GREATNESS
— 25. Alliance

In the chapel at York, Ylva was standing with Rorik, smiling and cheering alongside the rest of the crowd as Bjorn walked down the aisle to marry Gunnhild.

The smallest of smiles were on Bjorn's face, but he didn't seem all that excited to marry Gunnhild. He was doing it for Ylva, after all, he couldn't care less about Gunnhild. She would only be his wife in name, unlike Ylva.

He walked through and tapped the men's shields with his sword. The crowd dispersed and Gunnhild appeared in the middle, holding up his shield.

The crowd cheered once more and Ylva smiled, watching the woman lower her shield to reveal her face. Bjorn and Gunnhild stood in front of each other, grabbing ahold of each other's hand when the priestess walked forward.

They soon kissed and Rorik rolled his eyes as he watched, standing alongside his mother.

"How can you accept this?" Rorik asked, letting out a large scoff, "How can you let Father marry another woman?"

"Because he's not doing it for himself," Ylva replied, turning to look at her son.

"I don't understand," Rorik began to frown as he shook his head at his mother.

"Your father doesn't love Gunnhild. I do," Ylva confessed, causing Rorik's mouth to gape open.

He stared down at his mother, on the verge of asking her something when he decided not to. He shook his head slightly and looked away, only to lock eyes on Harald, who looked jealous of Bjorn.

"Look at this fool. He is pathetic," Rorik commented and Ylva smiled in amusement.

"He is in love. I'm sure you know the feeling," Ylva responded, giving her son a pointed look.

"I do. More than you know," Rorik replied, only to smile as he suddenly walked over to an unknown girl with brown hair.

Ylva frowned, watching as he grabbed the girl's hand. The girl turned to him, smiling up at him before they kissed. They gradually pulled away from each other and with that, they walked away together.

Feeling someone grab her by the arm, Ylva jumped in fright. However, she sighed and smiled when she saw it was only Bjorn.

"My love," He greeted her, smiling as he kissed her passionately in front of everyone, despite just publicly marrying Gunnhild.

Slowly, Bjorn pulled away, only to frown at the look on Ylva's face. "What's wrong?"

"Our son has found himself a woman," She informed Bjorn, a disapproving look on her face.

"Oh, you mean Amma?" Bjorn asked, causing Ylva's eyes to widen in disbelief.

"Amma?" Ylva frowned in confusion, "You knew about this?"

"Of course, I did. Didn't Rorik tell you?" Bjorn replied and Ylva shook her head, causing Bjorn to sigh in defeat, "I'm sure it just slipped his mind."

Ylva shrugged, looking defeat as she walked away without another word said.

"Queen Ylva," A voice suddenly spoke up, causing the woman to look annoyed as she turned to face Harald.

"I am no longer a queen, but thank you, King Harald," Ylva replied, forcing a smile onto her face.

"I am impressed by you," He commented, earning a puzzled look from Ylva.

"Why is that?" She asked him curiously.

"That you are not jealous," He told her and Ylva smiled at the thought.

"For what reason would I be jealous?" She replied, purposely acting stupid.

"Your husband has married another," Harald reminded her, causing Ylva to begin to smile.

"I encouraged it. I have no reason to be jealous," She reminded him in a calm tone, "Bjorn is still my husband and the father of my children. Gunnhild is simply a concubine."

She turned to walk away, only to be stopped when Harald spoke up once more. "A concubine to who? You or Bjorn? I've heard conflicting reports."

Ylva stopped walking and turned to face the man. "I don't know what you mean."

"I think you do. I hear that it is you that goes to Gunnhild's room at night, not Bjorn," Harald explained, earning a glare from Ylva.

"I'm done talking to you," She snapped at him and as she was about to walk away once more, Harald spoke up.

"Did you know Freya is pregnant?" Harald suddenly asked, causing Ylva to freeze.

"What?" She asked, her eyes widening in shock as she turned to face him.

"Ivar doesn't know it yet because he is foolish when it comes to that girl, but the child isn't his. There are even rumors that the child is Hvitserk's. They've been seeing each other in secret the entire time. As far as I can tell, she is in love with Hvitserk, not Ivar. She's never been in love with Ivar," He informed Ylva, who remained silent as she tried to hide her uneasiness, "I left Kattegat months ago. If I'm right, Freya will be giving birth soon."

Ylva sighed and shook her head, trying to force herself not to care. She shouldn't have cared. Freya betrayed her. She could never be forgiven for what she had done. But she was still her daughter.

