GREATNESS
— 10. Sicily

In the Straits of Gibraltar, Bjorn and Ylva were left with only three ships, having sent the rest of them back. They had decided to listen to Sinric's advice and make themselves look like traders.

Bjorn was lying asleep on the floor of the ship with Ylva beside him, her head rested on his chest.

"Bjorn! Ylva! Both of you, wake up!" Halfdan called out to the duo and finally, the two of them woke up.

Seeing they were near the shores of a new land, they were both quick to stand up. Bjorn pulled his map out, trying to figure where they were.

"The Pillars of Hercules," Sinric suddenly spoke up, causing Ylva to turn and give him a weird look.

"What did you say?" She asked him, a puzzled look on his face.

"Those mountains. Known to the ancients as the Pillars of Hercules. But to our purpose, more importantly, they mark the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea," Sinric informed them, causing Ylva to smile widely in relief.

They were so close to reaching their destiny.

"How fortune Ylva and I were to run into you, Sinric," Bjorn commented as Halfdan turned to give Sinric a suspicious look.

"What are you thinking, my love?" Ylva asked Bjorn, watching as he walked to another part of the boat.

"How lucky we are the gods gave us this opportunity," Bjorn replied and Ylva began to smile, "For what lies ahead are new cities, worlds, people and places," He turned, exchanging a large smile with Ylva, "My father would have relished this opportunity."

"I would still urge caution about these lands and peoples," Sinric warned the duo in a calm tone, "They will not know who you are, and you, in turn, don't know how strong anyone is in this new world."

"It would seem we just have to find out," Ylva commented, smiling as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I want to go to Rome," Bjorn declared in a determined tone, "Rome is at the center of the map. Rome is the center of the New World."

"Not anymore, Bjorn Ironside," Sinric replied, earning a puzzled look from Ylva, "Since this map was drawn the whole world has changed. The Roman Empire is no more. Its power is mostly gone. What's left is just a sad shadow of its former glory."

"Then if not Rome, then where?" Bjorn asked Sinric impatiently.

"There is an island not so far away. It's an interesting place," He informed them, gaining the curiosity of everyone there.

Halfdan smiled slightly, leaning closer to Sinric. "And what do they call this interesting island?"

"Sicily," Sinric answered, glancing between the group of three.

"And what is this...Sicily?" Ylva asked curiously, tilting her head as she stared at the man.

____

It was nighttime when they reached the shores of Sicily, Bjorn and Ylva glanced at the land curiously.

"Sicily," Bjorn spoke up in a calm tone, "Tell us about it."

"The ruler is a Byzantine commander called Euphemius. He is already legendary," He explained to the ground, "His ambitions are so limitless that he attempted to overthrow the Holy Roman Emperor. He failed and came here to Sicily, with his ambitions undimmed, so far as I know."

"What is Byzantine?" Ylva found herself asking and Bjorn smiled slightly it seemed everywhere they went, she asked the same questions, "And who is this Holy Roman Emperor you speak of?"

"Michael II," He informed her as he lifted his hand, "But don't worry about it. In a few months' time, he may not be. All things change. This world is impermanent and deceiving. Many things are not what they seem."

"Tell me about it," Ylva muttered under her breath as she exchanged a look with Bjorn.

"When we go ashore in the morning, remember, we are traders," Sinric reminded the group in a stern tone.

"We will have many adventures here and, if we live, many stories to tell at the Great Hall to our children," Bjorn announced as he wrapped an arm around, "If we live."

"If we die, Bjorn, we die. But first, we shall live and live without limits," Ylva reminded her husband and Bjorn smiled, quickly kissing her.

_____

In Sicily, they ended up riding horses to Euphemius' place. Ylva glanced around as she climbed off her horse, amazed by all that was around her.

Bjorn and Ylva exchanged a look before walking forward with their men. A man pushed through the crowd and moved toward them, his arms extended outward. Ylva already knew by the look on his face that he must have been Euphemius.

He began to speak to them in a language they did not understand, but thankfully, Sinric could understand him.

"What is he asking?" Bjorn asked Sinric after noticing the confused look on Euphemius' face.

"If we are traders," Sinric replied in a calm tone.

"Tell him, of course, we are traders. Look at how few boats we brought," Bjorn replied, turning to exchange a smile with Ylva, who was trying her hardest not to laugh.

She listened closely as Sinric began to translate for Euphemius in Greek and after a moment, she watched Euphemius moved toward them, glancing between her and Bjorn.

Before they could react, Euphemius suddenly unsheathed his sword and lunged at Bjorn. Ylva roughly shoved him back and with that, it gave Bjorn the opportunity to take his sword.

Euphemius began to breathe heavily, lifting his arms in surrender as Ylva smirked at him tauntingly.

