gavefarmore:

               _{“I have done it once before, haven’t I?" he asks.
                And he is so very serious. Rollo may die, and it has ignited the
                fiercest of angers in Ragnar’s chest. "Proven myself better than 
                the odds.”} 

                _{Brows raise pointedly. There’s a silent moment or two where the
                Earl simply pauses, knuckles pressed against his lips as he thinks.
                Eventually, he points a finger Lagertha’s way.}

               _{"And I have you.”
                He hopes, at least. But he is so tired of showing her his vulnerability. 
                Especially since it gives her so much power over him. (He still thinks,
                sometimes, about how easily she could crush him if she knew what
                sort of hold she has upon him still.)}

        _{& now the tension seeps into her jaw, teeth clenching
        to grind as a breath is drawn in to calm what his response
        has awakened. ire grows with each passing moment, bile
        churning to corrode her resolve. perhaps a shield to his skull
        would knock the proper sense into him.}

                           _{but that was not her place anymore. it had not been
                           for quite some time. all she could do was provide the
                           counsel of an ally not that of a wife.}

               _{❝ there is more at stake now than your own pride !
                        do not be so ignorant when you have so much to lose. ❞}

        _{unexpectedly, moisture springs forth to sting her eyes,
        lashes fluttering as her visage turns away, yearning for
        a foundation that was not trembling beneath her feet.} 

             _{❝ do not speak of me as if i am property. we are EQUAL. 
                       i am not to be owned by you or any other. ❞}

                                                                                             _{( a steadfast reminder, a means
                                                                                               to distance herself from what
                                                                                               the heart desires so foolishly. )}

                                               _{❝ i am your ally, Ragnar. ❞}