Boneless

You're Smelly

18. Skylar You're Smelly.

"Sit still, or it's going to hurt worse." I said cleaning the worst of his wounds. The cut on his cheek had healed and left a noticeable scar, I didn't mind – it was just a piece of his story.

"You're fucking scraping off my flesh!" He growled.

"I'm cleaning the wound you refused to cover and then you went out and got dirt in it!" I said slapping his arm.

Everyone else is afraid of Ivar, but if there's anything I've learned in my time here is that the last thing I'll ever have to fear is Ivar. He's become my best friend and something in my life I could never live without.

"You make me crazy." He hissed.

"You were crazy when I met you." I said back. "Now stay still."

He growled some more but stayed still, he did shoot me a glare but I softened my gaze at him and rubbed his face with my thumb before kissing his chin.

"It's not fair. You know I can't resist your beauty." He sighed. "I'm not mad anymore."

"Like a charm." I teased. "Come on, we're going fishing today."

"I don't want to go fishing." He sighed. "Just because I'm feeling better doesn't mean I want to sit on a bank in the sun while you fish."

"You want me to go alone? Maybe I'll call upon ubbe, he'll take me."

He growled and put on his irons, he was so much stronger than just a few days ago.

I held his free hand while we walked to the water, the thing I loved about being with Ivar is he didn't talk about useless shit. It was quiet and comfortable.

My foot got caught on a root so I ended up tripping and falling. Ivar stifled a laugh but nonetheless offered a hand to help me up.

"My hero." I said batting my eyelashes, I grabbed his hand and yanked him down thinking I would roll out of the way but instead he fell ontop of me.

He was laughing so hard he could barely hold himself up, we muttered a few choice jokes about our new position before he finally rolled off and laid beside me looking up at the sky.

"It's a beautiful day."
"Nothing compared to your beauty." He said holding my hand. I rolled onto my side and kissed him, he looked at me confused for a moment before kissing me back.

"Don't act surprised." I laughed.

"Then I wont." He said with a small smile. "I saw it coming; in fact I told you, one day I'll let you marry me."

"Oh yes, thank you." I laughed.

"But I wouldn't be so sure. Your back rubs suck!" he teased poking my side.

"And you're smelly!" I laughed poking him back. He got back on top of me, trying to tickle me but was laughing too hard to actually tickle me that badly. He stopped and our faces were close to each other, he paused in his laughter and bent down to kiss me again.

And again.

He laughed once more before getting up, I got to my feet and offered to help him up but he waved me away. He was too proud. With much strain he pulled himself to his feet and got up with a proud look on his face before offering me his arm and walking me to the water. He sat next to me as I got in the water and fished.

"I love you." He said matter-of-factly.

I was taken back by that, Ivar didn't love anyone... maybe I didn't hear him correctly.

"I thought my back rubs sucked?" I teased.

"yeah, well I'm smelly so I guess we're even." He smiled.

"I love you too, Ivar." I said watching his smile grow.

"You know, one thing that's been on my mind... that night in the rain when you ran away from the long house... no one really said why you had run off? Were you trying to run away? Or did you lose your way?"

"Oh Ivar, let me tell you I was so sure I had made it to your cabin... I was so sure with the flame I had that I had the right path... the one you showed me... my light left, the rain got harder and my legs were sold cold I couldn't walk anymore... I screamed for you, I begged for you..." I sighed putting my spear down.

"why did you run from the longhouse? Just to see me?" He asked.

"Sigurd... he ordered me..." I stopped, no one had told him. If I told him he would get mad.

It was too late, the storm had already started in his eyes, they grew dark and his face hardened.

"did he hurt you?"

"No, but he tore my dress... Bjorn had to hit him and yell at him... Bjorn told me to run... so I ran to you... well.. I tried to anyways." I got out of the water and came to sit with him. I had caught enough fish for us.

"I'll kill him." He seethed.

"No, Ivar." I said grabbing his arm.

It was too late, he was too far gone. He didn't even see me now. I grabbed my basket and followed him back to the longhouse, surprisingly he was hard to keep up with when he was determined.

He slammed the door open and called out to Sigurd who came out with a snide remark, not realizing the danger he was in.

"Brothers, all of you." Ivar called out. "No one told me he hurt my Skylar. Not. one. Of you."

"We told you he wouldn't leave her alone." Ubbe protested. "we told you Bjorn had to save her."

"what she didn't tell you was she was in my bed, Ivar. She laid with me." Sigurd smiled. "I felt her warmth before you did."

"He's lying, Ivar let's go home." I said grabbing his arm. "It's not worth it, it doesn't matter... it's in the past."

He looked at me, searching my eyes for the answers. He nodded once, lowering his arm and grabbing my hand. We turned and were almost at the door when Sigurd started laughing.

"look, the whore talking him out of fighting with me." Sigurd laughed.

"Enough, Sigurd. You've done wrong, I wouldn't tempt him." Bjorn said. "No one will save you if he attacks you."

"He can't attack me, he's crippled." Sigurd laughed.

I knew by the way he dropped my hand and turned around in one swift motion that things were going to get bad. The room was an awful kind of silence, no movement... no air.... Just silence.

"oh.. no.." Ivar said falling to his knees. He grabbed at his arm and pulled out a knife that had been thrown from Sigurd, I looked at his arm and held my hands to it so it would stop bleeding... only then did I notice Sigurd's lifeless body on the floor.

Ivar had killed him by throwing his axe.