MADNESS
— 1. The King

     Ten years had passed since the Second Siege of Paris. The Siege had ended in defeat and in the end, it led to Ragnar Lothbrok leaving Kattegat for what everyone had expected to be forever.

Things in Kattegat and Ashton, its neighboring city that happened to belong to Freya's mother hadn't been the same since. While much had gotten worse, there were some matters that had resulted in some good.

Her mother was Ylva Sigefridsdottir, who had become an earl younger than anyone else in the land. She was a powerful earl and married to Ragnar Lothbrok's son, Bjorn Ironside. Though in reality, Freya wasn't either of their children biologically. While Ylva and Bjorn raised her since she was a girl, Ylva didn't give birth to Freya nor did Bjorn father her. Though that didn't mean Freya didn't share the same blood as Ylva.

Her father was Erik Sigefridsson, oldest brother to Ylva. He had been killed by Ylva herself when he tried to take her Earldom. He had been a cruel man and in truth, Freya never really cared that he died.

Her mother had been a slave, presumably from England, but many believed her mother had been from some other land. After all, the features that Freya bore were not that of someone born in Wessex.

It was foreign and because of that, Freya had always been known as a great beauty with many men vying for her hand in marriage. She refused them all. Though the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok were among those who wished to have her hand.

She had known them all since she was a girl. She had always been the closest to Hvitserk and Ubbe since she was only a year older than Ubbe, but it was obvious that the strongest bond she had was with the youngest son of Ragnar Lothbrok. Ivar.

Anyone who knew them both could say they were a lot alike. Both driven by their anger, yet more clever than anyone around them. Not to mention, many thought them to be mad, especially Freya, who they named Freya the Mad long ago.

It ran in her blood, to be mad. Since she was a girl, she heard from Ylva of a saying that had been told for hundreds of years about her father's side of the family. They said that when someone in their family was born, the Gods flipped a coin. Some landed on greatness while others landed on madness.

Ylva had achieved greatness and while many thought Freya's to have landed on madness, Ylva refused to believe that. She always did. She was always the one to defend Freya, no matter what.

Though their bond wasn't as strong as it had been when Freya was younger, Freya still loved Ylva more than anything in the world. In truth, Ylva was the only one Freya truly loved in this world.

Aside from raising Freya as their own, Ylva and Bjorn had other children. Gyda, Rorik, Halig, Erik, and Thyra. Of course, Freya was fond of some of them, but she didn't really love them. Erik liked to call her mad while Gyda and Rorik would always snitch on her when she snuck off to be with the Ragnarssons. She didn't really care for young Thyra, since the girl was only three years old. However, Halig was the child Freya liked the most. He was nice to her and she spent the most time around him. He was the old one who never treated her like a misfit. For that, she was always grateful.

   
One day, Freya had been invited by the boys to go to their special cabin to hunt. Freya was more than willing to come, wanting to get away from her adopted siblings.

They spent the morning hunting and when they returned to the cabin, Hvitserk, Ubbe, Freya, and Sigurd sat outside, skinning the animals they had shot while Ivar was inside sleeping.

"Watch when you return home, I bet my brother and your mother are going to scold you again for skipping another meal to be with us," Hvitserk commented as he turned to Freya, who rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't that always happen?" Sigurd asked and the group chuckled because he was right.

"I don't understand why she's so protective all of a sudden. She let me fight in Paris when I was twelve. I am an adult now. I can make my own decisions," She complained and Ubbe turn to give her a puzzled look.

"She only let you fight in Paris because you killed Erlendur," He pointed out, earning a glare from Freya.

"What about the time I singlehandedly saved my mother's Earldom by killing her uncle when he tried to kill her and usurp her Earldom? If it weren't for me, the Earldom wouldn't have become a kingdom and she wouldn't have been named a Queen," She reminded him with an attitude, but before any of the boys could respond, they turned to see Ylva and Bjorn riding up to the cabin on horseback.

"Fuck," Ylva muttered under her breath. She jumped out of her seat and ran into the cabin, causing Ubbe, Sigurd, and Hvitserk to laugh.

"I swear by all the Gods, Ylva is the only one in this world that girl is afraid of," Ubbe commented and Hvitserk stood up.

"Who wouldn't be?" Sigurd scoffed as he and Ubbe watched Hvitserk jump over the fence and move toward Ylva.

