King Ivar spends much of his time with his infertile first wife: neglecting his second wife, the mother of his children, a Freyjasdottir. Eventually, it catches up to him when a foreign King Sverri invades his lands.
tw: abuse, character death, etc.
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"Take care of my children."
Ivar is leaving again. This time, for Sverri's lands. Your hands are held in his, head bent while Ragnhild held your new daughter. You nod as Ivar lays a dry kiss on your lips but says nothing more. He moves to Ragnhild to kiss Aslaug's head. His boys receive nothing but goodbyes as Ivar boards his ship. The sails rise in a violent red spiral and you turn from him to Kitta, heading back to the hall.
"(Y/N)." She stops you just short of going in, hand at your shoulder.
"Yes?" You murmur. She looks about to see if anyone is looking at her before rising her hand to your soft cheek.
"I have three days left." She says, obviously having not told Ivar if she was telling this to you. He never would have left. You glance over your shoulder to her.
"Kitta... you will be fine, I'm sure of it." You murmur, as she tilts your chin up. You freeze when her lips cup over yours gently. She doesn't fight to hold your wrists or shove you against anything at all. No, the Queen takes advantage of your shock to run her lips against yours, pulling apart when your hand lightly pushes her back. She stumbles on the planks when you bite her a glare.
"Three days." She says. "I was hoping you would come to bed with me."
Your words feel dry on your tongue. Come to bed with her? The last time you let her do that, she humiliated you. She slept with you and threw you out to the wolves for Hvitserk to know what had happened. You shake your head a hundred times over.
"Kitta... I can't betray my husband." You murmur, finding it easier to run around her than say anything else. The Queen snickers softly, reaching out to cup your cheek in her hand once again. You almost yank your face away when she gives you a bittersweet smile.
"It's far easier to say no then pretend you care about Ivar." Kitta snips. Your hand rises up, snapping her hold on you with a whirl of your wrist.
"Then no. I won't fuck you. Ragnhild." You look to Ragnhild, jerking your head in direction of the hall as you stomp by. Veifnr follows Ragnhild while Uxi folds his arms standing by his other mother. By far the more attached to Kitta, he stands on the wooden pier.
"You should leave mother. Go to the farm." He tells her with his arms firm one over another. He is beginning to firm out, eating more and more of the food the thralls made. Kitta laughs somewhat at the notion that she should leave– because its easier to laugh then cry.
"No. When I am gone, have your mother bury me at my farm." Kitta unclips a pendant from around her neck and steps in front of Uxi. Through all the fights over the year– he had always been quiet instead of telling Kitta when something wasn't right. More than any child, Uxi was the one she once hoped could be hers.
But Uxi belonged to no one.
"You'll be a fine warrior one day, my son. Take this helm of awe into war with you. It carries both your great grandfather, who slaid Fafnir, and your grandfather Ragnar, who died by snakes." She slides the wooden necklace into her hands, negating any frustration that his built up in his face. His hand curls the pendant shut in his hands with a pained nod.
