The kiss prompts are 4: An accidental brush of lips followed by a pause and going back for another, on purpose, 7: French kisses where they trace every tooth with their tongues as though trying to memorize them, and 50: A kiss, followed by more that trail down the jaw and neck.

Warnings: cursing, mentions of mental abuse, mentions of sex

When Queen Aslaug talked people listened.

It was always wise to do what the Queen asked of you, if you approved of it of not, and she knew it.

Which was why she had asked you to look after her crippled son, Ivar, to show him 'something other than just motherly love', as she had put it.

It left you no choice but to do as she asked, though you weren't sure how much love your Queen was expecting you to give.

You dreaded the idea of being close to the cruel cripple, you had watched him manhandle other thralls and knew he was far from gentle or kind.

Nevertheless you started to work as his servant girl, being the only person to be let into his room whenever he needed anything or serving him food at the great hall.

He didn't talk to you at first but he only glared at you.

You didn't want him to get too close to you because you had heard a lot about him, but after some time of silence he started to talk to you, and gently so.

He was as rude as ever but he didn't mock or shame you, and his rude comments seemed to lack the intensity and enthusiasm they usually had with other thralls.

He asked for you more and more often, sometimes to just sit in silence together or so he could talk and you listen.

You didn't dare say anything other than the small pleasantries that were expected of you, and it took months for him to ask for you to speak.

In the time you had watched him you had realized that he behaved far differently when alone than when he was surrounded by people that were scared of him and expected him to be cruel.

When he was alone he wasn't gentle, but he was calm, as calculating as ever, but his mind seemed more at ease.

He wasn't kind but he let you get away with small mistakes you made without making a fuss of it our using his title to inflict pain or shame, something you had seen him do many times already, but never to you.

When you talked he asked you for your opinions on people, politics or your religion, but he never talked about you, or him.

"What do you think of me?", he had asked you one day as he moved into his room after ordering you to wait for him there.

"My brothers felt the need to tell me what a monster I am today, finally truly telling me what they think of me, so I thought I might as well ask for your opinion on the matter", he told you as he climbed his bed to sit at the edge of it, the muscles in his arms straining.

As soon as you looked at Ivar you saw that he was hurt by his brothers' accusations, and that he had come to ask for your opinion in hope of comfort.

Which was what he wanted to hear.

"You're never cruel to me, my Prince", you told him as you moved to kneel in front of him.

"Whereas your brothers have touched me several times without caring for consent you haven't done so once. I do not think you are a monster", you answered him and he nodded shortly.

"You are known to be cruel sometimes but I do not think that that makes you different than any of the other sons of Ragnar, or our King himself, they just use women and the battlefield to reduce their anger, you don't do either of those things, but you are far more intelligent and calculating than they could ever be, and calculation is often seen as cruelty or coldness", you explained, but afterwards you stopped yourself.

You had meant every one of the words you had said, something of which you had never dreamed about.

"Ivar", he told you and when you looked at him quizzically he nodded once.

"You said 'my Prince', but call me Ivar".

After that day Ivar and you had a relationship that was far more than the servant and master bond you had had before.

You grew to almost being friends, even joking around and spending time together without him wanting you to serve him as a thrall, but as a friend.

His mother noticed too, and you received small gentle smiles from her as she watched the two of you, and she didn't ask for you to report to her once.

When you had first been afraid of Ivar you had grown to know him better, and to respect and even admire him in some aspects.

It was a cold evening when you helped Ivar get ready for bed, but before you could stop him he was already situated on it, the furs neatly put out under him.

"You... Ivar", you chuckled as you watched him grin dauntingly at you.

"It's going to be cold tonight, you will have to get under the furs, not throw yourself on top of them!", you told him as you moved towards his bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

"You do it then", he told you with a cock of his head and a raised eyebrow, and you chuckled at the idea of you raising his much heavier body up so he could get under the covers.

"That's...", you began but before you continued you shook your head, ripping at the furs to retrieve them from under his body.

