Beinlausi

Chapter II

**The photo up above is of Alex Hogh Andersen who portrays Ivar in the TV Show called Vikings. Like with Ursula, I will attach this photo to every chapter that is in Ivar's POV.**

Ivar could not believe the gall of this woman! How dare she! Calling him a poodle! Whatever the hell that is! She must be incredibly stupid or incredibly brave to say such things to his face! If she were his slave then she would not have gotten away with it! Alas, she is mother's slave, one of many, and she was someone new for him to torment until she had broken under the pressure. So far, that has not happened yet.

The will that she has displayed so far is extraordinarily uncanny. It is strong, very strong. However, there were moments where it became somewhat rattled. Oh, Ivar has seen what she is trying to conceal. He saw it all too well. The slight limp in her step because of how one of her hips is a fingernail's length taller than the other. Grimaces that appeared periodically on her face from how painful it must have been to walk straight after getting off a boat and spending hours in the kitchens. How she would shift her stance on her feet as a means of relief from the pain. Then there was the need to go ask for a respite.

Oh, how he had wanted to retaliate against and punish her for what she had said to him. Yet somehow, he managed to not do it. Not when he saw what others did not see. The minor, subtle details that are overlooked until they are brought attention to. He saw that she is different. Just like he is, and he could not bring himself to do it. To see the ice-fire in her eyes so like the open ocean and hear the words coming out of her mouth, it was like he was a whole other person.

Ivar could remember how hard his heart pressed against his ribs. How shaky his hands had gotten, his breath had shortened and came out harsher, how he wanted to say something back just to spite the new slave. However, he could not. Oh, how he wished and had tried to force himself to speak, but he was so tongue-tied that it was like his voice was stolen from him. It made him so fucking angry! Angry enough to make him refuse the usual flow of mead and ale in his direction from any and all other slaves that weren't her.

It had baffled himself and his brothers immensely in equal parts. Ubbe had even inquired about it being the big brother that he is. He is the only brother out of the brood to love and treat Ivar as a true brother would. Hvitserk could care less unless there was a way to include himself in the situation. Sigurd is just a spiteful bastard. He has been since he could remember. If he had not have been so petty and full of resentment then there was a possibility of their relationship fixing itself. However, he has let all of it get to him far more than it did for Ivar. Sigurd did not actively seek out his mother's attention and fight for it. He gave up at the first sign of her attention being dedicated to her caring for a disabled infant. Not doing anything to help or even trying to spend time with them. The bastard may act all tough and like a Viking, but in truth, Ivar knew that Sigurd is a slave to his own emotions and beliefs.

Admittedly, Ivar did at least try to mend their relationship, but the stubborn goat that is his brother wanted nothing of it. "Why would I waste my time on a cripple that could just barely fend for himself? Go find mother so she can coddle you some more."

At six-years-old, it was far more painful back then than it is now. However, at least Ivar knew that he made his last attempt trying to connect with children his own age when he had accidentally killed that boy over a simple toy. It both traumatized and left a huge impact on his life.

With Floki's help, Ivar has become much stronger and healthier than when he was a simple, sickly child. Most of the citizens of Kattegat feared him for it. Feared the growth he has made in the years he spent in Floki's care along with his wife, Helga. He has never met a sweeter and a more maternal woman in his life. To him, she is his second mother. She does not smother or limit him to certain activities like his birth mother has done for as long as he could remember. She did not let him do whatever he wanted within reason. Helga had also shown him alternatives that benefitted him with venting his anger and volatile behavior at the same time. Something that his own mother never did for him.