I would like to wish you all a very happy New Year. And to thank you for not only reading; but also following, voting and commenting. It really is appreciated.

Hálfdan woke, the cool air of the night nipped at his skin, despite the heavy furs that covered his form. Normally, she would warm him; her arms pulling him to her, as they slumbered. Yet at this moment, there was no warmth, no arms wrapped around him, no breath on his skin. The blonde warrior rubbing the sleep from his eyes, before pushing himself up onto his elbows. His eyes falling on the silhouette of a figure that stood at the open entrance to the tent; a figure that was illuminated by the burning funeral pyres, beyond.

The night had been filled with revelry. More than one cup raised to the latest victory. Harald offering praise and glory to Odin for his success; for the fact that his goal was one step closer. A salute to the female berserker, that sat to his brother's side, for the favour that she seemed to have brought with her. Yet while Hálfdan would usually be enjoying the drink along with everyone else, that evening he had had other things on his mind. The image of what he had seen on that battlefield, playing out, again and again, as he looked to the smiling woman by his side. The youngest son of Hálfdan the Elder, sure that he could still see the glint of the armour that she had worn, as they had made their way back to the tent.

"Did you take all that the allfather wanted..............?" Hálfdan finally asked, as he sat up.

"The rush of battle, Hálfdan. I told you; it can make you see many things. Fanciful things. Images that aren't real............." The dark form replied. The berserker watching, as the smoke rose into the night sky. The warriors that had not been claimed by the allfather, wending their way to Folkvangr, the field that belonged to the goddess Freya. Others to Helgafjell, the holy mountain. Where they would spend their days as they had done while they were alive; where they would be reunited with the friends and family that had already passed.

"I know what I saw.................."

"And what was it that you think you saw..............?" (Y/n) asked, as she turned her attention to the naked man in the makeshift bed. His blonde hair, as always, falling over his right eye, as he stared at her.

"I saw your armour first, the glint of a golden helmet, and shield. I know it was you; I have laid with you enough to know your body, even from a distance. I know the way you hold yourself, how you move. I saw you holding out your hand to a body that lay at the top of one of the piles. I saw a ghostly, smoke like hand reaching out of the dead body, placing its palm into yours, before you pulled the whole form from the group; before you were joined by others, others that I knew. Others that I myself, killed..............."

"And what if that is what you saw...........? What then.............?" (Y/n) enquired, as her lover pushed the furs from his body, and got to his feet. Hálfdan making his way over to her; his arms wrapping around her.

"That would mean that you are Valkyrie. My Valkyrie................" Hálfdan replied, as he pulled her a little closer. His voice becoming deeper, as he called her, his.

"And I have no intention of letting anyone take you from me.......not man, or god.............." The feared warrior continued, as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Then there are things that you must know, Hálfdan Hálfdansson.......... Things that you must know about your Valkyrie............." (Y/n) said, as she placed a kiss to his lips and then led him back to the bed.

                                                         >>---------------------------------<<

"So, you see..............." The female warrior explained, as she pushed Hálfdan's hair away from his face, and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Svein was nothing more than a means to an end. He was never meant to win the fight against your brother. I was not sent to him, to help him win the battle; that is not what the allfather wanted. It was only so that you and Harald could meet me. So that you would not question me coming into your lives. Admittedly, it might have been easier to have you and Harald meet me in another way; but I am not one to question the decisions, or orders of Odin. All I knew, was that I was meant to find the two sons of Hálfdan the Elder; and when I did, it was my duty to watch over them until the time came for them to be called to the great hall. For them to become einherjar, and be at Odins side when Fimbulvetr, causes the skies to darken, the sun to disappear, and the world to grow cold. When Heimdall blows the Gjallarhorn. When Yggdrasil, the tree of the world, shudders. When the wolves, Skoll and Hati, who have been chasing the sun and moon for all of time, finally achieve their goal, and consume their prey. Until Ragnarök comes and the world burns. What I did not expect though, was for you to capture my heart. I did not expect to feel anything more for you, than any of the other warriors I have watched over. Yet here I am, a chooser of the slain, lost in the pretty eyes of a mortal man. Lost in his lips, in his touch. My destiny intertwined with his. And when the sons of Hálfdan the Elder are called to Valhalla, I will follow them. I will serve you with meat and mead, until Odin calls upon us................" (Y/n) continued. Her heart beating at a pace, as her lover looked at her, silently. This the first time that she had ever revealed to anyone, what she truly was. But happy that if she had to tell anyone, that it was Hálfdan. The berserker suddenly finding herself laid on her back with the blonde Northman looking over her. Hálfdan not knowing what to say to his beautiful woman's confession. Choosing instead, to prove to her, why she should not regret losing her heart. Choosing instead, to show her, that he loved her too.