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

Unwavering Loyalty

Avery had somehow managed to avoid the awkward reunion with her niece and Uhtred. It truly pained her to be so close to the both of them and remain hidden. Sihtric kept her hidden, bringing her food and water within the first few hours of them arriving and he brought her something else too. When he revealed the bunch of clothing, he had found for her to hide in plain sight she laughed loudly at his choice.

"If I truly believed in God, I would consider this a mockery." Her fingers trailed along the fabric of the long gown all of the nuns were wearing and when she saw the smile across his face, she rolled her eyes. "Is this some kind of sick fantasy of yours?"

"The Dane and the God-fearing nun. Sounds quite romantic to me." The smile on his face grew as he held the robes against her. Envisioning her in the fine fabrics. "No one would look twice at you. Except me. You could literally hide among us."

"I will wear this. Under one condition." Her fingertips slowly trailed along his chest now, leaning into his touch a little as she smiled innocently up at him when she realised, he was hanging onto every word that left her lips. "You find me tonight. You show me the true heathen that you can be."

For once he was speechless, only able to nod slightly at her request. An unspoken desire he had never spoken at the thought of taking someone who was the symbol of pure innocence. He swallowed hard as he watched her undress, her smooth and unflawed skin soon being hidden beneath the robes, her raven locks hidden beneath the hood. And then he finished off her outfit with a large wooden cross necklace that hung loosely around her neck. The pair shared a moment before he left her to explore. No longer worried about anyone finding her.

She soon ended up in the kitchens with the rest of the nuns, watching how they all worked together a familiar and comfortable, silence filling the air. But the silence did not last long. The sound of a familiar voice filling the air as they called out for Aethelflaed. Her body stilled as the kitchen erupted into chaos. The nuns were terrified. She caught sight of the Abbess leaving the kitchen to approach the men, to try and convince them that Aethelflaed was not there but her throat was slit instantly. Then the sounds of swords clashing filled the air, Uhtred and his men would die defending this place and the thought terrified Avery. She cared for every single one of them.

"Give us the Lady Aethelflaed and everyone will live to fight another day." Haesten shouted out over all the fighting and out of the corner of her eye, Avery watched as Aethelflaed tried to hand herself over, but she was quick to grab her hand. Hiding her features beneath her hood as she avoided eye contact with her niece, not wanting to reveal herself but she wanted to stop her from doing something so stupid too.

"Wait! Let us trade. The witch for you to leave. Take your men and leave us!" Uhtred yelled out to the few remaining Danes outside the nunnery. But it was still enough people to burn the whole building down.

"I am not something you own, something to trade!" Skade was yelling, obviously upset at how Uhtred was putting the Lady Aethelflaed before her.

"I will come for you. I promise. I just need to buy us some time." Uhtred gripped her arms pretty roughly as he tried to make her see sense in his plan. "You and I remain tied together. I will come for you."

"You will remain cursed until you do. That is my promise to you." Skade spat out the words, leaving him with one more threat before she willingly left with Haesten and his men.

As soon as the looming threat of Haesten and his men left the nunnery a slight calmness washed over everyone. Sihtric and Avery sharing a small look before she left them all as they remained on guard by the doors.

Avery had found comfort in one of the small rooms hidden away and was pulling at her hood to reveal her long raven locks. She felt useless in her costume. She was a fighter; she could have made a difference – maybe saved some men but she had to play the role of damsel in distress. She heard the door creak open and the quiet footsteps of Sihtric. His arms enveloped around her waist from behind, he could tell she was stressed so he just held her.