The Red Queen (Editing)

What Happens in the Cave

"WHERE IS MY BABY?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON?!" You shout, throwing things at your husband, flipping chairs and tables in anger

"Never mind where he is, Astrid!" Ivar shouts, blocking another object from hitting him. "What is your excuse for producing such a monster?!"

"Monster?! And who is the one who put that so called monster in my womb?!" You ask, throwing a cup at him

"You promised me! You promised me a beautiful child!" Ivar shouts

"He was our child! He was so beautiful! The child of a god! Your son! You stupid bastard!" You shout

"My child? Odin's son was the fairest and most beautiful of all the gods. I thought-"

"IT DOES NOT MATTER!" You scream. "Ivar, I beg you to tell me where our son is." You beg, crawling onto the bed to sit in front of your angry husband

"It's not my fault." Ivar said

"Nor is it mine. It is nobody's fault." You whimper

"No. You did this." Ivar said

"Where is my son?" You cry. "Where is my baby?!"

Suddenly, Ivar did something he never thought that he would do. He hit you and immediately regretted it as you yelped in pain.

Ivar, angry and guilty, watched you crawl away from him before he hit the wall.

Yrsa began to cry in her crib. You glared at Ivar as you moved to her, picking her up. "Where is Baldur?" You hiss

"Like I said before, it does not matter." Ivar snarls

You scoffed as you grabbed your fur, wrapping it around yourself.

"And where do you think you are going?" Ivar asks

"Outside. To calm down. Hopefully, for your sake, when I return, my son will be here." You hiss

-

You sat alone in your room. When you had returned, the hunters had given you looks of pity. They had found Baldur's body in the woods, eaten by foxes.

Ivar returned only to find you with tear stained cheeks. "What is it, little dove?" Ivar asks

"They have found our son." You say. Ivar froze, not only at the news but at your voice. No emotion. Not happiness or sadness or even anger. "Well, they have found part of him. Hunters. They were killing foxes and in their den, they found..." you trailed off, blowing out another candle

You heard Ivar walking toward you but you said nothing as you moved away from him in fear. Fear of him causing you more harm or you harming him.

"Just think... the son of a god, dragged beneath the earth, and eaten by foxes." You sigh, watching Ivar bite into an apple as he glared at you. "Sometimes, I wonder if he was still alive. No. No, of course not. It was to cold. So he froze to death." You snarl

"How do they know it was him?" Ivar asks

"You're right. It could have been any child. Perhaps I was wrong to talk about our child as if he was a god. He was after all, just another child." You hiss, moving toward your husband. "Please, Ivar. Tell me the truth. Did you kill our son? After everything that I've done for you."

Ivar grew angry. To angry to see that this was his wife as he stood and towered over you. "After everything you did for me?! What did you do for me Astrid, hm?"

You scoffed, going to walk away but Ivar grabbed you and pulled you back, holding you down. "Was he really my son? Was he?! You see, I'm not so sure anymore! I'm not sure that the poor cripple bastard was mine! Was he?!" Ivar roars

"Yes!" You shout

You yelped as he gripped to your neck tightly. "No. You lied to me, my darling."

"No." You whimper

"You. Lied. To. Me. Everything you ever said was a lie. Everything!"

"No!"

Ivar finally came to his senses and realized that you were the woman he loved as he dropped you to the ground, eyes wide with horror at his actions.

You breathed heavily as you glared up at him. When he reached toward you in concern, you quickly moved away from him. Standing, you held your sore red neck as you stared at your husband.

"Please. Please don't be scared of me." Ivar whispered but you didn't listen as you left the room

-

"My people, spring is coming." Ivar announced. You two sat on your thrones, with you bouncing Yrsa on your knee, not daring to look at your husband. "The Earth renews itself. That which was dead comes alive again. Everything changes. My wife gave birth to two children." Ivar said, looking towards you as you glare at the ground.

"Yrsa, our beautiful daughter and Baldur, our beautiful son. I held him in my arms and he was as beautiful and as shining as Odin's eldest son. My heart overflowed with love for that child."

You scoffed, turning your glare toward him. Love? He had killed him.

"But the Gods cut his life short. I have no idea why. They have their reasons. But it is hard for a mother to accept such things." Ivar said, gesturing to you. "To lose the child they have carried inside their body. But the will of the Gods cannot be denied. They have other plans. And, in all humility, we have to accept their verdict. King Harald and my brother, Bjorn, have abandoned York and the Saxons have retaken the city. Our plans for this season was to raise an army, sail to York, and reclaim it, as part of our empire of Kattegat."

"I was expecting my brother, Hvitserk, to return with King Olaf, and his army. We were going to attack York together. Unfortunately, they are not here."

At this, the crowd broke out in whispers and murmurs.

"I know. I know." Ivar said. "Things have changed. My people, we will not venture out. We will not attack York. Instead, recognizing our own vulnerability to attack, we will renew and strengthen the defences of our great town. I am with you!" Ivar said as the crowd cheered for him. "I am speaking for you! Let those who want to destroy us, know this! You will never overcome Kattegat! We will ALWAYS defeat you! The Gods are with us! The Gods love us! We are the people!"

"IVAR! ODIN! ASTRID! IVAR! ODIN! ASTRID!"

Ivar slowly turned to you and held his hand out for you to take. Hesitantly, you put your hand in his, noticing that he was being gentle with you as he helped you stand. He went to reach out for Yrsa but you quickly made sure that he could not without the people noticing.

He had already harmed your son but you wouldn't let him harm your daughter.

Then you realize that if the defences were going to be strengthened... someone would need to let Bjorn and Harald into Kattegat. And what better way to avenge your son then letting the enemy in? You just had to ensure that Ivar wouldn't die but he would be locked in a cell instead.