MADNESS
— 2. Affairs

   Near their home, Freya was yelling out as she chased her mother's youngest children, Erik and Thyra, who were five and three, with a stick. They were giggling happily, trying to outrun their older sister. They ran into their home and stood near their older brother Halig, who was ten.

They turned, watching as Freya purposely made the stick collide with the doorway, making her unable to enter. They continued to laugh and Freya placed the stick down on the ground. She pressed a hand on her gut, making her way toward them.

"And what is it you're laughing at?" She asked them teasingly as she lunged toward them.

Thyra and Erik laughed, hiding behind their older brother Halig. She continued to chase them around the home, not caring for the numerous objects being knocked down in the process.

Just then, she watched as Halig, Thyra, and Erik stopped playing and their smiles faded, causing Freya to roll her eyes at the sight of Gyda standing before them.

After Freya, Gyda was the oldest and didn't get along with Freya in the slightest. In fact, Gyda was terrified of Freya, but she wouldn't let anyone know that.

"You shouldn't be getting them riled up," Gyda complained in a stern tone, "They were supposed to be in bed already and it's not like you'll be here to deal with it, I will."

Freya smiled, shrugging her shoulders without a care in the world. "Not my problem," She replied and with that, she playfully ruffled the children's hair before walking toward the door to leave.

She heard Gyda groaned loudly in frustration, causing Freya to smirk in satisfaction. She began to walk in the direction that led to Kattegat's Great Hall when she heard Halig call out to her.

"Freya! How about you teach me how to fight?" Halig asked her enthusiastically, causing Freya to laugh in amusement.

"Your mother is Ylva the Dread and your father is Bjorn Ironside, two of the greatest warriors who ever walked this land. I don't think you need me to teach you how to fight," She complained, smiling as she rolled her eyes and walked away without another word said.

______

The following evening, instead of returning to her own home for dinner, Freya ended up being invited by Aslaug to have dinner with her and her sons and to also spend the night. It was a normal occurrence, her staying the night with them instead of returning home.

She couldn't remember the last time she was actually in Ashton, her birthplace. While Ylva constantly traveled back and forth due to being Queen of Ashton, Freya always remained in Kattegat with the sons of Ragnar. Ylva's other children also switched off on where they stayed.

Though Freya was only allowed to stay because Bjorn claimed he would watch over her, but much to her relief, he always let her do whatever she wanted. After all, it seemed to be clear to everyone but Ylva that Freya was someone that could not be controlled by anyone.

"I'm glad you could join us, Freya," Aslaug smiled as she turned to the girl, a cup in her hand, "It's always great to have you here and not be the only woman at this table filled with boys."

"Please," Hvitserk scoffed loudly, causing the group to turn to him, "She acts almost like a man herself."

Freya turned to glare at Hvitserk, lightly kicking him underneath the table, which earned a laugh from the boy.

"So..." Ivar suddenly trailed off, causing all of the attention to be on him instead of Hvitserk and Freya, "Father wants to go to England. Why do you not want to go with him? Ubbe?"

"You know why," Ubbe replied with an attitude, "Now shut up."

"Is it the same for you, Sigurd?" Ivar asked his brother tauntingly, "Or are you afraid of being seasick?"

"I'm not afraid of anything, brother," Sigurd argued in a stern tone.

"You say that now," Freya scoffed and Ivar smiled slightly at her, "Everyone's afraid of something."

"Not me," Sigurd replied as he shook his head.

"Not even me?" Ivar asked as he gave Sigurd a taunting look.

A servant girl walked over, stopping when she was standing in front of Ivar. "Would you like some more ale, Ivar?"

Ivar smiled up at the girl whose name was Margrethe and nodded. "Mmm, sure," He answered, holding his cup out to her. As she filled his cup, Ivar slid his hand down her body, stopping at her ass.

"It is wrong to treat her that way," Ubbe complained in an annoyed tone as Margrethe moved away from Ivar.

"Why are you so polite?" Ivar asked Ubbe, an amused look on his face, "She's just a slave. You all just want to have her. You too, Ubbe."

Freya rolled her eyes at the group, drinking her ale as she tried to act as though she hadn't noticed that all eyes were now on her.

"But it's no different when it comes to Freya, either, is it?" Ivar taunted his brother as Freya turned to give Ivar an annoyed look, "You all want to have her, don't you?"

"Ivar," Freya spoke to Ivar in a low, warning tone.

Ivar turned to Freya, smiling as he gave her a taunting look. "Freya," He replied and Freya smiled slightly, playfully rolling her eyes while all eyes seemed to be on them.

____

The following morning, Ivar was crawling through Kattegat, searching for Freya. He passed by some pigs before walking over to the barn he had seen Freya sneak into many times before.

