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Upon storming away, Alvina found herself alone in the dark again. She had always found these grounds to be a sanctuary as no one would ever dare to hurt her, but being surrounded by strange men that she did not know made her nervous. She simply couldn't help it.
And the deeper into the black loneliness that she now dwelled in, the more nervous she became. She had no weapon, no energy, nothing. Perhaps she should have feared wolves or foxes, but instead she feared the ghosts of her past.
Everyone she closed her eyes, she saw death. It was everywhere, never leaving her.
All her life she'd been plagued by death, but never as intensely as she did presently. Ever since Ragnar died, she'd dreamt of death every night.
Her mother's death, Ragnar's death, her grandfather's death.
Then it was her father, her brother Aethelred, Judith, Magnus, each of the ragnarssons one by one... Even Alfred was gone. She saw every detail of how they would die. All of it was locked in her mind. And then one day, she dreamt of herself.
Perhaps they were just nightmares. That's what she kept telling herself. But as the days passed, more and more of her dreams came into fruition. And she wondered if God had punished her treachery with this eternal torture.
"Hello there Christian." The voice of one of the men who'd tried to kill her days before echoed in the dark. He and his friends circled around Alvina like sharks, licking their lips drunkenly as they observed their prey.
"What do you fools want?" She glared daggers, the unwanted attention only making her anger grow.
"Well, Christian, it seems that you haven't been much use to us since you joined us." The second man began wickedly.
The first finished his thought as though they were one. "Do you not think it's time to be useful?"
It all happened so quickly that Alvina barely had time to react, the men grabbing her and slamming her harshly against a tree. One held a knife to her throat as she kicked and screamed, trying her damnedest to get loose. But they were twice her size and twice her strength, and she felt helpless for the first time in her life.
She continued to thrash, managing to kick one of them between the legs. As she jumped to run free, the other man simply hit her and she fell to the ground. With tears streaming down her face, the two men pinned her to the floor. One man slowly slid his hand up her skirt as she tried to free herself again.
And then bang.
It was such a blur that she barely saw it happen, but the man on top of her fell dead, an axe stuck inside the back of his skull. The other man bled out from his throat, coughing and spluttering as he fell to the ground.
Alvina backed up against a tree, shaking in terror as she wept. And from the shadows, she saw Ivar come closer with that furious look in his eyes. But when his eyes met hers, the fury disappeared into something else. Something warm. Something comforting.
He crawled closer, being sure to grab his axe on the way.
"Are you alright? did they hurt you?" He asked with what seemed like genuine concern.
Alvina gave a weak smile and nodded, "I'm fine."
Without a word, she hugged him, crying into his chest as he held her closely telling her that she'd be alright. Ivar wasn't sure how long they sat there as night turned into day, but he did know one thing.
