The sounds of crickets and the rustling of trees filled the quiet village. During that time of the night not even a single light was on, the only noticeable brightness being the moon in the sky. Iona let out a deep breath as she sat by the small pond. There was something about being near water that calmed the Princess, if she could even call herself that.
The village of Kattegat had an effect on her, one that made her realize her true worth. Iona began thinking things that she would have never thought while being cooped in her father's world.
She didn't have to live as the Princess of Vestfold or the Princess of all Norway. It was time to do things to her own accord, to fight for what she believed in, and to defend herself from anyone that tried to stop her.
With her significant amount of time spent in Kattegat, she observed and noted the weaknesses. Something that could be used to an advantage if trying take control of the famous village. And if she wanted, she could have told her father about the weak defenses, about how simple it would be to just bring in an army and take the village away.
But that wasn't she wanted. She wanted nothing to do with the throne, or any throne as a matter of fact.
What she wanted was to make father, King Harald, suffer as much as she did.
Gunnar stood against Iona's hut, waiting for her appearance. After noticing King Harald's angered attitude and red palms, the young Viking went to look for the missing Princess in order to comfort her.
Walking back to her place, Iona noticed the tall figure, that she could recognize anywhere, leaning against the small structure. "Harald send you?"
"No, he didn't." Gunnar said, moving towards the small girl in the darkness, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
She smiled, making her towards the door. She gestured for him to follow her to which he complied. "Well, I'm still alive."
After lighting the few candles in her room, Gunnar had taken notice of the red, hand-shaped mark on her cheek. "He hit you harder than usual, didn't he?"
He moved his hand to caress the red skin, which Iona had quickly pushed away due to the stinging that worsened with touch. She went to grab a towel, pouring water onto it before gently pressing it against her irritated cheek.
"My father's temper has been getting worse as his greed grows."
"That doesn't excuse him treating you like a slave." Gunnar took a seat on the bed and Iona moved to her friend, turning her back towards him as he loosened the ties that kept her shirt on. His fingers softly brushed the skin on her back, which she quickly moved away from to grab more comfortable clothes. "You're just going to continue letting him act like that?"
"I don't think you should be speaking that way while serving in his army." She warned, turning away from him as she changed out of her outfit and into her nightdress.
Gunnar went to lean his head against his fist, making himself more comfortable as he kept his eyes on the girl's lean figure. "My loyalty remains to you, not your father."
She didn't respond, going to grab a piece of leftover bread from earlier that day. When she handed him a small piece, he questioningly raised his eyebrows at the girl. For years since they have known each other, Iona would tell him everything. Her silence signaled that something was going on.
"Are you planning something, Iona?"
Although she trusted Gunnar, she kept silent, moving towards the door and opening it before gesturing for him to leave. "It's late. I just want to sleep, Gunnar."
"I'll stop pestering if you let me spend the night." He insisted, a familiar look on his face.
Iona shook her head at her friend before letting out a small sigh. It had been a while since she had seen him. It had also been awhile since she spent any time with a man.
"You have to leave before dawn." She said, glancing outside as her eyes moved around the area to make sure there was no one around. Closing the door, she decided not to mention anything about the familiar bounded legs she saw disappearing into the darkness.
The next morning, Iona had woken up with the sunlight shining through her window. Gunnar kept his word, leaving before she even noticed. After washing up and getting dressed, she decided to go look for the person she remembered seeing outside of her hut the night before.
It was around noon, the streets of Kattegat were as busy as they usually were around that time. The sounds of villagers chattering filled the air, which only seemed to make Iona's search a little more difficult. She had originally gone to the sons of Ragnar's place where Sigurd and Hvitserk had no idea about Ivar's current location.
Eventually, she had gone to the training grounds in the woods where she had found the person she was looking for. The crippled Prince was practicing his axe-throwing. Iona watched silently for a couple of minutes before finally deciding to speak.
"The angry Prince is angry, what a surprise."
Ivar turned, glaring at the girl stood behind him before continuing his intense session of axe-throwing. "What do you want?"
"I should be asking you the same thing, Ivar." Iona scoffed, going to lean towards one of the trees. "What were you doing outside of my place last night?"
Ivar halted his throwing before tossing the axe in his hand onto the grass. He grabbed onto the tree stump he was sat on, using his strength to turn towards the Princess. A smirk grew on his face once he made eye-contact with her. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Oh, sorry." she replied sarcastically, "I probably mistook you for another cripple that lives in this village, correct?"
Ivar shrugged, amusement in his eyes as he noticed how irritated she had become. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Tired of the immaturity of the Prince, Iona had gotten up and was about to leave without any words. She gave him a glare as she turned towards the village.
Before she was out of hearing range, Ivar spoke once more. "And if it was me?"
"Well, if it was you," Iona turned back, her lips slightly pursed as she walked towards the youngest son of Ragnar. She grabbed an empty cup, pouring it with water before taking a seat on the tree stump next to him. "I just wanted to know why you would spy on me, as if whatever I was doing is any your business."
