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The battle against the brothers did not go as planned. The women stayed at the camp with a handful of soldiers, it was presumed to be safe. Althea sat with her sister talking about her husband, Aethelflæd watched her with a warm smile.
"He seems to be in love with you, Al." She spoke making Althea halt, the girl hadn't bothered to think about how she and Sihtric looked from outside perspectives. But knowing that her twin could see the love flow from his mere presence around her makes her heart flutter. She knows she doesn't love him yet but it wouldn't take much to fall for him.
"You truly believe that?" She reddens under Aethelflæd's smirk. "I like being his wife." She whispered.
"He is handsome. But I suppose Uhtred and most of his men are." Her twin said and raised an eyebrow when Aethelflæd mentioned the lord. Althea thought it was both weird and sweet how her sister desired Uhtred's affection. If it wasn't for the fact she loved Uhtred and Gisela like a mother and father she might not have seen anything wrong with the unrequited feelings.
"Death! Death is coming!" The two quickly got up when they heard Thyra screaming. Althea grabbed a sword as they exited the tent, the men around them were getting slaughtered by the Danes. She and Aethelflæd had been separated amongst the chaos, and Thyra and the two sisters had fled to the woods when it happened. Thyra grabbed Althea and pulled her to hide behind a wall of trees to shield her from them, she had assumed that Aethelflæd was grabbed by the scream she heard in the distance.
"Shh, Uhtred will save us." Thyra spoke holding her, she caressed Althea's hair to comfort her.
"Thyra!"
"Lady Aethelflæd! Lady Althea!"
"Thyra! Please be alive, please be alive. Thyra, please!" Beocca shouted on the verge of crying.
"Not a single man left living." Aldhelm spoke.
"Nor woman." Uhtred replied. Uhtred walked past Aethelred and gave him the dirtiest look he could muster. If Althea was harmed or worse he would burn Wessex to the ground.
"They are the daughters of King Alfred, they would not kill them. They would not." Aethelred sighs. Sihtric shouts for Althea and frowns when Finan places a hand on his arm.
"Please." Beocca cries and Uhtred goes to comfort him when Thyra screams Beocca's name as she and Althea run out of the woods.
"Thyra!" The priest yells and hugs her. "I thought you were dead and I wanted to die because I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead." He sobs out into Thyra's hair as she holds him tightly. Sihtric perks up at the sight of his wife and catches Althea when she lunges into his open arms. He buried his face into her hair holding her tightly against him.
"Thyra, Althea," Uhtred says softly, "Where is Aethelflæd?" He placed his free hand on Thyra's back and looked over at Althea who was crying into Sihtric's arms.
"You will answer." Aethelred demanded.
"You will not speak to my wife!" Sihtric snapped and turned back to cradle his woman's face in his hands.
"Of course, she will answer!" Beocca snarled at the Lord.
"I do not know." Thyra answers.
"Did they take her? Why did they not take her too?" Æthelred hissed out childishly nodding over at Althea.
"We ran and she was gone." Thyra said and looked over at Althea.
"Erik. It was Erik," Althea whispered, Sihtric wiped away her tears and placed a kiss on her forehead. "There was nothing I could do." Uhtred moved to the princess and rubbed her back to soothe her.
"We will continue the search, Lord." Aldhelm spoke to reassure the man.
"They have taken her, but why else abandon the city? Why raid the camp?" Uhtred questions and looks down at Althea.
"She is the daughter of the king. They wouldn't dare."
"We will scourage camp and beyond. We are looking for Lady Aethelflæd." Sihtric helps her up on his horse with him once they separate from the Saxons, he whispers sweet nothings into her ear the whole ride. She reached down to hold his arm with her hands, the urge to ground herself to him helped her calm down from the growing anxiety.
"Uhtred, to where are you going?" Uhtred stops his horse and turns to the Saxons.
"I'm going home to Coccham, where Alfred has asked me to remain. And where I left my wife!" He taunted pointing at Aethelred.
A few hours later, Uhtred and his men stopped to make camp. She and Sihtric sat next to each other, his hand holding hers, as she looked into the fire.
"If you believe her to be alive, you will not abandon her. You will not. That is a fact. So, what is the real reason we are traveling home to Coccham and not to Winchester?" Finan asked, one of his hands reaching up to tap Althea's leg, she looked down at the Irishman with a small smile for his attempt to cheer her up.
"There is nothing to be said in Winchester. I won't be part of a whispering court. We will go when I have something to say, not before." Uhtred replies and looks over at the youngest dane. "Sihtric."
"Lord?"
"Take Rypere there and go to Beamfleot. That is where Erik's fleet lies, that is where they'll be." Althea glanced between the two, a part of her was happy to know of her twin's situation but the selfish part of her didn't want her husband to leave either.
"We are to spy?" Sihtric asked with a smile.
"You are to confirm that Lady Aethelflæd is alive and how they are treating her. Send Rypere back to me at Coccham, you will remain there and, yes, you are to spy. Sihtric, I will need to know every part of Beamfleot, every blade of grass that surrounds the fortress."
"Yes, lord." Sihtric leans over to softly kiss Althea. "I will be back, princess."
