Forbidden Ch. 04

Dear Reader,

I am truly overwhelmed by the support and encouragement i have received over this story. Thank you all so so much, I'm really bouncing off the walls when you all tell me how much you enjoy it!!

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Harriot wasn't sure what it was about the sight of him standing there glistening with sweat. The strength of the emotions that stirred inside of her was like getting hit by lightning, and struck down by the gods for her traitorous mind.

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and ran her tongue along its softness in a nervous gesture. He had noticed how she stared at him and he stared back at her without blinking. Oozing with confidence she didn't share, she was convinced the edges of his lips had tilted upwards with his amusement, so she looked away.

Her attraction to him was inappropriate and confusing. Never before had she stared at a man with such unbridled desire. She did not even understand that desire, and it was useless for her to try to. When he stood there looking like that, she couldn't think of anything at all. Beneath her feet, she could feel the steady thrum of men working hard to maneuver the ship away from the dock.

Harriot's stomach lurched and her heart throbbed painfully as her eyes drifted from the object of her desire, and onto land. How long had they been docked and she hadn't noticed. It could've been minutes, hours, or even most of the night. She could feel him watching her, any moment now he was expecting her to become delirious. But what use was there? It wouldn't help her any. She couldn't swim, so she wasn't about to spontaneously throw herself over board.

If only she had woken sooner, she might have been able to manage her way onto land. She could have gotten away; except last night had taken its toll on her body. Even now as she stood there looking out over the bustling dock, heading back into that small dark room was all too tempting. At least there, she could close her eyes and forget about everything.

A command ricocheted off the wood of the ship. It was Ivar barking orders at the other men in his own language. He was thoroughly in his element as he navigated the ship further and further away from the dock. In the distance, she could see a steady stream of smoke rising from the roofs of the houses. There was the faintest orange glow pouring out into the street from the shop windows. The smells of fresh fish mingled with the saltiness of the sea.

An unusual feeling of calm had settled over her. It probably had everything to do with the relief of knowing these men weren't about to hurt her for no reason. If they had wanted to do that, they would have done it already. They wouldn't have helped her last night either, because it would have been easy enough for them to just walk away from her. Especially when they realized they weren't about to capture her father, or get any of the information they needed on Ivar's brother. That still left the question of why they had taken her with them. It made absolutely no sense to her at all. It still scared her to think that their motives were to keep her in one piece after all.

Perhaps they were going to treat her the same way they felt Ivar's brother was being treated. They would make a slave out of her. Her mind didn't want to think of what that might actually entail, and the deeper her thoughts became with her speculation, the more frightening the situation was becoming.

Letting curiosity get the better of her, Harriot busied herself with other things, the same way as the men around her busied themselves with the tasks they had to do. She had to take her mind from the fear bubbling about in her veins. No good would come from her simmering on all the little details of what could be, and what was.

Ivar had turned his attention back to the ship. In his hands, he held a bucket that was tied to some rope that he was lowering it to the men beneath them through the hatch. Wandering over to the side of the ship, Harriot risked another glance in Ivar's direction to see if he was watching her. His attention was still firmly fixed on what he was doing. Harriot took advantage of that moment alone. She leaned her body over the side to take a look at the water as it brushed the edges of the hull.

The wind caught her hair, and the black strands frayed and twisted. The smells of the sea, the cold sensation that kicked up from the water even at her height, was intoxicating and unexplainable. It was a sensation she would never forget. The beauty of it as that water frothed and skimmed outwards from the edges of the ship, was overwhelming.

The ship rocked back and forth with the current of the sea. It's movement would take forever for her to get used to. It was like walking on a platform that was constantly unbalanced. The faintest bit of color caught her eye as she dangled herself on the side of the ship weightlessly. She leaned over and captured it in the palm of her hand.

It was a bright yellow flower that had somehow managed its way between the slats of wood. The soft texture of its petals rubbed against the pads of her fingers. It was beautiful and as light as a feather while resting in her palm. How something so fragile and beautiful could end up on the ship was unexplainable. The wind must have carried it when the ship had been docked, and it had somehow managed to get itself tangled up in her world.

