#I didn't learn my lesson and kept lying to them when I got into trouble at school because I wanted to avoid another apocalypse

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 30: Daes Dae'mar

Putting on that fancy jacket sure was a mistake, huh? Everyone knows you're up to something now. Oh you can say you're just an innocent lamb, but that's just what a scheming noble would say. Consider this post an invitation. Accept it, and I'll give you all my Wheel of Time spoilers. Decline and... I won't really be able to do anything because I have no way of knowing when someone sees this and moves on. I didn't think this through. But I guess you won't be spoiled for the whole series, so if that's your goal, that's nice.

Another rising sun chapter because we're in Cairhien. I hope these icons start getting a little more obscure soon.

The Illuminators were on everyone’s tongues in the city, even now, days after the night when they had lofted only one nightflower into the sky, and that early. A dozen different versions of the scandal were being told, discounting minor variations, but none close to the truth.

Note how distorted these tales are in comparison to the Seanchan because of how much is being deliberately kept in secrecy.

It was an effort for Rand not to sigh again. “Hurin, I’m sorry. I should not have shouted at you.”

This whole conversation is of course a microcosm of Rand's upcoming dealings with humanity as a whole and a rehearsal for when Rand gets really shitty to Hurin much, much later.

“He hasn’t done that before. Loial, do you think he was listening at the door before he knocked?”

As Loial says, Rand is starting to understand how the game is played. That said, Cuale probably was just freaking out over the senders of the invitations more than eavesdropping.

“Whatever they make of it, at least it’s the same for everybody. I am not for anyone in Cairhien, and I am not against anyone.”

You can't blame the kid for trying I suppose. But this is just the Pattern trying to teach Rand that he doesn't get to sit in holding patterns and have everything work out. He's got to move forward and act.

With most Houses, it wouldn’t matter. Even when they’re plotting against each other to the knife, they act like they aren’t, out where everybody can see. But not these two.

Again, Rand doesn't get to just wait it out. He has to make a decision.

“I won’t break the seals. That way, they will know I have not answered either one yet. As long as they are waiting to see which way I jump, maybe I can earn a few more days. Ingtar has to come soon. He has to.”

Of course, Rand really doesn't want to learn any lessons at all, so he's still kicking and screaming.

After a moment, he pulled the two invitations from his pocket and studied the seals, then stuck them back.

This chapter uses the word "seal" so much that I'm trying to find a way to tie it into the actual seals but so far I've got nothing. Rand does hang onto the unbroken seals he finds, but his hesitance in breaking those is a lot more about not being ready for the final boss fight yet than refusal to play and he doesn't really showboat with them for obvious reasons.

He avoided thinking of the way he might, just might, deal with ten Trollocs. It had not worked when he tried to help Loial, after all.

At least his denial here is based on practicality instead of just pigheadedness.

Rand thought a man, dressed in what had once been good Shienaran clothes, ducked back into the crowd at the sight of him, but he could not be sure.

Almost certainly that's exactly what Rand saw, and the news that he and Loial are so far away from the Horn spread quickly.

“It is my pleasure to do what I may,” the man said with his false smile.

The question here is, is he outright lying of his own accord because that's what he always does or is he being specifically instructed from above not to cooperate?

Moiraine, he thought bitterly. She’s still causing me trouble. Almost immediately, though, if reluctantly, he admitted that she could hardly be blamed for this. There had always been some reason to pretend to be what he was not. First keeping Hurin’s spirits up, and then trying to impress Selene. After Selene, there had not seemed to be any way out of it.

Points to Rand for having the self-awareness to admit that all Moiraine did was give him the rope to hang himself with. All things considered, many would just be angry with her and move on with their lives from there.

Thom’s nephew had lasted almost three years by channeling only when he thought he had to. If Owyn had managed to limit how often he channeled, it must be possible to not channel at all, no matter how seductive saidin was.

Well sure Rand, but you've literally just established that you have a hard time not using every available tool at your disposal so plot-convenient ultra-heroin is probably not a drug you can just take a little hit of at parties, you know?

The closer they came, the more certain it was, until they rounded the last stone-terraced corner and there was The Defender of the Dragonwall, smoke pouring out of its upper windows and flames breaking through the roof.

