In which after the numerous losses she was forced to experience, Ylva the Dread begins to lose herself, slowing descending into madness like her brother and father before her. Will she be able to save herself before she's far too gone to be saved?
V...
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It wasn't long before Ylva, Gunnhild, and their shieldmaidens had arrived at Lagertha's farm.
Asa had been kneeling before a goat, feeding it when she saw the riders approaching. She immediately stood up and ran over to her grandmother's home, not knowing who it was.
As their horses came to a stop, Ylva was the first to climb off her horse, wasting no time rushing over to where Lagertha stood. "Thank the gods!" Lagertha called out to Ylva, smiling at the sight of the woman, "You are here."
The women embraced each other and as they did so, Lagertha's smile faded as she became filled with guilt. "But why?" She asked, pulling away from the girl.
"Gunnhild and I had a dream, Lagertha," She informed the woman, who gave her a saddened look, "And in our dream, your village was attacked. So, I wanted to be with you. I wanted to be with my children and my niece and nephew," She paused, smiling widely as she began to look around, "Where are they, by the way? I expect Gyda to avoid me, but where are Erik and Thyra? What of Hali and Asa?"
Ylva was about to walk forward in search of her youngest son and daughter when Lagertha grabbed her arm. She stopped, turning to face Lagertha as her smile gradually faded.
"Ylva..." Lagertha trailed off, a saddened look on her face, "Erik and Hali are dead."
Hearing the revelation, Ylva's face fell. She froze in place, trying to contain her sadness. Her son was dead and not only that, the only son her brother had before he died was dead as well.
"What?" Ylva asked, speaking in a soft whisper as tears formed in her normally cold and expressionless eyes.
"It was my fault," Lagertha admitted, looking ashamed, "I did not protect him. I failed you, Ylva."
"My son is dead?" Ylva asked again, unable to process the information as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"He's buried not far from our village. Hali has died as well. Both trying to protect this village. With all the others who also died in the raid," She explained and Ylva sighed in defeat.
"So it's true?" Ylva questioned, an unreadable look on her face.
"Your dream? Yes," She replied, nodding her head, "We were attacked by bandits. The same bandits that Bjorn branded and released."
Hearing the revelation, Ylva became consumed with anger. After all, she had been the one to arguing against him releasing the bandits.
"Then this is Bjorn's fault. This was brought on by his mistakes," Ylva complained, a cold look on her face, "He should never have released them! I told him not to—"
"Don't talk of mistakes! We all make mistakes, sometimes for bad reasons and sometimes for good ones," She explained to Ylva in a calm tone, "In any case, it is not important anymore."
