— 8. Uppsala

The following day, Tova joined Bjorn, Ragnar, and the others, including Athelstan, as they traveled to Uppsala on foot. They were walking up a cliff when Tova slipped on a piece of rock.

Bjorn quickly grabbed her by the waist as he stood behind her, steadying her before she could fall. "Tova, you must step up carefully. Be careful," He warned her and she nodded before cautiously stepping up without slipping this time.

It wasn't long before they reached a waterfall and when they did, Tova looked across it to lay eyes on Uppsala.

Her eyes widened and she smiled at the sight of it. It was just as wonderful as she had pictured it when Ragnar told her about it.

Moments later, they arrived at Uppsala to find it already crowded. Children laughed as they ran around and played.

Tova remained beside Ragnar alongside Bjorn. Ragnar smiled, wrapping an arm around the two before they entered Upsala.

They stopped in front of the temple and Tova looked upwards, smiling at the sight.

"Does he know?" Lagertha suddenly asked Ragnar, causing Tova to frown as she turned to them.

"No," Ragnar replied in a calm tone before they entered together.

Tova continued to frown, however, wondering what Lagertha meant. What did who know?

Together, the group stood together as one of the priests stood in front of them, holding a paintbrush and a wooden bowl of blood. "Hail to the Aesir and the Vanir," He began to say as he walked past each of them. He flicked the brush at them as he did so, leading to each of them having droplets of blood hit their face, "Hail to the gods and goddesses. Hail to Odin, Thor, and Frey. Hail to Vali, Sif, and Heimdall. Hail to Balder, Bragi, and Eir. Hail to Freya, Floki, and Frigg. Hail to Lin and Mimir."

As the blood splashed onto her face, Tova flinched slightly as she closed her eyes. She gradually opened them, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Hail to Njorn, Ran, and Tyr. Hail to Odin's spear, Thor's hammer. Hail to the mighty fecund earth. All..." The priest trailed off, freezing in place when he made it to Athelstan. He stared at him for a moment, just before doing the same to him as he did the others, "All hail."

"All hail," Tova spoke up alongside the others before they walked away to visit each of the Gods.

While Bjorn and Athelstan went on their own to see the gods, Tova ended up joining Gyda and Lagertha, whose first stop was Freya.

She walked toward the goddess' statue, placing her hand on the wood. "Freya, Lord, fill me with seed and give me a son," She whispered in a desperate tone, and Tova couldn't help but feel saddened, "Do as you will with me, make me blind or deaf if you want to, but give me a son before it's too late."

Tova shook her head slightly and walked away, letting out a large sigh. She began to think about how cruel it was that Ragnar had blamed Lagertha. Was it truly the woman's fault when she lost her son, even when she didn't do anything to truly make it happen?

She turned her head and locked eyes on Ragnar, who was standing in front of Odin's statue. She walked forward and stopped near the small pond, listening to what Ragnar was saying to Odin.

"Lord of Lords, Father, hear my prayer," He pleaded in a shaky tone, "Let me understand your will. Is it true that I shall have more sons? Like the Seer says? Accept the sacrifice I plan to offer you...And then answer me," He demanded sternly before turning to glance at Lagertha, who stood from afar, staring at him, "Who will bear me my son?"

Hearing Ragnar's words, Tova felt uneasy, realizing that if Lagertha didn't bear him another son, Ragnar planned to search elsewhere. It wasn't right.

____

In the room they were all staying in, Tova was sitting on a hammock beside Bjorn as the rest of the group stood or sat in other parts of the room.

Hearing men howling and barking loudly, Bjorn and Tova both jumped in fright before they began to smile in amusement. Just then, Ragnar entered alongside Athelstan, smiling widely.

"Can you feel it, Gyda?" Ragnar asked his daughter with a large smile on his face before he made his way over to Bjorn and Tova, "Can you sense the presence of the gods gathering here? They have left their bright halls to see us."

"They are here for sure," Torstein added in as Bjorn and Tova smiled widely, "They walk among us."

"And make their judgement on us," Leif added in and Bjorn sat up from his seat on the hammock beside Tova.

