Virago - Ivar The Boneless

The Truth

Lagartha watched her daughter struggle. She knew the change of colour in her eyes was not a good thing. "Iona-"

The blonde closed her eyes as she tried to shake the feeling off inside of her. "Astrid," the blonde swung her head around so quickly as she looked at the woman who had come back for her. Her eyelids opened revealing the blue colour once again, "We should leave."

"If you walk away now, you can never return," Bjorn told his sister in a vicious tone. 

Iona didn't care, she had to return to Ivar. She could feel the pull. The Gods had a plan for the two of them and being away from him wasn't part of it. 

"I know you felt it," Lagartha said to her daughter as Little Bear climbed upon the back of the horse behind Astrid. "The connection between you and Heahmund."

Tilting her head, the blonde looked at her mother. How would she have known? She never showed it or spoke to anyone about how she felt. "You know nothing." She would never reveal that Heahmund was curious to her, not out loud. "There is no connection."

"The truth always comes out," her mother told her with a smirk on her lips. "It's time you knew the truth," Lagertha spoke like she wanted to hurt the blonde more than anything else.

Little Bear twitched her nose as she looked away from her mother and at Bjorn who only looked angry. She sighed before looking at her mother again, "You have always kept secrets from me."

Lagertha glanced at the dark-haired woman at the front of the horse that she sat on. Little Bear noticed the small look, only fleeting but she saw the guilt between the two former friends. When the older shield maiden looked back at her young daughter, she revealed the truth. "Heahmund, he's your father."

Iona stared darkly at her mother. "I have no father."

"Do not be naive, child," Ubbe called out to the blonde who was once his friend, but Lagertha put her hand up silencing him.

"I have kept things from you, yes, but I would never lie to you," the shieldmaiden spoke to her daughter as she stood straight and waited for her to answer. Lagertha hoped that Little Bear would understand and return to her side. She hated fighting with her daughter, her only living daughter. She hoped that Iona would see that Ivar was bad for her, that he was leading her astray and would never change. 

The young blonde was glad for the darkness that clouded her eyes, she took a deep breath as she tried to process the thoughts on her mind. "You are lying," Iona's voice was shaky as she tried to argue back with the woman who birthed her. 

"It is true," Astrid mumbled. 

Little Bear closed her eyes as she tried to remain calm. She knew it would be foolish to over react at this point, Ivar and Harold had created a bond and if she was to break it, she knew it would not end well. Astrid was just a pawn in Lagertha's game, it was obvious that she would know. "I do not have any Christian blood running in my veins," Iona spoke as she looked at her mother. "I refuse to acknowledge what you claim is the truth," the young woman narrowed her eyes before blinking a few times. The blue returned to her eyes as she took a deep breath and smiled, "We must return."

She felt Astrid kick the horse resulting in it moving, Iona held her hands around the waist of the woman in front of her as she blocked out all other sounds. She concentrated on where they were going. Little Bear didn't care about what she had left behind, she only cared about what was in front of her. 

"If you believe is to be true," Little Bear spoke through gritted teeth into the right left of Astrid. "Whatever you believe to be true, you will not speak of it with Ivar. You will not speak of it with anyone." She did not wait for a reply as she moved her head back and looked forward at the landscape they were travelling over. 

When they returned to the others, Little Bear was quick to dismount from the horse. She looked around hoping for a welcome from Ivar but it was only herself and Astrid. Pulling on her arm, Astrid yanked Iona back towards her. "You have made a massive enemy of your mother, but, she does speak the truth." Astrid let go of the young woman's arm before pushing the loose strands of her hair back. "A long time ago, Heahmund was a part of your mother's life. It was only for a short while but it was enough for him to grant the gift of life to Lagertha." She sighed as she looked around before continuing her story. "Your mother was going to tell you many moons ago but things changed. She figured you must have been a gift from the God's, after all, the Seer had told her she would never have another child." 

Little Bear breathed in heavily, "I do not care for such stories. I will not let this ruin me," the blonde hated hearing how that man was her father. If her mother was not lying, it would explain the fascination she had with the man, but she did not want to believe it. "You will never speak of it."

Astrid looked at the young woman, she could understand why she would not want everyone to know. She touched the arm of the blonde before walking away, leaving Iona to overthink everything she had just learnt.

The blonde leaned her head against the wall, she closed her eyes as she thought about the truth. If Heahmund was her father, she had Christian links. She could only think about the worst situations, Ivar would not want her near him if he knew. He hated Christians and the only reason he'd kept Heahmund alive was due to his swordsman skills, although Little Bear knew she had skills, she also knew that Ivar had a short temper. 

The distinct sound of Ivar's crutch on the floor caught her attention. She stood up straight and turned to face him as he approached her. "You are safe," he said to her almost like it was a question. 

Smiling, she nodded. "I am," she stepped closer to him as she pressed a kiss against his lips. 

"What happened? Did they hurt you? I will kill them all!" Ivar snapped as he looked into her eyes. 

"My mother only wanted me to return," she told him as she neglected to tell him about Ubbe. "I am unharmed, Ivar. I only want to be here with you," she assured him. "The only place I want to return to is where ever you are, over and over, Ivar."

He pulled her close, she could hear his heart beating loudly in his chest as she leaned into him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he held her tightly. She didn't know what he was thinking but her thoughts were only on him. 

AN - I'm back and I'll be uploading at least once a week until I finish this. I hope you all enjoyed this. I am thankful for any comments and votes I receive. You all make me smile when I see the love this story has!