After I made it back to camp after the horrid display in the woods I crumbled into the makeshift bed for Ivar and I. My head hit against the down pillows and I laid there for quite some time before I pealed off my clothes, leaving myself naked. I half heartedly checked my wounds before I pulled the furs up over my body. I called Vidar into the bed and as soon as the pup was at my side I draped an arm over him and fell into a deep sleep.

Pressure on my lips woke me from my deep slumber. I fought to stay asleep but the feeling of lips against mine became more apparent. My eyes fluttered open and I was instantly met by Ivar's striking blue ones.

Ivar took his lips from mine before he spoke. "I'm so sorry, little one."

He was still dressed in his armor as he laid beside me, propped up on his elbow. I blinked up at him a few times, confused at his apology. "For what, Ivar?" I sat up in the bed, letting the furs fall, revealing my naked body to him. I could see his eyes travel over my naked chest before he looked back up at me. My hands moved to his armor, untying the knots and letting his shoulder and breast pads fall off of him.

A hum left Ivar's closed lips as my fingers trailed down his back. When I got to the bottom hem of his tunic I immediately lifted the material up and over his head, leaving him naked from the waist up.

"I should have let you fight alongside us today. If I had let you come, you could have stayed by me, or with me on my chariot instead of sneaking onto the battlefield." He reached out and cupped my face with one of his hands. I felt myself melt into him while his thumb brushed against my cheek.

"I saw you out there today, when that Saxon was going for the kill and I-" Ivar's hand trembled, his grip growing tighter before he pulled me into him and kissed me deeply. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you, Briet."

Between his loving words, the use of my name and his half naked body, he had me completely under his spell. My arms wrapped around his neck while I moved my leg over his lap to straddle him. Now that I was eye level with him, I took this moment to look deeply into his so he knew I was being serious.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I never meant to hurt you, I . . . I wanted to prove myself, to my father and mother, to the Gods. . ." I paused, taking in a deep, shaky breath, "and to you."

Ivar furrowed his brows. "You don't have to prove yourself to me, little one." His hands roamed my bare back as he spoke. He closed the small space between us so that our naked chests were pressed against each other. "I always knew you would be a fierce shield maiden, from that time at the training circle where you bested Hvitserk and from the times I secretly watched you practice with your sword."

I looked down and off to the side, feeling stupid for admitting to him why I had disobeyed him. Though he did compliment my battle skills, I still felt as if he were just saying that to make me feel better.

"Briet," Ivar spoke softly. His index finger curled under my chin and lifted my head so that I was looking at him again. "Today as made me realize something. Something I never thought I would ever experience. I've realized that I don't want to live without you."

I felt my brows knit together at his words. "I am not going anywhere, Ivar." I reassured him, kissing him gently along his jaw.

"No, I mean," He let out a throaty moan as I trailed kisses and nibbled the soft skin of his neck. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me from him so he could speak clearly. "I see the way that Florian looks at you. And I know that I haven't been, the best towards you. Hmm? I want you to know that I did think about you every day that I was in England with Ragnar. That I do love you and I don't know what I would have done if you were killed today. So, I want to know if you'll be my wife?"

My fingers that were idly tracing patters on his chest stopped as he spoke the last part. Slowly, I looked up at him and could see the sincerity painted on his features. Though Ivar was confusing and normally had my head spinning, I could tell that when he looked at me like this that he was serious. My heart swelled inside my chest as his question played over and over in my head.

Not able to find words as tears prickled my eyes, I nodded like a mad woman in response. Ivar smiled wide, letting go of his held breath and wrapped his arms around me. His lips met mine and in an instant his tongue met mine.

"Mmm," He moaned before breaking the kiss. "That's a yes, right?"

I chuckled lightly. "Yes, sweet Ivar. I'll marry you."

The news of our engagement didn't stay quiet for long. We had planned to announce to everyone when we had successfully defeated King Ecbert but while we were on the long ships sailing towards our next conquest, Hvitserk had overheard us speaking. Ivar was very convincing as he threatened his brother to keep his mouth shut until we make it official. Hvitserk, being his normal jovial self, was elated for his youngest brother and I.

