The Red Queen (Editing)

11

Sitting in Vestfold, everyone was celebrating.

"HERE IS TO VICTORY, MY FRIENDS!" Oleg shouts, raising his cup of mead.

Igor looked rather bored as he sat beside his cheering uncle as the crowd roared in victory.

"The battle of Norway is not over yet." Ivar said. "They have only retreated... and probably back to their fortress at Kattegat."

You put Yrsa down, watching as she sat beside Igor who smiled as the two began to play.

"But probably without their talisman. Their hero. Their leader. They say your wife killed him herself." Oleg said, patting Ivar's shoulder as the men looked to you with proud smiles.

"Like I explained, I cannot be completely sure that Bjorn was dead." You say

"It's not possible to kill Bjorn." Hvitserk said as he ate. "I saw him getting carried off the battlefield with my own eyes."

"But you cannot say that he was still alive?" Oleg asks as he sits in front of you all

"No. No, I cannot." Hvitserk said

"So, when do we leave for Kattegat?" Ivar asks, looking to Oleg

"As soon as we have repaired our ships." Oleg replies. "This business must be finished. I confess, we lost more warriors in the battle then I had expected." Oleg said. "You Vikings fight hard."

The door to the hall was opened and Olaf and Harald was dragged in. You thought Harald had died in the battle but clearly, you were wrong.

"Who are these prisoners?" Oleg asks

"This is King Olaf, once the ruler here." Hvitserk said, standing and pointing to king Olaf. "And this is King Harald, king of all Norway!"

"Is all that true?" An amused Oleg asks

Panting, Harald sat up. "Yes. Alas to say. You cast your net... And when you hauled it in, you found that you have caught both the King and the Joker."

"King Olaf's jokes were never... never my taste." Hvitserk said causing you to chuckle.

"Oh! I thought we got on famously, Hvitserk, son of Ragnar." The old King Olaf spoke

"Well, do you remember me?" Ivar asks, stepping to stand in front of Olaf. "I too am Ragnar's son."

"Oh, I know who you are... Ivar... the Boneless." Olaf said, earning a grin from your husband. "From the sewers of York to the Silk Roads. Your name is... is legendary. Son of Ragnar, Husband of Astrid the Heartless."

This satisfied Ivar as he limped toward your open arms as Oleg stepped forward.

"The question is... what to do with you both? In what ways can you possibly be useful to me?"

"I have no intention of being useful to you." Harald said. "I won't bargain for my life. For a Viking, that would be demeaning. To us, death is bliss... and I rush to bleed."

"And what about you?" Oleg asks, looking to Olaf.

"Oh, I am not in a rush." The old King replies.

-

You, Ivar and Oleg walked into the room where Harald and Olaf were being kept.

"I have some good news and some bad news." Oleg said

"The good news is... I have decided to spare your life... King Harald." Oleg said. "The bad news is your life is over... King Olaf. You're a King without a Kingdom. What use is that to anyone?"