Dark Riverbed

Proposal

"HALFDAN DOES NOT LIKE YOU."

Thorvid stood outside the open door to her room, unwilling to cross the threshold.

Ella neatened up the yards of yarn that she was rolling for the queen. Since the stormy night they had spoken by the fire, she had grown closer to Aslaug. She'd even been invited into her weaving room, though she proved better at the spinning wheel than the loom. Aslaug assured her that it just took practice. If she stuck at it, she might become proficient someday.

"Is that a problem?"

Thorvid scratched at his bearded chin, leaning up against the door frame. "Could prove to be if Ivar sends him with me to treat with Aelfred. I leave tomorrow."

"Why would that be bad?"

"Because it seems like he just wants to get rid of you. He doesn't care what money you bring. He says he doesn't trust you."

Though she couldn't say she liked Halfdan either, he did have his mother's keen intuition.

"Why does that matter? I'm just a hostage. You don't need to trust me."

"What did you say to him about your sister and his son?"

"That he didn't seem to care about either."

Thorvid grimaced. "I suppose that's my fault. I gave you that impression."

"Yes, you did."

"Maybe I was mistaken. I was just so angry that he ruined that chance for us, Aedwen would have brought a good ransom as well if she hadn't-"

"Died?" Ella snapped, dropping her yarn and glaring at him from across the room. "It's a shame that she died because then you couldn't profit from her. That's what you are saying. To me. Her sister."

Thorvid shrugged.

Ella stormed across the room to push him out of the doorway so she could slam it in his face. "And you accuse me of being heartless!"

He caught her hand as she shoved him and held it to his chest. Ella stopped cold. She could feel his heartbeat under her palm. It was fast.

"I never said heartless," he murmured, his mouth dipping towards her hairline as he drew her closer towards him. Ella did not resist.

"You implied it," she insisted, breathlessly.

"That was before I saw you were only protecting what you truly felt."

His free hand drifted towards a loose curl at her earlobe. Tenderly, he tucked it back from her cheek. Ella wet her lips, not daring to look into his face.

"I get the impression that you protect your own heart the same way."

"We are very much alike in that."

Raucous laughter echoed from down the corridor. Thorvid abruptly pulled away from her. His eyes were wide when he met her's. This was how things had been between them. Normal conversations always teetered on the brink of intimacy, like a summer squall appearing in a blue sky. Ella knew that allowing anything further between them would only hurt her.

"I hope you will be the one to tell me when the ransom is decided," she said, pushing the door closed. "If you are going to profit from me, I want to hear it personally from you."

The Danes left the next day to meet with the emissary from Wessex. Halfdan went with them. Ella stood beside Queen Aslaug, holding Audun's hand, as they rode away. Halfdan gave a faint nod to his son and the boy beamed back. The mild exchange broke Ella's heart. King Ragnar's sons were a strange breed when it came to affection.