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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England was dreary and grey. The men trudged through the muddy streets of York with little to no enthusiasm or joy. In fact, there seemed to be no joy anywhere here.
They'd been to battle, and defended York against the Saxons. Ivar was somewhat tempted to search for Lagertha and his brothers while in England, but more than anything he felt the overwhelming need to return to Kattegat.
Presently it was almost defensless, and realistically he had many enemies.
"Ivar." Hvitserk spoke flatly, pulling his brother from his thoughts.
"What?" Ivar snapped, looking over at his older brother impatiently.
"There's someone here from Kattegat with news." Hvitserk responded.
At this, Ivar instantly assumed the worst. Had someone attacked? Had they taken Kattegat? Taken Ailbe? Or worse, had they killed her?
Quickly, he gestured for them to come in, impatiently awaiting the news. "What is it? What's happened?"
"It is Queen Ailbe," The man began, and Ivar's heart sunk as he contemplated what awful fate may have befallen his wife during his absence. "She has given birth to a baby girl."
His expression quickly contorted from a look of dread to an elated expression of pure joy. A smile spread across his usually stoic features as he thought about his daughter. "She's had the baby?" He questioned. "I have a daughter?"
"Yes, my king. And they say that she is the healthiest and happiest baby in all of Norway." The messenger responded.
Ivar chuckled slightly, considering the bubbly smile on the little girl that would likely remind him of her mother. "She gets that from Ailbe." He answered, still deep in thought. "What is my daughter's name?" He asked. "What has Ailbe called her?"
The man paused, trying to repress a smile as he knew the sentiment behind the little princess' name. "Your daughter is called Princess Aslaug, my king." He answered finally.
Ivar smiled, thinking about his mother. Aside Ailbe, there was only one other person in the world that he ever truly loved and that was his mother. And now there was a third, his daughter. It seemed fitting that she would share his mother's name, as he was certain that she would be just as kind and beautiful.
Still he was in disbelief. Had he really been gone that long? He had to see her. He had to return to them both, to be by Ailbe's side and to meet his daughter. Just the fact that he was not there for them both when little Aslaug was born bothered him.
Now there was only one thing he could do.
"Hvitserk!" He yelled, making his brother run inside. "Ready the boats. We're returning to Kattegat in the morning."
