Not Too Late

Love?

Yn's POV

I stand in front of Gunnhild and Bjorn as Igor stands behind me. I keep my hand on his head. "Queen Gunnhild, King Bjorn I have come to the conclusion on the offer you have given me and I decided to accept it" "That's great news" "I have also concluded that I shall stay here in case of an early attack which is common because of winter approaching" "And who is this behind you?"

I look behind me and see Igor. "This is prince Igor he will be observing the attack" "He will not fight? Why bring him if he will not fight?" I give Bjorn a slight glare. "King Oleg suggested that he should come if I had a hand in the matter I would not allowed him to come with me but I did not have the deciding vote" They both nod. "So I'll be setting Igor up for sleep we both have had a long day" I walk Igor into the room I stayed in before. "You stayed here?" "Yep I know it's small but it will do" he lays down and I pull the blanket over him. "You're going to come back right? You won't leave me here?"

I sit on the bed and hold his hand. "This war is not going to be my last and it's not until after winter" "but these are vikings-" "I know but my first priority is you, and if something does happen I want you to run you understand? You do what I trained you to do" "Do you think they can win?" I stay silent for a moment. Do I think they can win? I don't even know what we're gonna go up against. I try and put on a brave face as I look at Igor. "I believe that now you are here I have something to lose because Igor your are everything to me and I need you to be okay if all else fails-" My words seem to get stuck in my throat with a hint of fear in my voice. "You are my weakness and it scares me half to death that you are here right in the middle of danger"

Igor sits up and jumps in my lap. Igor raises his hands to my face and traces the scars. A few tears start to slip from my eyes and he wipes them away. "I'm going to be okay" "I know and you should be getting to bed" He finishes tracing the last scar and I place him back in bed. I kiss his forehead and head out the back door. I needed air. I had my swords on me and left my backpack with Igor. I ran deep into the woods. The further I went the better I could breathe. I soon collapse onto the ground. Dirt starts covering my knees. I look up at the night sky.

"I don't want to question your ways my gods but I can not understand why you have fated that he be here. The one battle I am frightened to participate in and you bring the one person I care for" I feel the air within my lungs as I inhale and exhale waiting for any sign from the gods. "It's because you're fighting with vikings against vikings" I pull my swords out and they just touch the persons voice box at the front of their throat. As my eyes adjust to the new figure in front of me I lower my weapons. "I wasn't aware that you followed me here" I place my swords back in their holsters.

"You ran away so quickly I thought you may have saw something?" "And if I did why would you want to be involved?" I lean up against the tree and dust the dirt off my knees. "Because I care for my guests" "but I am nothing" "And that is where you're sorely mistaken" I look up at her dark figure. "How so? I'm beneath all royals" "To many people I've encountered you're a god, many royals I've met fear you and would bow before you but you make it as if they have control over you" I lean my head back on the bark of the tree letting out a quiet sigh. "I am no god Queen Gunnhild I am merely a warrior" "a warrior with a story I would like to tell my children one day" "Oh yea?" I look at her unamused. "And what story could that possibly be"

"It was the battle for Wessex. You and some other warriors were still on the battlefield until your so called companions retreated, leaving you alone on the battlefield" I remember that day. I was fighting vikings as per usual. It was the same battlefield that Lagertha had left me on all those years ago. "You stayed and you fought at least fifty warriors. No matter if you went down you got back up and you fought harder. The sight of you would make anyone grimace at how bad you looked with cuts and bruises covering you like mud on a pig. And you made it out alive I would call that luck"

"Luck?" I chuckle slightly at her. "Luck had nothing to do with it, I was trained that way, 'if you get knocked down get the fuck back up and push further because no one will save you' everyday those words motivated me to live" I slide down the tree and land in the dirt. "I'm glad that story wasn't altered though, one of my most famous battles that one" "you may not realize it but you have power that any royal would love to have" "oh yea and what kind of power is that?" She crouches down in front of me. "The power of fear and love all at once" I look at her as a disgusted look spreads across my face.

"Love?" I scoff. "You're ridiculous your highness" "I know Bjorn loves and fears you, he plasters anger so he doesn't reveal anything to you but when you're not watching I see his wondering eyes and they always seem drawn to you" "don't worry I don't have time for love or lust, I barely have time for the one person I care for" I get to my feet and start walking back to Kattegat. She stands as well and walks beside me. "Is he your's? Igor" "He wishes but no I'm not he's King Oleg's nephew, his father passed when he was young then I came and King Oleg hired me to protect the kingdom"

"You will find love one day whether or not you want it" I roll my eyes and she stop walking but I continue walking. "You can't hide from yourself" I stop and turn to her. "If you hold onto whatever is making you so cold you will become what you fear most" "I became what I feared most the day I was rescued on that battlefield that Lagertha left me on. There's no going back from what I am, only to embrace what I am" I walk off without another word. Many things run through my head. Love? I've only ever loved Igor like he was my own but any other type of love, I never thought twice about. I did have dreams but that's all they were. Dreams. I never imagined they could be real.

I walk into Bjorn's room to see him still dead asleep. I walk over to my area as quietly as I possibly could. I lay beside Igor's sleeping body and soon drift off to sleep.