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| EVERYONE GATHERED AROUND THE DECORATED BOAT WHERE SIGURD' S LIFELESS bodylaid perfectly stillagainst the interior. His arms were folded across his chest with delicate furs laid across his shoulders. Relics and gems along with some swords were placed in the boat alongside with him. Anything that made his funeral more memorable and more pleasant for him to cross over was added in.
She quietly wished to herself for it to be anyone but him. Little tears just barely bordered the edge of falling down her slim face. For out of all of her brothers, Sigurd was the one who had always stayed by her side and defended her when Ivar would throw his tantrums.
Ivar sat in the middle where he was surrounded by Björn with Ubbe to the side as he knelt down and placed an axe next to Sigurd. Hvitserk was just to the side by Viserya with Uhtred and Finan cautiously standing behind her. She tightened her jaw as she glanced over to Ivar, the sign of regret was seemingly spreading across his face. One may have said she even saw tears just barely creasing over the edge. But on the other hand, he didn't regret doing it at all and that worried her.
Ragnar had always taught her that family was everything. But perhaps Ecbert had been right after all and this realization hit her hard. That one would betray the rest of the family.
She remembered that day so clearly, the pain and hatred she felt towards Ivar when she saw the axe dig deep into Sigurd's chest. The yell that Ubbe let out when it hit, the crunching it made as it pierced Sigurd's flesh. The look Ivar gave them when they all looked at him in horror and of course the eerie silence that followed. It was unexplainably horrible...
Ivar wanted to continue on through England whereas Ubbe wanted to farm like Ragnar wanted to do. And Viserya felt out of place between the fighting, what was she to do, choose between her brothers? She just wanted to go home, to her real home. Where the lush gardens grew and where a stone castle sat tall against the blue sea. Björn didn't help either, he just wanted to leave, leave her behind with the others. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea to leave...
Viserya took pity on Ivar, not simply because he was a cripple but because he was an outcast just like her. Nobody ever saw her as the true princess of Kattegat, no matter how hard Ragnar tried to embed it into everyone's mind. Viserya often tried so many times to connect with him but to not avail as he would just push her further away.
