Vikings Page #3

10.

INT. RAGNAR’S HOUSE - DAY

Lagertha, carrying the bucket inside, finds Ragnar putting a

thick woollen coat over the shoulders of his son, BJORN, now

twelve years old, and a handsome, strong-looking youth.

Lagertha stops and looks at them.

LAGERTHA:

What are you two doing?

RAGNAR:

I’m taking Bjorn to the Thing.

LAGERTHA:

Not yet. He’s not old enough.

RAGNAR:

He’s twelve years old.

LAGERTHA:

Take him next year. Next year is

soon enough.

Ragnar smiles at her.

RAGNAR:

He’ll need a silk ribbon.

INT. HOUSE - EVENING

BJORN “spies” on his mother as Lagertha washes her long

blonde hair in the tub of water. The water seems to flow in

slow motion from the ends of her hair like mercury as she

kneels over the tub.

His eyes are full of love for her.

BJORN:

(quietly)

Mother.

Lagertha looks up, flicks back her hair so she can see him,

and smiles tenderly.

INT. BEDCHAMBER - HOUSE - NIGHT

Ragnar and Lagertha in bed together, cradled close after lovemaking.

She stares into his eyes.

11.

LAGERTHA:

Don’t sleep with too many women in

Kattegat.

RAGNAR:

Are you crazy? I won’t sleep with

any of them. I don’t want to. I can

do without it for a few weeks.

LAGERTHA:

Is that another way of saying you

love me?

She teases him.

RAGNAR:

I always dream of you. Last night I

dreamt you were feeding me blood

pudding.

LAGERTHA:

What does that mean?

RAGNAR:

It means you were giving me your

heart.

And they close in, and kiss passionately.

RAGNAR (CONT’D)

I love you so much I could feed you

the whole sky.

EXT. YARD - HOUSE - DAY

Father and son are ready to depart on their small, tough

horses, both wearing heavy woollen coats, tight leather

trousers, cloaks and leather boots.

Lagertha and Gyda bring out some food for the journey,

putting it into their saddle-bags.

Bjorn kisses Gyda.

BJORN:

Goodbye, little sister.

GYDA:

Goodbye, big brother. Don’t get

drunk.

12.

LAGERTHA:

Wait. I have something for both of

you.

She takes out two thin strips of colored ribbon, and ties one

around Bjorn’s head and the other around her husband’s.

LAGERTHA (CONT’D)

There. Now everyone will know you

are free men on your way to the

Thing.

Ragnar kisses her.

RAGNAR:

Goodbye my shield-maiden.

LAGERTHA:

Look after your son - and when you

come back, just tell me the truth.

I don’t care about anything else.

And then she and her daughter watch Ragnar and Bjorn set off

up the rough trail towards the trees, accompanied by one of

the hunting dogs, Ragnar armed with a spear, a sword and

knife and Bjorn with his hunting knife.

Bjorn looks back once, and raises his arm in farewell, and

then they are swallowed up into the trees.

EXT. TRACK - DAY

They ride slowly on together through a landscape of forest,

scrub and rock. There is no-one else in sight, no farms or

dwellings, for the rocky earth here is clearly unfit for

agriculture or ploughing. Is even too barren for sheep.

There are signs of spring everywhere, however, the trees a

brighter green, the gorse in flower.

BJORN:

What will happen at the Thing?

RAGNAR:

Earl Haraldson will deal, as usual,

with some criminal offences that

have happened since the last

meeting. And then everyone will

discuss the summer raids.

BJORN:

Where will you go?

13.

There’s a long beat. Ragnar glances at his son, then away

again, with a shrug.

RAGNAR:

It’s not up to me. Earl Haraldson

decides. I wish it was not so...but

that is the law.

But Bjorn can see that the question has affected his father’s

mood.

They splash through a stream.

RAGNAR (CONT’D)

All the ice has gone. Spring is

here again, thanks to Frey.

EXT. CAMP - NIGHT

They have camped in the open. A fire is burning and they have

cooked some small animal over it and eaten it. The dog gnaws

at the bones.

BJORN:

There’s something I want to ask

you.

