Chapter 12
Ylva loved the water. She spent many of her days swimming. Although, she was used to the warm waters of Greece. Swimming related to the few pleasant memories she had from her childhood. Despite the harsh training and beatings she endured, being under the water always felt like freedom to her. Water could change its shape and could slip away in a manner of ways. Plus, under the water it was quiet and calm, Ylva developed the ability to hold her breath longer than her brothers and sisters because she loved to be under the water so much. Swimming was a large part of her training, as it strengthened her body greatly and waterways were a means to stealthy escapes and penetrations. Though water becoming a reprieve was not an intention of her keepers.
She spent much of her time on the voyage looking over the water they sailed upon, wishing she could submerge herself beneath its surface if only for a moment, but she knew the water was far too cold and her traveling companions would think her a crazy fool if she were to do so.
Ylva was looking at the water as she often did when Floki approached her, "are you afraid of the water?" He asked with a small chuckle.
"Quite the opposite" she replied with a small smile. "I happen to love water and swimming in it."
Floki giggled loudly at her reply, "perhaps you would like to swim now," he told her with a crazed look at the sky. It had grown dark and a storm was approaching them.
"Floki," a deep voice called out. "Helga seems to need you." It was Bjorn who had approached them and his words caused a worried look to cloud Floki's face as he scurried off to find his wife. "I'm sorry if he bothered you," Bjorn began. "Floki can be a little too much sometimes."
Ylva gave him a small smile as she looked past his broad shoulders to the crazed man tending his wife, "I do not mind." The two of them stod silent for a moment before Ylva asked, "why does Helga cling to that child so?"
Bjorn shook his head before slowly responding, "she lost their daughter several winters ago and I suppose this is her way of coping with that loss," Bjorn paused for a moment, "but it has taken until now for her to do something like this."
"The mind can be a useful tool, but it can turn against its master without warning," Ylva responded with a nod. Ylva had seen madness before and had seen what sorrow and loss can do to one's mind before. The ability to control emotions was a large part of Ylva's early training, and the techniques her masters used often broke many of the minds of those training.
"Why do you both look so serious," asked Hvitserk, smiling as he approached the two. Neither responded, so he followed by addressing Bjorn, "Uncle Rollo says we should be in Francia by midday tomorrow if the wind continues in our favor."
Bjorn responded with a nod and a grunt before turning to Ylva, "it will be raining soon, come join me and get under some furs before you get sick."
Ylva almost wanted to tell im that she would rather enjoy the rain against her skin, but thought it better to join him. Besides, she thought, the more time I spend with him, the closer I will be to gaining his trust.
Bjorn was right, the sky opened and down fell the rain. Fat, heavy drops hit the ships for hours, soaking all of the men through and through. Ylva was soaked as well, though not as much as most of the men. Bjorn had draped a large bear pelt over her before the rain had started and the two of them were tucked under a wax cloth that kept some of the rain off of them.
The moisture had caused Ylva's tunic to hug closely against her curves and the cold had made her nipples hard. The combination made her breasts very visible and drew Bjorns attention. Ylva did little to cover herself, as her eyes were transfixed on the water as its waves slashed in the rain. The two of them sat close together under the small covered space and it had grown dark, the rain clouds only allowing glimpses of the moon as illumination.
In those brief moments of moonlight Bjorn could clearly see Ylva's form under her wet garments and felt a heat rising up within him. He could not take his eyes off of her, his eyes being drawn to her hard nipples as her tunic clung to her breasts. He wanted her. He wanted to enjoy her body as he had heard Halfdan doing so before in the camp.
Bjorn glanced across the ship to make sure no one was watching before he reached across the small space and gently turned Ylva's face towards him. Bjorn placed a gentle kiss upon her lips, testing how far she would allow him to go. When she didn't pull away he kissed her again, harder. His kiss grew longer, deeper, and grew more passionate as her lips responded to his. He pulled her closer until she sat upon his lap. His large calloused hand reached under her tunic and grasped her soft tender breasts, eliciting a soft moan from her against his mouth. His hand grew more frantic in its groping as his finger began pinching at Ylva's already-hard nipples.
Ylva leaned into his touch as she allowed his tongue to explore her mouth. She accepted his advances, but was careful to never press her own. She needed him to want her, but she needed even more to stay in control of the situation. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone approaching and quickly disentangled herself from Bjorn and returned herself to her former position beside him, looking out over the ocean. To look at her one would think nothing had happened, but Bjorn breathed raggedly as he stared at her in 's confusion quickly dissipated as he too saw that someone approached. He did his best to calm himself after their interaction.
"Staying warm brother," Hvitserk asked with a smirk. Bjorn simply glared at him in response. "Better ready yourselves to disembark, we've reached Francia early," Hvitserk stated as he continued to smirk at his brother's disheveled appearance.
"Thank you," Bjorn responded as he dismissed his younger brother. He turned to look at Ylva then only to meet her piercing green eyes as she stared at him intently. "Perhaps we can continue this on land," Born asked with a raised brow.
Ylva's eyes were cold and hard as she assessed him, perhaps not," she responded coolly as she stood to ready herself to disembark. Perfect, she thought to herself, I have him. She walked away leaving Bjorn stunned by her rejection, but Ylva never really wanted him, she just wanted to test what power she could hold over him. She learned that her body was that power, because Bjorn, like so many other men Ylva had met, was a sucker for beautiful things, especially beautiful women.
