Virago - Ivar The Boneless

Meeting Again

Hvitserk was happy to see the young blonde again, he had forgiven her for their last encounter only being grateful that she was alive right now. "Where have you been?" He asked her as he put his hands on her face, his eyes flickering to the metal band around her neck then back to her eyes. "What happened to you?"

She did not know what to say, her eyes still on the doors where she had watched Ivar leave. 

"Give her some space," Ubbe told his younger brother as he watched the emotionless expression on Little Bear's face. Ubbe knew something was not right with her, he didn't know how long she'd been stuck below this church but she was quietly different. 

Standing back from her, Hvitserk looked at her with confusion in his eyes before he looked at his brother. Not once did Iona look at either of them and that bothered him, he noticed the lack of colour in her eyes, only darkness showed to him. "Why was she here?"

Ubbe moved to the side next to Hvitserk, they spoke quietly to each other as they both stared at the blonde who did not move or change the look on her face. 

Iona felt a little broken. She didn't want any of this to happen. She didn't ask to be brought here and she certainly didn't want to be anyone's prisoner. 

She lifted her right hand up so she could see it in front of her eyes, her head shaking a little as she managed to bring herself out of her daze. Putting her arm back to her side, she quickly moved, her feet walking fast towards the exit. 

Men ignored her, it was like she wasn't there. The fights and murders continued around her, her mind and vision oblivious to the actions of others around her. She was focused on one thing, finding Ivar. 

When the light from the outside hit her, she shielded her eyes quickly before dropping to her knees. It seemed that the exhaustion from everything was finally taking over her body. After being stuck in the darkness for so long, not walking, her body had succumbed to the strain of the last few minutes adrenaline rush. 

XOXOX

There were little things that scared the young blonde, but when she woke, it was her nightmares that had her gasping for air. Her body sat straight as she tried to fill her lungs with air, to escape the darkness that her worrying for her life. Little Bear's hands wrapped around herself, her body becoming cold as she took in her surroundings. She was not alone, sitting on a chair beside the bed was Ubbe although he was fast asleep, light snores filling the room. There was a small candle which was lit beside the bed and a cup of water. 

Gripping the small blanket, Iona managed to pull herself out of the bed before heading across the room. There was a small frame which held reflecting glass, she looked at herself, the metal band was still around her neck. She noted the bruising around it was apparent, there was much bruising on her pale skin. 

Turning her head, she looked back at Ubbe before leaving the room. Her feet were bare and the cold nipped at her toes but she ignored it, her attention turning to two men who stood outside of a nearby building. As she walked closer, she was stopped by one of the men who held his axe out in front of her. "You're not permitted to go any further," he told the young blonde. 

Raising her eyebrow, Iona breathed out heavily before she spoke. "I do not require yours or anyone else's permission to go anywhere. If you want to stop me from entering then go ahead."

The second man looked at the woman before he held out his axe too, joining his friend in stopping her. "I must insist," he told her as she looked up at him. 

"I might not have any of my weapons but-"

Behind the two axes, the door opened stopping her words. Iona's eyes met Ivar's as he put his right hand forward, pushing the two axes down. "Get inside," he told her before he walked further inside.

Little Bear looked at the two men who were keeping guard as she watched him return their axes to their sides before he walked passed them head held high. She closed the door behind herself as she made eye contact with Ivar again, he was sitting on a bed with a small light on the small table beside himself. 

"You're avoiding me," she said as she leaned against the door and kept her eyes on the youngest Ragnarsson. 

Ivar made eye contact with her, a slight smirk on his lips as he finally spoke. "You have everyone believing every word you say," he tilted his head to the right as he watched her. "When you first arrived in Kattegat I knew there was something different about you. Bjorn told my mother things about you, she told me knowing I was the only one who would understand. I do not believe anything I have heard about you," Ivar noticed her the colour in her eyes changing to black. "You're not special, the only thing about you is the way your eyes change." He reached into his top before he pulled out the golden chain with the cross on it. "You have everyone fooled and under your spell." 

Iona breathed heavily as she moved her eyes to the dangling necklace. "It's not what you think," she wanted him to listen but he shook his head at her. 

"That is why you are here," he threw the gold to the floor. 

She took small steps closer as she watched him, "Please, Ivar, I can explain."

"Your words mean nothing to me, Iona," he was spiteful in his words and his tone. "You might have fooled me once but it won't happen again." 

The blonde crouched down and picked up the cross and felt it between her fingers. Her eyes were on the gold that glittered before her, "I am not like them. I will never be anything like them," she glanced up at him as she screwed her hand tightly around the pendant. "Bjorn gave me this like his father had given it to him. Your father was the one who was baptised-"

"Shut up!" He shouted interrupting her words. "Leave!" His rage mirrored the few moments before he killed his own brother. 

Little Bear's eyes flashed red, Ivar noticed as he smirked at her reaction. "I'm not scared of you," she told him as she squeezed the cross harder in her hand before she felt the warm liquid oozing from her skin. Dropping the necklace, she left it on the floor as she walked closer to him. "Kill me if you must," Iona felt fear but not because she thought he would kill her. 

His nose wrinkled as she closed in on him before she found herself standing in front of him, careful not to make contact with his legs. "Do not test me," he told her as she reached for his face. 

Her bloody hand touched his cheek, her lips curling into a smile, "If you kill me, spending my final moments in your presence will bring me comfort." For a moment her guard slipped as she spoke these words before he gripped the wrist of her hand that laid upon his face. She looked at his fingers that tightened on her skin before her eyes returned to his ocean coloured eyes, everything seeming to disappear leaving just the two of them. "Ivar?"