"Where have you been, your highness?" Ulf sneered at me.

I swung my leg over the side of my horse and hopped down from the saddle stirrup. I glared in his direction, hating that he made a point of calling me 'your highness' or 'queen' every time he saw me since the night of the feast.

"None of your business, Ulf." I snapped and led Idunn to her stall and started to take off the saddle and bridle.

Ulf chuckled. "Just curious as to what the almost queen does now that she's back to being a peasant."

I snatched the pitchfork from the corner of the horse stall and swung it around, pushing the sharp ends against the skin of Ulfs' neck.

"Leave me alone." I growled.

Ulfs' lips turned up into a wicked smile and in one swift move he grabbed the handle of the pitchfork, taking it from me. He let it fall to the ground and then stalked towards me, closing the distance between us, pinning me against the wall behind me.

He took a lock of my blond hair, twirling it between his fingers a few times before he wrapped it around his fist and used it to pull me closer still to him. "I don't think I will. I enjoy watching you squirm."

Thinking fast, I brought my knee up with as much force as I could muster and brought it into his groin. Ulf immediately let go and doubled over, grabbing at his manhood, coughing.

I side-stepped out of the way and went to make a run for it but he grabbed my wrist, holding me in place. I let out a yelp of pain when he yanked me towards him, his eyes on fire with rage.

"What's going on here?" A gruff voice spoke, stopping Ulf.

Ulf let go of my wrist and righted himself, smoothing out his tunic. "Nothing that concerns you." He answered the man who was now standing behind me. He didn't even make eye contact with him, instead he kept his gaze on me.

There was a long moment of tension between us until finally he walked away, leaving the stable. The moment he made it outside I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and started to shake.

"Are you alright, girl?" The stranger asked.

"Y-yes. I'm fine. Sorry for the commotion."

I spent the rest of the morning taking care of Idunn and trying to shake the feelings of what happened with Ulf. It was made clear that he did not like me the night of the feast but I was no longer tied to Ivar, Ulfs' master, so why was he still bothering me?

When I had finished brushing, feeding and filling Idunn's water trough I made my way to the market to buy something to eat.

I picked at my smoked fish and bread, regretting sitting at the tables that were set up in the market. Everyone who passed by made a point to stare at me or point in my direction as they whispered to the person next to them.

"More mead, Highness?" A warrior laughed and messily filled my cup. I recognized him as one of the men who was in charge of guarding me when I first was able to walk around Kattegat after being healed from the battle. His comment was purposefully made loud enough so that everyone who heard it laughed.

"Leave her be, leave her be!" Svends' voice broke through the laughter.

Thora slid onto the bench next to me. Her posture was night and day from when she was a serf in the great hall. Before she used to hunch over, trying not to be seen but now she sat straight as a board and held her head high. I smiled to myself, I loved seeing her so happy.

Svend sat down on the bench across from us and poured himself a cup of mead.

"Out riding again?" He asked, taking a chunk out of my bread.

I felt so much better now that I had my friends by me. It was like I went back to being invisible and I thanked the Gods.

"Yes, how'd you know?"

Thora laughed. "Because half of the woods is stuck in your hair." She started to pluck twigs and leaves from my hair.

While Thora picked at my hair Svend had stole my plate of food.

"Hey!" I yelled, trying to reach across the table but was held back by Thora trying to rake her fingers through my knotted locks. Thora and Svends' laughter was contagious. For a moment, I felt like I was a normal, careless person and I relished the feeling.

But as always, things didn't last long.

Hvitserk came crashing into our table, throwing himself down onto the bench next to Svend. He hastily grabbed for the pitcher of mead and sloppily poured himself a cup, downing it in one sip and then pouring another.

My brows furrowed. His cheeks were tear stained and his hands were shaking. Something was wrong.

"Hvitserk, what happened?" I asked, keeping my voice down. Many people around Kattegat were nosey bastards who couldn't keep their mouths shut.

"He's killed her." Hvitserk said between sips of mead.