He engulfed the woman in a hug after she climbed off her horse. They had known Ylva since Sigurd's birth, after all. Soon after his birth, Kattegat had been briefly taken by Jarl Borg and it had been Ylva's home of Ashton where they fled to for safety. She protected them and gave Ragnar an army to help take back their home. That was also where reunited with Bjorn after not seeing him since they were both children.

     Inside the cabin, Ivar laid asleep when Freya walked up to him. "Ivar, wake up," She told the boy softly as she grabbed him by the shoulder and lightly shook him.

Ivar gasped as he woke up and Freya smiled down at him. "Come. Bjorn and my mother are here," She informed him and Ivar sighed deeply before sitting up.

_____

Once Ivar and Freya made it outside, Ylva and Bjorn wasted no time explaining what they had learned from a man named Thorhall about the settlement in Wessex. "You think our father knew?" Ubbe asked curiously and Bjorn shrugged.

"It's possible," Bjorn replied in a calm tone, glancing around at his brothers, "In those early days, it wasn't easy to navigate the sea."

"He knew," Hvitserk spoke up as he shook his head, "He had to."

"If he did, he should have told the people," Sigurd complained as he was in the middle of skinning a rabbit, "Everyone lost relatives. Fathers and uncles, sons and daughters. They would have demanded revenge."

"That is why he didn't tell them," Ivar spoke up, seeming to be the only one out of Ragnar's sons besides Bjorn that was defending him.

"What do you mean?" Ubbe asked, giving his brother a confused look.

"It was a waste of time," Ivar informed his brother calmly, "They were dead! Ragnar wanted to sail to Paris. He wanted to be famous. Isn't that more important? Hmm?" He asked and Ubbe shook his head, clearly not agreeing with his younger brother.

"You could say that?" Bjorn replied as he exchanged a look with Ylva.

"I can say that?" Ivar questioned Bjorn with an attitude, "What does that mean?"

"Here's what it means, at least to me," Hvitserk spoke up in a cold tone, "Our father abandoned us. We were just kids and he ran off. Only the gods know if he's still alive."

"He's Ragnar Lothbrok," Freya argued as she rolled her eyes, "Of course he's alive."

"Perhaps," Hvitserk replied, shrugging his shoulders as he glanced around at the group, "Now, we hear he kept this big secret from everyone. That he was not truthful or honest."

"It makes me feel sick," Sigurd complained, earning an eye roll from Ylva, "How could our father not tell the people what had happened?"

"Perhaps if he had told him, they would have killed him," Ylva spoke up as she turned to give the boy a scolding look, "Ever think of that, Sigurd?"

"If it's true that our father lied to his people, and abandoned them, then I hope he never comes back," Ubbe complained, causing Freya to turn to the young man with a betrayed look on her face.

"How could you say such a thing?" She found herself asking him as she stared at him in disbelief.

"He betrayed our name, Freya," Hvitserk argued with the girl in a stern tone.

"Here we go," Ylva muttered under her breath as she facepalmed herself and Bjorn seemed just as frustrated as her.

"If he ever came back, I would kill him," Hvitserk declared and Ylva and Bjorn sighed in frustration, clearly finding the entire group to be nothing more than spoiled idiots.

"Me too," Sigurd replied and Ivar glared at his brother.

"Screw you! All of you!" He shouted and threw his cup at Sigurd while Freya smiled in amusement and Ylva looked curious as to what he was about to say, "He never did anything wrong. He is our father. And that is the end of it. You all sound like a bunch of Christians."

"He has a point there," Freya spoke up and Sigurd gave her an annoyed look.

"It seems like he always does, in your eyes at least," Sigurd complained and while Freya rolled her eyes, Ivar glared at his brother.

"I love our father as much as you do," Ubbe reminded Ivar as he looked directly at him.

"Who said I loved him, Ubbe?" Ivar argued as he extended his arms out, "I said I admired him. He's Viking. And you are soft."

"I am not soft!" Ubbe snapped at Ivar as he stood up and pointed his arrow at him, "None of us is soft. But we want to understand what our father did. And what he was. As his son, his fame does not interest me. What he used his power for, now that would interest me."

"By now, my brothers, there will be a lot of anger in Kattegat," Hvitserk spoke up and Ylva nodded in confirmation, "Now they know the truth. Our father betrayed a whole generation of people."

"So if he ever came back—" Sigurd began to say, only to be cut off by Bjorn.

"I don't think he is ever coming back," Bjorn complained in an annoyed tone, "I think what happened in Paris finally broke him. You can all say whatever you want, but he was a human. People started to talk as if he was a god. He was not a god, he was a man! A man with many dreams and many failings. I've learned that in the years since he went away. If I was him, I wouldn't come back."