"Freya means nothing to me," Ylva snapped at Harald coldly before walking away. She walked to get herself a cup of mead. She grabbed ahold of the cup and with that, she began to down the entire contents of it.

"I was looking for you," Gunnhild suddenly spoke up as she walked over to Ylva.

Ylva smiled at the sight of the woman and immediately grabbed her hand. "Let's go," She insisted and with that, the two women left the hall together to go somewhere quiet.

Once finding a place that there wasn't any people, Ylva lightly pushed the woman against the wall before they both kissed. She needed to keep her mind off Freya and what was happening in Kattegat.

____

Alongside Ubbe and Torvi, Gyda walked through the crowds of cheering Danes and over to the three Dane kings. While two of them had agreed to their proposal of peace and land, the third did not and Ubbe knew he had no choice but to challenge him to single combat. And he did, which the Dane king accepted.

"Silence!" One of the Dane kings shouted, raising his fist, "You have chosen your weapons. You are entitled to a second shield if the first one is shattered. This is a fight to the death. You both enter the sacred circle, but only one of you will come out of it alive. King Frodo, if you die, your people will settle here. If Ubbe dies, we attack Wessex together."

"This is the law," The second Dane king spoke up in a calm tone, and both men nodded.

With that, Ubbe took a deep breath and walked forward alongside King Frodo, where two high priests splashed blood on them.

Gyda took a deep breath, trying to remain calm as she stood alongside Torvi. Ubbe turned and glanced at them, leading to Gyda nodding her head in encouragement.

Ubbe yelled out, running forward as he drove his sword forward.

Frodo stepped out of the way before turning. He slashed at Ubbe and immediately broke the younger man's shield in half.

Ubbe stood back up and began to walk around, tossing his shield to the ground. A second shield was tossed on the ground for him and immediately picked it up.

With that, he slashed at Frodo, who immediately jumped out of the way. He slashed at Ubbe three times, but Ubbe was quick to block the man's forms of attack with his shield.

Frodo growled and Ubbe tossed his shield on the ground, using two hands to hold his sword.

Frodo began to make animalistic noises and grunts, causing the crowd to laugh. He slashed at Ubbe twice, but Ubbe was quick to block him with his own grabbed. He grabbed ahold of the handle to Frodo's ax, attempting to take it out of his grasp. He headbutted the king, causing the man to stumble back.

Frodo quickly recovered and swung at Ubbe, who was quick to defend himself.

He slashed Frodo across his torso, causing the man to grunt before punching Ubbe in the face.

Ubbe grunted as he hit the ground. He spat some blood on the ground, just before he stood up and swung at Frodo a second time. They continued to swing at each other and it wasn't long before Ubbe slashed him across his arm.

He ended up hitting Ubbe across the face with the butt of his ax, causing Ubbe to hit the ground once more.

Gyda flinched, balling her hand into a fist as she tried to contain her uneasiness.

Ubbe groaned, taking his time getting back up. As Frodo moved toward him, Ubbe grabbed him by the leg before taking him to the ground with him.

He yelled out and punched Frodo in the face three times, causing Gyda to smile with satisfaction. He continued to punch him until finally, Frodo pushed Ubbe off of him.

Ubbe grunted and pushed himself off the ground. He panted for breath, unsheathing the blade from his back.

Frodo swung at him, but Ubbe avoided his form of attack. Frodo tried to swing again and Ubbe slashed him across the arm, leading to Frodo dropping his ax.

Ube then stabbed him on the leg, causing Frodo to backhand him across to face. He tackled him to the ground and began to punch him repeatedly.

Soon enough, Frodo was able to hit him back and knocked Ubbe to the ground. He groaned in pain, rolling around until he finally pushed himself off the ground.

He weakly limped over to Ubbe, who had just gotten back up. The men began to punch each other until Ubbe grabbed him in a chokehold. Frodo ended up doing the same until Ubbe punched him in the stomach. Frodo soon did the same to him and punched him in the face.

As he did so, both men ended up hitting the ground and seemed too weak to get back up.

"Odin, All-Father," Gyda suddenly found herself speaking up in a soft tone, causing Torvi to turn to glance at her in surprise, "Please help my uncle. Please give him all the strength he needs to win. I beg of you."

She watched as Frodo weakly crawled over to his ax. He picked it up and limped over to Ubbe, who quickly grabbed ahold of his dagger.

