GREATNESS
— 3. Algeciras

    They spent days on the boats and yet, Bjorn, Ylva, and the rest of the group still couldn't find their destination. It was foggy on the water and Ylva was sitting beside Bjorn, her head rested on his shoulder.

Hvitserk sat near them while Rollo was holding up a crystal in hopes of finding out which direction they were going in.

"Where are we, do you suppose?" Rollo asked the group curiously.

"España," Bjorn informed his uncle in a calm tone as he pointed to a certain part of the map, "About here."

"If we're lucky," Rollo commented as he sat down beside them.

"Or if the Gods will it," Ylva argued as she turned to glare at Rollo, causing his face to fall, "Or have you completely forgotten about the gods, Rollo, the Christian turncoat?"

"You hate me," Rollo replied in a calm tone, "I don't blame you."

"Why wouldn't I? You betrayed us," She snapped at Rollo in a venomous tone, "We would have taken Paris if it weren't for you siding with them. The past ten years wouldn't have gone as they had if it weren't for your betrayal."

Angered, Ylva shot Rollo a hateful glare before she stood up and walked over to another part of the boat.

Bjorn sighed in defeat before he, too, stood up and followed after her.

  At the other part of the boat, Harald was standing alone, watching Ylva and Bjorn closely when his brother walked up to him.

They watched Bjorn place his hands on Ylva's shoulders as she turned to face him, trying to calm her down after her outburst toward Rollo.

"What are you thinking about?" Halfdan found himself asking his brother curiously.

"I was just wondering if Bjorn Ironside and Ylva the Dread are cursed, just like their fathers before them," Harald confessed in a calm tone, "If we flounder, then the gods are surely displeased."

"Then what shall we do?" Halfdan questioned in a hushed tone.

"We should not trust in their star, but in our own," Harald told him quietly, "One day, we must overcome the Lothbroks and Ylva's family, for how else can I become the King of all Norway? And sometimes I think, why wait?"

"The gods will give us a sign," Halfdan whispered to his brother, beginning to smile as he looked upwards, "They love us."

____

The following day, the fog disappeared and they finally laid eyes on the land, leading to the men blowing horns to alert the others. Ylva was sitting beside Bjorn across from Rollo and Sihtric.

Hvitserk stood near them, smiling at the sight of the land. His smile faded soon after though and he turned to Bjorn. "We're almost out of freshwater," He informed his brother and Ylva as he held up the waterskin.

"Really? We didn't know," Ylva replied mockingly and Bjorn smiled in amusement, knowing Ylva had been giving Hvitserk attitude the entire time after seeing Freya kiss the boy goodbye before he left with them while Freya didn't even attempt to say goodbye to her mother.

"We need to find a port," Bjorn informed his brother in a calm tone, "Not only for freshwater but provisions. We don't have much food."

"What will they think of us?" Hvitserk asked the duo curiously, "The people there?"

"I don't know," Bjorn replied as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know anything about them."

"Though I do know they'll be pissing in fear the moment they lay eyes on us," Sihtric spoke up with a smile on his face, causing Ylva to chuckle.

"They call them Mussulman," Rollo informed the group, causing Ylva, Sihtric, and Bjorn to turn to him, "And they worship a god named Allah."

"What is this...Allah?" Ylva asked, a curious look on her face.

"I don't know," Rollo replied as he shrugged his shoulders, "Perhaps you may ask them if we meet them."

____

In Algeciras, Spain, it wasn't long before Ylva, Bjorn, and their army arrived on the shores. Ylva was among the first to climb off the ships, just before they made their way into the city.

The people began to scream and run for their lives. Sihtric shoved a man and wasted no time driving his sword through the man's chest.

Rollo laughed loudly, looking up at the sky as he spun in a circle.

Ylva rolled her eyes at his actions, knowing it was his own fault that he hadn't been able to raid like he was born to do ever since he married the Frankish Princess and became a Duke.

She killed a man and she turned to Hvitserk, who was smiling gleefully as the raid began. She smiled at the sight, finding herself thinking of how much Freya had reacted like that on her first raid.

