#ildri

The clouds overhead darkened the sky far before nighttime, but Ildri was certain she could make it home from Thora’s before the rain began. Pulling her woven shawl closer around her shoulders, she quickened her step when lightning struck and thunder boomed. The storm was coming more quickly than she had predicted; she feared now that she wouldn’t make it home before the rain began to fall. 

She was just outside of Kattegat when the whispers not far behind her began. Ildri took a deep breath and continued walking, shoulders back and head held high. As the Jarl’s daughter, she was used to people whispering about her behind her back. Though she had been friends with Thora and Floki and the Lothbrok brothers since she was a child, the whispers and stares were never in short supply. 

“It’s going to rain,” a man said, catching up to her. 

Ildri glanced at him; she recognized him from around Kattegat, but wouldn’t know his name if she were asked. “I’m aware. Thank you.”

He kept in step with her, and then she was aware of another man on her other side. The look in that man’s eye wasn’t one that she was anxious to have on her for any longer, or ever again. 

“The Jarl’s daughter shouldn’t be walking alone in such weather. Such darkness,” the new man grinned. His teeth were nearly rotting out of his mouth. 

Remembering her place, Ildri hid her disgust and again thanked them for their concern. “I’ll be just fine on my own, thank you.”

Though she quickened her step, the men did not falter or drop behind her. Fear began to chill over her skin, and her breath was heavy in her chest. Keeping her eyes forward, Ildri willed her own home to appear in the distance, but all she could see was empty land. 

The first few rain drops fell; she felt them just before she felt a dirty, calloused hand grab her by the arm. She wrenched herself away, staring up into the eyes of the first man. 

“How dare you touch me without my permission!” Ildri snapped. “My father will hear of this and you will think twice before you touch any woman again.”

After that, she took off in a full on run, her shawl falling behind her. The men were just as quick as she, if not quicker, and caught up with her after only a few seconds. Ildri screamed as they dragged her away, only to have one of those dirty, calloused hands clamped over her mouth. Still, she struggled and screamed. 

The men dragged her kicking and attempting to scream into a thick of trees nearby. One of them held her around the shoulders, her back against his chest. As the other man worked to undo the ties and hooks of her dress, the man holding her worked his hand past the collar of her dress and over one breast. Tears fell from her eyes, falling down her face along with the rain drops which were falling more steady. She knew only enough to defend herself in the most basic of ways, not against this filth and their drunken strength. 

“Don’t worry, Princess,” the man holding her laughed, “we won’t let your misery last long.”

Ildri feared what exactly he meant by that, but there was nothing she could do to stop what was happening. The man’s hand began to travel further down. Ildri choked back a sob. She closed her eyes and pretended that those hands were that of someone else; another man with blue eyes whose hands she had wished for a long time would be the only hands that would ever touch her. 

“Let her go.”

The voice of the exact man she had been thinking of just seconds before. Ildri breathed a sigh of relief as the man withdrew his hand and pushed her forward, looking to see who had stopped him. The other man grabbed a hold of her, turning her as well. She saw Ragnar and Floki there, daggers at the ready. Her eyes met Ragnar’s, and he seemed to have no concern over the situation. Floki’s smirk assured he that he was not concerned, either. 

The first man came forward. “And why should we?”

Ragnar’s eyes grew, an expression that Ildri knew well. The fire of Odin himself had been lit inside this man, and it would not end well for those who dared to oppose him. 

With a single strike, Ragnar knocked out the man who had touched her. He hit the ground hard, unaware, and bleeding from the nose. The other man, clearly a follower, pushed her towards her friends and stuttered out apologies. 

Floki took Ildri by the hand and tucked her behind himself and Ragnar. She worked to fasten her clothes again, while Floki and Ragnar threatened the men well. The one still conscious ran off, leaving his friend to fend for himself in the rain. 

Ragnar took Ildri by the upper arms and searched her for injury. It was the first inkling she had that perhaps Ragnar returned the love she had for him. 

“Are you hurt?” Ragnar asked. 

The jarl’s daughter broke. Her chin quivered and she whimpered, though she tried to keep herself composed. Ragnar lifted her in his arms, and the tears fell of their own will. 

“We will take her back to my place,” Floki decided for all three of them. “The jarl will hear of this tomorrow when the rain stops and we escort her back home. He will assume the rain has kept her away.”

Ragnar nodded, and the trio made way for Loki’s dwelling. Ragnar carried Ildri the whole way. 

When they arrived, Floki provided her with dry clothes. After changing, Ildri laid hers out in front of the fire to dry. They all ate supper together, and, though it was relatively early, Ildri found that she was ready to sleep. 

Ragnar laid next to her, stroking her hair. “I haven’t seen your hair down like this since we were children.”

Ildri smiled up at him. “Probably because it hasn’t been down like this since we were children. Even when I sleep, my mother requires that I have it braided. Feels better this way.”

He smirked. “Brat.”

“I cannot help what I was brought into,” Ildri laughed. Ragnar smiled with her, but it subsided for both of them after a few moments. “I would have been killed today, were it not for you and Floki. And even if they left me alive, I never would have been the same when they were done with me. I don’t know how or why you were there, but I will never be more grateful for anything than for Odin sending you after me.”

Ragnar took a deep breath. “I don’t know what it was, Ildri. I’ve seen you leave Thora’s many times and never felt the need to see you home. Today, something told me to follow you. I’m glad I did. To lose you, Ildri …”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but it was enough for Ildri for now. With a deep breath, she pulled the blanket up to her chin. “Perhaps now my father will allow for me to have more fighting training. Though, I think it’s more likely that he’ll simply not allow me to go to and from Thora’s by myself.”

“You’re probably right,” Ragnar agreed. “Fortunately for you, you have two friends quite willing to teach you whatever you’d like to learn.”

Ildri sat up, her eyes hopeful. “Really? You and Floki would teach me?”

“I’m sure Thora would lend a hand as well,” Ragnar nodded. “So tell me, little wolf, do you want to punish those who have wronged you?”

Ildri nodded earnestly, her grin half due to his promise to teach her about fighting, and half due to his use of the nickname he hadn’t used since they were children. “Can we start now?”

Ragnar chuckled. “Now, it’s still raining, and you need to rest. Floki and I will be not far, if you need anything.”