LITTLE BIRD┊Ivar the Boneless & Harald Finehair

CHAPTER FIVE

The fire inside the hut was restocked, a comfortable warmth invaded the place together with the smell of burned wood and a mix of herbs that Eira had put in the bowl to burn with water. It always helped to keep the bad energy away and ease negative thoughts and tensions.

"You fear for her, don't you?" Eira looked at Astrid, who was sitting in front of her, the table carefully placed near the fire to keep both of them warm and comfortable.

Different from what Astrid expected, Eira didn't carry any judgment about how she changed sides, at least none that could be noticed, but tenderness in her eyes and voice.

"I just need to know if she's gonna live." the Queen's voice was quiet, many scenarios of the future played in her head but none of them could get anywhere close to what the future had reserved for them.

Eira nodded.

"A favor."

"What?" Dhe frowned, and pulled away from her thoughts to meet the eyes of the younger girl before her.

"The price. I don't ask for gold, but if I'm going to bring answers among the Gods to your doubts, you'll give me your word that you'll owe me a favor. This is a sacred deal, once sealed there is no turning back."

Her wide blue eyes softened and she nodded. Eira took one of her daggers, pushing it through the palm of her hand to create a straight red line, and handed the blade to Astrid so she could do the same. If she learned something from all the battles and fights she had watched, is that blood is one of the most sacred things – the essence of life. Both women united their hands, the two bloody lines became one as both blood mixed. The deal was sealed and for Astrid's sake, she should grant her favor once asked.

Eira sat on the chair in front of the queen, letting the dizziness that started when their blood connected consume every cell of her being until the room around her was nothing but a blur, darkness, and then, a blast of the most bright light she had ever seen. The young woman always felt so small among them, like a little mouse trying to steal a piece of bread during the rough winter, she had to be careful and don't get caught. Loki was never kind to her mind when she was noticed.

Armies. Two big armies marched from each side of the vast battlefield to meet at the center. Swords, axes, and daggers wielded as they shouted.

War.

Astrid and Lagertha. Both women standing before each other even though the chances of a meeting like this in such a great battle were small, they found their way.

Lagertha's body is on the floor.

The Saxon flag.

The short and broken scenes flashed in her mind, disappearing as fast as they appeared. Then complete darkness, not the one before the blur of coming back to Midgard, but the same darkness that always seemed to engulf her lately. It knocked the breath out of her lungs, her frenetic heartbeat being the only thing she could listen to, silencing completely the whispers of the Gods.

She heard the sound of wood, something moving above it and when her eyes rolled back to their place she noticed her body on the floor. The queen was kneeling by her side, her small hands trying to shake the young woman from whatever seemed to have caught her. For a moment, she thought the völva might have died.

It was always like that. A few months ago Eira had complete control of when to go and come back from scenes. There wasn't this suffocating dark, much less the experience of near death.

Astrid helped the girl up, sitting her on the edge of the bed. She was still trying to understand what she had seen. In a moment the blonde was sitting quiet, only the white of her eyeballs staring into Astrid, making her the most uncomfortable she had ever felt – probably because this other woman was seeing right through her, learning her future, things that not even she knew about herself – and in the other, her mouth was open searching for air as if she had hands wrapped around her tiny neck, her shaky body falling hard on the floor. The elder woman couldn't remember if she had controlled her scream or not, but for her sake, she hoped that she did.

"What was... Are y... What the fuck was that?!" Her voice sounded harsher than she intended, wide blue eyes traveling across the girl's face searching for something that not even she knew.

Eira rubbed her neck, swallowing slowly as if she had been choked by the strongest warrior. Unsteady, she did her best to take a deep breath and find her voice, avoiding the eyes of the queen.

She would have to tell Ivar that she, no longer, could see the future of the king. Waiting for the visions to come would be easier and most likely wouldn't give her another near-death experience. That was a warning, for sure, to make her remember her place. Eira was a völva, but that didn't give her the right to go and take the answers she wanted, only the ones the Gods granted her.

"You will meet each other on the battlefield.. but it's her body that I see lifeless on the cold ground." Maybe that wasn't the best way to tell Astrid, but Eira couldn't find softness after what happened to make it any easier.

She knew very well the shadows that danced in the queen's eyes. The way her brows moved so softly in an attempt to keep her eyes from wetting and how the corner of her lips shook even the slightest. Eira knew pain better than annoying. The fear of losing a loved one.

"I am sorry..."

Astrid didn't give her the chance to talk, getting up and raising her hand to stop whatever meanless apology the other was going to throw. It was a lie. It had to be. Maybe Ivar planned this since the beginning to play with her head. She wanted to slap the girl, and make her regret the words that left her mouth, but.. there was something sincere in her expression and Astrid was the one who went after Eira.

"That's enough." Her voice was quiet in contrast with the loud sound of the door closing, almost making Eira jump in her place as she was left alone to gather her thoughts around what just happened.

She was losing control of the visions.

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A/N: Feedback is always welcome!

Chapter revised.