"So when do we offer our sacrifices?" Bjorn asked curiously as Arne made his way over to them.

"At the end of the festival," Arne informed the boy before standing back up.

"And in the meantime, we celebrate the gods and enjoy their presence in any way we can," Torstein added in and Tova smiled at the thought.

The men began to laugh and Ragnar turned. "Give Athelstan a drink," He insisted and Arne immediately made his way over to Athelstan with a drink.

Ragnar turned to look back at Bjorn and Tova, beginning to joke around with the two children as they both laughed loudly.

"I saw you speak to Freya," Bjorn informed Tova with a smile on his face, "What did you ask for?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you. Isn't it supposed to be a secret?" Tova asked as she glanced around, only to have Ragnar turn to give her a knowing look.

"Yet that didn't stop you from listening to what I spoke of with Odin," Ragnar commented, earning a glare from Tova.

"I asked for Freya to give me fertility when I am older so that I may have many children," Tova informed the group with a large smile on his face and Bjorn laughed.

"With who?" Bjorn asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Not you, that is for certain," She retorted, causing the people in the room to laugh.

"Perhaps you'll change your mind in the future when we are both older," Bjorn replied and Ragnar turned, exchanging an amused look with Rollo since they both found it amusing how Bjorn went from hating Tova when she first arrived to pining after her like a lovesick fool.

"Perhaps," Tova responded and turned, locking eyes on Siggy, who was staring at her closely.

She hadn't spoken to her since Earl Haraldson's funeral. She knew for a fact that Siggy had wanted to, but it was as though Ragnar never let Siggy anywhere near her. He didn't want Siggy near her. Tova didn't know why, but Siggy did.

He was already suspicious of where Siggy's loyalties lied and he feared that with enough time together, Siggy would turn Tova against him.

However, Siggy knew for a fact that would never happen. Tova loved Ragnar more than she would ever love Siggy. Tova would always view Ragnar to be her father. She would never view Siggy to be her mother. Not in the slightest.

____

That night, at dinner, while everyone else was outside celebrating, Tova was inside with Lagertha, Bjorn, and Gyda, having dinner. Ragnar stood near the door, looking out longingly since he would have rather been outside with the others than remain inside with his family.

"I heard a rumor today that King Horik himself may attend the festival," Lagertha spoke up and after a long moment, Ragnar turned before walking over to them.

"It is not a rumor," He replied in a calm tone, "I desire to meet him. There are great stories and legends told about him," He smiled, taking a seat at the head of the table as Lagertha brought a plate of food over to him, "Thank you."

Ragnar ate a spoonful of food, only to begin jokingly blowing out since the food was cold.

Gyda, Bjorn, and Tova turned to look at Ragnar, each of them smiling.

Outside, horns were blowing as music played and people laughed.

Lagertha turned, looking directly at Ragnar suspiciously. "You want to go out there, don't you?" She asked him and Ragnar stopped to turn to look at her as he sighed in defeat, "Please stay. Why can't you stay?"

Bjorn and Tova turned, exchanging a look with each other. They weren't blind. They noticed Lagertha and Ragnar weren't the same together as they were before Lagertha lost her unborn son.

Lagertha began to glare at Ragnar and soon enough, the group watched as Ragnar stood up and left to attend the celebrations outside.

____

That night, Tova laid asleep in the hammock beside Bjorn. Hearing footsteps, she opened her eyes and turned, watching as Siggy walked over to her.

"Come with me," She insisted in a hushed tone and Tova frowned, but immediately obeyed her.

She sat up from the hammock and made her way outside with Siggy. Soon enough, Siggy came to a stop and turned to face Tova, letting out a large sigh. "Do you truly hate us that much?" She suddenly asked Tova, who gave her a weird look, "It has been months since your father's death and you don't even look in Thyri and I's direction. Have you completely forgotten that I am your mother, that Thyri is your sister? Or have you completely replaced us with Ragnar and his family?"

"I understand that you are the one who birthed me, but I don't even know you," Tova complained as she stared up at Siggy.

"Because you make no attempt to know me!" Siggy argued as she stared at Tova in disbelief, "You make no attempt to get to know us. You remain at Ragnar's side at all times."