As Frodo went to he slash at him, Ubbe turned on his back. Frodo swung and Ubbe rolled out of the way. He grabbed Frodo from the back before stepping him in the back.

As Ubbe fell to the ground, he ended up taking him down with him.

Two men from the crowd stepped forward, on the verge of raising their weapons to attack Ubbe. At the same time, Torvi and Gyda unsheathed their own weapons and stabbed the men in the back without hesitation to protect Ubbe.

Other men from the crowd immediately grabbed ahold of both women. They pulled them back, placing knives to their necks.

However, just then, one of the Dane king raised his hand, which was his way of telling them to release the women.

Once they were released, Gyda took a step forward while Torvi rushed over to Ubbe. The woman knelt in front of her husband, leaning closer to his face. She pressed a light kiss to his beaten face, listening closely to see if she could hear his breath.

Gasping softly, Torvi began to cry in relief when she could hear his breath. "Ubbe has won!" She suddenly announced as she lifted her head, causing Gyda to sigh in relief, "The son of Rangar has won!"

Gyda grabbed Ubbe's fallen shield from the ground. She raised it and began to bang her own ax against it. "Ubbe, Ubbe, Ubbe, Ubbe," She began to chant, leading to the rest of the warriors, even the Dane kings to do the same. "Ubbe, Ubbe!"

___

  Ubbe was brought back to the royal villa of Wessex in a horse-drawn cart while Torvi and Gyda rode on horseback. Alfred and Elsewith soon walked over, concerned by the sight of Ubbe.

"Ubbe is badly hurt," Torvi informed the group as she climbed off her horse and made her way over to them alongside Gyda.

"Take to my chamber," Alfred commanded the guards before turning to Torvi and Ubbe.

"But he has prevented the war," Gyda added in and Alfred immediately turned to her.

He hugged her tightly, relieved to have her back with him. He smiled and pressed a brief kiss to her cheek while a few feet away Elsewith was quick to look away.

Just then, as she pulled away from the hug, Gyda frowned as she turned her head to lock eyes on her grandmother. "Grandmother Lagertha?" She called out in confusion and Lagertha smiled as she made her way over to her oldest grandchild, "You're alive?!"

"Yes, I'm alive," Lagertha answered, smiling as she tightly hugged the girl, "It is good to see you, my child. I have missed you."

"I can't believe you're alive!" Gyda exclaimed, tears welled in her eyes as she smiled widely at the sight of her grandmother.

"As you can see, it's difficult to kill me," Lagertha told her as Torvi walked over and hugged Lagertha as well.

As Ubbe was brought past them, Lagertha turned, a concerned look on her face. "But what of Ubbe?" She asked Torvi in concern.

Torvi remained silent and walked away from the two women, not knowing how to respond.

Lagertha sighed and turned to Gyda with a smile on her face. "Where is your brother?" She asked the girl curiously.

Gyda sighed, her smile fading. "He chose to leave with my father and mother instead of remaining with me. They are at York now, I believe, and will soon sail back home to take Kattegat and Ashton back from Ivar and Freya," She explained in a calm tone.

Lagertha smiled slightly, tilting her head as she gave the girl a curious look. "And you did not want to go with them."

"My destiny is here, in Wessex," Gyda responded and Lagertha chuckled softly.

She smiled, wrapping an arm around Gyda. "You mean, with Alfred," She corrected Gyda, who remained silent as she avoided eye contact with Lagertha since she knew her to be right, "You're in love with me."

"I suppose," Gyda admitted softly as she shrugged her shoulders, "I know it will not last, but at least I may enjoy it while it does. He makes me happy and he loves me, just as I love him."

"Trust me, I was young and in love once, too. I know how you feel and I don't blame you," Lagertha replied and Gyda smiled at the thought, "Now, come. Let us walk. You must tell me of all that I have missed in my absence."

___

  On the boat to Kattegat and Ashton, a storm ended up arriving, causing the people on the boat to struggle in remaining on. Ylva was tightly gripping onto two ropes while Bjorn stood near Harald, who was steering the boat.

"I warned you, Ironside. I warned you!" Harald shouted out and Bjorn struggled in making his way over to Gunnhild and Ylva.

"Shall we gather in the sails?" Gunnhild asked them curiously.

"No, we must run with the storm," Ylva argued, causing Gunnhild to look concerned.

Bjorn continued to make his way through the boat until he finally made it to Rorik. He wrapped an arm around his son, a calm expression on his face. "Rorik, you must look after my little brother," He insisted and Rorik hesitation nodded his head.

