After two days, when the last night was already upon them, Hárekr was talking about all sorts of things with Huld. She answered his questions and fed his fascination with nature. She also told him about the serpent: it was a peaceful animal that had never caused her any trouble, for they were very territorial creatures.
She also revealed that, when exploring the cave, she had found the eggs, which she protected. Unfortunately, without the mother they would not survive, and soon some predator would devour them; taking advantage of the occasion, she had brought one of them with her.
The day passed rainy. Inside the hut, while the water pattered on the roof, Huld prepared a hot herbal infusion and examined Hárekr’s shoulder wound, pleased to see it healing as it should. Having her so close motivated the young man to insist:
"I must pay you somehow..."
He said it while observing the place of the bite which, having been a serious wound, now looked much better. She replied:
"If you truly want to pay me, the day will come when I will need you. I only hope you will answer my call."
He looked at her intently and asked:
"Did the spirits tell you that, or is it what you desire?"
Over those days a deep complicity had arisen between the two. Huld smiled mysteriously and limited herself to saying:
"When that moment comes, you will know."
Then she lay back on her bed. Hárekr watched her with an intense gaze, charged with evident desire, and murmured:
"But for that moment to come, too much time will pass..."
She let out a soft laugh:
"You cannot be so impatient."
Huld closed her eyes seeking to relax, but she felt Hárekr approach her bed until he was only a few centimeters away.
Feeling him there, she said in a soft but firm voice:
"If you make this decision, do not regret it afterward."
Instantly, she seized him by the neck and drew him to her, sealing her lips on his in a kiss. For Hárekr, who was living his first experience, the encounter was passionate and impulsive; for her it was also the first time.
Thus, the rainy day seemed to become eternal. Night fell over the mountain without the battle inside the hut stopping. The whole early morning passed, lulled only by the murmur of the storm and the nocturnal song of the forest animals.
The next day, Hárekr contemplated her from the threshold of the hut and asked:
"Why do you not come with me?"
He sincerely wished for Huld to become his woman. However, she remained firm:
"No."
Hárekr tried to approach to kiss her one last time, but she refused with a gentle push and said:
"Go now."
He walked away with a hint of disappointment on his face, but determined to fulfill what he had come for. With the serpent’s head carefully wrapped in old clothes, he began the descent of the mountain.
Inside the hut, Huld remembered the previous night and murmured in solitude:
"When we meet again... may the spirits bless our union."
Descending through the mountainside, each step required enormous effort. He was badly wounded and fatigue threatened to overcome him at every moment. He stopped to rest briefly and then resumed the march; thus the hours passed until, after two days, he managed to reach the foot of the peak. Guiding himself by the river’s course, he took the path toward his home.
During the walk, the memory of Huld and the fierce battle against the serpent occupied his thoughts. He observed the mark of the bite on his shoulder: the wound was healing properly, but the constant exertion of the journey prevented it from improving completely. He let out a long sigh and continued advancing.
Upon entering the fylki, he noticed an unusual silence; there was no one waiting for him at the entrance, for too many days had passed since his departure. However, as he entered the market area, the villagers began to see him walking with torn clothes and a wounded shoulder.
The people ran to meet him and one of them exclaimed aloud:
"The Jarl’s son has returned!... Good news!"
Another shouted among the crowd:
"The gods bless us!"
The clamor grew quickly throughout the settlement. Hearing the uproar, Lagertha came out to the doors of the Great Hall and contemplated her son approaching. Seeing him alive, she nodded pleased and shouted from the threshold:
"You took too long."
Hárekr looked at her directly. Despite his mother’s usual coldness, he distinguished in her eyes a whirlwind of contained emotions. He spoke with renewed firmness, as if the journey had transformed him into a different man:
"I have returned."
She nodded solemnly and immediately ordered all the clan chiefs to be summoned to celebrate a great feast.
Already seated inside the Great Hall, exhausted and waiting for the seer and the council to arrive, Hárekr looked at his mother and confessed:
"Mother... I met a woman. She is as perfect as you."
Lagertha, perceiving the longing in her son’s gaze, asked:
"Why did you not bring her with you?"
Hárekr, with a shadow of disappointment, replied:
"I could not..."
Lagertha let out a brief laugh and said:
"Then that woman is the right one for you. Do not be impatient; if you told her where you come from, perhaps one day she will decide to seek you."
"I doubt it...", he murmured discouraged. From the little time he had shared with her, he knew that Huld was a solitary woman by nature.
At that instant, the heavy doors of the hall opened. The chieftains entered enthusiastically upon learning of Hárekr’s return, anxious to examine the hunting trophy, with the seer walking behind them.
At night, the celebration burst forth in the Great Hall. Everyone raised their horns of mead amid cheers, until Lagertha, with a firm voice, ordered:
"Show the beast’s trophy!"
Hárekr unwrapped the old clothes covering the severed head. As soon as the colossal face of the serpent was revealed, an astonished silence swept through the room. The chieftains approached one by one, marveling at the thickness of the scales and the gleam of the bite. One of the warriors exclaimed impressed:
"If only the head is this size... how would the entire body be?"
The seiermaer, observing the proof, nodded solemnly and proclaimed before all:
"You are ready. The Norns have woven your threads and will bless you with a great destiny... Ragnarsson."
Hearing the title, the old veteran chieftain with the scar on his eye, frowned. He looked fixedly at the Jarl, always watching over her honor, and questioned the old man:
"Why do you call him Ragnarsson?"
The seer ignored the interruption, but Lagertha stood up, taking the word before all.
"He already knows the truth. And now he has my blessing to set sail west and forge his own path. It does not matter to me whether he does it to avenge his father or for his own ambitions."
She said it looking at Hárekr with pride: her son had brought down a beast worthy of the sagas of the gods. The chieftains shared that same devotion, feeling their blood boil at the future conquests.
Raising their horns again, the warriors acclaimed the young warrior:
"Lead us to great battles, Ragnarsson! LET VALHALLA WAIT FOR US!"
The banquet became a festival of songs and dances, which Hárekr joined after days of suffering. To one side of the throne, the seer leaned toward Lagertha and murmured in a low voice:
"Do you understand what his encounter with the other sons of Ragnarr in the West will imply?"
Lagertha contemplated her son amid the fire and let fall a phrase that resonated in the foundations of the Great Hall:
"If his destiny is to snatch their thrones... then so be it."
The seer smiled, pleased and expectant before the epic wars that were about to begin.