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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That night, Ylva had paid a man to take her by boat back to Lagertha's farm. She had left Harald's kingdom in a rush, wanting to get back in time to join the others in fighting Whitehair.
It was the middle of the night and she laid asleep on the boat. Two of her most trusted guards sat near her while two other men rowed the boat taking them to the farm.
In her dream, Ylva was sitting in front of a chessboard with her father, who was discussing the plan with her on what to do next. He had moved one of his pawns on the board, just before glancing up at her.
"Your move," He told her and Ylva rolled her eyes before taking her turn, "What plans do you have for Hvitserk after the farm is dealt with? He must be dealt with. He is spiraling. If you do not do something about it now, Bjorn and Ubbe will. They will shun him, exile him. He will have no choice but to return to Ivar and that will ruin any chance of you defeating the man who murdered Freya and cost you not only your daughter and your brother but also a part of yourself. What shall you do?"
"I don't need to explain myself to you," She argued in a cold tone, "Just play the game."
"Chess is not a game. I told you this before. It is a lesson in strategy and you're not paying attention. Just as you did when you were younger," He explained and Ylva let out a loud laugh.
"Yes. I remember all too well. You used to beat me every time I made the wrong move that cost me my most important pieces," She explained and Sigefrid smiled slightly.
"But then you learned your lesson and defeated me every time. You mastered the Queen's Gambit. Every time you opened with it, you won," He explained and Ylva's smile faded.
"And in the end, I won the battle off the chessboard," Ylva replied as she placed her next move and removed his queen from the board, smirking in satisfaction.
"Hvitserk is a pawn in your kingdom. All those you surround yourself with are pawns. You could use them to your advantage but instead, you let them roam free to be taken by Kings, Knights, and Queens alike until the people closest to you are left open and vulnerable to be taken by those more powerful. It is why Erik died. It is why Sihtric died. It is why Freya died. And it is why your other children and Sihtric's children and the sons of Ragnar will all die too."
Unable to take it anymore, Ylva flipped the entire board and glared at her father hatefully. "What do you want from me!" She roared out angrily as she panted heavily, "You've been haunting me for weeks and I have endured it. You claim to be here to guide me but all you do is torment me. I know you're not real. I know you are just the voice in the back of my mind, appearing to me as you. But why? Why are you here? What do you want from me? What do you wish to tell me?"
Finally, Sigefrid stood up. He lifted his head and looked deeply into Ylva's eyes with a cold stare. "All your life, you bore the madness our entire family did. Bloodline after bloodline, madness took over the greatest individuals of our family. They were destined for greatness but madness consumed them. Until you. You did what no one else had been able to. You bore both at once. You had the madness but were able to contain it enough to use it to your advantage. I was you once. I was you before you were even born. Just like you when you were younger, before you had become a queen, I was you. I was a young man destined for greatness. So much responsibility placed on me at such a young age. My father was mad, too. I wanted to be nothing like him. I fell in love, married your mother when we were younger than you and your husband were. We had our first child. Your brother Erik. All was well. We had the kingdom of Ashton, people who loved and adored your mother and me. Soon enough, your brother Sihtric was born and I couldn't have been happier. Though the happiness began to fade. Hardship after hardship plagued our life and we were fine at first but soon enough, it became too much to handle. One day, I snapped and I never recovered. The power your mother and I bore became too much. It corrupted me and brought out my madness even more. We could have ruled these lands together, made these lands better but I let the madness consume me. I was never the same and it cost me my life at the hands of you, the girl who reminded me so much of her mother that it made me hate you. It reminded me of my greatest mistake. Killing her. And I was punished by having a daughter exactly like her. With the same potential to be great as she had been destined to be before I killed her."