A prisoner, just as she was, except she was now the one that held the flower captive. It was the same way that these men now controlled every aspect of her life. She set it free over the edge, and watched as the wind swiped it from her fingers. It carried it towards the water, before the yellow petals came to rest gently atop the current.

It had moved just like a snowflake would as it fell from the great height of the heavens. It was swerving and dancing just before it came to rest, where eventually its beauty would fade away. The water turned it over, and drowned it with the force of its current. Only to be helped by the rippling froth of the waves caused by the ship as it glided past then it was gone. It was nowhere to be seen in the dark blue swell of water.

It made her sad, because it reminded her of how quickly her life had also been turned over. Nothing and no one was familiar to her, which was slowly becoming more frightening as time passed.

"Excuse me"

His resonant voice brought her abruptly back to the present. The Viking that spoke to her looked younger in the sunlight, than he had when she had seen him last night. He had the biggest brown eyes she had ever seen, short dark brown hair and a scar to his left cheek. He couldn't have been any more than ten and eight. The sheer manliness of him outweighed most of the men she had met in her lifetime. He was so much taller than her, he must have weighed at-least three of her, but it was solid muscle and bone with a little pudginess around the edges.

"Miss...You're in my way."

She stared up at him blankly, before it dawned upon her what he was saying. She was in his way... and not only was she in his way but she was staring at him, wondering why he had looked at her so expectantly.

"Oh... oh I'm sorry."

"Don't stand there."

She had stepped out of his way what more did he want from her?

"What? Why?"

"It's dangerous."

"How is it da -" A large hand fixed itself around her upper arm. He pulled her forward swiftly and with ease just as the ship rocked violently. His balance was perfect upon the slippery wood beneath their feet, and he steadied her with a grin. Her mouth dropped open as the words died on her tongue. He had known that would happen and without him she would have ended up over the side. He tilted his head forward as he gave Harriot a slight nod, before a toothy grin spread the expanse of his face.

"It is fate... Stand some where you shouldn't... And something will knock you off your feet."

Why hadn't she thought of that? It was common sense for crying out loud. But yet, it hadn't occurred to her once. Perhaps that was why her uncle had never wanted her to board a ship. He had known how dizzy she was. Also, how much worse she would become on a vessel that never stayed still.

She watched as he placed some nets upon the deck, before he raised himself to his full height and looked down at her disheveled form. He let her go, but seemed to brace himself as though he was waiting for her to lose her balance again. This time Harriot knew better, so she stepped away from that dreaded spot, and away from him.

"Thank you."

"It's quite alright." Turning to look at him, she couldn't suppress how fascinated she was by his soft voice. He was so big...so monstrous. Beautiful...but deadly. His voice didn't suit his body, which no doubt he had already heard many times before.

"I'm Teare."

He gave her a gentle heartfelt smile, and Harriot felt her resistance melt a little, so she reluctantly offered him her own name.

"Harriot."

"Look out!"

The sound of his voice morphed into something new. Nervously she swerved and looked around for whose way she was in this time. A jarring force across the back of her shoulders hit the air clean out of her lungs. She yelped and grabbed automatically for the covering on her arm, which throbbed with her sudden movements.

Harriot braced her hands out before her body, and she tried her hardest to stop the forward motion as she headed back towards the side of the ship. Her stomach hit its hardness, and on a grunt, she felt her body tip forward violently.

The scream that skittered its way past her lips was deafening even to her own ears. She thought this was going to be the end. She would end up in the sea without the slightest clue on how to swim. Something flashed at the corner of her eye, and she didn't have time to see fully what it was. Then the rough fingers of a strong hand burned her skin with the force used to secure her and drag her backwards.

