GREATNESS
— 26. Battle for Kattegat
The fight for Ashton had been an easy one. Ylva had snuck into Ashton and found the four generals Ivar had put in command of Ashton. She had killed them and hung their bodies just outside the Great Hall for all to see. She left, witnessing as many onlookers had found the bodies. They did not begin to worry or freak out over finding the bodies of the generals. They had rejoiced and many looked relieved.
And the moment they watched their beloved Queen Ylva enter the walls of Ashton with Gunnhild, Bjorn, and Rorik, their heir, the people of Ashton began to cheer and feel utterly relieved.
"Look! It's Ylva the Dread! Queen Ylva!" A man suddenly announced loudly, gaining the attention of all of the townsfolk.
"She's back! Queen Ylva has returned!"
"Ylva is home!"
The people of Ashton began to laugh happily and dozens of citizens began to cheer as they ran in the direction of their queen. Many townsfolk had hugged her while others simply placed a hand on her shoulder as she walked past them.
Ylva smiled at how happy and relieved her people looked by her return.
Bjorn watched her closely, smiling in admiration. The people of Ashton loved their queen more than anything. It didn't matter if they feared Ivar. They loved Ylva more and they knew with her here, they'd be safe and protected.
"Ylva!" A voice suddenly called out and Ylva smiled as she turned to see Tormund, one of her old guards moving toward them.
She laughed and hugged him tightly, relieved to see the man once more. "Tormund! How good it is to see you."
"Prince Rorik!" A group of girls ran over and began to hug Rorik, causing Ylva to laugh and shake her head.
"That didn't take long," Bjorn commented and Ylva chuckled in amusement.
Moments later, the doors of the Great Hall of Ashton were opened and Ylva entered. She walked forward until she reached her throne. There was a skull placed on it, causing her to roll her eyes. She picked it up and turned to face the people crowding into the hall. "Well enough of that," She simply stated and tossed the skull aside, causing some of the people to chuckle.
She smiled in satisfaction and sat down on her throne, Bjorn standing to her right while Gunnhild and Rorik stood to her left.
She smiled and glanced around, watching as the people immediately fell into a kneeling. "Hail, Queen Ylva!"
"Hail Queen Ylva!" The people of Ashton shouted and Bjorn smiled at the sight.
"Now," Ylva began, leaning back in her seat, "On matters of Kattegat and the tyrant that is Ivar the Boneless."
_____
On the cliff overlooking Kattegat, which was on the border of Kattegat and Ashton, Bjorn and Ylva stood together, looking down. They were using Ashton as the place to house their warriors and make their camps. The fortifications around the city made it easy to defend in case Ivar decided to attack them before they could attack him.
Ylva turned her head, watching as Rorik, Hvitserk, Harald, and King Olaf walked to stand beside them.
"Ivar has clearly made preparations for a siege," King Olaf commented in a calm tone, "Perhaps we should negotiate with him."
"No," Hvitserk argued, shaking his head while Ylva and Bjorn gave Olaf a look of disbelief, "No."
"My brother is right," Bjorn spoke up in a calm tone, "Never again will we negotiate with Ivar. It is useless."
"Indeed," Ylva spoke up in a soft tone as she turned to exchange a look with Rorik.
____
It was completely dark on the boat Gyda rode on with her grandmother, Torvi, Ubbe, her cousins, and her younger brother and sister.
Thyra and Erik were giggling as they played together. They turned, watching as their older sister made her way over to them. "Gyda, now that we are going back home, are we going to see Halig again?" Thyra asked her older sister with a smile on her face.
Gyda sighed at Thyra's words and shook her head. "I've already told you, Thyra, Halig is dead."
Thyra smiled innocently and shook her head. "I don't think so," She admitted in a calm tone, "I had a dream he was alive and was with Freya."
Gyda sighed, immediately avoiding eye contact with Thyra at the mention of Freya. "It's time for bed," She told her brother and sister, causing them both to sigh in defeat.