Bjorn moved toward Euphemius in a threatening manner, causing Euphemius to look terrified.

He suddenly began to laugh, earning a weird look from Bjorn and Ylva. "I don't think I like this place. The people are..." She trailed off as the rest of the men began to laugh, "odd, even for us."

"He says, 'Welcome,'" Sinric suddenly informed them as Euphemius continued to laugh.

Ylva and Bjorn exchanged an uneasy look with each other before Bjorn lowered the sword and handed it back to Euphemius.

Euphemius gestured for them to follow and after a moment of hesitation, they did just that.

_____

  That night, they sat underneath a tent with numerous pillows as seats and better food that they had felt as though they had had their entire lives.

"Commander Euphemius wants you to understand that you are not the only Northmen who have appeared in the Mediterranean," Sinric explained the group, but Bjorn and Ylva were too busy tasting different foods to truly pay attention, "The Emperor Michael himself has a personal bodyguard of Rus Vikings from the Kievan Empire."

Bjorn turned to Ylva and placed a piece of food in her mouth, running his thumb over her bottom lip as he did so. She closed her eyes and moaned at the taste of the food, causing Bjorn to smile In amusement at the sight.

"This food is amazing," She confessed and Bjorn smiled as he nodded.

"I can tell," He replied, leaning closer to her to speak in a whisper, "You have the same look of pleasure on your face that you do when I'm inside of you."

Her eyes immediately shot open at his words. She turned to Bjorn and lightly slapped him on the chest while shooting him an annoyed look. He laughed in amusement while Halfdan and Sinric rolled their eyes at the duo.

"Commander Euphemius wants you to be his bodyguards," Sinric informed them, causing Ylva to smile in amusement.

"Is that so?" She asked, an amused look on her face.

"He will pay and your men very well," Sinric continued to explain, "It would be better if you agreed."

Halfdan shrugged, meaning he was fine with it. Bjorn and Ylva shared a look, both of them nodding. "Tell him we agree," Ylva told Sinric, who immediately began to translate.

Just then, the group watched as Euphemius went directly toward Ylva. He gestured for her to stand up and a curious look on her face, Ylva immediately obeyed.

He grabbed her hands, moving her closer to him. He placed a finger underneath her chin, causing her to frown.

Just then, before she could react, he leaned forward, pressing a lingering kiss to her lips.

Offended that the man had the nerve to kiss his wife while he was sitting right there, Bjorn was on the verge of standing up. However, Sinric ended up pulling him back down before he could cause a scene.

Gradually, Euphemius pulled away and smiled widely at Ylva.

She awkwardly turned to Bjorn, a blank look on her face. "I...was not expecting that," She stated as she watched Euphemius return to his seat before she did the same, "This place becomes odder and odder as each moment passes."

Just then, a woman near them began to sing in Greek, causing Ylva to turn to her with a curious look on her face.

"Who is she?" Halfdan asked, just as curious about the woman as Freya.

"Kassia," Euphemius replied, clearly expecting one of them to ask that.

"Her name is Kassia," Sinric began to translate what Euphemius was saying, "Apparently, she is a Christian. A nun. She was in charge of a monastery and writes holy songs."

"A nun?" Bjorn asked, a puzzled look on his face, "A woman of God?"

"The commander says that he stole her from the holy city of Byzantium, and that she is so famous, the emperor sentenced him to death for abducting her," Sinric explained, earning a small smile from Ylva.

She turned, eying Kassia closely as she sang. "She is so beautiful," She spoke in a whisper and Bjorn nodded in agreement.

____

On the walls of Euphemius' castle, Halfdan was carving a symbol into the stone with his knife while Bjorn was teasing Ylva as they both stood near their friend.

He was standing behind Ylva, his chest pressed against her back as his hands roamed her body. "Come on, what is the big deal?" He practically whined as her lips brushed against her neck, "We have a nice, big room here to stay in. Why can't we go there for a while, even if it's just for a while?"

"Because if we do that..." She trailed off, smiling as she removed his hands from her breasts, "You will end up convincing me to jump in bed with you."

"And what is wrong with that? We are husband and wife," He reminded her and Ylva laughed at him.

"With the way we are with each other, I fear becoming pregnant and if I am, I will have to return home. I do not wish to go home," She complained and Bjorn sighed in frustration, knowing she was right.

He removed his hands, pressing a quick kiss to her neck before stepping away from her.

"Finally," Halfdan muttered under his breath, causing the duo to turn to him, "I thought you two would never stop groping each other as if I weren't here."

Bjorn rolled his eyes at Halfdan's words while Ylva smiled in amusement.

"Kassia," Halfdan suddenly spoke up after a moment of silence.

"What about her?" Bjorn asked, not paying attention to Halfdan all that much.