Her body went limp like she was nothing more than just dead weight. The other arm circled and came to rest just below her breast. She was incredibly relieved not to end up over the edge of the ship. However, the sheer disaster of these past few days was starting to get the better of her. She was tired, and she was sore without adding the very near death experiences of the past few days.

The worst part was she had tried her hardest these past few hours not to let everything get the better of her. Now it just seemed too much and her anger bubbled over into tears. She spun viciously on the person who held her. She had every intention of giving them a piece of her mind, but when she came face to face with Ivar, the words died on her tongue.

She swiped at a tear as it streamed along her cheek. She wasn't sure how much more she could take of this. She hadn't wanted to show him how upset she was. Yesterday she had refused point-blank to let him see that weakness in her. Now she had no control over the emotions that were rushing to the surface.

"You stay away from him!" A girl yelled from behind Ivar and jabbed her finger in Harriot's face. Harriot was so stunned she had a double take. She thought she would be relieved that she wasn't the only female among these men, but now she just wanted to scream. Harriot's face hardened as she set her shoulders defiantly. She had no clue, what this woman was going on about, or who she was trying to warn Harriot from.

The girl was getting more and more agitated by the second, and Ivar put some distance between them. Nonetheless, that didn't stop her from taking a swing at Harriot from behind Ivar, and her hand brushed against Harriot's cheek.

Normally, Harriot would do the responsible thing by telling the girl she had no idea what she was on about, and walk away. But Harriot was as angry and upset, and instead of doing that she found herself taking a swing for the girl too. Ivar, caught between the middle of them fought for control of the situation. With each of them equally upset and determined it would take a lot more than a demanding voice to tear them apart.

He braced an arm between them and shoved them both apart, he was yelling at them to stop. And Harriot would have if she were sure this girl wouldn't try to push her over board again.

"I don't know what you're on about!" Harriot hissed through gritted teeth exasperated.

"You know exactly what I'm on about!"

The girl yelled back and grabbed a fistful of Harriot's hair

"He's done nothing but watch you since you arrived!"

Who? Harriot wondered as she grunted and grabbed a hold of the fist that was tangled in her hair. The only people who had paid attention to her were Ivar, Teare and the old man. She yelped as the girl twisted and wrenched. She was putting all of her weight behind her grasp, and the pain moving through Harriot's scalp was unbearable. Harriot was convinced she would rip the strands out before she would let go. Her scalp burned hotter and hotter by the second. Then she suddenly fell backwards where her hair was released, the other girl was sent tumbling to the floor.

"Now that's enough!" Ivar bellowed.

He was furious, so furious that Harriot's skin crawled at the thought of how he would deal with them for their out bursts. She backed away as the girl got to her feet. Harriot bumped into Teare's chest, who stood behind her. His face was full of concern but his attention quickly moved from Harriot to Ivar who stood directly in front of Harriot now.

"You! Under deck" He yelled at the tall girl with red fiery hair.

Harriot ran her fingers over her scalp, the area was sore, but she was still more concerned with the girl who glared at her from where she stood. Ivar stepped forward and rested a hand against her shoulder before he shoved her in the direction of the steps to below deck. Then he turned to Harriot who stood still in shock. Her cheeks were burning from rage. She hurt enough without people adding to her injuries. She had known him no less than fifteen hours, and if the state of her was anything to go by, she was convinced she wouldn't last until the end of the week.

"What is wrong with you?!" Ivar asked as he glared down his nose at her.

Harriot was taken back. She had not done anything, and had certainly not started that fight. She had not tried to push anyone into the sea. She probably never would, unless she attacked her again, for no reason, then she might. Teare stepped around Harriot and went to intervene, but Harriot raised a hand to silence him. She appreciated that he had probably seen everything but Ivar looked extremely angry. She didn't think anyone deserved to take the brunt of that anger.

"She attacked me, and tried to push me over the side. What did you expect me to do? Just stand there?"

She could feel the familiar prickle of salty tears at the back of her eyes. Her emotions were flowing freely now as everything was overwhelming her, but crying wasn't something she wanted to do right now. She had not done anything wrong, and she didn't understand why he couldn't see that.

