SHE WOLF
— 6. Wessex

Freya stood in an empty room with Ylva, wearing a blindfold. She reached her hands outwards, not knowing where anything was. "Why must I wear this? I can't see anything," Freya complained in an aggravated tone.

"You want to be a good fighter?" Ylva asked, walking toward Freya as she spun two staffs in her hand, "You must first always be aware of your surroundings. You must always listen to what is going on around you. It will work in your favor when you are fighting one opponent and can't see the warrior coming for you from behind. You must learn to fight without seeing anything at all. Instead of seeing them, you must trust your instincts and listen. That is how my father taught my brothers and that is how they taught me."

Ylva wasted no time tossing a staff in Freya's direction. The girl scrambled to grab ahold of it, nearly dropping the staff as she did so.

Freya attempted to ready herself, only to cry out as Ylva struck her on the side with her own staff. She tripped Freya, who stumbled to the ground. "Get up," She demanded in a stern tone, "Stand and fight like the warrior you claim to be."

Freya nodded, quick to pull herself off the ground. She moved around, beginning to feel uneasy. "I can't see."

"That's the point," Ylva replied calmly, "It's not my problem."

She swung at Freya again, who cried out as she was struck with the wooden staff. Freya straightened herself back up and wasted no time attempting to swing at Ylva, who avoided her forms of attack at ease.

Ylva drove her staff forward, striking Freya in the belly with it. Freya coughed but forced herself to remain standing as she tried to hit Ylva with the stick.

Once more, Ylva swung at Freya and that time, her staff collided with Freya's face. The young girl cried out, falling forward as she spat up blood.

Despite that, she forced herself to stand back up, and over and over, she tried to strike Ylva with the staff.

Despite the fact that Freya was failing to actually strike her, Ylva looked impressed, seeing as though the girl refused to give up as most would at that point.

After a moment, Ylva swung at Freya twice, causing the girl to be hit in both the leg and the face. She tripped the girl and walked closer to her, smiling slightly. "We'll continue this tomorrow," She informed in a calm tone, causing Freya's eyes to widen as Ylva removed her blindfold.

With that, Ylva walked away, leaving Freya aching and in pain. Sihtric entered the room and Freya turned to him with wide eyes, blood spilling from her mouth and nose.

Sihtric sighed and walked over to Freya, his niece. He knelt in front of her, wasting no time with placing a cloth on her nose. "Forgive her. That is how my father taught my brother, your father, and me how to fight and that is how Erik taught her how to fight. The difference was she began learning at eight years old. It's brutal, but trust me when I say it's efficient. It made us better warriors than most of the men and women around us. It kept my sister alive."

Freya stared up at Sihtric, nodding her head in understanding as she remained silent.

_____

A month had passed and Ylva continued to train Freya the same way that she had. She made progress, much more progress than Ylva had made at her age. Even she could admit that. And when that month had passed, it was time for her to return to Kattegat with her ships and men.

When Ylva arrived at the docks of Kattegat on one of her ships, she found Bjorn standing there. He was smiling, delighted by the sight of her.

He held his hand out to her, which she grabbed. He helped her off the boat and hugged her, both of them smiling. They slowly pulled away from each other and Bjorn grabbed her by the hand, leading her to a place where they could speak in private.

Coming to a stop, Bjorn turned to her, smiling as she leaned closer to her. "I missed you," He confessed and Ylva smiled up at him.

"I missed you, too. It was dull without you there keeping me company," She admitted, a playful look on her face. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward, wasting no time kissing him.

The duo began to passionately kiss and briefly, Ylva pulled away, smiling up at Bjorn. Bjorn ran his hand down her body, but stopped at her right breast and gave it a light squeeze.

"And..." Ylva trailed off, pulling away from the kiss to lean closer to Bjorn's ear, "And when we return to Kattegat from Wessex, I have decided to give myself to you fully once and for all."

Bjorn looked down at Ylva with wide eyes and she smiled up at him. He began to smile, only to watch as Ylva's smile gradually faded, "But there's something I must tell you first."

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"My brother Erik..." She trailed off, an uneasy look on her face, "He had a bastard daughter I did not know about. She lives with me now in Ashton. I've taken her in," She explained, causing Bjorn's eyes to widen in shock, "She is annoying and sometimes I wish she were gone, but I cannot kill her. She is just a girl."

"But you worry she'll turn against you one day," Bjorn replied and sighing in defeat, Ylva nodded her head.

"I killed her father. She says she never got along with him, but I still wonder. What if she is the one to kill me one day?" She explained to him and Bjorn nodded in understanding.

"We shall deal with it when we return. I'll help you," He assured her as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in comfort. Just then, Bjorn glanced around, only to begin frowning in confusion, "Where's your brother, Sihtric?"

"He stayed behind in Ashton. I did not trust the men I left behind, especially with Freya," She informed him and Bjorn began to frown at her.

"Is that her name?" He asked her curiously, "Freya?"

Ylva smiled at Bjorn's question and wasted no time nodding her head. "She is a handful."

"It must run in your blood, then," Bjorn teased Ylva, who laughed and lightly slapped him on the chest.

He laughed as well and wrapped an arm around her. With that, they made their way back over to the ships.

____

It didn't long for the ships to set sail. Ylva found herself on the same ship as Bjorn, Ragnar, Rollo, Torstein, and Lagertha.

Bjorn was sitting on the ground alone, looking to be in deep thought. He was looking down at the ground, not even noticing that Ylva was walking over to him.

She smiled, sitting down beside him as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "What is on your mind?" She asked, her lips close to his ear.

Bjorn smiled slightly, turning to look at the girl. "I am thinking about battle," He confessed as his smile faded, clearly feeling uneasy about it.

