Stringed Up

Chapter 07

Another sunrise, another sunset. The days had started blurring together a long time ago.
Soon it would be spring again.

They had left England before the first snow had fallen, just the two of them.
Eivor had made that decision for Ivarr's sake after he had seen how badly the Dane had reacted to people.
One of his Raiders had nearly ended up with an axe between the eyes after he had touched Ivarr's shoulder to get his attention and that was just one of many examples where someone had nearly lost a limb or their life.

Eivor watched with a fond smile as Ivarr charged at him again, dodging his shield with ease before kicking him in the back of the legs to make him fall.
The Norse had not anticipated that move, falling face first into the snow, which made the younger of the two chuckle.

Ivarr was fast and flexible when fighting, his attacks often impossible to foresee. That alone was admirable enough coming from Eivor seeing as the two of them had been training together daily for months now.
At first Ivarr had struggled a lot, the shield too heavy for his weakened body. Eivor would never forget the defeated look on Ivarr's face each time.

Now there was no trace of that anymore, a small smirk firmly in place on the Dane's lips at most times.
Eivor had noticed that Ivarr generally seemed more confident now, though he still wore a hood whenever they went to the cities or villages.

Eivor rose from the ground, brushing away all the remaining snow before glancing up at the sky. It was starting to get dark already, the last rays of light illuminating the sky.
"I think we're done for today", Eivor mumbled, receiving a nod from Ivarr as response.
"I'll spare you another defeat", the Dane teased, letting Eivor pull him close to place a small kiss on his lips.

Life was good now.
But Eivor knew that it couldn't last, spring was approaching and with the time to return to England now that Ivarr was strong enough to defend himself once more.
They hadn't talked about it yet and Eivor feared how the Dane would react so he had decided to not speak of it before tomorrow morning, give Ivarr some more time away from glory and painful memories alike.

Eivor usually was stuck doing the cooking, not because Ivarr was bad at it, but rather because the older still wanted to do as much as possible for him.
It had just become a habit and Ivarr didn't seem to mind much, getting comfortable on the pile of blankets and pillows they had placed in front of the fireplace.
Mouse usually curled up next to him, letting the Dane pet him while he told Childhood stories or spoke of anything that came to mind.
Eivor joined them when the food was done, just as he always did.

The night passed as every other had here in Norway. It was peaceful.
Eivor almost wished that they could stay, just him, Ivarr and Mouse til they died but Ivarr was and would always be a son of Ragnar, destined for great things and destined for a glorious death.

Ivarr's hair had grown quite long, he noticed as he combed it that night.
He knew that it often troubled the young Dane, strands falling out of his braids when he fought and he knew that Ivarr had wanted to cut it for a while now.
"Do you want me to cut it?", Eivor asked, carding his hand through the strands.
Ivarr nodded slightly though Eivor didn't miss the hesitancy.
He got up nevertheless, getting everything he would need.
Ivarr liked to use his hair to hide the scar on his face, something that while Eivor understood just couldn't continue.
Ivarr had survived horrible things, things he would never forget but he couldn't hide from them.
"You trust me, don't you?", Eivor asked, receiving another nod, this time without hesitancy.
And so after cutting Ivarr's hair, he gently shaved the side of his head where he knew the scar to be.
The Dane didn't object though Eivor knew that this had to be challenging for him.

He made sure to be extra gentle with Ivarr for the rest of the night, kissing along each and every scar while telling him that he was beautiful in all the words and languages he knew until Ivarr rolled his eyes and pushed him away laughing.
They really had come a long way.

After Ivarr had already fallen asleep, Eivor laid awake, plagued by worry.
Ivarr was unpredictable even for him.
Would he accept that they had to return?
Would he refuse?
But the real question was: Would he stay with Eivor when they returned?

Maybe that was what he was so afraid of, that Ivarr would leave him to fulfill his destiny.
Eivor couldn't blame him. He had a clan to lead in his brother's absence, had duties and responsibilities to his people.
And Ivarr had brothers in England, Halfdan and Ubba, maybe he'd want to rejoin them, revive the Great Heathen Army to conquer England or to take his revenge for King Rhodri had done.

Eivor sighed, watching as Ivarr's chest rose and fell with every calm breath that he took.
So many nights he had lain awake and feared that suddenly it would not rise again.
Now he laid awake and feared that he would not be there to witness it.
He feared that one day, maybe many winters from now he'd hear word that Ivarr the Boneless had fallen in battle and that this would be one of the last moments he got to share with the Ragnarsson.