Margrethe was pregnant again. The news came around the beginning of fall, about two months after the midsummer festivities. Thora was upset by the news, and it led her to avoid the Great Hall for several days after hearing it. Hvitserk tightened his jaw so much it looked like he was actively trying to break his teeth.

I was at the beach with Hvitserk when I asked him about it, he flew into a frustrated mess and ranted about how Thora was trying her best to make do with this situation. "There is no making do with this, Runa!" Hvitserk shouted, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me slightly.

"Please stop shaking me, Hvitserk!" I shouted back. He let go of me immediately and huffed a sigh.

"When I got Daisy pregnant," He started. "Ubbe was on my back to try and take care of her. Which I did! But now that he's gone and gotten a girl pregnant, he can ignore it until it goes away."

I hadn't failed to notice the hypocrisy of the situation and nodded along with Hvitserk's anger. Finally, Hvitserk flopped himself down onto the sandy ground of the beach and looked like he was trying to smother himself with the sand. I picked up a handful of sand and sprinkled it onto his shoulders, sympathizing with him.

Hvitserk looked up at me and after spitting out a mouthful of sand asked, "How do you think Daisy's doing? She's been raising that baby for maybe a year now, right."

I patted his braided hair. "I'm sure that Sigurd and Blaeja are still supporting Daisy. Their son and your daughter are probably going to become best friends."

Hvitserk launched himself up and he stared at me, a flare going off in his wide green eyes. "Daisy had a girl? When the fuck did you find this out?"

"I ended up seeing a vision of it last time I tested the powders." I said. "I didn't know if you wanted-"

I was cut off by Hvitserk dragging me into a tight hug. "I have a daughter!" He screamed. "Can you tell what her name is? I want to know!" Just like that, his curiosity about Daisy was gone and Hvitserk was all about the daughter he had across the sea.

Hvitserk and I spent the rest of that afternoon sitting on the beach and contemplating about his daughter. When we started back to the Great Hall, I found myself thinking that no matter how good of friends I was with Thora or Ascrida, Hvitserk was definitely my closest friend.

The Great Hall was crowded, but it hopefully wouldn't be for very much longer. The finishing touches were being done on Ubbe's house. So the moment it was finished, Ubbe would be taking Margrethe and Ragnvald and there'd be a bit more space. Ivar would be happier the moment Margrethe left, the two of them walked around eggshells with each other and whenever they made eye contact they looked like they wanted to fight.

"She still thinks of me as a monster," Ivar confided to me one evening. "She's hated me from the moment she met me."

"I don't see that," I said. "You've never been a monster to me." I leaned over and kissed his temple and the small smile that Ivar reserved only for me crept across his face. I pushed some of his hair back and chuckled. "No. You were just an angry Viking who showed up at Winchester."

He hummed slightly and kissed the knuckles on my hand. "The gods sent me directly to you, Augusta." That was his way of saying he loved me.

One late afternoon, I was weaving a blanket for Bjomolf (the one he got at birth was getting far too small) when Ubbe stomped into the Great Hall.

"Oh, Runa." He said, sounding vaguely surprised. "I was looking for you."

I frowned at the blatant lie and looked up at him, frowning slightly. "What for?"

"Margrethe and Ragnvald are moving into the house right now." Ubbe explained. "AndMargrethe has always wanted a skogkatt. So I was going to see if you wanted to come and help me find one."

"What in the name of Odin is a skogkatt?" I asked, still focusing on weaving.

"A forest cat." Ubbe explained briefly. "Mother had one several years ago. They're giant cats that are easily brought into homes. Margrethe wants one, so I'm going to hunt one down and bring it into the new home."

The way he still talked lovingly about his wife when he had gotten another woman pregnant was grinding at my brain. I looked up at him and dryly said, "Ubbe, I don't know if I'm the best person to ask for help hunting a cat."

He looked half inclined to agree with me. But he shook his head and gestured for me to get up. "No, you'll be great, Runa. Please?" Something in his please made me falter and I got up and followed him out of the city walls and into the forest.

The trees were damp from a recent rain and there was a new chill in the air, biting past my cloak and into my skin. I wrapped it tightly around myself as Ubbe and I walked side by side deeper into the forest.

"Where do these cats usually live?" I asked.

"Wherever they can find shelter." Ubbe replied. "I know a few spots they could be. Come! Margrethe will be so pleased." I paused and fell behind just a moment.

All of the annoyance at how Ubbe was ignoring Thora was threatening to boil over. I stared at Ubbe's back, and the frustration began to spill out. "I know about Thora," I said. Ubbe halted but he didn't turn around. I sighed. "I know you're the father."

Ubbe sighed too. "Did Hvitserk tell you?" He asked, turning around only slightly.

"I figured it out myself. Thora got upset seeing you with your pregnant wife and child." I couldn't stop the emotion from shaking my voice. "Ubbe, what were you thinking?"

Ubbe finally turned around and stared at me, his blue eyes shining with regret. "I was thinking that I hadn't seen my wife in months. We barely had time together when we were at Vestfold. I wanted someone, Runa."

"So you jumped into bed with my friend?" I asked. "Thora is a good person-"

"Exactly!" Ubbe exclaimed. "She was kind and listened to me and we were drunk and it was cold and-" He cut himself off and huffed angrily. "Nothing was ever supposed to happen from it. And then Hvitserk had to walk in without knocking."

"You're blaming Hvitserk for this going awry?" I asked, feeling frustration bubble inside me again. "Hvitserk didn't fuck a girl who wasn't his wife!"

