Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Gone And Returned

When the morning came, Little Bear was awoken when Hvitserk came into the room. She laid on the bed beside Ivar who sat up, the sheet falling down to his waist. Little Bear glanced over, she knew Hvitserk waking them meant something important had happened but her mind and eyes were on Ivar's upper body. Seeing his toned, tattooed body made her just want to pull him down, to send Hvitserk away and to be alone with him. 

"Rollo has gone," Hvitserk said in a hurried voice. "Him and one other. He has left the rest of his army behind. He must plan to return." 

Ivar frowned as he heard these words. "Where have they gone brother?"

"No one knows," Hvitserk answered as he stood at the end of the bed. "He would not leave his army if he was not coming back though." 

Closing his eyes, Ivar took in a deep breath. Little Bear rolled her eyes, she knew better than to trust Rollo. "He know where they are," she said as she looked up at Ivar. "He has gone to them."

Ivar looked down at her, "You know this how?"

"He is easy to read. I do not know where he has gone but I am sure he knows where my mother is." She looked at Hvitserk, "You should have never lead him here."

Hvitserk narrowed his eyes at his friend, "You know nothing. We needed his help, his army was a great help to us." He liked Iona very much but sometimes he wished she was not around, she knew too much for his liking. 

"This is not the time," Ivar announced as he looked between the two of them. "In a way, Iona is right. Rollo now has something hanging over us and he has gone." Ivar glanced down at Little Bear, "Hvitserk did what he thought was best. Without Rollo's assistance we would not be here in Kattegat."

She wished they were not in Kattegat. This place had only brought her trouble. 

-

Little Bear sat in the room on the same long seat as Hvitserk as Rollo began to lay out his terms for the information on where Lagertha was. Ivar looked very annoyed at the price that Rollo asked. 

It was ridiculous, yet Ivar agreed with him. 

Little Bear knew he was doing it to get to her mother. His judgement was clouded. He would pay whatever high price he could to see her, to kill her. She did not disagree with him, although she knew the terms from Rollo were crazy, even for him.

As soon as the information was exchanged, Ivar left with some of his army. He left, leaving Iona, Harold and Hvitserk behind in Kattegat. She stood on the docks with Hvitserk as Rollo watched his ships being loaded. 

"You should reunite with your mother," he told Iona as he stood before her. "You only get one mother." He cared deeply for Lagertha, he knew how much she was hurting from not being with her daughter, from having her on the opposite side to her. 

Little Bear looked up at the man, the uncle of the Ragnarsson's. "She was a poor excuse for a mother," her voice was clear as she spoke. "Aslaug brought me up too, she was like a mother to me and my own mother, who put me in her care, killed her. I will not return to her. She is not someone I want in my life." The words flowed from the blonde's mouth easily, she believed everything she was saying. 

Rollo reached forward, his hand going towards the young blonde's face, but she stepped back. "Do not think that you can touch me," she warned him. "I am not my mother. I do not belong to you, you do not own me."

He did not like being snubbed. He was swift as he reached forward, gripping her hair in his right fist and pulling it tight. "You and everyone here are owned by me," Rollo whispered as he pulled her closer to him.