"Ragnar saved me from being a slave. He took me in like I was his own child. He gave me a name—" Tova began to say, only to have Siggy cut her off.

"You had a name!" Siggy exclaimed and Tova sighed in defeat, "You were Skadi Haraldsdottir and you were my child, my youngest child. It broke our hearts when you were taken from us. You were practically just a baby and it broke us when you were taken. We were never the same and just as we were beginning to heal from the loss of you and your brothers, you appeared at Ragnar Lothbrok's side after his journey to England. We were filled with joy and just when we got you back, you chose Ragnar over us. Your father died knowing that his little girl viewed his enemy as her father instead of him. It broke him."

"I didn't mean for it to happen," Tova confessed, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "But none of you even asked me if I wanted to return to Kattegat with you. He nearly killed Ragnar, forced his family to be on the run, and then forced me to come home with you all. You immediately treated me as though I had never been gone in the first place and expected me to feel the same. I didn't. I didn't know you. I didn't know any of you. You brought up memories that I didn't even remember and expected me to do the opposite. You made no attempt to help me adapt. Instead, you made me stand and witness as you people harmed those who I grew to view to be my family. You expected me to accept you all as my family when you barely even gave me time to truly know any of you."

"We were never given the time to do that because Ragnar killed your father," Siggy complained and Tova shook her head in response.

"It was single combat. Earl Haraldson agreed to fight Ragnar. There was a chance he would die and he accepted that. It was you who didn't," She replied in a calm tone and tears filled Siggy's eyes, "I want to get to know you and Thyri, I do. But don't expect me to turn my back on Ragnar and the others. They gave me a roof over my head, they accepted me. Most of all, they didn't make me choose between them and you," She explained, smiling sadly as she shook her head, "No. That was you and Earl Haraldson."

Tova started at Siggy for a moment. She wiped her tears and turned on her heel, returning back to the room she shared with the others.

_____

It wasn't long before Tova realized what was truly happening at Uppsala. Everyone had agreed long ago that Athelstan would be their sacrifice.

However, something involving Athelstan ended up occurring, which led to them being visited by the Seer.

"I have come to tell you that the sacrifice of this man will not please the gods," The Seer informed them in a calm tone and Tova frowned in concern, "He is neither willing nor is his faith acceptable to Odin. His heart is corrupt. He has not renounced his false God."

"Looks like your god finally came through for you," Ragnar leaned forward to whisper to Athelstan.

Tova shifted uncomfortably in her seat. During the time she had spent back in Norway, she became a true and devoted follower of the Gods and the thought that the gods would turn on them because of Athelstan made her feel worried. She didn't want that. Not in the slightest.

"Instead, one amongst you must agree to take his place tomorrow at the sacrifice. If not, then all shall fail," The Seer explained, causing Tova to feel nervous, "The gods in their anger will punish everyone, and withdraw their protection from all of us."

There was a long moment of silence as everyone contemplated whether or not they'd be the ones to sacrifice themselves.

Tova took a deep breath and with a determined look on her face, she was on the verge of standing up. However, before she could do so, Ragnar roughly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down to sit between him and Lagertha.

"What do you think you're doing?" He told her in a low, stern tone, "Sit back down."

Tova rolled her eyes, shooting Ragnar an aggravated look.

Arne was about to stand up, only to have Leif clap him on the back as he stood up. "Before anyone else can claim this honor, I desire to be sacrificed," He informed the group, causing Tova's eyes to widen in shock, "For the sake of my family, for the sake of all of you, my friends. But even more, for the sake of all humans in Midgard. I trust that the gods will find my sacrifice acceptable. In which case, I look forward to it joyfully."

Tova stared up at the man, smiling sadly as he lowered his head at the Seer.

The following day, the sacrifice had occurred and nine humans, nine goats, nine chickens, nine pigs, among other things were sacrificed and Tova had watched in astonishment. She was amazed by how the humans were so willing to offer themselves as sacrifices for the gods. She couldn't help but admire it.

The women sang a song as the animals and humans were brought forward. Each was brought forward as their throats were slit, their blood spilling into bowls.

She had seen nothing quite like it before.