GLORY OR VALHALLA | BJORN IRONSIDE

15

He screamed out in agony and Ylva paid no mind to the crowd of shieldmaidens who had formed around her, including Lagertha, Gunnhild, and Gyda.

Limping slightly, Ylva crouched down beside the man, clutching her right side, where she now had a wound from just moments before when they were fighting.

She took the blade from his hand, tossing it away from him before standing back up. She watched as he grunted in pain as she purposely stepped on his hand, just before ripping the sword out of him.

Whitehair screamed in agony and Ylva smirked, staring down at him while resting her sword on her shoulder. "Please..." Whitehair trailed off weakly, "Mercy. End it quick. I beg of you."

"Mercy? Hah!" Ylva let out a loud laugh as she shook her head, "Mercy is far from what you deserve. You took my son from me. You took my brother's son from me. And I wouldn't be surprised if you had a part in my daughter's death as well."

Ylva raised her sword above her head, yelling out as she began to bring her sword down and straight toward Whitehair.

The man screamed as he raised his hand, only to have the Ylva's blade run straight through it. Many of the warriors cheered for Ylva as she continued to slash at Whitehair.

The others had been cheering as well but as moments passed, the smile had faded from Gyda's lips, alongside many others. Whitehair was visibly dead yet Ylva continued to slash her sword through him.

Gyda began to tear up at the sight, flinching each other her mother's blade pierced Whitehair's skin. His face was unrecognizable at that moment.

Ylva cried as she did so. It was as though she couldn't stop herself. All the pain and suffering she had experienced of late was finally exploding out of her all at once and she couldn't continue it.

Ylva dropped to her knees, continuing to stab Whitehair while screaming and crying.

Finally, Gunnhild took a step forward, on the verge of moving toward her lover. "Ylva. Ylva, stop," She pleaded and finally Ylva froze.

She panted heavily, staring down at Whitehair. Her chest heaved and she looked devasted.

Just then, she let out a loud, heartbroken scream while looking down at Whitehair, just before she began to sob. It was so obvious she finally letting herself mourn her son's death after bottling up the pain for days.

It was utterly silent for several moments afterward, many of those around her beginning to silently cry. They, too, knew her pain. Many of them were mothers themselves, forced to experience the pain of losing a child, especially their sons, just as Ylva had.

Finally, after a moment, Ylva raised her head. She wiped the blood and tears staining her cheek before forcing herself up and off the ground.

She turned in the direction of Gunnhild, finding Gyda and Lagertha standing near her. All three of the women were staring at Ylva, watching her actions closely. They were confused as to how Ylva had recovered from her breakdown so quickly.

She knew what they were thinking and sighed. She clutched the wound on her side, beginning to limp past them.

"My love..." Gunnhild began to say as she went to help Ylva walk, only to have the woman raise her hand in her direction.

"It's alright," She assured her and continued to walk past them.

"I am a shieldmaiden," Gunnhild suddenly spoke up, causing Ylva to stop walking, "I know how to fight. I have fought for my life many times. But I have never seen anything like what you just did."

Ylva began to tear up as she turned to Gunnhild, assuming she was about to be judged for the atrocity that she committed to Whitehair's body.

"If I didn't worship you before, Ylva, I worship you now," Gunnhild confessed, causing Ylva's eyes to widen as many nodded in agreement, "May the gods in all their wisdom keep you alive, for all of our sakes."