Asger was suspicious of what was happening; it was strange that they were not killing them but holding them hostage.
"What is happening?" Asger whispered to Bjorn, but Bjorn had no response to this question.
They were being held hostage for some reason, he suspected they would not survive this ordeal, but something strange happened.
They instructed them to follow them, and the direction in which they walked was the throne room. Everyone walked like prisoners; even Erik listened because he had no interest in fighting small fries. He believed he could kill everyone here; no one was his equal.
"Are you going to kill us?" A random warrior asked, but he got no response.
It did not take long for them to arrive at the throne room, but something strange happened.
They were separated in sections, and Asger was carried alongside Tyr and Bjorn.
Tyr could see from the corner of his eyes that they were killing the people they had no use for as they were asking them to shift their allegiance, but loyalty built on fear was not true loyalty.
This was evident when they had no problem switching their loyalty so quickly.
"Where are you taking us?" Asger asked, but the man that was carrying them did not say anything but said something unrelated to the question he was asked,
"He does not wish for you three to be harmed, for the truth would soon be revealed," The man was awfully cryptic, but there was a sense of relief when they confirmed their life was not in danger even though this did not change the imminent threat.
They were smart, they did not slaughter indiscriminately, and they offered them a chance to switch their allegiance. A chance people took as Askild was no longer a King by law, so this meant that they did not owe him their loyalty.
Their loyalty rested in the King of Kattegat, whoever that was, but Asger knew he could not switch his allegiance; a few stood firm, but it felt like this was the end of King Askild.
-
Erik The Berserker was being taken by over fifty people, they were all with their swords drawn already, but luckily Erik was not interested in what was happening.
He was present but not his mind; he was lost somewhere, and everyone could tell he had no interest in them.
"I wonder… Could I kill King Askild?" Erik muttered to himself, and this caught everyone by surprise because everyone knew Erik's loyalty to Askild was absolute. Even as a joke, he has never had such extreme thoughts, but this was all thanks to Signy.
"Report this to him," The man leading the walk whispered to one of the lesser Vikings to inform the higher-ups of this development because if Erik was thinking this, there must be a way to use him.
Was Erik's sanity finally on the brink of disappearing, or was this an act to throw them off?
-
Askild was given a choice to kill Lagertha or his wife; he pondered on this because he was confident he would not have his way in this situation. Things were not looking good; he casually picked up the sword from the ground.
There was no way he would kill his wife, and he knew the consequences of killing Lagertha. He would not be that stupid when Ragnar became a King that even his men recognized.
"Birger, I know you hate me," Askild said, trying to stall for time.
"I do not feel anything for you, usurper. I do not hate you for what you did to me; I hate you for what you took from me," Birger said, standing firmly behind Liv.
She was sobbing and whimpering; this was strange, considering her husband was there.
It was almost like she believed he could not save her, like she wanted him to leave because she knew that he would choose he over Lagertha.
"You must understand, everything I did, I did for Kattegat," Askild said, but Birger saw through what he was trying and ripped the shirt off Liv, exposing her breasts.
"I played the role of a monster for so long that I asked myself, could I become that monster?" Birger started a monologue, groping Liv's breast with one hand.
".... The answer was yes," Birger concluded as his hand slowly left the trembling chest of Liv, by touching her he had violated Akild's pride but he could have done so much worse.
"I was responsible for everything, every single thing in Kattegat. I manipulated Arvid to carry out my will when I sensed he hated you…." Birger said, but Askild was trying his best to remain calm. He knew he needed to stay calm, or he risked losing the plot.
Birger was trying to provoke him into a reaction, and despite fuming with rage, he maintained his outward calm.
"That is nonsense; you just came to Kattegat…." Askild said; the view of his wife sickened him, but Birger had all the cards, and something told Askild he could lose everything with one wrong move.
"Hahaha! I have been watching you, Askild. I have been watching everything," Birger said, but his eyes were not focused on Askild but instead on Liv's body; he could feel something stir up in him.
"That is impossible; how did the person that took your place know all those things?" Askild questioned, but Birger was getting tired of the questions.
"Information can be taught, Askild, and impersonation is easy for one that is a lover of plays," Birger said, and it all made sense now that Askild thought about it.
'Birger' flared up when a play was mentioned like he was being triggered by it, but that was not the only thing he recalled.
".... You have changed, I cannot wrap my fingers around it, but something about you feels different…." Askild repeated the exact words that Asmund had said. [Chapter 91]
It all made sense; everything that had happened was Birger's doing, but who carried out the killing of Egil?
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