"Will we see Mother again?" Erik asked as Gyda placed a fur cloak over Erik and Thyra.
"Of course," Gyda replied, smiling assuringly.
"I haven't seen Mother in awhile. Or Father," Erik confessed, causing Gyda to sigh in response, "Did they forget about us?"
Gyda's eyes softened at Erik's words and shook her head. "Of course not. Mother and Father are warriors. Fighting is all they know. That is what they must do. And you're too young to do the same, which is why you have to stay here with me. It is why Rorik has gone with him. He is a man now and he can fight. He is a great warrior, just like Mother and Father. Just like me," She explained, a proud look on her face.
"I want to fight," Erik admitted, a large smile on his face, "I want to be a great warrior. Just like Mother and Father."
"Trust me, Erik, after what happened to our brother Halig, Mother will not let you hold a sword until you're twenty," Gyda confessed, forcing a smile onto her face, despite the thought saddening her, "And I can't say that it's a bad idea because it's not. I do not wish to lose any more people in my family."
"I miss them," Erik admitted, referring to Ylva and Bjorn.
"I miss them too. But we will see them soon," Gyda assured them as she pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads, "I promise. Now, go to sleep."
The two children nodded. They snuggled up next to each other and closed their eyes, preparing for sleep.
Gyda sighed and sat down near them. She took out her knife, beginning to sharpen it out of boredom. All she could think about was the fear of losing her brother, mother, and father at the hands of Ivar and Freya.
_____
In the Great Hall of Ashton, Ylva sat beside Bjorn and Gunnhild in front of the hearth in the middle of the room. The rest of the group sat around as well, including Rorik, who sat with his arm wrapped around Amma.
"Soon, we shall attack Kattegat," Ylva announced as she was sharpening her sword.
"Where once more, brother will fight against brother, mother will fight against daughter. And the world will be wrecked," He explained, and Ylva sighed in response, "Midgard will be wrenched by wars for three winters. Fathers will slaughter sons. Brothers will be drenched in one another's blood," He ranted and Ylva turned, exchanging an amused smile with Gunnhild, "Mothers will desert their menfolk and seduce their own sons. Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters will grip and throttle Midgard. Fenrir, the wolf, will seize the sun between his jaws and swallow her. He will spatter Asgard with gore."
"And then the warriors and all the gods in Valhalla will bear arms and fight against the giants and serpents unleashed against Midgard," Bjorn explained in a dramatic tone as he raised his sword, causing Rorik and Ylva to smile in amusement.
"Odin and the wolf will be the first to engage and the battle will be fearsome. Though in the end, the wolf will swallow All-Father. That will be the death of Odin," King Olaf continued to explain as Hvitserk smiled in fascination.
"And then worlds will burn and the gods will die," Bjorn spoke up before Gunnhild did as well.
"And the sun will be dark and there will be no stars in the sky. And the earth will sink into the sea," Gunnhild added in and Ylva smiled in response.
"Ragnarok," Harald spoke up in a calm tone as he walked over to them, "It's only a story."
"Stories are all we have," Olaf reminded him and Harald smiled at him before handing Ylva a bowl.
_____
At first light, just outside Kattegat and Ashton, the armies of Bjorn, Ylva, King Harald, and King Olaf had set up camp. "Attack the gates," King Olaf had spoken up in a calm tone.
"I agree," Harald replied, pointing his finger at Olaf, "We will divide our forces and attack two of the gates simultaneously with the greatest violence."
"If we divide our forces, we need to be able to know one another," Bjorn pointed out as he handed Harald a bowl of war paint.
Harald chuckled lowly and dipped two of his fingers into the blue paint. He brought it up to his face and smiled slightly. "For my brother," He spoke up in a calm tone, "For Halfdan."
"Weren't you the one who killed your brother?" Rorik asked, staring at Harald in confusion.
Olaf laughed at Rorik's words while Harald glared at Rorik, handing Ylva the paint next.
