A Saint To A Sinner

5.1

A/N: I'm feeling extra generous 🩵

Seven years of peace. Seven whole years of Y/N and her family living in Rumcofa. Living a happy content life with each other, without fear or uncertainty. For now. Even though Uhtred felt something was wrong. Something had darkened in the past year.
"Fin. He's been up on that post all night!" Y/N said worriedly. Uhtred had become extremely worried during the night and refused to leave his post. He even strengthened the northern outpost. Finan sighed at her words and walked over towards the docks to find Uhtred still in the same position.
"Lord? Do yu see something?" Finan shouted up to him. Uhtred did not look at them, only shaking his head.
"No. But something has changed. The air is rotten." Uhtred said.
"Uh that could be me eating too much cabbage." Finan said apologetically, as his wife pulled her nose under her top.
"Finan! You shit yourself or something?" Y/N said as she slapped him. "That's disgusting. Lord, you stay up there. I need to evacuate the people of Rumcofa." Finan laughed, clutching has stomach, breathing out an apology as he watched Uhtred come down.
"Lord. Lord." A man called from the boat. Y/N turned around and looked at the man before looking back to Finan with her eyebrow raised.
"This one says he can't pay." Finan said as he pulled his wife's hand in his to try and warm his own hands up.
"Let me guess. The Great Rognvaldr seized his silver." Uhtred said. There had been rumours of this Norwegian Viking called Rognvaldr, who has been killing and torturing Saxons on his raid during the past few years but know one had seen this person or lived to tell the tale, but it did spook a lot of men.
"He wants to pay. He pays the Mercia toll." Uhtred said as they walked back to the town centre.
"He says yu still have to pay!" Finan shouted across at the man.
"In coin. No produce..." Y/N shouted, "and no tin from Cornwallum pretending to be coin." Y/N said. It was a common reoccurrence with poorer traiders who tried to make coin with tin. It could be said as an intelligent method, but it was so badly made that it was very obvious.
"Y/N is right. We have soldiers to feed. It could be a lean winter again." Uhtred stated. The river looked as if it would be frozen over again this winter.
"All the more reason to celebrate while we can." Finan said excitedly, almost skipping like. "It's Blood Month Festival! Besides I need ale and yu need to hump the tall girl from Frisia." Finan said with a laugh.
"The tall girl from Frisia is too tall." Uhtred grumbled.
"It's border country, Lord. Yu don't get too picky." Finan said.

Blood Month Festival was a festival that happened every year in winter, where the people would make offerings and sacrifices to the Pagan God's ever year. It was a ritual that Uhtred and Sihtric brought back one year for the people. Even the Christian enjoyed the festival, as it gave them an excuse to kill. This year was very different. It was Æthelstans first time being involved in the practice. Cynlæf, however, was involved in it two years earlier with Sihtric and Finan to embrace his heritage, but Uhtred at the time would not allow Æthelstan to join.
"Look at them!" Y/N said with a laugh as they approached the crowd to find Sihtric and Cynlæf had dressed Æthelstan in a boars fur, something they did to Cynlæf when he first joined in.
"Æthelstan!" Uhtred called. "Why have you left your post." Y/N laughed at Uhtreds protective behaviour.
"You ready?" Y/N said as she shoved Cynlæfs head, making him laugh.
"Always, mother." Cynlæf said as they watched Æthelstan convince Uhtred that he was ready.
"Alright... Æthelstan thinks he's ready?" Uhtred said as he turned to Cynlæf, who nodded. Knowing his best friend was more than ready. Uhtred turned around with a smirk, screaming, "FOR BLOOD MONTH!"
"Be careful! The animal will fight to the death." Uhtred warned.
"Or try to hump ya." Finan said with laughter. Y/N patted her sons back enthusiastically, pushing him forward as they followed Sihtric, who chanted, "Blood Month," all the way down towards the forest. Y/N stayed back, allowing Sihtric to guide Æthelstan before they joined later.

