The sun was rising on the horizon, and the headless body of Birger had been thrown overboard as they had no use for it otherwise.
"We are nearing the shores of Kattegat…." Hagen said; he had spoken to Tyr a few hours prior because he knew what was happening to the child, but he also knew things would only get worse from now on as he was associated with Erik The Berserker, who had a nasty reputation.
Bjorn felt guilty; he was hesitant to approach Tyr because, in the end, he did abandon him.
He looked at him as a monster and not as his brother, but he knew he had to speak to Tyr and do it now.
Bjorn shot Asger a curious glance, and he was met with the approving nod of his commander.
He walked towards Tyr, and Tyr's tired eyes were not even present; it felt like he was there but also not there.
"Hey Tyr…" Bjorn greeted him, and Tyr's mind returned to the present, but he looked confused.
One could not blame him for the confusion because why was Bjorn here?
"W-What are you doing here?" Tyr questioned, but Bjorn kept silent until he sat beside his brother.
"I want to talk to you…." Bjorn muttered under his breath; Tyr knew he owed him no explanation as he already knew the kind of person Bjorn was, so this was not outside his character despite it stinging like a bitch.
Tyr kept quiet as Bjorn awkwardly tried to string along his words.
"I am sorry for judging what you had to sacrifice to win us the war…." Bjorn started his apology; the regret in his voice reverberated in Tyr's heart.
"If everyone turns their back on you, I should be among those that never do, and I am sorry I did. I did not know better. I only thought about myself and never how much these decisions affected you. I will understand if you do not forgive me, but I just wanted to let you know I am sorry, brother." Bjorn said; he was too ashamed to look Tyr in the eyes and hung his head, but he was curious to see what face Tyr wore.
He peeked and saw Tyr's wide smile; all his gloom seeped away from his body when his brother apologized.
"Of course I forgive you! You are my rival!" Tyr said, and the life returned to his lifeless eyes as the brother began talking about their accomplishments in this war; this included the titles they had both gotten.
Asger looked content as he saw the brothers laughing and talking; they had been far too much bad blood between brothers for far too long. Asmund and Birger was prime example of this.
Ulf and Ragnar were shaky as well, no one knew the current standing of their relationship, but one thing was sure, Ulf and Ragnar's relationship was not as solid as they believed.
Hagen could see the docking port and was glad they had arrived at Kattegat in one piece; it felt like they had been away for decades, but he was delighted to be back.
He missed his wife and children and could not wait to see them. The closer they got, the more anxious he became.
Erik saw something, he did not like this, and he knew that as long as Bjorn was in the picture, Tyr would not flourish into the warrior he knew he could be, but he was not stupid enough to incur the wrath of Ragnar Lothbrok.
He had no intentions of touching Bjorn, but he could sense something was amiss in Kattegat.
It was a gut feeling, but he did not need to tell anyone about it.
They neared the dock, but no one was there; there was no party there to welcome them, which was strange.
Asger looked at Ulf with disdain; he had taken away the one life that was his to take; the source of his rage and hatred had been stolen from him and left an emptiness in his heart.
"Everyone, be on your guard," Askild said out of the blue, confusing everyone, but they had no intention of questioning him and simply complied with this demand.
Despite not being in the best conditions, they were ready for whatever threat lurked in the city, and the ship arrived soon after.
"King Askild has returned!" Someone shouted, and the citizens went to greet King Askild, clapping and cheering as they welcomed their King.
Askild did not know what to make of this as this would typically be how they welcomed them, but something just felt off, and Askild could not wrap his fingers around it.
Tyr and Bjorn basked in the praise and cheers; they were so happy that their first war succeeded despite nearly dying on multiple occasions.
They left the ship one by one, walking and waving to the citizens as they carted the goods from the boat they had gotten from Vestfold.
"Where is mother?" Tyr asked Bjorn, they were supposed to be aware of their arrival as a messenger had been sent to them long before their journey, yet Lagertha was not there?
Tyr and Bjorn knew their mother would not miss this for the world, and if even the kids could sense something was amiss, there was no way Erik and Askild did not.
"Man, what a fucking bore," Erik muttered with a yawn right before slicing open the skull of a woman that was cheering them.
"Shut the fuck up and reveal yourselves…." Erik said, blood dripping down his ax as he did not care if his intuition was wrong; the burnt structure was much deeper in the city, so no one could see that at all.
And it was as Askild suspected; the people that were cheering for them kept quiet, but they did not show fear despite Erik just slicing open a woman's head.
"They don't have the eyes…." Erik laughed, the people of Kattegat always looked at him with fear, but these people did not couple with his gut feeling. He did not hesitate.
"Kattegat has…. fallen," Askild muttered with an exhausted grin.
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