In which Ylva Sigefridsdottir, also known as Ylva the Dread, had been an earl since she was a young girl, despite having two brothers, following the death of her mad father and power-hungry stepmother.
Hearing of the girl's feared reputation and...
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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.
