Forging A Heart (Ivar the Boneless)

* Apollo *

Her labor pains began in the late afternoon as she was taking a stroll with Hvitserk. The day was bright as they walked by the beach, the sun warming the sand under her bare feet.

Hvitserk thought the sun would do her good, though Ivar complained that she was too far along to be strolling about. Artemis agreed to the outing, happily looping her arm with her brother in law, much too tired of being cooped up in her chambers.

If she walked slow before, then she had the pace of a snail now, but Hvitserk didn't mind. He smiled knowing she favored the early autumn warmth upon her skin.

They made simple small talk, mostly Hvitserk explaining his new lover. Artemis knew of the girl, and has met her a few times in formal settings. Her name was Thora, a pretty thing with pretty features, brown hair, and a moderate height.

She was happy for him, but before she could say anything more, she doubled over in pain, panting at the sensation of the blooming ache attacking her abdomine. Looking down, a wetness pooled upon the sand.

Panicked, Hvitserk latches on to her smaller frame as she almost collapses from the pain. He barked out orders to the nearby guards that patrolled the town.

"Summon the midwife! And alert the King his child is to be born!"

Artemis was laid upon a mountain of thin sheets, sweat clinging to her skin. She gripped the sheets tightly, groaning and whimpering at the labor pains that attacked her body. She was afraid, despite the midwife's babbling words of reassurance.

Women came in to swarm her chambers, the midwife, Alva, Brenna the healer, and Aria along with Geirdis scurrying about to prepare the room for the birth. An odd chair was brought in with a great hole in its center made of polished wood. Artemis stared at it, chest heaving before another great pain took over.

Aria takes a seat beside her Queen, wiping her glistening face with a damp cloth.

"I have seen the birth of babies many times, and I assure you, this will go smoothly." The red head mutters to her, though that did nothing to ease her mind. Artemis was in a panic, more so than Hvitserk had been on the beach. Geirdis goes to sit on her other side, grabbing her clammy hand in comfort.

Barking could be heard from the hall, along with Asa's whining to enter the chamber, making Artemis grow uneasy. The midwife and healer continue to prepare the room, placing white cloth over what Artemis now knew was called the birthing chair.

"Where is Ivar?!" She roars out suddenly, her grip on Geirdis's hand now fierce, causing the girl to wince. Before anyone could answer her, Ivar comes stumbling in, eyes wild as he barked out something about providing her with every comfort needed.

All the women greeted their king formally, but he ignored them, limping over to his wife panting on their bed. She had equally wild eyes, and Ivar could see the fear swiming in the gray depths. Ivar motions for Geirdis to remove herself, and he takes her place sitting beside his wife, already reaching forward to grasp her shaking hand.

"I am here, my love." He says to her, placing kisses on her hand, rubbing his calloused thumb over her clammy skin. Artemis was unlike anything he'd ever seen, and rightfully so. He feared for her life as much as she did, though he did a better job of masking it.

"I'm afraid, Ivar." She whispers out a shaky breath before squeezing his hand tightly at another burst of pain, "Your child will rip right through me."

"Do not be afraid. Frigg is with you in these moments."

Artemis began to get hysterical, and Ivar roared to the midwife and healer that they were to guard her life, or else they must forfeit their own. He'd see to it. Usually Artemis scolded him when he roused people into fear with threats, but at that moment, she didn't care. She would let him threaten the world if it meant the pain would stop.