The cripple and the shieldmaiden

// 28 //

Torhild sat against a tree, resting her head while she looked at the shieldmaidens train under the leading of her mother. Ase was fierce, she was good and Lagertha kept pushing her to the limits to become an even better shieldmaiden. She looked down to her lap where her knife rested. In the three weeks that had past nothing had changed for her, she grew stronger but she still demanded a certain way of rest. They kept her out of the meetings as a way to restore her stenght again. Torhild was bored, Ivar taunted her every single moment, it was her only way of amusement, him. She knew that Björn sended vikings masked as soldiers to the kingdom from king Aethelwulf to deliver messages in the name of Lord Edgar. That everything went good and well and the vikings kept there part of the deal and that they were waithing on orders to raid a new kingdom. In that way it buyed them some time to restore balance and come up with a plan. Everybody was fit, trained and recovered, except for Torhild. She looked how her mother fought of three girls, Ase saw it as an opportunity but even then her mother saw her coming. A smile came on her lips when she saw Lagertha's sword pointing to her throat. 'Can I?' She asked her mother, getting up. The wound was closed, her energy restored but some movements still give her pain, not that she showed it to anybody.
'You are not ready.' Her mother smiled.
'You can't be certain of it without trying.' Torhild begged. Lagertha complimented Ase before she walked over to her daughter.
'I had simular wounds, that kind of wounds need time to heal, so does your spirit.'
'My spirit works just fine mother.' Torhild smiled in slight protest. Lagertha shoved her sword in her belt and walked aside her daughter back to the center of the settlement.
'The gods give you time daughter. You need to use that time to find peace with yourself. You are young, you can be afraid of the things that happened.' She comforted. Torhild looked to the path and nodded slowly. She was afraid, afraid to die and it was something she wasn't proud of. When the came across the great hall she saw Ivar sitting on the steps before it. He looked up to her, his bleu eyes piercing through hers. It was all he did, just looking while they walked further. 'He never answered my question.' Lagertha began.
'Who?'
'Did he never told you about the conversation we had?' She asked surpriced. Torhild looked over her shoulder towards Ivar who was already back to carving into wood ... it became a habit of him.
'No. Can't imagine it was a good one.' She replied. Lagertha laughed a little and shook her head.
'I don't know what it is between the two of you Torhild but I see what I see and that is a strange attraction. You two are so set on each other.'
'He protects me and I protect him. We have a very long friendship behind us and you can't expect me to trow that away for your needs. I need him and he needs me.' She said honestly. Her mother stood still before the little house and turned towards her daughter.
'Good.' She smiled, carresing her cheek before she walked away. Torhild looked at her mother before she walked back to the great hall, sitting aside Ivar.
'Well?' He asked curious.
'Well what?'
'What did she had to say?' He looked up, studied her face thoroughly.
'Nothing really, need to clear my head and make piece with myself before I can get back to training. I feel useless.' She sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her head on it.
'Come to the meeting tonight.'
'I'm not allowed.' She replied. Ivar looked around before he moved his head closer, resting his chin on her arm.
'Break some rules, put one a fancy dress and that attitude, they will buy it.' He smiled his typical cocky smiled and pulled back.
'No wonder my mother says you have a bad influence on me.' Torhild reacted.
'She said that?' He asked amused. Torhild rolled her eyes and shook her head.
'I hear her thinking it every time she sees you.'
'She doesn't know the half of what I do to you.' He murmuled, back at the carving again.
'Stop teasing me.'
'Get better soon princess.' He said when she stood up again.
'Don't call me princess.'
'See you tonight on the meeting.' She turned around and looked at his smug grinn, he knew already that she would push his idea through and go to that meeting.

