The cripple and the shieldmaiden

// 27 //

He sat before the house of Torhild when the sun came up, carving a piece of wood with Torhild her knife, his eyes regular going back to the blood eagle he made out of lord Edgar. From where he sat he didn't have a clear vieuw, but the memory in his mind was just enough. 'I didn't saw you on the feast.' Ivar looked slowly up to Lagertha, not verry intrested in her being around him. So he looked down to his carving again, waited a little before answering. He liked it, to taunt her just long enough, test her patient, it was the only way that he could make her suffer.
'Somebody needs to keep an eye on the princess.' He replied with a neutral voice. Torhild didn't waked from the feast, she slept the whole night through it. Nobody had attented to her wound because she was to tired and had to much pain already. It took Ivar an couple of hours before his mindset came back to normal, being in the rush of blood and killing somebody did still more than loving her. But after that, he didn't leaved her side.
'And you doing that from out here?'
'You wouldn't appreciate it when I would be in there.' He reacted, pointing with the knife over his shoulder in the house. He looked up, only to see Lagertha staring back at him. 'Spit it out.' He said impatient. She had to say something, it was that clear, so she could better say it right now, where Torhild wasn't around to hear it.
'I asked her to stay away from you. Tonight showed yet again that your mind doesn't work the way it should. You had to much joy in killing others, you dissability makes you dangerous.' She began. He looked at her with narrowed eyes, the point of his knife pointing her way.
'And yet she isn't afraid. And my mind workes just fine. If you think I'm a monster than it is because everybody maked me one. You killed my mother, don't ever think I forget that.' He replied, his anger already taking it's way up in his body.
'Björn told me you kept her safe.'
'Björn is growing some brains for a change, good for him.'
'Don't speak of him that way.' She hissed, losing her temper in a little moment. Ivar smiled sarcastic, she was more upset about him being around Torhild than he thought. She needed some time so Ivar looked down to the carvings again, not really knowing what he was carving. It took Lagertha several minuts, minuts in wich he didn't look back at her again. 'I'm thanksfull for what you did Ivar but I'm here now, I will keep her safe.'
'You don't need to convince me queen, you need to convince her. I'm loyal to your daugher, that coming from me,' he give her a quick look before he looked down again. He never was loyal to anybody but himself, he didn't trust anybody, it was just only Ivar and himself. But Torhild changed that, like she always could change him a little.
'Do you love her?' Lagertha asked. Ivar stopped carving and looked slowly up to Lagertha. But before he could answer he heard a couch, followed by the groans of pain.
'She is awake.' He pointed his knife back at the house. Lagertha didn't asked again, she just wachted him carving the wood.
'Mother.' Björn greeted her, looking in between her and Ivar. 'We want to send a message king Aethelwulf, deliver Lord Edgar his body.' He began without asking what the problem was. Ivar sighed and rolled onto his stomach and crawled inside the house, pauzing a moment in the doorway.
'Don't give Aethelwulf a reason to prepare his army. We are in the ellement of surprice, just saying.' He advided them calm. How much he would love to give a message, it was far more important to keep it a surprice.

Torhild was trying to get her bandages off when he crawled in. 'Don't.' He reacted on her movements. She looked over her shoulder, her skin still pale but her expressions a little more rested. She managed to get the dress out this night, leaving her with hardly something of clothes, a skirt and her top half rolled up so she could get to the wounds.
'It started bleeding again.' She protested. He pulled himself on to the bed and looked how she got the bandages off, leaving her skin with a massive would on the back of her body. His eyes looked at the wound before he placed his body up a little behind her. 'I'm not getting better.'
'You are. You are awake, that counts for something. This needs time Torhild, it's only little more than a week.' He reacted calm, because she was upset.
'I don't have time.' She hissed, throwing her bangages on the ground. He grabbed her wrist and looked at her.
'Will you calm down for a moment.' He reacted. She looked over her shoulder towards him, giving warning glares towards her wrist. He studied the anger and impatient in her eyes while she only looked angry back. But the longer they looked at each other the more she dropped her guard a little. It was the other way around this time, Torhild was troubled while he, because of the blood eagle, was the steady one of the two. He lost his grip on her wrist and she laid down, her haid in his lape. He felt her weight on his bony legs.
'I need more time.' She whispered. Ivar looked at the wound, blood slightly slipping out of it.
'I'll give you time.' He answered. He reached for the ointment and bandages and she started to protest again. 'Torhild,' He reacted impatient. 'in orde to get better you have to let us help. Don't distant yourself.'
'I have it from you.' She replied. Ivar chuckled while he looked at ointment, taking some of it on its fingers before he pressed it against the wound. She gasped for breath a little, tensing under his fingers. 'Who were you talking to outside?' She asked after he got the most of the ointment on the wound.
'You heared. Your mother.'
'Must been a bright conversation.' She reacted, eyebrows frowned, looking at him.
'Let's say she still hates me.'
'And you her.'
'I'll work on it.' He murmured. She turned a little so he could get to the wound on her back.
'Why?' She asked curious.
'For you.' She turned around again, lying on her back while she looked up to him. He laid his flat hand on her stomach, leaving her the chills that gave him a little satisfied grinn. 'I'll do anything for you, almost losing you maked that clear. And tonight proved that.' He said with a more softer vunerable voice.
'You were eager to kill him, admit it. You had fun.'
'I had fun.' He smiled in replied. She closed her eyes a little when his fingers roamed every bit of skin he could see on her stomach. She enjoyed it and it maked him confident. 'Never felt so consumed over something like tonight.' He whispered in thought, thinking about the blood eagle.
'You were terrifying.'
'Are you afraid of me?' He asked curious.
'I never have been afraid of you.' She answered right away with a loving voice.
'Never?' He asked with a little cocky smile. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.
'One time, the first time I met you, when you killed that little boy because he didn't let you play along.'
'And yet, when you gave me the ball that rolled over to you, you didn't looked scared.' He murmured, fingers bandaging her wounds carefully.
'Because I knew you wouldn't hurt me. I always treated you to your image, I looked up to you. Your are fearless Ivar, tonight showed that to a lot of people, but isn't not always a bad thing. Your mind works extraordinary.' She pushed her hand up, resting her finger against his temple. 'I saw what I saw, I saw a man with great power to do damage, to be ruthless, but you did it out of justice, because it was the right thing to do. Your temper will get in control because your heart will overcome it.'
'I thought you were the upset one today.' He reacted with a soft smile. She smiled back and shook her head.  He thought about Sigurd, how he had killed him in that temper, in that moment of rage. Since than he had a bit more control, he didn't killed the lord when he wanted to, he listened to his oldest brother in battle. She wanted to pull away her finger from his temple but he embraced her hand with, leaving a kiss on the inside of her wrist. Ivar looked how she closed her eyes, enjoying the peace she had around her. 'You have no idea what I want to do with you.' He said against her wrist, giving her a promesing look. Her eyes flew open, looking up to him.
'Shame that I've been stabbed.' She replied with the same look. She stroke her fingers over his jawline. Yes ... it was shame that she was stabbed. 'Maybe you should stay away from me for a while. I'll make you soft one day.' She whispered into her own thoughts.
 'It would take more than only you to do that. And what I do is only for you, what I feel is only for you, what I show is only for you Torhild.'
'See, soft.'