Chapter Text
⥈“Tell me, oh wise one, will I bear more sons for Ragnar?”
“No,” the Seer said simply in his deep tenor.
At this, Lagertha pursed her lips slightly and straightened her back in her seat. The revelation slammed into her but she showed no evidence of the sorrow that permeated within her. She knew he could not see her physically but she guessed that he knew of her inner turmoil nonetheless.
“Then…,” she exhaled slowly before she formed the next words, “...what is to be my fate in this world?”
“You will lead your people in your rightful home one day, but the journey to get there will not be without its difficulties and sacrifices. You will be near death when another will fight in your stead. Others will see you, though you’re not there. Only in success of those battles will you rise to fulfill your destiny. Only then can you rule,” he says in the familiar cadence that is slow but tense when telling one of their future.
“Another?” Lagertha could not understand. The young mother knew that discussions with the Seer were usually cryptic but she could not help her curiosity. She now had more questions than answers and she needed to know more.
“Yes. Another.”
“But how?” She persisted.
“That is all the gods have allowed me to see. I know nothing more.” He slowly extended his hand to her, palm up, marking the end of their conversation.
The blonde leaned forward to lick his hand solemnly as was tradition before standing quietly and exiting the small hut.⥈
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
➶Storybrooke had been quiet lately, which was very unusual. The phones at the station hadn’t rung in hours and I’d patrolled our streets early this morning and again after lunch. Such were the duties of the town sheriff for today.
To pass the time, I’d taken an empty box from the file room downstairs and began filing away old reports and paperwork. I told myself I was making good use of my time by organizing and cleaning up around the station, but deep down I knew it was mostly a distraction; a way to keep my mind occupied and not on other things, or other people.
But even as I tried to keep busy, my mind could not help but remember things and times long passed. One thought led to another, and then another, and on they continued even as I walked back downstairs. As I considered the boxes set in the heavy racks before me, I decided to organize those too. “I may as well. I have the time to kill,” I said quietly before sighing lightly.
The word ‘kill’ ricocheted within my thoughts as I lifted and moved boxes until a memory made its way to the forefront of all the others. It was when I’d first assumed Jamison’s identity and was sent on my first mission… to kill the dragon that had been causing havoc in King Midas’ lands. As odd as it sounded, that seemed like a simpler, easier time. I shook my head at myself at the thought. I’d been so green then in the ways of combat and fighting.
And life.
Oh how times had changed. Combat and self-defense were like second nature to me now. I could swing a sword and find a target with my arrow with almost deadly precision. But life? Well… I am not without my flaws. I've made my way through life as best as I can. I've enjoyed and appreciated the good times, and I've learned what I can from the not so good times. I love… or try to anyway. I love others the only way I know how… unconditionally and with everything that I am. That too though, depending who you ask, is quite flawed. But I choose to believe and to hope that I have done more good than harm in this life.
Maybe I’m still a bit naive after all, it seems.
A look at the wall clock down the hall told me I had about an hour left on my shift. I was just about done down here, then I’d have some time to go on one last patrol before meeting Emma and Henry for dinner.
I stepped up onto the small step ladder to place the last box on the top shelf. As I pushed it back, I was met with some resistance. Looking beyond the cardboard in my hands, a smaller evidence box sat in the corner almost invisibly. I tried to maneuver the file box back beside the smaller one, but in doing so I set it too far to the edge and the smaller box tumbled off the shelf. I reached for it, and although my reflexes were quick, it fell just beyond my reach.
When it hit the ground, the lid flew off along with its contents and a leather pouch landed the furthest away. I hopped down and walked over to begin picking everything up and noticed something roll out of the pouch.
“No… no, no, no,” I muttered as it rolled toward the door frame. It was a magic bean. If it hit or collided with anything, I knew exactly what would happen. I tried to move quickly to stop it; to try to gently slow its path.
But I wasn’t fast enough. “No, no, no.”
The loud whirring air of an opening portal was immediate and unmistakable.
“Damn it.”
There was no one here but me. No one would know what had happened. No one would know that I disappeared through a portal leading to any number of unknown places. No one would know how to find me. I might never see my loved ones again.
It’s the last thought that makes me hold on for dear life to anything I could to keep from being pulled into the portal.
But for all my strength, the force of the portal is stronger.➴