different kind of danger { ivar the boneless } ON TEMPORARY HOLD

TEN

(a/n: guysss i just realised a big fuck up i did with posting chapters! somehow i missed a rlly important chapter between them arriving in england and getting imprisoned LMAO..... so yah i posted that now after over a month. its the new chapter 6. pls give it a read and i cannot apologise enough for being such a dumb bihhh)

TEN || THE ALLFATHER

The people of Kattegat gasped and muttered among themselves as they observed the two young adults. They were both sallow-skinned and looked terrified. Thela's cheekbones looked as though they may slice through her skin should she not eat soon; her clothes hung from her like sacks. Ivar's eyes were hollow; he looked smaller.

Soon the talking turned to the glaringly obvious fact that they were the only two to return from the whole crew that was sent to England. Even the notorious Ragnar Lothbrok wasn't there.

Ubbe and Sigurd pushed through the gathering crowd and grabbed their brother from the grips of the Saxons. Sigurd offered a hand to Thela but her pride made her shake him off and walk on her own as she tried to ignore the stares all over her. As much as she wished for fame and glory, being the centre of attention still made her skin crawl just as it had when she first became a princess.

As Thela slowly lagged behind the three brothers, a woman she faintly recognised bumped shoulders with her. Too exhausted to say anything, she just glared at the woman and made a point to find out who this girl with cropped black hair and piercing blue eyes was. She kept walking but couldn't help but notice Lagertha observing them all, surrounded by a wall of armed women who were pointing arrows at the Saxon boat. Why was she being protected? Where was Aslaug?
                   ——
Thela hungrily gulped down a cup of water as her, Ubbe, Sigurd and Ivar sat in an empty room of their palace.

"Where is our father?" Sigurd asked finally.

"Where is Ragnar?" Echoed Ubbe.

Ivar, who was staring into the distance, rubbed his mouth before turning to his brothers. "King Ecbert handed him over to King Aelle, knowing that Aelle would kill him."

The older Ragnarssons glanced at each other, and Thela saw the confusion in their eyes. She too shared the same confusion, even after experiencing the ordeal first-hand.

"Why would he give him to Aelle?"

"It doesn't matter. Our father is probably dead by now. And we will have to avenge him." Ivar paused and glanced for a moment at Thela. "That is what matters."

Again, Sigurd and Ubbe glanced at each other, before Sigurd stepped over to the table and leaned close to Ivar. "We have something to tell you."

"Ubbe?" Ivar asked, his voice tight. An awful feeling of foreboding crept upon Thela, she knew they were about to receive some terrible news. It was apparent on Sigurd and Ubbe's expressions.

Ubbe didn't reply, so Sigurd delivered the heart-breaking news. "Mother is dead."

Thela sighed and held her head in her hands. "Gods have mercy."

"It's true," Ubbe said gravely. "Lagertha killed her. Lagertha is now Queen of Kattegat. And mother is dead."

The look of pure grief in Ivar's face as he processed the news was enough to bring tears to even Thela's cold eyes. She couldn't imagine losing both of her parents in such a close amount of time.

"Leave us." Ivar choked out after a moment of thinking. "Leave me and Thela."

As soon as the brothers left, Thela cautiously raised a hand and rested it on Ivar's forearm. "Ivar-"