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

Death and honour

It was another few days until everyone started to arrive for the funeral. Of course, it was a very religious affair, her husband was a devout Christian – even though his life of sin wouldn't show that. But it was mainly to keep her brother happy. Her brother always preaching about God and what was right. But the thought of seeing Aethelred again made her anxious. He would never reveal his involvement in the cold bloodied murder, but he would definitely feel the need to approach her.

There was a small knock on the door to her chambers, she was convinced to dress in a bold red dress. She would have to be the new Lady of Sherborne and all of the politics would have to go through her. Of course, James would support her in any way she asked but she would have to stand proud and also reveal her pregnancy to everyone, prove that the future of Sherborne would be protected by Gregor's heir.

"You look beautiful." James spoke softly as he stepped into her chambers. She was honestly the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Even through all of this stress and grief, she remained strong.

"I feel ridiculous. Everyone else will be paying their tribute to my husband and I am supposed to stand there and claim to be someone I am not. I was never born to rule. I'm a third child to a King. I was always supposed to be someone's wife, just a vessel to push out heirs, nothing more. Now I am supposed to rule these people?" She scoffed slightly before finally moving from her chair, a jewelled tiara settled in her raven hair.

"You were never going to be that. You are a strong-willed woman; you are destined for greatness." When she laughed and rolled her eyes at him, he smiled at her reaction to his nice words. "Let me guess, you do not agree."

"You only say these things because you are smitten with me." Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. He would think these things about her, regardless of how he truly felt.

"One day, you will see yourself through my eyes. And you will no longer harbour any doubt." He smiled and held out his arm for her to take, there was no hesitation before she held onto his arm and followed him out of the room.

"I would like to hide in my rooms until this whole farce is over with. If God loved Gregor as much as everyone claims, why would he take him?" He groaned a little at her words, he should have known Avery would mention this again. She had decided all those months ago when her first child was taken from her that God did not exist. And although she would pretend to be the perfect follower of Christ, she was growing tired of it.

"Avery, you can say those things to me but please do not say it to anyone else. Your head could be the price." When she carried on walking, he quickly reached for her hand, pulling her into one of the empty rooms and catching her off guard by pressing her up against one of the walls and forcing her to look at him properly. "I need you to promise. I cannot see you taken from this world over something so stupid."

"Why do you care so much?" She was playing with fire, trying to push him to admit what he was even trying to hide from himself. "Tell me why."

"You are so infuriating. You bring out the worst in me, but also the best. I would throw myself in front of a blade for you. Suffer any torture people can think of if it would keep you safe. Just stop being so reckless, you need to learn to care about yourself like others do." He knew he was fighting a losing battle; Avery was stubborn and would do whatever she wanted. But he would try and make her see sense.

"Say it." She was trying to drag the truth from him, her eyes staring up at him pleadingly as she remained caught between the wall and his frame. Her gaze was staring into his soul, and he was almost willing to bare everything for her.

"I love you. I have loved you from the first moment I saw you, when you first smiled at me. I was yours. But you were my brother's wife. And I would never get between that. But now, he is gone, and I am tired of fighting against myself. Why should I pretend to be someone I am not? The things I think when I see you. You make me a sinner." The way he looked at her now, she couldn't put it into words. No one had ever looked at her this way.