Northumbria ✓

8

Aethelthryth achieved ignoring the man for a whole day. So you could imagine her embarrassment when she stood on the balcony the second day staring at him. He was training with his brother and another man she hasn't seen yet. The other man looked ready to vomit as he hindered attacks from Ubbe. From how she saw him fight with Ivar before, he was now more slow and calm.

"You succeeded in avoiding him for a whole day, not much." She rolled her eyes at Ronja. The woman seemed to follow her every move.

"I would like to think it's a success." The pregnant woman stopped next to her.

"Do you see my husband? The best warrior your eyes will ever settle on." Aethelthryth snorted. Ivar's eyes focused on them from the place he was resting. As if he knew his wife was talking about him. "Who's the other man?" She asked back, ignoring how she wanted to oppose Ronja's opinion.

Ronja huffed before leaning more onto the railing, "That's their brother Hvitserk he, and Ivar aren't exactly on good terms." Her brows furrowed, "Why?" Ronja gave her a stare.

"Something about Ivar killing his lover. Never asked." Aethelthryth noticed that Ronja tried to talk in as small sentences as possible. Then she pulled out another crumbled letter.

Aethelthryth looked at the letter, "Lord Kenelm, Lord of Lothian." She thought back to what her father told her about the man, his love for celebrations, and then how those feasts ended. With an orgy. Not that Lord Kenelm participated. He preferably watched as men took turns on his wife. A shudder wracked her body. He agreed to the meeting. Of course, he did. Kenelm probably wanted to see if the Viking feast were as wild as they said.

"There are more inside your room, and talk to Ubbe!" With those words, she completely ignored any protests Aethelthryth had and left. She sighed and closed her eyes. Her hands tightened painfully onto the railing. She opened them and focused on the man she wanted to avoid. He was already watching her standing beside Ivar. They were talking, but his eyes didn't tear from her. She huffed before twirling around and hurrying away.

*

When the knock came, while she was going through the letters, she knew she couldn't avoid him any longer. She didn't dare to stand from the table as he let himself inside. She also didn't acknowledge him and kept looking through letters.

She picked her head once he stood across her, "Ronja told me about Lord Hal." Aethelthryth squinted her eyes. He only raised his brow back in question. The brow that his tattoo of runes was going over. She wondered for a moment what it meant.

"He is a Lord of Rheged, rules a small town, Carlisle. He is one of the few lords that aren't married. Pity is that he is too narcissistic. While my father was raising an army alongside Aelle, he was hiding behind his advisers, and now he dares to say that I am betraying my God!" With an angry scowl, she threw the letter away from her. She picked up another one with an already broken seal.

"Lord Kenelm rules Lothian," she watched as he slowly spread the map before her with a smile. "He is the closes to us. See a little further on North." She pointed to the part and then circled the main town Edinburgh. He nodded his head, "Well, is he good?" Aethelthryth pondered his words before shaking her head.

"I can only say what my father told me about them, I only ever met one of them" -she pushed from the table- "my father told me that his parties are wild, and at the end of the night, lucky warriors or lords get to take turns on his wife or maids." Ubbe's eyes darkened.

He kept watching her as she rounded the table to his side, "Do they um- do the women agree?" She only shrugged her shoulders. How would she know when she never went to his court. Now that she thought about it, her father kept her as far away from them as he could. And at the thought of her father, her mood dampened. He didn't even get a proper burial, and here she was helping his killers.

"Or maybe Hexham is closer to us, a very holy town. Lord Walton rules there, father used to say that he was one of the better Lords. He abides by the rules of our God well. You could say that he only wants what is best for Northumbria." Ubbe picked up another letter looking at her curiously.

She smiled despite herself, "Lord Ecgebrht, he rules Durham." She pointed to the map. She did her best to ignore how his eyes slid from her hand to her face. Her face heated.

Aethelthryth breathed through her nose, "Ecgberht is the youngest of them. His father wanted to marry us until Aelle usurped the throne. Ecgberht is also the only one I met."

Ubbe bit his lip, whole face drawing into a frown, "Did you wish to marry him?" Aethelthryth's eyebrows risen.

"No, he is one of the most pompous men I have ever met." Her brows drew together, "I will rather not even repeat what he told me the first time we met, or my God's name will come in vain." Ubbe nodded and turned his head to the letters, but she was sure that his lips pulled into a smile. He picked up the last later from the pile of papers.

Aethelthryth breathed through her nose, "Lord Eadwig rules the fortress of Bamburgh. Father said that he is such a tall man he can barely fit through doors. He is a fine warrior who believes himself the rightful ruler of Northumbria since his ancestors have royal blood." He nodded once more before pointing at the map.

"Yes, that is the castle. You know how to read my language?" Ubbe nodded as he turned to face her. Then he drew closer to her. She actually had to tilt her head to look up at him, and she never considered herself a small woman. Her breath hitched at his easy smile.

He smirked as if he knew just how attractive she found him, "I try to learn as best as I can."