The Cripple and The Shieldmaiden II

// 22 //

She dreamt about Raynor that night, but he was older, stronger, just like his father. She saw him sitting on a black horse, waiting aside the chariot from his father. They both looked over a battlefield. Ivar the axe, Raynor the sword, Ivar the white horse, Raynor the black. Two sets of cold bleu eyes, those from Raynor just a little intenser than his father. They looked at each other, Raynor with that confident grinn on his lips while Ivar only looked back with so much proud. So this was the future? This was how Raynor would grew up, in the image of his father, maybe even better. Ivar maked a gesture to his army before they took af to the enemy, a viking army running in on a soldier army. 'Torhild.' Somebody said. But she couldn't shift her attention from the approacing battle she was looking at. Ivar and Raynor smached in on the army and Torhild startled up out her dream, or rather daydreaming about the dream.
'We make camp here.' Ubbe pointed out. Torhild looked around before she breathed out.
'Torhild.' She startled and looked over her shoulder to Ivar in his chariot. 'Are you alright, you look ... pale?' He asked. Ase turned around and looked up to Torhild, frowning.
'You should look more often to her Ivar, she looks pale from the moment she saw you again.' She replied with a fake smile to him. Ivar rolled his eyes and Torhild gazed a little confused in front of her, looking for Raynor. But he ran after Ubbe, helping to make the camp up for tonight. It was days now since she left that forest almost ready to die. With great protest from Ivar they all agreed on turning back to the settlement knowing Björn could arrive any moment now.
'What is it?' He insisted, leading his chariot to right aside her horse.
'Nothing, I was just reminding a dream I had.'
'About?' He asked almost unintrested. Torhild looked to Raynor, still thinking about whether or not she should become a queen here. 'Torhild, you are working on my nerves.' Ivar reacted impatient.
'And you on mine.' Ase reacted.
'Don't you have to make some camp somewhere.' He gestured her away with his hand. Ase looked up to Torhild and she nodded softly. Ase changed a angry look with Ivar, he just smiled arrogant back. Torhild slided from her horse and gave it to Marion who leaded it away. Ivar leaned over his chariot towards her, she forces a smile on her lips. 'You grow more distant with every day you brother sails closer.' He noticed, a little hint of concern in the back of his voice. Torhild looked up in his bleu eyes, thinking back of that dream.
'I had a dream about Raynor, when he is older. Going all hot headed into battle with his father.' She explained him.
'Me?' Ivar asked surpriced. Torhild turned around and rested her back against his chariot looking over to Raynor.
'You with your chariot, your white horse, your axe, he with a black horse, a sword, the same bleu eyes, the same purpose.' When she looked aside to him again he was smiling, looking over to Raynor with the most of sencere love in his blue sparkling eyes. 'It looked like an epic battle.' Torhild followed, gazing back.
'Why are you so distracted by it then?' He asked. Torhild looked aside to him, his head hardly a few inches removed from hers. She studied his bleu eyes before she looked down to the ground.
'Can we go somewhere? I need to clear my head, we need to talk.' She whispered. Ivar studied her face before he nodded, getting up. She jumped on his chariot and pointed to Raynor, Ubbe nodded before Ivar commanded his horse to move forward.

He brought her uphill, aside a river, with a vieuw over a lot of landscape. The looks of it relaxed her already while she walked to the best point, gazing to the little dot on the horizon that presented Lord Edward his kingdom. 'We used to do it every time before something big.' She reacted on the vieuw, the place they were landed.
'You are not yourself since you were taken by Lord Cameron.' He ingnored her previous words. Torhild turned around, looking how he pulled his body further towards her. She sat down in the grass, still gazing to the little dot on the horizon. 'Speak please, it's frustrating when you don't say whats on your mind.'
'Now you know how I feel most of the time.'
'Torhild.' He sighned and she smiled only softly.
'I don't know Ivar.' She sighned in despair.
'Let me guess, you don't want to become a queen? I wouldn't blame you exacly.' He said. Torhild looked aside to him, stunned by his words.
'You wouldn't?' She asked in disbelief. He chuckled before he shook his head and looked back at her.
'You are cursed by this place Torhild, nothing more than heartbreak and sadness here for you.' He understand it and it was the biggest relief that left her body in the past coulpe of days. His eyes softened when he saw her relieved reaction. 'You thought I wouldn't understand?'
'I would do it for you Ivar, if you want me to. I'm not leaving you, ever. Not again.'
'I know.' He carresed her face and she closed her eyes under his toutch, leaning in on his hand. 'I missed you, I missed every bit of your support, your counsol, your beauty and grace, your smile and tenderness.' He held his fingers under her chin and Torhild opened her eyes. 'But I lost that and since you are back it seems that the table has turned. It wasn't me needing you, it was,'
'I who needed you.' She finished his sentence. With his eyes so open en venerable it was like she got lost in everything she saw there. 'Are you staying here? Let's say somebody takes the throne, everything is peacefull again, would you stay?' She asked him carefully. His finger crossed her lip, lingering before he shifted his look from there to back at her.
'Maybe, If you would stay probarbly, if not I would follow you.' He reacted. She partened her lips, his finger slipt away to her neck. 'I still miss you, I miss the tempered version of you, the one who wasn't scare to fight. My Torhild from four years ago.'
'I was never yours.'
'Yes you were.' He corrected her. Torhild laided her hand against his cheek and nodded slowly.
'I don't know what to do. I lost myself in coming back here and I'm afraid of loosing everything staying here.'
'Don't let your fear overpower you.'
'It overpowered you to.' She whispered. He looked at her in a second before he brought his face closer. She couldn't stop him, and even if she could she wouldn't. His lips felt so strong against hers that she totally broke under it. Torhild wrappen an arm around his neck while her fingers stroke his face, willingly giving him everything she got. It wasn't like that moment when he found her, it felt like exact that moment four years ago in that boat. He laid her with her back in the grass and she let him, not thinking about Raynor, or Hvitserk or the fact she needed to be a queen. It was him, it would be always him. When he pulled back his eyes had something with strong desire.
'I didn't ask you here for that throne, I asked you here to see you again.' His eyes met hers again. He was so honest in that moment that she hardly knew why she still pushed him away. She shifted her weight, snuggling her nose in his neck while wrapping her arms around him.
'Why did it took you long to begin with.' She lashed out tenderly, in the middle of her tears again. Ivar just holded her, her best friend since she was eight, the man she loved since she came for the first time to England, the man she never forgot since he left her four years ago. And it was like it came all together again.