GREATNESS
— 7. Curiosity

It wasn't long before they arrived at King Ecbert's Villa. The army looked around, only to see that it seemed as though it was empty.

Bjorn and Ylva exchanged a look, just before stepping forward. Bjorn raised his hands, just before throwing them down. "Charge!" He shouted out and with that, they ran forward with the rest of their forces following soon after.

They used their tools to bust down the gates, which ended up opening on the first try. They entered and looked around. Ylva found herself frowning, noticing just how empty the place seemed to be.

"It's too quiet. Something isn't right," She whispered to Bjorn since all of them were expecting a fight.

Bjorn nodded his head at Ylva's words before turning to address his men. "Be careful. It could be a trap," He warned the group and King Harald wasted no time leading a group inside.

Ylva glanced around, finding herself wary of her surroundings.

A few moments had passed before Harald and Halfdan returned from being inside the villa. "It's empty!" He announced loudly to the group, "They've gone!"

The men began to cheer happily and wasted no time making their way inside the villa. However, out of everyone there, it seemed as though Bjorn and Ylva seemed to be the only ones unhappy.

Bjorn sat down on a platform and Ylva sighed deeply, placing a hand on his shoulder as she took a seat beside him.

"I was truly hoping for at least one more victory before we returned to our journey to the Mediterranean," Bjorn confessed, a disappointed look on his face and Ylva nodded her head agreement, "To avenge not just my father, but the settlement filled with our people that had been slaughtered here by King Ecbert and his son."

"I did, too," Ylva admitted softly as she slowly nodded her head, "But our destiny is not here. It lies elsewhere, in the Meditteranean. I say we figure out what your brothers plan to do and if they want to stay here, we let them. Though that does not mean we have to stay here with them. They are, after all, grown men."

"We must take Freya with us, though," Bjorn insisted, an almost pleading look on his face, "You are right. She cannot be trusted to stay with Ivar alone. You were right all along, about the prophecy. I can see it more than ever. Ivar is going to tear this family apart and if we're not careful, Freya will side him instead of us and if they're together, they'd be impossible to stop."

Ylva remained silent and avoided eye contact with Bjorn, knowing he was right.

They watched as their men brought out numerous chests filled with treasures, causing the smallest of smiles to appear on Ylva's face.

They soon stood up and made their way over to Ivar, but before they could say anything, they watched as the crowd separated, revealing King Ecbert standing there.

Ylva's eyes widened, only to look alarmed as a bowman near her drew his bow. "Stop!" She exclaimed loudly as she rushed over to the man and forced him to lower his bow.

She turned, watching as numerous men pointed their swords at Ecbert, who showed no fear toward them.

She exchanged a look with Bjorn, just before they both made their way over to the older man.

"This is King Ecbert!" Bjorn announced loudly since many of the warriors there hadn't been with him and Ylva when they had gone with Ragnar and several others to Wessex many years prior, "I order you to spare him."

Ecbert smiled up at Bjorn and Ylva, whom he knew all too well. He placed a hand on the side of Ylva's face, causing her to give him a weird look.

____

They ended up locking Ecbert in a cage in a random room. Bjorn and Ylva stood together with Bjorn's younger brothers and Freya sitting near them, each of them arguing about what they would do next regarding King Ecbert.

"We have to decide what to do with King Ecbert!" Bjorn announced loudly as he stared up at the man who happened to be locked in a cage above them.

"I don't understand," Ivar complained as he gave his oldest brother a puzzled look, "What is there to discuss? We Blood Eagle him. Ecbert is as guilty as Aelle so we should do the same thing to him. I've told you this too many times, brothers. I was here!"

"How could we forget?" Ylva retorted with an attitude as she turned to give the boy an aggravated look, "You've only reminded us every chance you got."

Ivar sighed in annoyance, turning to glare at Ylva. "I saw Ecbert hand Father over to King Aelle."

"We all understand those feelings, Ivar!" Bjorn snapped at his brother angrily, growing frustrated with him, "No one is denying what you are saying. But sometimes..." He trailed off as he walked toward him, "Sometimes...We have to consider things beyond our feelings. And think of what is best for our people."

"I know what our people want, Bjorn," Ivar argued with his brother calmly as he pointed at Ecbert, "And they want what I want."

"We have to consider our position of strength, Ivar, and use that to our ultimate advantage!" Bjorn spoke up in a loud, stern tone.

