The cripple and the shieldmaiden

// 30 //

Torhild stroke her hand over the white skin of the stallion, lord Edgar his stallion. He was magnificent. Torhild always had a soft spot for horses and he was just gorgeous. 'You are not thinking of riding that horse?' Hvitserk his head popped up on the other side of the stallion.
'Why not, it wasn't his fault he had a rider like lord Edgar.' She smiled to him. Hvitserk ducked underneath the stallion his neck, looking over her body with narrowed eyes.
'Where were you last night?' He asked. Torhild lifted her chin a little, supressing the thoughts of last night. Despite the fact that Ivar waked her to early and harshly the memory layed vivid on her mind.
'With Ivar.'
'Doing what?'
'Looking to the stars.' She faked a smile.
'Sounds romantic.'
'It was, you could learn from that.' Torhild chuckled, walking out of the primative stables before him. Lagertha walked with Ase by her side over, changing looks with Hvitserk before she turned to her daughter.
'We need to prepare you for Lord Aethelwulf.' Ase announched. Torhild pulled her eyesbrows up, a little surpriced.
'What is wrong with this?' She pointed down over her dress. Yes, it had a crack of two and her hair was a mess but not something that couldn't be fixed.
'I have a dress from home for you. In order to convinse that king you need to look powerfull.'
'And your mother knows how to do that.'
'I know, I'm her daughter.' Torhild replied to Ase who looked very often over to Hvitserk. Torhild looked over her shoulder to Hvitserk who looked at the ground in a moment. 'Nice, and here I thought you were madly in love with me.' She petted him on the shoulder, giving a promesing look before she walked after her mother and Ase. The settlement had a certain tensing in the air, everybody was prepping for the attack once Torhild could arrange a feast. So it was a lot of pressure again on her shoulders. She was glad Ubbe supported her in this so she hadn't do it alone.

The dress was a white with gold one, hign neck, curved over her body while her brown hair felt lose over her shoulders. Lagertha braided a small part of her hair with pearls before she putted a small crown on her head. 'Isn't that to much?' Torhild asked trying to look up to her own head.
'Power is signatured with gold and possessions, the gods gifted you with beauty, we need to use that in order to get you to lie better.' Her mother smiled. Torhild just looked in front of her while she still sat on the seat, waiting on a new order. 'What do you want Ivar?' Lagertha asked. Torhild didn't even heared him crawl in.
'Her.' He answered so deadly serious that she froze in the moment before turning towards him. He bited the inside of his cheek, with that cocky amused grinn all over his face.
'We are making her ready for Ubbe and the king.' Lagertha said rather neutral while Ase give her a bracelet. Wrong words, Ivar his face flattened, the grin disappeared in the anger in his eyes. 'Where were the both of you last night?' Her mother asked curcious, sliding the golden bracelet around Torhild her wrist.
'Making love under the stars.' He answered coldly. He not just said that. Torhild froze, feeling Ase looking at her while she looked at him.
'Torhild?' Lagertha asked. She saw Ivar his eyebrow go up a little, like he was interested of what she would answer. Why did he do this? Always reacting out of anger or jealousy on the wrong moments.
'Non of your business mother. Can I have a word with Ivar.' She asked calm, still not losing his cold bleu eyes. Ase walked out without any hessitation, Lagertha changed looks between the two of them, asking herself about the fact what Ivar just told her. 'Mother.' Torhild warned softly. Lagertha gave Ivar a warning look before she walked out. Torhild stood up and closed the door, turning her body slowly to Ivar. 'You jealous idiot.' She began, her hand on her stomach again. The wound hurted more after tonight, something he immidiatly saw.
'You're in pain.'
'Don't change the subject, you have to learn to get your emotions in check Ivar. We all need to be focused, you saying thing around doesn't help.' She lectured him. Normaly she wouldn't care if somebody knew about her and Ivar. But in this moment it was crucial that they held their heads together, he, see, her mother, even Ubbe.
'Isn't it the truth?' He tilted his head, giving her one of his dangerous looks.
'You just said it to get back on Ubbe.' She hissed, sighing before putting her fingers on her temples.
'Why do you need to marry Ubbe, why don't you marry me instead?'
'It isn't a real marriage Ivar,' she shouted out almost despaired. 'and nobody would support this marriage, I need the oldest one. Besides, your own words, nobody would want to marry a cripple.' She fired back. He pulled his body on to the seat she sat on earlier, eyes flaming all kinds of bleu colors.
'You are mine.'
'I'm not a slave Ivar,' she whispered in anger, walking over to him to put a finger against his chest. 'I thought last night maked that one clear.' She followed. Ivar grabbed her arm, pulling her down, demaning a kiss with his lips on hers. No, he couldn't distract her, not when he was all jealous and demaning like this. She grabbed his chin and pulled away. 'Don't. I need to focus, you're not helping.' Her breathing already unsteady by the thoughts of last night.
'Don't fight me than.' He replied. She slapped her hand against the side of his head and stood up, walking away to a safe distant before she turned around facing him.
'You need to learn two things,'
'And what is that?' He asked her, still provoking her to get angry and closer. How much she wanted to do both, she stayed where she stood.
'First. Don't test my patience, I'm not a slave girl you can boss around. Second, I'm yours and nothing can change than. Keep your moodiness and uncertainty for yourself.' She forced a smile on her lips, he saw she didn't meant it. 'I need the other you tonight, the fearless Ivar the Boneless, can you do that without being to concerned about me?' She asked. His eyes softened a little and Torhild knew she had won. He nodded. She relaxed and walked over to him, pressing her lips against his forehead. 'If this was an attempt to push me away, you failed, still love you.' She smiled.
'You know you have to fake everything with Ubbe, kissing him, loving him.'
'I pretend it is you Ivar.' She signed before walking out. She wasn't quite done with him yet.