"So you are telling me you wouldn't react if someone attacked you and tried to shove you in the sea?"

Harriot asked as she shook her head, because she knew he would, and everyone else did too.

"I am not the captive here, you are. My family didn't abandon me, they were taken from me!"

His words stung. To her it did not matter whether she was a captive or not. She didn't deserve to have her life put at risk for something she hadn't done. On the other hand, she had never been someone's captive before. So how was she supposed to know who was allowed to beat up on them or not. His face softened when he realized his words had been harsh and unnecessary. She thought he might apologize as his lips parted to let out a heavy sigh. She then realized that she really didn't care, she didn't know why she had cared in the first place. Or had even thought of him as different from any other man, in-fact he was just like them, impulsive and hurtful.

She turned away from him. She really did not have time for anything he might say. She knew she risked angering him further by walking away, but she just had to. She didn't see why she should have to prove herself to him, when there were enough witnesses about to confirm her story. What had made him think she was capable of picking out a random person and just attacking them?

For such a beautiful person, he was really starting to look very ugly from this angle. He went to stop her as she moved from him, whom she had expected. What she hadn't expected was for Teare to stop him before he could catch hold of her. She didn't really have much interest in what they were saying, so she chose specifically not to listen. She blanked the tones of their voices from her mind.

She headed toward the front of the ship. She leaned against the side and her body slid downwards until she sat on the roughened deck. The tunic covered her legs completely as she brought her knees up to her chest. She had every intention of hugging them and not moving for the next few hours, but the dragon buckle caught her attention. She ran her thumb over it lovingly just like Ivar had done the first night he had put it upon her. The red-jeweled eyes reflected the light and cast a warm glow over the lower half of her body. She couldn't help but wonder what the significance of the dragon was, or why it had red jeweled eyes instead of green or blue.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the side of the ship. She couldn't get what he had said out of her mind. The reality was, she was a captive now whether she liked it or not, and she had tried to escape but had just not managed it. She had to let some things go, and just accept that her situation was not about to change any time soon. It astonished her that he too had been so surprised by his own words. If his words were in-fact nothing other than the truth, which they were, wouldn't that make what he said less surprising? Did it have something to do with his brother? Maybe she reminded him too much that his brother was missing. That or he knew how his brother would feel about having the word 'captive' rubbed in his face.

"You must not take it to heart." Teare's voice spoke softly over the wind. He had lowered it so that it was meant for her ears only.

"I don't, after all it is what I am now."

He nodded but he didn't take his eyes off of her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm alive."

She said with a shrug, trying to feign indifference that her body just didn't feel.

She was not ok, not by any means. But she didn't have the luxury to wallow on all of her misfortunes. Things had gone from one disaster to another, but she was still alive, and she should be grateful for that. She stopped playing with the dragon buckle. She was afraid that Teare might see her fondness of it. It was the only item that reminded her that there was still beauty in the world. It was also the closest she had come to receiving a gift in years, even though it was not hers to keep.

"He really didn't mean for it to come out quite like that."

Harriot looked at Teare, it seemed to really matter to him that Ivar had upset her. He cared about what Harriot would think of Ivar now, even though her opinion was insignificant. She shrugged again, because she really did not know what to say. She refused to forgive him. If he didn't care about hearing her out then why should she care about him?

"He hasn't had it easy. He's hurting over the loss of his brother and the loss of his wife."

Wife? Ivar was married? "Loss?"

"His brother was taken, we don't know if he is alive or not. His wife -" Teare paused and swallowed. "She's dead."

Harriot's mouth dropped open ever so slightly. She didn't know whether to believe him, but what he said made little bits of sense to her. Other than the kiss of course, but then that was irrational and impulsive. For all she knew it was probably more to settle and numb his Ivar's mind from her questions, rather than stunning her to silence like he had hoped. Her next clue would be the attention he had paid to her injury. Maybe she was just looking too much into it all.