— 28. Queen of Mercia

Soon after returning to where they originally set up camp, Tova sighed as she walked past Bjorn. He had just placed down Porunn when he turned and locked eyes on Tova. He looked to be on the verge of saying something when Tova turned away from him and immediately walked past him.

She soon sat down at a table with Rollo and Floki, where Rollo immediately handed her a mug of mead. "Thank you," She told him, only to frown as she watched Aethelwulf take a seat with them at the table. She, Rollo, and Floki turned to Aethelwulf, each of them looking confused.

"Friends," Aethelwulf spoke up in their native tongue, causing Tova to smile in amusement.

She wondered how long it had taken him to learn that single word.

"Friend," He said again and Tova exchanged an eye-roll with Rollo, "No more enemies, but friends. My mind..."

"Different," Rollo answered for him and Aethelwulf smiled as he nodded his head.

"Different," He repeated after Rollo as he laughed. He turned to look at Floki, who seemed to be glaring at him, "We fight together," He paused and placed a hand on Rollo's shoulder, causing Floki to eye them both suspiciously, "We win."

"I agree, my friend," Rollo replied and Aethewulf smiled when Floki seemed to be more suspicious than ever, "We fight together, we win."

Aethelwulf patted Rollo on the shoulder before turning to Floki, who glared at him. "Forgive me. But these he is the last two person you wish to be speaking about an alliance with," Tova spoke up in his language, causing Aethelwulf to turn to her, "He hates your people and your god more than anyone. I'd stay as far away from him as you could if I were you."

Aethelwulf sighed at Tova's words. He nodded, just before standing up and leaving.

With that, Floki turned to Rollo, eying him intently. "So much for Rollo, the warrior," He commented and Tova groaned as she facepalmed herself, "The hammer to the cross, where is your soul? Where is your belief?"

"Floki, forget it," Rollo argued and shook his head at Floki, "This..." He trailed off and gestured around, "This is the future. We cannot fight everyone. There must be cooperation. Alliances. Just as there are among the gods. That is the way forward."

"Well, well," Floki replied, beginning to smile, "It seems that the magic of your Christian baptism has worked, after all."

"Here we go," Tova muttered, placing her face in her hands.

"You said the whole thing was a joke. Perhaps you took it seriously," Floki ranted as he stared at Rollo suspiciously.

"You know very well it was a joke," Rollo argued as he shot Floki a glare.

"No, I can see that you have all drunk from the poisoned chalice! And the joke, Rollo, is on you!" Floki complained, pointing his finger at Rollo before he stormed off.

Rollo sighed and shook his head as he watched Floki walk away. He turned, exchanging an annoyed look with Tova.

"Ignore him. Floki's just being..." She trailed off and sighed in frustration, "Floki."

_____

It wasn't long before they arrived at King's Ecbert's villa, Tova ended up walking in alongside Ragnar. They walked in together and Ecbert smiled, extending his arms out as he turned to them. While Ragnar had walked to greet the man, Tova smiled and walked over to Athelstan. She hugged the man tightly and he immediately hugged her back.

Moments later, the celebrations began and Tova walked elsewhere. She soon found herself a cup of wine and as she went to take a sip of it, her moment was ruined when Aethelwulf made his way over.

He grabbed her by the shoulder and wrapped an arm around her, a smile on her face. "Hello, friend," He greeted her happily and Tova rolled her eyes.

She turned to him, smiling sarcastically. "We are not friends nor will we ever be. You almost killed me once and I don't like you," She snapped at him and with that, she walked away, causing Aethelwulf's smile to fade.

It wasn't long before Bjorn joined her and when he did, they made their way over to Lagertha without saying a word to each other. "Oh! My children! Alive and well!" She exclaimed, wasting no time hugging each other.

She suddenly stopped, her smile fading as she glanced around to see Porunn nowhere in sight. "Where is Porunn?" She asked Bjorn, a concerned look on her face, "Is she not with you?"

