TW// This chapter has mention of sexual acts and such. Not very graphic but still. Multiple chapters from here on out probably will have slightly sexual content. Just a warning.
***
The next morning, Rona awoke to a knocking on her door. The knocks were growing faster and more aggressive with each passing second. Rona dragged herself out of bed and walked over to the door and opened it. Ivar suddenly barged in, dragging himself on the floor.
"Good morning to you too Ivar." Rona scoffed. Ivar ignored her and pulled himself onto a stool by the fire.
"More like afternoon, but that doesn't matter. We need to talk." Ivar stated. Rona walked towards Ivar, confused.
"Right? What about?" Rona asked. Ivar rolled his eyes.
"Margrethe." Ivar replied.
"Who?" Rona asked.
"The slave girl from dinner last night?" Ivar explained. Rona nodded.
"Well, I've quite literally just woken up and I am going to change before we talk. So, if you'll excuse me Ivar." Rona said as she walked towards her bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Rona soon emerged from her room dressed in some simple black trousers and a dark blue tunic with a belt. She had just left her hair down after combing it. Rona then went back into her living space to join Ivar by the fire. Rona sat down.
"What is it you want to say Ivar?" Rona asked.
"As I said earlier, it's Margrethe...I saw her and Ubbe this morning...having sex in the barn." Ivar explained. Rona tried to hide her shock. She didn't think that Ubbe was the type to bed random slave girls.
"Well...is that really any of our business?" Rona questioned. Ivar smirked.
"It sort of is," Ivar began. "You see, it's not only Ubbe I saw Margrethe having sex with."
"Ivar have you just been following this poor girl around?" Rona asked. Ivar laughed.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is, I also saw Margrethe in the woods earlier, after she had been with Ubbe." Ivar explained.
"And?" Rona asked. Rona was getting relatively bored by this point. She had better things to do. She had to feed her animals before she went to train with Ivar and his brothers.
"And, the second time I saw Margrethe, she had Hvitserk's face between her legs and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if she fucked Sigurd next." Ivar said casually, as if it was no big deal.
Rona's mouth nearly dropped open. Although, she should have expected this. Hvitserk did bed girls a lot and why would Margrethe be any different? But again, there was something about Margrethe that Rona just didn't like and she didn't want Hvitserk to get hurt, despite the fact that they were fighting at the moment.
"Well, again Ivar. Isn't this more their business than ours?" Rona proposed. Ivar rolled his eyes once again.
"Well, not necessarily. You see, I want Margrethe." Ivar stated. This time it was Rona's turn to roll her eyes.
"Okay, first of all Ivar. A woman, even a slave is not just a possession you can take and do with as you please-" Ivar interrupted Rona.
"She is a slave Rona." Ivar interjected. Rona smirked.
"Okay, don't interrupt me Ivar. I realise that you're determined to get what you want but you should have realised by now not to mess with me okay?" Rona stated confidently. Ivar just nodded in response.
Ivar looked taken aback. He'd certainly been taken down a few pegs. Ivar didn't normally mess with Rona. She was the one woman (apart from his mother) that he had genuine respect for, despite the fact he may not always show it.
Rona continued to speak.
"I understand that you want Margrethe Ivar but first of all, she's trouble. Second of all, what does all of this have to do with me?" Rona asked. She was getting more irritated by the second.
"I want Margrethe and I know that you want Hvitserk." Ivar stated.
Rona was taken aback this time. She had never let her feelings towards Hvitserk show. If she was being completely honest, Rona didn't ever really have the chance to focus on any feelings she had for anyone. Throughout her life she had always been fighting to basically stay alive. But truthfully, Rona did have feelings for Hvitserk, but Rona knew that she couldn't act on them. It would ruin everything she and Hvitserk already had. Plus, despite the fact that Aslaug acted nice towards Rona when she was around, Aslaug very much disliked Rona as Rona did her.
Rona composed herself before speaking to Ivar.
"Even if I did 'want' Hvitserk, it wouldn't be any of your business Ivar." Rona stated. Ivar sighed.
"Well I was hoping for your help to get me and Margrethe together and then in return, I would assist you with Hvitserk," Ivar said. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Ivar raised himself off of the stool and made his way to Rona's door. Rona remained sat by her fire while Ivar left.