She killed a few others, only to see that Hvitserk was on the verge of being attacked from the back when he picked up an unknown piece of food and began to casually eat it.

Hvitserk lifted his shield and began to block the man's forms of attacks, but was unable to do much else.

Ylva rolled her eyes and made her way over, roughly pulling the man off of Hvitserk. She shoved the man back and stabbed him in the chest before turning to Hvitserk, who stared at her with wide eyes.

"Always be on guard. Don't let that happen again," She warned him in a low tone as she wiped the blood on her shirt before walking away.

Ylva made her way toward a woman who was hiding behind what looked to be her husband. The man stood in place while the woman ran over to her child, hugging her.

Without hesitation, Ylva killed the man by slashing him across his chest. The woman threw an object at her, causing Ylva to frown as the woman began to try to shove her.

She rolled her eyes and pressed the tip of her sword against the woman's chest, causing her to begin to cry in fear.

She was on the verge of killing her, only to turn her head to see the woman's eyes locked on what seemed to be her daughter. The young girl was crying as well, knowing her mother was about to die.

Ylva sighed in defeat, a part of her beginning to feel bad. She pulled her sword away, just before walking away.

A man had been running but before he could get far, she pulled him toward her before stabbing him.

Several moments had passed before Bjorn joined her and together, alongside others, they found Helga standing in front of a closed door.

One of their men ended up killing a man trying to run by them before Rollo, Hvitserk, Bjorn, and Ylva made their way over to Helga.

Ylva wiped the blood dripping down her face, letting out a large sigh before she looked directly at the closed door.

Rollo stepped forward and with a hard shove, he ended up breaking open the door.

With that, they entered and moved past a curtain to find a place Ylva had never seen a place quite like. The group stepped out of the way, allowing Bjorn and Ylva to lead the way.

They found a man standing before them, showing no fear toward them. Ylva and Bjorn continued to walk toward him and the man lifted up his dagger.

"Don't do it, you fool," Ylva warned the man as she slowly shook her head.

The man switched which hand held his dagger, growling as he rushed at Bjorn. Bjorn blocked his attack at ease before slashing him across the chest.

The group found themselves in a room filled with mirrors and Ylva had seen nothing quite like it.

Hvitserk glanced around, chuckling softly. "Freya would love this," He commented, smiling widely as he continued to walk.

Ylva was looking in one of the mirrors, only to hear footsteps from afar. She exchanged a look with Bjorn, just before they began to lead the rest of the group through.

They stopped when they reached a curtain, only to have Rollo call out to them both. They turned to see him gesturing to another curtain.

Bjorn opened the curtain and was about to attack the man inside, only to have Ylva roughly grab ahold of his arm. He frowned and turned to her, not knowing the reason for her actions.

"Wait," She told him in a hushed tone, "He's already dead."

Rollo pushed past the duo and crouched down in front of the man, who died with his eyes wide open. "He killed himself," He informed the group as Bjorn walked over to the door behind the man, which happened to be locked.

Rollo grabbed the man's hands and pried it open, finding the man to be holding a key. He smiled and held it up to Bjorn and Ylva. "What do you think he was guarding?"

"I suppose we'll have to see and find out," Ylva replied, a smile forming on her lips.

Once unlocking the doors, they busted through and they found women to be inside. They screamed and ran from them, fearing for their lives.

The men all began to smile and Ylva rolled her eyes, knowing why the men were acting in such a way. Ylva sighed and walked forward alongside Bjorn.

Hvitserk smiled happily, patting Rollo on the shoulder excitedly. He began to laugh and Ylva found herself rolling her eyes at Hvitserk.

"Now don't get too excited there, Hvitserk. One might claw your eyes out if you try to fuck them," Ylva told the boy as she gave him a teasing look.

"He'd probably like it," Sihtric commented, causing Ylva to quietly laugh and shake her head.

The women cowered in fear and began to cry as the men moved toward them.