At another part of the boat, Ylva was helping a man backing onto the boat. Rorik glanced at her, sighing before he looked back at Magnus.

"Jesus, save me, please. Our God, I pray. Help me, please," Magnus spoke to himself, causing Rorik to immediately give him a weird.

"Why would the Christian god save you, you idiot!" Rorik snapped at the man angrily, "You say you are a son of Ragnar Lothbrok. Start acting like it, you coward!"

____

  Once arriving on the shores of a place they did not know, it was already morning time. Bjorn hopped off the boat before turning. He grabbed Ylva by the waist, just before helping her off the boat.

Moments had passed and while Bjorn had walked over to speak with Harald, Ylva made her way over to Gunnhild. "Are you alright?" She asked Gunnhild, who smiled and nodded her head.

"Oh, Gods," Gunnhild commented, causing Ylva to immediately turn to see what she was looking at.

Immediately after seeing that Bjorn and Harald were fighting each other, Ylva groaned loudly. "These fucking idiots!"

"They act more like little boys than men," Gunnhild commented and Ylva nodded in agreement.

"Isn't that right," Ylva muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes, "We should go stop them."

"I agree," Gunnhild replied and the two women immediately made their way over to the two foolish men.

As Bjorn and Harald were in the middle of swinging at each other, Gunnhild and Ylva immediately ducked to avoid being hit. Both men's eyes widened when they realized they had almost slashed the women they loved. However, just then, they were both struck across the face by the two women. Ylva had hit Bjorn while Gunnhild had hit Harald.

"You are both bloody fools!" Ylva shouted angrily as she glanced between them, "You want the same thing. The crown of Kattegat. But while Ivar is King, you can't be. Instead of acting two little boys and letting this petty rivalry between you two take over, perhaps you should set your differences aside long enough to take Kattegat. If you must fight, wait until one of you is actually king. Fight about Kattegat. Or whatever else you stupid idiots choose to fight about," She explained in a venomous tone, causing both men to look surprised.

With that, Ylva walked away and Gunnhild smiled, just before following after her.

Bjorn and Harald turned to exchange a look with each other. They nodded at what Ylva had said and bumped arms before walking away from each other.

____

  On the boat, Rorik and Amma were helping the others unpack the belongings from the ships. Rorik sighed in frustration and exchanged a look with Amma. At the same time, they turned to Magnus, who was avoiding eye contact with them. "For what reason did you call out to the Christian God?" Rorik asked Magnus, who gave him a weird look.

"What?" He replied, acting as though he didn't know what Rorik was talking about.

"During the storm, when you thought you were going to die, you called out to Jesus," He informed Magnus, giving him a puzzled look, "Do you believe in the Christian god, even though you are my father's brother and a son of Ragnar?"

"Of course I don't," Magnus snapped at Rorik coldly.

"Then why did you call out to him?" Amma asked him with a puzzled look on her face.

"I lived among the Saxons for many years. I had to go to their churches, I had to pretend to believe in their gods or they would have killed me," He explained and Rorik couldn't help but laugh in amusement.

"Still, you called out to Him when you were afraid of dying. You must believe in Him," Amma explained and from the corner of his eye, Rorik could see his father standing near them.

Magnus turned and glared at Rorik and Amma, moving toward them. "Why is it you two that are asking me these questions?"

"Because my father asked me to look after you. Why else?" Rorik replied with an attitude, "Do you think I'd want to be spending my time with you right now?"

"I don't need anyone to look after me, especially you," He snapped at him coldly and Rorik laughed at him once more.

"Clearly, you do. Or my father wouldn't have appointed me, of all people, to look after you. It's pathetic, really," Rorik explained and Magnus glared at him before climbing off the boat with Amma.

With that, the couple left and Magnus looked defeated.

Bjorn watched the scene closely and Rorik sighed before he walked over to his father. "I don't care what you think, Father. He is not your brother. He can't be. He is unworthy of being a son of Ragnar Lothbrok and soon enough, you shall see that. Just like Mother has."

"Your mother believes he is my brother," Bjorn argued and Rorik smiled in response.

"No, she doesn't. She only tells you that to keep you happy. She has never believed him to be a son of Ragnar. Not for a second," He explained, causing Bjorn's eyes to widen as Rorik walked away without another word said.

___

  Outside in the courtyard of the villa in England, Gyda was walking through, holding Thyra in her arms while she held Erik's hand. They were preparing to leave for Kattegat. They knew there was nothing keeping them there and as much as she wanted to stay, she knew she couldn't. Her family needed her.

