Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
╚════════*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*════════╝
"I need ale, slave." Osferth said jokingly to Finan as his nephews were cuddling with Althea, he worried for his sister and her broken heart.
"Here." Finan grabs the nearest cup of ale and hands it to him.
"What is it?" Osferth asked when Finan perked up.
"You mean, who is it, Osferth." Uhtred walks in a moment later. "You're back."
"I'm back." They laugh and hug. Althea glanced away from them and looked down at her hands, Hvitserk wiped away her tears with a sad look. Her sons had stayed up all night with her as she sobbed, they refused to leave her alone to cry.
She couldn't believe that Sihtric would betray them, it was one thing for him to be banished by Uhtred, but he had freed the prisoners and flipped sides. She didn't want to believe it but the signs were obvious.
She was beginning to wonder if he did love her and their sons. She was wondering if their entire relationship was even real to him if he was able to leave them behind so quickly.
"That's good."
"Sihtric?" Uhtred questioned and she flinched at the name. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop any more tears from flowing down her face and laid her head on Osferth's shoulder, her brother stroked her hair softly with a frown.
"Uh, gone. Long gone and, um, with the prisoners, lord." Finan says quietly making Uhtred nod in understanding, Uhtred then raises a hand to place it on Finan's neck. "Good journey, then?"
"It was. I know what I must do now. Osferth." Uhtred greets the monk with a smile.
"Lord."
"You're still alive?" Uhtred questioned teasingly.
"Of course!" Uhtred hugs the boy as Aethelflæd walks in.
"Reaching Skade will be near impossible. She's in the middle of two thousand Danes or more." Finan informs him with worry. Uhtred tries to gain Althea's attention but fails when she refuses to make eye contact with anyone who's not her sons or siblings. Uhtred felt like shit as he observed her, her eyes were bloodshot, her usually braided and styled hair was a mess, and the darkness under her eyes revealed she didn't sleep. This wasn't good for her or the unborn babies.
"It can be done."
"How?" Osferth asked.
"With God's help," Aethelflæd looked at him in confusion as they all went silent. "I'm joking. I've yet to decide." He says with a grin. The princess and Uhtred share a concerned glance as Althea grips Osferth's uninjured arm shakily.
"When?"
"When I am rested." Uhtred said bluntly.
"As soon as you are rested you will walk with me. That is a command." Aethelflæd says, Aethelflæd leans over to kiss Althea's forehead as she leaves. Finan fidgets for a moment before clearing his throat. Arthur and Hvitserk reach each other to comfort their mother, Osferth places his hand on hers that rests on his arm.
"Uhtred, Sihtric's departure —" He is cut off by Osferth.
"Betrayal." Althea pulled away from him and decided to stand in the corner to look outside, Osferth regretted it the moment he said it and even more when he noticed her sons were whispering to her softly to bring her some comfort.
"It has disturbed the men. They feel that you are to share the blame. You and your quest for Skade, some may not want to go looking for her all over again. Think about it." Finan spoke quietly and Uhtred nodded.
Hours later, Uhtred and Aethelflæd return with a hostage. Uhtred shoves him down on the stool as Finan stands in from of the fire with cutters and the man whimpers in fright when Finan sits across from him.
"Ask me anything and I will give you the truth. I swear!" The man begs. Althea sits at the table with her sons standing next to her protectively while Aethelflæd comes over and pulls Althea into a side hug.
"Brave man."
"I am no fool." The man snapped at Finan.
"You were at Dunholm. You're Aethelwold's man." Uhtred stated as he walked closer.
"I am, lord."
"He sent you here to do what?" Uhtred asked.
"To kill you, lord. And I am glad to have failed."
"Miserably." Finan says.
"I am glad. I would like to see my wife and children once again. Is that so wrong? When we left Winchester, I did not know we were going to the Danes."
"Why did Aethelwold send men to kill, lord Uhtred?" Aethelflæd asked him as she stepped closer, she stopped when Althea grasped her dress and weakly tugged it.
"Because Uhtred is Alfred's sword and shield. Have mercy, lady. I had no choice."
"Offa, you will carry a message to the Danes and I will let you live." Uhtred spoke as he looked down at the man.
"Lord."
"Your family in Winchester will be my hostages, should you be tempted to lose your way." Uhtred threatened.
"No, lord. Yes, lord. What is the message, lord?"
"You will return to Aethelwold and to Hæsten, Cnut, and Bloodhair. You will tell them that Uhtred of Bebbanburg is coming as a shadow walker and they will die as my brother died. I will send them all to Niflheim." Uhtred says coldly as Offa cowered under his gaze.
"I can do that, lord. I swear!"
"You will do that." Finan stands next to Uhtred when the man turns to his men.
"Like Sihtric, some of you may doubt me. I understand why, there have been times when I've doubted myself. Those times are behind me now. I am a lord without wealth, without land, I can't offer silver or the walls of a fortress behind which you can grow fat and lazy. Follow me and I will take you down a hard, brutal path, but it is a path that leads to the one thing every true warrior desires: reputation. Follow me and you will have my sword and my oath for whether you are Dane or Saxon, I swear I will die to protect each and every one of you. My mind is clear about what must be done, but I cannot do it without you." Uhtred speaks from the heart.
Finan and Aethelflæd watch him with soft smiles and radiating pride. One by one the men stand in his favor and soon they cheer. Althea took her sons outside when Uhtred finished, Arthur grasped her hand as he looked up at her concerned. Hvitserk turned around to sharply glare at Uhtred and the other men when he noticed his mother was crying again.
