The Promises We Make- Uhtred of Bebbanburg

Chapter Fifteen

I woke with a jolt with a light, tickling feeling crawling up my leg. In an instant, a saw a small yet beastly looking spider dashing towards me. I hastily shot up, shaking and shivering to rid of the creature from myself. I cringed at the thought of what else could have crawled across my body without my knowledge. I began hitting and throwing my limbs around to make sure none of their friends were left behind.

Not long after, confusion settled as I slowly realised that I was currently sitting in a cart filled with food and drink. The high pitched squeaking of carts wooden wheels and the suns bright rays made my eyes wince and my head pound in pain. I scanned around trying to find a familiar face, until I saw Uhtred walking beside me. A smirk graced his masculine features as a noticeable laugh slipped out.

"You are being too loud Uhtred." I moaned, covering my ears with my hands in an effort to block out noises.

"My head cannot take it."

"Ah, the drunkard awakes." He joked. The smile grew wider as he hardly contained his amusement. "You look like shit."

"Is it that obvious?" I asked as I felt around my head. I could feel swelling of my eyes, puffy cheeks and my untamed hair. It was worse knowing that I could not see what state I was truly in. A horrible stench of alcohol and body odour reached my nose.

"No, not at all my lady." Uhtred could not even look at me when he answered. He turned away as held in his laughter, trying his best to not make it known but he failed miserably. His face turned bright shade of red and had stopped breathing a few times.

I searched around the cart to find an almost rotten apple hidden in the corner, under some cloth and threw it directly at his head. Uhtred was silenced for a moment until he turned and continued where he left off.

"What is so funny?" I spoke. "Why do you keep laughing?" I was getting irritated at his actions.

"Do you not remember last night my lady?" He frowned.

"The last memory I have is throwing up on your boots. Though it's a memory I wish I hadn't remembered." I wandered my eyes around, making an effort to avoid his gaze.

"Ah yes, that reminds me. You owe me a new pair of boots my lady. These ones seemed to have been stained from the contents of your stomach."

I hid my head between my arms and groaned in response. I shook my head in embarrassment, planning to avoid direct eye contact with Uhtred for the rest of then journey. I have never felt so ashamed of myself. What would father think if he would have seen me? He would have me disowned and sent to a nunnery. He would have no daughter of his acting like this. Especially the future Queen of Wessex.

"How long was asleep for?" I forced myself to ask. The sky become grey as the clouds formed as one over us. It looked like it was about to snow.

"Just over a day." Uhtred quickly answered.

"A day!" I was shocked.

"That's what a lot of ale does to you my lady, and you drank a lot of it." He grinned. "You should stick to the wine for now."

I was too annoyed and uncomfortable to fight back so I left the conversation there.

"Leon?" The man called. Uhtred took a few short moments before he remembered why he was calling Leon. He looked at me with caring eyes, knowing that the name sat still raw in my heart and mind. He smiled sadly and left to meet Antoine at the front. I shifted my body closer to them, ready to listen to what was being said.

The cart drove to a halt as we stopped to the edge of a steep hill. Looking ahead, there was the most beautiful view I had ever seen. Soft, fresh snow covered every inch of land beyond us, laying untouched by any man or animal. The sun began to set behind a large like mountain, illuminating its last beam of light before leaving us for the night. To the right, a glistening forest stood bare as the sky opened up and released small white flakes.