SHE WOLF
— 27. Second Siege of Paris

At where they set up camp, Ylva was sitting beside Bjorn and Sihtric, near where Lagertha stood. Just then, Ragnar entered, followed by Harald and Halfdan.

"So what do you suggest we do?" She heard Harald ask Ragnar, causing her to turn her head.

"I suggest we do the obvious," Ragnar answered in a calm tone as he picked up two cups and placed them on the ground, "We try and sail straight past the fort upriver. But we protect our heads as we force our way through."

"Isn't that what your brother is going to expect us to do?" Halfdan questioned as he raised a skeptical brow at Ragnar.

"Yes, but he won't be expecting us to attack by land also," Ragnar informed them and Ylva smiled slightly at the idea, "In unison with the boats, we'll send a party on foot to the nearest fort. And they will engage the archers, diverting their attention away from the boats. Yes?"

"I agree. The boats have more chance without the arches hindrance," Lagertha spoke up in a calm tone.

"Any objections?" Bjorn questioned as he glanced around at the people who had gathered around and no one spoke up.

"I'll lead that party by foot," Lagertha spoke up and Sihtric nodded.

"I will join," He added into what she had said.

"Then it is agreed we attack tomorrow," Ylva spoke up and many men cheered loudly.

"At least, let ours be the first boat through," Harald insisted and Ragnar nodded in agreement, not really whether or not the man's boat was first.

With that, the crowd dispersed. Ylva was walking with Bjorn when Freya appeared. She stopped and turned to the girl while Bjorn went to approach Erlendur.

"Erlendur!" Bjorn called out to the man as he removed his ring, "This belongs to you, yes?"

Erlendur stopped walking. He turned to Bjorn, acting as though he didn't know what he was talking about. "It's is your father, King Horik's ring."

"Mmm. No, you're mistaken," Erlendur replied, shaking his head before he began to walk away, "Never seen that ring before."

Freya and Ylva walked up to Bjorn, the three of them being to chuckle since they knew it was Erlendur's ring.

"Lying bastard," Ylva commented as she shook her head in disapproval while Freya began to smile.

____

The following day, it was finally time to attack Paris. Ylva stood on the same boat as Bjorn, the two of them looking outward.

"I hate my uncle," Bjorn confessed to Ylva, who smiled slightly as she lifted her shield.

"Are you really surprised he did such a thing?" She asked Bjorn as she raised a brow at him.

"I want to kill him," He declared and Ylva nodded in response.

"Good," She replied calmly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "You're a good fighter, Bjorn. One of the strongest I know. Ragnar is still weak from our last trip to Paris. I know it. It will need a bear like you to defeat him."

Ylva playfully shoved him, causing Bjorn to smile at his wife and shake his head.

As they neared Paris' wall, Ragnar was quick to give orders. "Pull! Pull! Pull!" He shouted out and the rowers were quick to obey.

They sounded their horns and it wasn't long before the Franks began to shoot their crossbows at them.

"Shields!" Ylva yelled loudly and the men immediately obeyed her. She crouched down beside Bjorn, the two of them raising their shields to protect themselves.

"Where is your mother?" Ragnar suddenly asked Bjorn, causing him to turn to his father.

He remained silent, however, not knowing the answer.

As they neared the shores, it felt as though even more of their people were dying.

Just then, Ylva lifted her head to peek over her shield, only to have her eyes widen at the sight of the chain appearing in their way. "Stop! Halt!" She shouted, knowing if they hit it, their boat would tip, "Halt! Turn right!"

The boat in front of them belonged to Harald's forces and it ended up tipping, causing them all to fall into the water. Numerous other boats flipped as well, making Ylva feel uneasy.

Just then, an unknown object began to throw bags of oil toward them, much to Ylva's concern. It couldn't have met anything good.

Her assumptions were proven right when lit arrows glided through the air before hit many of the overturned boats, causing them to erupt into flames.

"Come! Come!" She and Bjorn shouted as they helped numerous people in the water onto the boat, "Reach! Reach! Come!"

Ylva and Bjorn grabbed Halfdan's arms, helping him onto the boat after helping Harald.

She froze for a moment, glancing around to see the horrific carnage around them. She turned, exchanging an uneasy look with Bjorn.

____

At the camp, only the women and healers were left there. Not to mention, Hvitserk, Ubbe, and Freya. Helga was walking through, smiling as she watched Ubbe and Hvitserk spar as Freya complained about them doing it all wrong.

Just then, a loud scream was heard and Freya turned, watching as a woman ran through, being chased by a Frankish soldier on horseback.

"No!" Freya exclaimed loudly, her eyes widening in shock, "Ubbe, Hvitserk, come! We must go. We must run!"

The people of the camp began to scream and run for their lives, including the three of them and Torvi.

One of the men on horseback was on the verge of reaching Hvitserk when Freya roughly shoved him out of the way. She picked up an ax on the ground, using it to slash the horse.

