GREATNESS
— 20. Eve of Battle

  In the throne room, Ylva stood with Bjorn, their two eldest children, Ubbe, Torvi, and Lagertha in front of Alfred as he gave them the news of what was yet to occur.

"King Harald and his army are less than two days away. Our army is ready and we will ride out tomorrow. If, with your help, and God's grace, we manage to defeat our enemies, then I swear to you, by everything most holy, that I will freely grant you the lands of East Anglia promised to you by my grandfather."

"You would have the strength to do so?" Bjorn suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

"I would have the strength and the determination to do so," Alfred replied in a stern tone as he walked down a few steps.

"Is that so?" Ylva commented in a sarcastic tone as she eyed Alfred closely.

"Indeed," Alfred replied, staring at both Bjorn and Ylva for a long moment.

Ubbe was the first to leave, followed by Bjorn, Ylva, and Torvi. Lastly, Lagertha walked away alongside Rorik, leaving only Gyda there.

She exchanged a smile with Alfred and bowed her head to him. She was on the verge of leaving when Alfred spoke up.

"Where do you think you're going?" He suddenly asked, causing her to frown in confusion as she turned to face him, "I thought we had training today."

Gyda smiled, wasting no time nodding her head at his words.

_____

Outside, in the woods, Rorik was walking down a path with his mother, who clearly wanted to speak to him about something.

"I hear Thyra and Erik caught you in bed with a maid," Ylva spoke up, smiling in amusement when her oldest son groaned loudly in annoyance.

"Those two need to learn how to knock," He commented and Ylva chuckled since she couldn't help but agree with that.

"I hear you've been busy in the Villa. At this rate, you'll have bedded more than half the women here by the time we leave Wessex," She explained as she turned to give her son a questioning look, "Do you believe that to be wise? What if one of them were to fall pregnant?"

"They'd have Viking blood to strengthen their line," Rorik jokingly remarked as he smiled, only to notice that his mother didn't find it funny, "I am careful, Mother. You needn't worry. I don't..."

"You what?" Ylva questioned, giving her son a questioning look.

"I don't fin..." He trailed off awkwardly, only to sigh loudly and look down at the ground, "I'm not saying it to you."

"You don't finish inside them?" Ylva asked without a care in the world and Rorik made a disgusted look as he couldn't bring himself to look at his mother. He nodded anyway, feeling beyond awkward at that moment, "I know it is weird to speak of with your mother, but you do realize I had two brothers, I lived closely with your father and his brothers for years, and I spent most of my life around men, some of which humped woman right in front of me in raids."

"I didn't need to hear that," Rorik commented and Ylva laughed in amusement.

"Do you know how fun it is to make your child feel awkward like this?" Ylva replied and Rorik smiled, playfully rolling his eyes at her, "Bed whoever you want. You're a free man. You may do as you wish. Just stay away from the King's wife if you want to keep your head."

There was a long moment of silence between them and Ylva turned to her son to see him awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "About that..." He nervously trailed off.

Ylva sighed in frustration and face palmed herself.

_____

    Outside, Gyda walked over to the catapult laid out in front of her and Alfred. She sighed, placing a large pile of hay inside the catapult before glancing around at all of the guards surrounding them.

She took a large step back, giving Alfred room to examine the machine closely. "What is this?" He found himself asking her curiously.

"The Franks call it a catapult. My father told me they used them against our people in Paris. I believe they could be useful, don't you?" She explained to him in a confident tone.

Alfred hummed in response, continuing to eye the machine closely.

"Cut the rope," She encouraged him and Alfred gave her a curious look. He took a step back and unsheathed his sword, wasting no time cutting the rope with one swing.

The catapult swung upwards, just before throwing the hay several feet away.

While Alfred was distracted, Freya smirked and unsheathed her sword. She swung at him and Alfred's eyes widened, quick to step back.

His guards placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, on the verge of intervening. "Stop!" He shouted at his men in a stern tone as he raised his hand.

Gyda turned, giving the men standing behind her a weird look. She rolled her eyes and turned to look back at Alfred, pointing her sword at him. "Never hesitate. Always be on guard and don't die stupidly," She told him in a stern tone, which was the same phrase her mother had taught all her children.

Alfred walked toward her and wasted no time driving his sword in her direction. She avoided his form of attack at ease and when he went to swing against, his blade deadlocked with hers.

Gyda roughly pushed him back and as Alfred stumbled, she swung at him. He quickly blocked her attack and grabbed her by the wrists, stopping her from doing any more.

She grunted and put all of her weight into pushing him back. He stumbled but soon recovered and once he did so, she swung at him again.

Alfred ended up catching her arm and with one swift movement, he had unarmed her. He turned to her, smiling since he thought he had won.