Her fight, or whatever it was, with Ivar gave her a certain attitude. Torhild walked in the great hall, her hand steady resting on her stomach while she nodded towards the brothers Finehair before she walked to her mother who sat on the throne. Hvitserk and Ubbe stood aside her brother, jaws dropped by her beauty. 'I don't think you can control this princess so easily like you handle Margrethe.' Hvitserk joked against his older brother.
'You should know, you had her.' Ubbe replied, both admiring the vieuw.
'I'm standing here.' Torhild reminded the two of them before they started talking about sharing her, like this marriage was real. She heared Ivar crawling in but held her eyes straight to her mother and brother.
'You seem ready.' Björn noticed. Everybody was glad to see her healthy again. Expect for the pain she felt from last night there wasn't much bodering her. Her confidence in battle would come back in time, for now she needed to be of help in this way.
'I am if Ubbe is to.' She answered while looking over to Ubbe who looked over her body again.
'I married the wrong woman but yes,' Ubbe laughed, taking another sip of his ale. 'I'm ready.' He comfirmed.
'Björn and Ivar will accompany you so he doesn't look for a treath in all of this.'
'What if it doesn't work?' Ase asked. 'What if he knows about Lord Edgar, what if instead of us making a trap he already laid one?' her questions dropped a heavy silence over the people who gathered in the great hall. Torhild felt the pain as a friendly reminder. She looked down and than aside to Ivar who looked back at her, changing a look of concern to her stomach.
'We secured that part, it is unlikely that he knows about it.' Björn shook his head. Ase bowed a littled and came to stood aside Torhild.
'You have twenty man with you, if we don't hear from anyone over three days a presume you are captured. Keep each other safe.' Lagertha said, looking from her son to Ase and finally to Ivar. They looked at each other for a long time but in the end she saw Ivar nod a little before Lagertha pulled her look away from Ivar to her daughter. 'Don't get yourself in danger, your not fully recovered.'
'There will nothing happen mother.' She reassured her mother before walking after her brother and others outside.

The kingdom of king Aethelwulf layed a little on a hilltop. Ivar his horse had a hard time to get the chariot over the path up to the first gates. 'Princess Torhild, I need to speak the king.' She announched with a strong fearless attitude. It was rather false, her body was tensed, scared that Ase her words maybe were true. It took the soldier a while before he came back and opening the gates so the company could walk in.
'Let the hunt begin.' Ivar whispered for himself.
'You know what I said.' She said softly. Ivar changed a look with her and nooded seriously. He had to leave his horse and she needed to leave his side to walk aside Ubbe. It was a labyrint of hallways before they came before a big wooden door. Torhild recognized the door from when she was here to bargain with him. Now it was for something entirely different. A lot of their man were commanded to stay outside so it was only Torhild, the two brothers and Björn. Two soldiers pushed the door open, Torhild saw him sitting after the table, eating like a king. She took a large breath and walked in. Her eyes gave a short glance over the soldiers who stood aside in the room, to many for her teast.
'Princess Torhild.' He greeted her neutral, like he knew she was coming. He wasn't even supriced to see her alive and well again.
'King Aethelwulf.' She bowed, the others, except for Ivar, did to. When her eyes met his she saw something from a soft smile spreading over his face before he stood up, resting his firsts on the table. His eyes grew serious and Torhild swallowed her fear in, trying to look steady back.
'I heared some serious things about you, about what happened with Lord Edgar.' Those last two words lingered in the air and Torhild felt the cold catching her heart. Her eyes left those of the king and she looked slowly aside to her brother, not being able to say a thing. He knew, how did he knew?