Now, the great army was marching towards Ecbert. Our ships were docked along the river while we walked inland. Everyone was on their guard, not wanting a surprise attack as we were relatively unarmed. I kept pace alongside Ivar's chariot while Vidar stayed a few yards in front of me, his head down towards the ground as he scanned the woods.

The beating of hooves grew louder before one of our scouts came riding out of the trees along the road we marched. The rider was an older man with long grey hair and a matching long beard. He pulled the reins back tightly making the horse stop.

"Bjorn, the Saxons are less than a days ride ahead." The scout announced.

Bjorn turned to Ubbe and nodded before he spoke. "Then here is where we will make camp and tomorrow we will meet the saxons in battle."

The warriors all dispersed from their ranks and started at setting up camp for the night. Within moments, men started chopping down trees for firewood and for tents while women set up fire pits so they could prepare food.

I saw Ivar shift in his chariot, his hand moved to his mouth where he gripped his jaw and then rubbed his fingers across his lips. "You all can make camp. I want to take a look around." His tone was cocky.

Ubbe rolled his head around dramatically to look at his youngest brother. The look on his face was pure annoyance. "What are you talking about now?"

Ivar's sly smile spread across his face as he looked down at Ubbe from his perch. "They will expect us to fight in a certain way. Why should we do that? Why don't we plan to fight in a different way and surprise them?"

"Our warriors won't understand what's happening. We fight in the shield wall. That's how we fight." Hvitserk answered, his tone calm as he tried to get Ivar to stop whatever he was getting at.

Glancing over to Vidar, I watched as he sniffed the air before he let out a low, almost inaudible growl. Oh no, I thought, not now!

"But we have a bigger army now." Ivar continued. "And they have a bigger army now, Hvitserk. We cannot fight in the same way."

Without hesitation, Vidar bolted out into the forests. I looked up to Ivar who watched the wolf out of the corner of his eye as he pressed on. My eyes darted back in the direction that Vidar took off in. The sons of Ragnar were clearly about to have another heated debate on what they should do and who should be in charge of it. Surely it's not something I would have to stand around and be apart of. I swiftly took my bow from around my shoulder and started in Vidar's direction to bring him back but I barely moved when Ivar's hand grabbed my still wounded shoulder.

My head snapped back up at him and before I could even answer he shook his head no at me. "He's an animal. He'll find his way back." He said softly.

Sigurd scoffed. "It's too late to change now."

"Who are you to say that? Shut your mouth!" Ivar spat back at him.

"We are brothers! Together!" Bjorn bellowed. His brow was knit together in frustration. In the past month of sailing and battling here in England, the brothers had done nothing but bicker and the eldest showing just how over it he truly was. "Why do you want to change the tactics?"

"Do you want to win, brother?" Ivar asked. Bjorn rolled his eyes and was about to walk off when Ivar leaned over the edge of his chariot so that he was eye level with the impossibly tall Bjorn Ironside. "Listen, come with me Bjorn. Let's investigate the battle field. Perhaps instead of a narrow and small place, we should stretch the battlefield across a larger area, many miles. And use the landscape to our advantage. Ditches, hills, woods."

Ubbe, Hvitserk and Bjorn all shared looks as Ivar's words sank in. Sigurd on the other hand, stood there with his arms across his chest, furious that his brothers would even entertain Ivar's idea.

"What do you say?" Ivar asked, his voice quiet and eyes darting quickly between the three eldest.

"If it works, it is a good plan." Bjorn answered as he closed the few steps between he and Ivar. "If it doesn't then it is a bad plan."

Ivar chuckled softly to himself, his smile was from ear to ear as he realized that Bjorn had agreed to go and scout the land. Hvitserk and Sigurd turned to walk away but not before Sigurd scoffed loud enough for Ivar to hear and rolled his eyes. Clearly Sigurd was annoyed that Ivar was getting his way, again. I couldn't help but purse my lips at the boy as he left. Growing up close to Sigurd, I always saw things from his eyes but now that I was closer to Ivar, I couldn't help but notice that Sigurd is the one who constantly starts things with his brother.