"It would be the smart thing to do," Freya pointed out and Bjorn nodded in agreement.

"Despite all his failings, he's still the greatest man in the world to me," Bjorn confessed and Ylva smiled as she nodded in agreement.

"You all are too young to truly have spent as much time with your father as we had. You only remember him when he was a man, burdened by the duties of Kingship. We knew him before that, even before he was an Earl. When he was just a farmer with ambitions and dreams that no one thought he would achieve. Yet he did. He achieved his ambitions and more," Ylva explained, her smile slowly fading, "Yet you dare to talk down on him. How dare you? You have no idea how he struggled, how much kingship took a toll on him."

"And you do?" Ivar questioned, letting out a large scoff.

"My wife knew Ragnar a lot better than any of you did. He saved her life as a girl, took her in when no one else would. If it hadn't been for his kindness toward her, she would have never survived as long as she has," Bjorn explained and Freya's eyes widened in realization.

"You would have never been Earl or Queen," Freta commented as she turned to her mother in shock. She hadn't even realized that before.

"That is right, Freya," Ylva replied, sighing as she nodded her head.

____

Later that day, after returning to Kattegat, it wasn't long before the younger sons of Ragnar and Freya learned of the commotion occurring in Kattegat. "Let us pass. Move," Ubbe demanded as he, Sigurd, and Hvitserk pushed through the crowd before Ivar crawled over to them.

Freya stood off to the side, her eyes widening at the sight of Ragnar. She hadn't seen the man since she was twelve-years-old.

Ragnar walked forward, stepping closer to his sons. He smiled, looking down at Ivar. "Hello, Ivar," He greeted his youngest son, who smiled back at him, "There's no mistaking you. It appears my return is not welcome. You've obviously all made your mind up about me. I cannot blame you for that," He explained, letting out a large dramatic sigh, "Well, boys, who is going to do it, then? Who's going to kill me? Well, I don't mind. Go ahead. Please."

Ragnar smiled, walking back and forth before stopping in front of Hvitserk. "What about you, Hvitserk? You think you're a man now? I dare you. Put me out of my misery. Do it. Do it. Do it!" He shouted, causing numerous people in the crowd to flinch, including Hvitserk himself, "Look at the people! They no longer support me! Look! Why would they? I am your leader, and I just left! What kind of leader does that, huh? What kind of king abandons his people! What kind of father abandons his sons?"

Ragnar was silent for a long moment, glancing between his four sons. "So, who wants to be king? Oh, you know how this works!" He complained loudly as he unsheathed his sword, "If you want to be king, you must kill me. Take it. No? You? No. What about you? No? Anyone?" He asked before throwing his sword in the dirt and becoming louder, "Who wants to be king?!"

Ragnar moved toward Sigurd, getting into his face. "What about you, Sigurd?" He asked his son tauntingly, "Do you want to be king?"

He moved toward Ubbe next, glaring. "Do you want to be king, Ubbe? Kill me and you are king," He smiled, placing a hand on Ubbe's shoulder before he turned to address the crowd, "King Ubbe!"

He smiled, turning to face Ubbe once more. His smile faded and struck Ubbe on the face. "What are you waiting for?" He asked in a growl before striking Ubbe again, "Are you afraid? Be a man!"

With that, Ragnar backed up and chuckled. He glanced down, lightly placing his hand on Ivar's hair before he walked away.

Just then, Ubbe stepped forward, holding his sword. His father stopped walking and turned to face his son, who did a good job hiding his fear.

Ragnar extended his arms out, not showing any fear. He walked toward Ubbe and stopped when he was standing in front of him. He lifted his hand and placed it on the side of his face and with that, he hugged his son.

As she watched, Freya gradually began to smile and Hvitserk turned, exchanging a puzzled look with her.

Just then, Ragnar turned, watching as Bjorn walked through the crowd, his arms crossed. Ylva stood near him but unlike Bjorn, she looked a bit happy to see Ragnar.

"Why did you come back?" Bjorn asked his father coldly as Ylva turned, exchanging an uneasy look with Freya.

____

     After Ragnar's sudden arrival, the sons of Ragnar, Ylva, and Freya found themselves sitting in the woods with the man. It was clear the brothers were all unhappy about Ragnar being back and just like Bjorn, Ylva seemed to be trying to figure out why he was there. The group now sat in the woods with Ragnar as Bjorn began to explain to his father what he had learned about what had occurred in Wessex.