If Tuon were here, she'd likely explain to Rand that a military-themed inn bursting into flame was a Seanchan omen foretelling the fall of its city to the depicted enemy within the year.

She's not here, thank the Light, but that's probably what she'd say and she'd be right.

The common room hardly seemed as if the building were on fire. The double line of men stretched up the stairs, passing their buckets, and others scrambled to carry out what furniture was left, but there was no more smoke down here than if something had been burning the kitchen.

The Cairhieniens are probably pretty big on fire safety after the last invasion anyway. Without industrial pipes and hydrants to supply water for you, city fires can be downright apocalyptic.

“You cannot carry Hurin and the chest both, Rand.” The Ogier shrugged. “Besides, I won’t leave my books to burn.”

The books are obviously Loial's number one priority here but he has the decency to feel a bit guilty about that.

The banner was still in there. The banner of the Dragon. Let it burn, he thought, and an answering thought came as if he had heard Moiraine say it. Your life may depend on it. She’s still trying to use me. Your life may depend on it. Aes Sedai never lie.

Yeah this boy can't even leave behind the thing that would get him killed anywhere in the known world for possessing it. No way he's not going to be shooting up ultra-heroin every chance he gets even if his life didn't turn into an epic fantasy.

The onlookers stared at him, with his face blackened and his coat covered with smut, but he staggered to where Loial had propped Hurin against the wall of a house across the street.

I'd be staring too, who walks around with a coat covered in por-

"A small flake of soot or other dirt".

Oh. Do you know this may be literally the only time I've ever seen this word used in its non-sexy context?

Rand felt a shiver run through him. “It’s too late,” he told them. “You came too late.” And he sat down in the street and began to laugh.

It's cool Rand, nobody is going to think your acting like a crazy person is suspicious behavior AT ALL.

[justanotherlifeff]

Levi Ackerman × reader

Genre: Angst, Hurt/comfort, Fluff, matured themes, slowburn

Warning: There's mentions and descriptions of underage rape and suicidal themes and self harm.

Levi POV

The other members of the squad gathered to see me spar with the new girl. I've only taken her into my squad because Shadis bragged about how good she was on the combat stimulated graduation test. "If trained by you, she'll be a very efficient titan slayer. However, she seems to work best alone, and when you give her some respect. She strangled a cadet to unconsciousness once for catcalling her. That's the only time she got in trouble with the rules." Shadis explained. I, however, wasn't going to give 'respect' to some privileged cadet who's much younger than I am. He mentioned she's as good as I am but I doubt it because she looks like she can barely lift a rock. Her big mouth back at the courtroom didn't improve my views on her either. A weak brat with a big mouth is as shitty as horse shit in a stable. She did have something different about her though. Her eyes, they held the same expression as mine. "Am I judging her wrong?" I wondered internally before putting the thought aside because what possibly can happen to a privileged brat who lived all her life up here? Dead parents? That happened to pretty much everyone in the undergrounds. As we reached the middle of the courtyard, I saw her take a defensive stance. "Hmm, that is a pretty good strategy" I thought. This means she wants to access my attacking style before attacking me. But it isn't too easy to predict me. With that, I threw a kick at her.

Your POV

He figured out my plan about the defensive strategy. I could see it in his eyes. His face was expressionless but his eyes gave it away. I understood because I never bring what I feel onto my face either. He came close to land a punch on me but I knew it could be a kick as well since he already figured out my plan. I was right and he did through a kick. I caught his leg and tried to twist it so that he would fall down but surprisingly, he just used his other leg to kick at my face. I held it at the last moment but that made him wrap his leg on my neck and throwing me to the ground. He wasn't using any particular fighting technique. He went from offensive to defensive and the other way around in a matter of moments. He made up his moves along the way.

Now that I knew his tactics, I took advantage of my aerobics skills and grabbed his neck from behind with my legs as he was over me holding my hands securely and putting a leg on my back so that I couldn't move while I was on the ground with my nose on the floor. As I choked him, he released my hand to remove my feet from his neck. I took the advantage of it and used my hand to remove his leg from my back and slid away from underneath him. However he caught my leg and as I fell down, he pinned my hands with his legs and my legs with his hands. There was only one thing to do now but that made me feel uncomfortable beyond measures. He wouldn't expect this attack in any way because most people in the army were strong but not flexible enough to do this. I had to thank my childhood in the underground for this as the amount of stretching I went through all my childhood made me flexible enough to ace all the aerobic lessons my aerobics instructor threw at me back when I trained with Uncle Erwin.

