- How could you not tell me about something so important?! As her mother, I think I have something to say about her wedding!!! (Lagertha)
- A little quieter, you will wake the children, the whole camp and nearby settlements... I did what I thought would be in Yrsa's best interests. Arne as my eldest son will inherit Norway and England. If Yrsa stays in Kattegat, she will have no position ... and her husband or children, if they are too ambitious, could be a threat to Arne's throne. You as their mother should understand it best. (Ulf)
- I know, but Yrsa is still young, and a lot of things can change. (Lagertha)
- I promised you once that our children will be kings and queens, I keep my word. Our daughter is still small, but you won't stop the time. In some time she will become a woman, then a mother. You have to deal with it. (Ulf)
Lagertha informed me that today I sleep alone and not with them in a tent ... typical, instead of using force of argument, she uses the argument of force... and this is not the first time she has resorted to such tricks.
(Lagertha / Hild POV)
- How could he do this to me? (Lagertha)
- But you said Ulf was right. (Hild)
- Yes he is right, but he usually took my opinion into account ... you'll understand when it comes to your children. (Lagertha)
- No, I'm just a slave. I have no right to question what Ulf says, but neither can you blame him... He is the King. (Hild)
- Before he became king, he was first a husband. (Lagertha)
- And he made you Queen, many women would like to be in your place ... and now you have to decide who you are first, mother, wife or queen? (Hild)
(End POV)
Using logical arguments and emotional blackmail, I managed to convince Lagertha of my idea of marrying Yrsa with the son of Prince Jaksa, although she could not forgive me for making this decision without her knowledge... A woman is a creature that cannot be understood, Lagertha is my third wife and I make the same mistakes again ... no matter what age I live in, no matter how long I live.
Over the next few days we gradually got to know the Prince and his court, I also met Sławomir, my future son-in-law ... and I did not like him. He was weak, had muscles like stork heels, chest like a rat's forehead, he was secretive, and didn't say much ... though the latter was also his advantage, his voice was terribly irritating... as if two frogs are having s.e.x with a rubber chicken... Unfortunately, it was also Jaksa's eldest son and his heir.
- And how do you like my son? He is still young, but everyone says he will be a good warrior in the future. (Jaksa)
Perhaps they say this because his father is a Prince, looking at Sławomir I would not give him a knife to peel apples, let alone a sword... he would either cut or kill himself... Maybe I was a bit unfair to this boy, maybe he will grow up to be a decent man, and I was just acting like a stereotypical father-in-law towards my son-in-law who in my eyes was unworthy of my daughter.
- He has two arms, two legs... So it has everything a warrior needs, and he doesn't say much, but that's good. Speech is silver, but silence is golden. Sławomir will be a suitable husband for my daughter in a few years... (Ulf)
Comparing Yrsa and him, they are both close in age ... if this boy doesn't get strong then my daughter will kill him on their wedding night. Especially that with each passing day Yrsa resembled Lagertha more in character and behavior.
- A few years, how many years is it? (Jaksa)
- Your Duchy must become a Kingdom ... it must be richer and militarily stronger. I don't need an ally for whom my people will have to die, but one who can defend himself too ... that is, a few years. I'm leaving in a week or two further east, then south. I might come back here in a year or two, but my promise still holds. I will send my men to Norway, they will bring warriors, builders and craftsmen ... I think when I come to Rügen again I will not recognize your land. (Ulf)
- Are you going further east to look for more allies against these Christians? (Jaksa)
- No, I want to visit certain places ... see them in retrospect. (Ulf)
- Retrospect? (Jaksa)
- Forgive me, I can't and don't know how to explain it. This is the thing I have to do ... I also want to hunt urus and I'm also going to ask Bojna to accompany us, he is from the east and knows those lands better. (Ulf)
I wasn't going to spend more time here than I had to, I wanted to visit places I knew so well from my previous life ... there was also Constantinople. To assure Jaksa of the sincerity of my intentions. We both took a holy oath ... Żerca killed an ox, we both smeared ourselves with his blood and swore an oath on Perun and Weles... a few days later, with Bojan, we left Rügen and sailed further east, to the mouth of the Vistula River, then we continued our ship journey inland.
As far as I remember, we had to go along the Vistula River to the San River, and in the vicinity of the future city of Przemyśl, we had to transfer ships 60 kilometers on land to the Dniester River... if everything goes according to plan, our journey time will be around three months.