"If it was me," Ivar continued, "I would say that since you are in my village, it is my business if one of my guests were whoring around."
A loud laugh had suddenly erupted from the girl, "If I remembered correctly, this is Lagertha's village now, is it not?"
"Don't test me, Iona." Ivar said, his jaw clenching in annoyance at her words.
"Don't accuse me of whoring around when you know nothing, Ivar."
His eyes stayed on the girl for a while, his heartbeat racing faster as their argument had suddenly ended with silence. Iona felt the same way, she gulped, trying to stop the vivid thoughts that were going through her head. Ivar licked his lips before grabbing his axe and crawling onto the ground, about to make his way through the trees and away from the dangerous girl.
"Ivar," she had barely whispered his name but it was enough for him to stop, turning to see what she had to say, "I wish we hadn't stopped what we did in England."
Ivar froze, unsure of how to respond to her words. It was the first time a woman had ever found interest in him. Not any of his brothers, but him. Even for Iona, those words were words she had never spoken before. She felt vulnerable and weak, but she couldn't help herself. She missed the feeling of being around Ivar, the feelings that she had the chance to experience before meeting him.
"No." Ivar shook his head, thinking back to the scene he saw the night before of Gunnar taking off her clothing. "If you want pleasure, go screw one of my brothers. You seem to enjoy jumping from man to man."
Ivar really saw her as that. Just a woman who wanted men for pleasure. The hurt from his words showed in Iona's eyes, and she gave him a humorless smile.
"Maybe I will." In a flash, the girl had angrily stormed away. Never was she going to show vulnerability in front of a man again.
"Can I ask you why you are looking for me, Iona?" Lagertha was sat next to the Princess of Vestfold in the Great Hall. The Queen had taken notice of the girl before, she was quiet, liked to do things on her own, and didn't seem to care much for political matters, even if she was a Princess.
The young girl was clean, almost too clean. Seeing her seemed to only make Lagertha more weary of her intentions.
"I want to speak to you, Queen Lagertha," Iona said, her fingers tapping on the table as she maintained eye contact with the woman in front of her, "alone."
Lagertha nodded before looking at Torvi and Astrid, directing them to leave. Noticing the looks between the second and third-in-command, Iona gave them a small smile. She unbuckled her holster, giving her weapons to them in order to show that she meant no harm. The two then hesitantly made their way out of the Great Hall.
"I'm not very good with negotiations," Iona admitted, looking around the empty hall.
"I couldn't tell." Lagertha said, her voice serious but her eyes filled with amusement.
Iona let out a heavy breath, her eyes closing for a moment. "I have been informed you are sending a large portion of your army to England for the revenge of Ragnar Lothbrok. They are leaving in a week, yes?"
"Yes, they are."
"While that occurs, I recommend that you keep a significant amount of your warriors here, in Kattegat. You don't know what will happen." Iona continued.
Lagertha furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes hooded as she looked at the girl in front of her. "Are you threatening me, Iona, daughter of Harald?"
"No, not at all." Iona shook her head, "I would to classify it more as a warning."
"Who are you warning me of?"
"If I tell you," Iona got up from her seat, taking a look at the stuffed animal heads hanging around the walls, "you have to promise to hold off your actions until after they come back from England."
Lagertha gave a deep breath, her eyes on the suspicious girl in front of her. "We'll see."
"If that's not a 'yes', I think it best for me to leave." Iona slowly walked towards the door before being stopped.
"Iona," Lagertha continued, "you do know that I can capture you and force it out of you."
"Queen Lagertha," Iona retorted, "you do know that doing so would cause a war between Kattegat and my father's lands."
It was a lie. To be fair, her father probably wouldn't have cared less if she did get captured. But nobody knew that, not even the Queen of Kattegat.
"I promise." Lagertha finally agreed, the light shining off of her blonde hair. "I will hold off my actions until after England. But when you tell me who, you have to tell me why."
Iona nodded, taking her seat next to Lagertha. "My father, King Harald, has been talking of how your defenses will be weak once most of your men are in England. I believe he is going to use that time to attack Kattegat."
"And why must I wait until after England to take action? If I get rid of him now, I would not have to fight them and lose any of my people." Lagertha seemed to be deep in thought, wanting to get rid of King Harald as soon as possible.
"Without my father's men, the Great Army would be much smaller and the sons of Ragnar would be at a disadvantage while in England. That is why I want to wait until after England, after my friends have succeeded in avenging their father." Iona smirked, amused at the Queen's expression after hearing her answer. "I'm sure you want them to be successful, also."
Lagertha squinted her eyes, confused at the Princess' betrayal towards her own father. But she didn't seem to have any problems with Iona's requests. "And why should I trust you?"
"You have no way of knowing whether to trust me or not." Iona admitted, "but think about it, there is nothing I could possibly benefit off of you making your defenses stronger."
"I see." Lagertha said, her suspicion of the Princess seemed to be dying down. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I want Harald to suffer as much as he has made me suffer all of my life."
