The Forgotten Princess | Avery x Leofric x Uhtred | The Last Kingdom

Forgotten warrior

Alfred let Avery hand pick soldiers to take with her, obviously Steapa was in charge, but he was happy to take a step back and let Avery think she had some kind of control in the situation because it was the only time, she had interacted with him. And of course, he had grown to admire her. She was a fierce warrior and he had to admire that in her. Most women were meek little beings who only did as their husbands or fathers asked. But Avery would always stand up for things she believed in. Go to war for her family and people.

Ragnar wasn't too happy about the terms of his release and his personality definitely seemed to clash with hers. Two stubborn wild souls hitting the road together. It was a disaster before it even started. Mere minutes into the journey and the pair were arguing over the horses.

"I do not care who you are. I like this horse." Ragnar was pointing at the white mare which everyone knew was Avery's pride and joy. The horse she had learned to ride, the horse she had bonded with.

"You will not. She is mine. My phoenix. There are plenty of others to claim." She approached her horse, but he grabbed her hand but seemed to laugh loudly when she pressed her dagger against his throat.

"My brothers dagger?" He eyed the blade curiously but judging by how quickly she removed and concealed the blade again it was a touchy subject. He would ignore it for now.

She finally claimed back onto her prized horse, stroking through her mane and straightening herself up against the horse and riding beside Steapa and leading the small group of men.

"Where would a slave trader take your brother? Is he considered valuable?" Her eyes were trained on the path in front of her, the skies were clear, and the paths were empty. She had no idea how long they would be gone for, but she honestly didn't care. She would enjoy the life away from her responsibilities.

"To the right buyer. It seems he is more valuable to some." He shot a knowing smile in her direction, his brother had somehow managed to attract the affections of a princess.

"He does have a habit of making a lot of enemies. I bet they will gladly part with some coin to see him suffer." Her hands grew tighter on the reins, the thought of Uhtred in pain hurt her to the core but she couldn't let people see that. Showing her true feelings for him would get him killed. She had already lost one love; she didn't want to have to go through the same thing. It was easier to deny her feelings.

"Yet the Princess of Wessex is riding out to save him from his fate. The Gods seem to favour him." He chuckled softly but Avery wasn't going to bite anymore. She already grew tired of his presence.

The rest of the men were quiet, only speaking when being spoken to and that is what Avery craved in that moment. She hadn't felt herself since that night with Aethelred, although she had agreed to it, she hated every single second of it. While they were camped up for the night, she started to brew the herbal tea that would help protect her. She had already had several cups, but this would be one more to ensure that it had definitely worked.

Everyone in the camp seemed to already be sleeping but Ragnar had approached her sitting by the fire and before she could get up to leave, he stole the cup from her hand, lifting the herbal blend in front of his nostrils before he took a long sniff. He passed her the cup back and signalled for her to sit back down and before she knew it, she was back against the grass, and he sat opposite of her – warming his hands against the fire.

"Does my brother know?" He asked quietly, obviously he knew what was in her cup, but he had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"We have never been together." It was all she could say, not wanting to admit she had often thought about it. Or been curious about how it would feel to be loved by him.