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In the days that followed, Ailbe disposed of all her research. Every last piece of it. Every sheet of notes and copied manuscript was piled high onto a blazing fire and set alight.
As she watched the flames danced, she felt her heart race. Small memories sang to her in every flame.
"You should dance more often." He spoke finally, making her jolt up in shock. "You're better than the other girls down there."
"I'm not allowed." She smiled shyly, looking down to the ground as though making eye contact with him would make a difference anyway. "My mother thinks I'll fall into one of the girls."
"Only if you curtsey." He answered, making her laugh in response. And what a beautiful laugh it was.
As the each flame died, so did the memory. They were short flashes of moments, dancing through her mind, memories that she simply couldn't forget or ignore. And yet, she kept burning. She contemplated why, noting this need to destroy it all. With all her heart, she wanted to be herself and to live in this present world... But this thing that seemed to pull her home just wouldn't let go.
The waves rolled in endlessly as Ailbe peered over the edge, swaying back and forth. Her eyes closed resolutely and she inhaled a deep breath, preparing herself.
"Goodbye Ivar..." She whispered
"Hey, what are you burning? Another dead body?" Ivar appeared in that way that he always seemed to skillfully do.
Ailbe gave a weak smile. "That's more your style."
"Are you coming to class today?" He asked, changing the subject.
Ailbe gave a nod, putting out the fire before they left. As she walked down the halls, holding onto Ivar's hand in a fear that she might disappear from this world at any moment, all she could see was this past world and it's inhabitants. Ivar, Hvitserk, Brian, Thora, Eavann, Whitehair, Corrin, Aslaug... Everyone.
She felt sick to her stomach, dizzy and confused. But still she fought through it.
She'd chosen this Ivar, her Ivar, this modern world. How could she turn her back on everything? Clearly she didn't belong with Vikings! That would be ridiculous... Wouldn't it?
Ailbe cleared her mind, taking a deep breath. Forget. She had to just forget.
By the time they had reached class, Ivar had managed to adequately distract her by insulting everyone that they passed in the corridor and telling her all of their secrets... Which he always seemed to know, for some reason.
Considering he'd fought side-by-side with many of these people in The Emergency (WW2), he sure did harbour a lot of hate for them. But it took her mind off of everything, and she couldn't help but smile at his on-brand anger.
The longer she remained away from her research, the easier it became to forget. She still sometimes dreamt of these odd memories, but even that was becoming less common since she moved in with Ivar - he had adamantly explained that he could not stand her roommate, Margarethe and so the only solution was for her to move in. And, to be honest, Ailbe couldn't help but agree about Margarethe - even if she knew it was all just an excuse.
Life continued as normal. To begin with it was all quite difficult, but Ailbe quickly rebounded back to her old self. Much to Ivar's unhappiness, however, she had become the resident expert on Ivar The Boneless in their history class. Which was odd to her, considering he was almost certainly the same person. Luckily for him, he still held all the advantages when it came to war and battle strategy.
And do they continued, as if nothing had ever happened.