"Perhaps he's too arrogant to see that," Ylva spoke up, earning a glare from Ivar.

Hearing her words, Ivar began to laugh. "You always like to complicate things, Bjorn. You think it makes you clever. But we all know the truth," Ivar commented, causing Bjorn to stop and turn to face him, "Ylva is the true brains of your usual duo."

"I could say the same of you," Bjorn shot Ivar as he gestured toward Freya and Ylva noticed the way she avoided eye contact with everyone.

"And if what we kill Ecbert, Ivar? Huh? What then?" Ubbe finally spoke up, adding into the conversation.

"Well, then he's dead, Ubbe," Ivar answered without a care in the world.

"We are in the middle of an enemy kingdom," Bjorn snapped at Ivar as he moved toward him, "How long will it be before the Saxon forces gather up another army and drive us away?!"

"Exactly!" Freya shouted back at Bjorn as she took Ivar's side, "Which is why we should just kill the Saxon bastard and move on. We raid this entire land, so that these Christians fools never have the chance to assemble another army against us ever again!"

Bjorn sighed in frustration, beginning to pace as Ivar was quick to defend Freya. "She is right. Why would we even want to stay here?" He complained loudly.

"It is what our father wanted," Ubbe reminded his brother and Freya in a calm tone, "He didn't just want to win battles. He wanted land here. He wanted to make settlements so our people could live and they could work."

"And we all know what happened," Ivar pointed out and Freya nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but in those days, he did not hold a king to ransom, nor did he have a great army," Hvitserk reminded his brother as he let out a large sigh, "We do."

"What about you, Sigurd?" Ivar suddenly asked, turning to look at his brother, "You've been very quiet so far. I'm sure you have an opinion."

"I agree with you, Ivar," Sigurd replied, causing both Ivar and Freya to frown as they exchanged a look with each other.

"Excuse me?" Ivar frowned as he turned to his older brother.

"That's a first," Freya muttered as she let out a small scoff.

"We should Blood Eagle him," Sigurd suggested as he nodded his head in agreement to what Ivar and Freya had said.

"Finally!" Ivar exclaimed loudly, "Thank you!"

"But I'm not sure," Sigurd suddenly added in, earning an annoyed look from Ivar and Freya, "I'm not sure what they're saying."

"What I am saying is that we should we should do what our father always wanted," Bjorn spoke up as he tried to contain his frustration.

Hearing Ecbert moving around above, Freya lifted her head to look up at the man.

"Yes?" Ylva asked as she turned to the man with an annoyed look on her face.

"I'd like to speak," Ecbert announced, speaking their language.

"Would you now?" Ylva sarcastically asked the man as she stared up at him.

"Well, I understand most of what you say, and I speak a little of your language now," He informed them, groaning as he leaned forward, closer to the bars of the cell, "I loved your father."

"He was my friend. And I know that, more than anything, he wanted to build a farming community here," He explained in a calm tone and Ylva watched as Freya moved closer to speak to the man.

"Yet that didn't stop you from killing all the settlers," She commented with an attitude.

"Yes. It's true. I did," Ecbert replied truthfully as he nodded his head, "But..." He trailed off, laughing humorlessly as he gestured toward the chains, "Now the tables have turned. We can make a new deal."

"What are you proposing?" Bjorn asked curiously as he stared up at the Saxon man.

"Well, as you say, it's only a matter of time before you are driven away from here," He reminded the group in a calm tone, "Without any legal right to English lands, you have no hopes of staying. Well, I am king of kings. And I can give you that legal right. I will give you legal claim to the kingdom of East Anglia. It's a large kingdom. Because I am king, no one can question that claim. And it seems that...You have enough men to enforce it until it holds. That's my offer. You should consider it."

The group was silent for a long moment, thinking over the proposal. "What do you want in return?" Ubbe asked as he pointed up at Ecbert.

Ecbert leaned back, turning to look at the man. "I'll only tell you that once you agree to my proposal," He replied in a calm tone.

_____

After Bjorn had spoken to Ivar, he and Ylva returned to Ecbert. They walked up to the man, staring up at him as he sat in his cage. "I accept your offer of land," Bjorn informed the man in a calm tone, "But for what you did to my father...You must die."

"Then I'll tell you what it is I want," Ecbert informed Bjorn as he stared down at him and Ylva, "All I want is to choose the manner of my own death."