"You privileged brats don't know the importance of survival. All you can do is bark like a street dog, trying to make your whims justified. No wonder you can't win. If you have never seen death right infront of your eyes, you can't take a fight seriously. This is what brats like you should get for trying to act like grownups and interfering when your superiors are talking" he said with his monotone voice. A flash of memory went through my head. The picture of a darkened room, the blood splattered on the floor, the many hands approaching me. I knew I had to do something.

Levi POV

I had her now. She did put up a good fight but she definitely didn't last too long. Just when I was thinking this, I saw her boots sliding off and her legs shooting out and then she sat on my face. Leaving out the part about how embarrassing it was, that clearly was something I didn't see coming. She pinned my arms and legs with immense speed using her hands and legs because she couldn't hold it alone with her hands. "I surrender" I grunted because my face was being squished. She got up and saluted me. Everyone was staring dumbstruck. I personally was caught aback with that move. She was looking down on the ground trying to hide her face because she probably was blushing. I had to admit she was good. Being able to bend so much without breaking her back was an immense feat. She was second in command material. I finally understood what Shadis was implying. She doesn't deal with criticism well. Her fighting techniques were impressive enough to gain my respect though, even if she was a subordinate. I decided that I would respect her as an equal since that probably would lead her to trust me and help me to train her to make use of her skills in the most efficient way possible. Maybe I judged her wrong because someone with a privileged life wouldn't be able to react like that to a simple sentence... Her name seemed familiar too...

"I suppose Shadis wasn't lying. You are really talented. I couldn't have predicted that move but please do try not to sit on people's faces because it's awkward." I said keeping my normal monotone voice. "Sorry sir. This won't happen again" She answered, embarrassment clear in her eyes. "You have the quality to be second in command. However, I'll see how good you are on our next expedition and then think about it. You're dismissed. Get me a cup of tea at my office in one hour, Petra" I stated before going back in the castle to take a shower. The fight made me filthy.

Your POV

As embarassing as it was, I won against the strongest soldier of humanity. I was only able to win because he wasn't too tall and I surprised him by sitting on his face. He probably didn't expect a girl to do something like that. Not to mention that my flexibility gave me certain advantages in combat. I wouldn't have won against him otherwise because he's very much stronger than I am. Everyone was staring at me and once Levi left, Petra, Eren and three other men came towards me awestruck. "YOU ACTUALLY DEFEATED LEVI HEICHOU!" Petra screamed. "I thought he was gonna kill you" said Eren with a bright expression. "Well, you did pretty good for a rookie though. I'm Oluo Bozado. Call me Oluo" said one of the three men. "I see you will take my post as second in command in no time" Eld Jinn sighed. I knew him from the newspapers. With that, Eren went back to his chores already since it was clear that he was scared of Levi heichou to death. "She clearly deserves to be second in command given that you never won against heichou" said the other man. "Well, Gunther, atleast I didn't piss my pants like Petra and Oluo here when I first saw titans" said Eld. "It wasn't anything notable. I have much to learn." I answered to them. "Oh come on! Don't be so sour! Lighten up a bit!" Petra laughed, invading my personal space by hugging me out of nowhere. Did she really not get the message that I don't like people around me? "Well, I'll take a shower" I muttered before leaving. I made my contribution to the conversation and went to the bathroom.

After washing my body, I took a blade in my hand as usual and started making clean strokes on my back. Tears streamed from my eyes as my back was bleeding from the not-too-deep wounds but I didn't make any noise. This was the only way I knew to cope with my demons. This reminded of my childhood. Being hurt was what I was born for and I didn’t know how to live without it. The things Levi heichou told me triggered every emotions all at once. I wanted to kill him for denying the fact that I faced all those things that no one should face. I wanted to get rid of the whole squad for being so damn noisy and getting in my personal space. I needed the pain to calm down. "It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts..." my mind kept muttering like it did every day back in the underground. "I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive..." my mind consoled me with every stroke of the blade. This helped me keep my sanity back in the underground. As long as I was alive and I felt the pain, I would be alright.

