Chapter 2

"Where are you off to? Your father said to stay close while he was gone." Helga said just as Runa was opening the door to leave.

"Yes, he said to stay close to you and the sons of Ragnar, which is whom I'm going to see now."

"But you've already supped and it's far too late for training. Are you going to see all the sons of Ragnar, or just one in particular? I've seen the way Ubbe looks at you lately." she smiled at Runa.

Runa couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes a bit. First Ragnar last week before they left for England, and now Helga. Why is everyone trying to push them together? "I'm sure you are misinterpreting things Helga. It was Sigurd who invited me to drink with them tonight. Supposedly the Queen has been very pressing on them and they want to have fun away from her for a night."

"They may be your friends, but they are still men. And when men drink, they can be unpredictable. Are you sure it is wise of you to be alone with them?" The last thing Runa wanted was to worry her. She walked over and grabbed Helga's hands tenderly.

"I wouldn't do anything that would put me in harms way or make you worry Helga, I promise. They are like my brothers and would never harm me. Well…maybe Ivar, but he won't be there." Where the rest of them only tolerate their mother, he adored her. She was sure he wouldn't leave her alone to drink with them.

Helga pulled Runa's hands up to her mouth and gave them both a small kiss before grabbing the sides of her face. "I love you Runa. And you tell those boys that if a single hair on your head is out of place when I see you again, that not even Odin himself can save them from my wrath."

"Will do. I love you too Helga." Runa smiled and left the house. Once outside she started to walk toward the forest. Usually she would run, but as past incidences would tell, she must be on alert when alone in Kattegat, especially in the forest.

As soon as she was in the cover of the trees, she heard rustling behind her. She turned around as fast as she could while sliding her dagger out of its sheath. Ubbe began a bellowing laugh. "Ugh. Ubbe! I could've killed you!" She ran over and pushed him, and he fell to the ground. He lay there still laughing, holding his stomach as if all the laughter made it ache. Her anger subsided, and she began to laugh with him.

She extended her hand out to him. "Come on, get up. Hvitserk and Sigurd are waiting." Ubbe grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of him. "Let them wait." He said just inches away from her face. Runa was stunned and didn't know what to do. She tried to lift herself off him, but he held her down. All of a sudden, he flipped her over and she was now under him. Her long, dark brown braid had fallen onto her face and he brushed it aside.

"Ubbe, what are you doing?" Runa asked. She was hoping what Helga and Ragnar had said wasn't true. She loved Ubbe like a brother and trying to bring something more into their relationship would strain her relationship with the entire Lothbrok/Ragnarsson clan, not to mention their own friendship as well.

"I was only doing what your father asked. I couldn't have you walking through the forest alone in the dark, now could I?" He could feel her still trying to break free. "Think of it as a training session, Runa. You have just been attacked and are pinned down. How are you going to get free?" Ubbe said playfully and had a smirk on his face, still inches away from hers. She didn't want to make things awkward, so she did the only thing she could think of. She did exactly what he said. Runa brought her left arm up, and wrapped it around his neck, so that his head was under her arm. She pulled her right arm out from under him and brought her elbow down hard on his back. Ubbe groaned, and before he could make a move, she brought her knee up to hit him in his groin, but since he was so much taller than her, her knee landed in his abdomen. She could feel his body recoil in pain, so she took the advantage and pushed him onto his back and straddled him. Her dagger was in her hand again and she brought it up to his neck.

Ubbe laid there smiling at her while she stayed in her position, panting. "I didn't mean it literally." He laughed. "I should've expected that. Our Runa is never one to back down from a challenge." He reached out to touch her face and began to sit up to face her when Hvitserk showed up.

"Brother, we thought you got lost or someth- What are you two doing?" He gave them a knowing smirk as Runa jumped to her feet. "Just trying to prepare her for anything, brother. People can attack at any time." Ubbe replied while smiling, not taking his eyes from Runa. Hvitserk only laughed. "Come on, we've got mead with our name on it waiting."

The three of them began walking slowly, until she noticed the brothers pick up their pace. They wanted a race, and they weren't going to trick her into losing. Runa pulled the hem of her dress up and took off ahead of them. It didn't take a moment for the boys to do the same, but speed was one thing she had over them. She beat them to the house and ran inside before they could catch up to her. She walked in expecting to see Sigurd alone, but was surprised to see Ivar seated directly across from the door.