However, he groaned when he watched her unsheathe her ax. He grunted and swung at her, only to have her block his blade with her ax.

She pulled her ax away and shrugged. "Good," She told him and began to walk away without another word said, much to Alfred's confusion.

"Is that it?" He asked her, a puzzled look on his face. He smiled, watching as Gyda stopped to send him a small smile before she continued to walk away.

Alfred quietly laughed and began to follow after her. Before going any further, however, he gestured for his guards to stay put.

With that, he walked in the direction that Gyda had gone in, which happened to be the woods.

It wasn't long before he found Gyda. She stopped and turned to face him, a smile forming on her lips. "Is there something you'd like to say or did you follow me to the woods for no reason at all?"

Alfred took a deep breath, trying to hide how nervous he was. He walked toward her and Gyda found herself watching him closely. He stopped when he was standing in front of her and wasted no time pulling her closer to him. He placed a hand on the side of her face and Gyda's lips parted as her eyes widened in surprise, knowing what he was about to do.

She closed her eyes, feeling his lips press against hers. She gradually began to kiss back, surprised by his actions but also somewhat relieved. As he kissed her, she felt the world fall away.

It was slow and gentle, comforting in ways she couldn't begin to explain. His hand rested below her eyes, his thumb caressing her cheek.

She had never kissed someone before. She had only heard Rorik boast about it. After all, her brother had kissed dozens of girls.

She ran her hands down his back, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them. She could've sworn she could even feel his heart beating against her chest.

Suddenly realizing what they were doing was wrong, Gyda pulled away and stared at Alfred with wide eyes. "You have a wife," She reminded him in a soft whisper.

"I know," He paused, staring down at the ground in shame, "But I did not wish to marry her. My mother forced me to. If I was able to choose who I would marry, I believe..." He trailed off, slowly lifting his head to look her in the eyes, "I believe I would have chosen you."

"Something like that could never happen. You are a Saxon. I am a Viking. We do not mix," She reminded him as she shook her head in disapproval.

"My father did," He pointed out in a soft tone.

"Your father was—" She began to say, but Alfred was quick to correct her.

"Æthelwulf wasn't my real father. Athelstan was," He informed her, and Gyda's eyes widened in disbelief since she knew who Athelstan was, "He mixed in with your people. He accepted you all. He embraced your culture for a time. Like him, I am accepting and I believe that is one of the many reasons why I have found myself falling in love with you."

Gyda sighed softly in defeat. She glanced down at his lips, which brushed against hers due to their close proximity. "People cannot find out."

"I know," He replied, nodding his head as he held her face in his hands, "We may keep it a secret."

Gyda slowly nodded, despite feeling uneasy. She leaned forward, wasting no time pressing her lips against hers.

Alfred wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him as Gyda placed her hands on the sides of his face.

"Gyda?" A voice suddenly called out, causing Gyda and Alfred to immediately pull away from each other.

They whipped themselves around, their eyes widening to see Ylva standing before them.

Gyda stared down at the ground, unable to bring herself to look her mother in the eye. "Come with me right now," Ylva demanded in a stern tone, a cold expression appearing on her face, "We need to talk."

Gyda uneasily nodded. She turned, exchanging a brief look before leaving with Alfred.

_____

It was silent the entire way back to the Villa and because of that, Gyda felt uneasy. She knew her mother was just waiting to scold her.

"Can you just yell at me already?" Gyda impatiently asked her mother. She sighed, watching as her mother stopped walking and turned to face her with a cold look on her face, "I know what I was doing shouldn't have happened, but I can't help it."

"Of course you can help it!" Ylva scolded her daughter as she stared at her in disbelief, "You can't involve yourself with King Alfred. It won't end well."

"But it's alright if Rorik fucks half the women in the royal villa, including the queen, right?" Gyda asked her mother with an attitude and Ylva remained silent, "It's not fair! I kiss Alfred once and I'm in trouble yet Rorik can go about to doing whatever he wants with whoever he wants and never once is he scolded by you."

"You're a girl. It's different," Ylva replied softly, causing Gyda to look offended, "I wish it wasn't like that, my love, but that's just how the world is, trust me. My brother Sihtric bedded numerous women in our youth and my other brother Erik had no complaint, but the moment I was caught just kissing your father, I was beaten as punishment. It's just how the world is. While women do have more freedom in the Viking world than they do others, we are still not truly equal to men. Men may do whatever they want while we cannot."

Ylva sighed and walked toward Gyda. "Why, Gyda?" She asked her daughter in a soft tone, "Why him?"

"I love him," Gyda admitted in a whisper, causing Ylva's eyes to widen, "You're the one who taught me I may love whomever I choose and I love him."