"Ugh these disgusting food will give me constipation like Levi Heichou. No wonder he looks like someone slapped him all the time" I heard Petra's voice and before I could do anything, the door of the bathroom opened and Petra saw me. She looked petrified to see me naked, crying and bloody and she lunged at me, trying to take the blade from me but I kicked her in the stomach and pushed her out of the bathroom and locked the door. "Damn it, I shouldn't have forgotten to lock" I thought. Petra called at me a while after I asked her to mind her own business and then she left the room. By then I bandaged my back as usual and was cleaning the blood off the washroom when I heard a loud banging of the door and Corporal Levi's voice saying "Open the damn door brat!". I hid the blade and got dressed quickly and opened the door. " Petra told me that you were cutting yourself. Is that true?" he asked firmly. "Yes but it's not her damn business to poke her nose into everything I do" I replied with a cold glare at Petra which made her flinch. "What's your name Cadet?" Levi heichou asked with pure anger in his eyes. "(Y/N) (L/N) Sir." I replied with a calm voice. "And where are you from?" he asked with the same expression. "From Shiganshina District Sir." I replied. Some sort of realization spreaded across his eyes.

He turned to Petra and surprisingly, he only asked her to give me some antiseptic cream before he left. Petra did what he asked but kept giving me a sympathetic look. "Petra, stop with that pitying look that you're giving me. I don't need it" I told her while we were making lunch together. "I'm sorry." she replied but didn't stop with the sympathetic looks. I decided to let it slide. I didn't talk much at lunch except for when Eld asked me about my graduation results. They were mostly busy talking to themselves about how I beat Levi heichou until Levi heichou himself arrived shutting all of their mouths. After lunch, Oluo and Gunther were doing the dishes and I took a new book from my bag and went near the pond behind the castle to read it. The stairs of the bank was clean. Levi heichou probably made Eren clean it. "I see you're into reading too" I heard Levi heichou's voice. I stood up and saluted. He nodded and sat on the stairs too. "You can sit cadet" he said in his monotone voice. I sat at my place glad that he kept a good distance from me.

"Are you the girl who killed that Garrison soldier? " heichou asked without looking at me. "Yes sir." I replied calmly. I should've expected this to come up. "I read that book. It's a good one" he said, again with his usual monotone voice but that sentence made me blush. Levi heichou reads romance books with machoism in it? "You probably would like the book more as it is from a girl's point of view. After all, you do seem to cut yourself" he said. "It's not like that, heichou. I suppose cutting myself reminds me that I'm alive and I can make everything right. I feel like this book portrays it well because as long as you feel pain, you can still hope to feel happiness someday. When you stop feeling pain, you're either dead or too numb to feel anything. I honestly would like to keep feeling because when someone is numbed, all that's left for them is to die." I answered.

"I've heard something similar to that. About having no regrets. I suppose you can only have regrets when you're numb as you wouldn't have anything to live for. So, I guess that makes sense." he replied. "Heichou, please don't mind me asking, but, why are you alive?" my mouth blurted out. "Well, honestly, I don't know. Probably because humanity needs me and I probably am making a difference? I don't know really." he answered vaguely. "So, is it pride that's keeping you alive?" I asked him. "No. It's not. You could say, I'm alive because if I can make a contribution to eradicate the titans, I will feel worthy of having a normal life." he answered. It was strange that he talked to me so freely. Is it because I gained his respect by that fight? "So, you want to make things right for yourself and the feeling of worth is what makes you remember that you are alive and well enough to do that." I stated. "Yes. That's it." he replied. With that he started reading another book. After a while I was ensured that he won't make anymore conversation and so I got immersed into my own book.