Rona was hurt. She was hurt that Hvitserk had been with Margrethe. But for starters, Hvitserk was three years older than Rona, which wasn't a dramatic age gap but it still made Rona feel slightly inadequate. Why would Hvitserk go for Rona when he could have someone older and more experienced than her? Also, Hvitserk tended to go for more feminine girls and girls that were conventionally pretty. Rona was somewhat insecure about her looks but not to an extreme extent. But Rona was rather masculine compared to many girls around Kattegat. She had basically raised herself despite the fact that she had Ragnar's support so she had to learn to fight for everything and develop a somewhat aggressive attitude. Rona just didn't feel like Hvitserk would go for a girl like her.
Rona pushed the thought of Hvitserk from her mind. She had to go and get ready to go and train with the Ragnarssons.
*
After a while, Rona arrived at the training grounds. The Ragnarssons were already there, excluding Bjorn. Ubbe greeted Rona first.
"Ready to train?" Ubbe asked Rona.
"Definitely." Rona replied. Ubbe patted Rona on the shoulder and went over to his bow. Ivar turned around once Ubbe joined and and gave Rona a nod when he saw her.
Sigurd was the next to greet Rona as she arrived.
"Rona. Are you ready to take us on today?" Sigured questioned jokingly. Rona smirked, knowing fine well that she could beat Sigurd in a fight relatively easily.
"More than ready Sigurd." Rona replied confidently. Sigurd went over to Hvitserk, Hvitserk just stared at Rona, not even really acknowledging her. Rona mimicked Hvitserk's movements. Sigurd and Hvitserk stood opposite each other on the grounds, ready to fight.
Ivar was sat on a tree stump with his bow. Ubbe put an arrow in his own and fired it at the targets (which were made from tree trunks and dead deer.
Ubbe fired his first arrow. It missed the deer by a mile. Rona quickly sharpened her sword while watching the two brothers competing. Ivar fired his arrow and it hit one of the deer square in the eye. Ubbe had a proud smile on his face and took Ivar's face in his hands. Ubbe went to one of the nearby water jugs for a drink and Hvitserk and Sigurd began fighting each other with their swords and axes. Rona had decided to stand with Ubbe and Ivar at this point.
At this point, both Ivar and Ubbe were watching and so was Rona. Soon, Rona noticed Ivar putting an arrow to his bow and aiming it right between Sigurd and Hvitserk. Ivar let go of his bow and the arrow flew between the brothers, missing them by inches and hit one of the wooden targets on the opposite side of the clearing.
Sigurd and Hvitserk stared at Ivar. Ubbe and Hvitserk smirked. Sigured backed away and joined Ubbe and Rona. Ivar threw his bow to Ubbe who caught it and passed his brother a sword. Hvitserk and Ivar began to fight. It didn't take long for Ivar to have Hvitserk in somewhat of a headlock. It took a moment for Hvitserk to free himself but then both of the brothers had their swords right at each other's throats.
Rona had to admit, she was impressed with how well Ivar could fight and that had nothing to do with the fact that Ivar was a cripple. Ivar was smart and his strategies were always very well thought out (that's something that had changed in recent years). Hvitserk could definitely fight and he could fight well. But sometimes he would let his anger or aggression take over him and he wouldn't be thinking about his actions.
Hvitserk and Ivar tapped swords and smiled at each other. Ubbe began pouring drinks for everyone when out of nowhere, Sigurd threw his axe at Ivar and it landed in Ivar's cup, causing him to drop it. Ivar threw an axe right back at Sigurd who managed to doge it by mili-seconds. The axe landed in a tree trunk. The two brothers gave each other death stares. Everyone else stared in shock. The silence was broken by Ivar smirking and pouring himself another drink in a different cup.
*
Everyone had finished their drinks and now it was Rona's turn to train. Rona spent some time practicing archery with Ubbe while Sigurd and Hvitserk continued to fight and Ivar just stood by. Ubbe deemed this the appropriate time to question Rona about her fight with Hvitserk.
"So, you have forgiven Sigurd for his comments?" Ubbe asked Rona, just as he fired an arrow towards one of the targets. Rona nodded and readied her bow to shoot.
"I have. Why?" Rona asked, firing her arrow.
"I am just curious as to why you have not forgiven Hvitserk for his comments." Ubbe explained, putting down his bow. Rona did the same. She sighed.
"I do not know. I am just angry at him for saying all that stuff about Ragnar. Also, Hvitserk knows how I feel about Ragnar and he knows how fragile I was on that day." Rona explained. Ubbe nodded.
