MADNESS
— 19. Sounds of War
Later that day, it was finally time for battle. Freya stood beside Hvitserk near Ivar's chariot, watching as Harald, Astrid, and Bishop Heahmund arrived. Ivar began to speak to Heahmund in Old Saxon, but Freya was in no mood to try to understand it. All she could think about was the battle ahead.
"What do you think?" Harald suddenly spoke up as he turned to look at Ivar with a questioning look on his face.
"I have a feeling that Bjorn and Ylva are playing a game," Ivar replied, exchanging a look with Freya.
"What kind of game?" Harald asked the younger man curiously.
"Well, what if he is keeping a lot of his army in reserve?" Ivar stated in a hypothetical tone, "What if this battle is just a feint? What if his real plan is to outflank us and drive on and try to destroy our boats?"
"What should we do?" Freya suddenly spoke up and Ivar turned to look at her.
"We'll pull back a third of our army to protect our ships," He informed her and Freya nodded in agreement. He turned, noticing the look on Harald's face, "It is a risk. But it would be far worse to lose our entire fleet. So, I think we should send Freya and Hvitserk with some men into the woods over there, and try and outflank them, diving Bjorn's forces."
"I agree," Harald replied, nodding his head at Ivar, "If you take Astrid back with you. I don't want her to die."
Hearing Harald's words, Astrid turned to her husband with wide eyes. "No," She argued in a stern tone.
"Yes," Harald retorted as he nodded his head at her.
The duo continued to argue, causing Freya to roll her eyes as she watched Harald's men force Astrid onto Ivar's chariot.
With that, Ivar rode off in one direction while Hvitserk and Freya led countless others in the direction of the woods.
Once reaching the woods, Ivar remained in place while Freya and Hvitserk continued to make their way through the woods with their men.
Just then, one of the men grunted as a dart glided through the air and stabbed into his neck. The same ended up happening to countless others, much to Freya's alarm.
Since she didn't have a shield of her arm, she picked one of the shields that had belonged to a man that died.
"Shield wall!" She shouted as she unsheathed her sword. She and Hvitserk exchanged an uneasy look, both of them crouching down beside each other.
"The Sami," She informed Hvitserk in a hushed tone, earning a puzzled look from the young man, "It's the Sami. My mother spoke of them to me as a girl. This is their way of fighting. Lagertha must have made an alliance with them. This was all a trap."
Hvitserk sighed in defeat, knowing Freya must have been right. "Archers!" He shouted out and the archers drew their bows, "Loose!"
They released their arrows, but none seemed to touch the warriors hidden in the woods, causing Freya to feel uneasy as she exchanged a look with Hvitserk.
It wasn't long before the Sami began to shoot more darts their way. It stopped briefly, only to have the men begin getting shot at from the back.
"What do we do?" Hvitserk asked her and Freya cursed under breath.
"Go back!" She shouted out loudly, "Run! Go! Cover! Regroup!"
As they began to run together, they watched as many of their men were knocked down.
By the time Hvitserk and Freya arrived back to Ivar, they found Harald's forces retreating. "We are lost," Harald told the group, a defeated expression on his face.
"Where's Heahmund?" Ivar asked worriedly as he glanced around.
"Your Christian's dead," Harald answered coldly before walking away.
Freya sighed, exchanging a look with Hvitserk before they both climbed onto Ivar's chariot to leave.
____
"You were too clever for your own good," Harald complained as they all sat in his Great Hall together days later, "We had the advantage and we lost."
Ivar was laying on the bench of the table Freya and Hvitserk were sitting at, looking bored. "As I remember, you approved the plan," He reminded the man in a calm tone.
Harald walked over, taking a seat beside Ivar. "Up until that moment, he proved yourself a good tactician. I believe in you. I might not be so quick to endorse your plans next time."
"You do as you see fit, King Harald," Ivar replied casually, clearly not caring about what Harald had to say about their failure.
"Ivar, Uncle Rollo once told me on his ship on our way back from the Mediterranean, he said that if I ever needed his support, all I had to do was ask," Hvitserk explained and Freya scoffed, refusing to believe a traitor like Rollo would be willing to help them.
"What do you think?" Harald asked, looking down at Ivar. He sighed, leaning forward in his seat when Ivar didn't respond. "Come on! What do you think? Do you want the Franks to help us?"
"I think you ought to leave at first light tomorrow," Ivar spoke up, a smile forming on his lips as Hvitserk laughed happily and stood up.
"I would like to go as well," Freya spoke up as she rose from her seat.