A week later

Levi heichou decided to train me personally after my first day at his squad. He told me that I had potential but I wasn't doing things right and just agility won't get me anywhere. Thus, I needed to build my strength. Yesterday, Levi heichou found me cleaning the stables as he ordered me to do so after I spilled a cup of tea on him and apparantly my cleaning was close to flawless which is why, I was excused from every other cleaning duties and was assigned with cleaning his office daily. "I take back everything I said about you getting out of work, (Y/N). You just got handed a death sentence." Eren told me last night at dinner time. "Just don't argue with him when he shouts at you. Answer with 'yes heichou' only." Petra chimed in. "You'll get kicked out of the squad now for sure" Oluo snorted while the others merely gave me pityful looks. "I don't know... It didn't seem too bad when he criticized the way I cleaned the stable... Heichou even helped out to clean the spots I missed." I answered, confused with their statements. "Huh? Levi Heichou shouted at me to clean the stable again during my first time... And he made me do it three times..." Eren answered, quite surprised. "You must be really good at it then..." Petra muttered, sounding quite jealous for some reason. "I suppose I am..." I muttered, eating a spoonful of stew, remembering all the practice I had of cleaning.

I knocked on the door to Levi heichou's office to hear his monotoned voice shout out, "state your name and business.". " It's Cadet (L/N). I'm here for cleaning duties." I told him before he answered me with a "come in". I entered his office with a bucket full of water in one hand, a mop, a broom, a brush and a soap in another, and a dish cloth on my shoulder. Heichou was right, I need to work on building my strength because I felt like my hand was getting torn off by the weight of the huge filled bucket. The buckets in this place were too big to be honest. "You look like you're about to die. Aren't you practicing the exercises that I taught you the other day?" Heichou asked me with an irritated voice as he approached me and snatched the bucket from my hand and placed it infront of a window. I didn't get any time to practice those exercises because...well, I was slacking off due to all the new books in my room. "Sorry, Heichou. I will pay more attention to training from now on." I answered, with a speck of guilt in my voice since I didn't join the military to slack off. Heichou didn't reply to that and went back to his desk to continue his paperworks.

I started with cleaning the window, using the brush and soap to clean the windowsill. It didn't take too long as the place was pretty clean. Then I moved on to the furnitures, using water from the bucket to get the dirt off. I cleaned all the furnitures in silence except the desk, as I thought that disturbing Levi heichou wasn't a good idea. Then I used the brush to start scrubbing the floor. Just like I used to do back in the underground. "People usually start with the mop but I prefer what you're doing." I heard heichou comment. "Thank you." I replied and continued scrubbing. "Where did you learn to clean?" he asked me after a few moments. The question made me pause everything that I was doing momentarily but I collected myself almost immediately and answered, "Back in the underground." "I see. Seems like people from the underground are better at cleaning than the ones up here. Talk about irony." Heichou scoffed. "I believe that they don't have that need to clean because they take the cleanliness for granted." I replied, not taking my concentration off from scrubbing. "You're right." Heichou answered.

After a few more moments, I heard him say, "Back when I was a kid, I had the fortune to spend a whole day in a room with a corpse in it. It started to smell at the end and I decided that I would not tolerate filth ever again because it reminds me of rotting corpses.". Did he just share a childhood experience with me? Why would he do that? Is it because we both have similar backgrounds? These thoughts filled my head for a moment before I remembered that I never talked about my childhood with anyone. I never did it because I didn't expect anyone to understand. I assumed that they would think I'm a freak. Is that how Levi heichou felt too? If that's the case, maybe letting some burden off my chest by talking to him won't hurt. Ofcourse, I wouldn't tell him everything about myself but a random experience won't hurt.

"How much do you know about me?" I asked him. He seemed to be surprised by the question. "You were rescued from a brothel in the underground and you killed a guy from the garrison. Why do you ask?" he asked me. "Well, when I was a kid, I was locked into this room by the pimp. It had this small window on top of the wall that I couldn't reach. Almost no light came out of that window and I used to sit on that speck of light as I was scared of the darkness. So, the pimp came in that room with a lamp every day to clean up the mess and I used to take as much time as possible to clean cause I wanted the light to stay there for as long as possible. I guess, that's what gave me my habbit to clean. Oh, and about that question, I asked it to determine how much I can tell you." I answered, not looking up from the floor. "You used to live at a brothel? I didn't know... I'm sorry about that. I grew up in a brothel too." Heichou told me, his eyes showing that he understood me.