Hearing the man's words, Bjorn turned and exchanged a look with Ylva, who nodded. He sighed, turning on his heel as he began to walk away with Ylva. "I agree."

"Ylva, was it?" Ecbert suddenly spoke up, speaking his own language, which Ylva was able to understand.

She stopped and turned to face the man while Bjorn continued to walk out of the room. "Ah, yes, I remember you," Ecbert told the woman, the slightest of smiles on his face, "Ragnar was fond of you. Though when I met you, you weren't married to Bjorn Ironside nor were you a queen."

"It's been many years since I was last in England. Many things have changed," Ylva replied in a calm tone as she stared up at him.

"I heard you had the chance to kill my son on the battlefield yet you spared him," Ecbert suddenly revealed, causing Ylva's face to fall.

"I did no such thing," Ylva was quick to argue as she shook her head.

"You did," Ecbert argued and Ylva remained silent, knowing he was right and that he must have learned it from his son, "It is shocking to admit, but I've learned that seeming to hate all Pagans, Æthelwulf still admires you greatly. He has since you were last in England. You learned the language of the Saxons when no one but Ragnar took the time to do so. You're a woman yet men view you like you're a queen, even before you were a queen. Last time you were here, you were but a girl, but you were a true leader. A leader men would kill and die for no matter what. Not to mention, you may choose to hide it, but you're smarter than those you surround yourself with."

"What of it?" Ylva asked the man impatiently, not understanding what he was trying to get at.

"Deep down, you know no matter how strong this Great Heathen Army is, it will be a matter of time before my son returns with more forces and defeats your people. After all, when I die, my son will be king and he is not so tolerant with other Pagans as he is with you," Ecbert continued to explain and Ylva groaned, rolling her eyes at the man.

"I still don't know where this conversation is going," she complained as she shot him a bored expression.

"You learned our language for a reason. You ask many questions, not because you're paranoid, but because you are curious. You're curious about foreign things, just as Ragnar was. Things you know nothing about attract you and I dare say foreign religions attract you as well," Ecbert explained and Ylva's expression immediately turned cold.

"You go too far, King Ecbert," She warned the man in a low, threatening tone.

Ecbert smiled, moving toward the bars of the cage to get closer to her. "I suppose a part of you is curious about our Christian God. You could always convert."

"I am loyal to my own gods. I would never do such a thing," She argued with the man in a stern tone.

"So you're saying you've never thought about what makes us Saxons so willing to die for our god?" Ecbert questioned Ylva as he gave her a knowing look.

She remained silent and turned away, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye at his words. He knew more about her than he should have and it was her own fault.

"You're curious. I know you are. You could be the one to make peace with our warring sides. I know you can," Ecbert explained, causing Ylva to let out a loud scoff.

"What makes you think I want peace?" She asked the man, beginning to smile up at him in amusement.

"Do you truly want more of your people to die?" He questioned as he shook his head, "You don't. I know you don't. And I know my son will not want that of his people when he becomes king either."

Ylva glared at the man for mentioning Aethelwulf so many times. She opened her mouth to say something, only to become cut off when Bjorn entered.

However, she didn't know whether to be relieved by his sudden arrival or worried.

"Ylva," He called out, causing Ylva to quickly turn to him. He gestured for her to leave with him and she sighed before doing just that.

As he watched Bjorn and Ylva walk out together, Ecbert began to smile, clearly knowing what Ylva hadn't. Bjorn had been listening to the entire conversation.

Walking out together, Ylva sighed, noticing the angered look on Bjorn's face. "You heard that conversation, didn't you?" She asked him and Bjorn stopped walking before whipping himself around to face her.

"Why didn't you ignore him? Why didn't you just walk away? Is he right? Are you curious?" He asked her coldly and Ylva scoffed loudly.

"Of course not," She argued as she shook her head in disagreement.

"You know how many people were angry with my father when he got too close to Athelstan. I do not wish the same to happen to you," Bjorn explained to her and Ylva stared up at him uneasily.

"I was just—" She began to say, only to cut herself off and sigh as she looked down at the ground, "Curious."

"Why did he mention Æthelwulf to you so many times?" Bjorn found himself asking Ylva as he stared down at her suspiciously.

Ylva remained silent and Bjorn immediately noticed the shameful look on her face. "What aren't you telling me?" Bjorn grabbed Ylva by the arm as she finally brought herself to look him in the eye.