The Cripple and The Shieldmaiden II

// 16 //

'Go,' She encouraged Raynor to go explore the gardens. There were childeren playing on a square piece of grass between the different kind of yards. He wanted to go but hessitated, because he was viking and they were not. His bleu eyes looked up to her, Torhild stroke his dark hair before she slowly pushed him in front of her. Raynor started running and Torhild smiled.
'Princess Torhild.' She turned around to Lord Edward and the young prince Aethelred. 'It's good to see you not surrounded by people.' Edward went further, the both of them walking over to her.
'Prince Aethelred, Lord Edward. I guess you mean Ivar.' She bowed polite for the both of them. She was always early out of bed, mostly because of Raynor who was up early. Edward looked around, spotting Ase who kept an eye on Raynor and the surrounding. In this kind of hostile surrounding Ase was extra sharp for possible attempts on Torhild her life.
'I'm sorry for what Ivar did.' She gestured around.
'It were a couple of rough months in the beginning but we managed to live under his rule. We are glad to see you Torhild, despite all the things you did.' Edward went in on her words. Torhild looked to Aethelred and nodded slowly. She did both their lives harm, the both of them didn't deserved this to begin with.
'I did what I had to do to survive.'
'And over the years we accepted this. But forgive uss that we are claiming our right on the throne as much as you do.' Edward was speaking for Athelred, giving that the boy was just a teenager, he relied on the oppinion from his advisors. Torhild looked over to Raynor who just was watching, not giving the change to play along. She sighned and turned back to the prince and lord.
'May I ask, who is his father?' Aethelred asked carefully. Torhild looked back to Raynor who walked over to Ase.
'It's not that hard to see the ressembling.'
'Ivar?' Edward guessed right away. Torhild nodded, looking to the ground for a moment. Why looked that boy so much like his father.
'Can we talk business?' Edward asked after a short moment of silence.
'Offcourse.' She nodded, following them for a walk in the guardens. 'Like I said yesterday, I'm not here to cause trouble, in fact, I don't want the throne, I'm just a little forced on doing so.'
'Are you a queen at home?' Aethelred asked curious.
'No, I'm the daughter of one. I never knew who my father was, it was never my ambition to be a queen in the first place, but things often don't go as planned.' Torhild explained with a trouble look in her eyes. 'My mother wants to hold what Ragnar had here. As long as we are just a settlement nobody will feel safe, not my people and not yours. Ivar is looking for a way to win this country by force. Me assending to the throne would help him doing that.' She looked aside to the both of them, Athelred just walked while Edward was thinking about her words. Torhild looked to the flowers they crossed on their walk. It had such an innocent beauty, back in Kattegat there were only wild flowers while they here were captured in gardens, coloring the day by with their presence.
'Ivar can't go on like this, he is gathering a bigger army against him with his anger than he might think.'
'He is willing on marrying the sister of Lord Cameron, to get support.'
'The poor girl.' Edward whispered.
'She loves him and he has a strange affection for her to, otherwise he wouldn't do this.'
'He only does it for power.' Aethelred said. Torhild looked at the boy and slowly shook her head.
'I know Ivar since I was eight, even four years ago he wasn't planning of marrying, he loves his free will far to much for that. Doing it now,' She didn't talked further, words lingering in the air without an explanation. Why was Ivar willing on marrying that girl? She wasn't special, in fact ... Torhild wasn't quite fond of her, because of the differences they showed.
'She and her brother are on their way, all the lords are.'
'Are you married?' Aethelred asked short after what Edward said. Torhild smiled, knowing where this was heading.
'The viking part of me is.'
'Ubbe?'
'No, Hvitserk.' Edward looked confused for a moment. Yes, she was planning on marrying Ubbe back then because it was simply a distraction plan, despite that kiss,  clearly he thought it was a real marriage proposal. 'I thought of it, a marriage.' She started that kind of conversation.
'It would settle a lot of uncertainty. You marrying a powerfull Lord would bring peace. The people would see that you are willing on take care of your people while your husband does that for his.'