Ubbe glared at me. "I made a mistake, Runa. That's all this was: a mistake. I don't understand why you're upset at me for all of this. We aren't married, and it's not your husband who got another woman pregnant."

"I'm upset because you're my friend, Ubbe." I explained.

Ubbe looked off into the woods for a moment, as if trying to collect his thoughts. "Not all Northmen stick to one wife, Runa. Surely the example of my father would convince you of that. When Aslaug came back to him, pregnant, Ragnar offered to marry her. He would've had both Lagertha and Aslaug if Lagertha had stayed."

I shook my head. "You're not exactly offering to marry Thora, Ubbe. You don't want anyone to know. That's why Hvitserk has been tearing himself apart trying to keep this secret from me, from everyone." I paused and narrowed my eyes. "At least Ragnar was able to be open about getting Aslaug pregnant."

Ubbe flinched as if I had slapped him and he seemed to deflate. He dropped his gaze and stared at the ground near my feet. "I don't want to tell Margrethe. She...she wouldn't forgive me."

"And what's going to happen when Thora gives birth?" I asked gently, slowly approaching him. "That baby could end up looking like you, Ubbe. What then?"

He looked like he hadn't thought of this at all and he slumped down and sat on the forest floor. A hard stab of pity hit me and I sat down right beside him. I rested my head on his shoulder and Ubbe responded instinctively by putting his arm around me.

"I'm sorry, Ubbe." I muttered. He hummed slightly and for a long time, we sat together on the damp forest floor and wallowed in the awfulness of the situation.

The mission of finding a skogkatt was gone for now. Ubbe and I stood up and began slowly walking back to Kattegat, arm in arm. He really loved Margrethe, I could tell. But I could also tell that he wanted to be a father to Thora's baby. If there was a way to keep both, Ubbe would do his hardest to find it. We walked past the newly built houses and paused outside Ubbe's new house.

He stared at the house and looked torn. "Margrethe won't be happy."

"It's better to tell her now rather than when Thora gives birth." I pointed out. As Ubbe stared at the house with a frown, I sighed heavily and thought that I should spend some time keeping my nose out of others business. I patted Ubbe's arm and took a side step away from him. "If you need us, you can always come back to the Great Hall. We're family, Ubbe."

He looked at me and a small smile came on his face as he nodded. "We are family. You're the best sister I could've gotten."

"Thank you, Ubbe. You're a pretty great brother too."

Ubbe's smile faltered and he turned away to the house. "I'll see you either in an hour or two, or tomorrow. Depends on how this goes."

"I'll make sure there's drink for you." I promised. After bidding him goodbye, I entered the gates and walked the winding streets back to the Great Hall.

The inside was warm and brightly lit by the hearth fire. Ivar sat beside it, and I felt my heart swell to see Bjomolf sitting on his lap. Our son was going to be a year old this winter, and his dark hair was getting long and his mismatched eyes perfectly matched the shade of brown and blue of his parents' eyes. Bjomolf looked up before Ivar and loudly squawked the moment he saw me. Ivar looked up and frowned slightly.

"Where is Ubbe?" He asked. "I would've thought you'd have brought back a cat for ourselves."

"Not today." I agreed, sitting right next to him and resting my head on his shoulder.

Ivar was still tense. "What happened?"

If Margrethe was going to be told tonight, then there wasn't any harm in Ivar knowing, I decided. "Ubbe is the father of Thora's baby. I convinced him to tell Margrethe tonight."

Ivar was silent for a long time. "I know. Hvitserk told me about a month ago."

I straightened and frowned at him. "Excuse me? Hvitserk told you?"

"I may have beaten him in a sparring match." Ivar confessed. "We had made a bet that I couldn't beat him and if I did, he'd have to tell me why he was acting so strange."

For a moment, I squinted hard at him, vaguely annoyed that he had wormed the information out of Hvitserk more easily than I had. "Surely Hvitserk would've known how good a fighter you are." I said dryly.

Ivar smirked at my response and he shrugged. "I may have lost a round or two on purpose to trick him."

The fact that Ivar knew exactly had to trick his older brother made me pause and I looked down to Bjomolf. "When you eventually get a younger brother, don't fall for any of his tricks." Bjomolf rambled for a minute in baby talk and I smiled down at him. I looked up to Ivar. "Speaking of him having a younger brother-"

Before I could get the rest of my sentence out, two things happened at once. Ivar's face lit up and a wolfish smile spread across his face. And then footsteps thundered into our area and we both had to turn to see Hvitserk crashing into the room.

"What's wrong with you?" Ivar asked a bit too harshly.

Hvitserk ignored him and pointed to behind him. "I was with Thora. Her baby's coming now."

"What?" I asked. "Where is she? Did you tell Siggy before coming here?"

"I did." Hvitserk said, his breath coming in raggedly. "But Thora sent me to come get you too. She wants you there."

I looked at Ivar and he nodded with a sigh. "We'll get back to talking when you get back. I'll come by after Bjomolf goes to sleep." I kissed him quickly before running out of the door with Hvitserk on my heels.


A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the slower update schedule, I'm putting a lot of focus on school right now and it doesn't leave a lot of time for writing. That and my major involves a LOT of writing already so it's easy to burn out of creative juice when I write for school and for fun.

But don't worry, I've got a lot of this story plotted and I'm just trying to figure out if I should do a big time jump or continue skipping every couple of months to get to bigger plots. Let me know what you guys think and what you'd prefer, because right now I'm leaning towards doing a bigger time jump to get to the next big plot of the story.

Thank you for reading and being so patient with me. :)

-Katie