"And to what do we owe the honor for the presence of the youngest prince?" she asked Ivar while grabbing a chair next to him. "I thought you found us idiotic and irritating when we all drink together, if I do remember you saying so?" Just then the remaining brothers walked in with the same face Runa had when she saw Ivar in the house.

"I do." Ivar turned to look at her. "I just thought I'd get a front row view of the idiots in action today." Runa scoffed. She didn't feel like arguing with Ivar. Maybe him being here meant he was opening up to having her around. It only took him 17 years, but better late than never. Sigurd poured her a cup of mead and handed it to her. And the four of them began to drink and laugh and tell stories of when they were young, while Ivar sat quietly.

Runa lost count of how many cups she had already after a few hours, but she didn't care. She knew she was safe with them. Her vision began to get a little hazy and she couldn't stop laughing for some time. They were laughing at Hvitserk failing to keep still and fill his cup at the same time when she looked over and noticed Ivar sitting quietly, with an empty cup. She placed her cup on the ground and reached out for the one in Ivar's hand. "Here, let me." He pulled back fast when she touched his hand. She looked at him for a bit, confused.

"Why are you here, if you are not going to drink with us, hmm?" Ivar stayed quiet. "Was that your only cup tonight? Let me get you another." Runa tried again.

"I've had enough."

Runa laughed. "If you're not smiling, you haven't had enough." The other brothers laughed with her, while Ivar glared. "You know now that I think about it Ivar, I don't think I've ever seen you smile!"

"I have no reason to smile."

"Oh come on, don't be that way." She stood up and knelt in front of him, one hand on his knee. The brothers all sat up straight in their seats, concerned of what Ivar might do.

"Runa, leave him be. You know how he gets." Ubbe warned.

"I'm not being rude to him. I just want to be the first to make Ivar the Boneless smile." She slowly started to stand as she kept talking, never losing eye contact with Ivar. "You're quite handsome, you know? I bet if you smiled, people would place you as the most handsome of the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok." She reached out and placed her hand on Ivar's cheek. She was expecting him to slap her hand away, but he didn't. His glare he had moments ago was gone, replaced with an expression she could not make out. Still it was no smile, so she continued.

"How much has she drunk? I've never seen her get this close to Ivar before." Sigurd chuckled. "Should we stop it before Ivar gets angry?"

"No, he's already angry. Let's see how this plays out." Said Hvitserk. Ubbe was watching on, his empty hand, balled in a fist while his jaw clenched.

Runa went to stand on the side of Ivar, then proceeded to sit on his lap. She pulled her dress up a bit, so she wouldn't trip and it had come up and slid above her knee as she crossed one leg over the other. Her arm was wrapped around his neck, her hand resting gently over his shoulder. Ivar was looking down at her exposed thigh, so she took her other hand and placed it under his chin, slowly bringing his face back up to hers. She could feel his hand on her waist and it made her insides tingle.

Sigurd and Hvitserk were silently watching on in wonder and expectation, while Ubbe was obviously uncomfortable.

"You know, your father once told me that women have the power to make a man do anything they wanted if their will was strong enough." She placed her hand on his chest and left his eyes to examine the flesh under her hand. Just as his shoulders were, his chest was firm. She could feel his heart beating fast and realized that hers was doing the same. All those years of carrying himself around had really helped to shape his muscular body. She drew circles with her finger on the exposed part of Ivar's chest. "So, tell me Ivar what do I have to do to get one smile?" And she looked back into his eyes.

Ivar opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again, still never breaking eye contact from Runa. She looked down to his lips and maybe it was all the mead she had just drank, but she began to move her face closer to his when she felt herself being pulled off by her arm. Runa struggled to find her footing, and once she did, she looked up to see Ubbe, still gripping hard onto her arm and his face in a frown. "What are you doing?! You know how he is, why are you trying to make him angry?" She heard Ivar jump down from his chair and watched him with great speed, crawl up to the door, and leaving it open as he disappeared in to the darkness.