There was a small opening and Ivar found himself looking through, only to find Ubbe lying on a large pile of hay with Freya on top of him, moving up and down on him.

Ubbe was groaning in pleasure as Freya moaned loudly, arching her back. Ubbe grabbed the sides of her face, moving it closer to his as he smiled. He pressed his lips against hers briefly before he laid back fully, letting out a large groan as he finished inside of her.

Freya sighed softly and smiled, leaning her head against Ubbe's shoulder as they both came down from their highs.

"I finally understand why they named you Freya," Ubbe suddenly spoke up as he turned his head to look Freya in the eye.

"Why is that?" Freya asked, her lips curling upwards into a large grin.

"You are like no other women," He commented, causing them both to laugh before Ubbe pressed his lips against hers once more.

____

Finally deciding it was time to take a trip with her mother to Ashton, Ylva and Freya stood outside, fighting with no weapons. Ylva grabbed ahold of Freya, lifting her before she knocked her to the ground.

Freya, however, grabbed ahold of her as well and brought her mother down with her. They laughed and stood back up. Once doing so, Freya swung a punch at Ylva, who was quick to block her form of attack.

Ylva grabbed ahold of her daughter's arm and flipped her. They fell on the ground and as Ylva went to hover over her, Freya attempted to wrap her legs around her mother's neck.

However, Ylva stopped her and Freya climbed on top of her mother. She lifted her hand to punch her but Ylva shoved the girl off of her at ease.

Freya tried to fight back, but Ylva ended up turning the younger girl onto her stomach before twisting her arm.

Freya cried out, but smiled, not surprised her mother had won.

"I miss this, fighting with you," Freya confessed, smiling as she turned to look her mother in the eye.

"Well, that's your fault," Ylva retorted, smiling as well, "You're never home. You're always with Ragnar's sons."

"I can't help it," Freya chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders in response.

"They're in love with you," Ylva reminded Freya, turning onto her side.

"What of it?" Freya complained as she sat up and turned to her mother, frowning.

"Be careful," Ylva sat up as well as she gave her daughter a warning look, "There's no way something like that will end well."

"I can take care of myself," Freya reminded Ylva in a confident tone.

"You're not the only one I'm worried about," She confessed, causing Freya to frown in concern, "Men do stupid things for love and trust me when I say that those boys think with their pricks and not with their heads."

"Ivar doesn't," Freya pointed out as she avoided eye contact with her mother.

"Ivar is the only exception," Ylva admitted, causing them both to smile, "But you'd be smart to stay away from that one especially."

_____

That afternoon, Ivar was traveling through the woods alone. He grunted as he traveled through, only to stop when the sounds of someone moaning in pleasure echoed through the forest.

Ivar stopped and looked ahead, seeing his brother Hvitserk's head underneath a girl's skirt as she gasped in pleasure.

His eyes widened, however, when he saw that the girl was Freya.

Slowly, Hvitserk removed his head from being underneath her skirt. He wiped his mouth and with that, he attached his lips to hers. He lightly pushed Freya against the tree, continuing to kiss her as he pulled down his pants.

Having seen enough, Ivar crawled away, a part of him feeling betrayed by Freya.

____

That night, hours after returning from being in the woods with Hvitserk, Freya was quick to visit Ivar, seeing as though she hadn't seen him all day. She found him outside and smiled as she walked over to him. "Hey," She greeted him happily and Ivar turned to her, beginning to glare, "You've been avoiding me all day."

Her smile faded and she watched as Ivar crawled away without another word said. She frowned in confusion, wondering what was the reason for his behavior.

Just then, she felt arms wrap around her from the back before a pair of lips were pressed against the crook of her neck.

She gasped softly and turned, rolling her eyes when she saw it was Hvitserk. "Not in public," She demanded in a low tone as she pried his hands away from her breasts before she turned to face him. "You know that. I've told you many times. What if people were to see?"

"Then let us go to my room," Hvitserk insisted, smiling as his lips brushed against her earlobe, "You can spend the night."

Freya stared up at Hvitserk for a long moment, hesitant to agree. Gradually, she began to smile, and playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's go," She decided and with that, Hvitserk pulled her toward the Great Hall of Kattegat.

  However, as they did so, Freya continued to glance around, wondering why Ivar was mad at her.

____

Days had passed and after Ivar and his brothers sparred a bit in the woods, they went to the shores of Kattegat.

Ivar remained on the shores, watching as his brothers fished. Moments had passed and they returned to the shores, where the four of them laid down beside each other, staring up at the sky.

"Freya..." Ivar trailed off, breaking the silence between the four of them, "You've all been with her. Have you not?"

Hearing his brother's words, Hvitserk chuckled as he began to smirk. "Maybe."

