The Cripple and The Shieldmaiden III

// 2 //

Torhild gazed into the fire, to the flames dancing their own stories while her fingers softly stroke over her swollen belly. She squeezed her eyes together when she felt the pain slither his way through her body again. She grunted, position herself a little different to find more comfort. Her dark hair laid loose over her shoulder, slightly warm she tried to suppress the urge of needing sleep, not when she felt like that. The pain started two hours ago and Torhild was restless, not wanting to concern Raynor with it and surly not wanting to get Ivar involved. She had to go for another month, whatever pain she had it was just her son or daughter making a little feast in there. When she heard the door crack she turned around in her seat, looking over to that slim skinny body of Floki, followed by Ivar walking on his crutches.
'What are you still doing up?' Ivar asked right away, dominant as he always tend to be around her health. Torhild pulled a soft smile on her lips, looking back to the fire. 'Torhild?' His voice softened as he gave up the crutches Floki once made him and crawled over the last part, pulling himself on to the arm rest to face her. Torhild turned her head, her forehead automatically contacting with his. 'Is she being dramatic again?' He nodded to her belly.
'As dramatic as her father.' She whispered tired. Ivar gave her a stern look, focusing his attention onto her belly, stroking his fingers over the soft fabrics of her nightgown. Torhild looked away from him to Floki who was watching them both. 'Go check on Raynor.' She whispered, looking back to Ivar.
'You need the rest.'
'I rest when you will rest.'
'Fine, let's go to bed.' He muttered angry. Torhild couldn't hold back on smiling while he crawled away from her towards the room Raynor had. Her eyes went back to Floki.
'How was he today?' She asked concerned.
'Divided. Tensed.' Floki answered, walking over to crouch aside her. He laid both his hands on her belly and Torhild studied his face. 'Your father needs you to come to this earth little one.' He whispered to her belly.
'He needs to get away from this place for a bit.'
'He won't leave you my sweet child.' Floki chuckled, on his usual airy manor. Torhild looked back into the fire, urging the pains to keep still while he was so close. Floki grew old, lonely and it was another part of Ivar not wanting to sail away. He raised both Ivar and Torhild for a big part, foresaw them on being together in the end.
'Go hunting with him, just for a few days. We need the food and it would be good for him.'
'You need to rest more often Torhild. Whatever warrior you are preparing, he or she is exhausting you. And you need the strength.' He insisted. She smiled weak towards him and nodded. He stood up, pressing a kiss against her forehead before going his own way again in the little castle. Torhild looked back into the flames, suppressing her pain, this didn't felt good and she was to scared to tell it to Ivar.

