Beware of Jezebel

4. Rex

            The tensions were high- Mary could feel it in the air around the village. Ivar became very secluded, and altough the agreement with King Harald was reached quickly, they still spent a lot of time mouling over battle plans. Nobody told Mary anything about Kattegat, or even the basics of the battle that was about to unfold. She assumed it was because nobody trusted her as a christian slave. Even if I wanted to, how it would be possible to betray any of you? She thought often.

Lack of trust was why she wasn't allowed in the longhouse while the meetings went on. That wasn't too concerning to Mary: she had a lot of free time, but listened to Ivar's warning and didn't venture anywhere far, opting to do housework and prepare supplies for the battle instead. Although the situation was worrying: Tamdrup was a secluded place, and it was winter, which meant there was no way to restock her supplies.

One day Mary spotted a woman, queen Astrid, leaving the longhouse and not long after, the men left too. That evening she asked Ivar if they included women in their battle plans too. Ivar chuckled before responding.

"Of course. Usually they are soldiers, but Astrid is Harald's wife, so she wanted to be part of strategy as well."

"Why did they marry? Is she a princess of another kingdom?"

Ivar laughed out loud this time and shook his head.

"No, no, nothing like that. Harald had been kidnapped by Lagertha not so long ago, and he met Astrid there. She was Lagertha's lover. Harald fell in love with her and as he escaped, he took Astrid along, married her and made her his queen."

Mary thought for a moment. "So... she's a lover of an enemy of the King?"

"Harald married her. She loves him now," Ivar said patronisingly, as if arguing with a child.

"She was abducted by Harald, and now, she's creating battle plans against Lagertha?"

"Yes."

Mary looked Ivar in the eyes for a few moments, debating wether she should point out the obvious flaw in their plans, but in the end decided to hold her tongue. Her mother's words rang through her head They are grown men. They should figure this out on their own.

Looking back, perhaps she was ought to warn Ivar. But then again, Mary found it hard to feel guilty. She saw queen Astrid walk around faceless, turned into a nervous wreck, and was sure the woman had managed to warn Queen Lagertha. The peace negotiation failed, Ivar's army was obliterated and bishop Heahmund switched sides (not a big surprise as well). Ivar had been too confident, and now was busy licking his wounds and already on the edge. She saw his brothers and even the King starting to doubt him. The subcontious insecurity might have been the reason why Mary was suddenly allowed to attend the war meetings, as they were planning for the second battle of Kattegat.

However, the salvation came when duke Rollo of Normandy arrived. Mary had heard about the Father of the Normans, the brave defender of Paris, the heathen-turned-christian, but it was still difficult to believe that the old man in expensive clothes standing in the middle of the longhouse was, in fact, as much of a viking as Ivar.

After a rather forced, but regardless collected greeting from Ivar the men moved to a more private sudy and Mary used the chance to brief Ivar on news about his soldiers: she had just visited the injured and had to report back. As Rollo was picking the softest fur to sit upon and Ivar had already settled on a chair, Mary quickly ran up to him and courtsied briefly.

"Ivar, most of your soldiers are recovering well and there are no signs of any disease spreading. Thus far no one has died from injuries, except for those who perished immediatly after the battle. Also, thralls seem to have caught upon the basic principles of care and are performing their duties well. However," she leaned closer and lowered her voice, "they are worried about following battles."