Warriors at Heart (The Last Kingdom Fanfic)

Chapter 37

I stared into a pair of deep brown eyes and frowned. I studied the swordsman's face. Underneath the dirt, scraggly beard, and his blue tattoos across his forehead something familiar stared back at me. "Young Ragnar?" I at last said.

His blade left my neck and returned to its place on his belt. He continued to smile at me and held out his hand to help me stand. He pulled me tightly to him and rested his forehead on mine, affectionately staring into my eyes. "You still fight dirty," he chuckled.

I shrugged. But pleasantries were over quick as he pulled away and turned towards Uhtred and Brida. His tone became ice-cold as he stared at the two of them. "I will only ask this once. Did you kill my family?"

"We did not." Uhtred replied calmly.

"Who did?" Ragnar asked, his voice still ice.

"Kjartan and Sven," Uhtred replied, still calm.

"Why should I believe you?"

Ragnar gazed at him and Brida with such coldness I wondered what was going on in his head. I held my breath and silently debated who I would rise to defend if a fight broke out. Uhtred dropped to his knees before Ragnar and thew himself upon his mercy. "If you do not believe me, then I invite you to strike me down now. But I swear on mine and their very souls that I did not kill them."

I glanced at Ragnar who was clearly thinking over Uhtred's words. Ragnar dropped to his knees and embraced Uhtred who had his head bowed down. He placed his forehead against Uhtred's and exhaled relief. "I knew it. I knew it," he said softly. Ragnar tossed his head back to look up, "I knew it," he smiled through tears before returning his forehead back to Uhtred's. They sat like that for a while.

We all sat around Brida's small fire. Ragnar told us of his arrival back and returning home to find it gone, burned to ash. He had feared that everyone he knew had perished, but word came to him that Uhtred was alive and traveling with two female companions. He was told that Uhtred had killed his family. "I didn't want to believe it. I knew I had to find you," he smiled at us. "It took me a while, you've been running all over the place."

He continued to tell us of his unfortunate mishap at Readingum, but we learned that he had been onshore at the time, the only loss was the few men guarding the ship and his ship. He'd procured a new ship called Wind Viper II and has been sailing up and down the coast, trying to catch word of where we were. "I met with Ubba and Guthrum who told me you were traitors, hiding in Wessex."

"Did they also tell you they tried to kill us when we told them who killed your father?" I said bitterly, and sure they hadn't. Ragnar affirmed my suspicion with a shake of his head.

"We had nowhere else to go," Uhtred said calmly.

"Well, you now have a place with me. You have my protection," Ragnar looked to all of us.

Brida, who'd been in dark spirits was smiling again. She had been right, Ragnar would come.

"Well, we must be getting back to my men," Ragnar smiled, standing.

Uhtred frowned and refused to meet his gaze. Ragnar's smile vanished and his brow furrowed into a frown. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I've sworn an oath. A year's service to Alfred," Uhtred replied glumly.

Ragnar looked hurt, but he was a man of his word, a man of honor. "Then you must stay here."

"What?" Brida protested.

"An oath's an oath. Be he Dane or Saxon, a man is only as good as his word," Ragnar said firmly.

Uhtred nodded sadly. I felt my heart slowly ripping apart as I watched him unable to leave with his brother. Unable to return to his family. Brida chose to go with Ragnar. Uhtred kissed her one last time and bid her farewell. While they said their goodbyes, Ragnar pulled me aside.

"You are free to go where you choose," he said softly to me.

"I promised your father that I would serve the Ragnarson's," I replied.

"And I am telling you that you are free to go where you choose," Ragnar smiled gently at me.

"I can stay with Uhtred?" I asked, looking at him questioningly.

"He's a Ragnarson is he not?" Ragnar lightly chuckled.

"He is, but you're the one to inherit your father's wealth, lands, loyalties, oaths..."

He cut me off, "I am releasing you from whatever you have sworn to my father."

"I promised your father I'd help you avenge his death," I protested again.

"And I will hold you to that promise when the time comes. But it is not that time now," Ragnar replied. I nodded. "If you'd like, I can order you to stay with Uhtred."

I shook my head no. "You don't have to."

"I know," Ragnar smiled at me. I stared at him, frowning. Ragnar placed his forehead on mine, "You love him. I can see it in the way you fight, and the way you look at him."

I stared in shock at Ragnar, for he had said what I was unable to allow myself to. I laughed uncomfortably at Ragnar's statement. "The way I fight?"

"Jumping on my back with no clear plan, fairly desperate if you ask me."

"No..."

"I've seen people do crazier," he chuckled again.

I frowned. "I don't love Uhtred. I mean, I do but not in the way you're thinking."

Ragnar smiled at me. He whispered softly, "take care of him. Don't let harm come his way."

"I promise," I whispered back.

"I wish we all had more time; the three of you are the only family I have left," he sighed, releasing me.

We rejoined Brida and Uhtred who looked like complete opposites. Brida was beaming and radiating a happiness I hadn't seen in her in a long while. Uhtred looked glum but was trying to put on his best face. He seemed surprised when Ragnar told him that I was staying. "It was her choice," Ragnar said.

I watched Ragnar mount his horse with Brida behind him. She was positively beaming. "Take care of one another," Ragnar smiled sadly at us. "I'll see you in a year's time."

"Less than that now," I tried to smile happily.

"When your oath is done," Ragnar nodded to Uhtred.

"Take care brother," Uhtred clasped Ragnar's hand.

"Take care brother," Ragnar replied, giving Uhtred's hand one more squeeze before returning his own to his horse's reins. We watched them ride off, Brida waving at us until they became a speck in the distance.

"Now what?" Uhtred asked me.

I turned to look at him. "You go to your ships," I said more bitterly than I had meant to, or maybe I did mean to.

"You didn't have to stay," Uhtred shot back at me.

"But I did," I replied, on the verge of crying. I turned away so he couldn't see my face. Ragnar had said what I hadn't been able to. What I couldn't do, not just yet.

"Why?" Uhtred pushed.

"Because I made a promise."

"If I recall correctly, I wouldn't let you make a promise to me. Did you make one to Ragnar?"

I turned to face him. "When we were kids, I promised to help you take back Bebbanberg, remember?"

His face dawned into understanding. "So, you did."

"And you accepted it."

"So, I did."

"So, there we are."

"What about your promise to serve the Ragnarson's?"

"Ragnar's released me from it. Besides, aren't you a Ragnarson?"

Uhtredcontemplated this and smiled. He clasped his arm around my shoulder and pulledme into him. He kissed the side of my head. "Tak Tara." I felt my heart poundin my chest and hoped that Uhtred didn't. We slowly meandered back towardsWessex, Uhtred only removing his arm from around my shoulders when the gatescame into sight.