Leaning further towards him you hovered over him, placing one hand at the other side of his body to have more leverage.

You weren't strong enough to get the furs and you had accidentally put your hand on the fur your were tugging at when you ripped at it strongly at the same time as Ivar sat up, fully aware of what was going on.

"You're so fucking stubbor...", you began but the force with which you had pulled the fur ripped your hand from under you, letting you fall forward, your face onto Ivar's as you accidentally connected lips.

It was only a short second before you pulled away, apologizing profusely as you looked at the fur you had finally managed to get in your hands.

You were scared of how Ivar would react, especially since it was an accident, but you had liked it nonetheless.

It had been a little harsh, yes, and the force you had had had buried your teeth in your lower lip, cutting it so your mouth filled with the tase of blood, but you didn't mind nor notice.

When you felt Ivar's hand on your chin you looked up, waiting for a slap or harsh words, but all that happened was that Ivar leaned back in, placing another kiss on your lips.

"Don't feel pressured to do this", he told you as he set his hand back at his side to balance his upper body in a sitting position.

"I'm not my brothers. I don't...", he started but cut himself off, watching you closely.

"If you let me kiss you just because I'm your Prince I want you to know that I will let you go if you want, I'll make you a free woman", he told you and your gaze fell to your hands in your lap rather than to look at him.

When Ivar didn't continue talking you shook your head gently before looking up at him.

It was a spontaneous decision, one you thought you would regret later but for once you let your heart rule over your head when you leaned in and boldly connected your lips with his again.

A relationship between the two of you developed that you had never dreamed of when you had looked at the youngest Prince in the past, but it had developed nevertheless.

Ivar had asked you to become a free woman and you had thanked him for it, and though he had never asked you to be with him he bought a small house for the two of you, at the edge of the forest that lined Kattegat where you could live in peace, away from the stares of prying people.

When his brothers came to ask him to join them in a revenge mission for Ragnar's death you were the first to tell him to go.

When Ragnar had asked all his sons to join him in going to England Ivar had refused, and Ragnar had left disappointed at the fact that Ivar would choose a woman over him, even though everyone knew he would never father children.

It had left a void and anger in him you hoped the revenge mission could fill, or at least bring some closure.

You realized fast that being with Ivar was the best thing that had ever happened to you, and though he didn't feel the need for pleasure like most men did he felt the need to please you, which you of course wholeheartedly embraced.

It was a relationship of mutual respect and admiration, in contrast to the ones his brothers led that only seemed to be based on sex or the fact that they had children with their partners that forced at least some responsibility out of them.

"I'll come back to you as soon as possible", he whispered into your neck as he hugged you close in bed at the morning he was scheduled to leave.

"I'll come back, and I'll be happy with you, I'll marry you, but I need to do this", he told you and you nodded as you looked up at him.

"I understand", you told him and smiled as you let you fingers run through his hair that was hanging loosely in his face.

"I love you", he whispered softly before he kissed you again.

It was one of the most intense kisses you had ever shared, because the two of you didn't know when or if he would at all come back to you.

Of course you hoped desperately that he would, and you were sure of it, but nevertheless you kissed him as if you tried to remember each and every part of his face, every tooth, every muscle he had.

"I love you", you whispered back and you later saw him off when he sailed to England.

It didn't take too long before another ship arrived at Kattegat, only months after, and Ivar returned to you.

He was alone with a crew of a few men but you stood there to greet him, waiting for him to come to you on the crutches he had built so he could at least stand at the heighth of a man.

"I came back as soon as I could, my brothers decided to stay and raid", he told you as you hugged him close, taking in his smell mixed with the sea.

"I missed you", he said as he buried his face in your neck before he trailed kisses over it, hungry kisses that left you wanting.

"I need to be close to you", he whispered huskily.

"I love you. I need you", you told him as you nodded and put his face in your hands, setting a gentle but longing kiss on his lips.

"I'm all yours", he whispered back, and you knew that he meant it.