Her dreams were restless in the beginning before they caught more form on the end. Torhild stood on a field, between Kattegat and a forest. Her eyes went from the Vikings storming out of the woods to the villages she supposed to be a queen off. For a split second she saw a young woman with long black braided hair on a white horse, she held a long spear into her hands, lifting it up and pointing it to the enemy. Her horses reared, the smile of her lips so familiar before she took off, a whole group of riders behind her, horses even beyond what Torhild ever saw. Her green brown eyes didn't show mercy and in that second Torhild realized who she was, her daughter. But the image faded just before the clash between two groups of Vikings. She stood between the bodies of Vikings, looking to Kattegat who burned down in flames. When she looked down between the bodies she noticed a face, a woman holding a child, long light brown hair, more Christian then Viking, they were shielded by another body.
'Torhild.' A voice rose up from behind her. She jerked her head around and looked to the one eyed man in black. Ravens flew over the place, noised descending down over the bodies. 'Kattegat needs his queen.' He spoke. Torhild looked back to the man shielding his woman and child, Freya, Ase her daughter. His fingers moved before his eyes fluttered up and she just drown in those familiar eyes, Hvitserk.
'Save us.' He muttered. Torhild startled up, her eyes flew open and she whimpered in pain of the sudden action her body take by sitting up.
'Torhild.' She felt a hand on her shoulder and startled. 'What is it?' Ivar asked. Torhild squeezed her eyes together, suppressing the feeling causing her to almost cry before she turned her head and looked over to Ivar in the dark.
'Kattegat is in danger.' She whispered.
'What? How do you know?' He asked confused. Torhild lifted her shaking head and rubbed her forehead. 'Torhild, breath, lay down.' He pulled her back and she let him. She laid back down, her head stronghold by his arm as he stroke the strands of hair out of her face. She took a deep breath, stroking her belly while she found the comfort in his eyes. He was hard to see in the dark but just the faded blue gloom of his eyes was enough for her.
'Odin came to me in a dream.' Torhild started. Ivar who was caressing her collarbone slightly stopped, resting his fingertips on it.
'Why you?'
'Because Kattegat needs her queen back.' Torhild answered. Ivar diverted his eyes for a short moment to her belly before looking back.
'What did you see?' He asked careful. Odin had messaged Ivar personally over the death of Ragnar, so he wasn't doubting her sanity on this moment.
'I saw our daughter first, leading more horses and woman then I ever encountered into battle. She was fierce, smiling like you always do when you prep for battle.' She explained, looking to the slight tug of the corner of his mouth. 'But as she was planning on attacking everything changed. I stood between bodies, Kattegat was burning down, I saw your brother, Hvitserk, shielding of Elisabeth and Freya. He asked for help just after Odin told me that Kattegat needed his queen.' She felt silent. Her finger touched his face softly and he pushed his head a little in her hand. 'Do you believe it?' Torhild asked.
'I think the gods won't send unworthy messages.' He nodded in thought.
'We need to go back?'
'You are not going anywhere Torhild, you are in no condition to travel.' He protested softly. He was right, she couldn't travel, not with the pains she had, and she surly couldn't fight either.
'Then you need to go.' She suggested. He clenched his teeth and her finger dropped down from his face.
'I won't leave you.'
'Ivar, on a point you have to. If you want to go back to England you will have to leave me. I can't join you with a newborn baby. And I won't hold you back either.' She urged. His head sunk down on her shoulder and she closed her eyes, resting her head against his.
'I will talk to Floki.' He muttered. He didn't want it but he knew he had to. Kattegat was her birthright as much as England was. She was queen over it and if she couldn't go she needed Ivar to do it. She felt his hand heavy on her belly and she turned her head feeling how his nose trailed up to aside hers before he pushed his lips against hers. She stroke her fingers through his braid before pausing the kiss. 'I can't believe I will miss the birth of my second child, the gods aren't really favoring me.' She felt his warm breath against her body and closed her eyes.
'It's time for you to be a leader again.'
'When it is my time to be a father?' He asked. Torhild softly breathed out, stroking her fingers over the shaved part of his head. She enjoyed it, her unborn child was silence and there was only her and him in the darkness.
'You already do, every day.'
'You are making me feel better, don't.'
'Why not?' She smiled. He pulled back and looked at her in the dark. It was hard to really look at him but she could see a small shimmering of his dark eyes in the far of candlelight. 'I need to prepare my warrior for battle again.'
'One day at the time. Sleep, now you can.' He whispered against her skin. His soft side, even after all this time she didn't saw it that often. She closed her eyes, enjoying his warmth before her body sunk her down in a sleep again.