'And I should produce an heir to stronghold this nation.' She finished the thoughts. Edward stood stil land nodded. Torhild looked around before she forced her gaze back to him. 'I can't take this lightly. When I arrived here I was pregnant, I lost the child during the attack that was set up by Lord Cameron. Me marrying some christian lord of prince would reunite this country, it is the best politic choise I could make.'
'I'm sorry to hear that.' Edward said immidiatly, his hand shortly stroking her elbow. Torhild looked at it before she looked back to him and Athelred.
 'This isn't my favorit country, since I arrived here four years ago, sadness followed me. I went home marrying Hvitserk to stronghold our nations and families. Now I have to do the same here, if it pleases the other lords and the advisors I'm willing to do it, but I won't be happy.'
'I'm not happy either.' Aethelred reacted on her words. She looked to the young prince and forced a weak grinn on her lips. It was a hard burdan, being a son or daughter of a leader. Especially when you were that young. Torhild didn't want to stay here but she had to when she would marry a Lord. Prince Aethelred was far to young to be wed, certainly to Torhild. So it would be a lord. Knowing she and Hvitserk weren't on the same path, he was probarbly considering on going home. So she had to stay here, to avoid him but then she still had Ivar and now she had to make place for someone else, just for peace?
'There are still other options, we can make some kind of deal or there is always the possibility of war.'
'I'm not going to spill innocent blood.' Torhild reacted on Edward his words.
'Ivar did already, the Lords are tensed with him around. What will happen with Ivar, if you get that crown?' He asked curious.
'If he married Elisabeth he would rule his own kingdom, if Lord Gregor would come to die. If he doesn't marry he will challenge me, to get a hold over the power that I have.'
'And can you resist him? Can you control him?' Edward asked intensly, almost hoping that her answer would be yes.
'Nobody can control Ivar The Boneless.' She whispered, looking in front of her. The kingdoms were a threat, but the biggest one would always be Ivar. Some messager walked over to Aethelred, asking for his presents in the hall. 
'I'm sorry, my attention is needed elsewhere. Please accompany princess Torhild further.' He said to Edward. The young man only nodded and Torhild looked how he walked away after his messanger, soldiers following his every move.
'It must be hard for him.' She guessed.
'I'm helping him where I can.'
'You are nothing like your father.' She said. Lord Edward started laughing, looking down for a minute while they walked out of the gardens to a little village. Torhild enjoyed the walk,  getting to know this kingdom a little better.
'I never really apreciated his rule. I never blamed you for killing him, we weren't always on the same path.' He explained her. Torhild studied him while nodding. Four years ago Edward only was a boy, now he grew far more man. He didn't dress like a lord, he didn't really act like one. He only supported Aethelred for as far she could see.
'He never told me something about you.'
'That was lord Edgar, never telling about his failures.' He whispered, picking a little white flower on his way and looking down to it.
'You are honest, loyal, I trust you and I don't know why.' She reacted. He looked up to her and smiled, an open innocent smile.
'Never trust the enemy princess. Like I said, they all want to kiss you, kill you or be with you.' It was supposed as a little joke but she knew what he was saying. She wasn't safe here and she needed to pick her friends wisely.
'And what do you want?' She asked him, curious and with a small relaxed grinn.
'You really want to know?' He asked her, softly laughing. 
'I just want to know if you are a powerfull Lord.'
'I'm nothing really, just a loyal servant to the crown.' He bowed before her, putted the flower in his mouth, walking further while she stood still watching him. He turned around, waiting. 'Comming?' He asked, still with that flower in his mouth. Torhild frowed her eyesbrows, following him with a smile. She couldn't really take him serious right now, but he dropped his guard, what showed her he wasn't a real threat. He was just like he said ... loyal to the crown, and currently that was she and Aethelred.

Days past, Lords came from all over the country and she felt the air darken around her. Some of them looked at her with admiring, while others were willing to slit open her throat. Torhild stood on the yard when she recognized his face. 'Torhild.' Hvitserk greeted her.
