CROWNED

Redemption

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The blonde woman slowly limped within the dimly lit room, reaching to pour herself a cup of mead. "You are too cleaver for you own good, Ivar" King Harald said, walking to sit across from the man who laid on his back gazing at the ceiling. "But it seems that this time your plan proved to be... unsuccessful" he said, leaning on his elbows.

Asdis scoffed at the irony, hiding her smirk as she lifted to drink from her cup. The familiarity of the situation was uncanny. "If I remember correctly you approved of the plan" Ivar said, his demeanor calm and collected as he continued to gaze at the ceiling, ignoring the woman's mocking reaction.

"Up until then you had proved your knack for strategic planning to be flawless" he said, turning to look better at the crippled man. "Next time, I won't be so quick to agree to your plans" he added turning to give a look at the grinning queen.

Ivar pressed his lips together, not giving the man any sort of reaction "You do as you see fit, King Harald" he said calmly, still refusing to grant him with a look as he seam to immerse keeping in his thoughts.

"You know, Uncle Rollo once told me that if I ever needed his support, all I had to do was ask" Hvitserk said, his hands folding on the surface of the table in front of him.

King Harald turned to look at the laid man, raising his eyebrows "What do you think?" he asked, awaiting for his answer.

Ivar sighed pulling himself up from his position "I think that you are to leave tommorow, at first light" he said, making the blonde prince smile as he raised from his seat to walk away. Harald followed after him with a smile on his lips, not being able to have hoped for a better opportunity.

The brunette king turned to look at the woman who looked back at him with a cup of mead resting on her hands. "How is your hip?" he asked, studying her in search of any other wounds she might've gotten from the day's battle.

She smiled at him, letting out a silent sigh. Can you fight? That's what he really wanted to ask, Asdis thought. "I've fought with far worse injuries, Ivar. I'll be fine" she said, turning around to set down her cup.

The man slowly nodded his head "We'll see" he said, not wanting to put his wife in more danger than he already had and perhaps her injury was partly his fault. You'd think a good husband would put his wife first.

She tilted her head examining his thoughtful stance, always troubling his mind with something. She lifted herself off the wall she was leaning on and slowly limped closer to her husband "Why so sceptical?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

Ivar turned up to look up at his wife who now stood next to him. He frowned "It is just that I cannot figure out why you had Hvitserk go back with me today" he said his eyes straying for a second before looking back at her brown eyes "Why him?" he asked, making the woman sigh with a smile at his question.

"His wife is pregnant, Ivar" he reminded him, her eyes softening as she looked at his blue eyes. "I do not want him to join the Gods without meeting his child" she confessed, making the man before her nod his head in agreement with the logic.

*

The day of the arrival of Rollo's army came quickly and Ivar was admiring the power in numbers he saw when the army arrived on land. The man that had provided them with all that power, had failed to show for the war, but had asked for one thing in return and that was to spare Bjorn's life. The crippled king seam to show acceptance to the request of the foreign king and everything was slowly coming to place.