"I would like you to stay here with me," Ivar retorted, causing Freya to turn and glare at him.
"Need I remind you that I am my own person and if I want to go with Hvitserk, I shall go with Hvitserk," She snapped at Ivar, shooting him a glare before walking in the same direction that Hvitserk had.
"Be careful of those two," Harald spoke up as he looked down at Ivar, "You intend to make Freya your queen, but it would seem her heart belongs to another."
"Shut up," Ivar snapped at Harald calmly before closing his eyes.
______
As the ship sailed away from Harald's kingdom, Freya sighed as she sat underneath the tent that had been set up in case it rained.
It wasn't long before Hvitserk entered, causing her to immediately look up at him. He moved closer to her and sat beside her. He leaned forward and kissed her, only to have Freya slowly pull away.
"Is this not what you came for?" He asked her in a whisper as he gave her a curious look.
"I came for you, Hvitserk," She replied softly, placing her hands on his shoulders as she stared up at him.
"You shouldn't have come," Hvitserk replied, a part of him looking uneasy as he shook his head, remembering Ivar's threat.
"Why's that?" Freya replied as she finally looked up at him. She knew the answer. She wasn't a fool. She heard Ivar threaten him. However, Hvitserk didn't know yet that she knew.
"Ivar doesn't want us to spend time together, especially not alone," Hvitserk answered quietly as he took a seat beside her in the tent.
"I know," Freya responded, causing Hvitserk to turn to her in confusion, "You do realize even the smallest sound wakes me when I am asleep and it wasn't like you and Ivar were trying to be quiet while arguing with each other."
"Yet you still came," Hvitserk complained as he gave her an annoyed look, "You do realize you risked both of our lives by doing that?"
"Ivar doesn't own me," Freya snapped at him in an angered tone, "He needs to stop acting like he does because he doesn't."
"You're to be his queen," Hvitserk reminded her and just then, Freya suddenly threw her head back in laughter, "I didn't realize that was so funny."
"Whose choice was it to make me his queen?" She pointed out as she turned to look Hvitserk in the eyes, "Not mine. He didn't even consult me. I gave him one little speech about how he is stronger than anyone around him because of his deformity and suddenly, he's in love with me."
"You were the only one who didn't treat him differently because he was a cripple. You constantly treated him like he was some god. What did you expect?" Hvitserk explained to her with an attitude, "He's always loved you. Ever since we were children."
"It seems you and him have that in common," Freya muttered under her breath, earning a glare from Hvitserk.
"We were all in love with you. Ubbe and Sigurd too," Hvitserk retorted and Freya nodded.
"I know," She admitted in a calm tone as she shook her head, "But I don't understand what I ever did to make you all fall in love with me."
"You weren't like the other girls who threw themselves at us just because we were the sons of Ragnar. You weren't perfect and you didn't try to be perfect. You never abided by the rules and you weren't afraid to speak your mind about anything. You might have been rude to us most of the time, but there were small moments where you could be kind and even if it was for a short moment, it was worth it," Hvitserk explained, a smile forming on his lips, "And it wasn't always just sex with you, even if you didn't want to admit it. You hunted with us, played games with us, spent times with us outside of the bedroom."
"I think that is why you were in love with me, not the others," Freya commented and Hvitserk rolled his eyes at her.
"What makes you say that?" He questioned, only to watch as Freya moved closer to him until she was sitting beside him.
"Because you were the only one I was ever genuinely nice to." She reminded him with the smile on her face, "You were the only one I ever did things with besides sex when we weren't with your brothers."
"Don't start," Hvitserk complained as he let out a large groan, realizing she was trying to work her charms on him for reasons he still didn't know.
He stood up, on the verge of leaving the tent when Freya spoke up. "Getting away from Ivar wasn't the only reason I came on this journey, you know."
Hvitserk stopped, turning to face her. "What is the other reason?"
"I wanted to spend time with you, without Ivar there to ruin it as he's constantly done so lately," Freya confessed, earning a small smile from Hvitserk as he moved closer to her.
"Who would have thought you actually liked spending time with me?" He jokingly commented with an amused look on his face.
"I do, and I shouldn't," Freya replied, not smiling as Hvitserk was.
"Why's that?" He asked, beginning to frown at her.
"I'm starting to..." Freya sighed, trailing off as she looked down at the ground nervously, "I'm starting to have odd feelings for you of late."
"What?" Hvitserk questioned, giving Freya a weird look since he didn't know what she was trying to say.
