Blessed by the Gods

Accusations

Lying still in the bath that had grown colder, Rùna jumped at the door hitting the wall when the King and Queen stepped into her room. Perplexed at the intrusion, Rùna grabbed her robe from beside the bath and rose, her head turned in direction of the door. Unseen by her opponents, she held onto a dagger inside her robe, ready to strike if necessary. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I am here to prevent the son of Ragnar to take what is not yet his. How dare you let him have you before the union is sealed!" The King belted at her, approaching with heavy big steps.

Rùna jumped back, holding out her hand to her side to feel the wall and use it as a guide as the slave who used to do that had reported the incident to the queen. "I do not understand. I have not seen Ivar since the fest" Her voice sounded so sincere, the king reflected on what the slave had told him and believed his daughter.

His heart ached at her stare, clutching her robe, the body trembling. The head turned to his wife, he clenched his jaw. "You made me storm in and terrify my child for a lie?" He placed a kiss on Rùna's forehead, guided her to her bed and told her to wait for his return.

Together with the slave and his wife, he went to the room where Hvitserk and Ivar had laid to rest on their beds, their faces calm, the eyes closed when King Valtar opened the door to see, if they were in the room. Upon the sight of their sleeping faces, he spun around and demanded his guards to carry off the slave, claiming her a liar. The moment the guards dragged off the screaming slave, Ragnar and Aslaug stepped into the hall, curious to see what had happened.

Aslaug turned back so see what had made the noise at the other side of the hall, when Rùna walked closer, clutching her robe tight around her body. "Will you wake them all for this matter?" she inquired from her father, who profusely apologised to Ragnar.

"Why are you in my sons' room?" He walked over to the door, glimpsed inside to see them sleep and turned his back to face the king. "I see them sleep, what else should they do after a long night?"

Aslaug noticed the infuriated look the queen gave Rùna and thus turned to her and guided her back into her room. "Will you tell me what happened?"

Rùna sat down on her bed and told Aslaug about how she had bathed only to be startled by her father under the accusation of Ivar having visited her, although no such encounter had occurred. With an innocent smile, Rùna leant closer to Aslaug. "She fears I will lose value, her spy has been watching me for ages. Only she does not know I am aware of her"

"The slave in the grey dress" Aslaug agreed. "Yes, I have seen her follow you" She rose from the bed, about to place her hand on Rùna's shoulder in comfort when she remembered the incident. "Sleep for now, we will discuss the matter tomorrow. I will talk to my husband before the morning"

A pleased smile rolled over Rùna's lips and she thanked Aslaug before covering herself with a blanket. After that, the night passed fast for her, not however for Ragnar and Aslaug, who discussed the matter at length, although he seemed much less concerned than her and ended the conversation with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders.

All the while, Ivar and Hvitserk had held their breaths as the door opened and light shone into their faces. After the door closed and voices sounded from outside, and then vanished, the two got up again and had a laugh about it.

Hvitserk told Ivar about the slave he had seen follow him, and another that spied on Rùna. He suspected the queen behind the commotion that had followed his discovery and got lucky that the slave had not noticed him overhear the conversation with the queen. Just in time, he had got Ivar out of Rùna's room before the queen told the king that Ivar had had his way with their daughter and sent him to confront them about the matter.

However the plan failed and a bitter queen returned to bed, hearing the angry words of her husband, while the slave that had helped her had to rest upon cold stone awaiting their trial in the morning.