It had been a most ordinary day in the villa. With King Ecbert away, Alvina found herself occupying her time with other tasks. Usually she would pester her brothers when she had nothing else to do but they were both busy. Æthelred was training and Alfred was studying with his mother, Judith.
It was no secret among those in the court that Judith had not birthed the dark haired princess. Although she looked much like her brothers and her adopted mother, her blood would always tell the truth; she was the daughter of Prince Aethelwulf... And Queen Kwenthrith.
Her crystal eyes were torn from their reading when she heard a commotion from outside. She could hear her father yelling and ran to the window.
Outside, she watched as an older man was battered and beaten by her father's men. In all honesty, she cared not who he was or what he'd done as he put up no fight and Alvina knew that they could've just as easily bound his wrists and hand done with.
As she silently condemned her father's actions, her eyes shifted over the scene once more. Thrown over a horse, with his deep blue eyes watching the older man in a mix of rage and pain, was a boy of near her age. Her eyes moved to his bound legs and her brows furrowed slightly, but still she remained intrigued by the two foreigners within their walls.
Finally her father spoke again, "Ragnar Lothbrok."
Alvina couldn't exactly comprehend the feeling that surged through her body as her father uttered the old man's name. She had expected fear and panic in a moment so near to the fiercest Viking who ever lived. And, yet, she felt only more drawn to the two men.
What tails the old man could tell. Even tails of her mother.
Before she knew exactly what she was doing, curiosity had taken the better of her and the teenager had stepped slowly outside. The barely conscious Ragnar Lothbrok did not take notice of the girl's appearance. But the boy... He saw her as clear as day. And, unlike the grown guards who stood beating his father, he saw no hint of fear upon her features. He only saw a look that gave him a small sense of familiarity - unadulterated curiosity.
Who was this Christian?
Alvina's eyes finally lifted from the beaten King, meeting the ocean eyes of the boy for the first time. He held her gaze stubbornly, refusing to look away.
"Alvina!" Aethelwulf's yell made her snap back to reality. "Get her inside!" He gestured to one of the guards.
"Father I-"
"Go!" He told her with a look of exasperation. One day her brave curiosity would surely get her killed. "It's not safe here."
As Alvina was escorted away, her eyes never left the boy.
And Ivar The Boneless stared right back.