Warnings : violence, mentioned child abuse, fluff, fatherly Ragnar, animal violence, suicidal mention
Main characters in story : Ragnar and foreign infant
King Ragnar limped through the forest frustratedly. For the last three or so weeks, Ragnar had been feeling severe discomfort that started on the left side of his skull then became all over. It felt as if an axe had crushed his skull but he was still (unfortunately) alive.
So he tried everything, from healers to witchcraft yet nothing seemed to make the pain lull. Until an argument (one of them anyway) with Aslaug happened and instead of going to one of the many thralls he went to, Ragnar decided to leave to the forest. The pain seemed to lessen as he entered, so every night Ragnar walked in the cold and seemed to regularly step in animal shit as the days went on.
But today seemed very different, the nights were still very cold and the trees still seemed the same but it was the air as he walked on, it almost felt like if he reached out he could feel the very essence of what oxygen is.
Freezing when the air brushed against his face as if it were human fingers, the touch of a female, so feminine and tender that it made Ragnar’s eyes flutter shut before a sudden screech sounded.
The weapon on the right of his body was hastily grabbed, as he walked slowly to where the noise had been heard.
A blanket of white had met his gaze and the King hesitated before lowering his weapon, a sigh leaving his mouth.
The next few days Ragnar refused to go to the forest and the pain had become more severe than before and radiated down one side of his body. When he closed his eyes, infant Ivar was in it and when he opened them a baby swaddled in white was there. He thought he was crazy before but now there was no doubt.
Making his way through the sparse trees, Ragnar moved till he found his way to the swaddle of blankets but this time there was no screeching but a nothingness.
The guttural growls met his ears and beady eyes met his. The bear crouched in a protective fashion
Before rushing towards him and with skill that counteracted his fear, the ruly animal was dead
Was the bear protecting the infant?
Crouching down to it, the first thing he noticed was that blood surrounded the babe specifically around the neck yet it still moved.
As he placed a hand on the child, his pain disappeared. After a few minutes of staring at the child he picked it up and move to the river of water, where he began to wash the face of the child, as it opened it eyes and its skin was clean, all Ragnar could do was stare in confusion
The flesh of the female contrasted to the skin of the females of Kattegat while the eyes resembled that of a fawn as she stared. Her hair the colour of night and tangled. Ragnar traced the scar on her neck with a tenderness he hadn’t had since the death of Gyda.