I leaned over the table so that the people around us who were very clearly trying to listen in on our conversation wouldn't hear. "What? Who's killed who?"

"Ivar!" Hvitserk slammed the cup onto the table, mead splashed all around his hand. "He's killed Margrethe!"

Svend looked between myself and Thora, stunned at what the son of Ragnar was saying. He went to speak but I waved my hand to silently tell him to let Hvitserk speak.

"He came to me and Harald enraged, crazy! He asked what I was going to do with Margrethe. He said she was insane and that she was going to kill us all!"

"Well she did kind of lose her mind when Ubbe said he was going to join with Lagertha to defend Kattegat." Svend said in a nonchalant tone. The man was brilliant when it came to making weapons but clueless at times when it came to making conversation.

I glared in his direction.

Hvitserk continued. "He told me I should leave, with Harald. To sail with him to England. Margrethe was right. He will kill me if I don't play along, submit to his insanity!"

"Hvitserk, calm down." I tried to calm him by putting my hand gently on his but he quickly pulled it away into his chest.

"No, you don't understand. Freydis has gotten into his mind, she's making him crazy. He thinks... he thinks he is a god. She even has him believing that she is with child but everyone knows that he cannot have children!"

"Hvitserk, you're wrong."

"Oh Briet, you're free of him. You don't have to pretend anymore. We know that you screamed his name every night and moaned like a whore just to make people believe that he was a man."

"That's not true, Hvitserk!" I slammed my fists down on the table. His words stung. "Ivar and I did have sex, I was pregnant with his child! I don't know what happened between him and Margrethe all those years ago but things were different between us. It wasn't always easy for him, and there were times when he... couldn't. But-"

Hvitserk scoffed. "You don't have to try and convince me anymore, it doesn't matter if you did or didn't."

I sighed heavily. He was right, though. It really didn't matter if he or anyone believed me. Like I kept trying to tell myself these last few weeks, he was Freydis' problem now.

"He wants to have a feast and at this feast he wants to offer a sacrifice to the God's for welcoming him into the Aesir. He said it needs to be a person of great importance, someone that everyone will have herd of."

I realized at once what he meant. Ivar was talking about sacrificing his own brother.

"No. Surely it's another one of his cruel tricks." Thora finally spoke, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Hvitserk took a long swig from his cup, mead spilling down his chin. "I don't know. He stopped speaking to me after that."

Against my better judgement, I was on my way to the great hall to see Ivar. Hvitserks' words haunted me the rest of the afternoon. Surely there was no way that Ivar was going to sacrifice his own brother. Between all of his brothers Hvitserk was always his favorite and the one who was most kind to him. He also stayed back in England with Ivar and was by him in the battle to win Kattegat. Hvitserk showed his loyalty to him more than enough so why would he repay him by sacrificing him.

It was late, the sun had set hours ago and the town was eerily quiet. In my mind this seemed like the best time to try and speak with Ivar alone about this matter. I knew that he had trouble sleeping and wouldn't go to bed till well after everyone else had passed out from food and drink. I also hoped that Freydis would be asleep so I wouldn't have to deal with seeing her. If Hvitserk was right and it was Freydis who was in his mind, I didn't want her around while I was trying to speak.

The great hall was just as quiet as the town was. All of the candles were burnt out save for a few here and there. There were a few men passed out on the tables snoring loudly among the plates half filled with food.

I walked further into the room, looking to see if I could find Ivar. He wasn't anywhere to be found and I sighed. There was no way I was going to go searching for him. The last thing I needed to see was him and Freydis in bed together. My mind already created images of that, I didn't need the real thing.

When I turned to leave I saw something moving in the side hall. I quickly moved behind one of the wooden pillars in charge of helping hold up the roof and hid behind it. Desperately, I tried to calm my breathing. This was a stupid idea, sneaking in here in the middle of the night. What if I'm caught and taken to Ivar and Freydis.

My heart beat wildly inside of my chest and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. Gods, why am I such an idiot?

