The cripple and the shieldmaiden

// 6 //

Torhild waked up by the long lingering from fingertops over her skin. She smiled a little, eyes still shut before she responded by shivering. Hvitserk snuggled his noise behind her ear and pressed his lips against her neck. 'My sleeping beauty.' He greeted her goodmorning. Torhild opened her eyes and turned on her back so she could look at him.
'You're cheerful.' She responded with a little raw morningvoice.
'I spend the night with you, there is lot to be cheerful about.' He answered with a meaningful look. She chuckled by the memory of last night and pulled him in for a kiss. His lips wandered, giving a teasing bite in her neck. She started to laugh and beated him on his shoulder.
'Hviserk.' She still laughed.
'I can't get enough from you.' He confessed. Torhild felt loved for the first time in the two year she was away. She stroke her fingers over his jawline while she looked in his eyes. 'Can't we marry?'
'Are you that in love?' She teased him.
'You're not?' He asked back.
'I barly know you Hvitserk.' She began. He started to laugh, shook his head, resting his head on her chest while laughing further.
'We know each other since we were kids, there is no one who knows you better than I do. Exept for you mother and brother.' He immidiatly went in defens. He wanted this, he was in love, dreamy even. And it was kind of addorable in fact.
'That's not true.' You protested quietly. He didn't know her that well, in fact, if she had some dark secret she wouldn't tell it to Hvitserk.
'My brother knows you better.' He said, obvious he didn't liked that idea.
'Yes, Ivar knows me better.' She pushed Hvitserk with his back in the bed and hung over him.
'He can't do what I do Torhild.' Hvitserk said. Torhild shook her head and pressed her lips against his.
'But you can't do what he can.' She wispered back, teasing. Hvitserk gave her a confused look for a moment.
'He can't please a woman.' He protested. Torhild sat up and took her dress from the ground.
'I wasn't talking about that.'
'What are you talking about than?' He asked. It was funny how upset he became about the subject. Torhild putted her dress on before she turned to Hvitserk again.
'You have a lot to learn.' She winked. She wanted to walk away but Hvitserk jumped out of bed, all naked and stopped her from walking out.
'He is younger than me.' Yes, Ivar was. Ivar was the youngest of them all.
'He fought more battles,' she pauzed and pointed her finger against his head. 'in his head.' She ended before opening the door. She turned to Hvitserk and looked over his naked body. 'You look good by the way.' And she walked out, leaving him with a puzzling look.

After she went home for some more practical clothing it cost her hardly the time to find Ivar. She would stalk him, whole day if nessicary ... only to get him talking. There was a thick layer of fog between the trees when she entered the forest. His cursing she could here from a mile away so it wasn't that hard to find him. He sat besides a chariot ... Torhild looked at it, confused and impressed on the same time. A chariot? Why the hell did he need a chariot? When she walked further she saw a white horse behind a tree, the animal snorted scared and Ivar looked over his shoulder to Torhild. 'Ivar.' She greeted him careful. He didn't say anything, like she was used from him by now, and just get further with was he was doing. 'Floki made it?' She asked while walking around the thing, slightly smiling when she saw the use of it. 'To give you the legs you don't have.' She wispered. She looked at Ivar, who was still to stubborn to give in. 'Can you say something?' She asked almost desperate.
'Good night with my brother?' That were his words. She felt the anger rising up in her chest when she turned her body to him.
'He is glad to have me back. It's not my fault Ivar that your mother died, that your father died, that you killed your brother. You did that all by yourself.' She felt silent while she walked towards him. 'I thought we were friend. Yes, I ran of for two years and it served me good. Maybe you should do that to.' She almost yelled, pointing the little dagger she had drawn to his chest. 'What do you want me to say?'
'That you missed me!' He yelled back. His face was red from anger while her face flattened from all emotions. She was speechless for a moment. Torhild pulled her dagger away without losing eye contact with him.
'I missed you. I missed you more than I missed Hvitserk of my brother. I came to the beach that night to say you that, to give you the comfort I couldn't give you than. But you didn't let me in, just as you don't let me in now. I'm angry with myself for not being her when you needed me,'
'You have a funny way of showing it.' He interrupted her. She backed away one step and shook her head.
'It was hard to step away from you two years ago, but it won't be so hard now if you keep acting like this.' She wispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Where was that warrior spirit from the past two years now? She walked away, she wanted to get away from him but he grasped her wrist. Torhild turned her head and looked at him, angry, ready to win this fight for once.
'Don't.' He begged. She looked at him, trying to convise herself to give him another change. 'Don't go.' He repeated. She looked at his fingers around her wrist, he moved his fingers a littled so her hand felt in his.
'Why are you doing this to yourself? Keeping everyone away?' She asked him. He didn't looked at her but even than she could see his emotions change.
'I don't wanna hurt anybody else.'
'You're not gonna hurt me Ivar.' She wispered.
'I killed my brother.' He said torn up in his anger again. Torhild walked back at him, laid her hand against his cheek, forcing him to look up.
'And he deserved it, he had that one coming, everybody knew that.'
'He was my brother Torhild.' Be wispered in despair. 'I lost my mother, I lost my father, I lost all the thing I loved, who loved me.'
'I love you, Ivar, you are my best friend. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you then but please let me be here now. I missed you more than anything in the world.' She smiled a little, to give him comfort with her words. It wasn't the kind of love she had with him like she had with Hvitserk. She loved Hviserk in another way. With Ivar ... she didn't really understand it but she felt the connection, it was already there for a long time. He was her best friend, maybe it could be more one day but for now she needed him back. The boy who was worth all her secrets, for who she would die if needed. He was her partner in crime, the boy she needed to be with if she doesn't wanted to talk, her childhood playbuddy. When nobody really understood Ivar, then there was Torhild and she understood him to much and that was that connection they both so hard needed with eachother.
'I missed you to.' He nodded slowly and with that was all his anger and hate towards her away, enough so she could move further to the next problem ... the fact he wanted to kill her mother.