XXXIII. A Father's Agony

Sten watched Alden as he spoke to one of his men. He rode behind them, fidgeting with the reigns between his fingers and scowling. Something wasn’t right and it was agitating him. From the moment Eksel sent them away to gather Alden’s army, they had been followed by Agnar's scouts. They were less than discreet and they managed to kill them all as they came, but still it was uneasy that they kept showing up. Not to mention that he was still angry at Eksel for sending him away.

But as he looked behind him and eyed the numerous army of formidable men, he understood Eksel’s need to have one of his men on this end of the plan. With the numbers that Alden provided, they would be able to put an end to Agnar’s jarlship. They would be able to live their lives without fear of repercussions.

“Sten!” Alden called from up ahead.

Sten pushed his horse faster until he matched Alden’s stride.

Alden frowned, nodding his head toward the horizon, “Is that not one of your men?”

As soon as he lifted his gaze and spotted Sigrid riding toward them, he took off to meet him halfway. Something wasn’t right.

Sigrid was wide eyed, pushing his horse to quicken its pace. The poor horse was breathing heavily, its legs tired from the journey.

“Sigrid, what are you doing here?” Sten reached for him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

“Eksel, he’s-he’s gone,” Sigrid struggled for breath.

Sten frowned, “He left?”

While he shook his head sharply, Sigrid burst out, “No. Agnar!”

Alden caught up with them, eyeing Sigrid carefully before looking at Sten with a questioning gaze.

“Sigrid, what happened?” Sten grunted aggressively, losing his patience.

Sigrid exhaled, calming his breath and his panic, “He sold him to Halfdan’s eldest son.”

“Fucker!” Sten growled, “Where have they taken him?

Sigrid shook his head, “I-”

“What about Elva?” Alden interrupted, his own patience wearing thin as he held onto the reigns with a strength that had his fingers turning white.

Sigrid looked to him, “Your brother and Agnar were with her in the longhouse last night after Halfdan took Eksel. I have not seen her since they took her in there.”

Alden spat, “Arrion’s a fucking coward. Was there a wedding?”

“No, no wedding.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Sten mused.

“Agnar would have done anything to have the wedding. He gave up his only brother,” Sigrid agreed.

“I’m assuming Agnar has been sending scouts because he knew of Eksel’s intentions?” Alden looked around as if he could feel another scout watching them.

Sigrid nodded, “He’s paranoid and he’s fucking losing it.”

“We’ve killed five so far, I’m sure that’s not what he was expecting,” Sten whispered.

“What do we do? We have to get Elva out of there,” Alden pulled on the reigns, making his horse pace around them in circles.

His heart hammered in chest, feeling like a failure. This was the first chance he had to prove himself worthy of a daughter like Elva, and she was in danger.

“We have to save Eksel,” Sten argued, shaking his head, “Halfdan is probably bleeding him as we speak.”

Alden maneuvered his horse until he was inches away from Sten, “We cannot split up the men. Half our numbers against Agnar? We will lose.”

“What about Eksel?” Sten asked firmly.

“He’s going to have to hold on,” Sigrid whispered.

“What!?” Sten faced him, frowning incredulously.

“Can you imagine what Agnar is doing to her?” Sigrid shook his head, worry making his featured drop.

Sten frowned, “Can you imaging what Halfdan is doing to Eksel?”

Sigrid pursed his lips,”Eksel wouldn’t like it if we saved him first.”

“I don’t care what he would like or not, he’s lost his fucking mind,” Sten laughed, unwilling to accept Sigrid’s argument.

“We can be quick,” Alden almost begged as he looked at Sten.

Sten looked between the two of them, realizing that this was an argument he could not win. As much as he hated to admit it, Sigrid was right. Eksel would have saved Elva

first without question.

“I can sneak in, and get her out with our men,” Sigrid looked over his shoulders back to where Gleneg was.

“Are you sure?” Alden looked into his eyes, trying to read his sincerity.

“The less casualties, the better,” Sigrid nodded.

“We need to keep the army hidden. We will need numbers to get Eksel out of Halfdan’s camp,” Sten defeatedly entered the conversation.

“We’ll use the cover of darkness tonight. It won’t be easy, and the moment that Agnar finds her gone we have to be ready for him to come after us,” Sigrid straightened his back, rolling his shoulders.

“I don’t know about this,” Alden shook as fear embedded itself in his chest.

From the moment he had known that Elva was his daughter he kept his emotion hidden and he watched her from afar. Now? He could hardly contain them. The thought of any harm coming to her made his skin pale and his hands turn clammy.

“Much better to face him in the open than to attack him while he hides in his fortress,” Sigrid raised his eyebrows, knowing this is what Eksel would have done.

“What do we need to do?” Alden looked between the men, afraid to put his trust in two complete strangers, but ready to do it if it meant Elva would be safe.

“You need to be the distraction,” Sigrid nodded.

“Me?”

“Agnar is looking for you,” Sten interjected.

“What? Do I just go up to the fortress?” Alden frowned.

“Just watch out for the arrows,” Sigrid shrugged.

“And what? Am I just supposed to stand there?”

“Talk to him. Keep him occupied. Tease him. Have him think that the only reason you are there is to threaten him with an army,” Sten looked to Sigrid.

Sigrid nodded, “Keep the conversation about him, don’t mention Elva. This is about him and how you do not want him to be Jarl. That you think Eksel is the better choice.”

Alden narrowed his eyes, “The way to distract this man is by talking about him?”

Sten rolled his eyes, “Trust us, he’s more than a little self-important.”

“In the meantime, you need to send some of your men to find Halfdan’s camp,” Sigrid pointed behind Alden, “Last I heard they were just north of Grimsgil.”

“The army will stay hidden and they must be ready to leave as soon as Sigrid comes out with Elva,” Sten inhaled, his horse fidgeting beneath him.

“What if something goes wrong?”

“Nothing will go wrong,” Sigrid and Sten responded in unison.

“We’ve done this many times,” Sten reassured him.

“You’ve saved multiple damsels in distress?”

Sigrid chuckled, “Broken into so called unbreakable fortresses.”

“As soon as we save Elva, we go for Eksel,” Sten stated firmly, not leaving room for argument.

Alden looked down at this hands and Sten noticed the reluctant look in his eyes.

“Alden?” Sten pushed.

“I came for Elva. Are you really asking me to put my men’s lives on the line for a man I do not know?” Alden reasoned, looking between the two of them.

Sten growled, gripping the hilt of his sword while Sigrid only exhaled in disbelief.

“You might not know this, but Elva loves Eksel. If you think for one moment she would let you leave without saving him, you are mistaken,” Sigrid whispered.

Alden frowned, “Him? I have a hard time believing that. But it would make sense why she told him.”

Sigrid and Sten looked at each other.

“Told him what?” Sten questioned.

Alden looked to them, “Elva isn’t Arrion’s daughter. She’s mine.”