Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Toxic Thoughts

Iona pulled away first, her eyes wide as she looked at where the voice had come from. Ivar did not speak, only smirked as he turned and stood at the side as he looked between Iona and Floki.

For the blonde, it was like time stood still. She had not quite thought this far ahead. Sure she wanted to kiss him, those blue eyes had captivated her long ago but she didn't think about what would happen afterwards.

For Ivar it was simple, he'd been caught kissing her and hopefully, that would be reported back to his brothers without him having to say a single thing. All his life he'd been the one without a woman, he'd watched them sharing Margrethe, hell he'd even tried with her once but it didn't work. He'd watched Iona spend time with all of his brothers, all of them making her smile at separate times. As far as he was concerned, he'd only instilled fear into her, scaring her, trying to kill her but she'd been the one to kiss him first. She confused him, he was sure she should stay as far away from him as possible but here she was.

She stepped back as Ivar let go of her wrist, "Nothing." Iona turned away, leaving the room as she kept her eyes forward. "Goodbye, Floki." If she looked back, Floki would know something was really going on and in Iona's head, it was only a kiss.

Floki watched her leave before he turned his attention back to the young lad in front of him with a shake of his head. "Can this crazy old man offer you some advice?"

Ivar laughed as he watched the man who had brought him up. "Floki, I will always welcome your advice. I may not listen to it," he sat on a chair that was in the room.

"She is the daughter of the woman who killed your mother," the words reminded Ivar of the bitter truth when it came to Iona. "Be careful," Floki smiled at the young man who was in front of him. "Do not be fooled, Ivar."

XOXOX

With the nightfall came silence, Little Bear sat at the table where the death of Sigurd had taken place earlier in the evening. Her fingers tapped on the table as she stared into the darkness. There were a few men on guard but they did not bother her, in fact, she could not see any of them.

She did not know how to react to the earlier events, she had not seen either Ivar or Floki since the incident earlier. As she replayed the moment in her mind, she knew she had been out of control, some might say she was almost desperate. Her mind was so full of what she might have been able to say or do differently that she did not hear any sounds until a voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Why are you here, child?" Ubbe asked the young woman.

Iona turned her head to the man before her, she stared up at him taking in his looks. He certainly looked like his father, he was the one of all the son's of Ragnar who looked and acted like Ragnar. He was kind like his father, coming to people when they needed help and he noticed from the look on the face of Iona that she was deeply troubled. "I cannot sleep," she told him even though she was very tired. She had barely slept since getting off the boat when they arrived here on land.

"No, Little Bear," he let out a sigh as he sat in the chair opposite her. "Why have you joined us on this mission? Your mother is back in Kattegat, you have been waiting for her to return to you for years."

The blonde female leaned forward putting her elbows on the table, "I pined for her. I missed her so much." Iona looked into the night sky as she spoke, thinking of her mother. "When she first left and I arrived at Kattegat, I hated every second of it. I wanted to run away, I wanted to leave and never come back." She glanced at Ubbe for a moment, he watched her, her blue eyes almost glowing in the dark. He was relieved that the darkness he saw in her eyes earlier had gone, the light returning to the young woman. "I did run away once, I didn't know where I was going, I knew I wasn't returning to my mother but anywhere was better than Kattegat."

"So, why didn't you stay?"

"The longer she was gone, the less I missed her. She told me that it would not be long." Her eyes looked down at her fingers that she swirled absentmindedly over the wooden table. "Your mother was kind to me," the blonde tilted her head to the side. "

"My mother was not kind to anyone," he interrupted her. "She only loved herself and Ivar. I listened to her, she never wanted you in Kattegat. You were a threat to her," Ubbe tried to reason with the girl who tried to talk herself out of her mother's love. "She kept you close because she wanted to make sure you followed her rules."

Little Bear raised her eyebrows as she thought of the rules Aslaug had set out during the time that Bjorn, Hvitserk and Ivar had been away. "The Queen only wanted what was best for her family, you were part of her family, Ubbe."

"She wanted what was best for herself," he shook his head. "I know she forbid you to be with myself or my brothers."

Iona scoffed as she looked back up at the eldest son of Aslaug. "Any kind of romantic relationship with her sons was never on my agenda. I do not need a man in my life to get anywhere. I know she was afraid," Little Bear shook her head as she thought of the conversation she shared with Aslaug, regarding the love Sigurd had for her. "I was never a threat, Ubbe. I only had love for her. My mother took that away from me."

"Your mother took back what was hers," he told the girl as he leaned back in the chair. "You might not have been a threat to my mother but it seems you easily lied to her. I know you, I've seen the way you manipulate people. You probably told my mother the same as you said to me, that none of her sons would marry you. We both know that is a lie though."

She narrowed her eyes as she glared up at him, "I have no idea what you are insinuating." If Floki had told him about the kiss she shared with Ivar then he was sorely mistaken thinking it would result in marriage.

Ubbe chuckled, "You have Hvitserk hooked."

Iona smiled as she thought about the lad who had been a very good friend to her. The smile disappeared when she remembered that he'd offered to marry her, to make her life easier after Ragnar had spoken about marriage. Hvitserk had even called her his future wife at some point. "He is a fool if he thinks that I am someone worth marrying, Ubbe. He is a good man," she noticed the way Ubbe watched her.

He reached for her hand, but she quickly pulled her hand back.

"You might not agree with me," Iona got to her feet as she kept eye contact with Ubbe. "But my mother needs to pay for her actions."