Hatred for Heahmund and then confusion grew on her face as they walked further into the hall and stopped in the shadow of the King. She could see Ubbe eyeing Björn and Lagertha as they walked. All three visitors looked ragged and exhausted. What were they doing here, and why were they here together?

"Lhyrie and Ubbe," Alfred beamed at them. "God has showed us His most precious gift. We will need to delay the festivities of the day with this new arrival," he said, nodding toward Heahmund, and returned his gaze to them. "You have my upmost apologies."

Ubbe nodded his head silently, pressing his lips together from spewing words toward the man at the King's side. His fingers still twitched at his side. Headmund had not taken his eyes from Lhyrie as they walked or was it her son he was staring at. Did he feel remorse over the stress he caused them? Either way, her legs fought the urge to run.

"Björn and Lagertha," Alfred turned toward them. "You are welcome here in the manner your kinship is: as guests. I will have rooms readied for you." Lagertha bowed her head slightly to him. "Heahmund, let us council," the King said, guiding the bishop through an alcove. Heahmund had to finally pull his eyes from Lhyrie and her breath steadied and muscles released their tension.

After the pair were out of sight, they forgot about Heahmund for the moment and rushed over to Björn and Lagertha off to the side of the landing. Ubbe and Björn quickly embraced as Lhyrie moved slowly to them, her feet still cautious of the ground Bishop Heahmund had just walked.

"Brother," Björn gasped. "It is good to see another familiar face."

"It is a welcome surprise," Ubbe told him, looking his elder brother up and down. When Ubbe pulled away, the dirt and dust of has brother's travels lingered on his white clothing.

Björn gave a deep sigh of relief of their circumstance and then noticed the gown Ubbe was wearing. "What is this?" He asked with disgust, pulling at the shoulder of the garment. "Christian?" He spat, nearly pushing his brother away.

Ubbe straightened more in his spot and ran a hand over his mouth. "It is – ,"

"How can you do this to our father?" Bjorn erupted. "He is in Valhalla! He is dining with the Aesir!" He flung his arms up with emphasis, his arm ring chiming on his wrist and it echoed around the rather quiet room.

"Björn, it's complicated," Lhyrie piped in. Björn moved his scowl to her face as he also took in the garment she was wearing. When his eyes fell on the bundle she was holding, his face softened lightly.

"It is for my son," Ubbe countered, seeming to grow taller in his spot over Björn. If there was one person other than his father Ubbe admired, it was Björn. The strain it took for him to challenge his brother about their decision was enormous.

Lagertha moved closer to Lhyrie with a smile, to diffuse the tension between the two men. She moved cautiously to see how she would react. Lhyrie couldn't place their last interaction in Kattegat as it seemed years ago but felt like it was a hostile one. "Congratulations are in order," she said sweetly, gently moving a piece of swaddle. "What is his name?" She pulled her eyes up to look into Lhyrie's.

"Ragnar." Ubbe answered sharply, his eyes unmoved from Björn, still defending their circumstance.

"That is a strong name," Lagertha said. Lhyrie thought she heard an ache in her voice as she said it, but the moment passed quickly. Ragnar cooed then and opened his bright eyes to see the strangers huddled together. Lagertha gasped and then smiled. The Ragnarsson eyes shone in him, and again Lhyrie thought something gnawed at the woman opposite her.

Björn shifted his feet restlessly. He was still raging fire over the thought of his brother converting but would remain silent for a moment at least to welcome his nephew. It allowed Ubbe the moment to cool.

Lhyrie shifted Ragnar to one arm and placed the other around Ubbe, grounding him gently away from his anger. "We have extra clothes in our rooms," Lhyrie started. "Alfred said he would secure rooms; until it is done, would you like to change clothing? We need to as well."

Björn tightened again, remembering the reasoning behind their dress, but nodded his head anyway. They walked silently and awkwardly back to their rooms, the new visitors clearly taking in the new surroundings around them. People stopped and plastered themselves on the walls as they passed, seeing the new heathens at the royal court. Just as they were getting used to Ubbe, another set came to disturb their way of life. The whispers started around them.

Once changed, at least Lhyrie and Ubbe felt more comfortable; Lagertha and Björn were stiff in their spots. Ubbe raised his eyebrows in silent question. "What happened?" He asked, trying to break the awkwardness that lingered.

Lagertha gulped and just shook her head, lowering her head to take note of her feet. Björn rolled his eyes and started, "Ivar, Hvitserk and Harald teamed with Rollo."

"How did Heahmund come to be with you." Ubbe asked without question. His eyes were sharp as he mentioned the bishop's name, as though he was stabbing his words through the man instead of his axe. "He was struck down."

"We found him injured," Lagertha said, "I had him spared." She shot an interesting look toward her son, but her voice remained soft.

