' to be'r childr'n?"

A/N: Isn't that just the weirdest place to end it? What was Berwald thinking, taking him like that? Ah, okay, so if anyone is seeing this as familiar, it's because I got this idea from watching the movie 'How To Train Your Dragon.' It's a good movie right? I know I love it, anyway, REVIEW!

I would be happy to answer any questions asked, but first, you must ASK THEM!

REVIEW!

OR I WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND BREAK YOUR SINK!

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