#you want women who will kill terrible men sometimes and aesthetically walk away covered in blood

[alicentes]

“We want flawed, messy, complicated, problematic female characters” bitch you couldn’t even handle Alicent Hightower

[madsmikkelsenschesthair]

Blood of the Dragon ch.14

Hvitserk x Freyja/Reader aesthetic ❤️

Warnings: angst, fluff, first kiss, violence, mentions of character death

Björn and his father were not on speaking terms at all. After greeting his younger brothers, Björn and Ragnar only scowled at each other than Björn, his mother and brothers greeted the King and Queen. Björn ignored his father and focused his attention on Freyja and Freyja only. He had not seen the little princess for almost a year and he was not going to let anyone ruin it.

She had changed. She was taller, growing into her body, hair longer. Skin was cleaner and smoother than before and Freyja constantly smelled of roses. Her cheeks were slightly pink as if pink satin was trying to escape from beneath her marble-like skin. Freyja’s wardrobe had changed too. She wore the same pretty dresses the Southern ladies of Westeros wore and her hair loose but combed and free of tangles. During meals, Freyja sat the same way her stepmother did and the eating manners she had back in Kattegat were gone. Still, his old Freyja was there. From the way she smiled to the way she teased her boys. She still fought as bravely as a shieldmaiden, her purple eyes flaming and Björn swore he sometimes saw a shadow of a dragon behind her. That’s why the gift he bought her was the perfect gift. Hvitserk noticed Freyja’s changes as well. She was beautiful before but now...she was an absolute dream. Ubbe still treated her like a little sister but his younger brothers were going for another route. Maybe they indeed had a crush on her for her soul and beauty but maybe they wanted to win her heart so Freyja could marry them and become Kings. Ubbe hoped they liked her for her, for their sake.

Lagertha watched her ex-husband’s sons bond with Freyja. They were all in the garden of the Red Keep; Ivar was sharpening his ax, Ubbe and Sigurd were trying to teach Fenrir how to play fetch, and Björn and Freyja were talking. He said something to her that made her giggle, Lagertha chuckled at how small she looked next to her son. She heard the soft click-clack of heels on the stone floor followed by the clinking of armor. Lagertha could smell Cersei’s perfume before she could even approach her.

“She’s happy you’re here,” Cersei said. Hvitserk pulled a braid and Freyja squealed, the booming laughter of the eldest Ragnarsons rang in the air.

“I can see that” Lagertha glanced at Cersei and then went back to watching the little princess with her princes. “Does she like it here? Does she miss home at all?”

Cersei’s smile faded a little, thinking about the first few weeks when Freyja arrived. “She...she may have gotten into a fight with Viserys”

Lagertha turned away from the children with surprise. “What happened?” She was very interested in hearing this story. The little Princess was known back home for standing up for herself and getting into fights with boys, she wondered how she fought off a man.

“The King wanted time break her old habits such as hunting”. Lagertha never understood these Westerosis and their strange customs, men, and women could hunt, fight, raid all the same but here things were strange. “One morning, the Princess snuck off to the Kingswood by herself. Viserys followed her. You see, he was angry with us, with her. Targaryens marry cousins and nieces but this time the little Princess will marry a son of Ragnar” Hvitserk braided Freyja’s hair while Björn told a story about one of the raids in a new world, jealousy crossed the princess’s eyes. “Viserys followed her and attacked her. The princess fought back” Cersei chuckled looking more proud now, “It was not a good outcome for him and left him in a bad state afterward” Lagertha grew angry and she wanted to hunt down the Targaryen prince and cut off his hands for even touching her Freyja.

The little princess was happy her family had returned but she noticed there was someone missing. A certain priest that helped raise her and love her as if she were his own as well. Athelstan. Floki and Helga were missing too, Freyja looked for their eager faces when they arrived but they were nowhere to be found. 

“Bear, where is Athelstan?” Freyja finally asked Bjorn. The boys looked at one another their eyes hiding a sad secret. Bjorn’s little brothers turned to him for answers, no one had the courage to tell her the truth. He didn’t want to break her sweet heart. “And Floki and Helga. They’re not here too, why?” Freyja began to get nervous her eyes darting from Bjorn to Ivar. From Ivar to Sigurd. From Sigurd to Ubbe. From Ubbe to Hvitserk. Finally going back to Bjorn. A heavy silence hung in the air. 

Finally, Hvitserk answered, “I’ll tell her, brother” Bjorn stared at his little brother. “Are you sure?” Hvitserk nodded. “Come Freyja. Take a walk with me” He extended his arm offering her his hand and she took it, together they walked deeper into the garden leaving the rest behind. Her anxiety worsened the further they walked without talking, not even the exotic birds were chirping they seemed to sense the dreadful feeling that they were hiding. They walked until they were far away enough to hide from the guards and the other boys. It was beautiful where they were, isolated with white rose bushes and a stone bench, the bushes were high enough to hide them. Hvitserk offered her to sit, “I think you shouldn’t be on your feet for what I’m about to tell you” Freyja swallowed but she sat down.

