Blood Harvest |A Vikings Fanfic|

Eighteen

Ivar and Alexys sat side by side as they ate, though the latter of the pair seemed reluctant to do so. There was less and less food each day and the hunting party had not returned. Hvitserk and Rain had less to eat, sitting further away and clearly more concerned about the issue. Thorisdottir did not know where to begin addressing the problem, especially not with Ivar, who was feasting as if there was all the food in the world. He sorted through plates and she grew tiresome of the ordeal, playing with the edge of her cup.

"So, the hunting party did not return today," Hvitserk spoke, attempting to bring his brother's attention to the fact. Ivar said nothing, instead gnawing on the bone of whatever creature he had just finished consuming. Hvitserk looked to Rain, who was watching Ivar with a hunger driven fury, "I said, the hunting..."

"I heard what you said," Ivar interrupted and took a long gulp of his mead.

Hvitserk looked to Rain, whose eyes had left Ivar and were focusing on her hands, where her veins had begun turning black, pulsating beyond her control. It was concerning, she already had little control over her new ability and now it was trying to rear its head when she was not being attacked or threatened. It was the hunger. Alexys saw the way she watched Ivar eat, the blonde taking her emptied plate and placing extra food on it before dropping it in front of her friend. The gesture had transpired between them before when Rain was still as slave. Her dark eyes met the sky blue shades that decorated Alexys' orbs that afternoon and she smiled, slowly picking at the food.

"We're almost out of food, Hvitserk observed, glad that Rain was getting enough, as she had been slipping parts of her food onto his plate, thinking he had not noticed. Then, he dropped the bone that he had been toying with and dropped it, "And there is sickness in the town. What are we going to do? We have to do something. The Saxons are in their own country. They can be reinforced and grow stronger..."

Ivar slammed his cup down as Alexys sat beside him, "What are you really saying, huh, brother? That I was wrong not to negotiate with the Saxons, and that Ubbe was right?"
Rain shook her head and rubbed the creases of her forehead, "No one is saying that, Ivar." She sighed and attempted to quell her own anger, popping a bit of meat in her mouth, "But there are issues that need to be handled if we are to beat the Saxons – our men and women need to be strong."

He eyed her and Hvitserk added, "Ubbe was wrong. That's why I didn't sail with him."

"But now you regret it?" Ivar prodded, almost as if he wanted a confrontation.

Alexys rolled her eyes and allowed her head to drop back as she sighed softly, "He just said no."

"Ubbe treated me like his little faithful dog," said the elder of the Ragnarssons, "I am no one's dog, Ivar."

Silence settled and his younger brother seemed to let the conversation die, bringing his cup to his lips. Alexys and Rain were glad of the loss of confrontation, as men were listening all around them and Ivar was not one to take arguments with his brothers well; a fact that Rain could not quite let leave her mind. It was true that she did support Ivar's wish to raid, but the more he ignored the needs of his people, the less she could tolerate him. Between disagreements with him about this and that and the hunger she endured in hopes that Hvitserk would stay well fed, Rain was being pushed to the edge and Alexys was losing her mind watching.