The Cripple and The Shieldmaiden II

// 17 //

IVAR P.O.V.

His eyes followed Raynor over the yard. That boy had no idea of how cruel this world was, what was going to be on his path in the future. The pure innocents in with he ran around was something that brought a little peace in his body. Just following the boy with his gaze maked him shut off all the others things around him. He hadn't really an interest in meeting those Lords and advisors and they handn't really an interest in them, so he just looked to the boy, to his son. He would never let her sail back to Kattegat if he had knew that she was pregnant from his child, but now ... Ivar followed Raynor back to Hvitserk who held his arms spread to catch him. He felt the heat boiling up in his body while he looked how his son embraced his brother tightly. And when he looked further there wasn't any sigh of Torhild. 'Not now.' Ubbe warned him when he noticed that Ivar was planning on picking a fight again with Hvtiserk. He looked to the boy and than aside to his eldest brother. But he didn't say a thing, he just tried to overhear the conversation Raynor and Hvitserk had.
'You look worried my love.' Elisabeth noticed, folding her hand around his elbow, generally concerned. He looked worried, she noticed that?
'I'm marrying you.' She took it as a joke, started laughing while he just rolled his eyes and gazed to Lord Edward and Gregor.
'I heared some new about the two of you.' Edward smiled. When did he heared this? Even Lord Gregor looked a little confused for a moment. 'Torhild told me this morning.'
'You talked without me presents?' Ivar reacted immidiatly. He hated it when Torhild talk behind his back, she always worked herself in problems if she did so.
'She has a hard time opening up when you are around. No offense, I understand her situation.' Edward explained, shortly looking over to Raynor who was crying before Hvitserk. Ubbe pushed his body away from the wall and walked over.
'What else did you talked about? Other than my support in reuniting this land?' That last with more sarcasme than needed. Elisabeth gave him a concerned looked but he ignored her.
'Torhild is willing to marry her christian half to a lord. She sees it a the solution to everything.' Edward announched. Ivar let his head hang and rubbed his forhead for a minute.
'First of all, she don't has a christian half, second, she is not gonna marry one of you filty selfconsumed lords.' He generally warned the lord in front of him.
'Who is selfconsumed now?' Edward reacted with a slight hint of humor in his voice. Ivar looked up and the lord putted his hand up to defens the look Ivar trew him. 'I'm just saying. She is right, it would solve our problems. She could hold her claim over the vikings here, taking care and supporting them while her husband does that for his people.' Elisabeth and Lord Gregor agreed with a nod.
'She won't be happy.' Ivar protested.
'Why are you concerned about her happiness.' Elisabeth reacted in envy. That was the first he saw it, the glared of jealousy in her eyes.
'Say that again?' His eyes cold, his words flat. Elisabeth looked down and Ivar looked back up to lord Edward. 'I'm not letting her marry some lord.'
'She has already a husband.' Hvitserk reacted, leaving Raynor with Ubbe.
'And you do sush a great job with it.' Ivar hissed. Hvitserk opened his mouth to fire back but Ase interrupted him.
'We have bigger problems than you to fighting over a girl.'
'I'm not fighting, yet.' Ivar gave his brother a challeging look.
'What is it?' Lord Edward asked her friendly. Ubbe walked closer, Raynor in his neck, the boy laughed loudly but Ivar could see he had cried.
'Torhild is gone.' Ase announched. The blood that rushed through his veins frozed with those words. 'And if one of you to is quilty, I kill you for it.' Ase warned him and Hvitserk. Hvitserk had ran after her, he was the last one who probarbly saw her. His eyes traveled up to Raynor while he putted all the pieces together. She wouldn't run off, not without her son, what meant that somebody took her with force.
'She wouldn't leave Raynor.' Ubbe spoke his thoughts out loud.
 'What are you saying, somebody took her?' Lord Edward asked shocked. Ivar looked up, feeling that frozen blood turning in flames again.
'Brothers, go back to the settlement, get me my heathen army.' He commanded calmy.
'You want me to get Björn?'
'Yes, I want you to get Björn, for all the gods, bring Lagertha with you if she wants it so badly, get me my army.' He reacted less calm than before.
'You want war?' Lord Edward asked hessitating. Ivar looked to him, his eyes consumed with the feeling that took his body over.
'If she is dead, if she is in any way harmed, god, even when she cried you will wish you never was born in the first place. Find me Torhild, if you don't my army will and you won't be around to see the happy ending of this all.' Ivar said with a low voice. Elisabeth who sat aside him the whole time stood up and went to stand with her brother, scared of the look he currently had. Hvitserk and Ubbe walked away without saying a thing and Lord Edward only nodded.
'I will listen around in the castle, she can't be that far.' Ase noticed. But Ivar didn't listen, he looked in front of him, thinking about Torhild and how scared she maybe would be. 'Ivar,' Ase smacked him against the head. He jerked his head around and looked at her angry, until he saw little Raynor, wrapped with his arms around her leg. Ase crouched down and cupped Raynor his face. 'You need to stay with Ivar, can you do that for me?' She asked him gentle. The boy nodded, tears softly running of his cheecks, not asking any questions. Ase turned to him again and he looked up. 'Protect him Ivar, he is the only thing she lives for and the only one he truly safe is with you. Don't loose him out of your sight, kill everybody who looked to him the wrong way, just keep him alive, he needs to be here when she returns.'
'If she returns.' He whispered.
'It's Torhild, she always returns. Keep him safe.' She said while pushing Raynor to Ivar. The boy looked up to him, the fear, the uncertainty, it just laid there in plane sight in those innocent blue eyes. It was the reflexion of what Ivar felt on the inside.
'Where is my mother?' He asked with a trembling voice.
'She is fighting her way back to you.' He lied. This was England, she could be anywhere by now. How could they find her in time, what if she died? He all hold in it because his duty wasn't to Torhild now, it was to Raynor and the boy didn't need to knew how serious this was.