Being in the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took for Adelasia's whole life to turn upside down. After being captured by the heathens raiding her city and taken all the way to the cold North, the youngest Ragnarsson takes an interest in her...
That night, Alasia was seated in between her brother and sister at the dinner table closest to the platform Ivar was currently standing. Though the ale and mead were flowing freely, dinner had not yet been served, which effectively directed all the attention to the leader of The Great Army. She had been staring at him already, regardless of what the other Vikings were doing, completely lost in her own thoughts. His hair was braided in neat plaits, tight to his scalp and his dangerously blue eyes were scanning the hall carefully. She knew there was nothing that escaped his notice, and still, she could not stop admiring his beauty. She wondered why the Lord had created someone so lovingly, because how else could Ivar look so beautiful, and yet made his heart cold.
Ivar cleared his throat and along with the sound of his crutch scraping over the wooden planks, the hall immediately fell still. He smiled for a moment, one full of anticipation and excitement, a warrior's smile. "Today two young Christian children came to me from the Saxon camp," he began, his sweet voice echoing through the hall. Though a low murmur of whispers erupted, making her glance around nervously, none of it was loud enough to be disturbing. "And they have told me that the Saxons will attack at first light." Now chaos did erupt, the sound of excited chatter and the clinking of horns and cups together along with the occasional shout or roar of triumph audible. Ivar let it happen for a moment, before he rose his hands and immediate silence fell again. "That is why I have offered these brave children a place around these tables, which is what they have accepted. There will be no taunts, no jokes and no violence in the direction of these children, and anyone who dares to do so still, will have to answer to me."
It was quiet for a moment, before Hvitserk raised his cup. "To Imeldina and Antonio," he yelled, many people following suit. It didn't surprise Alasia that Hvitserk had learned her siblings' names, she was quite sure she had mentioned them once or twice, but she was glad that he had distracted the people from Ivar's threats.
"It's quite odd to have people celebrate your treason," Imeldina stated softly, leaning into her older sister's presence. Her blue eyes wandered over the hall filled with foreign people, but there was no sign of disgust or distrust as there had been on Alasia's face once, it was merely as though she was observing. "Though I suppose it's better than to be cussed out."
"You have no loyalty to England, and certainly not to our parents," Alasia said firmly, brushing away a disarrayed curl from her sister's face. Her muddy dress had been replaced by a red one with golden frays, courtesy to Ivar, whom Alasia had thanked kindly. It was still a mystery to her why he had taken her siblings in, but she was not going to question him any further and risk the chance of breaking the spell. After all, after this event, they would be cursed from both Naples and all of England. "Now you are by my side, where you belong."