"They are taking care of her," Bjorn informed his mother, a saddened look on her face.

"Is she hurt?" Lagertha questioned in a concerned tone as she stared up at her son, who nodded, "She should have never been in battle."

"She wanted to be like you," Bjorn replied, only to watch as Tova loudly scoffed before walking away.

Bjorn sighed and wasted no time following after her. "Are we ever going to talk about what you said?" He asked her and Tova immediately shook her head.

"No," Tova replied with an attitude, much to Bjorn's frustration.

"Why not?" He asked her in an aggravated tone.

"You have a wife," She responded as she stopped and turned to face him.

"I don't have a wife," He pointed out and Tova laughed humorlessly.

"You have a woman you love that is carrying your child and she is soon to be your wife," She argued as she gave him a cold look, "I see that as reason enough."

She sighed in defeat and began to walk away, only to stop when Bjorn spoke up once more. "Why didn't you tell me before?" He suddenly asked, causing Tova to freeze in place.

She looked disappointed as she turned to Bjorn, taking a moment before she finally looked him in the eye. "I didn't realize it until you were already with her."

Bjorn walked closer to her, noticing how saddened she looked. "Tova..." He trailed off, reaching his hand out to her.

"I don't wish to talk about it," She argued and Bjorn sighed, watching as she walked away without another word said.

______

After walking away with Bjorn, Tova made her way over to Ragnar, who was wearing a tacky helmet on his head. "What in the hell is on your head?" She asked him and Ragnar crouched down to meet her at eye view from where he stood.

"That doesn't matter. I heard the conversation between you and Bjorn. After I snapped at him about Porunn," He informed her and Tova sighed in response.

"He has always been envious of the bond you and I have. He thinks you treat me better and more like an adult. I don't know why," She complained, only to turn to see Ragnar shaking his head.

"That wasn't what I meant. I meant the part where you told him that you loved him," He responded, causing Tova to give him an annoyed look. Was that all any of them got from what she had said?

"Don't remind me. It slipped," She complained and Ragnar began to frown at her.

"Are you not happy?" He asked her and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"You don't understand—" She began to say, only to have Ragnar cut her off.

"Nobody understands," Ragnar responded in a calm tone, causing Tova to turn to look at him in confusion as he removed his helmet, "We're all free to do as we please."

Tova stared up at Ragnar, giving him a weird look. "Are we still talking about how I feel for Bjorn?" She asked him and Ragnar shrugged his shoulders before smiling at her.

With that, he walked away and Tova sighed. She walked off as well and soon found herself a cup of wine. She downed it in one gulp and placed it down. She turned, only to frown as she watched Kwenthrith walk over to her. "Why do you stare at me, Princess?" She asked the woman, who stared at her intently.

"Because you intrigue me," Kwenthrith admitted as she leaned closer to Tova.

"In what way?" Tova found herself asking the woman, a curious look on her face.

"You attract me," Kwenthrith confessed and before Tova could react, the woman placed a hand underneath her chin. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against Tova's.

Without a care in the world, Tova kissed back for a short moment before pulling away. She stared at Kwenthrith for a long moment, just before walking away without another word said.

She made her way over to Ragnar, who was smiling at her after watching the scene occur. "What was that?"

"I honestly do not know," She confessed, the two of them beginning to laugh.

Just then, Bjorn walked over, much to Tova's aggravation. She turned to Bjorn, looking annoyed. "What is it?"

"I wish to speak to you alone," He informed her and Tova glanced at Ragnar before looking back at Bjorn.

"Ragnar and I were in the middle of talk—" She began to tell Bjorn, despite it being a lie.

"We were not. She's lying," Ragnar complained and Tova immediately turned to him.

She turned to Ragnar and shot him an angry glare while Ragnar innocently smiled at her. She sighed in frustration and turned to look back at Bjorn, hesitantly nodding her head.