I listened for footsteps to try and see where this person was but I couldn't hear anything. Maybe it was all in my head? I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and then peaked around the pillar.

In the side hall to the right of the thrones I saw a blond figure standing in front of a man who was sitting on a chair with long dark hair. The blond slowly pulled up her skirts and then straddled the man's lap. His hands slid up her bare legs to her thighs and then grabbed her hips roughly. In no time she was rolling her hips back and forth while he let out low grunts.

Just as I was about to turn back away from the scene, the blond turned her head to the side so that I could make out her face. Freydis.

It really was my worst nightmare. I caught them in the act. But before my mind could go off and tell me how much I wasn't special to Ivar, I caught a glance of the mans' face. It was Ulf.

Freydis was fucking Ulf.

I had been stuck with this scene playing in my mind for days. I hadn't told a single person, not even Hvitserk, of what I saw that night. If Ivar was willing to kill his brother then what would he do to me if I came out and said that Freydis was fucking his most loyal warrior.

I sat at my table in my home, the flame of the candles making shadows dance around me while I sipped absent-mindedly at my drink. I did feel some kind of comfort thinking that maybe Ivar couldn't have sex with Freydis after all and that she had to make a child with someone else.

The silence of my home was interrupted by the cries of women and children. My brow furrowed, who would attack a town at night? It wasn't even a full moon yet so the town was mostly in darkness.

Nonetheless, I grabbed my sword and made my way to the door. When I opened it I saw men, dressed in Ivars' colors, forcing the people of Kattegat out of their houses.

"What's going on?" I hollered at one of the men who was pushing a mother with a young child clutched to her chest.

Rough hands grabbed me. "Let's go!" The man who had a hold of me yanked my sword from my hand and threw it down onto the floor of my home and then pushed me with the others to the main road of town.

There were people lined up on either side. Everyone had a look of confusion and terror painted on their face. What in Helheim was going on?

Drums sounded from the direction of the great hall and before long Ivar's guards were marching down the footpath holding torches. The people around me started to murmur, trying to guess what was happening. Looking down at my right, I saw a young boy clutching to his mothers' leg while she was being held by her husband.

As the crowd marched on, I saw priests with their faces painted white and black and others who were dressed in animal hides and masks dancing after the marching soldiers. The boy who was next to me hid his face in his mothers' skirts. I didn't blame him, the people dressed in the strange animal costumes were unsettling even to me.

Then I saw them. Ivar and Freydis were being carried down the road in Ivar's ornate red and gold chariot. Both of their faces were painted white while around their eyes was painted blood red. Atop their heads were crowns made of bird skulls. Freydis' hand was clutching her belly, that stupid smile on her face.

"Bow down to the god Ivar!" The priest yelled.

The guards who were in charge of holding the townspeople in place started to shove people to the ground. Scared of being hurt, the others followed suit and before long everyone was on their knees as Ivar passed.

I was frozen when I noticed that the horse pulling Ivars' chariot wasn't his normal white one. Instead, this horse was black and much taller and broader. It was my horse. Idunn was being made to pull Ivar and Freydis.

As I make this realization, I see that Freydis is staring at me. When she sees the rage on my face her smile widens even more. To add salt to my wound, she leaned her head against Ivars' shoulder.

Ivar, who was looking in the opposite direction, leaned over with his eyes closed and kissed her on the forehead. My stomach churned. I don't want to be anywhere near this vile show. I turned on my heal to leave but I was instantly stopped when I ran into Ulfs' chest.

"Let go of me." I hissed.

"I don't think so, highness." He grabbed my wrists and turned me around so that my back was against his chest and my arms were pinned behind me. "Let's go." He pushed me out of the crowd and behind the procession.

The crowd was herded by the guards to follow. When all of the village was at the beach the people spread out. At the very end of the dock was a longship with thick branches leaned up against the base of the mast. Nausea washed over me. There was going to be a sacrifice tonight. Where was Hvitserk? I desperately tried to look over the crowd in hopes that I would see Hvitserks' face but Ulf's hold on me only grew tighter making me whimper.

