For zoexme

Ragnar turned onto his side and smiled, as he looked at the woman that slumbered between the slowly dying fire, and a rather large bear. Loðinn letting out a snort in his sleep, before turning onto his other side.

Three days now.......three days Ragnar had been in the cabin of the Mother of bears, each night spent like this; he in the bed, while (Y/n) and her child would sleep on the floor. The healer never complaining, never trying to hurry up his healing, despite how uncomfortable she sometimes appeared in her sleep. Though that didn't mean that she had stopped teasing him, in fact, it seemed to be her favourite thing to do. The Earl sure that if Loðinn could speak, he would be joining in with his mother's jibes. The pair, the only ones to be allowed to mock him, without incurring any anger; for he had never been able to be angry at (Y/n), not properly, anyway. Yes, there had been times when she had annoyed him over the years; times when he had shouted at her for believing that she was of little worth, for being cruel to herself. And he had not been happy when she had moved so far from Kattegat; but angry.......no, not angry. Not like he had been and could be with others. There something about her that prevented it. That quelled any ire, before it could begin. So, perhaps that was why he always felt so at peace when he was around her; there a serenity up there in the hills, surrounded by trees and the little river that ran past her home, that he could never find anywhere else. A peace that only (Y/n) could bring to his life; a peace that Ragnar had to admit that he had no desire to leave.

Slowly he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, before allowing his feet to touch the floor; his eyes never leaving (Y/n) as he leant his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. In truth, he had never felt better; there no pain, no anything, thanks to her care and those awful tasting concoctions she had made him drink. Not that he had said any of that out loud; Ragnar knowing that if he voiced it, then he would have to return to Kattegat and his new duties. This peace.......this simplicity taken from him. But he knew that he could not remain there for too much longer; his role, the people calling for him. It not really the time to have left town, but he had no other option; it hard to rule, to fight when one is doubled over in pain. And then there was the question of (Y/n); her trips to Kattegat were rare these days. The healer only seen in town when the woods, river and the gods could not supply her with what she needed; Ragnar not knowing when he might be able to see her again, if he left. So, perhaps he could spend one more day with her; one more day of watching as she played with Loðinn. Of eating her good food and being able to enjoy her company. One more day where he could pretend that it was just him and (Y/n); the world beyond the cabin and its surroundings, no longer existing.

Slowly he got to his feet. He needed some air, a few deep breaths of a cool night breeze. Loðinn suddenly sitting up, as Ragnar made his way to the door. The dark eyes of the bear, looking right into his.

"I am not going to touch her..........." The Earl quietly told the large creature. Ragnar no longer feeling as ridiculous as he did, about talking to the bear; for given that (Y/n) would talk to the furry lump as if he were another person, it just felt right. That, and if it took a few words of reassurance that he was not about to touch the bear's mother, it might just save him a mauling. Loðinn still letting out a huff and watching as Ragnar made his way to the door; before he moved back behind (Y/n), and lay a big paw, over her.

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The Norseman let out a sigh, as the cool night air filled his lungs. The moon, though covered by a haze of cloud, still sending enough light to the land so that he could make out the individual trees and see what lay beneath his feet, as he stepped further away from the cabin.

In another life, all this could have been his; (Y/n) could have been his. He had made a mistake by not taking his chance to ask her to be his wife all those years ago; made a mistake by letting the possible mockery of others, dictate his life. Ragnar, in a moment that he would always regret, listening to others' opinions of her. Believing them when they had said that a match with (Y/n) would be a mistake; but the mistake had been his and his alone. The opportunity to have the peace that he had so often craved, obviously not meant to be his. (Y/n) not meant be his. The Norns evidently having decided that their fates would not be intertwined. Yet that did not mean that he had lost all hope; that did not mean that he still did not finding himself praying that Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld might have plans that would one day give him another opportunity to make up for his mistakes. But for now.......for now he would enjoy whatever time he had left with (Y/n) before the pull of the real world, forced him away from her. Ragnar letting out another heavy sigh, before turning and making his way back into the cabin.