"Do you realize who you are, Gyda?" Ylva reminded her daughter in an aggravated tone, "You are the daughter of Bjorn Ironside and Ylva the Dread, the granddaughter of Ragnar Lothbrok. Your birth marked the union of the kingdoms of Kattegat and Ashton. You're not just anybody and you cannot just fall in love with a Saxon king."

"Just because Freya fell in love with someone she shouldn't have and betrayed you for it, it doesn't I'm going to do the same," Gyda retorted with an attitude, causing Ylva's face to fall, "I mean, that's why so you're worried, aren't you? You think I'm going to end up like that traitor, but I'm not. Family, duty, honor. You taught me those words and I live by it. Family will always come first for me. Just because I've fallen for a Saxon King, it doesn't mean I'm going to betray my family."

Ylva remained silent, letting out a large sigh in defeat. "If your father found out—"

"He won't," Gyda replied in a confident tone, "If you don't tell him."

"I can't just keep something like that from him," Ylva complained as she shook her head.

"You're saying you've never lied to him?" Gyda retorted with an attitude and Ylva began to glare at her daughter.

"You know, if I had talked to my father the way you talked to me—" Ylva began to say, only to be cut off.

"These are different times, Mother. You can't compare everything to when you were a child," Gyda complained and with that, she walked away before the conversation could finish.

____

It was morning time and Alfred stood in his chambers, preparing for the day. Gyda stood in front of him, smiling as she helped him put on his jeweled cloak.

"How do I look?" Alfred asked her with a smile on his face and it wasn't long before Gyda began to smile as well.

"Almost as you should," She replied, earning a puzzled look from Alfred. She walked over to a nearby table and picked up his crown.

"Almost?" He questioned, watching as she walked over to him while carrying his crown.

She stared up at him, smiling as she placed the crown upon his head. "For what is a king without his crown?" She commented and Alfred began to smile at her, "For as long as I live here in these lands, you are my king, Alfred. I hope you know that."

Alfred smiled down at her and nodded. He placed a hand on the side of her face, the two of them beginning to kiss.

Slowly, Gyda pulled away, a soft smile appearing on her face. "I must go now," She told him in a whisper, "To prepare for battle with my brother."

"Then I shall see you later?" Alfred asked curiously and Gyda nodded her head.

She leaned forward, kissing him one last time before she left the room.

___

It wasn't long before Gyda arrived at her brother's room. The two of them readied themselves for battle and while Gyda wore her cross hidden, Rorik's was out on display.

"We are on the eve of battle, little brother," Gyda spoke up, taking a deep breath as she turned to face Rorik, "You need to wear your arm ring, not just your cross."

Rorik sighed, turning to glance at his cross before he looked back at Gyda. "No," He argued, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Yes!" Gyda demanded in a stern tone, "You need the protection of both the Christian God and of ours. Can't you see that?"

"I don't know about you, but I don't think our gods will protect me if I'm wearing this stupid thing," Rorik complained as he held up the cross he wore around his neck, "It is taking everything within me not to yank this cross off and throw it out the window. If I wear my arm ring, I might just have to. It is not right to wear both."

Gyda sighed in frustration. She walked past Rorik and picked up his arm ring before bringing it over to him. "I'm not taking no for an answer," She complained, roughly grabbing him by the arm before placing it in his hands, "Put it on. Now. For our parents' sake and yours."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, causing them both to turn and sigh.

____

  Later that day, Alfred was standing in one of his rooms when the door opened and Gyda was allowed in. He sighed in relief at the sight of her and smiled. She closed the door behind her before making her way over to Alfred.

He cupped her face in his hands and wasted no time kissing her. After a moment, he pulled away, pressing his forehead against hers as they spoke to each other. "Are you entirely certain that your plan is going to work, Gyda?"

"You must trust me," She insisted in a whisper as they stared into each other's eyes, "Do you trust me?"

"More than anyone else here. But the plan—" Alfred began to say, only to have Gyda cut him off.

"The plan will work if you believe in me, Alfred," She insisted in a determined tone, "You must believe in me. You must. You need to find your courage," She demanded, cupping his face in her hands, "You need to believe in me, but you also need to believe in yourself above anyone or you're not fit to wear that crown upon your head. Do you understand?"

Alfred remained silent, a look on her face that told Gyda he was just dying to say something. "What is it?"

"We risk killing our own men," He reminded her, and Gyda's expression didn't seem to change at his words.

"To win, you must be putting your men's lives on the line. You want to win, don't you?" She asked him and Alfred wasted no time nodding his head.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I know, I know, there has been like NO scenes of Bjorn and Ylva. It's all been about Rorik and Gyda's relationship with Alfred, but I promise you, Ylva's true storyline for this season will truly begin in the next two chapters.