Bjorn turned and with one hand, motioned for a passing warrior to lend him his horse so he could go with Ivar and survey the land.

Ivar turned and looked down at me, giving me a victorious grin. "Stay here, little one." Normally, I would fight him on his commands but the dull ache in my shoulder and thigh reminded me that I truly did need to rest.

"What are you waiting for?" Bjorn said in a teasing tone before he commanded his horse to move. "YA!"

Ivar did the same to his horse and within no time, both of them were out of sight in the surrounding woods. I let out a slow breath as I scanned the forest floor in hopes of seeing Vidar's head pop up from the ferns and brush that covered most of the ground.

"Briet!" Hvitserk called. I turned and found him sitting under an already erected tent holding two horns of ale. I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face as Hvitserk held out one of the horns in my direction.

As soon as I made it to Hvitserk, I grabbed the ale horn from him and took a long swig. Hvitserk smiled and chugged his down. One of the slave women who was setting up this eating station gasped and dropped her pitcher full of ale before she was able to refill Hvitserk's cup. My eyes followed her line of sight to see what had frightened the poor girl, silently hoping it wasn't the Saxon's with a surprise attack.

To my surprise, Vidar pranced his way through the crowd of people to my side. A dead rabbit was clutched in his jaws and blood splattered his face. Vidar dropped the animal at my feet and looked up at me, the slightest wag in his tail.

Bjorn and Ivar had successfully scouted the surrounding lands and made a new battle strategy for the morning. The groups of soldiers were already organized and knew where they must be come sunrise and what they must do. The most surprising order was Ivar's to me. Ivar had planned for me to stay between himself and Floki tomorrow during the battle. Not only did this take me completely off guard but also made my love for him grow even more.

My first time on the battle field, I had snuck out and could have been killed from my eagerness to prove myself. Now, at least I could fight but would still have some form of protection. Not that being killed in battle was a bad thing, there was a time in my younger years that I dreamed of Valhalla but now I seemed to have something to live for.

The sun peaked through the trees, covering everything in beautiful golden light. On a normal day, I would just be waking and getting my day started but today... today I was already dressed in my armor and ready for battle.

The battle horns blasted, filling the small valley with the victory sound. We hadn't just won, we destroyed the Saxons. Aethelwolf yelled the English word for retreat and his men couldn't run fast enough in the other direction. Ivar and Bjorn had done it. Their strategy left the Saxons confused, tired and unable to think straight as we had them running in different directions. When we finally got them to this small valley with cliffs on either side, they were not only exhausted but surrounded.

As the Saxon soldiers all started to flee, I couldn't help myself but walk into the chaos and start attacking the few opposing soldiers who stayed and tried to kill as many of us as they could. Though my arm was still sore, I plunged my sword into my enemy. I felt the blood splatter on my face as the light in the soldiers' eyes slowly went out.

"What are you celebrating?!" Bjorn shouted over the cheers of his countrymen. "We are not done, we haven't won yet!"

Bjorn was right, though we had defeated Aethelwolf's army, we still had to take King Ecbert. Bjorn half heartedly cleaned his sword on the cape of one of the dead saxons and then held his blade to the sky. This display of his still bloody weapon caused the Norsemen to Cheer as we all started to march towards the King.

Ivar told me to stay by his chariot so we wouldn't lose each other should anything happen as we marched. Vidar stayed close by my side, as he did all morning during battle. His ears were perked up and twitched at every strange noise, ready to defend or attack.

The wooden gates to the village were closed as we approached. A few pillars of smoke rose from behind the surrounding walls indicating that the towns people must still be unaware of our arrival. Butterflies fluttered in my belly with every step closer. Not only had we defeated Aethelwolf's army but now I was to take part in my first raid.

A handful of our warriors pushed passed the crowd carrying a large tree they had chopped down on the way. A few let out a loud yell of excitement before they ran at full speed and rammed the tree into the gates. The wooden gates burst open without a single sign of defiance.