"You've all had her," Ivar argued, a serious look on his face while the others looked amused by Ivar bringing it up, "You can't deny it."

"It's just sex, nothing more. Freya is incapable of having true feelings for someone, we all know that," Ubbe explained to Ivar and it was the truth, "There's no point in even trying. What of it?"

"So, I want to have her too," Ivar admitted, a determined look on her face.

"That's easy," Hvitserk replied, beginning to laugh, "We'll just bring her to your bed."

"Don't talk about her like that. She's not cattle, Hvitserk," Ubbe scolded his brother, causing Sigurd and Hvitserk to begin to snicker, "She's a human being. We have to ask her first. Who knows if she will say yes."

"Oh, she definitely will," Sigurd commented, causing Hvitserk to laugh, "When has that girl ever refused sex? That and raiding seem to be the only things in this world that keep her happy. All we must do is ask her."

"What will you ask her?" Ivar asked, an annoyed look on his face, "'Mind going to bed with our crippled brother...for a joke.'"

Ubbe turned, giving his brother an annoyed look while Hvitserk's smile faded.

"Have you ever been with a woman?" Sigurd asked Ivar, a smile forming on his lips.

"Even if he has, there's none quite like Freya. We can all agree on that," Hvitserk commented, causing him and Sigurd to smile at the thought of Freya while Ubbe rolled his eyes at the way they spoke about her.

"I will ask her," Ubbe spoke up, knowing there was no way he was going to let Hvitserk and Sigurd bring the topic up to Freya, "And see how she feels."

"I know how she will feel," Ivar admitted, a disappointed look on his face.

"No, you don't," Ubbe argued in a stern tone, "She's not like that. You know that. Freya is different."

_____

That evening, Freya was in the marketplace of Kattegat with Halig and Rorik, seeing as though she had been forced by her mother to take them out of the house for a while.

Noticing how Halig and Rorik's attention had gone elsewhere, she had turned to see what they were looking at. She smiled when she saw that it was Ubbe standing there, only to have it fade at the look he was giving her. "And what the fuck do you want?" She asked him, knowing it must have been something he felt uneasy about.

Ubbe ended up telling Freya of what Ivar wanted to do and believe it or not, she seemed fine with it, much to the surprise of both Ivar and Ubbe.

It was nighttime and in their cabin, Freya was sitting on the bed while Sigurd was lighting candles. Hivtserk was standing next to Freya, making jokes. However, the moment Ubbe entered with Ivar, he immediately stopped.

Ubbe walked over to the bed and placed Ivar down on it. Hvitserk tried not to laugh, seeing as how for some reason, Ivar seemed to be unable to bring himself to look Freya in the eyes. It was a first since Freya had always seemed to be the only one Ivar felt he could be his true self around without her judging him.

Freya groaned loudly and glanced around, noticing that Ubbe, Hvitserk, and Sigurd were all staring at her, smiling. "Can you stop looking at us like that and go?" She snapped at them and Ubbe sighed as he nodded his head before leaving.

Hvitserk soon followed, dragging Sigurd along with him. "Good luck," Sigurd mouthed to the girl, who rolled her eyes.

Once the door closed, Freya sighed deeply and stood up to see Ivar unable to bring himself to look her in the eyes. "You could have just told me, you know, that you wanted to have sex. It isn't a big deal to me," She informed him and finally, Ivar looked her in the eyes as she walked to stand in front of him.

"Sex means that little to you?" Ivar asked as he raised a brow at his friend.

"Sex is nothing but a pleasure to me. It isn't like I want children," She replied casually as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought we told each other everything," Ivar complained, earning a weird look from Freya.

"We do," Freya argued, frowning in concern.

"You didn't tell me you were sleeping with my brothers," Ivar retorted and Freya sighed in frustration.

"It wasn't something you needed to know. That is all," Freya replied calmly as she knelt in front of him to meet him at eye view, "Are we to do this or not?" She asked him impatiently and Ivar awkwardly nodded.

He began to wonder how in his right mind he had ever thought it was a good idea to do this with Freya.

Freya looked him in the eyes, smiling slightly because she was seeing a shyness toward him she had never seen before. "Don't be afraid," She assured him as she cupped his face in her hands.

She leaned forward, gently pressing her lips against his. Ivar gradually began to kiss back and after a moment, Freya pulled away.

Ivar hummed in response and looked downwards, not bringing himself to look her in the eyes.

She smiled, beginning to kiss his neck as she helped him remove his shirt. Slowly, she pulled away and stood up. "Take off your pants," She ordered without a care in the world as she began to remove her dress.

Moments had passed and Freya stood in front of where Ivar laid naked, his legs covered by a blanket. She was naked as well and without hesitation, she removed the blanket covering his legs.

