Faint Of Heart [Ivar x Reader]

Chapter 13

You pursed your lips together, keeping your burning gaze on him and he downed his drink, then stood up.

"Try not to bore him to death on your wedding night," he said, "We do not know just how savage they are, after all. Tell mother I had things to do."

With that, he left the room, and you tried to swallow the lump in your throat, turning your gaze to the fireplace once again.

You opened your eyes into the darkness that was only partly illuminated by the moonlight. The whole room was silent, except for Ivar's soft breathing and you blinked back the tears, then turned your head to look at his sleeping form.

He did not look like a killer at all, at least not now.

You sat up in the bed as silently as you could, then got up and grabbed the furs and walked out of the room, careful not to wake him up. You had no idea how you were going to be able to look him in the eye next morning or...

From now on.

After seeing what he had done to that man.

You walked through the hall and stepped outside, the cold weather hitting your face and sending a shudder down your spine almost immediately. You took a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment but opened the again when you heard the noises and turned your head.

Floki, the man Hvitserk had told you about, seemed to be still busy with building the huge wooden figure in the middle of the yard. You hesitated only for a moment before you hugged the furs deeper over your body and made your way to him. Your approaching seemed to catch his attention because he turned his head to look at you, then jumped down from the giant figure.

You didn't need to wonder if he knew who you were.

"Queens can rarely get sleep, can they?"

You tried to smile, "Floki, is it not?"

"Yes. And you're Y/N."

"I am," you nodded, "It's nice to meet you. People speak highly of you."

He eyed you up and down, a small smile playing on his lips.

"And thank you," You motioned at the wooden figure, "For this. Bjorn tells me it is for the Gods."

"Our Gods," he corrected you, making you frown slightly.

"I'm not a Christian anymore."

"Is that right?"

You narrowed your eyes slightly, and his smile widened as he stole a look at the figure.

"I don't know why Freyja would take an interest in a Christian," he said, "But I'm doing this for Ivar."

Hearing his name was enough to make your head snap up, but you tried to pull yourself together,

"Well I'm grateful nonetheless."

Floki hmmed, "People say you bewitched him."

"And do you believe that?"

His gaze on you was unwavering, making you shift your weight. "In a way," he said quietly, "It's in his blood, after all. His father was also very...drawn to a Christian."

You pulled your brows together, "I'm not a Christian anymore." You repeated, making him scoff a small laughter.

"You shouldn't be out in the cold," he stated, and you pursed your lips together, then took a deep breath,

"I wish you a peaceful night." You managed to say calmly, "And you're always welcomed inside."

You turned around to walk inside once again, trying to ignore the nervousness filling your system and managed to not look back.