Forging A Heart (Ivar the Boneless)

* Broken Bone *

"My Queen! It's the King! He is in a rage again!" Geridis's panicked face came into view. In the distance Ivar could be heard screaming, accompanied by the sounds of things breaking.

Artemis, mending one of his tunics under the warm sun at the door of the hall, stood slowly, mindful of her bulging belly. Geirdis latches on to her arm carefully, steadying the Queen slowly before walking into the Great Hall.

"Has he had his herbal tea?" She asked calmly.

"Yes, but it seems he is in a particular pain." The closer they were to the chambers, the louder the yelling became, the anger in his voice projecting his pain. More things were breaking, and a male thrall rushes out of their chambers. Artemis sighs, placing a hand on her swollen stomach.

"Where is the healer?"

"With the midwife, my Queen. A baby is to be born in town." Artemis hums, deciding that the responsibility fell on her that day.

"Is the salve on the desk?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"Very well, instruct Edda to make a stew. It will ease the King." Geirdis scurries away to obey her orders, and Artemis watches her leave before passing a hand through the leather dividers.

Before she could acknowledge the mess, a clay bowl was thrown, crashing against the wall beside her. She let's out a yelp, taking a step back and glancing at the pieces that littered the ground around her. She sucks her teeth at the mess, bringing her eyes to Ivar's form.

He sat upon the bed, forehead coated in sweat that ran down his face. His light tunic was damp from his sweat, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His arm was raised from the action of throwing the small bowl, and he slowly lowers it, his features suddenly expressing regret towards what he'd done.

"My love, I'm sorry..."

"I worked hard at the potters to make that, you know," Artemis smiles, watching Ivar's face fall as he suddenly remembered the day she shoved the clay bowl under his nose in her excitement.

"Its okay, it was pretty terrible anyway." She reassures him, slowly waddling over to their bed. She grips Ivar's jaw gently in her hand, feeling him clench under her fingers. She looks into his eyes, the whites an unusual hue of blue. He'd broken a bone. Artemis tsks, placing her lips to his damp brow, brushing away the loose strands that escaped his braided hair.

"I'm sorry you are in pain," She says, walking over to the desk, glad that Ivar hadn't touched the bronze bowl of water and the cloth that lay beside it in his frenzy. She dips the cloth into the cool water, wringing the fabric of the access water then grabbing hold of a small vial beside the bowl. She carefully walks back to the bed, urging Ivar to lay back so that she may properly care for him.

He does so silently, closing his eyes once he felt the cool cloth upon the heated skin of his face. He was in great pain, extreme pain in fact, that he could not see to his usual duties. He frowns at the thought of troubling his wife when she too was under great physical stress.

"Here you are, looking after me," He grunts out, his eyes watching as she arranges his favorite fleece blanket over the lower half of his body, "When it should be me looking after you and our growing child."

Artemis shushed him, leaning over to loosen the ties of his tunic, passing the damp cloth over his collarbones and shoulders to relieve him of the uncomfortable heat his body was producing to fight off his pain.

"It is my duty as your wife," She begins, carefully getting on her knees with the help of Ivar's tight grip, "To cater to your needs, as it is your duty as my husband to cater to mine. Let me lower your breeches." The statement was said as more of a question, knowing how sensitive her husband was about his legs. He still struggled with his insecurity, and Artemis always made sure to make him as comfortable as possible, despite the multiple times she has seen his deformity. He was still ashamed.

He grunts, nodding in response, and she gently maneuvers her hands under the fleece, helping to lower his breeches as carefully as she could with his help. His hissing turned into loud grunts, the pressure of the fabric a discomfort against his weak legs. When finally bringing them down to his thin ankles, Artemis carefully takes the salve, a mixture of different herbs formed into a paste, and scoops a generous amount onto her palm. She rubs it between her palms to warm it up.

She hesitates slightly, only ever watching the healer tend to him for fear of causing more damage herself. Artemis was much too heavy handed, especially when it came time to forge something.

"Ready?" She asks, and Ivar grunts his approval. She takes a deep breath before gently applying pressure onto one leg first, slowly massaging the salve into the skin with Ivar's guidence.

Ivar slams a hand against the bedding, using the other to grip the edge of bed, breathing in harshly through his nostrils. Artemis stops suddenly, jerking her hands away from him and turning to look at his strained face. He releases the breath he'd been holding, his eyes tightly shut. This was the leg with the broken bone. Artemis hated seeing him in such pain, and wondered how he survived his childhood.

She removes her hands from under the fleece, grabbing hold of his white knuckled fist. She places a gentle kiss on the tight surface. She was successful in loosening his grip, peering up at him with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," She apologizes, "I'm not very good at this. I wish there was more I could do for you." Ivar sighs, squeezing her hand in affection before motioning for her to continue.

Artemis finishes working on the first leg as best she could before moving on to the second, her heart slightly breaking each time he grunted or whimpered in pain. Ivar was so vulnerable in those moments, a sight only his mother and brothers had the privilege of seeing, and now his wife. It was not something he was proud of.

Once she finished, she wiped her hands on her elegant apron, carefully getting up, once again, with Ivar's help. His eyes were slightly drooping as the exhaustion over took him. The pain took a lot out of him. Artemis brings his breeches back up, the salve creating a numbing effect, and positions the fleece over him. Putting the cloth back into the bronze bowel, she remembers the mess, attempting to have it cleaned up, but Ivar was quicker than her, grabbing her hand and tugging her close to his side.

"Stay." He mumbles.

She smiles, walking around the bed to the empty side, struggling slightly to sit upon the bed. Removing her boots she swings her legs over slowly, laying down to turn and face her husband.

He immediately turns to face her, a hand automatically going to her belly. He rubs the swell, somehow still fascinated that they both created life. Soon, they would meet their little boy or girl. Suddenly, Ivar felt a kick under his palm, and he felt a flutter in his stomach before a grin stretched over his lips.

"Your child is strong," Artemis comments, smiling lazily now that she too was overcome with sleep, "Hardly let's me sleep."

"That is because they are just as stubborn as their mother. The little one wants to meet us." Ivar says, overcome with joyous emotions, continuing to rub her swollen belly enthusiastically, resulting in more little kicks.

"Ivar..." She whines, "I wont be able to nap if you keep exciting them." Ivar smiles, relinquishing his attack on her belly, choosing to hold her close instead. Her eyes droop, and in an instant he hears her light snores. Ivar's legs continued to ache, though his severe pain had diminished due to the salve. The dull ache could be dealt with, as long as had his pregnant wife in his arms.