"I understand that you are much closer with Hvitserk than Sigurd. But I still believe it is worth you talking to him. You do not want to throw away your friendship over one disagreement." Ubbe said. Rona rolled her eyes.
"I understand where you're coming from Ubbe, but I think it will take a little bit of time." Rona explained. Ubbe sighed
*
After a while, it was Rona's turn to train in hand to hand combat. This is something that Rona had done many times before, outside of training so she was always relatively confident when it came to practicing with the Ragnarssons on the training grounds.
Rona was fighting Hvitserk this particular day. The other Ragnarssons all had a feeling that having these two fight was not the best idea considering that Hvitserk and Rona were currently not on the best of terms and they knew how angry Hvitserk and Rona could become at each other when they were not on good terms. However, the fight still went ahead.
Hvitserk and Rona stood opposite each other on the training grounds. The other brothers had stopped training to watch the fight (and to make sure that Rona and Hvitserk didn't kill each other). Hvitserk had a focussed look on his face. He looked into Rona's eyes for a moment.
This was when Hvitserk began to feel nervous. There was something different in Rona's eyes. Frustration, focus but most of all, rage. Hvitserk took in a deep breath to ready himself for what was surely going to be a difficult fight.
Rona just gave Hvitserk a death stare. She thought she had pushed her anger at Hvitserk away for the time being at least. But she hadn't. Rona was still annoyed about what Hvitserk had said about Ragnar on the anniversary of Athelstan's death but she was mostly angry about the fact that he was sleeping with Margrethe. She was jealous. Very jealous.
Hvitserk was the first to make a move. He swung his sword towards Rona which she managed to dodge almost too easily. Rona retaliated with multiple blows towards Hvitserk's head with her sword. Hvitserk managed to dodge them. The final blow from Rona had Hvitserk leaning back and Rona's blade passing over him. Hvitserk fell to the ground but quickly got up.
Hvitserk looked to Ubbe.
"Shield." Hvitserk requested. Ubbe nodded and handed Hvitserk a shield while Sigurd handed one to Rona.
Rona tried to catch out Hvitserk again with her sword but he swiftly dodged her blow and managed to get behind her and knock her sword from her hand. Rona turned around before receiving a blow to her shield from Hvitserk's sword.
Hvitserk continued to try and hit Rona with his sword all the while Rona blocked him with her shield. Rona eventually managed to kick Hvitserk in the shin, which caught him off guard for long enough for Rona to knock his sword from his hand. The other Ragnarssons watched on, impressed at Rona's initiative.
Hvitserk dropped his shield willingly as did Rona. Now the real fighting would start. No weapons, no shields.
Rona swung for Hvitserk's face and he blocked it with his wrist, pushing Rona backwards. It took Rona a moment to catch her balance but she soon regained it. Hvitserk tried to swing multiple punches to Rona which she managed to dodge by ducking and moving around Hvitserk, almost circling him like an animal would their prey.
Hvitserk caught onto Rona's tactic and started following her gaze the two began to circle each other. Hvitserk smirked, thinking this fight was all some sort of game like it usually was when he and Rona were training. There would usually be a playful aspect when Hvitserk and Rona fought each other. It was fun in a way. But this time was different. Hvitserk saw the anger in Rona's eyes. It was like she was fighting an actual enemy. This caught Hvitserk off guard and gave Rona enough time to throw a punch at Hvitserk. Rona's punch landed right on Hvitserk's nose and blood sprayed in Rona's face. Hvitserk bended over, clutching his face. Rona took a step back, wiping the blood from her face.
Sigurd looked between Hvitserk and Rona in shock while Ivar had a smirk on his face, finding it absolutely hilarious that his brother had just been beaten by a girl. Despite the fact that Ivar did seem to have respect for Rona, he still hadn't seemed to grasp that Rona could probably beat all of the Ragnarssons in a fight if she tried hard enough.
Ubbe walked towards Hvitserk and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Are you ok brother?" Ubbe asked, concerned. Hvitserk removed his hand from his face.
"I'm fine." Hvitserk breathed before spitting onto the grass in front of him and wiping his nose with his sleeve.
Hvitserk stared at Rona with a confused look. He knew she was mad at him but he didn't realise how mad she was. Rona stared right back at Hvitserk before picking up her things and walking away from the clearing.