Lost

Lost

Masterlist

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Word Count: 1559

Summary: Reader gets lost in the forest after Ivar decides to let her go.

Author’s Note: Just me here, still trying to lay down some foundation about these two. Don’t worry, Reader will stop being such a little shit eventually.

More from The Stolen Queen: When Heathen King Meets Christian Queen The Secret Visit

----

Ivar knew something was amiss when he saw the door of the cabin was closed and latched on the outside. He figured you must have tried to run off again until he noticed one of his guards missing from his post.

“Arn, where is Vali?” When the remaining guard pointed toward a covered up mound near the tree line, he rubbed his face in frustration. His absence was meant to placate you and curtail your deadly behavior, not fuel it. “And what did she get a hold of this time?”

This was the second guard you managed to get rid of in the past month since you’ve lived here. Either you was more deceitful than he gave you credit for or he just had a habit of picking stupid men to watch over you. Considering that you were previously caught with various weapons stolen from the more naive of the guards, he figured it was a combination of the two.

“Last week's dinner.” He tossed the weapon to Ivar “She sharpened a chicken bone into a spike and got him good in the neck. It's a pretty decent weapon too, imagine if it was something bigger.” The large man had a rare hint of a smile on his face, looking like a proud father.

“You find this is amusing?”

Arn shrugged, “I didn’t care for him all that much. Never shut his mouth. Guess I don’t have to worry about that now.”

“I’m starting to think that you and her are in this together,” Ivar shook his head as he went to unlatch and open the door.

You were standing with your back against the pillar, your arms tied behind you. Rolling your eyes as soon as you saw him enter the cabin, you leaned your head back, choosing to stare at the rafters instead.

He took a seat at the table in front of you, gently placing the offending weapon at the center before interlacing his fingers in his lap. “What am I going to do with you, Y/N?”

“You could always let me go.” You stated bluntly, shifting around in your binds. He wasn’t sure exactly how long you’ve been standing there but he imagined you were starting to get uncomfortable. You brought your head back down to look at him, “Or would you just make sure that I can’t run again?”

Ivar seemed to usually be caught between irritation and amusement when it came to you. Defiant wasn’t a strong enough word to describe you. You had tried to run off on your first morning at the cabin but was quickly stopped by his guards. When he arrived that night, he had expected to find a scared little queen who would beg for his forgiveness by any means necessary. Instead you stood in front of him with your head held high, daring him to do as he promised. At that moment, he found himself unable to keep his word. He had you locked in for the rest of the week until you were on your best behavior.

“I think I’ve been a very considerate host. I make sure that you’re well fed, that you’re clothed in the best dresses, that you sleep under the warmest furs. But still you try to leave or you kill my men. Why? I’ve treated you better than I would most of my family.” With the help of his crutch, he stood from the table and walked over to you. He bent at the waist so he could be at your eye level. 

You turned your head to the wall to avoid his gaze, refusing to say anything to him.

He grabbed a hold of your jaw and forced you to look at him. “Do you even know where you are? Or which way you need to go to get back home? You’re safer here, I’m only keeping you here for your own good, my little queen.” His hold on you softened, his thumb grazing your bottom lip. He walked around behind you to loosen the rope around your arms.

Falling over onto your hands and knees after taking a first step, your legs weakened after having to stand for too long. You rolled over to sit on the floor and look up at him as he walked over to sit on the bed.

Ivar propped his chin on his crutch, raising his brows, “You want to leave? So go. I won’t stop you.”

You slowly rose to your feet with some uncertainty. He couldn’t help the feeling of disappointment that was bubbling up inside as he watched you walk out the door. Even though he knew you would be back, he had wished that you had chosen to stay.

Arn rushed into the cabin, looking confused after witnessing you run off, “Are you really letting her go?,” he questioned.

 “Let her tire herself out and then bring her back,” he ordered before laying back onto the bed to rest his eyes. “I doubt she will get far. She’s a fierce fighter but I don’t think navigation is one of her strengths.”

----

Your lungs felt like they were on fire as you kept running but you couldn’t stop now. Refusing to believe Ivar would simply let you go without a fight, you were determined to get as much distance between you and the guard that you were sure was sent after you. You were too busy checking behind you once again when you felt your feet fall out from under you, taking a hard tumble down a small hill. 

You saw stars and felt the air knocked out of you when your back finally hit the ground. Letting out a groan, you rolled onto your hands and knees. You tried to stand but the sharp pain from your ankle brought you back down. You considered staying put for the rest of the night but the snap of a branch from afar reminded you that that wouldn’t be the best plan. With all the strength you had left, you managed to get back up and limp away. 

You gritted your teeth through the pain as you kept walking. The branches and leaves of the trees above you had obscure your view of the moon, making it hard for you to tell how long you’ve been going now. You paused to take in your surroundings, looking for any sign you were headed in the right direction. You thought you would have been out of the other end of the forest by now.