"It would appear you have another son. His name is Magnus. His mother is Queen Kwenthrith," Bjorn explained as Ragnar began to laugh in utter amusement, "And he lives in King Ecbert's villa in Wessex."

"Ah, how told you that?" Ragnar asked his son, smiling in amusement.

"A warrior who was fighting in Wessex," Ylva answered in a calm tone, "He was quite sure that it was true. I mean, why would they lie about something like that?"

"Was he also the one who told you two about the settlement?" Ragnar questioned, raising a brow at the duo.

"What do you think?" Ylva retorted and Ragnar nodded in understanding.

"I came back..." Ragnar trailed off, groaning as he sat up from his seat against the tree, "I came back because I wanted to see what has become of my sons."

Ubbe chuckled and turned, exchanging an amused look with Freya.

"And?" Bjorn questioned as he raised a brow at his father.

"And I'm going to England," Ragnar told the group, and Freya's eyes widened in surprise, "And I thought that you all might want to join me. You too, Ylva, Freya."

Ragnar glanced around, waiting for one of his sons to respond. "What do you say, Hvitserk? Ubbe?" He asked and Ubbe shook his head, declining the offer, "Sigurd? What about you two? Freya? Ylva? When have you ever refused to come on a journey with me?"

"There's a first time for everything, it seems, Ragnar," Ylva admitted as she gave him an apologetic look.

Ragnar sighed in defeat and turned to Bjorn next. "I can see in your eyes that your answer is also no, Bjorn," He spoke up in a calm tone.

"This is why," Bjorn complained as he lifted the rolled-up map he held, "This is part of a map of the Roman Empire. Ylva and I found it in Paris. In this map is the Mediterranean Sea," He explained as he walked closer to his father and placed the map down in front of him, "And around that sea are many wonderful people and places and towns. We want to go there!"

Bjorn turned on his heel and walked back over to Ylva, taking his original seat next to her.

"So..." Ragnar trailed off as he leaned forward in his seated position, "How far along are the two of you with your plans?"

"Floki is building the boats," Bjorn informed his father confidently, "Hvitserk has agreed to come with me as well as King Harald, his brother, and Ylva's brother Sihtric."

"What about you two?" Ragnar suddenly asked, glancing between Sigurd and Ubbe, "Why are you not going with your brother and Ylva?"

"Kattegat has changed since you went away," Ubbe told his father as he exchanged a look with Freya, "It's a major trading center in the region. As is Ashton. And many other kings we know regard both with envy. We want to stay and protect our mother."

"And what about you?" Ragnar asked, looking directly at Freya.

"And what about me?" Freya retorted in a calm tone as she stared back at him.

"You love to raid and explore, even I know that. Why are you not going with your mother and my son to sail to the Mediterranean?" Ragnar questioned Freya, who smiled at the question.

"Freya has decided to remain with us, to watch over Bjorn and Ylva's children while they are away," Ubbe informed his father, but by the look on Freya's face, it was clear she was bound to do a shitty job of it.

"You are right to think of family," Ragnar commented as he glanced between Freya and Ubbe.

With that, Bjorn and Ylva stood up to leave. The boys followed and left with them, all but Freya. Ylva frowned, turning to give her daughter a puzzled look before she continued to walk away.

"You should invite Ivar. He admires you, more than your other sons. He might not seem like it, but he can be proven useful in England," Freya informed Ragnar as she walked closer to him, crossing her arms across her chest, "And after all, he's the only one who doesn't seem to hate you."

"I'll take that into consideration, Freya," Ragnar replied, smiling at the girl as he nodded his head. She had changed since he last saw her. She was calmer, more tamed. Last he saw her, she was a wild girl, unable to be controlled by anyone around her, even Ylva. Though even at a young age, she was smarter than anyone around her, including her own mother. He always remembered that about her. She was an enigma.

"Good. Because if you ask, I know he will say yes," Freya reminded him and Ragnar opened his mouth to respond when he was cut off.

"Freya!" Hvitserk had called out to her from afar, causing Freya to turn to look at him, "Are you coming or not?"

Freya sighed in annoyance. She turned to Ragnar, who sent her a smile and nodded. She nodded back at him, just before rushing to catch up to Hvitserk.

Once making it to him, she jumped onto his back and Hvitserk laughed. He began to walk back toward the Great Hall of Kattegat, carrying Freya on his back as he did so.