"For my brother Sihtric," Ylva spoke up in a calm tone as she made the symbol as Bjorn and Halfdan on her face with the paint, "If I die in the battle, I shall rejoice in being able to feast with him and the gods in the halls of the Aesir."
____
Just outside Kattegat, Ylva stood wearing her battle attire alongside Bjorn, Gunnhild, Rorik, and countless as they prepared to attack Kattegat.
Bjorn let out a deep sigh, a determined look on his face as he turned to exchange a look with his wife. "Are you ready for this?" He asked her and gradually, Ylva's lips curled upwards into a smile.
"Of course I am," She answered in a calm tone, "We face this together, Bjorn. Now and always. We will succeed. I know it."
Bjorn nodded his head at her, the two of them sharing a lingering glance with each other before looking ahead.
The horns blared and the warriors around them roared out, banging their swords against their shields. Ylva raised her sword to give the signal and once doing so, a few men stepped forward, beginning to roll the object they were to use to force open the gates of Kattegat.
Rorik exchanged a look with his father, just before he and Bjorn joined the men in using the battering ram to attempt to bust open the gates of the city.
Ylva raised her sword before forcing it downwards, gesturing for her warriors to charge forward. She watched as they ran forward, raising their shields to avoid being shot with the arrows raining down on them.
As they rolled the log in the direction of the gates, Bjorn and Rorik seemed to be the only ones without an arrow coming in their direction. It made the warriors around them begin to believe that just like his father, Rorik was favored.
"Shield wall!" Ylva shouted and her men formed a shield wall around her and Gunnhild, allowing the latter to shoot arrows up at the men loyal to Ivar that stood on the walls.
"Forward! Ram!" Bjorn yelled out, he and Rorik commanding the man with them to continue ramming the wood into the gates.
As they did so, Gunnhild and numerous other archers standing with Ylva began to shoot arrows upwards.
"To the wall! To the wall!" Bjorn demanded, pushing warriors in the directions of the walls as their handmade ladders were placed on the wall.
As he stood near his father, Rorik raised his shield and moved closer to the wall. He pressed himself against the wall, standing beside his father as they prepared to climb up.
"Go! Climb the walls!" Rorik shouted, giving orders to the men climbing the walls while Bjorn continued to order the men to ram the wooden log at the door.
They soon brought over a cover for it, wanting to be able to protect the men from being shot while trying to get the door open.
"My brother! You have come too late!" Ivar shouted loudly with a large smile on his face, "Much too late! Are you now prepared to see your beloved son and heir die at the hands of your stupidity?"
Hearing Ivar's words, Bjorn stopped and looked upwards, finding Ivar laughing hysterically.
Just then, Ivar ordered the men to fetch hot oil and once they did so, he had it poured on the men below. Rorik was nearly hit with it as well, but before he could, Bjorn had roughly grabbed his son's arm and yanked him back.
The two men turned, watching as the men in front of them erupted into flames after a flaming arrow had been shot at them once the oil had been poured onto them.
Bjorn had saved Rorik in just enough time.
"Ram!" Bjorn yelled out, he and Rorik grabbing both sides of the wooden log to continue attempting the bust the gates open.
Moments passed and they continued to ram at the flaming door. They continued to do so, already seeing that they were close to busting it open.
However, before they could entirely succeed, large flames erupted at Ivar's doing, making it harder to continue ramming at the door.
Finally, the doors opened and the warriors piled in. Bjorn ran in and unsheathed his sword.
"Down!" He and Rorik suddenly heard Ivar shout, causing them to frown as they turned to see the gates of Kattegat close. It meant they were trapped inside.
Bjorn turned and looked directly at Ivar, a horrified look on his face. He tried to contain his defeated expression, seeing the way his brother smiled at him tauntingly.
"Shieldwall!" Bjorn demanded as the men surrounded them raised their bows after Ivar had given the order.
Ivar soon told them to release and when they did, Bjorn and Rorik were forced to witness as many warriors around them were shot.