However, he didn't understand. No one here could. "I'm sorry too. Because you had to go through that. Being around a corpse doesn't feel good." I answered quietly. Thus, with that, a friendly relationship with heichou began, as we would talk every day when I came to clean his room, each time finding out that we understood eachother more than anyone else ever could.

To be continued

Taglist: @kingtamakimurder, @realityisoftendisapointing

[mo-mo-and-porkchop]

Freedom is a state of mind

Vikings Fan Fiction

Chapter 10 (Chapter 9 here)

*I do not own any part of the Canon Vikings characters. It is simply my interpretation. I make no profit off of this.

**I do own the original characters and everything associated with them.

Tagging for updates: @whenimaunicorn , @captstefanbrandt , @kenzieam , @mblaqgi , @wish-i-was-a-mermaid , @microsmacrosandneedles , @babeyouareenough , @youbloodymadgenius , @yourpurplequeen

She finished taking care of him for the night before making her way away from his room, stopping in the doorway. Nervously she glanced back at him.

“If there is nothing else, I will return in the morning to change your dressings,” she added flatly.

As she waited for him to break the silence she felt as she would be sick. Her stomach did flips and her heart raced. Her fingers trembled as she held to the frame of the door. The memory of the raids and what she'd lost had gripped at her heart, squeezing it mercilessly. She hadn't been hit with such grief since the tragedy had struck and desperately wished to be relieved of her duties for the night. Thankfully he waved her off in dismissal.

He shifted an arm up under his head as he laid in bed after she'd left. He still felt that initial tug in his gut every time she was near. It was a puzzling feeling. One he had neither felt nor understood any better as the months passed. He couldn't help but wonder what it was that pulled him to her the way that it had.

His mind wandered over the possibilities as sleep began to weigh against his eyelids. Ivar's eyes fell to the doorway as he rolled over and for a fleeting moment she stood before him. A smile tugged at his lips as slumber washed over him.

------

Ivar's brothers couldn't help but notice he, more often than not, was off in the forest and that she was also m.i.a. along with him.

"Where do you think he goes?" Hvitserk asked Ubbe, nodding in the direction of their brother as he caught sight of him crawling from town.

Ubbe watched until he disappeared among the trees. "I don't know," he offered simply.

"He is different, yes?" Hvitserk asked turning back to his brother, his curiosity getting the better of him.

He couldn't deny the change in Ivar's behavior. One most would never notice, but the sons of Ragnar were brothers and saw things hidden to the rest of the world. It hadn't taken him long to notice Ivar's calmer demeanor. There had been no outbursts. No instigation. Not even an arguement between him and Sigurd.

"He has been much more quiet lately, yes," Ubbe agreed.

A wide grin spread itself across Hvitserk's face. He'd been wanting to figure out the mystery ever since the air had begun to change around Ivar. Asking Sigurd was out of the question, the youngest brothers' relationship already shaky at its best, but he wanted help.

This was his chance.

Ubbe's eyes finally found Hvitserk. Whenever he got that glint in his eyes they always ended up in trouble. He doubted now would be any different.

"No," Ubbe said firmly, though it was hard to resist the urge to go along with whatever scheme Hvitserk was planning.

His grin deflated immediately. "No what?" Hvitserk asked feigning ignorance to Ubbe's presumptive denial.

"No to whatever it is you are plotting," Ubbe said definitively.

"What are you denying our brother now?" Sigurd asked casually as he came upon his brothers at the market.

"Nothing," Ubbe lied, his eyes staying with Hvitserk a moment longer. Regardless of Hvitserk's involvement in any mischief, the eldest son of Aslaug knew absolutely nothing good would come from Sigurd finding out about Hvitserk's offer and tagging along.

"Then let him do whatever it is he wants to do," Sigurd offered in defense of Hvitserk.

Hvitserk's eyes caught sight of a familiar, raven-haired slave headed off in the same direction and quickly sided with his older brother.

"Ubbe is right," he said with a quick smile. "It is nothing."

His brother looked at him quizzically, but declined to dig further into his sudden change of heart, hopeful he had listened to him for once.

"I have found something much more entertaining to do anyway," he lied with a sly smirk, motioning to Maragrethe as she walked past through the crowd.

