Ease The Dawn

Part 3, Chapter 2 (alt. end. to Part 1)

The sound of someone pushing through the flap caused him to crack open his eyes. And, the brightness in the tent made it clear that they had slept well into the day. He gulped and gritted his teeth at the immediate strike of pain in his lower half, still not understanding what had happened.

Not even the delicate frame of a beautiful princess tucked against his side, softly sleeping with her hand on his chest could diminish the ache radiating up the backs of his legs and spine.

Beyond the foot of the bed, Brana moved about the tent with purpose, unloading bowls of some sort of food before adding wood to the stove and picking up and folding dropped items of clothing.

Through the lashes of his barely open eyes, he watched her approach the bed and stop. She looked unphased by their intimate position and he wondered how long they had been that way.

"My lady," Brana whispered and Ivar's eyes flashed open, glaring an unspoken warning that she best not continue.

Straightening, Brana pressed her lips together and averted her gaze, not acknowledging that she had seen. He knew she had.

"My lady," she repeated in a stronger voice causing Aethelswith to stir and lift her head and look back over her shoulder.

Without thought, Ivar's arm tightened around her.

"Brana," Aethelswith mumbled, her voice sounding heavy from sleep.

"My lady, I am sorry to disturb you but it is mid-day and Prince Hvitserk will be here soon with the healer," she motioned with her hand toward them, "to check on Prince Ivar... I thought you might not..."

"Thank you, Brana," Aethelswith interrupted before looking back at Ivar, stilling instantly at the sight of him. His face was hard and his eyelids fluttered as he looked away toward the far side of the tent. He seemed unable or unwilling to look at her and she was hit with some sort of pang in her chest...but words escaped her. What could she say? This was Ivar she was lying next to. Searching his face, she saw his nostrils flare and the small muscles beneath the skin of his jaw flex and she knew that the thawing of his body was only the start of his pain. Without thought, she reached up and stroked the hair back from his forehead and he flinched, glancing back for only an instant.

Pulling her hand away, she was no longer confused by her reaction. All sense of relief or worry or even gratefulness was gone. She was embarrassed. Shamed that she had put herself in such a compromising position and it was apparent she had acted with some false sense of familiarity. And, the weight of his arm around her, holding her, only added mud to the waters of her thinking. Was he frozen with discomfort finding her in his bed, she wondered? Was he holding her in place to keep her from seeing his body? Or... did he want her there but was unable to say those words?

As if sensing the shift, Brana turned on her heel and headed straight out of the tent.

Aside from Aethelswith, Ivar had never experienced any form of closeness with anyone. Had never shared or confided in anyone but her. In that moment, he knew he was injured, he knew he was lying bear beside her but he was lost, dumbfounded, as to what to say and what had transpired. He felt weak, stripped of his armour, his pride, and in a position of uncertainty.

Barely turning his head, he forced himself to look at her and searched her eyes, attempting to identify her thoughts. Was she pitying him, he wondered? Caring for him like a healer would an invalid? His distaste for sympathy was quickly diluting his desperation to keep her near. For the first time since he first laid eyes on her, he did not know how to be. He had no control.

Blinking, he broke their eye contact and exhaled, looking back up toward the ceiling. The weight and agony of his injuries continued to slowly, flood through his body.

Releasing his hold on her, he stared up at the sloped canvas, listening to her rise from the bed and slip into her green robe. He fought to keep his eyes from glancing over.

Turning back, Aethelswith waited, watching his face at it continued to tighten. Even in the early days, when first dragged into the camp, she had never felt the confusion she did now. At least then it was blatant that he was the enemy and she was the captive. Standing there, awkwardly, beside his bed, not even that fact brought her clarity.

"I will not be long," she whispered.

"I need nothing from you," his gravelly-voice rasped back. He did not even look at her.

----

Wrapped in a warm cloak and sitting on a stool in the tent used for cooking, Aethelswith fiddled with her spoon and bowl of warm oats that she had no appetite for. Every few moments, her soft blue eyes flicked up to Brana who was, for once, sitting and sipping hot water from a mug. Gazing out the opening of the tent, Brana periodically glanced over at the princess. The silence between them was thick and Aethelswith felt too insecure to leave it be.

"You must think..." Aethelswith started...

"I think nothing," Brana cut her off causing Aethelswith to look up from her oatmeal.

At that, Brana's eyes softened and she tipped her head forward, "It is not my place to...."

"Oh, stop that!" Aethelswith rushed, placing her bowl down on the table, not hiding her frustration. "Please tell me," she continued. "I am so used to being told what to do and...how to be...and....who to be.. just," she shook her head, "tell me."

Sighing, Brana peeked out the partially open flap as if checking that Gussr or anyone else was not standing by.

"You must take care," Brana looked back, lifting her defined dark brows to emphasize her point.

"In what way?" Aethelswith asked already knowing the answer.

"Take care that you are not stepping out of the shadow of one violent man and into the shadow of another."

Aethelswith's gaze faltered but she said nothing and would not allow herself to look away.

"Do you hear me?" Brana pushed.

"I was only trying to help," she uttered under her breath, hating how foolish she sounded. "What would become of me if he died?"

Brana leaned closer, "My lady, what will become of you now that he lives?"