Wolf Warrior (The Mórrigan's Wolf, Part 2) The Last Kingdom Fanfiction

14 - Bound to Repeat the Lesson

A soft, muffled cry woke Finan from his sleep. He at first thought it was Aodhán, stirring in his cradle, until Faoladhean let out a quiet whine beside him. He pushed himself up so he could see her face, as they had been sleeping with her back to his chest. In the darkness of the room, he could see that her brow was furrowed in her sleep, and he stroked his hand down her arm in quiet reassurance. Faoladhean uttered another choked cry and shook her head gently. It wasn't a nightmare, at least not like those she had suffered for so long after Dunholm, but he knew that whatever dreamscape she was in was not pleasant.

"Faoladhean," he said, just above a whisper, as he continued to stroke her arm with his hand. "Mo aingeal."

A shaky inhale came in response as her legs kicked out once, and another whimper left her lips.

Finan bent his head closer to her ear and tried again to gently rouse her. "Hey, mo ghrá, it's just a dream. Wake up for me, darlin'." He turned his head just slightly and kissed her shoulder, allowing his beard to brush across her skin.

"Finan?" Faoladhean's voice was small, her eyes slowly blinked partially open and she groggily searched him out in the dark.

"Yes, m'chroí, I am here." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight against his chest again, relieved that she was at last out of the dream. "Do ya want to talk about it?"

She was quiet for a moment as she rubbed her eyes, then rolled over to nuzzle her face against his chest, sighing as his arms encircled her and their legs entwined naturally, with one of his coming to rest on top. She felt protected, safely wrapped in Finan and his strength, and allowed herself to relax into the embrace with another soft sigh. "It was just an unpleasant dream."

"Do you want to tell me what it was about, or just try to sleep?" Finan's voice was thick with grogginess, now that the initial worry had subsided, and the tone of it soothed the frayed nerves Faoladhean felt at the edges of her awareness. She was quiet so long that he thought she had already fallen back to sleep, so he kissed her on the head and closed his eyes.

"It was the camp outside Lunden." Faoladhean's voice sounded sad in the darkness, hushed as it was. "Only I was captured, and instead of capturing Lady Æthelflæd and riding off, they began assaulting her, and I was made to watch." A small shiver rolled down her spine.

Finan had opened his eyes and was looking at her in the dark. "Well," he paused as he deliberated what to say. "Ya weren't captured, though. And as for the lady, we can only hope for the best outcome."

"Do you think they would? Assault her?" Her whispers were now in Gaelic, something she had been lapsing into more often when they were alone with Aodhán, and it seemed the habit was carrying over elsewhere.

With a sigh, Finan put a hand on her cheek. "I wish I could confidently say no, m'ghrá. If the Thurgilsons are smart, they will not allow it to happen, as it would make negotiations more difficult."

"If they want to negotiate for ransom." Faoladhean said, bitterness in her tone.

"They will want to ransom her. Why else would they have taken her? It makes no sense otherwise."

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Faoladhean nodded and placed a hand to rest on Finan's chest. Her fingers absently traced over a small scar she could feel just below his collarbone.

"How is it that a woman's worth is dependent on her body? It is incredibly unjust that her value would decrease if she had been assaulted...even though her husband is allowed to abuse her, and treat her as his property. Like she is no more than a mindless cow!"

Finan sighed as he scrubbed a hand over his face, knowing that sleep would likely be in short supply with Faoladhean becoming riled up with indignation. "It isn't right, I know. I do not understand it, either."