Sigurd and Ubbe followed where he pointed; Sigurd smirking deviously and Ubbe's jealousy creeped up knowing what the two would end up doing. Hvitserk left in her direction, but changed his path for the woods as soon as he was clear of his brothers' sight

------

"No. Like this. Ég er Glohg-ving-uhr ehld-hoos-feef-uhl pah-kah-roif."

"Ég er Gløggvingr eldhúsfifl bakrauf," she repeated with a prideful smile. Ehrlana felt she now knew enough to pass for any other Northerner thanks to Ivar. Surprisingly.

"Good," he said with a slight chuckle.

"What?" she asked growing suspicious.

"It means I am a stingy good for nothing ass," he admitted letting his laugh grow.

"Ivar!" she said feigning offence.

She pulled a bit of grass out and tossed it his way, but laughed all the same. He batted the blades away, his laugh dying down.

"You know enough. What else is there to teach you?" he asked with a shrug.

"I guess nothing," she said convincingly with a sigh, lying back on the ground. "You are useless now."

"I am not useless," he started angrily.

She didn't fight verybhard to contain her laughter.

"That is not funny," he said with a slight pout in his voice.

She shifted an arm under her head and watched as the clouds drifted by in the early evening sun. "I was only joking," she admitted.

Ivar was the one thing that kept her safe among Kattegat and its residents. Everyone feared his wrath and wouldn't dare touch what was his. Including her. But it wasn't his protection alone that made him useful to her. It was their unspoken friendship. He was the one person who, ironically, made her feel normal. Declan was a friend and an ally, yes, but he still treated her as her father's daughter - as a fragile princess. Ivar simply let her be and she returned the favor.

"I know that. I am not stupid," he countered; though a smirk tugged at his lips.

Their ease had been an unexpected side effect of his lessons. One he hadn't fought. He wouldn't deny it felt good to have at least one person seemingly accept him. He also wouldn't let it cloud his judgement of her however. She was after all a slave. He knew what levels they would stoop to in order to gain their freedom. Ehrlana hadn't yet tried anything near as disgraceful as Margatethe, but he wasn't letting their budding friendship distract his knowledge that one day she would. They all did eventually.

-----

The scene unfolding before Hvitserk was far from what he had expected - though he hadn't been one hundred percent sure of what he would have found, but Ivar getting along with her was the last thing he'd imagined.

-----

Ehrlana watched the clouds as they drifted by. "You could teach me the ways of your Gods," she offered as a solution to their educational plateau.

Ehrlana had been watching as the others participated in the celebrations. She’d always been warned about the pagans and their violent nature. While the sacrifices were brutal, she began to understand why they did the things they did. She wasn’t sure if it was the shock to her system at such brutality or the passion they all seemed to share for their rituals, but whatever the reason, their steadfast belief in the Gods fascinated her.

"Won't your Christian God become jeslous," he added with a laugh.

Her family, their people, the neighboring countries…all of them practiced Christianity. But Ehrlana was different. She always had been. As she grew, her need to question her path in life had grown along with her. A non-believer was valueless to her father and he had been furious with her after voicing the curiosity; making sure to keep her aversion well hidden and contained - never surpassing the initial defiance.

"This my home now, yes?" she replied, ignoring his mocking inquiry.

Unexpectedly his heart jumped with her words. Excitement sent a slight chill over him. "Is it?"

She sat up and looked directly in his eyes. It had been long enough that she knew she was here indefinitely. Even with the scare of being discovered, her family had yet to show. If Kattegat was not her home by now it never would be.

"I have not left." Though they both knew as a slave she had no power to decide on travel plans. "I have been here long enough to accept your city as my own. Kattegat is home. You have taught me your tongue well. Now I wish to learn your customs. Of your Gods. The harvest celebration will soon be upon us and I want to be a part of it. I can think of no one better to show me how," she added playing to his ego.

He forced the smile that attempted to show itself away. He would never allow her to see how excited he was to convert a Christian; even if it was just Ehrlana.

"I will think about it," he said with a shrug and slid from atop his rock to leave.

Ehrlana smiled, knowing he would eventually agree. "Then I will wait eagerly for your decision," she said playfully as she stood and followed him. Both unaware of his brother's prying eyes.

