Preview: "Ivar, I have something to tell you." (Chapter 7)
"My heart aches." You said as you paced with your daughter asleep in your arms. "I am in a terrible postion. It is no secret that I have always been at odds with my husband. At times, even praying that God would make him disappear. Now, everyone is intent on extracting their pound of flesh from Ivar. And I understand wholeheartedly. Not only did he murder his own brother. But he has given poor Sigurd a dishonorable death. Everything in me is saying I should side with his detractors. Rid myself of him once and for all."
You stopped pacing and looked at Daliah's peaceful expression. Was she ever the spitting image of her father. So much so, that she even scrunched her brows in her sleep. Looking at Astrid, you sighed, desperate for advice.
"Y/N, I know Ivar has not been easy to live with. We all know the things he has done." The solemn Queen said. "But hear me well. Harald says if you allow them to use you, his own wife, against him, it would seal his fate. They may banish Ivar...... however it could be much worse...like execution. How do you think you would fare without his protection? Not just in Kattegat but anywhere. These men do not tell you the entire truth. The same people urging you to their side now, will kill you and Dahlia as soon as Ivar is out of the way."
You nodded thoughtfully before looking out of the window. From where you stood, you spotted the Ragnarssons, including, to your surprise, Hvitserk. Naturally they had all gathered to visit Ivar in his cell.
"Thank you for your council. I must think of my daughter before anything else. If siding against Ivar at the trial will put her in peril, I shall not give them what they want." You affirmed as you caressed your daughter's dark locks. I know what to say when I am called to bear witness."