After saying goodbye to Ubbe, Alfred turned to Gyda, cupping her face in his hands. "Will I ever see you again?" He asked her in a whisper, a sad look on his face.

"I don't know," Gyda replied, smiling sadly at the thought.

"I will always love you," He confessed and Gyda nodded, placing her hand on the side of his face.

"And I, you," She admitted and both of them smiled as they kissed each other one last time.

Gyda sent him one last look before she began to walk toward the horse-drawn cart to put Thyra and Erik on with Hali and Asa, their cousins.

"Wait!" A voice suddenly spoke up, causing the whole group to turn to see Lagertha walking toward them on a horse, "If it's alright with you, Ubbe, I want to come with you. It's time for me to come home."

Ubbe nodded his head and Gyda smiled, relieved that her grandmother was coming with them as well.

____

  Bjorn and Ylva were shocked when they came across a camp made by an army that wasn't their own. They were led through and toward the tent of the army's commander, which happened to be Hvitserk.

They were to find Hvitserk sitting there, looking disappointed as he was in the middle of eating.

"Hvitserk," Bjorn called out and Hvitserk smiled slightly as he turned to glance at his older brother and Ylva.

"Bjorn. Ylva," He greeted them in a calm tone.

Ylva walked toward where a map was laid out on the table and glanced down at it, yet Hvitserk made no attempt to stop her, which came as a shock to both her and Bjorn. "Where are you going with such a large army?" She asked him curiously, "To support Ivar, I suppose?"

Hvitserk stood up and turned to the duo. "On the contrary, to attack him," He informed them as he moved toward Bjorn, "To attack Kattegat with King Olaf and the two of you, I suppose."

Bjorn stared at Hvitserk closely with an unreadable expression on his face. He walked toward Hvitserk, who had no idea what his brother was about to do.

Just then, he yelled out, engulfing his brother in a hug. "Ah! My brother!" He shouted loudly, causing Hvitserk to laugh while Ylva smiled at the sight, "This is one of the happiest days of my life! How strange for our paths to cross like this."

"How strange? Was it not fated?" Hvitserk asked Bjorn with a smile on his face.

"Hmm. Are we fated to kill Ivar?" Bjorn commented and Hvitserk hummed in response, "Despite his crimes, he's still our brother. Is it not shamed in the eyes of the gods?"

"I've asked the gods why I jumped ship, why I abandoned Ubbe to stay close to Ivar, why I allowed Ivar to humiliate me, laugh at me, and parade the mother of my child around as if she was carrying his baby," He explained, causing Bjorn and Ylva to exchange a shocked look at his words, "All these questions, I've questioned the gods and myself. But now, I know the reason. I know my fate. My fate was to kill Ivar."

Hvitserk smiled and handed the duo a cup of ale. "But if we are to do this together, you must know that Freya is on our side, too, whether you want to believe it or not," He explained, causing Ylva to immediately frown in concern.

"I don't understand," Ylva argued as she shook her head in response.

  "She is trapped. She didn't want to be on Ivar's side since the beginning. Ivar threatened her life and mine. She stayed for me. She is carrying my child, not his, and she wants nothing more than to escape," Hvitserk explained and Ylva began to glare at Hvitserk.

"Freya killed my son and my brother. She's dead to me," She argued in a cold tone as she shook her head in disapproval.

"That is where you're wrong. She didn't kill your son," Hvitserk replied, causing Bjorn's eyes to widen in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" Bjorn asked, immediately walking closer to Hvitserk at the mention of his son.

"Halig is alive," Hvitserk informed them, causing Bjorn and Ylva to gasp in shock.

"What?" They exclaimed in unison and tears filled Ylva's eyes. Their son was alive.

"Freya has been protecting him for months now. She keeps him hidden at your old home. Ivar hasn't figured it out yet. She's been taking care of him ever since you fled Kattegat. He didn't trust her at first, but Halig has now forgiven her. They have saved each other's lives on more than one occasion and she has promised him to reunite him with you both, even if it meant her own death," Hvitserk explained and Ylva began to tear up at the thought.

"My son is alive?" She asked, on the verge of crying since, for years now, she had thought him to be dead.

Hvitserk smiled and nodded, causing Bjorn to even look shocked. They had thought him to be dead for almost a year now.

Bjorn sighed and wrapped an arm around Ylva, who began to cry at the thought. Their son was alive.