Y/N jumped off of the podium with a thud. A smirk on her face as she looked at Uhtreds saddened face. The boy was growing up too quickly. As where all the children. Including Eir, who was now a newly fledged teenager.
"Why can I not join." Eir grumbled. A frown formed on her face as she approached her mother.
"That is because, yur still to young." Finan gave his daughter a look. She had been asking for days to join the Blood Month, and both of her fathers said no.
"No, I am not." Eir spat in defiance.
"Yes, yu are. Now, do not argue with me!" Finan scolded, watching his teenage daughter pull an angry face.
"You never let me do anything!" She spat before storming off to go and complain to Ingrith. Making the two men stare blankly.
"Why is she so upset? It is not for a woman to see..." Uhtred said, trailing off slightly as he looked at Y/N.
"Lord, I have no idea. She is always angry. The word, no, is not an option, apparently!" Finan said as he shook his head, while his wife laughed.
"Her father's are too protective!" Y/N said as she pulled Finan into a side hug, looking at him affectionately.
"That is because out of seven children, we have one girl! And I do not want to see anything happen to her!" Finan whispered as he gently placed a kiss on his wife's lips, gently cupping her chin.
"Lord!" Osferth called. "I need, a little help!" Finan broke the kiss to turn round to see two women slapping each other. Y/N sighed, crossing her arms in frustration. Osferth really needed to defend himself better as a married man.
"Again?" Uhtred sighed as him and Finan wran over to stop them from fighting. Y/N looked over at Ingrith, who was holding her baby, watching the scene in frustration. Ingrith had ended up, some how, with more children than Y/N, mostly because Ingrith ended up with twins.
"Why do they fight over you?" Uhtred called as he looked over at Osferth.
"Osferth, get your arse over here, now!" Ingrith scolded. Making Y/N laugh.
"That's cos all the best men are spoken for." Finan said as he walked past, slapping Y/Ns arse along the way.
"Oi, you!" Y/N scolded, making Finan turn around with a smirk, as he handed her a torch.

Y/N took the torch and headed into the opposite direction. She could hear her sons and Sihtric making animalistic noises in the distance.
"Here, piggy!Piggy! Piggy!" Cynlæf called out somewhere a far, while Æthelstan tried grunting like a pig. Y/N clanged her sword against the torch as she called out as well, but it seemed no pigs would come forth it. She wondered it it was due to the fog that had started to emerge rather quickly. The fog had even thickened, and she herself was struggling to see in the forest.
"Mother!" Y/N stopped when she heard someone call her. She looked around listening again, thinking it was Cynlæf, but the person called again, "Mother! Uhtred!"
"Æthelstan!" She called out worriedly. Picking up her pace as she heard his voice.
"Æthelstan!" Y/N called out again, trying to find him as she waved the flame around.
"Mother!" Æthelstan shouted. He was near.

Y/N quickened her pace when she saw a man hovering over two people fighting. The man looked at her before running off. She was about to go after him, when Æthelstan cried out. Y/N grabbed the man off of Æthelstan, shoving her sword straight through the man, before kicking him to the side.
"Æthelstan!" Y/N breathed out as she pulled him up. Æthelstan panted as he fell into her arms, almost laughing.
"I've got him. He's alright!" Y/N shouted so her husbands could find them.
"Bastard, where are you?" Osferth called out.
"How many men?" Uhtred demanded as he looked at them.
"There were three. One escaped." Æthelstan pointed to where the man had stood.
"No sign. This way." Finan called over.
"Who where they?" Uhtred asked.
"Not from here. I don't think." Y/N said as she looked at Æthelstan worriedly. He was still trying to comprehend what had happened.
"You took, three men alone?" Uhtred asked.
"Yes..." Æthelstan breathed out with a laugh. "Mother, killed him, just as the other ran off."
"You did not think to run after him?" Uhtred asked.
"What. And let Æthelstan be killed." Y/N said as she crossed her arms.
"Look. I told you all I was ready. I was fine. Even mother saw me fight. Let me go downriver and fight the sea raiders." Æthelstan pleaded.
"No. You are not ready! Take him to the Alehouse to celebrate!" Uhtred said. Y/N laughed as she climbed up out of the ditch, shoving Cynlæf playfully.
"Ha ha ha. He's still a virgin, though!" Finan shouted as he ruffled Æthelstans hair, who's cheeks started to turn pink.