Ylva sighed, grabbing ahold of his hand. "You..." She trailed off as she pressed a kiss to his hand, "have nothing to be fearful of. Trust me on that. Not to mention, I will always be by your side."

Bjorn sighed in defeat as he heard Ylva's words. "That is the problem," He admitted, a disappointed look on his face, "Like you, I should not need to rely on anyone, especially my girlfriend, to save me."

"You know what I think?" Ylva asked, smiling at him assuringly as she moved closer to him, "I think you will excel in battle. I think you will make a name for yourself here," She paused, leaning closer to Bjorn so that her lips brushed against his, "Bjorn Ironside."

Bjorn chuckled and nodded his head. He broke the gap between them and kissed her, feeling her hand run down his chest and toward his pants.

Ragnar had overheard the conversation and smiled slightly at the name Ylva had called him. However, as he turned to see what was about to occur between the young couple, he groaned and rolled his eyes at them. "Enough of that, you two. There are other people on the boat, you know," He scolded them, causing Bjorn and Ylva to pull away from each other.

They turned to Ragnar, smiling as they gave him an apologetic look.

"Land!" They suddenly heard one of the men yell, causing the duo to exchange a look before they both stood up. They turned their heads and Ylva's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of England.

_____

Once they set up camp, Ylva was sitting near Ragnar, drinking a mug of ale when King Horik made his way over, Lagertha standing close by. "Where is Torstein going?" King Horik asked as he saw Torstein from a distance riding from camp.

"I sent him to inform the King of our return," Ragnar informed Horik in a calm tone.

"Why?" Horik frowned at Ragnar, clearly unhappy that he hadn't been told beforehand.

"So he knows that we are here to talk..." He trailed off as Lagertha made her way over to them, "And not to fight."

"And you did that without consulting me," Horik stated with a deeply aggravated look on his face.

"I thought the three of you would agree," Ragnar replied, glancing between Lagertha, Ylva, and King Horik.

"Why should you think that?" Horik asked Ragnar with an attitude.

"Because it is a sensible policy," Ragnar answered as if it were obvious, earning an annoyed look from Horik, "Fine, I will..." He trailed off and turned to look at Torstein, only to find his friend too far away to get him, "Unfortunately, it is too late to recall Torstein."

Ylva sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes while Lagertha looked annoyed.

"You should have discussed it with us," Lagertha spoke up in an annoyed tone.

"They are both right. We should have been able to discuss it instead of you making a decision without us," Ylva complained and Ragnar turned to her with a calm expression on his face.

"I will try to remember that next time, Earl Ylva," Ragnar responded calmly.

"There is not going to be a next time," Horik argued as he walked closer to Ragnar, "Unless you agree you will never ever do anything again without consulting with me first," He explained in a stern tone, "For you and I are not equals. So, what do you propose now?"

"Wait," Ragnar informed them, earning a confused look from Ylva.

"For what exactly?" She asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"The unexpected," Ragnar replied as if it were obvious.

"Let me tell you what to expect, hmm?" Horik snapped at Rangar as he moved closer to him, "King Ecbert will send some envoy to trick us, or he will send some army to annihilate us," He complained as he slammed his ax down on a tree stump.

With that, King Horik turned on his heel and stormed off. Lagertha walked away as well, leaving Ylva alone with Ragnar.

Once Horik was far enough away, Ylva sighed and walked closer to Ragnar, who turned to her. "That went well," He sarcastically commented, unfazed by what had just happened.

"You must be wary of him, Ragnar," Ylva warned the man as she referred to King Horik.

"Why is that?" Ragnar questioned, raising a brow at her.

"You know why," Ylva demanded in a low tone, "Just as I do. He's jealous of you. He knows you are better than him and he does not like it. After all, he is King and you are but an Earl. He envies you and when someone feels like that toward you, they're bound to betray you, just as my brother betrayed me," She explained, only to sigh when she noticed the look on his face, "But you already know that."

"It would seem you're smarter than almost all the men around us, Ylva," Ragnar replied in a calm tone as he poured her a cup of ale and handed it to her, "We are on the same page when it comes to King Horik. He might not be a threat now, but soon or later, a time will come where he is now. But the question is..." He trailed off as he gave her a questioning look, "What side will you be on when that time comes?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Ylva replied, the two of them beginning to smile as she took a large sip of her ale.

"The Saxons are coming!" The duo suddenly heard one of the men shout, causing them both to stand up, "Form a shield wall!"

Ylva quickly stepped forward. She picked up her shield and ran forward, joining Lagertha and Bjorn. She looked ahead, finding a small group of Saxons riding toward them on horseback.

A few of them climbed off their horses, led by a single man, who raised his sword to show it to them before he placed it down on the grass as a way of telling them they came in peace.

Ylva turned, exchanging a look with Bjorn as the unknown man made his way over to them.

He stopped when he was standing in front of Ragnar and tried his hardest to hide his uneasiness. He began to speak to Ragnar, in a language that Ylva did not know. And from the looks of it, no one else did either.

She watched as, after a bit of conversation, Ragnar was handed a bracelet that made a relieved smile form on his lips. He turned to the group standing behind him and held it up. "This is Athelstan's," He informed them in a calm tone as he placed it on, "I gave it to him."

"Then he is alive," Lagertha replied, smiling as well at the news.

Ragnar continued to talk to the man and after a moment, he turned to the rest of the group again, continuing to speak that foreign language that Ylva and no one else but Ragnar could understand.

After a moment, he walked over to the group, smiling. Knowing it must have been something good, Bjorn and Ylva turned to each other, exchanging a smile as they watched the Saxon men ride off.