Bjorn grabbed her by the arm and led her away. They soon made it to a dark hallway and Tova sighed in response. "Where are you taking me?" She asked him impatiently and Bjorn soon came to a stop.

He turned to her and Tova glanced around, finding the hallway to be entirely empty. She turned, finding to Bjorn to be staring at her intently. "What is it?" She asked him and Bjorn didn't answer.

Unable to take the silence any longer, Tova scoffed and was about to walk away.

Just then, Bjorn grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back toward her. He smashed his lips against hers, much to Tova's shock.

Despite knowing it was wrong, Tova began to kiss back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continuing to kiss her, Bjorn lightly pushed her against the wall.

After a long moment, Bjorn gradually pulled away. He sighed and stared down at Tova, lightly stroking her cheek with his hand. "I should not have done that," He admitted in a whisper as he shook his head.

"You shouldn't have," Tova replied in a low tone as she stared up at him, her lips parted, "But you did."

"I did," Bjorn responded softly as he stared at Tova in silence.

There was a long moment of silence between them as they stared deeply into each other's eyes.

Just as Tova thought Bjorn was about to walk away, he cupped her face in his hands, passionately kissing her once more.

_____

More than an hour had passed before Tova had returned to where the celebrations occurred. It had died down and Tova walked over to Ragnar, who was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. "Where have you been?" He asked her with a suspicious look on his face.

"I—" She began to say, only to watch Ragnar's attention avert elsewhere when Bjorn walked past them and made his way over to Lagertha. She watched as Ragnar turned to her and smiled, beginning to piece everything together, "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Ragnar replied, mocking lifting his hands in surrender.

"You didn't have to," Tova argued as she rolled her eyes at him, "Your face said enough."

"My dear brother, my dear Burgred, before all these people, before King Ecbert of Wessex, King Ragnar and King Aelle of Northumbria, let me say that I have made peace with my past," The duo suddenly heard Kwenthrith speak to her brother, causing them both to turn to look at her, "I have come to terms with my family, with all the violence visited upon me. And now at last I am free from my anger, saved from my nightmares. And, finally, I know who I am. And so, my dear, let us celebrate our alliance, and drink to victory over my abusers."

"My dear sister, you have saved me," Burgred replied, smiling back at his sister, "I love you. How I have always loved you."

Kwenthrith smiled and nodded, glancing down at the cup of wine in her hand. "Salutations, my love," She told him softly as they clinked glasses.

While Burgred drank from his cup, Kwenthrith did not, which Tova was quick to notice. Burgred turned to the crowds, smiling as he raised his glass. The people in the room began to clap, only to frown when Kwenthrith poured her glass out.

Burgred frowned and glanced down at his cup. He quickly stood up, only to stumble as he began to choke.

Kwenthrith stared up at her brother and attempted to grab his hand, only to have him pull away.

Tova's eyes widened, watching as Burgred began to choke and cough up blood. She tilted her head, a part of her looking almost fascinated by what Kwenthrith had done. She would have never expected that, after all.

As Burgred hit the ground, dead, Tova turned, exchanging a look with Ragnar.

Kwenthrth gasped softly as she stared down at Burgred's body while Ecbert walked over to Tova and Ragnar. The three of them exchanged an awkward look with each other before watching Kwenthrith stood up, looking confident.

"My lords, ladies and gentlemen, please rise and raise your cups to the sole and only ruler of Mercia," Kwenthrith announced and Tova smiled slightly.

The people around her stood up and she and Ragnar were the first to raise their cups. "To the Queen of Mercia," Ragnar and Tova spoke up before Ecbert did the same.

"To the queen," Aelle spoke up as well after Ecbert.

Tova and Ragnar turned to each other and at once, they spilled their glasses of wine on the ground, causing numerous others to do the same. They smiled and at once, they tossed their glasses to the ground.

"Well, that was interesting," Tova commented in a sarcastic tone and Ragnar quietly chuckled.

Ragnar is Tova and Bjorn's biggest shipper I stg 😂