'What are you doing here?' Her voice wasn't hard, or distant, it was calm and in control.
'Escorting lady Elisabeth and her brother.'
'Father!' Raynor ran over the yard and Hvitserk smiled, picking him up and hugging him tight. Torhild didn't look to it, she turned away, walking over to Lord Gregor and Elisabeth.
'Princess Torhild.'
'Glad you could make it.' She forced a smile on her lips. Elisabeth went straight for Ivar, she followed the girl to him, ingored the empathy she saw strucking down in Ivar his eyes before they started kissing. She asked herself if it was one of his good acts or if he really meant this.
'I'm sorry that it has to go like this.' Gregor excuces his early act of retreating his support.
'Ruling never goes easy Lord Gregor.' She only said. He nodded, a little uncertain by the practical state of her mind. Torhild maked herself ready to represent the vikings here in front of a lot of Lords and advisors. Hvitserk showing up didn't really helped, her mind wondered back to the naked girl in the doorway. She walked back to Ase, Hvitserk stopped her with her elbow and she fired him a warning look.
'Can we talk?' he asked, generally gentle.
'Not now.' She reacted, looking down to Raynor who emptied the saddlebages.
'Torhild please,' he begged when she walked away a little  furhter. 'It was only once.' He followed.
 'Why are you saying this like it makes it any better.' She reacted angry. The silence dropped down over the yard, Raynor looked up between his parents and she felt more than one set of eyes piercing in her back. Hvitserk looked at her, not being able to say a thing before she turned around and walked away. 'Keep an eye on Raynor.' She said to both Ivar and Ubbe, keeping her control until she was out of sight.
'Torhild.'
'I trutsted you Hvitserk,' she turned around to him, eyes blurry for the tears that where coming. 'I loved you.' She shouted. 'And you cruched that right underneath your feet by taking some girl in to your bed, for blaming me that I lost our baby.' Torhild shook her head and when he walked closer she stopped him with her hand.
'I was drunk, I didn't do it to hurt you.'
'Why did you do it then, to show me you could produce a child with another. Don't you think I'm devistated enough, not been able to give you that. Hvitserk, you were the only thing that mattered over the years, and I was a fool to believe you ever would stay loyal. That you wouldn't grew bored of me, looking for you love somewhere else.' In the end her voice was nothing more than that soft whispering while the first tear rolled down her cheek.
'Please don't say that, give me a change,'
'The only change you get is staying in Raynor his life. He needs his father, he missed you, he doesn't want uss to fight. So the only thing this marriage presents is for Raynor. I will tollerate you but I'm not forgiving you for breaking my heart. You Ragnarssons just know pretty good how to do that.' She turned around and walked away. He didn't got after her, nobody did. She was alone in those big empty hallways, surrounded by heartbreak, by enemies. How did she had to do this? Why did she ever come back here. The tears runned silent over her face while she kept her body moving to get as far away from everything that laid after her. A sudden movement caught her attention, she stroke the tears from her eyes, her hand already around the handle of the knife she carried with her. But the person caught her in suprice, covering her mouth and pulling her into a room. A group of soldiers surrounded her, pointing swords right at her throat so she didn't had a change to do anything.
'Princess Torhild, we need to speak.' A man came in sight, blond hair, muscular build, fancy clothes, he had to be a Lord.
'Let me guess, Lord Cameron.' She hissed.
'You guessed well. My first attempt on your life didn't succeed so let's do that over.' He smiled joyfull.
'Get it over with.'
'Not that soon. Get her away, lock her up in my castle, I trust you keep her well fed until I come back.' He said to one of his man.
'He will kill you.' She hissed before they putted some fabric in her mouth, getting her arms on her back and tying her up harshly. Cameron walked over to her, he stroked his fingers over her cheek.
'I'm counting on it that he will come for you. Love never dies, right.' He smiled falsely before his men brought her away.