Ivar and Freydis got out of the Chariot, a serf handing Ivar his crutches so that he could move freely. Ivar kissed Freydis' hand and told her to go to the chairs that were set up for the two of them by nudging his head in that direction.

"Bring on the sacrifice!" Ivar bellowed, holding up his sword.

Four guards come out from behind the thrones, two at the front and two at the back holding onto logs that had chains attached to them. On the other end of the chains, in between both pieces of timber was a hooded figure.

My stomach churned. Gods, please don't let it be Hvitserk. It can't be him.

I watched Ivar turn and stumble his was to the empty chair beside Freydis where he then fell into it with a loud grunt. In a sick attempt to comfort Ivars' pain, Freydis reached out for his hand. He took hers in his with a look of pure evil on his face. An evil which I had never seen before on him.

The prisoner was taken out to the edge of the docks and harshly made to turn so that they were facing the crowd.

"People of Kattegat!" Ivars' voice boomed over the commotion. "We have a great sacrifice. This is Lagertha!"

Lagertha? But she and Bjorn and the others sailed with Rolo to England. The guards ripped off the hood of the prisoner to reveal a scared shield maiden. The crowd gasped when they too realized this woman was not Lagertha.

The villagers looked around at each other confused until the voices started to grow, people commenting that she looked nothing like Lagertha and that Ivar was lying. Hopefully the people would rally against the guards and stop this poor girl from being killed.

"That's not Lagertha." One of the women to my right yelled. I looked over and recognized her as one of the older shield maidens who fought along side Lagertha in the war for Kattegat.
"That is NOT Lagertha!" She bellowed.

Other supporters of Lagertha amongst the crowd started to cry out. "That's not Lagertha, hail Lagertha!"

"Hail Ragnar! Hail Lagertha!"

Ivar's look of malice faded, his smile dropped and I could see he was taking in ragged breaths. No one believed that was Lagertha and the people of Kattegat were starting to get angry at Ivar's failed deception.

"Take her away. Take them all away!" Ivar ordered. His loyal dogs moved out into the crowd and gathered up all those who spoke out against him. A few drew their weapons and prepared to fight but Ivar's guards were ruthless and struck them down or took them to the jail cells.

"Take them away!" Ivar demanded.

One of the women was giving the guards a real fight while she screamed "She still lives, hail Lagertha!"

The priests who were looking to Ivar for an answer of what to do next started to chant over the yells in hopes to drown them out. "Hail the God Ivar!"

A few moments later and the cries for Lagertha were quieted and now all that was heard were chants of Ivar's name. Why were the people being so complacent? Why weren't they fighting against Ivar and this madness?

Ivar got off of his chair, trying to hide the pain that he was in and started to make his way to the end of the dock.

"This is the witch who murdered my mother in cold blood. This is Lagertha!" The people were silent as he spoke.

"No!" The young maiden whimpered.

Ivar turned to the girl and screamed "Shut your mouth!" She visibly cowered at his command to silence herself. He righted himself and then turned back to address people. "A Danish king handed her over to us. She was trying to make a deal with him. To persuade him to join her in attacking Kattegat."

I scanned the faces of the crowd trying to find Hvitserk. If he wasn't being sacrificed then where was he? When my eyes landed on him I saw that he was already pushing his way through the crowd towards me. When he reached my side he pushed Ulf off of me. Ulf stumbled to the side, confused and ready to fight the one who freed me. When he saw that it was Hvitserk he scoffed.

I was expecting Ulf to draw his sword, instead he got in Hvitserks' face, squaring his shoulders and trying to make himself even taller. Hvitserk glared up at Ulf, not breaking eye contact. After a few tense seconds, Ulf finally walked past Hvitserk, purposefully hitting his shoulder into Hvitserks' so that he stumbled backwards.

When Ulf had disappeared into the crowd I threw myself at Hvitserk, hugging him tightly around his waist. I thanked the gods that he was safe.