Ylva turned on her heel and walked out of the room, not in the mood to stay there and watch what the men did to the woman who would soon be slaves.

_____

  In the halls filled with mirrors, Bjorn made his way through, searching for Ylva with the smallest of smiles on his face. "Ylva?" He called out in a taunting tone, his voice echoing through.

He continued to walk through, following the sound of Ylva's small laughs as they played a game of a cat and mouse.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Bjorn whipped himself around in just enough time to catch Ylva's arm as she held up a knife.

She stared up at him, her lips curling upwards. "Almost had you there," She spoke softly, their faces just inches apart.

Bjorn smiled down at her. He let go of her hand, allowing her to drop her knife before he pulled her closer to him. He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers, passionately kissing her. He helped her remove her vest before Bjorn removed his shirt.

With that, Bjorn fell into a kneel and lifted up her shirt slightly, pressing kisses to her lower belly before he began to assist her in removing her pants.

She closed her eyes and leaned back, sighing in pleasure as her hands remained on his head.

Bjorn slowly stood back up, kissing her once more. He lifted her with her legs wrapped around his waist before he pressed her against the wall, the two of them continuing to kiss passionately.

___

Bjorn and Ylva soon left the establishment they had found and by the time they did so, the rest of their men were following soon after having their way with the women who were now coming with them as slaves.

Bjorn slapped Ylva on the ass, causing her to turn to him. She playfully rolled her eyes and smiled at him as Bjorn gave her a teasing look.

Harald and Halfdan were singing while Hvitserk was smiling widely, Sihtric looked content as he always did, and Rollo looked shameful.

Bjorn and Ylva stepped out of the way and stood off to the side, allowing the others to move past them.

"Ironside, Ylva, come!" Harald assisted and Ylva sighed as she watched the slaves cry while being dragged toward the boats.

"Do you ever feel bad for the women we take back with us?" Ylva suddenly asked Bjorn as she turned to her husband.

"It is the Viking way. We were born seeing this happen," He reminded her, which was his way of saying he didn't feel bad because he was used to it and it was all he knew, "Do you?"

Hearing his question, Ylva sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Not really the slave part. It is our way of life, after all, but I do feel bad about the children we slaughter. And the children we make orphans. I always have."

"I know, I saw you spare that mother and child," Bjorn informed her, causing Ylva to sigh as she looked down at the ground in shame.

"I know, I shouldn't have," She admitted in a whisper, knowing it would not have ended well if anyone else had seen.

"I understand why you did it, Ylva," Bjorn told his wife as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in comfort, "You yourself are a mother. If I were in your position, I would do the same."

Ylva remained silent and nodded her head, knowing Bjorn was right. "I miss them," She confessed in a whisper.

"I do too," Bjorn replied, wrapping an arm around her, "We will see them again soon. I know it. And we will have many stories to tell them of our adventures."

Ylva smiled at the thought, nodding slightly as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

____

Days had passed and with Bjorn, Harald, Hvitserk, Rollo, and Halfdan, Ylva stood on a cliff, overlooking the sea. "We made it, Ironside," Harald spoke up, a proud look on his face.

"At last," Bjorn replied, smiling at the sight as well, "The Mediterranean. This is further than our people have ever come. Further than Ragnar ever dreamed."

"It's beautiful," Ylva admitted in a whisper, only to frown when she saw both Hvitserk and Bjorn walk away from the group as if they had seen something.

"Hvitserk, did you hear him, too?" Bjorn asked his brother, much to Ylva's confusion.

"Yes," Hvitserk admitted in a whisper.

"What is it?" Ylva asked worriedly as she moved closer to Bjorn and placed a hand on his shoulder, "What's happened?"

"My father is dead," He spoke softly as tears began to fill his eyes.

Hearing his words, Ylva's eyes widened in shock and Bjorn turned to her, looking to be on the verge of crying.

She sighed softly and immediately hugged her husband, beginning to tear up at the thought as well. Ragnar Lothbrok was dead.

Now, nothing would ever be the same.