Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Rollo

The young blonde stood beside Ivar, she'd been with him as they awaited Rollo's entrance after being warned that he was arriving in Kattegat. She looked at Ivar, her mind fluttering bad to the words Hvitserk had spoken. She didn't care that Rollo was here, she didn't care that they were in Kattegat, if anything she didn't want to be back here. Being in Kattegat, being King of Kattegat made Ivar happy, for now at least, and that was enough to satisfy the young woman. 

Rollo entered the main hall with his own army of men, one who announced his arrival as all the townspeople moved out of the way. Little Bear noticed that Rollo had aged, the years had been kind to him on first look. He had long wavy brown hair with grey strands running through it, touching his shoulders, he had a smile on his lips are he approached his nephews. 

Hvitserk sat in front of Ivar, Ivar sat on his throne. As Little Bear looked at him, she noticed he looked happy to see his uncle. 

The two young men smiled at their uncle, Ivar sat back in his throne, opening his arms as Rollo grin at him. "King Ivar," he looked over to the other King in the room, a smile on his face the whole time. "King Harold." Then he returned his gaze back to the front of the room, "Hvitserk." Then Rollo's gaze landed on the young blonde. He furrowed his brow as he spoke her name, "Iona." She could see the confusion on his face, he wasn't going to ask questions as this now. 

"Your highness. Rollo." Ivar seemed weirdly pleased as he smiled at his uncle. 

The closer he came, the more Iona could see he had aged. His beard was long and graying, his skin was wrinkled and the bags under his eyes were evident. She wondered what his true reasoning for being here was. 

"Welcome back to Kattegat. We would like to thank you for supporting our cause and help us gain a famous victory over our enemies." Ivar seemed very accommodating with his welcome. 

Rollo turned on the spot, looking around at the room that they were in. Little Bear looked around too, her eyes seeing if he was looking at anything in particular but it seemed not. "Kattegat is an important trading station." He looked back at the young King, "I have every reason to desire to make an alliance with it." Iona noticed Harold out of the corner of her eye, he looked displeased with the situation. "And I was persuaded by Hvitserk that you and King Harald together would overcome the forces of Lagertha, Bjorn, and Ubbe."

"But may I ask, why are you here now in person?" Harold asked with a smile on his lips. He tried his best to appear accommodating but Little Bear had been watching, she knew better. 

Rollo answered simply, "Because I miss the old place." 

This earned some laughs from around the room, they were scattered and only a few dared to laugh. Little Bear noticed Ivar and Harold exchange a look as Rollo sat in the chair beside Harold. It was a brief exchange and others might not have noticed but it seemed the young blonde had been good at watching everything. 

"Perhaps you have ambitions to rule the old place?" King Harold turned his attention to Rollo, he seemed calm as he answered. The look on his face was a friendly one, one that said to the world that he was just asking, but Little Bear knew there was more to it than that. 

Rollo kept a straight face, "I rule over enough cities and lands to satisfy the requirements of any man. Why would I want the further burden of garrisoning Kattegat?"

Ivar brought the attention back to him, "We obviously want to reward you for what you have done for us."

"Don't worry, you will." Iona looked at Rollo, she knew this was why he was really here. Hvitserk should have known better, no one does anything for free. "We will strike a trade deal which will be extremely favorable to me." Little Bear noticed the smile drop from Ivar's face as he realised what was happening. 

Looking at Ivar, Iona blocked out the conversation. This was boring her, she wanted to slap Hvitserk for believing that Rollo would help them for no reason. 

The conversation was made more private, Rollo was taken to Ivar's private chambers. There it was Ivar, Harold, Rollo, Hvitserk and Iona. She sat at the back of the room, she knew better than to get involved with their chat. Instead she drank her mead and listened. 

"So, Ubbe lives?" Rollo asked. 

"Yes," Hvitserk was short in his answer. 

"And Bjorn?" He asked, there was a nod and a chuckle from Hvitserk. "Of course Bjorn Ironside lives! I taught him to fight! Who can kill him?" Rollo looked at the blonde, a smirk on his lips. "You must be happy that he is alive?"

She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. There was no way of answering this question without being offensive to someone. She looked away from him, his lips remained tightly shut as she refused to answer. 

"There is someone else who is still alive." Little Bear watched Rollo look down, he listened to Ivar's words as he started into the fire. "The woman that haunts my days and nights. The woman that I have sworn on my sacred ring to kill."

"You mean Lagertha?" Rollo asked. 

The upper lip of Ivar's curled in disgust. Little Bear noticed and it scared her a little. She'd heard him speak of her mother in dreadful ways and she agreed with his words, but she never knew how much he thought about her. Did he keep her around because she looked like her mother so much? Was it easier to have her there, so he could never forget how Lagertha looked?

"Where is she?"

"We don't know," Hvitserk answered. "All we know is that, after the defeat, Lagertha, Ubbe, Bjorn, Torvi, left Kattegat in a hurry. Disappeared."

There was a look in the eye of Rollo. Little Bear held her head high as she tried to read him. 

"We have scouts looking for them," Harold informed Rollo. "We will find them before too long." 

Rollo put his drink to his mouth, taking a mouthful before speaking. "I wish you luck." He didn't look like someone who was on their side. Looking at Iona again, Rollo smiled, "Do you miss your mother? And your brother?"

The blonde pushed her hair back, she looked at Rollo then at Ivar. "Not for the reasons you believe."

"You look like her," Rollo told her as he looked the young woman up and down. "Very beautiful," he informed her. "You look just as I remember her when we were here."

She shuddered at his words, in her hands she toyed with a small knife before speaking, "I am very different to her." Little Bear smirked as she thought about her mother. "You might have had an effect on my mother many years ago, but you hold no power over me, Rollo."