“No, no, no,” you cried out loud to yourself when you noticed the felled tree you were sure you had already passed moments ago. There was no possible way that you were walking around in a circle. Collapsing onto your knees in exhaustion, everything seemed to be spinning around you now even though you were still.

You laid on your side, curling into yourself on the forest floor in a sad attempt to keep warm. You had only shut your eyes for a brief moment before you opened them again and found yourself staring at a familiar face. 

The woman was lying beside you, looking the same as she did the last time you saw her. The white war markings around her face stood in stark contrast to her deep brown skin, her long, thick braids wrapped around her golden crown.

“Mama,” you called out softly in a language you haven’t spoken in many years, “I’m afraid that I’m lost.”

You felt the warmth of her hand as she caressed your cheek. “You are never truly lost. Our God has led you to where you need to be. My dearest daughter, the destined wife of the beast-- her end will mark the beginning of his downfall but she will birth the hope he needs to rise again.”

When your mother first foretold this prophecy, you regarded it more as a scary tale than anything else. “Well, God has led me to be lost. I didn’t understand the words he spoke through you then and I still don’t understand now,” you admitted.

“Don’t worry, it will become clear to you soon. Now rest your eyes, my brave girl.” You knew she wasn’t really with you but you could have sworn you felt her hand smooth down your hair 

Waking to the crunching of leaves on the ground, you felt as if you were floating in the air.  You opened your eyes to see Arn’s weathered face above you. You looked past him, gazing up at the hint of reds dusting the sky that was peeking through the forest canopy. How long had you been out?

You were contemplating whether it was worth struggling out of his hold when you heard her again, repeating the last words she ever spoke to you, “Be not afraid, you’ll be safe with him. He’s taking you home. Home to your king.” Resting your eyes once again, you allowed yourself to be lulled by sounds of the forest around you.

When Arn finally laid you down on your bed, you rolled over away from him, waiting until you heard his retreating steps out of the cabin. You finally allowed yourself to weep after growing tired of trying to remain strong. Your mother must have had it wrong, you were still lost and so far from home.

----

Tags:  @youbloodymadgenius​ @tsumamibaddie​ @walkxthexmoon @ivarsgoddess​ @akaward-potato​  @spotgaai2000

(Sorry if you get a notification for this again, had to fix my tags)

When Heathen King Meets Christian Queen

Masterlist

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Word Count: 1492

Summary: Ivar finds more than just gold when he raids the Kingdom of Powys.

Warnings: None.

Author’s Note: Oh, looky! I’m back with another one about my new favorite couple. And I’m also back with my bad titles :) Figured I should go back to when our couple first met. It’s not quite an easy start.

 ----

 “Who is she?” Ivar questioned the eleven prisoners kneeled before him, the last of King Fremund’s men sent from Gwynedd to help defend the Kingdom of Powys. Even with the swords and knives held against their necks, they stayed silent much like the stubborn woman in his tent. “Am I not speaking the right language? Maybe we should start ripping you open slowly, one by one, until I can get my point across.”

The shudder he heard let him know that he was being understood clearly but still no one spoke. He signaled to one of his men to commence cutting into the first prisoner in line while he went over to stand next to Hvitserk, hoping he’d get some answers soon.

“I don’t understand why you care so much about this woman, Ivar? Just put her with the other thralls,” He contested before taking a sip from his horn. Both brothers unphased by the shouts and screams in the background.

“There’s just a mystery about her. These Christians don’t typically let their women pick up a sword yet she fought as valiantly as their strongest man,” he praised. Though small in stature, you were hard not to notice as you sped down the hill even faster than some of your men. No fear or hesitation on your face. Not even after you were captured, especially not after you spat in his face when asked for your name.

Hvitserk gave him a disinterested shrug. “Maybe they just decided to let this one fight?,” he countered.

“Did you not see how they formed a wall around her when we had them surrounded? Why go through all that effort even if she was a common shieldmaiden?,” he wondered, mostly to himself. He didn’t think his brother was as invested in this puzzle as he was.

Whatever flippant answer Hvitserk was about to offer was cut off by a guttural scream from the tortured prisoner, begging his captors to stop.

Ivar raised his eyebrow at his brother before walking over to the man tied on the table. Blood from the deep cut through his stomach was pooling down onto the surface he was laid on. Leaning down to bring his ear close to the prisoner’s mouth, a smirk slowly crept across his face as he heard his whispers. 

He stood up straight and pointed towards the remaining prisoners, “Kill them all including their very helpful friend here, they’re no use to me now.” He began walking to the direction of his tent. “I think I’m going to pay our important guest a visit.”

----

You were being held in a tent separate from your men, tied to the pole in front of you. The rope burned your now bloodied wrists as you struggled to get loose. You first tried to untie them but just like your captors, their knots were equally as ruthless.

