MADNESS | VIKINGS

7

"Hopefully, he and Ylva will be home soon," Ubbe admitted as Ivar found himself looking at Freya, "In the meantime, it is up to us to decide what to do."

"I'm listening. Say something interesting," Ivar insisted and Freya smiled.

"Yes, for all our sakes," She agreed with Ivar, causing Ivar to smile as well.

"You heard what he said, how the little pigs will grunt when they hear the old boar suffered," Ubbe reminded them as he glanced between Sigurd and Ivar.

"So now we're grunting. So what?" Ivar asked with an attitude.

"We want blood-revenge against Aelle, hmm?" Ubbe complained as he glanced around at the group of three.

"Yes," Sigurd nodded his head in confirmation.

"Not only against Aelle," Ivar reminded his brother in an annoyed tone, "I-I told you, King Ecbert offered our father up like a sacrifice, so we'll do the same thing to him. That is what Father wanted. That is the message that he wanted me to bring you."

"That is so easy to say, Ivar," Ubbe retorted as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Here he is, the voice of reason," Ivar argued as he slammed his knife down on the table, "I hate reason."

Having heard enough, Ivar walked toward the door while Freya continued to listen to what Ubbe and Sigurd had to say.

"What do you mean, Ubbe?" Sigurd asked Ubbe as he moved closer to his brother and took a seat, "I'm listening, even if he's not."

"As am I," Freya spoke up, nodding her head in agreement.

"Aelle has a small kingdom, but Ecbert's kingdom is vast. How do we overcome that when we have never attempted anything like that before?" Ubbe explained to the duo in an aggravated tone.

"We raise an army," Sigurd suggested in a calm tone.

"No, you're not listening, brother," Ubbe complained and Sigurd shook his head.

"We raise a great army," Sigurd corrected himself and as he was about to leave, Ivar stopped, interested in what his brother was saying, "An army bigger than ever before."

Ivar ended the door and turned to the group. "Sigurd is right," He spoke up and Freya turned to look at him, "We call in favors. We do deals with Kings and Earls that we hate. Whatever we have to promise them, we promise. And in the end, we assemble an army twice the size of the army our father took to Paris."

"And we declare war on England," Sigurd added in and Freya smiled at the thought.

"No," Ivar argued as he shook his head, "In the name of our dead father, in the name of Ragnar Lothbrok, the greatest hero of our country, and in the name of Odin, we declare war on the whole world."

"I like the sound of that," Freya confessed, sounding almost mesmerized by the idea.

Ivar turned to Freya, the two of them sharing a sadistic smile.

____

In Kattegat, men, women, and children were working on the new fortifications of Kattegat. The shieldmaidens soon locked eyes on Freya, who stood at the gates. "Shieldwall!" They shouted, quick to guard their queen.

Freya laughed loudly in amusement at the sight, glancing around at the women. "Are you serious right now?" She asked them as she rolled her eyes, "If I wanted to kill Lagertha, I wouldn't do it in an open space like this, you fools. I come here in peace."