He looked down at his legs in shame and Freya continued to have the same expression as she always did. She didn't care. She never had. Even when they were younger, she had always defended him to people, claiming that because of his legs, it would make him stronger than anyone else around him since it would mean he had to work harder than them.

Slowly, Freya climbed on top of Ivar and leaned downwards. She smiled, beginning to kiss him once more.

Several moments had passed since that gentle moment and since then, matters had gone downhill for the duo.

Ivar had gotten on top of Freya and was thrusting into her, though it was clear that Freya wasn't enjoying it in the slightest. She made faces, among other things, but despite being in pain from the whole ordeal, she didn't cry out.

Finally, Ivar sighed in frustration and laid down next to her, knowing the whole ordeal wasn't working out.

Freya turned to Ivar, knowing the look on his face all too well. She watched as he grunted in frustration and sat up.

Before she could stop him, he had grabbed a piece of rope and as she laid on her stomach, he wrapped it around her throat.

Freya grunted in pain and grabbed ahold of the rope that was wrapped around her neck. Ivar hovered over her, clearly trying to kill her.

She could have easily gotten him off, seeing as though she was a shieldmaiden and her mother was one of the best in the land, but she still, she did nothing.

She didn't cry out. Instead, she growled and turned to glare at Ivar. "What are you doing?" She managed to get out and Ivar leaned his face closer to her ear.

"I have to kill you," He informed her and if he was being honest, in a way, he himself was frightened. Freya was his only friend and now, he was trying to kill her. Not to mention, she wasn't afraid in the slightest. She was calm about the whole ordeal, which wasn't normal. However, at that moment, he remembered something. Never in his life had he ever seen Freya afraid of anything.

"It is not my fault, you fool," She growled at him angrily, "Are you really going to kill me for something that's not my fault?"

"It is not my fault!" Ivar hollered at her, only to watch as Freya rolled her eyes at him, not scared by his tone in the slightest.

"You think I am afraid? I am not. Go ahead. Do your worse, Ivar," She snapped at him coldly, continuing to gasp for breath.

"I have to kill you so you cannot tell my brothers that I am not able to satisfy a woman," He informed her in a low, threatening tone, and by the look on Freya's face, she was amused by his words.

She suddenly began to laugh, despite their situation, which both confused Ivar and angered him.

"You think this is funny!" He shouted at her and Freya continued to laugh as she nodded her head, which led to Ivar gradually releasing his grip on her.

"You think you can kill me?" She asked him, continuing to laugh in amusement as she shook her head, "You can't kill me."

"Why not?" He growled in her ear and slowly, Freya turned her head to look him in the eyes.

She stared up at him, a look in her eyes, similar to his. Her lips curled upwards as she stared him, a sadistic look in her eyes. "Because you love me," She spoke in a low whisper, "I know you do. And that is why you won't kill me."

"I like killing," He growled at her lowly as he tugged at the rope, causing her to cough.

"So do I," She managed to get out, the smallest of smiles on her face as she gasped for breath, "That is why we are one and the same, Ivar. You cannot kill me. You love me. And in my own sick twisted, mad way, I feel the same of you."

Finally, Ivar released her from his grasp, causing her to let out a deep breath as Ivar finally climbed off of her.

He laid flat down on the bed, beginning to tear up as he looked upwards. "So what? Your prick doesn't work. Is that supposed to make you less of a man, Ivar? It doesn't," She told him lowly as Ivar continued to tear up, avoiding eye contact with Freya.

She moved closer to him, cupping her face in his hands. "It doesn't. It's doesn't, I swear," She assured her and for the first time ever, Ivar saw genuine empathy in her eyes, "Lots of men in this world can have sex. Lots of men can have children. It's easy. Yet none are what you are."

"And what is that? A cripple?" He found himself asking her, a shameful look on his face.

"No, a son of Ragnar Lothbrok," She told him softly, placing her hand on his chest as he moved closer to her, "You can achieve what other men cannot not. You have the ability to achieve greatness, to be looked up to as though you are a god. You can amount to more greatness that any of those around you, including your brothers. I truly believe that."

She cupped Ivar's face in his hands, watching as he began to cry. "I do, Ivar. I do."

Ivar began to sob and he grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to it.

Freya sighed, cradling Ivar's head as he began to cry. She continued to look empathetic for a long moment but just then, her expression became cold and threatening. "I will always be here for you, Ivar. But if you ever try something like that again...As the gods as my witness, I shall cut out your heart and feed it to you."

Ivar lifted his head to look her in the eyes and Freya smiled. "What?" She asked him, acting as though she was innocent.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Freya is clearly not in her right mind 😬 Ivar was on the verge of killing her and she seemed unbothered.