Merciful || Ivar the Boneless

n i n e

It was a cloudy day in Kattegat, people were still in their homes sleeping but Eira was already up and couldn’t fall asleep. She had this bad feeling which she hasn’t had for a while. It was like someone was constantly standing behind her, watching her every move. She remembered that familiar feeling and what it was connected to. Maybe it was her imagination. At least that’s what she tried to convince herself with. A little part of her deep down was playing with the thought of being yet again haunted. Eira tried to keep that part back but the more she had the feeling, the more that part grew inside of her.

She didn’t realize it, but while she was lost in her thoughts, she began to hum a song her mother used to sing to her when she was little. Somehow the words blended in, here and there. She didn’t know she remembered them because it was a long time ago.

Eira noticed a slight movement by her window. She jumped up quietly, grabbed a little knife she had hidden under her pillow and got closer. There was someone standing right next to her window, sneaking up on her. It happened fast. She grabbed his shoulder and put the other hand which was holding the knife to his neck.

“You wouldn’t kill me, would you?” a familiar voice said. She tilted over to get a better look at the man. Her eyes first met little brown braids and when they went down, they saw a handsome profile of Ivar. She immediately dropped the knife in the grass and let go of his shoulder.

“Sorry,” she told him in the most honest way she could. As soon as he walked inside, she wanted to ask him why he was spying on her, but she still wasn’t ready to talk. After all, it’s been a long time since she spoke more than a few words. The last conversation she had was with her parents, right before they died. With that in mind, she felt that pain in her heart with which she was too familiar.

They didn’t talk at first. They were just looking at each other. Ivar felt little embarrassed because she caught him listening to her, but he couldn’t help it.

“What song was it?” he asked quietly, blushing a little.

“Mother’s,” her voice broke. Even though it’s been a while since she died, it still felt like she was going to fall apart to pieces. Her heart was broken and so was she. It was the first time she mentioned her since her parents died.

“I heard a little bit of it. It sounded beautiful,” Ivar told her honestly, the pink colour still showing on his cheeks. Eira looked at him, a smile appeared on her face. She wanted to tell him that it was never going to sound beautiful because only her mother could make it sound like that. But she kept quiet, she wasn’t ready to speak, not yet.

Out of nowhere an arrow flew in, scratched her cheek and ended up stuck in the wall behind her. It happened so fast, they could barely do something. Ivar immediately stood up and jumped over to Eira, taking her down to the ground with him.

She was still not reacting, a blank expression on her face. Ivar was lying on top of her, looking down on her face. The blood from the scratch was running down her cheek, to her ear. She was looking in front of her, but not at Ivar. He put his hand on the other cheek and turned her head a little bit towards him. Eira blinked and finally realized what just happened. She let out a breath she was holding for the entire time.

Ivar got off her, removed quickly the metallic contraption so he could crawl. He moved fast to the window and peeked out to see if there was the shooter. His blue eyes scanned the forest and streets but couldn’t find anything. No sign of any movement, nor shooter.

“Ubbe!” he yelled immediately when his eyes spotted his older brother.

“Come here, fast!” Ubbe looked at him confused but did what Ivar asked.

“What is going on?” Ubbe asked standing in the doorway, watching the weird scenario in front of him. Eira was sitting on the floor, blood on her face, dripping on her clothes. Ivar was also on the floor, his back against the wall right under the window.

“Someone just shot an arrow on Eira,” Ivar said with an anger in his voice, pointing at the arrow stuck in the wall.

“Who would do that? Nobody knows Eira here. No one has a reason to hurt her..,” Ubbe had a point. Both brothers now laid their eyes on Eira. She slowly swallowed, knowing what was coming. Even though she wasn’t ready, now it was the time for her to speak.