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

THIRTEEN

THIRTEEN || ON THE SHIP

After the ceremony, the group moved to one of the halls in Kattegat's centre. Thela was sat in between Sigurd and Ivar in the hopes of preventing another argument, and so far it was working. The tone of the meal was light-hearted as Hvitserk served them all drinks due to losing a race with Ubbe.

Thela spotted her brothers standing up from the table and excusing themselves, but when she opened her mouth to question them, Harald shook his head to silence her. Then she understood. They were going to speak with the man who had promised to help them take Kattegat. The thought made her heartbeat accelerate. Everyday she grew closer to Ivar, the thought of her brothers taking his kingdom and hometown filled her with more and more dread. Since Ellisif's apparent rejection of Harald, she had hoped his ambition would have been quashed, though it appeared not.

"Are you alright?" Sigurd asked, snapping Thela's gaze away from the door her brothers had just walked through.

"Yes!" She said, plastering a smile on her face. "I'm fine."

He took her cup off of her. "Your horn is empty. Hvitserk! Fill up Thela's cup!"

Thela let out a delighted laugh as Hvitserk did as he was told. "You make a good slave, Hvitserk."

"I agree." Sigurd said before kicking Hvitserk behind the kneecaps as he walked past, causing him to stumble and almost fall.

A hysterical laugh left Thela's mouth, as did it from almost everybody. Everyone apart from Ivar, who was scowling at Sigurd for flirting with Thela. She looked over to him and cocked an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He growled.

She rolled her eyes. "Then fix your face, people are looking at you and you must not cause a scene at your brother's wedding." Thela winced as she noticed Bjorn glaring at the two of them.

"If my brother would keep his maggot-fingers off you then I will." He said in a voice loud enough for people to hear.

Thela gritted her teeth and pushed her plate of food away from her before standing up and leaving. "Please excuse me, everybody."

Her blood boiled in her veins and her fists clenched. How dare he? To dislike Sigurd was one thing, but to monopolise Thela and object to her socialising with his brother was another. And to do it at such a public event! She was horrified.

As Thela tried to calm herself down, she began wandering towards the docks, where to her annoyance, she spotted her brothers. Just as she had suspected, they were speaking to Egil. He was stood on a boat, surrounded by men, as her siblings stood on the docks and spoke to him in hushed voices. She couldn't hear what they were saying, and she didn't care to. Her vexation was too great.

Even more angry than she had been just moments before, Thela turned on her heel and stormed towards her accomodation. At least nobody could irritate her there... or so she thought. Sat outside her house was Ivar, who was tapping his leg anxiously as he watched her approach.

"Ivar, please move." Thela said as she reached him, her anger hidden by her tiredness.

He shook his head. "You have no reason to be angry with me."

"I do. You let your resentment for Sigurd get in the way of everything you do. Including our relationship, it seems."

"He wants to fuck you."

Thela's jaw dropped. "He does not! How dare you say that-"

"He told me!" Ivar said exasperatedly. "That is why I am acting this way."