“You can tell me now,” she said in a small voice, the dreadful feeling wasn’t going away and it seemed to worsen with the small pauses. Hvitserk sat next to her and took her hands in his. 

“One morning Bjorn went to speak to Athelstan about the next raid” Freyja studied his face, her heart threatening to explode. “Bjorn noticed Athelstan’s hut was unusually quiet and there was the smell of blood coming from inside” A lump formed in Hvitserk’s throat and he tried to hide his tears because one of them had to be strong for this and he wanted to be strong for Freyja. When he was sure the tears went away, Hvitserk finally looked up, “Athelstan was found dead. Murdered and-” 

“Oh no!” Freyja cried out, one hand covered her mouth and she began to sob big gulping sobs. Her sweet Athelstan slaughtered like that. Like a pig. “Who did it, Hvitty? Who killed our Athelstan?!” 

It broke his heart to see Freyja like this but someone had to tell her, he made it this far. “I’m very sorry sweet Freyja but...it...it was Floki...Floki killed him.” Freyja knew Floki hated Athelstan for being a Christian but she didn’t know he would go as far as killing him. She cried even harder the ache in her chest far too unbearable. Hvitserk put his arms around her and held her close letting her cry into his chest, her tears soaking his shirt but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about his shirt only caring about Freyja’s shattered heart. 

_________________________________

Freyja was warned not to tell Ragnar or anyone else outside their little circle. All she knew was Floki was in a cave, tied to the ceiling, with only Helga as his company. 

She was not told how long Floki had been tied up. It hurt Freyja that Athelstan was brutally murdered but it also hurt to know the conditions of Floki and poor Helga, who did not have to be there and was suffering as much as her husband.

At dinnertime Lagertha, Bjorn, and his little brothers were invited to dine with the little princess and her family. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meal but Freyja, Rhaegar watched her from the head of the dining table not paying much attention to Lagertha. Freyja picked her meat and stared blankly at her glass of water. The ‘only one glass of wine’ rule was not relaxed because of her Norse family. Rules were rules, according to her septa and the little princess was ordered to obey. Hvitserk kept stealing glances at her to make sure she was okay, Sigurd kicked him and mouthed, “The King is watching. Look away”. His older brother shrugged, ‘Freyja is sad’ he mouthed back, Both brothers looked at the princess, Freyja flipped her roasted quail letting out a loud sigh but not loud enough to interrupt the conversation. Ubbe reached for another piece of bread, then stopped when he saw his little brothers gawking at Freyja. He made an irritated noise and his brothers quickly looked away. If the King or the terrible Queen were to catch them...

“Father, may I be excused?” 

The grownups stopped talking, Rhaegar frowned at her untouched plate and said, “Are you alright little dove? You haven’t eaten much”

“You look rather ill, Freyja” Lagertha’s soft hand touched her temple. It amazed Freyja that after all those years of battle, her sweet Lagertha’s hands remained soft. A comforting touch. “You are a little warm”.

“You may be excused, Y/n,” her father said, “I will send Maester Pycell to your chambers to check on you” 

“No!” Her stepmother said quickly, “I will send two septas but not the Maester”

Lagertha shot a suspicious glance at Viserys. The cowardly man looked away. “And you won’t be going alone.” 

Bjorn followed his mother’s eyes. He did not like the prince either and after he heard of the incident, Bjorn wanted to slice off his prick for putting his hands on Freyja but his mother stopped him from doing so. “I will accompany the Princess to her chambers, Your Grace. I know she would like that instead of your guards”. The King agreed but Cersei did not bother to hide her anger something Lagertha noticed. 

Once they were out of earshot Freyja finally burst into tears. Bjorn quickly wrapped his strong arms around her, “Sweet Freyja, little princess. Daughter of Thor, this storm will be over soon”

“My heart is broken” she sobbed, “Athelstan was a good Christian, he loved us all how could Floki do this to us?”

Athelstan, the same man that pampered, protected her, told her about his God’s stories and his life before Kattegat, was dead. A sweet man who envied no one and didn’t wish to hurt or kill anyone. 

Bjorn kissed her head. It didn’t matter what anyone said. A father was a man that raised and loved a child and Freyja was his child. It hurt to see her cry. “Athelstan is with his God now. He always wanted to go to Heaven. Soon his God and our God will put their differences aside and when we go to Valhalla Athelstan shall drink with us and will tell him about our battles.” It was little comfort but Freyja felt guilty for the death of Athelstan, if she had not left Kattegat then he would still be alive. She felt even worse knowing she couldn’t tell Ragnar.

