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...
Alasia was laying on her bed, her eyes closed and her hands folded over her stomach, trying not to move as she mulled over the day. A week had passed since she had decided to show her face again, and she had fallen easily back into the rhythm of life in Kattegat. Certainly, some things had changed, for she was now a free woman and had people attending to her needs instead of attending to Ivar's herself, but it was all for the better. Her wedding was to be in ten days' time, but all sorts of preparations were already being arranged. She herself had mainly been busy with the making of her dress, or rather imagining it. Ivar had tried to calm her down by ensuring her that the dress would only be an accessory and that everybody's eyes would be on her and her crown of flowers, but she had stood by her need for a beautiful dress.
Hearing a knock on the door, she opened one of her eyes and hummed that the said person could enter. As soon as her eyes fell onto Ivar, she rolled onto her side as she followed him making his way through the room. The two of them had not spent much time together in the last week, for he was busy with his regal duties while she was occupied with plans for the wedding. It was exceptionally difficult and Alasia had come to the ugly realisation that despite the fact that she had been at Ivar's side for over a year, she still knew too little about their culture. All of it made her miss Helga terribly, knowing that the kind woman would have helped her organise everything the way it should go.
"Are you tired?" Ivar asked, quickly stopping by her side of the bed. He brushed some locks away from her face and pressed a soft kiss against her temple. She squeezed her eyes shut and smiled at the gesture, before looking at her husband-to-be. "You can leave the planning of the wedding to the thralls, they have done it before."
"I want to contribute too," Alasia protested, pushing herself up on one elbow. Her eyes followed him as he made his way to the other side of the bed, where he took off his casts and dragged his legs onto the mattress. Resisting the urge to swoon at him as he folded his arms behind his head and looked at her. Feeling her cheeks redden already, she lowered herself on the mattress again with her back to him. They had slept together in the same bed for the past seven days, but often she was already deep asleep by the time he returned from whatever task kept him up and he was out of bed before she opened her eyes again. "I like learning about your culture and this whole experience has been very helpful."
Ivar hummed and she could imagine the expression on his face. Letting out a tired sigh, she clenched the cross and the mjölnir around her neck, both gifted to her by Ivar, and closed her eyes again. Her mind was on the wedding to come. Though she had come to appreciate the Northern gods, she couldn't help but feel like she was betraying her own by having a northern wedding. She knew there was no other option, after all, there was no priest nor a church in Kattegat that could officiate their wedding and Ivar would probably rather cut his own throat than attend his own wedding in that case. Still, it bothered her.