Even this being my first raid, I thought it strange that the gates were so weak. They knew we were coming, why would they leave themselves defenseless? I tightened the grip on the hilt of my sword and prepared for a swarm of Saxon warriors. Surely this was just to catch us off guard.

Bjorn stood his ground as Harold, Halfdan and their men stormed into the village. "Be careful, it could be a trap."

The men swarmed the place, overturning, rummaging and entering every building. In no time at all, Halfdan came from around a corner, raising both of his arms to Bjorn. "It's empty, they've gone!"

The remaining warriors waisted no time once hey heard Halfdan say the town was empty. All Helheim broke loose. Nothing was left untouched.

In the hours of looting and burning that ensued, King Ecbert had finally emerged from his hiding place inside his castle and surrendered himself to us. The sons of Ragnar had then taken him away to discus their terms of peace. No doubt, they would ask for a large parcel of land to start a settlement but something inside me knew that Ivar would not settle for something so simple.

Their meeting had ended not too long ago. The sons had all parted ways, a similar look of annoyance on all of their faces. Ivar found me sitting on a now empty barrel, cleaning the blade of my sword. As he slithered by me he didn't bother to slow down, he merely nodded his head in a silent motion for me to follow him.

"Ivar," I called, scrambling to my feet and shoving my blade into its sheath. "Ivar, wait up."

Ivar kept his pace until he got to his chariot where he then struggled to pull himself up onto his seat. I could tell that the harsh exhales from his nose wasn't from him being tired, but from him being angry.

Knowing better than to try and speak with Ivar when he was like this, I busied myself with cleaning Ivar's chariot of the gore from earlier this morning. Every now and again I would look up to him to see if he was calming down but he just seemed to get even more angry.

Ivar took his helmet from the floor of his chariot and spit onto the metal before he began to vigorously clean the blood splatters. I could hear him grunting every so often as he was sorting out whatever had transpired behind the castles walls in his mind.

"Not that I need to ask, but what is your opinion?" Bjorn asked quietly as he approached Ivar.

Ivar paused his scrubbing and took a long moment before he looked to his brother. "About whether to accept the gift of land in east Anglia from King Ecbert?"

"Yes." Bjorn answered.

I watched as Ivar set his helmet aside, resting it on the edge of his chariot. "Well, since you do ask me, my opinion is that we should accept the land."

A small, barely noticeable smile appeared on Bjorns' face. He crossed his hands in front of his waist and nodded his head in a silent agreement. If Bjorn and Ivar seem to agree on this then I wonder why Ivar came out of their meeting so angry in the first place.

"But I have one condition," Ivar spoke, dipping his head down so that he was almost face to face with Bjorn. "That Ecbert dies. And that I blood eagle him."

I gasped and stopped fidgeting with Ivar's horses armor. He wanted to blood eagle the Saxon king? Memories from the other night flooded my mind and I felt my stomach churn and bile start to rise in my throat.

"Otherwise, there is no deal." Ivar said, pushing the matter.

Bjorn looked away, clearly done with the conversation. "You wouldn't be able to stand up long enough to blood eagle him, Ivar."

"I imagine me sitting." Ivar retorted as Bjorn was already walking away.

Following Bjorn's announcement of the deal between King Ecbert and the Norsemen, a massive feast was planned to be held in the village square later this afternoon in celebration. The sons of Ragnar and a few others, like Harold and Halfdan left to sign the English treaty while many of the warriors prepared for the feast to come.

A long table was set up on a stage at the front of the square where the sons of Ragnar and myself sat, overlooking the festivities. Many tables were scattered around the square and filled with warriors who were digging into the foods that were prepared.

Elaborate bottles of drink called wine were being passed around as well as English ale and other English foods along with familiar meats and vegetables. Once the food was being set down on our table by the few thralls, I felt my stomach grumble. After everything that had happened today, I was absolutely starving.

Ivar chuckled as he watched me snatch the large plate of pork and serve myself a huge helping. One of the thralls was walking between me and Ubbe and I hurriedly grabbed a few pieces of bread from her serving plate and shoved one in my mouth.

"Do save some for the rest of us, little one." Ivar laughed, stealing a piece of meat from my plate. I smiled back at him as I tossed the other piece of bread to Vidar who was laying at my feet.

