1000 A.D
The empty horn that had once possessed a deadly purple liquid sat abandoned beside her, her attention completely devoted to the noiseless babe in her arms.
Crystal eyes glossy and unblinking, rosebud shaped lips still and tinted a deadly violet shade and his unblemished skin tainted with haunting caerulean undertones.
She wasn't quite sure how long herself and Niklaus had been sat like this, staring down at the lifeless child that laid so naturally between her arms.
After her son had been announced dead, a stillborn babe, Esther had stiffly left the room with a distraught Rebekah in tow, yearning Rebekah to give the couple some much needed privacy.
Parenthood had so suddenly slipped between their fingers, quickly coming to an end before it had even officially started.
Blinking away the unshed tears that so dangerously threatened to fall, Astrid's gaze shifted to Niklaus', her lower lip trembling as she urged her words to leave her lips.
However, to no avail, she was silent, her vocal cords knotted helplessly. All she could do was meet her husband's heartbroken gaze.
Tears stained his cheeks, his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders, her back resting against his firm chest.
"He's beautiful." Nik's words were hoarse as he pulled Astrid closer.
She didn't resist, melting into his embrace. All the cruel words that Nik had spat at her were temporarily forgotten, she just needed comfort, and at that moment, she didn't care if that made her a weak woman or not.
Managing to force her vocal cords to comply, Astrid licked her dry lips. "He is. I wanted to call him Ivar."
Sniffling, Astrid's grip tightened on the babe, as if she was afraid he was going to suddenly slip between her arms and evaporate into the thin air.
"I-Ivar sounds perfect." Nik's voice was quiet, tears streaming down his face as he reached out, running his index finger delicately across Ivar's icy cheek.
Not even the furs wrapped around him could keep Ivar warm, he was cold and lifeless beneath Nik's fingertips.
"My Ivar, my son- our son." He commented quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
The noisy sob that threatened was desperately trying to claw itself out of her throat was released, her head lulling forwards as her body trembled with each cry.
If Niklaus was surprised by her sudden outburst, he didn't show it.
With a calmness she appreciated, Niklaus fingers reluctantly moved from the newborn as he held her tighter, pressing a delicate kiss to the sharp blade of her shoulder.
"I know, my love, I know." His breath tickled her neck.
But no words left her lips, all she could do was communicate through gut wrenching wails as her head suddenly tilted back to rest on his chest.
Astrid barely managed to keep hold of little Ivar as she desperately sought the comfort of her husband.
Soft whispers of comforting, pretty words left his lips, but none lessened the cold feeling in her heart.
The door to the cottage door suddenly swung open, banging loudly with the sudden gust of wind. Stood in the doorway was Sigrid.
She had clearly been sleeping, and had not long woken, her straw colored hair was unkempt and wild, sticking up in all directions.
Sigrid hadn't changed her clothing from her sleepwear, attired in a burgundy night shift with a navy cloak carelessly draped over her shoulders.
It seemed she hadn't even had time to grab her shoes, her feet bare and covered in a thin layer of ashy mud.
Her daughter didn't even react upon seeing her mother as she helplessly clung to Niklaus as if he was her gravity, her only hope to keep her grounded.
Struggling to fully take in the sight before her, Sigrid's void gaze landed on the lifeless bundle on her daughters lap. Hidden by thick furs, only a small, limp and motionless fist peeked out.
Astrid was sobbing, one hand clutching the lifeless babe while one urgently clung to Niklaus.
Eyes rimmed a vibrant shade of red, Astrid's face was slick with a mixture of sweat from her difficult labor and her ever present tears that were pooling down her cheeks.
Brown wet coils stuck to her forehead, not that Astrid payed any attention to them.
With adrenaline running through her veins, Sigrid instinctively made her way towards her daughter's side, forcefully yanking her out of her embrace with Niklaus.
As her mother held her at arm's length, Astrid's sobs stilled, her lower lip trembling as she waited for her mother to do something.
Would her mother strike her for being weak? Would she call her a pathetic girl and tell her she deserved the tragic fate the God's had cast upon her sweet son?
Shaking in anticipation, Astrid was pleasantly surprised when her mother pulled her tightly to her chest, Astrid's fingers instinctively clutching at her mother's shift as if she was a child seeking comfort.