RAGNAR:

Then ask me.

BJORN:

How did you meet mother?

Ragnar’s smiles.

RAGNAR:

Hasn’t she ever told you?

BJORN:

Of course. But I want to know if

your story is the same as hers.

A beat.

RAGNAR:

Well, it occurred when a Swedish

chieftan invaded our part of

Norway. I went off to fight him and

many of the local women dressed up

in men’s clothing and joined our

camp. Lagertha was amongst them.

14.

(MORE)

I was impressed by her courage and

courted her from afar.

BJORN:

How far is that?

RAGNAR:

Hush. Listen. After a while I went

to confess my love for her - but

when I arrived I was set upon by a

bear and an enormous hound who

guarded her home. I killed the bear

with my spear and managed to

strangle the hound with my bare

hands.

(beat)

And that’s the way I gained her

hand in marriage.

(glances at his son)

What did she tell you?

Bjorn smiles, then lies down, pulls the blanket over himself.

RAGNAR (CONT’D)

Did she tell you the same story?

A long beat.

BJORN:

Just about.

And he closes his eyes, still smiling.

EXT. KATTEGAT - DAY

They ride into Kattegat, a sizeable town and a trading

station, set on the bank of a river. It’s a busy place with

open carts and covered wagons, horses and boats bringing

people and goods to the local market, as well as delegates to

the Thing, wearing ribbons around their foreheads.

At the market place, TRADERS - several of them of Arabic

appearance, and dressed in totally different costumes - are

examining the pelts, furs, ropes and bear-skins for sale.

The ARABS are also examining the handful of SLAVES for sale,

most of Slavic appearance, checking their teeth, hair and

nails, as if they were horses.

There is a lot of good-humored banter and loud haggling.

All of this Bjorn has clearly seen before, and is not fazed

by.

15.

RAGNAR (CONT'D)

But then a large group of YOUNG MEN, clearly drunk, come

swaggering through the market place, shouting out insults to

the traders and laughing, grabbing at the pelts and furs,

creating a disturbance.

The traders reclaim their goods and drive them away, angrily.

Ragnar watches the incident with a heavy heart.

BJORN:

Who are they?

RAGNAR:

Young men with nothing better to

do. These days they regard the old

ways, of trading and farming, as

too tame. They think it’s stupid to

acquire by sweat and toil what they

can easily win by blood.

BJORN:

Blood?

RAGNAR:

In battle.

(beat)

It’s a real problem. There seem to

be more and more of them every

year. And it’s a great waste. Those

young men are our future. Someone

should harness their strength and

their anger.

They move on.

Then a great bear of a man steps out before their horses,

grabbing the bridles and laughing.

BEAR MAN:

Ragnar Lothbrok!

Ragnar and Bjorn dismount. Ragnar embraces him.

BEAR MAN (CONT’D)

Do my eyes deceive me? Is this your

son? How he’s grown!

RAGNAR:

Bjorn, this is your uncle Rollo. We

sail in the same boat.

BJORN:

Uncle.

Rollo looks him up and down.

16.

ROLLO:

So you’re here for the Thing?

You’re a real man now. Let’s have a

drink.

INT. TAVERN - EVENING

A long gloomy room, with a fire in the centre and benches

arranged on either side.

The men drink ale from horned cups. Rollo watches Bjorn sip

from his horn, and laughs.

ROLLO:

You won’t get drunk like that.

Bjorn smiles uneasily, then tips back the horn and drinks

deeply.

ROLLO (CONT’D)

Are you ready for a woman? There

are some good-looking women in

Kattegat. And they’re free.

RAGNAR:

Of course he isn’t. He can’t even

grow a beard.

Rollo laughs again, empties his horn, and holds it out to be

refilled by a WOMAN with a jug. He stares at her wolfishly.

ROLLO:

So - where do you think he’ll send

us this year?

RAGNAR:

Probably to the Eastlands again -

the same as last year. The same as

always.

ROLLO:

Those bastards up there are as poor

as we are. What do they have left

to give us?

RAGNAR:

Only themselves.

A beat. He glances round, lowers his voice.

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