Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Anger to Obey

When the evening came, Little Bear sat with King Harald, his brother, Halfdan, Floki and a few other men. She did not mind though, it meant she did not have to participate in the idle conversations, in fact, she could just zone out and focus on herself. Her eyes were focused on the plate in front of her, she was not particularly interested in the food that she had, but she forced herself to eat it never the less.

"We leave in the morning," Halfdan said to his brother. "Are you sure you won't join us?"

King Harald shook his head, "Brother, you know my dreams. And what of you, Little Bear? Are you travelling with your brother?"

She looked up when she heard her name, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Are you heading off with Bjorn?" Halfdan repeated what his brother was saying.

Little Bear shook her head, "No." She did offer any more of an explanation. She looked away from him and back down to her plate, "I need somewhere to be." She got up from her seat, walking away from the table area.

As she headed towards the main building, she was pushed through a door away from prying eyes. When she looked up, she found herself face to face with Hvitserk, "What are you doing?"

"Why does Bjorn think we are having sex?"

She raised her eyebrows, "I have no idea." Iona pushed him away from her, "You wouldn't say no to this though." She loved to tease him, knowing he was easily wound up.

What on Earth was Bjorn doing? Why did he actually think she was doing anything with Hvitserk? She tried to think back, tried to think if she'd given him a sign, spoke about Hvitserk in a manner she shouldn't have? Nothing stood out to her though. 

Hvitserk chuckled, "So, are we going to do this or...?"

The blonde laughed at his question as he tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, wait, you weren't kidding?" Her eyes were wide as she stepped away from him. "What are you talking about?" She shook her head at him, he was such a trier. 

A smirk crossed his lips before he crossed his arms over his chest. "You and I, why not? I know you, you know me, I do not see what the problem is?"

"The problem is," Little Bear sighed as she leaned against the wall. "We're friends."

"And, maybe, brother, she's not interested," Ivar's voice rang out making both Iona and Hvitserk jump and turn to him. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the youngest Ragnarsson, she waited to see if he had more to say but the moment was taken by Hvitserk. 

"No one has ever said no to me so far," he put his arm around his little brother with a smirk on his face. "So, come on," Hvitserk looked at me, "Why are we even talking about this?"

Iona rolled her eyes, "It's not going to happen." She turned away from both of the brothers and walked away, heading back in the direction she was originally going before she was interrupted.

Once she was alone in the room she had been sleeping in, she sat on the bed and looked at the pendant that Bjorn had given her earlier. She wished she knew more about these people, after all, they might just need help to be converted to her way of thinking.

She wondered why Ragnar had been friends with a Christian, it was not normal. She had only heard people talk about Christian's with disgust and hate. Not even Christian children were exempt from the hate even though they were born into that way of life.

Her ran her fingers over the golden cross, she did not know much about their religion. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but knew asking them would only result in the people she knew turning against her.

The silence was broken when she heard the unmistakable sound of Ivar's crutch outside of her door. Then it stopped, she could see the shadow of his feet in the small gap between the door and the floor. Throwing the necklace across the room, she got to her feet then walked towards the door, slowly opening so they were face to face.

"Ivar," she pushed her loose hair from her face as she looked up at him.

"I'm not like my brothers," he announced to her. "They are weak, I watched as they all shared the same woman." His face was deadly serious as he looked at her, "Do not make the mistake in thinking I am like them. I am not weak, Iona."

She returned back to her bed, she sat on the edge of it as she looked up at him. "What do you want from me, Ivar?" She did not need Ivar to fight her battles for her, she could stand up to Hvitserk, she was not worried about him in the slightest, they were good friends and she hoped he had certain morals. 

He entered her room, closing the door behind him before turning his attention back to her. "I don't want to share you, not with Ubbe, not with anyone." He wanted to make sure the words he said were clear. He walked across the room to her then sat beside her on the large bed. "Especially not with Hvitserk."

"Hvitserk?" She questioned as she turned her head to face him.

Ivar looked down at her lips, they were full and calling out to him. He didn't hear her speak, all he could do was stare at her beautiful face. He wanted to hold her close, he wanted to protect her from everything. He also knew she didn't need any of that. Little Bear was not a woman who was a damsel, she was a true warrior, a shieldmaiden. In Ivar's mind, she was too much like her mother, he knew what had happened to his father, women had made him weak but when he looked into the blue eyes of the woman before him he knew why. Iona's eyes were something he could get lost in.

Reaching up, he touched her smooth skin, his right hand laying across her cheek before he leaned in and kissed her. His lips placed against hers as they both closed their eyes. He used his hands to pull her closer to him, her lips never leaving his as she obeyed.

She climbed closer to him, lifting her dress as she sat on his lap, her legs either side of his body before they both pulled away from each other, their eyes meeting. Ivar's breathing was heavy as he watched the eye's of Iona change to a dark colour, his lips formed into a smirk as he stared.

"Does this help?" Iona asked him as she touched his face, her fingers stroking over his skin before they rested on his chest. "No one else, Ivar, only you."