The horse hit the ground and Freya moved toward the man, wasting no time driving her ax through him.

With that, she grabbed Hvitserk by the hand, and with Ubbe, they ran for their lives.

____

Ragnar ended up jumping into the water when he saw Floki drowning since the man couldn't swim. Bjorn threw a rope to his father, assisting him in getting back on the boat.

"Shields! Shields!" Bjorn shouted as Ragnar forced himself up and off the ground.

"And this is how you repay me!" Ragnar suddenly spoke up, causing Ylva to turn to see him walking to the edge of the boat, unprotected without a shield.

"Ragnar!" Ylva called out, but Ragnar ignored both her and Bjorn as he walked to the edge of the boat.

"When everyone wanted you dead! I kept you alive!" Ragnar hollered as he pounded his fist on his chest, "You hurt me, brother. And this is how you repay my love?"

"We have to retreat," Ylva insisted as she turned to Bjorn with an urgent look on her face, "Ragnar will not give the order. You must."

"Row! Row away!" Bjorn immediately shouted, knowing Ylva was right. They turned to each other, exchanging an uneasy look.

____

It wasn't long before they arrived back at where they previously set up camp, only to become horrified when they found it in ruins. The bodies of many women were scattered around and Bjorn and Ylva felt worried as they glanced around worried.

"Freya? Freya!" Ylva shouted as she began to frantically search for her daughter.

"Freya!" Bjorn called out as well, worried about the girl's safety.

"Mother!" A voice suddenly called out, causing Ylva to whip herself around to see Freya running out of the woods with Torvi, Ubbe, and Hvitserk.

Freya dropped her ax and shield on the ground, rushing into Bjorn and Ylva's arms. Ubbe and Hvitserk did the same with their father while Torvi rushed into Sihtric's arms.

Ylva closed her eyes and sighed in utter relief as she tightly hugged Freya, silently thanking the gods for protecting Freya. She thought the worst when she saw the camp in ruins. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Freya.

____

After they had a ceremony and set fire to their dead, Bjorn was sitting alone when Ylva walked up to him. She grabbed his hand, holding it as she sat down beside him.

"I cannot believe this has happened," Bjorn admitted as he sighed deeply in defeat, "It is all my father's fault."

"Something is the matter with him lately," Ylva replied softly, agreeing with Bjorn, "He is different, changed, and not for the better."

"What are we to do?" Bjorn asked, an uneasy look on his face.

"I don't believe there is anything we can do," She confessed and Bjorn sighed, looking down at the ground in shame.

____

Three days had passed since then and still, Ragnar had made no announcement of what to do next. Growing impatient, Bjorn and Ylva ended up going to see Ragnar, where Bjorn was quick to complain.

"We have waited three days for a plan of attack," Bjorn complained to his father in an aggravated tone, "The longer we wait, the more chances the Franks will attack us. What is your decision?"

Ragnar sighed but didn't answer, much to Ylva's frustration.

"Ragnar!" She called out loudly and Ragnar sat down, letting out a large sigh.

"Tell them tomorrow that we go back downriver," Ragnar managed to get out, looking to be struggling, which the duo noticed.

"Are you all right?" Bjorn asked his father, starting to feel a bit concerned.

"Just tell them tomorrow we retreat!" He snapped at them and Bjorn turned, exchanging an uneasy look with Ylva before they walked away together.

____

The following day, the plan was to return home without victory, much to Ylva's dismay.

On Ragnar's boat, Ylva turned to the man, sighing in defeat. "You know this weakens you, Ragnar," She spoke up in a calm tone as she stared down at him, "This weakens you in every way. The people will not look at you the way they used to. Just as it happened to me only months ago when my uncle nearly defeated me and my own daughter had to save me. You are no different right now."

"You don't think I know that?" Ragnar snapped at Ylva with an attitude, "But what am I supposed to do about it? There is nothing I can do."

Ylva scoffed and shook her head. She crouched down next to Ragnar, looking him directly in the eyes. "Find a way to amaze the people, make up for your mistakes and failures. Only then will they look at you the way they used to. And I have faith that you will succeed in doing so."

They continued sailing downriver for a long while when suddenly, Ragnar stood up and looked upwards. "Bjorn! Ylva!" He called out to the two, who shared a look before moving toward Ragnar.

"What is it?" Ylva asked the man in concern.

"Tell everyone. We're going to make camp here," He informed them, causing Ylva and Bjorn to exchange a puzzled look with each other before they looked back at Ragnar.

"Why would we camp here?" Bjorn asked in confusion.

"Just do it," Ragnar demanded in a stern tone.

"I want to know why," Bjorn argued back and Ragnar turned to glare at his son.

"You don't need to know why," Ragnar snapped at his son and Bjorn sighed, turning to exchange a look with Ylva.