_________________________________________

Hvitserk stared at the three-headed dragon sigil on Freyja’s door debating on whether or not he should knock. It was after dinner, everyone else went to their respective chambers but Hvitserk. He decided to wait until his brothers had fallen asleep, their breathing even with Ivar snoring in the background. He wiggled out of his bed, put on his boots and tiptoed out of the room. Hvitserk couldn’t wait any longer to do what he needed to do. He held his breath and knocked. Inside he heard Fenrir let out a muffled bark then Freyja shushing him softly. She was surprised to see Hvitserk so late. 

“Hvitty” Freyja said in a low voice, “It’s really late you know”

He swallowed, “I know but I had to see you, may I come in?” 

Freyja looked behind him and down the halls to check if the coast was clear, once she was sure they were alone she opened the door wider to allow him to come in. Hvitserk whistled at the beauty of her room. Now, THIS was a room for a royal princess. Freyja even had her own study, gold, silver, and the finest silk in all of the lands were owned by her, Fenrir the direwolf had his own bed right next to the fireplace but knowing his owner, he probably slept with her every night. 

She suddenly realized that they were alone, just the two of them, and she flushed a deep red. “Hvitty, what are you doing here so late? What is it you wanted to tell me?” Even in her simple pretty nightgown with her hair let down she was still the most beautiful girl in the world to him. Shieldmaiden or Queen, Hvitserk would love her either way. What if she rejected him? What if she chose another brother? He couldn’t imagine being in the arms of another.

“You’re beautiful, Freyja” Hvitserk managed to whisper, “more beautiful than the Goddess herself”

The princess giggled, “Thank you Hvitserk is that why you came to me so late? Because you wanted to tell me I was more beautiful than the Goddess?”

“No! I mean, yes but I wanted to do something else” It was his turn to blush. His heart was pounding and Hvitserk wanted to crawl under the bed and hide. The son of Ragnar Lothbrok, legendary Viking, too shy to admit what he wanted to do. “I wanted to ask if...if I could...”He looked down, heat spreading across his face, “Freyja you are so beautiful with a heart of gold, is it alright if I kissed you? I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to”.

Freyja burst into a fit of giggles. “Have you ever kissed a girl Hvitty?”

He blushed again, “No. Have you ever kissed a boy?”

She rolled her eyes, “Bjorn is too overprotective, you know that”

“We will be each others first then-first kiss I mean”

She took his hand, a gentle smile on her lips, “I would love that very much”

Hvitserk sighed, relieved. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes falling in love with every passing second and leaned in. They closed their eyes just as their lips met just a gentle touch with lips barely parted, his hand cupped her burning cheek. 

They pulled away shortly after, they couldn’t get caught kissing especially in her room. But Hvitserk and Freyja were smiling so hard their face hurt. He pressed her forehead against hers, “I knew your lips tasted like honey. Thank you...”

She shook her head, “No Hvitty, thank you. Let me walk you back to  your chambers”

The pair walked all the way to the other side of the Red Keep talking and laughing the whole time. When they stopped outside his chambers, Hvitserk said, “Freyja won’t you get in trouble for being out so late?”

“I would rather get in trouble for walking around than you getting in trouble for visiting my chambers so late at night”

Hvitserk kissed her cheek one last time, “Goodnight Frey, thank you”

“Goodnight Hvitty”. He watched her disappear around the corner leaving him blushing for the rest of the night.

Halfway up the stairs to her chambers, Freyja bumped into her annoying uncle. He stank of wine and his feverish eyes looked even crazier. He was still wearing his dinner silks.

“What are you doing out here so late?” He snapped, “shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Why do you care? I was on my way to bed anyway!” Freyja bit back and shoved past him.

But Viserys gripped her arm and shoved her until she was close enough to smell the bitter alcohol. “You do not talk to me like that do you understand? I am your Uncle and you respect me!”

Freyja tried to pull away but Viserys had dug his nails deep into her flesh. “I don’t have to do anything you tell me to do now let go!” 

“You and those barbarians will pay for taking my Throne away from me and I won’t rest until I’ve had my revenge!” 

She dug her own nails into his face scratching his eyes. Viserys hissed in agony pushing her, Freyja let out a scream as she fell down the stairs Viserys could only watch in shock realizing what he had done. Freyja landed face down at the bottom of the stairs and Viserys rushed to her. 

“Y-” He turned her over, a small trail of blood coming from out of her nose running down painting her clean gown. Freyja was unresponsive. Her body limp and he wasn’t sure if she was breathing or not but he wasn’t staying to find out. He dropped her on to the cold hard floor and fled to his rooms. 

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