-----

As the weeks turned to months Ehrlana’s paranoia over discovery relaxed more and more, eventually fading away. But it would soon return.

She was back at the market restocking ingredients for another batch of Ivar’s balm, it now a part of their nightly routine. And even though he never admitted it, she saw how well it was working. His had pain visibly lessened and she’d been forced to wake him each morning. It was a small victory, one unacknowledged, but a victory nonetheless.

Addis caught sight of her familiar face and followed Ehrlana from stall to stall. His breath nearly caught when she turned his way. He'd been right. Ehrlana was in alive. And here, in Kattegat.

As she made her way to the next stall his voice called out her name, just as Ivar crawled around the corner of a nearby building. The unknown man rushed over to her spouting off something about raids on her homeland and her father. Declan's warning of her discovery and the fear she'd felt came flooding back.

This is who Declan had warned about!

She desperately wanted the man to stay quiet. She grabbed him by the arms to stop his excited movements. He continued rambling on as her eyes darted around looking for Ivar. He had slowed to a stop, hidden and watching. “Ní rachaidh do chabhair ar aghaidh,” she said with a rushed smile.

Speaking her native tongue was the only way to ensure Ivar wouldn’t understand anything if he was near. Her voice was soft and feminine, but there was a ferocity behind it that conveyed her seriousness.

"Ach ní féidir linn labhairt anseo. Buailfimid anocht. Seolfaidh mé focal. Anois téigh.” Her gaze eventually left him and found Ivar. “Téigh!”

Her chest tightened. She could feel the heat of her skin as it flushed with fear.

Her eyes found his and she wrestled it into control and tried her best to prepare for what was to come next.

She glanced over her shoulder at Addis while he rushed from the square. She couldn’t help but notice he left in the direction of Declan’s as he disappeared behind one of the many buildings. When she turned back she fully expected to be met with a barrage of questions from Ivar, but he'd continued on toward the Blacksmith's. Strangely he had decided not to confront her, though she knew he'd seen them.

------

Addis fled to find Declan to tell him of his news. "Declan! Declan, she is here!” he said between breaths when he’d caught up with him. “Ehrlana….I have found her,” he finished, closing the gap between them.

His voice fell to a whisper. As if the two were conspiring against the Queen of Kattegat herself. But this was their way out of this place. This was their way home. He didn’t need listening ears to ruin his plans of leaving.

Declan’s heart dropped. His mind went blank, desperately trying to find a way around all of this. “In a few months time you and I will be in the King's hall, feasting on our behalf,” Addis continued excitedly before Declan could speak. "I’m sending word tonight."

Then, just like that he’d gone, leaving Declan more worried than ever. He had no idea what to do. He'd tried his best to keep Addis from seeing her. He'd run circles around the two for weeks now. The man had no clue just how much danger he could be putting her into. Declan knew Addis was only thinking of the wealth and fame that would come along with such a rescue. He knew the man would spin a tale of some damsel in distress that he valiantly saved. He may have been his father's friend, but he was a storyteller first. Addis could make shoveling manure sound impressive. Especially if it would give his reputation a boost.

-----

Ivar's attention was grabbed with the initial shouting Addis had done. It was the same man who'd been with Ehrlana earlier. He met with someone Ivar had never seen before. His watchful gaze remained focused on the two men when her name was mentioned. From his perch in the blacksmith's he could see everything. He only wished he could hear them.

Sparks flew from the blade he was sharpening, landing in nearby piles of hay unnoticed. Smoke slowly began to rise.

"I do not wish to burn alive today," Sigurd said to his brother as he handed his axe to the smith. Only Sigurd's irritating voice could pull him away from the scene unfolding before him. "Perhaps you should stop staring at your boyfriend and pay attention to your work," he added pointing out at the two men.

Ivar sneered at his brother. Only Sigurd could manage to pull him from the scene. Thanks to him he missed most of their conversation.

"Jealous?"

Sigurd huffed and turned his attention to the smith, watching as his axe was sharpened. Ivar's eyes went back to Addis and Declan, but they had already disappeared. He would simply have to ask Ehrlana later who he was and what exactly he was up to.