"It is strange, but..." She trailed off, unable to form the words.
"But?" Hvitserk asked impatiently, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"I think I love you," She suddenly confessed and Hvitserk groaned loudly, clearly not believing her since the timing was horrible.
"Don't start," He complained, thinking she was trying to manipulate him. It was very like her to do so, after all.
He was on the verge of getting up when Freya grabbed his hand, pulling him back toward her. "I...I find myself thinking of you often. In fact, I can't stop thinking about you at all and it makes me so angry because—" She began to say, only to have Hvitserk cut her off.
"Don't do this, Freya," He snapped at her angrily, "Are you completely mad?!"
"I...I can't help it!" She complained to him in an aggravated tone, "You think I wanted to love you? I didn't even know I was capable of loving anyone other than my mother. But now, I have to tell you before it's too late. For if Rollo gives us soldiers, we will win this war and if we do, Ivar will make me his queen, even if I don't want to be. I had to tell you the truth before that happened."
"Freya, stop it," Hvitserk insisted, giving her a pleading look, "Ivar will kill both of us if he finds out."
"I can't change the way I feel!" Freya complained as she stared up at him.
"I waited years for you to love me back. Do you really expect me to believe that the moment it's clear you're supposed to marry Ivar, a man you don't want, you're suddenly in love with me?" Hvitserk snapped at her, earning a glare from Freya.
"Why do you think I'm even with Ivar?" Freya argued back as she lightly shoved Hvitserk.
"What are you talking about?" Hvitserk frowned at Freya, not understanding what she was getting at.
"Wasn't it obvious the moment you saved me from those men who tried to rape me that I'm not on Ivar's side? I was only with that man to convince him to send Lagertha a message. Don't you think it's obvious that I'm not on Ivar's side since I attempted to do such a thing? Not fully, at least," She asked him and Hvitserk sighed in frustration.
"Then, why are you here?" He asked her with an attitude.
"Because of you," Freya replied, pressing her finger against his chest.
"You're lying," Hvitserk argued, shaking his head in disagreement.
"You jumped ship and joined Ivar because you thought I might love you back and you didn't want to leave me with someone like Ivar. There was no way I was going to return to my mother, knowing you're only with Ivar because of me. Even when I learned Ivar was planning to take Ashton, I didn't return to my mother. You want to know why?" She explained to him truthfully, "He threatened you. He said he'd kill you if I betrayed him. If I didn't love you, do you think I would have risked everything for you like that?"
Hvitserk remained silent, watching as Freya moved closer to him before she cupped his face in her hands.
"I love you, Hvitserk," She told him softly, cupping his face in her hands, "I do. I didn't mean to love you, but I do."
Hvitserk turned his head, sighing as he looked her in the eyes. "What are we going to do?" He asked her, knowing nothing was going to stop Ivar from marrying her.
"I don't know," Freya admitted as she shrugged her shoulders, "We'll have to figure it out. I know we will."
"He'll kill us if he learns we're together," Hvitserk reminded her, genuine fear in his eyes.
"What he does not know cannot hurt him," She told him softly and despite feeling hesitant, Hvitserk sighed and nodded his head.
Hvitserk frowned, watching as Freya walked toward the flap of the tent. She looked out, noticing how all of their men were asleep since it was nighttime.
With that, she walked over to Hvitserk, who watched her closely as she sat down beside him. They kissed passionately and Freya laid down on the ground, lifting her skirt as Hvitserk positioned himself between her legs.
He pulled down his pants slightly and with that, he wasted no time thrusting into her. He let out a loud groan and Freya softly gasped in pleasure, only to begin to realize that Hvitserk was making too much noise as several moments had passed.
"Hvitserk...Hvitserk!" She scolded him in a hushed tone as she shoved him off of her slightly and placed a hand over his mouth, "Shh!"
He pulled away from her and allowed Freya to sit up. He watched as she switched positions with him and instead climbed on top of him, straddling him.
Hvitserk sat up slightly and wrapped his arm around him. Freya moved up and down on him, holding her hand over his mouth to keep him from making noise.
"What do you think Ivar would do, if he learned about us?" Freya had asked Hvitserk what felt like hours later as she laid with her chest rested on his unclothed chest.
"Nothing, for if he tried to harm you, I'd kill him myself," He assured her, causing Freya's eyes to widen as she lifted her head to look him in the eyes, "Anyone who threatens you, harms you or tries to harm you, I shall cut down, even Ivar. No harm will ever come to you. I promise. Not from me, not from Ivar, not from anyone. For when I am at your side, I will not let anything bad happen to you."
