"Marry me, Estrid Gardsson," Ludvig muttered and Estrid was perplexed that he would even utter such a thing on her wedding day but she felt like all this was partly her fault.
Estrid was an arrogant lady yet she showed a more levelheaded side to this man showing his influence over her but she found this disrespectful.
She took a deep breath, and her body language changed from uncertain to certain.
"Lord Ludvig, do not disrespect me or my husband by ever proposing such again or I will have my father throw you out," Estrid said bluntly before walking away.
Ludvig clenched his fist in shame, he was desperate and he could not let her go, not yet anyways.
He was not ready to accept this reality but where was the man she was marrying? He was nowhere to be seen.
Ludvig looked at Estrid but his gaze was no longer gentle, he had a scowl because, at that moment, Estrid crushed the remaining pride he had.
A man's pride was both the greatest and most fragile aspect of himself.
The thundering cheers soon replaced the quiet atmosphere, and with that was the revelation of Tyr Ragnarsson.
He looked intimidating, and he was not only bigger than Ludvig but now held more status than him.
Ludvig could not believe an outsider was taking a woman that should have been his.
Why was he favoured over him, Ludvig was not ready to accept defeat, not yet.
-
"Is that Tyr?" A voice murmured and the whispers became louder and louder. Tyr did not like the attention he was getting because he did not know if the whispers were good or bad.
"I do not like this," Tyr muttered to himself as he walked around and awkwardly greeted people he had never seen before. He had to keep up appearances but his eyes soon met a man that he knew far too well.
It was the eye of Askild, who had the bandage over his other eye.
Askild could not believe how much Tyr had grown, he felt like a completely different warrior than the boy he knew.
Askild could tell by the look in Tyr's eyes that he had not forgiven what he had done but what could he do about it? Nothing.
Askild was not bothered and even dared to approach Tyr.
"Tyr Ragnarsson. My, my, you sure have grown," King Askild greeted him but this was his way of provoking a reaction from Tyr Ragnarsson.
"Hahaha! King Askild, I am surprised you could make it!" Tyr said with a bright smile and Askild was impressed by this.
He did not just grow physically it seems, he also improved his acting skills but before anything could transpire between them, Tyr's eyes caught a glimpse of his mother.
Tyr's hatred and anger immediately subsided, it has been so long since he last saw Lagertha and he excused himself before moving past Askild.
Lagertha was staring right at him with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.
She could not believe she was looking at her son right now. Tyr did not care who was looking, he ran to Lagertha like a child in desperate need of his mother's embrace and Lagertha swung her arms open.
After four long years, the pair were finally reunited.
Tyr was trembling the moment his arms wrapped around Lagertha.
In the darkness, in the moments when it seemed that hope was lost, the knowledge that Lagertha loves kept him going.
That single act was what allowed Tyr to survive those lonely nights and now he was meeting her once again.
"You have grown so big, Tyr!" Lagertha said, tears flowing uncontrollably.
"I missed you mother…" Tyr said, hugging Lagertha tighter and she realized that he just wanted to hug her without saying anything, he missed her warmth.
Lagertha sighed with a smile and muttered.
"I missed you too, son," Lagetha responded.
"HEY! ARE YOU TRYING TO BREAK HER SPINE? DON'T HUG HER SO TIGHTLY!" Bjorn appeared out of nowhere to yank Tyr off Lagertha.
"Bjorn, are you trying to pick a fight?" Tyr asked.
"A fight? We both know I will win…" Bjorn countered him as he reached for the weapon that was usually strapped to his back but there was nothing there.
"Right! They took it before we entered!" Bjorn remembered and this caused Tyr to giggle.
"This is exactly why it is not you getting married today, big brother!" Tyr mocked him and even Lagertha found this funny as she cackled.
"Do not encourage him, Mother!" Bjorn said but this only made Lagertha's cackle progress into full-on laughter because she remembered how Bjorn randomly asked a woman to marry him on the street so Tyr was not far off.
"Tyr… Is that really you?" A voice called out behind the dark-skinned Viking.
Tyr turned back but he was startled by what he saw as he moved a couple of paces away from this person.
"Who are you?" Tyr asked and Ragnar could not believe he did not recognize him.
"It is your father," Ragnar said with a smile.
"The father I remember was a handsome man, I do not know you," Tyr said and once again, Lagetha was caught laughing because this was the kind of joke that Ragnar occasionally played on her so it was funny seeing the tables turned in such a manner.
"I said the same thing when I saw that beard…" Bjorn muttered to himself.
They had no idea why Ragnar was keeping such a thing in the first place as it made him look like he was without a home.
Tyr could not pretend for long, however, as he embraced his father.
Tyr never thought this day would come, he thought about how it would go down so many times but to think they would all be reunited in such a way was a blessing.
"I am back home," Tyr said with a broad smile on his face.