Ivar placed his hand on mine and gently squeezed. My eyes met his ice blue ones and the familiar feel of butterflies erupted in my belly. I don't think I could ever get sick of the way this man makes me feel. I really did love him, despite how difficult he could be.

"I am going to make the announcement," Ivar whispered as he leaned in closer to my side "about us being married."

I couldn't stop the smile that grew on my face as he spoke. Before I could say anything back, however, the blaring sound of the battle horn sounded from the other end of our table. Ivar and I both looked over to Bjorn who was standing, blowing on the curved horn to quiet the roar of the crowd.

"Friends!" Bjorns' voice boomed over the crowd. "No one will ever be able to doubt what we have achieved! An army of all our peoples, and we have defeated not one but two English kingdoms!" He jerked his arm forward as he spoke the word defeat, spilling some of the mead from his horn. Many of the vikings in the crowd all raised their fists in acknowledgment of Bjorn's statement, cheering and drinking as they did so. "We have many things to be happy for and to celebrate!"

Before Bjorn could continue, Ivar interjected. "Yes, brother. We do have many things to celebrate!" Ivar looked over to me and flashed me a genuine smile making my heart race. Ivar opened his mouth to continue but was cut off immediately by Hvitserk.

"My bother Ivar plans to marry the beautiful and fierce shield maiden, Briet!" Hvitserk declared.

The crowd of warriors all raised their cups in celebration and cheered for the news of our engagement. Ivar glared across the table at Hvitserk who was drinking merrily, clearly excited he was finally able to spill the news to everyone.

I couldn't help but laugh at the looks Ivar and Hvitserk were sharing as I sipped the English wine that was poured for me. I caught Sigurd's look of sheer disgust out of the corner of my eye and quickly looked away and out into the crowd.

As soon as my eyes landed on the crowd, I managed to make direct eye contact with Florian. While everyone around him celebrated our announcement, he sat there, arms crossed and stoic as he stared back at me. He shook his head in disapproval while he slowly brought his cup up to his lips and drank, never breaking eye contact with me.

"For us, the sons of Ragnar," Bjorn continued, "our first duty was to avenge the death of our father, and that we have done. But also, we have achieved our father's dream. We have the legal right to the land and to farm here. It is up to all of you to use this opportunity, to send over new settlers, young families! Unfortunately I will not be here to see this new settlement grow and thrive. My fate will take me elsewhere. I always knew I had to return to explore the Mediterranean sea. And now, I feel free to follow my destiny. But, my brothers will be here with you. Skol!" He raised his horn to the crowd to toast.

Ivar's expression changed from his elated one back to his normal, angry one before he turned to address the Norsemen. "I will be here, but not to settle down and plow! Who wants to be a farmer now? Hmm? We have a great army and we should use it! There are many other places that I want to attack and raid! And those of you who feel like I do, you should come with me. And those of you who don't, ask yourself 'Who can stay in our way now?'." Ivar's mention of further raiding excited the warriors.

Ubbe leaned over towards Ivar and spoke, quietly so the crowd would not hear. "You cannot lead the army Ivar. Hmm?"
"I don't want to, Ubbe. All I'm saying is that, for those who are still brave enough to raid and find adventure, then I will lead them. You can put on an apron and settle down if you want to." Ivar snapped back.

"It will take great man, Ivar. To steak a claim here and defend it." Hvitserk responded as he was chewing on a leg of smoked meat.

"Ah... that does not sound like yourself, dear brother." Ivar says. "The Hvitserk I know loves to raid. He's a real viking. But you just said that is not the viking way. So..." Ivar glares at Sigurd, not even bothering to ask his opinion, before he turns to address the crowd. "Who among you will follow me? Who will follow me into battle? For the love of fame, for the love of Odin, our All Father?!"

"Don't do this Ivar! We are all the sons of Ragnar. We have to stick together." Sigurd chides in disgust, annoyed that Ivar is trying to break up their brotherhood.