Black maked her look confident and fierce, or that is what Hvitserk always said when she showed up in black. Not that she had much here, just the dress she had from the king and two of her own, so she choose black. 'You look good.' Ase noticed who stood in the doorway looking at her. Torhild turned around and smiled softly.
'I feel good. Mother wants me to take it easy but I feel I'm ready to get back.'
'She cares about you, thats all.' Ase comforted her. Torhild just nodded and walked aside her friend to the great hall. She felt nervous for some reason. In the past three weeks they hardly had said something about the plans to take down Aethelwulf, she knew nothing and now she would burst in just to make herself usefull.
'Is this a good idea?' She asked Ase when they stood before the small stairs before the great hall.
'It's Ivar his idea, those are never good.' Ase laughed. Torhild smiled and walked up. Ase pushed the door open and let her in, all eyes turned to her in a instant.
'Gentlemen, mother.' She greeted the attendees.
'Torhild what are you doing here?' Lagertha asked while giving Ivar a sharp look because he was just smiling about her entering.
 'I'm sick of doing nothing.' She answered.
'You look good princess.' Halfdan said. Torhild bowed for him, thanking him for his words. She was glad others noticed she was better, just her mother wouldn't see it.
'She is ready mother.' Björn took her side on this and she gave him a loving smile, standing aside her brother who said besides his mother on the throne. Torhild looked towards Ivar who looked back at her with that intense, slightly proud look. She almost blushed under that look and turned her eyes somewhere else ... to her mother who pointed her attention to king Harald. He wasn't punished yet and Torhild asked herself why that was.
'Heavy defenses you say?' She got further on the subject. Harald looked aside to his brother.
'It a little like Paris, high walls, heavy secured. We would loose a lot of men by getting in.' Halfdan explained. Torhild nodded slowly, just as Ubbe did. They were kept there, Torhild knew the kingdom of Aethelwulf and it was indeed a hard thing to get in.
'What are you suggesting than?' Lagertha asked, a little confused by the brothers who changed looks with each other.
'If we want to do it we need somebody like Floki, to build things.'
'Or somebody like her.' Ivar pointed towards Torhild. She jerked her head around and looked at him, totally confused by his suggestion.
'I don't want to hear your plans Ivar, they are reckless.'
'Let him speak.' Björn interuppted his mother. Ivar nodded approvingly.
'Get her on the inside.' He simple explained. Torhild started thinking, if she got in, as a guest with some others for her protection she could easily get one gate open. If Aethelwulf suspected nothing, like why lord Edgar wasn't there. She needed a reason to be there. While she though of it her eyes felt on Ubbe.
'We are not putting Torhild in that kind of danger again.' Lagertha suppressed Ivar his idea.
'There wouldn't be any danger if he didn't except any troubles.' Torhild whispered, still looking at Ubbe, he pushed his eyebrow up, waiting fora n explanation.
'What do you have in mind?' Björn asked, turning towards his sister.
'A announcement.' She shrugged.
'From the deal you made with Lord Edgar? About you and me getting married?' Ubbe asked.
'We tell him, he will hold a feast, I know that, we can bring some guest. If all our leaders are in there he wil not expect something from the outside. If we are with fifty, a few can slip away to get the gates secured, let the army in,' she felt silent and looked to her brother who stood up, nodding, giving her that wide open smile.
'You could easily be a daughter of Ragnar.' He complimented her. Torhild blushed and bowed thankfull for his words. 'Lagertha will stay on the outside with the army, we make a carefull plan and Aethelwulf won't know what hit him.' Björn said enthusiastic.
'Not what you had in mind?' Lagertha asked Ivar who looked with a stubborn look right at her. She was pulling his bad side out. He ingored her mother completly and Torhild pushed herself away from the throne, sitting aside him. She saw Lagertha watching the both of them so Torhild said nothing for a while.
'What is it?' She asked when Björn, Ubbe and Lagertha started with some rough plans.
'What if he insist on you marrying Ubbe?'
'I won't marry him Ivar, are you really concerned about that?' She laughed amused. He looked away, angry, ignoring her to. His protective attitude was almost cute, in this way he pulled Torhild only closer to him. She stood up, her fingers drumming on the table. 'If I want to marry someone it would be a son of Rangar,' she felt silent and bowed a little closer to him. 'And it wouldn't be Ubbe or Hvitserk.' She said softly while pulling away, walking back to her mother and brother. Leaving him and his first reactions for later. Would it work? Possible, if all Ragnar his sons were there and if Aethelwulf didn't suspect anything about lord Edgar his dead. But if it failed ... it would be a big bloodbath and it was that little detail that maked her uncertain. Was it good for her to come back in the game? She stroke her fingers over her stomach, over the wound, drifting in her own thoughts.

Is it a good plan?
And what will Ivar do if he has Torhild alone after what she said to him. ;-)
Have a nice day/night, thanks for reading all of this, it means the world for me. <3