In which ten years have passed since the Second Siege of Paris and everything has changed for Ylva and Bjorn Ironside. Upon the sudden arrival of Ragnar Lothbrok, they choose to sail on their journey to the Mediterranean instead of joining the man o...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Bjorn and Ylva were shocked when they returned to learn that Sigurd had been killed by Ivar, his own brother. Ivar had thrown an ax at Sigurd as he was blinded by his rage, killing him in the process.
At the funeral, she stood beside Bjorn, staring down at Sigurd's body uneasily.
Ubbe walked over to his brother's body and crouched down in front of it. He placed an ax down next to Sigurd's corpse and turned his head to lock eyes with Ivar, who was looking down at the ground in shame.
Freya stood beside Ivar, a hand placed on his shoulder in comfort.
Ylva sighed and looked down at the ground, a part of her feeling uneasy. She would be traveling with Bjorn soon, leaving Freya with a man who had been so willing to kill his own brother. She felt guilty but she knew she couldn't control Freya.
Freya wanted to stay and there was nothing Ylva or Bjorn could do to stop her from deciding otherwise.
____
Ivar was sitting in a tent with his brothers, Harald, and a few others, talking about the whole ordeal. Freya was not there, neither was Ylva or Bjorn.
"I know what you're all thinking," Ivar spoke up uneasily as Bjorn and Ylva suddenly entered the tent, "But it is not true! I didn't mean to kill him. He made me kill him."
Hearing Ivar's words, Ylva scoffed and exchanged a look with Bjorn, neither of them believing that to be true.
"He taunted me. He made fun of me. What was I supposed to do? What kind of a man taunts and tells lies about his own brother?" Ivar explained to them, trying to contain his guilt and sadness.
"And what lies did he tell?" Hvitserk suddenly questioned, raising a brow at Ivar.
"Well, you know that as well as I do, Hvitserk," Ivar replied as he gave his older brother a cold look.
"He said you weren't a real man," Ubbe asked, causing the group to turn to him while Ivar refused to look him in the eyes.
"And what would you have done if he had said that to you, Ubbe? What would you have done if you were 'a real man'?" Ivar questioned his brother as he stared down at the table in front of him, "What if he spoke badly about the woman you loved and kissed her right in front of you? What would you have done?"
At that moment, Ylva and Bjorn turned and exchanged a look with each other, knowing Ivar was talking about Freya.
"I swear to the gods and everything that is sacred that I never meant to kill him. Anger overcame me. And I wasn't thinking. I am truly sorry," Ivar explained as he glanced around at the group, "Freya understands that. Why can't any of you?"