"How did you come to be here?" Lhyrie asked herself.

"They attacked again… we were out maneuvered," Lagertha explained, the images of the battle playing behind her eyes. "After Kattegat was lost, Heahmund recommended we come here for safety."

"We could have used you again, Ubbe," Björn said softly, too quickly. Ubbe jerked his head toward Björn as though he was trying to halt his words.

Her stomach dropped and for the second time today her head spun slightly. "Again?" Lhyrie shot a look toward Ubbe that made him seem to cower under her stare, but it seemed to focus the room that began to sway around her. He had been so silent on the few months that passed between them, she assumed he would be as lost as she was to their presence in Wessex.

He shifted restlessly under her glare. "Let us talk privately," Ubbe coughed hoarsely.

"You had more than a month to speak privately," she snapped, the words coming more forceful than she knew. Ubbe scoffed and lightly shook his head, but remained in his spot, silent as ever. Björn and Lagertha exchanged glances across the room.

"Ubbe was present for the first battle of Kattegat," Björn said matter of factly. Of course, that's why he said Heahmund was struck down - he saw it, or he did it. Either way, this meeting with him today was not the first since that night they were separated.

Another glare was given toward him.

Ubbe cleared his throat, trying to bring some moisture back to it. "I would have had the support of Lagertha's armies if I helped during the battle," he said, looking over toward Lagertha who nodded slowly. "If I needed them here," he added quickly. Ubbe sighed and rubbed his brow. "I never should have stayed. I should have been here."

"Yes… you should have," she said bluntly, wanting to cross her arms across her chest, but didn't. She could see Ubbe's mouth twitch at her words and silence hung between the four of them for a time. "Where is Torvi?" Lhyrie asked, breaking the quiet, noticing for the first time Björn's wife wasn't with them.

It was his turn to sigh. "I pursued a Sami princess who came to our aide." Björn stated simply. "She left me."

Lhyrie burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter; it came very soft at first and grew as Björn and Ubbe looked at each other and then back at her curiously. From the frustration on Ubbe's lack of information here to the lack of it a year ago with Margarethe, it appeared to be a cycle Ragnar and his sons could not break. And now with Björn also showing infidelity, it boiled over her frustration.

"You are your father's sons," she was able to say between laughs. Lagertha squeaked out a laugh as well and Ubbe and Björn stared blankly at them for the few seconds as the laughter stayed with them.

"Are you done?" Ubbe asked dryly once the smiles left their lips. Lhyrie nodded, trying to control herself again.

"She went to Iceland with Floki's group," Björn answered finally.

"He found it?" Lhyrie asked.

"The Land of the Gods, as he has named it," Lagertha said slowly.

"It would be an honor to see one day," she thought absentmindedly and let her mind wander. So much had changed over the months – since the little over year and a half since returning from her family's travels back to Kattegat. Now is there a Kattegat to go back to? So little Ubbe had told her that he knew. What else was he hiding from her? There was something else lingering, she could sense. They had known each other too long for to her not know that shuffle in his stance meant something.

"What of your new wife then, Bjorn?" Lhyrie asked, trying not to find any amusement behind her words.

"The Sami were killed in the second battle."

Any amusement she felt drained instantly. "I am sorry, brother," Ubbe told him sincerely. Lhyrie nodded with him.

"She was a rare woman, that was certain," Björn lamented.

Something in Björn's words made her shift in her spot, suddenly uncomfortable. Pressing herself against the back of her chair, the hand of Earl Vik lingered on her thigh as Björn thought fore-longing on his late partner. His words were Earl Vik's during that feast. There was a glimpse of a desire seen as Björn said them, which only grew the comparison as Vik looked like he was hunting that made her even more uncomfortable.

A knock came to the doors then to tell Björn and Lagertha rooms were ready for them down the hall and Lhyrie reveled in the small relief of awkwardness that developed between them following their revelations. Lagertha gave a lingering pause at Ragnar's bassinet prior to leaving, gazing fondly on the infant. Ubbe and Björn were half-brothers, Lhyrie wondered how much Lagertha saw her previous husband in her small son. She also reasoned Lagertha was the closest thing to a living grandparent for Ragnar right now.

The door shut closed and left the room stale as Ubbe and Lhyrie stood unmoved in their spots, silence hanging between them. Neither were looking at each other, Lhyrie toward the door, Ubbe toward Ragnar. Finally, Lhyrie cleared her throat and pulled both their attentions back to the two of them present in the room.

She wasn't angry with him for keeping secrets, especially with how traumatic the last year and and half has been for him. What more horrors had he witnessed since they were pulled from each other? She was, however, disappointed on some level something other than their ultimate reunion was on his mind, no matter how selfish that made her seem.