"I-I was just trying to get him to smile." The intoxicated feeling she had a little while ago was gone and replaced with worry. She had never seen Ubbe that angry and he had never raised his voice at her before.

"If you want to get someone to smile, tell them a joke. Don't act like a common whore." Before she could think about what she was doing, her hand came across Ubbe's face and struck him hard, making his entire head turn. He turned back around angry, Sigurd and Hvitserk now stood next to him in case he tried to return the blow, but when he looked at Runa, his heart sunk. Her eyes were filled up to the brim with tears and one broke free and slid down her cheek. Before they could see anymore, she stormed out of the already open door and slammed it behind her.

Ivar's POV

"But I don't understand why I have to spend my night watching them drink themselves into unconsciousness." Ivar pleaded with his mother.

"Because that little Saxon wench is going to be there, and as she has gotten older she has only grown to be beautiful and even closer to your brothers." Queen Aslaug replied to her son.

"I still don't see what that has to do with me."

She was beginning to lose her patience, and her tone showed it. "Because, my sweet Ivar. You and I both know that Ubbe has developed feelings for that girl and by the Gods, I will not let her become Queen of Kattegat." She stopped to take a deep breath. "Just go there and make sure nothing happens between them."

Ivar left his home and began to crawl his way to the forest, mumbling the entire way how he should have better things to do then to stop his brother from being with a woman.

He was halfway to the house they were all to gather in when through the trees, he saw Ubbe walking in the opposite direction. He turned and started to pull his body over the roots of the trees, and when he saw his brother stop and hide behind a tree, he did the same, only a safe distance away as to not be seen. They both remained quiet and still for another 10 minutes until Ivar finally saw what Ubbe was waiting for. Runa was walking from Floki's house.

Pathetic. Ivar thought to himself as he watched his brother's smile spread as she got closer. Ivar's eyes left Ubbe and landed on Runa. There was no denying she had grown into a beautiful woman. Her long brown hair was off to the side in the loose braid she always wore, but she was no longer in the training outfit he usually saw her in. She wore a simple grey wool dress that hugged her body to show her curves. Most women here had a slim body and small hips, but Runa was lean with a small waist and hips that created a shape that he was sure no man could resist. Not only had her face grown beautiful, but her body as well.

She shouldn't wear dresses without a cloak. Vikings are a fierce kind of man and once they got a view of what she's been hiding, every man in Kattegat will be after her. Ivar has known that everything below his waist didn't work since his brothers had delivered Margarete to him, but looking at Runa stirred something in him. If his prick had worked, what he was feeling would be visible right now.

He continued to watch as Ubbe let her pass him only to sneak up on her from behind. She heard him immediately and turned with her dagger in hand ready to fight. Impressive. He had seen her train before, but it had been awhile since he joined them. Ivar and Runa threw insults back and forth to each other when they were around each other and he didn't need her distracting him while he trained. She had pushed Ubbe onto the ground and they were both laughing now when Ubbe suddenly pulled her body onto his.

As Ivar watched her struggle to get out of his grip as Ubbe pinned her down under him, his heart started to beat fast. What is he doing? She doesn't look comfortable with the situation. And just as he was about to charge toward them, Runa was on the defense, elbowing and kneeing Ubbe until she hovered over him with her dagger to his neck. Ivar couldn't help the smile that overtook his face. She's stronger than I thought. Ubbe touched her face gently and was just about to come face to face with her when Hvitserk came out of nowhere.

Ivar pulled his body as fast as he could to the small house so he could beat them there. "What are you doing here?" Sigurd asked as Ivar slammed the door behind him and pulled his body onto a seat. "I was bored." He replied. He had just got his breath calm when Runa stormed through the door and stared at him with a confused look.

"And to what do we owe the honor for the presence of the youngest prince?" She asked. Ivar noticed she sat in the only seat that was beside him. Most people avoided sitting next to him, but she passed the empty seats that were away from him. "I thought you found us idiotic and irritating when we all drink together, if I do remember you saying so?" The rest of his brothers walked in looking just as confused as she was.

"I do." He answered. "I just wanted a front row view of the idiots today." He didn't know what to say, so he answered with an insult. She rolled her eyes and took her attention off of Ivar only to grab a cup of mead from Sigurd. He then handed one to Ivar and he slowly sipped on the mead in it for the remainder of the evening while the rest of them refilled their own cups numerous times. They began to get louder, laughing at things that weren't even funny.