Ivar scoffed, "Frankly, dear Sigurd, I don't give a damn what you say. The truth is, I wouldn't piss down your throat even if your lungs were on fire." As he spoke his insult loud enough for the crowd to hear, he slowly poured out his ale onto the ground in a show of what he was describing.

A few members of the crowd laughed loudly as they heard the insult coming from the youngest son of Ragnar while others snickered quietly or ignored the bickering all together. The unsteady relationship of the brothers was well known at his point and many of the warriors wanted nothing to do with it.

Ubbe, fed up with Ivar making a scene, slammed the blade of his knife into the table as he glowered at Ivar. This was his not so subtle way of telling Ivar to shut his mouth before things got worse.

"Well maybe that's because you're not really a man, Ivar!" The vikings all paused as Sigurd's words fell upon the crowd. "Are you, boneless?"

Members of the army all started to murmur and snicker. The rumor that Margrethe spread back in Kattegat had now spread all through Scandinavia. That Ivar wasn't really a man and though I knew better, the rumors didn't end there. Many of the townsfolk of Kattegat thought that one of my duties as Ivar's slave was to moan and scream and call out Ivar's name every night, loud enough for everyone to hear in hopes that it would kill the rumor of Ivar being boneless.
I looked to Ivar as he no doubt heard the army all whispering about him not being a man. Ivar's hand started to tremble, his eyes wide as he glared down at his plate. His lips slowly turning down into an angry frown.

Bjorn spoke up again, trying to change the subject. "So, who is going to stay and farm?"

Harald stood, his horn of mead raised, "I would like to stay and farm, but I have other plans. Skol!"

"As for me," Halfdan spoke as he also stood up next to his brother, "I want to go with Bjorn. I want to see the Mediterranean."

Bjorn rose from his seat and jumped up onto the table and quickly down off the other side of it and made his way to Halfdan. "Then it seems, the only thing that really kept the sons of Ragnar together was the death of their father."

"Poor Bjorn, it is you who doesn't want to keep this great army together. It is you, who wants to go away to sunny places. Everyone else can follow me!" Ivar spat.

Sigurd rose from his seat in anger. "I do not want to follow you, Ivar! You are crazy. You have the mind of a child!"

"And all you do is play music, Sigurd!" I grabbed Ivar's hand and held it tightly in hopes that it would get him to calm down without making a scene.

"I am just as much a son of Ragnar as you are." Sigurd argued back.

"I'm not so sure." Ivar responded "As far as I remember, Ragnar didn't play the oud and he certainly didn't offer his are to other men!" Ivar lied.

The crowd laughed at Ivar's comment. At this point, they didn't give a shit if the comments being spewed were true or not, they were simply amused at how the two bothers argued like children. Ubbe looked on in anger at Ivar like a disappointed father.

Sigurd scoffed, "You make me laugh, just like you do when you crawl around like a little baby."

Ivar ripped his hand from mine and slammed his clenched fists onto the table. "Shut your mouth!"

"Enough!" Bjorn boomed.

"This has nothing to do with you!" Ivar bellowed, pointing a shaking finger at Bjorn.

"Whats the matter Ivar, you can't take it?" Sigurd teased, opening up his arms questioningly.

Ubbe could see Ivar turn inhuman as he sat there shaking in rage. He knew that if this didn't stop this instant, Ivar would do something he regrets. "Ivar, do not listen to him."

"Sigurd, stop it!" I yelled, angry with him for continuing to push Ivar over the edge.

"No, I guess it must be hard for you now that your mommy's dead. Knowing that she's the only one who really loved you." Sigurd spat, knowing that this would be the thing that truly gets under Ivar's skin.

"Ivar," Ubbe started but it was too late. Ivar grabbed his axe that was hanging from his belt and raised it.

"Ivar!" I screamed as the axe left his hand and sailed through the air as fast as a lightning strike and landed in Sigurd's chest.

The warriors all fell silent as Sigurd stood from his spot. On wobbly legs, he took his dagger from its sheath on his belt and stumbled towards Ivar. He only made it a few steps, however, before he fell to the ground at Ivar's feet.

Sigurd was dead and Ivar was the one who killed him.