One of the villagers yelled out "Traitor!" and it brought me back to what was happening.

Ivar slammed his metal crutch into the wood of the dock in agreeance. "Traitor! Yes, traitor! She would do anything for power! Thank the Gods, her plans have all come to nothing."

The guards turned the girl and started to get her into the boat. I could see the poor girl shaking from here as she begged "No, no, no, no, I am not Lagertha!"

Ivar continued his hate filled speech. "Her vile reign and blind ambitions end here. I sacrifice her in the name of Odin and in the name of my fellow Gods. I sacrifice her to cleans this kingdom of its evil spirits!"

The rhythmic banging of the drums and the yells of the villagers were deafening. The only thing I could hear above it was the girls screaming while the men shoved her down on to the deck of the boat, wrapped chains around her ankles and then hoisted her above the fire kindling so that she was hanging upside down above the soon to be flames.

The high priest came over to her, raised his sacrificial blade to the skies to show Odin his blade and then cut the throat of the dangling girl. Her blood sprayed onto the face of the priest and ran down her neck. I hurried my face in Hvitserks' chest. This poor, innocent girl. Her screams were quieted while she started to choke on her blood.

When her choking stopped I looked up from Hvitserk to Freydis. I could have sworn I saw a look of shock and disgust while Ivar stood by her side, panting like a dog as he watched the gory scene unfold.

The priest then took a golden bowl and let the girls blood fill it. When it was almost overflowing, he turned and walked towards Ivar.

The few guards who remained on the boat were passed a torch by the ones on the dock and lit the kindling. Once everyone was off the boat, one of the men walked over to the edge of the dock and threw liquified whale fat onto the fire making the whole boat become engulfed in flames. I could feel the heat of the fire even from on shore.

As the flames blazed one, lighting spread across the sky from behind the clouds.

"Here is the blood of the witch who murder my mother!" Ivar said raising a chalice, a spoil from raiding England, to the people who were now gathered in the great hall after the sacrifice.

The drunken villagers yelled cheers to Ivar's statement, raising their own wooden cups or horns and downed more mead that the serfs scrambled to serve.

"You know very well that was't Lagertha." Hvitserk spoke calmly from his seat next to me at the table that was positioned in front of Ivar and Freydis. I tried to sink in my seat so that I wouldn't be seen by them.

The crowd quieted and everyones eyes landed on Hvitserk. Looking around, I could see that some people looked uncomfortable. The ones that knew that wasn't Lagertha who died this night. Others were Ivar's devoted dogs and they glared at Hvitserk.

Ivar leaned forward in his chair, his upper lip curled in a sneer at his brothers' words. "You will drink to the death of Lagertha." Ivar threatened coldly, his eyes left his brothers' and landed one me.

His expression was unreadable but I could imagine that he must feel some way seeing me here with his brother.

"She is not dead." Hvitserk answered, taking a sip of his drink. "And you are not a God."

Now there were whispers. Ivar tensed even more in his seat, his eyes leaving me to look at his brother and I could see that he was starting to lose his control.

Freydis spoke, breaking the tense glare between the brothers. "Of course he is a God." Her voice was meant to sound sweet but I heard nothing but venom.

Ivar chuckled and raised his ale horn at Hvitserk, pointing his finger at him. "How dare you say that I am not a God, huh?"

Hvitserk rolled his eyes and got up from his seat, pulling me up by my arm with him. He put his hand on the small of my back and gently pushed me toward the open doors. A few of the guards stepped into Hvitserks' way so that he knocked his shoulder into theirs as a silent "fuck you".

"Can't you hear mighty Thor beating his hammer, welcoming me into the hall of the Aesir?!" Ivars' voice boomed making me jump out of my skin.

The villagers all cheered, some were beating their hands or the cups against the wooden tables all to show their loyalty to the now insane Ivar the Boneless. I was glad to get away from this new horror.

"Skol!" Ivar screamed witch made even more cheers erupt from the crowd.