"I wish you would have told me yourself," she tried to say as neutral as possible, stopping a few feet in front of him. "You only said you were in Kattegat, not part of its civil war."

"I was still only in Kattegat," he said with a small twitch of his mouth. Lhyrie glared at him. The twitch grew. Taking the few steps to close the gap between them, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in the top of her hair, hugging her tight. "I am here now," he said definitively. "We reflected on the past this morning, let us not do it now."

She pulled away and looked up to him. "What aren't you telling me?" She asked softly.

Ubbe huffed and ran a hand through his growing beard. "I do not want to discuss it, Lhyrie. I want to forget it." He puffed out his cheeked and let out a long breath, hesitant on his words he didn't want to speak. "I want to forget Ivar, and Hvitserk, and Torvi and –,"

"– and Torvi –?"

Another long sigh. "After Björn seduced the Sami, she kissed m –," Her hand moved up to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist and her breath cut short. "I will get your dagger if you'd like, but do not hit me," he breathed low.

Her mouth slammed shut and as his hand released hers, she lowered it to her side. Ubbe raised his eyebrow in silent question to make sure she wouldn't try to slap him again and she nodded her head forcefully in response. Lhyrie balled her fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms and that grounded her away from spiraling into crimson anger. She kept her chin firm toward Ubbe.

"It was an accident – a stupid, grieving thing."

"How is a kiss an accident, Ubbe, huh? Did she drag you to a blacksmith and force you against a wall?" She spat too quickly, her face getting warm. Ubbe's lip twitched again but not with jest, and she regretted her last snipe.

"By the gods, Lhyrie, I didn't want her to kiss me!" he nearly shouted, throwing his hands up. "She kissed me," he whirled around to see her, but quickly turned back toward their shared bed. Reaching under the down pads and covers, he tore her dagger from her hiding spot and her nerves skyrocketed. "She wanted to come with me, I said no." He stomped over to her and crouched so he was eye level with her, grabbed her hand and forced the hilt into it. Raising the dagger so that it was level between them, he held the the tip anchored into his chest. A shiver went down her spine.

Her voice caught in her throat and her heart broke for the war that raged in him. Yes, if he ever crossed her again, she would put a dagger in him, or so she promised on their wedding night. But now, that initial anger faded and she saw him ragged and dripping wet in front of her, doubting every decision he's ever made. All she wanted to do was to hold him close but paused. The dagger and decision were heavy.

"I don't know if the willingness to grab the dagger is an admission of guilt or a show of innocence," she said, letting her face soften but still held the hilt firm in her hand.

He shrugged. "Guilt in the lack of communication, innocence that nothing happened."

She lowered the sword from between them and took the step to close the gap between them. Cradling his cheek in her free hand, she whispered, "If I have to kill you in front of your own son to break this cycle, I will."

"That… would be a deterrent for him," he said flatly. He was still crouched so they were eye level. She could tell the bend of his knees was starting to ache and kept him there a moment longer.

"This is still fairly sharp," she commented, as Ubbe straightened. "Your beard can be cut with it," she smirked.

"Do we not have more pressing things my beard?" He asked quizzically, sitting on the bed.

"It has gotten far too unruly, Ubbe, you have to admit," Lhyrie retorted, sitting next to him and running a hand through it. It was much longer than even at York and tickled too much on her skin.

"My beard can wait until tomorrow," he said, with a smile.

Lhyrie nodded herself and her eyes were pulled to the small bands of metal entwined on their fingers now. She smiled to herself and rewound his other words.

"What of Hvitserk did you want to forget… besides the obvious?" She gulped.

Another twitch of his mouth. "I should have forced Hvitserk to stay on the boat…" his voice trailed off, the moment replaying behind his eyes. His grip tightened on hers. "I had my sword to him in the battle and couldn't pull it," he admitted, she could feel the stress of his words falling off his shoulders. "Curse him for the love I have for him…" The words hung heavy in the room.

"And as far as Ivar," he scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I should have killed Ivar as soon as he killed Sigurd… I have regretted that every moment since."

She gave a reassuring squeeze of his hand in hers and pulled him away from the past few months. "Thank you," she said, leaning on his chest lightly. His heart beat was strong and her head bobbed with his breath. "Is there anything else you would like to get off of your chest?"

He craned his head down and smiled. "You have new white hair since Ragnar," he laughed. Lhyrie sat up and lightly swatted him.

"Giving birth and growing old does that," she lamented, settling back down on his chest.

They spent the rest of the evening in their rooms, away from Bjorn and Lagertha for the time being, recapping their time apart, bearing the weight of words built upon the months. They were once again emotionally together, as well as physically, and a small piece she felt was missing was finally whole again.