You didn’t plan for this. You had seen yourself celebrating the Heathens’ defeat with your men or dying a true warrior’s death with your sword in hand on the battlefield. You even accepted that you may be a target of your husband’s wrath once he found out you ran off yet again but being captured by the enemy never entered your mind as a possibility.

A scream that sounded off in the distance reminded you of all the stories you heard about what these men were known to do to their enemies. In desperation, you began to lean back away from your bonds, praying the blood seeping down your hands would help you slip through. You probably shouldn’t have spat in their king’s face. Better yet, you should have listened to your men when they pleaded to you to let them escort you back to Gwynedd but your stubborn pride wanted just one taste of a fight.

“And what would be your plan after you got loose?” a melodic voice broke through your panicked grunts. You jumped at the sound, maneuvering your way around the pole, desperate to have something between you and the Heathen King. “I have three of my men standing guard out front, not to mention everyone else in my camp. Would you fight them all?”

You hoped that he would take your silence as an act of brave defiance and not because you didn’t consider your next move if you ever got loose from your binds. If you were fated to die, you’d rather have someone remember you as brave instead of stupid.

He slowly walked closer to you to take your hands into his one, gently caressing one of your wounded wrists, “Still nothing to say?” He held his hands up as if he meant no harm when you pulled your wrists away from him. “I’m going to ask you this one more time, little one, and do try to not spit in my face again: who are you?”

You chose to lower your head at his question as if the answer could be found on your face. With his axe underneath your chin, he brought your head up to look at him.

“I think it’s best you know that sometimes I can be a very impatient man and don’t like to be kept waiting,” he warned while looking straight into your eyes. The edge of his axe threatened to dig into your skin but still you refused to answer him. He titled his head to the side and pulled his weapon away from you before he started chuckling, “I’m kidding, I already heard enough from one of your men. I must say, you’re a very interesting woman. Most queens would try to use their status as a bargaining chip but not you.”

Upon seeing your eyes widened in surprise, he had his confirmation, “Hmm..I assumed he was lying to me when he said I had the Queen of Gwynedd in my hands. Some men will say anything when they’re being gutted like a fish. Maybe you could at least tell me why would King Fremund send such a precious thing,” he reached out his hand to caress your cheek but you shied away from his touch, “out to fight while he sits comfortably on his throne.”

You chose to look straight ahead instead of answering him.

“That’s fine, Little Queen. Stay quiet,” he whispered as he smoothed his hand down your hair before making a move toward the tent entrance. “I’m sure your men will have plenty to say if they don’t want to have the same fate as their friend.”

“No!” You cried out to him. You didn’t want to be responsible for anymore lives lost from those who were sworn to protect you. “Just don’t...don’t hurt anyone else. I had ordered them not to say anything.”

“Well I will see to it that no more of your men will be harmed. I swear.” The feeling at the pit of your stomach told you not to trust his words or the smile on his face. “So why would Fremund send you to fight for him?”

“He didn’t. He doesn’t even know that I am here,” you gave out a frustrated sigh as you pressed your forehead against the wood in front of you, “Only the few men I have left here, and now you, are aware of my whereabouts.”

“You looked very comfortable with a sword and I’m sure he’s aware that you have the heart of a fighter. If he’s a smart man, wouldn’t he think of coming to Powys to look for you?”

“No, he thinks that I would never have the courage to run into battle. That I should only be a proper queen, not a silly girl with silly dreams,” you willingly locked eyes with him as you admitted this. 

Looking down at the rope around your wrists, you guessed that Fremund was right. You were just a silly girl acting out a fantasy. You took some consolation in the fact that if you die, then you would never have to hear him say that he told you so.

He lifted your head up with his axe once again so that he could look you in the eyes one last time, “It’s a shame he probably won’t ever know that he had such a strong Queen by his side.” 

You closed your eyes and held your breath, waiting for the blade to cut through your neck. Instead you heard it whack into the pole before your arms fell down at your side. Your brow was furrowed in confusion as you opened your eyes.

“As my guest, it’s only right that you get a chance to make yourself more comfortable before we leave.” He walked towards the entrance of the tent but paused right before he made his exit, turning to look back at you. “Y/N, do not take advantage of my kindness. You try to run away from me, I will see to it that you can’t run again.”

----

Tags: @soleil-dor​ @tsumamibaddie​ @hotarubi-the-firefly​ @walkxthexmoon​ @ivarsgoddess​ @youbloodymadgenius​

Iconic vines as bad hipster edits

I get two quarantine buddies!

@tsumamibaddie

I’ll even add more garlic to my own recipes because past Leila cannot be trusted.

not a dream

me: *preparing to cook something new based on a recipe I found online which sounded appealing to me*

the recipe: “add two cloves of garlic, finely minced”

me, internally: “surely you jest!”

me: *proceeds to add 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced*

me, internally: “2 and 6 are so close on the keyboard”

With the Bonanza theme playing in the background 😆😆

I just want ONE episode where Ivar pulls up to battle like