"Sounds the horns!" Ylva announced loudly since Bjorn did not, "We camp here!"

Numerous others turned to each other, confused by the decisions. Why would they camp there?

___

Bjorn and Ylva were among the first to climb off the boats and as Ragnar went to, he was concerned by Harald, Halfdan, and Lagertha.

"What are we doing here?" Lagertha asked, not understanding Ragnar's decision.

"Yes. We also want to know," Harald spoke up as he moved closer to Ragnar, "What is the point of making camp here?"

"When we ought to be continuing downriver," Halfdan added in and finally, Ragnar stopped walking and turned to face them, "When we came up, we saw a few sizable settlements. They were ripe for attacking."

"At least we wouldn't go home empty-handed," Harald pointed out and Freya, who was listening to the conversation, turned to Ragnar with a curious look on her face.

"But they are not Paris," Ragnar reminded the group in a calm tone.

"We left Paris behind, I thought," Ylva spoke up and Ragnar smiled slightly.

"Maybe you and my son have, Ylva, but I haven't," Ragnar replied, much to Ylva's confusion.

"What do you mean?" Lagertha found herself asking as she stared up at Ragnar.

"What I say," Ragnar answered as if it were obvious.

"Nobody here understands what you're saying, King Ragnar," Harald complained, much to Ragnar's annoyance.

"Well, then maybe they ought to listen instead of talking," Ragnar argued back with an attitude, "We are going to lift the boats up the cliff. Then we are going to carry them across the mountains, past the forts, and then simply slide them back into the river. Upstream."

"Carry them?" Halfdan asked Ragnar in confusion, "Up there?"

"Yes. Up there," Ragnar responded calmly as he looked upwards, "You can do that, can't you, Floki?" He asked, causing Floki to slowly turn to him, "Or am I wrong?"

"No. I can do it, Ragnar. I can do it for you," Floki answered and Ylva began to smile, believing it to be a good plan, "Everything I do, Ragnar, is for you."

Ragnar smiled, clasping his hands together. "Let's empty the boats."

Ylva quietly chuckled and turned to Bjorn, her lips curling upwards. "Is this a good plan or has your father gone completely mad?"

"It's Ragnar," Bjorn reminded her as they both lifted some objects out of the boat, "Probably both."

___

The plan was going well and with everyone's help, Floki's structures worked to bring the boats up the cliff. Freya had watched on, amazed by the sight. The fact that it had been Ragnar's idea made it even more amazing.

Ragnar was holding a rope, assisting the rest of them in lifting it. Bjorn and Ylva turned, noticing how it seemed as though the man was drifting off into sleep.

"You're insane, Ragnar Lothbrok," Harald spoke up as he walked over to Ragnar alongside Halfdan, his brother, "You're insane. Because this is beautiful. It's beautiful. After everything we heard and thought, we still underestimated you. We feel stupid. I feel stupid right enough."

"But we're honored to be here with you," Halfdan added in, "Doing the impossible."

     Several moments later, Freya stood alone, watching as Ylva stood on one of the boats being pulled up. "Pull! Up! Slow!" Ylva shouted loudly, giving orders.

The young girl glanced around, only to stop as she turned to see Erlendur. He was watching Ylva intently as if he was planning something.

Just then, he lifted a crossbow, and Freya's eyes widened in alarm. "Erlendur, no!" She shouted out and by the time, Ylva had turned, it was too late. The crossbow had stabbed into her neck.

Ylva's eyes widened and she fell off the boat, straight into the water. Her daughter screamed in terror, running toward her mother.

A small gasp escaped Ylva's mouth as she opened her eyes, finding that she had imagined the whole ordeal. She placed a hand over her gut, feeling uneasy about the entire situation.

Even if it didn't happen at that moment, Erlendur was going to kill Ylva and Bjorn. She wasn't stupid. The Berserker wasn't the only person Erlendur sent to kill the duo. So was Henrik.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that Henrik magically appeared, wanting his throne after more than twenty-five years of not having it. Not to mention, that Henrik was trying to kill Ylva in Ashton the same time that the Berserker was trying to Bjorn in the mountains.

The people always said Bjorn and Ylva were always favored by the Gods, but when together, they were unstoppable. What better way to defeat them than when they were apart for several months?

  Henrik couldn't have known that Ashton was left weak during that time after Paris. While they had been left rich from Paris, they had lost many of their best warriors. It had been the perfect time to attack and only someone who had joined them in Paris the first time around could have known that and that someone was Erlendur.

Erlendur was behind it all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

You have to admit. While Freya may be evil at times and a bit (a lot) crazy for a girl her age, she is smarter than anyone around her, even Ylva.

She pieces together EVERYTHING as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I mean, she just figured out the Henrik thing when even Ylva and Bjorn hadn't. 🤷🏻‍♀️😬

Only two more chapters left!