SHE WOLF
— 16. Paris

      Four months later, it was finally time for the raid on Paris and Ylva was lucky enough to go. Freya and Sihtric were to come with her while little Gyda was left in the care of Aslaug.

Before it was time to leave, Ylva sat in a chair with Gyda sitting on her lap. She smiled at her daughter, who was making noises that Ylva always wondered what they meant.

Bjorn walked in and smiled, making his way over to his wife and child. He pressed a kiss to Gyda's head before he knelt next to her.

"We'll be leaving soon," Bjorn informed Ylva in a calm tone, "Are you sure you do not want to stay here?"

"No," Ylva replied, sighing as she shook her head, "I have to go. I need to go. I just know that I'm going to miss her," She admitted, smiling as she affectionately stroked Gyda's cheek with her hand, "I love her so much and for the past four months since her birth, I have not been away from her longer than an hour. It will be different, to be away from her."

"I will miss her as well," Bjorn confessed as he lifted Gyda out of her mother's arms and held her in his arms, "She means the world to me."

He stared at Gyda, who cooed before her lips formed into a small smile. His eyes lit up and he exchanged a look with Ylva, both of them smiling at the sight.

"Is it wise?" Ylva asked, an uneasy look on her face, "To leave Gyda with Aslaug? Wasn't it just a few months ago when we were in England when Ubbe, Freya, and Hvitserk fell into a lake because Aslaug wasn't watching them?"

"Trust me, Aslaug has learned since then," Bjorn assured her and Ylva hesitantly nodded her head.

"I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her while we were away," Ylva confessed in a whisper.

"Nothing will happen to her," Bjorn assured her as he grabbed Ylva's hand and squeezed it in comfort, "That is why we are leaving her in Kattegat and not in Ashton."

Ylva sighed in defeat. She remained silent, slowly nodding her head in understanding.

____

They had been sailing for many days and after much anticipation, the Vikings had finally laid eyes on the land.

    Ylva was standing on the same boat as Bjorn, Sihtric, and Freya. Bjorn was standing beside her while Ylva had her hands on Freya's shoulders. "Look!" Freya spoke up as she pointed forward.

Ylva looked ahead, smiling as she locked eyes on what happened to be Paris. She turned, exchanging a happy look with Bjorn and Sihtric.

    Once reaching the land, Camp was soon set up outside of Paris in some woods. After a meeting was called, Ylva, Sihtric, and Bjorn joined the others in sitting at a large table that was placed underneath a tent.

"King Ragnar, we have reached Paris," Earl Kalf spoke up in a calm tone, "Now, we all want to know—"

    Before Kalf could continue, Floki ended up cutting him off, much to Ylva's amusement. "The King...My oldest friend has asked me to take command," He announced to the group and Ylva rolled her eyes.

She turned, exchanging an amused look with Bjorn and Sihtric.

Looking annoyed, Rollo turned, giving his younger brother a questioning look.

Kalf glanced around, only to decide not to question it and instead just sit down.

"So, uh..." Floki awkwardly trailed off as he looked around at the group, "How do we best attack the city?"

The entire looked around at each other, not knowing how to answer the question. Ylva sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head.

"This is sad," She muttered under her breath and Sihtric lightly kicked her underneath the table to shut her up.

"Some of us have taken a closer look at the city from further up the bank," Rollo finally spoke up as he glanced around at the group, "And we suggest a plan."

"And that may be?" Sihtric questioned, raising a brow at the man.

"To mount simultaneous attacks both from the water and from the land," Rollo informed them in a calm tone.

"I will lead an assault on the tower and gates of the city," Lagertha decided and Kalf was quick to respond.

"We will attack the gates together," Kalf told her and Lagertha turned to glare at him.

"I said I would lead the assault," Lagertha argued in a stern tone.

"We may need the tools Erlendur made," Kalf reminded Lagertha, growing annoyed with her defiance.

"I will make that decision, if and when we need to make it," Lagertha replied sternly.

"I trust Earl Kalf to make it," Erlendur spoke up and even Ylva turned to glare at the man who shouldn't have even been there, given the past he had with nearly everyone there.

"I don't think you were listening," Lagertha snapped at Erlendur coldly as she glared at him.

"Here we go," Sihtric muttered under his breath as everyone seemed to look awkward as they sat at the table.

"At the same time as the attack at the gates, there will also be a river-bourne attack," Bjorn spoke up, breaking the moment of awkward silence between everyone there, "The ships will be filled with warriors and means of scaling, we will beach beneath the walls. We will climb up and gain entry to the city that way as well."

"Which means that, Floki," Ylva began to speak up as she turned to look directly at Floki, "You will be responsible for constructing whatever it is that we need to scale the city walls of Paris. Can you do that?"

Hearing Ylva's question, Floki snickered. "Oh, no need to worry about me, Ylva. I will make something truly astonishing. Just wait and see," He replied with a large smile on his face.

"I cannot wait," Ylva replied as she smiled back at the man.

"All those who agree with the plan, say aye," Floki continued and Ylva was quick to respond before everyone followed.

Floki was the first to stand up and walk away. Before he could react, Ragnar grabbed his arm and spoke to him in a hushed tone before allowing Floki to walk away.

