The Son Of Ragnar

King Ragnar had returned home and spent the night with Lagertha but he refused her advances to have sex with him, which Lagertha found strange considering that they had not seen each other for such a long time.

She was worried but Ulf came to mind, surely he did not tell Ragnar about what he did?

Lagertha began to panic and slept beside her husband wondering if this would be the last time she did.

Ragnar was a sucker when it came to loyalty, he saw it as the main component of everything in life.

Love is a bonus because he knew he could grow to love a woman that dedicates herself to him but what is love without loyalty?

Ragnar noticed his wife's heart was racing that night, she was hiding something from him because she had no reason to be this nervous.

It was just sex, Lagertha had never thought anything about Ragnar refusing it, although they had never been apart for this long so this was an exception.

They were all over each other the moment they met so what changed, Lagertha's guilty conscience was getting the better of her and she could not sleep throughout the night even though Ragnar slept like a baby.

The morning came and Ragnar woke up but without Lagertha by his side, Ragnar did not mind this because he assumed she had gone to do her duty as a wife which involved chores and preparing food.

He was right, his nose picked up the scent of food that struck a cord within him, he missed Lagertha's cooking because she knew exactly how he liked his food with down-to-the-minute detail.

Ragnar got out of bed and saw Lagertha, she looked as beautiful as ever but the moment her eyes met his, he averted his gaze and focused on the food in front of him.

"I missed your cooking," Ragnar said. Lagertha was now certain that it was not just in her head, something was bothering her husband and she had every intention of finding out what it was.

"Is something bothering you?" Lagertha asked as she watched her husband sit in front of the meal she had prepared but Ragnar smiled and shook his head.

Lagertha knew he was lying, they have been married for far too long for her to not know when his smile was fake or genuine.

But she did not want to ruin a perfect morning and allowed him to wallow in his lies for now.

"Have you seen Bjorn?" Ragnar asked out of the blue and Lagertha raised a brow considering Ragnar knew how busy he was as a young commander, he had a lot more to prove as he had yet to make a solid name for himself.

"I have not seen him, not since yesterday…." Lagertha said; they have been together all through so naturally the time frame fits but Ragnar knew he could have visited during the time he was asleep.

Ragnar's body language was strange, he looked restless before digging into the food before him.

The soup was enriched with pork meat and bread on another plate to help wash it down.

Lagertha made sure there was no alcohol present but instead, a fermented drink made from honey, water, and spices for a healthy breakfast.

Ragnar ate and his tensed body loosened, prompting Lagertha to question her thoughts once again.

She doubted it but the moment Ragnar finished eating, his body tensed up once again.

"Lagertha, I need to talk to you," Ragnar said and Lagertha could feel her stomach tighten the moment Ragnar said this.

"What is it, my love?" Lagertha responded, she tried her best to not allow her thoughts to get the better of her.

"Bjorn… Is he really my son?" Ragnar asked and Lagertha was dumbfounded the moment she heard this.

She could not believe Ragnar was even asking her this and she felt offended, Ragnar noticed the rage on his wife's face.

He cleared his throat because he knew he had to rephrase his wording. After all, this was a sensitive subject so he had to approach it carefully.

"Forgive me Lagertha, I didn't mean it like that, forget it…" Ragnar quickly dismissed it but the cat was already out of the bag and Lagertha knew if she left it untouched that Ragnar would only worry about it more.

This was when communication was key and not her personal feelings regarding the subject.

"It is fine my love, you can talk to me about anything. What do you want to know?" Lagertha put her husband's worry above her feelings.

Just because she felt offended did not make it offensive but now she had an idea of what was bothering him.

Bjorn's birth had coincidentally matched the day that Erik had violated his wife, and the fact that they had been trying to get her pregnant since then but to no avail only raised his suspicion to if Bjorn was his son or that of Erik, Lagertha did not need him to say it in black and white, Ragnar's awkward silence told her he was still considering her feelings.

He did not want to open an old wound.

"Nothing will change, Bjorn will always be my son, I just want to know…" Ragnar said, Lagerha saw the look in his eyes and understood the urgency.

But where was this coming from?

"Ragnar Lothbrok, you are the silliest man I have ever met. Why else would he have blue eyes?" Lagertha said. Erik did not have blue eyes nor did she.

Ragnar face-palmed himself as he just began to laugh the moment his wife revealed this very obvious clue he missed but that was the problem with overthinking, logic goes out the window when met with fear.

Ragnar began to laugh but Lagertha knew these were not her husband's thoughts.

"What brought this about, my love?" Lagertha asked but Ragnar waved it off as nothing but Lagerha knew that Ulf had something to do with.

Ulf was now trying to actively destroy her marriage, and this was a line he should not have dared cross.

Ragnar had not punched or wounded Ulf that day, Ulf had slipped and hit his nose on the table, Ragnar was simply angry because Ulf presented this possibility to him but Ragnar would soon have a reason to be angry at his brother.

"Ragnar, Ulf kissed me…" Lagertha uttered bluntly.

"What?" Ragnar's laugh ceased as the rage replaced it.