Love Never Dies

Part 27

I was shocked, Ivar didn't recognize me. It's been years since the last time I saw him, I remembered. We were at the forest, Brynjar and Eirik started to walk for the first time. And then, everything happened, it makes me wonder if I ever get the chance to be with Ivar.

"It does not matter what they called me." I looked and said with a low voice.

"So, where are your husband, farmer girl?" He smirks and gets closer to me and Halstein.

"My mother does not have a husband, the only man she loves is my father." Halstein said excited.

"And who is your father?" Ivar asks, he is different, he is intimidating.

"My father is..." Halstein was going to say Ivar's name, my eyes widened and I cut him. 

"He is dead, he died before we could be married." I say fast, but always looking down.

"I am sorry, my wife died too. But I least you have your sons, my sons died too. I miss them everyday." His voice is soft, he is no longer intimidating. He must really loved his family.

"I am sorry." I said to him.

"Well, my name is Ivar the Boneless. I am a Ragnarsson." He says full of pride.

Halstein looks at me confused, I always told them histories about Ivar, and now he is here.

"Mother?" He questioned me.

"Go to your brothers." I say to him.

"But mother?" He protests.

"Now, please my son." I kissed his forehead and I turned around to see him leave.

Ivar puts his chest on my back, I feel his breath on my neck. I missed him so much, his touch, I crave for him.

"You are beautiful, farmer girl." He puts my hair on my right shoulder.

I froze, what can I say to him?

Hi, remember me? I am the mother of your sons, and you just met the youngest, and I still love you, even if forgot about me?

"Have you ever been with a warrior? I bet that the man you loved was a simple farmer, he was not able to satisfy you. But I can, come to my camp and I will make you scream all night." He kissed my neck and I shivered.

"I can not, I must be here. I have sons and they need me." I was walking away when he grabbed my arm, hard enough to leave bruises.

"You will not deny me, I want you on my bed tonight and you will obey me." His grip tighten around my arm, and I whimper.

"I am not a slave, you can not make me." I was angry, he wants to force me. Even if I want to be with him, I wouldn't, he doesn't love me anymore.

"I am a King, you will obey me." He said angry and slaps me, hard. I fell on the ground.

"If you do not go, my men will come here and have their way with you." He laughs wickedly and keeps starting at me.

I started to cry, Ivar is scarring me. He is pure evil, like Endre, like King Harald.

"Maybe, I will have my way with you right here. I am not a patient man and I want you." He started to take off his pants and kept looking at me.

He grabbed my hair and put me between his legs, I started to fight him but he is stronger. 

"Mother?" Halstein calls me crying.

Ivar let go of my hair, put up his pants and  went straight to Halstein, he runs away from him and hugged me.

"He is a bad man, I do not want him to be my father." He cries even more, I tried to calm him.

When I heard noises on the forest, Brynjar and Eirik watched everything. They just saw their father trying to force his mother.

Ivar didn't saw them, thank the gods, because he would've recognized them immediately.

"You should leave, King." I said hugging Halstein and kissing his forehead.

Ivar looks devastated and sad, he was right after all. He has a dark side and I shouldn't trust him, he changed. He is not the man I love, the man I love is dead.

When he finally leaves, Brynjar and Eirik came running and hugged me and Halstein.

"Mother, why father did this to you?" Eirik asks me, he is crying but he doesn't want to show.

"When I grow up, I will kill him, for doing this to you. He is a monster and he is not our father, he is a man that I will kill." Brynjar says angry, he is scaring me. I don't want him to be like Ivar.

"No my son, if you do that, you will be like him. We must live our lives and forget about him, he is not your father anymore. And he is not the man I love."  I kissed them and they nodded.

We went back to our farm and they were silent, usually they are always playing and laughing but now they are silent and looking down.

Seeing Ivar like that affected them, and I was worried for them. I was so hurt for what Ivar did, he tried to rape me. It doesn't matter if he didn't know that was me, he tried to rape a woman.

I was scared that Ivar would keep his word, I didn't know him anymore, so I didn't know what he was capable of doing.

.............................

It was night and I put Brynjar, Eirik and Halstein to sleep. I didn't sleep, I was waiting if someone showed up. I had my axe and dagger next to me, if any man wanted to take advantage of me, they would die trying.

I was starting to fall asleep when I heard the door opening, it was dark so I didn't know who it was. There was only a candle light up, so I couldn't tell who it was.

"Who is there?" I ask whispering, I didn't want to wake my sons.

"It is me." Ivar said and I froze, what he was doing here?

"What do you want?" I hissed at him.

"I came to apologize, you are the first woman that attracted me since my wife. And I did not know how to handle my feelings." He said with sadness.

"I do not want to hear, please leave." Hear Ivar saying those things about another woman breaks my heart, he forgot so easily of me and our sons.

"Are this your other sons?" He looks at the bed.

When he came closer, I put my dagger on his throat.

"Do not come closer to my sons." I warned him.

"Alright, I am sorry. I will go now, I will not disturb you anymore." He step back and headed to the door.

When he was about to leave, Brynjar woke up and said:

"Mother, what is he doing here?"