'Left foot, right arm.' She heard him command. Torhild got out of the bed and walked to the centering room. Raynor got another lesson from his father, in fighting swords. As soon as she came in sight Floki ran over to her.
'Odin came to you in a dream?' He asked, making a gesture with his hand above his head. Torhild nodded and looked over to Ivar wo sat on the ground, clicking his tongue in disapproval towards his son. Raynor looked over to Torhild before begging his father with those blue adorable eyes of his.
'Go.' Ivar waved his hand and the boy ran over to Torhild who sat down on a chair. She laid her hands against his cheek and smoothened her thumb over his nose with that smile on her lips.
'How did you sleep?'
'I heard father talk about going back home.' He started excited. Torhild slowly looked away from Raynor to Ivar.
'He was eavesdropping.' Ivar shrugged. Torhild signed and looked back to Raynor.
'Maybe.' She just smiled softy, ragging her fingers through his hair before looking over to Floki.
'How accurate was that dream Torhild.' Floki asked.
'Hvitserk was there, with Freya and Elisabeth, Kattegat still looked the same as when we left.' She explained. Raynor crawled onto her lap and shifted himself so he wouldn't harm her belly, instead he laid his ear against it, listening. Torhild smiled and even Ivar couldn't resist a tender smile.
'You can send Ivar back but what if Kattegat is already taken? Because that is what you saw, the village burning down.'
'We take it back.' Ivar shrugged, pulling himself up on a seat beside Torhild, fingers softly greeting her belly.
'With what Ivar?' Floki pointed around. 'We don't have the men, we don't have the supplies. Your army is inside those walls of Kattegat.' He followed. Torhild looked aside to Ivar who had his fingers rested under his chin, fingers scouring his lips while he thought.
'Send me in?' Raynor suggested. Torhild closed her eyes and Floki started to chuckled. Ever since he threw a torch onto the ground in England he thought he was the solution to all the problems. 'The enemy doesn't know me, send me in with a slave.' He followed. Torhild opened her eyes again, only to see Raynor looking towards his father. Ivar looked aside to her and she just tilted her head a little, begging him not to encourage that behavior.
'Who is going to take care of your mother then?' He asked practical. Torhild took a careful breath when the pain urge over her belly again.
'You alright mother?' Raynor asked. She only nodded, pushing him away from her lap while standing up, breathing strongly.
'Are you having contractions?' Floki asked.
'It's a month to early. Torhild, speak.' She heard the slight panic in his voice and she forced herself to look up.
'I'm fine. You need to go back to Kattegat.'
'I'm not leaving you like this.'
'Ivar,' she warned him. 'as your queen, I command you. Go back, be Ivar The Boneless, safe our people, your brothers, my mother.' She commanded him. Everything turned ice-cold on his face within seconds. He lowered his eyes to Raynor before he clenched his teeth, holding whatever back that he wanted to say.
'Prepare that boat.' He said with a low voice. Torhild bite the inside of her cheek, suppressing the pain while he started to crawl out of that room.
'Ivar.' He froze and turned back around to her. 'You understand right?' She asked him. He just nodded, not even glaring back to her belly or Raynor. He just crawled out and Torhild smacked her hand on the table, letting her tears go free.
'Mother, please,' Raynor begged. A new pain shot into her belly and breathed through it.
'Get the help.' She pushed Raynor to the exit. He looked up, blue bright eyes panicking before running off, asking for help.

Hours passed and the pain hardly slowed down. Raynor never left her side, always watching her, giving her anything she needed but Torhild her mind was with Ivar. She couldn't do this again, separating form each other in a fight. The slave helped her up for a little walk, everything hurt, her heart, her mind, her body. 'He will come back right? To say goodbye?' Raynor asked, walking aside her, holding her hand. Torhild looked down to him, smiling in a bitter way, knowing his hope was a lost cause. She knew Ivar, he would be so angry, so completely lost in himself that he would take that boat without looking back and this time she was the cause. Another pain got through her belly and this time it wasn't only a pain. She looked down to her dress, to the wetness around her feet.
'By the gods.' The woman aside her whispered. Torhild looked aside.
'It's too early, a month to early.'
'It's fine, we need to get you back to bed.' The woman such'd her. Torhild turned back to Raynor who stood completely lost aside her, looking to the water at her feet.
'Raynor look at me.' She demanded. 'Get your father, run as fast as you can, don't stop, alright, just get him.' She urged. Raynor nodded, running to the door before stopping, looking back to her.
'I'm scared.'
'Don't be Raynor, your brother or sister is coming.' She smiled encouraging, looking how he left. For a little man like him it would take a while, but she was more afraid of what he would find, his father or an empty beach without him ...