Book two of Blind Love
After being saved from the Saxons and brought back to the man she loves, Ailbe has grown far less naive. Still a gentle soul with a heart of gold, Ailbe begins to find the balance between compassion and subservience. She becom...
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For days, Ailbe had been incapable of leaving little Aslaug's side. She didn't want to miss a thing, not a single heartbeat. She prayed that these days would last forever.
But she was tired, exhausted even. The child was demanding, she could say that much with certainty.
With a yawn, she groaned as Aslaug began to stir. Her tiny lungs held a large capacity for screaming considering her size. Just as she was about to roll out of bed to tend to the baby, the crying stopped. It was silent for a moment, a beautiful silence. But the sounds that followed were even more beautiful.
"Ssh" She heard from the corner of the room. "You don't want to wake up your beautiful mother, little one." Ivar cooed gently, and the baby was quiet. "You and me have to take care of her for a little while." He told the tiny child that lay serenely in his arms. "And maybe then we'll survive to see next summer."
The baby giggled, grabbing at his hand and holding it gently. Ivar couldn't help but smile at the action.
"Who knew you made such a good nanny?" Ailbe smiled, sitting up slowly.
Ivar looked at her like a child that had been caught doing something wrong, frozen for a moment with his daughter tucked gently in his arms. "You're awake."
"I heard her cry-" Ailbe began with a yawn. "Is she alright? Does she need me?"
He smiled at his wife as she fretted, carefully placing Aslaug down so that he could walk back to Ailbe's side. As he sat next to her, she slowly seemed to calm, sighing gently. "Go back to sleep, hm?" He suggested calmly.
"But what about Aslaug-" She began again but was quickly cut off.
"She'll be fine with me. In truth, I think she'll be a great shieldmaiden one day. You have to start the training early." He shrugged jokingly.
"She's three weeks old!" Ailbe's eyes widened. "You can't-"
"Calm down, I'm just going to show her around Kattegat." He answered with a chuckle. "Get some sleep."
As he stood to leave, leaning against his crutch and scooping up Aslaug in his free arm, Ailbe sighed. "I love you."
Again, Ivar smiled like he rarely did around any other company. "And I love you." He answered. "Both of you."
Ailbe woke up hours later feeling better than she had done in weeks. She rubbed sleep from her blank eyes with a yawn and a smile, before furrowing her brows. What time was it? Where were Aslaug and Ivar?
Ivar sat on the sandy beach, away from the busy crowds that surrounded Kattegat. Aslaug was propped up in his lap, looking out to sea with a wide smile.
"And out in the distance there you can see Floki's house." Ivar explained. "You don't know Floki, but he was one of the few people in this world that I have loved. I lost him after I lost my mother, the first Aslaug. She was beautiful too, just like her granddaughter. I think she'd be glad to know that all of this will one day belong to you."
The baby made an odd little noise, nodding her head.
Ivar chuckled, "You agree? Hm? You think it will belong to you? See, I knew you'd be a good Queen. But no husbands. You can rule fine alone. I did before I met your mother, and you will be much stronger than I am. No boys. None of them are good enough."
Aslaug giggled, making him smile again.
"Now your mother will want you to be happy. My father once told me that happiness was nothing, but I'm not so sure now. I thought he was right, and I took York and defeated Lagertha. But now? I am happy now. I didn't think I could ever be happy but I am. Blame your mother for that. It's difficult to be angry around her. And now she has given me you and I can't seem to stop thinking about all the brothers and sisters that you will have." She cuddled closer to him and Ivar wrapped an arm around her protectively. "You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."
"My King!" A servant yelled, making Ivar jolt from his peacefulness with his signature scowl. "The Queen asked that you'd return, she was worried. I'm sorry-"
"Thank you." He said in an uncharacteristically pleasant manner, slowly lifting himself up with Aslaug asleep in his arms. "Tell her I'll be there."
The thrall nodded, avoiding eye contact nervously as she ran back to the main hall.
Ivar looked down at Aslaug with a mischievous grin. "There is just one place left for me to show you."
Guys I'm very soft over any Ivar/child dynamic okay?! Like, Ivar and Igor? That's my prayer book. Hopefully Ivar and baby Aslaug can be yours because... It's definitely mine now too.