While he was watching Hvitserk stumble over himself, he felt someone touch his hand and he pulled it back fast. He looked over and saw Runa's hand extended out toward him. What is she doing? He wondered.

"Why are you here, if you are not going to drink with us, hmm?" She asked, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell the truth. "Was that your only cup tonight? Let me get you another." She tried again to grab the cup from him, but he pulled his hand away once more.

"I've had enough."

"If you're not smiling, you haven't had enough." The rest of the room broke into laughter. Ivar hated being laughed at. "You know now that I think about it Ivar, I don't think I've ever seen you smile!" He had smiled at her earlier when she gave Ubbe a taste of her strength, but she didn't know that.

"I have no reason to smile."

"Oh come on, don't be that way." She got up and went over to him. She went to her knee in front of him and placed a hand over his knee. Ivar felt annoyed that she was getting so close, but he also wished he could feel her hand. Except for the one time with Margarete, he had never been touched by a woman in that way. He heard shuffling behind her, and saw his brothers turn serious and sit up straight to watch them.

"Runa, leave him be. You know how he gets." His brothers knew how Ivar doesn't like to be touched, but he didn't mind in this moment.

"I'm not being rude to him. I just want to be the first to make Ivar the Boneless smile." Runa stood up slowly while still looking into Ivar's eyes. "You're quite handsome, you know?" Ivar felt his cheeks get hot. "I bet if you smiled, people would place you as the most handsome of the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok." As she said those last couple words, her hand came up to cup his face. The feeling of her hand on him felt almost familiar, like her hand was meant to be there. He could hear his brothers mumbling but couldn't take his attention off of Runa to figure out what they were saying. She lifted her dress a bit and sat sideways on his lap. Ivar brought his hand to her waist, so she didn't drunkenly fall and take him with her. He looked down and saw that her dress had lifted even farther up, and he could see the light from the fire making her bare skin glow. He used all the strength he had to not bring his hand up to rub her soft, tight thigh. He couldn't stop staring at her thigh until he felt her pull his face up to look at hers.

"You know, your father once told me that women have the power to make a man do anything they wanted if their will was strong enough." His heart started to race, and only got faster when she placed her hand on his chest. He had come to the house without his usual vest. Instead he had his tunic on that was open in a V-shape at the top. Her hand was touching the exposed part and when she realized it she looked down. He watched her expression as she examined the flesh beneath her hand. He noticed a small smile creep across her face as she started to draw circles on his chest while her eyes came back up to meet his and she said, "So, tell me Ivar. What do I have to do to get one smile?"

Kiss me. He wanted to demand her but couldn't get the words out. She had him in a trance that he couldn't break. As if she could read his mind, her face started coming in closer to his and right as her nose brushed up against his and their lips were about to touch, she was gone.

Ivar snapped back to reality and saw that Ubbe had Runa by the arm and a scowl on his face. He went to the floor and was out of the house before Runa or his brothers could start laughing at him.

He was halfway to his home when he thought, If I go home before Ubbe does, Mother's going to get upset. He stopped and pulled his body to a large tree and rested against it. He closed his eyes and to his surprise saw Runa. He could see her bright green eyes as if she was still inches from his face. He could feel her hand resting on his chest and the warmth of her body against his as if she were here with him. He opened his eyes and could still feel his heart beating wildly. He didn't know what to think of what had just happened in the house. They say people's true feelings come out when they're drunk. Has Runa been hiding feelings for me? You idiot, it was only a joke.

Just as he was thinking things over he saw Runa fly past him, only to stop a few yards away and slide down a tree, sitting with her knees to her chest. He stayed as quiet as possible, so she could not see him, and Ivar could hear her sniffling. She brought her hands up to wipe the tears that flowed from her eyes, but he could still see the sadness on her face. He wanted to go over to her but wasn't sure how she would react.

The hell with it. He thought as he started to move his legs to get behind him, so he could crawl towards her. But just as he did, Ubbe came running from the same way she did, calling her name. He decided not stay and watch the lovers quarrel, and went to sneak back into his house without waking his mother.