Shieldmaiden | Vikings

05

'Anyone harms her, your dead.'

~

Ivar sat in his chair and looked towards his brothers with pure anger and rage filling his piercing blue eyes.
"They have my wife! How dare you let them take her!"
"Ivar she practically handed herself over" Hvitserk explained.
"Handed herself over?"
"Ivar she wouldn't listen" Ubbe tells his little brother. "She's stubborn."
"Yes she is, you should've dragged her away at the last minute. If anyone harms her, your dead!"

Thorunn looked towards Freyja they both had worried looks on their faces.
Thorunn was terrified, Ingrid was pregnant and no one else knew only her and if she got hurt she could lose her child.
She couldn't just tell Ivar, it was Ingrids choice to tell him not Thorunns, and she didn't want to make matters worse or Ivar may kill another one of his brothers.
Freyja was terrified if Ingrid got hurt or killed, Ivar would loose it, probably kill Hvitserk and Ubbe they finally had started their new life together and if she died, he would never be the same again. None of them would
"You obviously fought back am I right?" Ivar asked as he looked at his brothers beaten up faces.
"You obviously didn't let them get away with taking my wife or killing our troops. You fought back, mhm?"

"I was just trying-"
But Ivar didn't let Ubbe try to explain himself any further.
"You made a bad call. Now they have my wife and you showed yourself to be weak. You two are lucky to be alive but if Ingrid isn't then - well you know what happens my brothers."
Ivar clears his throat and looks to his brothers again.
"And now it is finally time for you to recognize me as the rightful leader of the Great Army."
"As your older brother. As your older brother! I will never accept that
Mmm. In any case it would be a dereliction of duty. And after all doesn't somebody have to be responsible for the care of our people? Hmm, it doesn't seem to me that you have taken that good care of them so far."

"You cannot Ivar. Ivar." Ubbe calls but his little brother isn't listening to him.

Ivar!" Ubbe roars, the viking breathes in deeply. "You cannot continue to fight in England, without Hvitserk and me."
Ivar just chuckles at his brothers words.
"I think that you will find that more of our warriors and shieldmaidens want to fight with me than go farm with you two."
The room interrupted with people agreeing with Ivar.
"Then Hvitserk and I will go back to Kattegat tomorrow with our forces."
"If that is your decision" Ivar says to his older brother.
"Our father would have hated you for sundering and splitting his family."
"I don't think so" Ivar tells him.
Before Ubbe could leave Ivar spoke out again. "By the way Ubbe if anyone harms her, your dead."
Ivar soon went with his own thoughts worrying about his wife.
If Ingrid got killed he would never forgive himself or he's idiotic brothers.
A war would begin and he would kill ever last one of those Saxons.

~

Ingrid followed Alfred into the empty tent.
"So your my big sister then?"
Ingrid nodded proudly.
"I've always wanted a sister. Wait, you were the one who saved me?"
"Yes."
"So you where raised as a viking, a warrior, shieldmaiden they call it?"
"Yes."
"Your mother is Queen Lagertha?"
"Yes and my father is Athelstan" Ingrid replied.
"Do you ever hear father sometimes?"
"Yes do you?" She asks.
"Yes, and I feel his presence near me a lot lately." Ingrid smiled at that, her father seemed to watch out a lot for Alfred.
Soon a guard appeared at the entrance of the tent.
"My prince, your father wishes to speak with you but your mother will keep the heathen girl company" the guard explains.
"Right fine." Alfred turns to Ingrid. "I'll be back soon." He gave her a pleasant smile before stepping out of the tent, a woman with long dark hair appeared at the entrance.
Alfred smiled at the woman before leaving the tent. The woman stepped forward towards Ingrid.
"Your Athelstans daughter?"
"Yes" Ingrid replied.
"Queen Judith" she greeted as she stretched out her arm for Ingrid to shake her hand, Ingrid shook the Queens soft warm hand, before pulling away. The Queens reverted down to her stomach. "A woman like you should not be in battle at all since you are pregnant yes?"
"H-how do you know?" Ingrid asked with pure shock in her voice.
"A motherly instinct, I would've loved to have a daughter of my own, but I was blessed with two sons. But if I had a daughter I would've have loved for her too be as strong as you are. Not many women could've done what you did in your position, a heathen woman walk into Saxon territory just to save her friends. Many would find that rather stupid but I think its bravery Ingrid.
The shieldmaiden smiles at Queen Judith.
"My advice to you Ingrid is that be careful on what side your fighting with my child."
Before Ingrid could speak, Alfred soon arrives back in the tent approaches them. Queen Judith nods her head towards her son
"It was nice meeting you Ingrid" the Queen tells her.
"You too" she says.
Once Queen Judith leaves the tent and is out of sight, Alfred turns to face his sister. "Sorry if she was bothering you."
"Not at all."
"So will you be staying long in York?"
"You mean will me and my kind be staying long?"
"Yes, sorry" he mumbles.
"They've claimed that land your grandfather signed it over to the Ragnarssons" Ingrid explains.
"That's impos-"
But soon one of the guards entered a long with Bishop Heahmund.
"She has to leave now, the spies were watching the heathen army. They overheard that they're going to send out troops. If you don't send her back they will attack us and our army is still recovering from fighting the heathens in York, Alfred."
Alfred turned to look at Ingrid.
"Seems like you are really important for them to want attack again."