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...
Now that she and Ivar had made up, he told her a lot more about his battle plans. He drew up two versions, one attack by sea and the other over land. Both looked well planned out and for a long time, Alasia stared at the drawings of in which directions the troops would go and who they could possibly encounter. Out in the open, it was harder to direct herds of people in a certain direction and even worse to drop things from above. She also didn't like the fact that in the attack by land, they would be entirely surrounded by thick patches of forest. It was the ideal place to set up traps beforehand.
"So, what do you think?" Ivar asked her after a while, letting out a low hum. He was lurking around her chair, something that almost made her snap out at him to give his legs a rest, his eyes flickering from the table strewn with paper to her concentrated face.
"I don't like the fact that we must go to them, instead of the other way around," she simply said, putting down a sheet. She looked up at Ivar, who let out another hum. She could feel her heart skip a beat as their eyes met, but the insecurity and thorough analysis that followed after every single gesture in her direction was gone. It was a relief. "Our sea forces are better than theirs, but for all we know, they have hidden chains in the waters that will tear all of the longboats. On the other hand, with an attack on land, they have the time to choose the battleground and thus hide traps in them. We could lay siege to Kattegat, block all options of trade by the sea and land and wait until they run out of food. Then they'd have to meet us in battle and we would have the upper hand."
"A siege will take too long," Ivar said softly, his eyes scanning the papers. Finally, he dragged a chair next to hers and took a seat on it, leaning his crutch on the table. His hair was messy from his hands raking through it in frustration and she had to resist the urge to reach out and smooth his hair. "I want Kattegat, and I want it now."
She could not hide the smile that took over her face, and she swallowed a chuckle. "Patience is a virtue," she said solemnly, watching in amusement as Ivar's head perked up.
He gave her one of his infamous smirks and reached out his hand for a chaste caress on her cheek, before dropping his hand again. "I don't have any virtues."
"No," she agreed, rising a single amused eyebrow. "You definitely don't."
There was a knock on the door, and surprised, Alasia looked up. Almost instantly she scooted her chair to a safer distance from Ivar, because they had to hold up a particular act, after all. Besides the fact that battle plans were shared with her, it was also late in the night and inappropriate to be seen with someone else than her supposed husband to be. She pretended to be interested in some scribbles while Ivar bade the said person to come in. When she looked up, she was surprised to see it was the bishop Heahmund who had been brought by two of the guards. He regarded her with the same suspicion, and Ivar pretended not to notice the dead glares that were being exchanged.