Ylva watched the exchange closely, having the feeling something was wrong.

____

Sihtric was making his way through the camp when he finally reached a tent where many wives of the warriors were located under. Sihtric walked underneath it and sighed when he laid eyes on Torvi.

"Torvi," He called out and Torvi immediately looked up at him with a confused look. Her lips parted but she said nothing as he made his way over to her, "Torvi, I should have spoken to you before."

"Why?" Torvi asked him curiously and Sihtric gave her a knowing look.

He sighed, gesturing for her to follow him, which she ended up doing. The two of them walked away from the table and toward a place where they could speak privately.

"You know why," He told her in a hushed tone.

"It doesn't matter, Sihtric," She assured him as she stared up at him with a calm expression on her face, "I am not with child, nor am I a child."

"But I took advantage," He pointed out to her with a shameful look on his face, "I should not have."

"Neither of us should have, but we still took advantage. Both of us did," Torvi reminded him as she began to smile, causing Sihtric to begin to smile as well.

After a moment, however, he sighed in defeat, and his smile faded. "No one can know what happened between us, Torvi," Sihtric told Torvi in a hushed tone, looking uneasy, "It would not end well for either of us. My sister will see it as a betrayal."

"I understand," Torvi replied as she nodded her head, "I will not tell anyone. I promise."

"Thank you," Sihtric responded before he dug his hand into his pocket, "Uh...I have something for you."

Sihtric grabbed her hand, just before placing a necklace into it. He closed her hand before pressing a gentle kiss to it. "This is for you."

"I cannot take this," Torvi confessed as she shook her head.

"It is a gift," Sihtric reminded her as he smiled, "You may do whatever you like with it."

Torvi began to smile and Sihtric gave her a parting look before he walked away. However, as he did so, he suddenly froze in place when Freya appeared in front of him.

"What?" He asked her with an attitude as he tried to hide his uneasiness.

"I know," Freya informed Sihtric, the slightest of smirks on her face.

"Know what?" Sihtric questioned the girl as he scoffed loudly.

"What has happened between you and Torvi," Freya replied in a calm tone.

"Nothing has happened between me and Torvi," Sihtric argued sternly as he tried not to look defensive.

"I am young, but I am not a fool. I am a child, though. There's no denying that. But as a child, I am invisible to adults. I see things others do not. Like I saw you and Torvi on the beach back in Kattegat," Freya explained without a care in the world and having had enough, Sihtric roughly grabbed her by the arm but she didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"You must not tell Ylva," Sihtric practically begged Ylva, causing an amused look from Freya.

"Why shouldn't I?" Freya asked Sihtric as she smiled at him tauntingly.

"Because I'll tell her why you really went to Kattegat while she was away in England," Sihtric suddenly revealed, causing Freya's smile to fade, "You killed two young boys in Ashton because they angered you and you didn't want anyone to find out that it was you."

"What are you talking about?" Freya asked and if Sihtric hadn't known she was lying, he would have actually believed her, "That was not me. I am just a girl. Why would I kill someone?"

"The boys were beaten to death with a staff. You had training earlier that day with a staff. I've seen them tease you before. They tease you because you're the bastard daughter of a Saxon slave and the brother their Earl killed. They called you weak and you killed them for it. Ylva will not take that lightly. She taught you to control your anger and not let it get the best of you yet you still a killed those boys. Two boys no older than ten. She will be angry and I know you don't want that."

Hearing his threat, Freya glared up at him. "Fine, I won't tell her about Torvi."

"Good," Sihtric replied and he began to walk away.

"Just know..." Freya suddenly trailed off as she began to smile sadistically, "You're not as good of a person as people think you are. In ways, you're just as evil as your father and brother. If you thought it was worth it, I think you'd kill Ylva and become Earl yourself. Listen to me when I say this, Sihtric. One day, I will kill you."

Hearing her words, Sihtric immediately stopped walking. He turned to face her, his eyes widening in shock. "Maybe in a month, a year, or maybe even in twenty, I don't know. But I do know that I will kill you and nothing's going to stop me from doing it, not even Ylva. I will take a knife, drive it through your eye, and out the back of your skull. I swear by all the Gods I will be the one to kill you."

"You couldn't kill me even if you tried, Freya," Sihtric scoffed, not taking her seriously. He chuckled, walking away without another word said.

"We'll see about that," Freya spoke quietly as she watched Sihtric walk away, the smallest of smirks forming on her lips.

______

The following morning, Ylva walked with Bjorn, Kalf, Ragnar, Lagertha, Rollo, and several others as they walked toward the shores of the river.

Ylva's eyes widened as she looked up to see what Floki had built to help them breach the gates of Paris.

"Everything ready, Floki?" Ragnar asked his friend as he looked up at him.

Floki smiled, looking back down at Ragnar. "Yes! Everything is ready! Tomorrow, we attack Paris." He exclaimed happily and Ylva began to smile.

She turned to Bjorn, both of them exchanging an exciting look. "May the Gods be with us tomorrow," Ylva spoke quietly as Bjorn grabbed her hand and held it.