As her mother stroked the wet curls, pushing them back, Astrid began to sob again, unable to hold back her heart-breaking cries as her mother rocked them back and forth.
"I know, my child. I know." Sigrid comforted, her words choked up as Niklaus carefully took Ivar into his arms.
The young babe was still wrapped up in the furs, yet he felt so light. He was so small, almost as small as Henrik had been as a babe.
Niklaus didn't bother wiping the tears as he stared down at Ivar.
He had imagined holding his child would have been the most joyous occasion of his lifetime, that Ivar would have inquisitively gazed up at him, his five little fingers wrapping around his thumb.
But Niklaus felt nothing but sorrow as he stared down Ivar, his beautiful son who hadn't even had a chance to flourish in this cruel world.
As he pulled the child closer to his chest, Nik tried to drown out the noise of his wife's distressing cries.
With her daughter closely nuzzled to her chest, Sigrid lowered her gaze to Niklaus, her eyes softening in pity as she reached out with one arm, placing a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture before turning her attention to her daughter.
As Astrid shifted in her mother's embrace, Sigrid's couldn't help but notice the almost empty goblet on the bedside table. The horn had a few droplets of liquid left, whatever it was, it was an alarming shade of purple.
Sigrid often found that the more vibrant the color of a potion, the more dangerous it was. Judging from the violet tone, it almost seemed as if it contained wolfsbane, a very rare and hard to get herb.
Wolfsbane was not known for soothing labor pains, it was only known to be useful for one thing, poisoning or harming wolves.
The herb wouldn't kill a full grown wolf man, but it would certainly kill a young wolf child.
Furrowing her brows together, Sigrid returned her gaze to her daughter, tightening her arms around her.
Why would Esther have given Astrid wolfsbane?
Clearly, it was a concoction of dangerous herbs and if Sigrid's suspicions were right, Esther had some involvement in the death of her grandson.
...
Large droplets of water rained down upon her, soaking her thin gown, the burgundy color fading into a dusty pink.
Wrapping her arms tighter around her, Sigrid shivered furiously as she shakily moved to stand on the large boulder.
She was steady with each step, her feet now covered in a thick layer of mud, making her slip and stumble every once and a while.
As she stood tall and proud on the boulder, her infuriated glare focused on the darkened night sky.
Fury burned through Sigrid's veins as she glared up at the God's hatefully. "You bastards! You fucking bastards! Why! Why me!" Sigrid's angry tone crackled with emotion as she waved her hands in the air.
If anyone saw her they would have thought she was a mad woman, but that was the least of Sigrid's worries. She wanted answers, no- she needed answers.
And she would receive them, they at least owed her that.
"Why Astrid!" She continued, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Blinking away the unshed tears that dangerously threatened to fall, Sigrid's blonde curls stuck to her wet cheeks.
"Why didn't you tell me! You could have told me!" She stomped her foot on the rock, almost losing her balance when her muddied foot threatened to slip.
Steadying herself on her feet, Sigrid wiped her eyes, letting out an angry sob as the rain continued to pour down upon her.
"Out of all the things you showed me, you never showed me this! I don't want this, not anymore!"
She didn't jump when lightening flashed across the sky, lighting up the muddied landscape around her. As she let out another angry shriek, her knees buckled, sending her to the ground, her knees cut and bleeding while her gown was now soggy and covered in mud.
"I don't want it."
Placing her hands on her head, Sigrid let out another loud shriek. "You showed me Niklaus would do great things! That he had to marry Astrid for fate, but you never showed me this!"
She clenched her teeth angrily as another lightning bolt flashed across the sky. Was that the God's answer, Thor releasing a lightning bolt? That was all they had to say?!
What wicked game were the God's playing?!
"You never showed me what would happen with the babe, what pain my daughter would endure!" She yelled angrily.
Sigrid didn't want this 'gift' anymore, she didn't want to be a volva. She didn't want to see visions of what the God's intended, not when they hurt her daughter.
They had deceived her and betrayed her, she would no longer help tempt the fate they desired, they could do that on their own.
She would no longer be a servant of the God's, not after what they did to her daughter, to Niklaus, to her beautiful Grandson.