AN: Another long ass chapter. I'm so sorry. 8237 words.
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"Hold still." Hvitserk grunts, tilting his waterskin over the torn flesh of Artemis's ear. She hisses, fighting to slap away his probing hands. The red liquid spills down her neck and into her clothing, and when she snatches the waterskin to sniff its contents, a familiar smell invades her nostrils.
Wine.
She takes a large swig of it without hesitation, the familiar bitterness coating her taste buds. It spills down her chin, her thirst taking over. She'd missed the taste of wine after only drinking ale for about a year.
"Hey! If I'd known you'd drink it all I would've never used it on you," Hvitserk laughs, snatching back the waterskin and pouring a bit of the remainder of wine over her wounded ear again.
"I thought I'd never taste it again." She pants against the pain, slapping Hvitserk's hand away to no avail.
"I stole it from Bjorn- stop it!" He reprimands, pushing her hair aside to inspect her ear. A chunk of flesh was torn away, leaving Artemis's ear badly disfigured. It would heal in time but if left untreated by a proper healer, it would surely fester.
She sighs, shifting uncomfortably upon a boulder that was making her backside sore. She let Hvitserk work, watching as he pulls at her left leg. He removed her trousers from out her boot and ripped off the edge of the fabric to place over her still bleeding wound.
As he works, her eyes scan the area to keep her mind busy. The camp was utterly destroyed, the yellow tarps that were once tents turned into ashes, littering the field and mixing into the soil as if no fire had occurred in the first place. Her eyes absentmindedly searched for Freydis's body, but she knew it had been engulfed by the flames, her ashes scattered in the wind.
The smell of smoke lingered through the misty showers, mingling with the stench of rapidly decomposing bodies just over the hill. But the destruction of the camp was nothing compared to the victory of Ivar's men over Lagertha's. They rejoiced, howling cries shouted into the skies in delight.
In the distance, wails of pain could be heard, the screams of a warrior getting an arm amputated just a few feet away. There were others hurt too, much worse than a wounded ear.
"There are other warrior's who need attention. An ear is nothing compared to an arm." Another blood curdling scream was heard and she winced, causing Hvitserk to suck his teeth.
"Hold still. Ivar would have a fit if I neglected you. I have the duty now of protecting you when he can't." Artemis blinks up at him, not knowing whether to thank him or roll her eyes.
"Where is Ivar?" She asks instead.
"Somewhere. Scouting the battlefield with Heahmund."
"Heahmund survived?" Hvitserk snorts.
"Did you not want him to?"
"I just...I didn't know if he would. Said this was his duty to God," Artemis swallows thickly, rubbing her eyes hard enough to see black dots in her vision. Hvitserk shrugs, still dabbing the torn fabric against the missing shell of her ear. After a moment, he nods to himself but frowns. The wound was still bleeding.
"I've done what I could but you need to see a healer," He steps back to inspect his work, a hand on his chin in thought, "You look like shit by the way."
"Because you look so much better," Artemis snaps back with a roll of her eyes. Leave it to Hvitserk to have a sense of humor after fighting a war. He belts out a laugh, and she drops her head with a sigh, raising it slightly once she heard the sound of a galloping horse.
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Forging A Heart (Ivar the Boneless)
Fanfiction(UNEDITED TRASH) A Grecian girl is taken from her home in the Mediterranean during a raid in a Christian monestary. She is thrown into dangerous waters after she is gifted to Ivar, who believes she is nothing good but a pretty distraction, until he...