"Close in," Bjorn demanded in a stern tone and Rorik nodded before repeating the order to the other warriors.
Outside the walls of Kattegat, Ylva stood in place for a long moment as she glanced around. She sighed, feeling uneasy as she stared at the closed gates of Kattegat. It wasn't a good thing, she knew that much. It meant they were trapped inside. It meant her eldest son and her husband were trapped inside.
And even while promising Bjorn not to take too many risks since she was pregnant, she refused to let them die.
Unable to take it anymore, Ylva ran over to the last remaining ladder on the wall. She wasted no time beginning to climb up, Gunnhild following soon after her.
As she reached the top of the ladder, Ylva yelped in pain as she was shot in the shoulder with an arrow.
Gunnhild raised her arms, grabbing onto Ylva's waist before she could fall. The ladder nodded at her as a way to thank her and Gunnhild watched in astonishment as Ylva simply snapped the arrow in half before continuing on.
Ylva bent down and picked up an ax off the ground, throwing it in the direction of a man running toward her. It ended up hitting him in the head and he grunted before falling to the ground, dead.
Ylva jumped down and the moment her feet touched the ground, she unsheathed her sword. She turned and watched as Gunnhild jumped down as well.
The two women nodded at each other, just before viciously cutting down any warrior who dared to get in their way.
A shieldmaiden loyal to Ivar slashed at Ylva, who arched her back to avoid her form of attack. Ylva raised her fist, growling as she backhanded the woman across the face before stabbing her in the chest.
"Bjorn! Rorik!" Ylva called out worriedly as she and Gunnhild rushed toward where Rorik and Bjorn were running up the stairs.
"Go! Go!" Bjorn shouted, pushing Ylva, Rorik, and Gunnhild ahead of him and toward the wall.
Ylva ended up grabbing Rorik by the arm while Bjorn did the same with Gunnhild. The duo lightly pushed Gunnhild and Rorik, allowing them to land on the ground.
Once they watched Gunnhild and Rorik hit the ground, Ylva and Bjorn exchanged a look with each other before jumping down as well.
As her body hit the ground, Ylva grunted, feeling a familiar pain to the one she experienced all those years ago in Paris when she jumped off that wall. Except for this time, she didn't have a pile of bodies to fall onto.
"Call the retreat!" Ylva insisted, glancing between her son and Gunnhild as she helped them off the ground, "Go! Now! Sound the retreat!"
Rorik nodded obediently and with that, he and Gunnhild ran off.
"Retreat! Retreat!" Bjorn began to roar out and the warriors immediately obeyed him.
Ivar and his men began to cheer and Ylva sighed, feeling uneasy as she looked upwards. While Rorik might have survived the battle, her other son was still in Kattegat. A son she thought for months to be dead.
Of course, she cared about winning back Kattegat because it was rightfully her husband's and her children's, but she cared more about seeing her son again. And Freya too.
"You know who I am!" Bjorn suddenly shouted, causing Ylva to turn to see her husband looking up at the men on the walls loyal to Ivar while banging his fist against his chest, "I am Bjorn Ironside, son of Ragnar. I grew up with many of you. You were my neighbors. My friends. We played together when we were children," He explained in a loud tone and Ylva's eyes widened when she saw many of the warriors lower their bows, "I am not your enemy! Ivar is your enemy! He rules over you with tyranny and cruelty! He wants to destroy everything my father built."
"He's lying!" Ivar immediately shouted out, "Kill him! Kill them both! He's lying!"
Bjorn panted for breath as he stared upwards, only to watch Ivar snatch a bow from someone. Bjorn and Ylva immediately knelt on the ground, raising their shields to avoid being hit.
After a moment, they stood back up, staring up at Ivar. "You know me," Bjorn spoke more quietly before he and Ylva finally retreated from the battlefield.
As she walked off with her husband, Ylva sighed at the look on his face. He looked utterly defeated. And so did she. They had been defeated.