"She's up there. Look," Halfdan told them, causing Bjorn and Ylva to look up to see Kassia in the middle of talking to a man in all black and Sinric.

"It's Sinric," Bjorn commented and Ylva nodded in confirmation, the two of them watching Sinric walked away.

Bjorn chuckled, watching as Kassia intimately hugged the man wearing all black. She then placed her hood back on before the two of them watched in two opposite directions.

"She does not look so much like a nun now, does she?" She commented and after a few moments, Sinric appeared and Bjorn was quick to concern him.

He tightly gripped onto Sinric, who gasped in surprise. "We saw you," Bjorn informed the man, smiling almost threateningly as he wrapped an arm around him, "What was all that about, my friend?"

"I told you," Sinric argued, glancing between Bjorn and Ylva, "Nothing is as it seems."

"Meaning what exactly?" Ylva questioned, raising a brow at the man.

"Commander Euphemius isn't really the commander here after all," Sinric informed them, causing Ylva to frown in confusion.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked Sinric, exchanging a puzzled look with Bjorn.

"An Arab leader called Ziyadat Allah, the Emir of Ifriqiya in Kairouan, agreed to invade the island on Euphemius' behalf in return for a yearly tribute," He explained, much to Bjorn's curiosity.

"Where is Kairouan?" Bjorn asked the man curiously.

"In Africa," He replied and even the sound of the word gained Ylva's curiosity.

"And where is this...Africa, you speak of?" Ylva found herself asking Sinric, deeply curious as she always was.

"Another world," Sinric complained, shrugging Ylva off.

"So this Commander Euphemius, he is a, uh, client ruler," Bjorn stated as he and Ylva began to walk with Sinric, "He has no real power."

"So it appears," Sinric replied and Ylva nodded in understanding.

"Ziyadat Allah?" Bjorn questioned, raising a brow at Sinric.

"At the moment, he is probably the most important ruler in the Mediterranean. Many, many stories are told of him. Both Arabs and Christians go to him to ask for favors, which he often grants," He explained to them and Ylva found herself deeply interested in what he had to say, "For it increases his influence and his power."

"Have you met him?" Bjorn asked as they reached where Halfdan was standing.

Sinric ended up telling Bjorn that he had no and after that, Halfdan was quick to speak up. "That was Kassia," He stated and Sinric nodded in confirmation, "So, who was the man?"

"I don't know. But almost certainly a spy," Sinric informed them, earning a weird look from Ylva.

"They looked like lovers," Halfdan pointed out and Ylva nodded in agreement.

"It's possible," Sinric shrugged.

"A spy for who?' Bjorn asked, a curious look on his face.

"For the emperor, perhaps. Or perhaps for Ziyadat Allah. Who can tell in this place?" Sinric nervously chuckled and Ylva frowned, a part of her beginning to feel suspicious of the man.

"Sinric, you wouldn't happen to be lying and conspiring against us, now would you?" She asked the man, eying him suspiciously as Halfdan circled Sinric in a threatening manner.

"I was only trying to find out what was going on here," Sinric told them as he looked down cautiously to see Halfdan had pressed the tip of his blade against his chin.

Freya smiled, watching the scene in amusement.

"Some wanderers are really gods in disguise," Halfdan commented as he leaned closer to Sinric, "Are you?"

Bjorn and Ylva turned to each other, both of them chuckling.

"Do I look like a god?" He asked them and Ylva chuckled.

"No, not really," Ylva bluntly replied as she shook her head and Bjorn gestured for Halfdan to stand down, which he ended up doing.

"I want to meet this Ziyadat Allah," Bjorn confessed and Halfdan turned to him in confusion.

"Why?" Halfdan asked, a curious look on his face.

"'Cause it seems like he is the true leader," He admitted and Ylva nodded in agreement.

"I want to meet him as well," She agreed with Bjorn in a calm tone, "I want to go to Africa."

Bjorn smiled at the thought and even Halfdan seemed interested in the area while Sinric looked uneasy about the decision.

____

Inside the castle, Ylva, Halfdan, Bjorn, and Sinric were quick to corner Euphemius and Kassia as they were walking down the hall.

Sinric wasted no time beginning to speak Greek, telling them how Bjorn and the rest of the group wanted to meet Ziyadat Allah.

"What does he say?" Bjorn asked, growing impatient since he couldn't understand what they were saying.

"That he won't go," Sinric suddenly informed them and Ylva sighed in frustration, only to watch as Kassia suddenly spoke up in Greek.

It caused the Commander to stop where he was and turn to face her. He walked away after speaking to Kassia for a few moments and after that, Kassia shot Bjorn and Ylva a look before following after Euphemius.

"He has changed his mind," Sinric informed them enthusiastically, "He will come."

"It was something she said," Bjorn commented and Sinric nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. It was something she said," Sinric replied, earning a smile from Ylva.