"Careful, Hvitserk," She warned him playfully, a smile forming her lips as she intertwined her fingers with his, "That almost sounds like a vow."
"Consider it one," Hvitserk replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before the two of them continued to lay there in comfortable silence.
____
Almost a month had passed before Freya and Hvitserk returned. They had been shocked when Rollo had given them soldiers, more than they could have ever imagined.
Leading the soldiers in, Hvitserk and Freya smiled widely as they made their way toward where Harald and Astrid stood. They crouched down next to Ivar, both of them smiling widely.
Freya turned, exchanging a delighted look with Ivar. Before she could react, Ivar leaned forward and kissed her, causing Hvitserk's smile to fade as he immediately looked away.
Moments later, as the Frankish soldiers finished piling in, Ivar was quick to overload the duo with questions about the journey. "Where is Rollo?" Ivar asked his older brother and Freya curiously.
"Rollo couldn't come," Hvitserk informed his brother with a smile on his face, "He had too many responsibilities."
Hvitserk and Freya turned to each other, beginning to laugh at the thought of Rollo actually having something better to do.
Ivar hummed in response, beginning to smile at the thought as well.
"But he also told me that he would come back and celebrate with us afterward," Hvitserk explained, exchanging an uneasy look with Freya, "He only asked for one thing."
"And what was that?" Ivar questioned, noticing the looks on the duo's faces.
"That we spare Ylva and Bjorn's life," Freya answered, causing Ivar to turn to exchange a look with Harald, who ended up grunting and walking away with Astrid.
Ivar turned to the duo, beginning to smile. "Perhaps we will," He replied and Freya forced herself to smile.
_____
The group had been shocked when Bjorn arrived just days later, wanting to hear about the Frankish soldiers. "But where is Rollo?" Bjorn asked as he sat in the Great Hall with Harald, Ivar, Hvitserk, and numerous guards, "Where is my uncle?"
"Freya and I went to meet him," Hvitserk answered in a calm tone, "He sends his love to you, Bjorn Ironside, and your wife, Freya's mother. He hopes you and her are not willing to fight against his forces."
"Then why would he commit his forces to you?" Bjorn asked, letting out a large scoff.
"He didn't tell. That's the truth," Hvitserk replied in a calm tone, "Only that he was prepared to do so."
"I can tell you," Ivar spoke up in an aggravated tone, causing Freya to sigh in annoyance.
"Here we go," She muttered under her breath as she facepalmed herself.
"Rollo sees justice in our cause. Lagertha murdered our mother and usurped her kingdom," He explained, causing Bjorn to sigh in frustration.
"All that is in the past now, Ivar," Bjorn replied in an aggravated tone.
"I must avenge my mother's murderer, and I think you would do the same if it was you," Ivar explained, earning yet another aggravated sigh from Bjorn.
"For the sake of our father, for the sake of our father's legacy and everything he believed in, I am asking you, Ivar, do not put our people's lives at risk," Bjorn insisted and Ivar leaned forward, smiling slightly.
"The only reason why you are saying this is because you see all the might gathering against you," Ivar argued with an attitude, "If you still thought you could win, you would not be here, Bjorn. The fact is, you are afraid."
"I am not afraid," Bjorn retorted calmly as he shook his head, "This changes nothing."
"Well," Ivar paused as he leaned back and lifted his hand.
"What is this?" Freya shouted angrily and stood up from her seat as she watched many of Ivar men moved toward Bjorn, unsheathing their blades.
Bjorn remained in place and turned to Freya, a part of him surprised she was saving him from Ivar.
Freya's expression consumed with anger as she turned to Ivar and pointed her finger at him. "You know as well as I do, Ivar, that this is not our way. It is not our way! I will not stand here and let you kill him. Not in this way," She demanded in a stern tone, "If you decide to kill him like this, you'll just have to kill me too."
Ivar's mouth gaped open slightly as he stared up at Freya. His lips gradually curled upwards into a smile and he shrugged. "It was worth a try," He commented, gesturing for his men to stand down.
Bjorn turned to look at Freya, a part of him looking impressed. "I am sorry Rollo had to involve himself in our quarrel."
"Tell me about it," She muttered under her breath as she watched Bjorn stand up.
"Doesn't he have worlds enough to conquer?" Bjorn complained before leaving the Great Hall.
Freya sighed and turned to Ivar, glaring at him for trying to kill Bjorn.