It's never over // Sihtric Kjartansson

Chapter Fourteen

Tove
The feeling on cold hands on my skin brought me back to consciousness. The smell of a lit fireplace filled my nostrills and lined my throat making me cough. I opened my eyes with a groan not looking forward to facing Sihtric yet, I couldn't even imagine talking to Osferth would go well. But they were not there when I looked around.
"Good morning Meren, I was beginning to get worried. You've been out for 3 days, don't worry I've had your wound stitched." It was Einar, I couldnt belive it. Furrowing my eyebrows I tried my hardest to remeber what happened but all that I could remember was the pain. The seething pain and the hot blood that submereged my hands. There was fighting, yes I remember that but...
"Don't tire your brain out you have only just awoken what's on your mind?" Einar was still looking proud of himself.
"Where am I?" when I tried to speak I felt the consequences of not speaking for so long and dried blood that clung to my tonsils.
"Home, where we belong. Our family."
"What? What family?" I laughed in his face. This had to be a joke? "You are deluded if you think this is where I belong." Einar hated being spoken back to. He grabbed my face quickly covering my mouth with his hand,
"How dare you speak that way. You have been unfaithful to me you are lucky I am being so generous as to not have you tied up. Your family is here and so this is the place you belong. You don't belong on horse back you are no man or warrior. You are but a woman. Made to give me sons and to obey." The period of his love for me was gone as quick as it had appeared. His words enraged me. This was not what I deserved. He let go of my face when I stopped struggling, "See it's not so hard is it?"
"Where is this family you speak of?" I mocked
"Do you disregard your son so easily?"
"My son?" I almost shouted in disgust, "my son? I don't even know his fucking name!"
"Don't be so stupid."
"Stupid? Am I? You took him from between my legs and ignored any name I suggested. You held him as he fed from my tit! I begged and begged to hold him just once. To cradle my own son in my arms just once and every single time I was met with laughs." I felt no fear for him anymore. I was no longer the terrified 12 year old that I was when I gave him the gift of a child, I was a woman and capable of things he couldn't even imagine.
"You were not fit to mother him."
"That's it? You are a fraction of a man." He didn't like that.
"You are mine!" He bellowed into my face making my teeth vibrate in my mouth, Einar threw himself at me grabbing my head between his arms and wrestling me into a position that I couldn't move under his weight. I screamed against the skin of his forearm. He began tearing at the braids on my head so harshly that I thought he would scalp me.
"You are my wife, you will mother my sons and serve me as I please. Do not think that when you have given me what I want or I have found a woman who is better suited that I will not take your life in a way that will leave you begging for mercy to pay me back for all the fucking trouble you have caused me." His fingers still dug at the inricate and thoughtful designs Sihtric had put into my hair, I dug my nails as hard as I could into his arms trying not to cry. When my hair had fallen down over my shoulders he viciously threw me to the ground.
"I will waste no more time with you get washed."
"Sihtric will kill you." I spat at his feet as he turned from me.
"What did you say?"
"My true husband will kill you, he'll rip you limb from limb if you so much as undress me." Einar laughed. A long chesty laugh that he had to rest his hands on his knees.
"Where is that loyal man now? He heard all that I said, he heard you admit to having a husband and a son before him. He knows you were the cause of both yours and Uhtred's family's deaths,"
"No," I whispered
"He knows who Meren is, and that Tove is a fake she is not real just one of your performances."
"He-"
"Isn't coming Meren. I don't blame him." Einar slammed the door behind him. He was right. The tone in Sihtric's voice the last time I heard him speak, he isn't coming. I'm trapped. Everything was going so well, so well. All the hard work I had put into keeping him from this was taken so quickly.
I wrapped my arms around myself squeezing my eyes shut trying to imagine Sihtric was there too, nuzzling me into his chest and kissing the top of my head as he would always do. That made me cry, I now had to mourn my husband. He no longer wanted me and I would die before I have the chance to plead for his forgiveness.
"Oh Sihtric," I whispered to myself. Before I had chance to pray to the Gods the door opened again.
"I am to take you to Einar's room." The Dane said. I felt sick, he wasn't kidding. He would waste no time in getting his son.
"No." I said as loud as the lack of breath would allow. He came towards me his arms outstretched, I leapt out his way trying to find a place small enough for me to squeeze into and he could not follow.
"Don't make this harder than it is Meren." He said calmly. His arms grabbed my sleeve pulling me towards him.
"No." I shouted. What do I do? I can't do it, if there was a spike I would mount my head upon it. I couldn't return to this nightmare. His grasp was strong as he dragged me kicking and screaming out of the room. I grabbed the door frame gripping it with all my might,
"Stop acting like a child!" He shouted in my ear as I still refused to let go. Everything about this place brought me back, brought it all back. The grief, the pain, the abuse.
"Please I beg of you please." I didn't know what to do. With a final tug my fingers slipped from the painted wood, desperately I searched for something else to grab onto. But he was moving so quickly, when I heard the door open I could have died right then and there. And I wish I did.

Change
"I'm worried about him." Finan said in a low voice as he and Uhtred watched Sihtric. It had been a week since Tove's abduction and Sihtric wasted no time gathering information.
"I want to talk sense into him but I don't think I would be able to act any differently if something happens to Gisela. I just wish he would talk to someone."
"What would we say."
"Well that's it, we don't know what to believe but I don't see any reason to place blame on Tove." Finan grunted an agreement.
"Do you think we can pull a rescue off? It's a big fortress and no doubt more men will be there. He knows Sihtric will come for her."
"Well Finan. That's one thing we have to our advantage, he doesn't know we are coming. I mean none of us exactly defended her. We should have."
Uhtred's words were true but it gave Finan a solemn feeling.
"Do you think she thinks we are coming?" Uhtred couldnt respond straight away. She tried to kill herself she wasn't exactly trusting in the fact they would save her. Finan looked to Uhtred when he didn't reply.
"We don't even know if she survived or she hasn't been killed."
"I will not speak of this anymore." Uhtred ended the conversation abruptly. Finan was only saying what they all thought. There was not one person at Coocham who didn't miss Tove or atleast feel her absence.
"We will get her out just as we know she would do for any of us."
But now the only thing they could think of was how.

"What have you come up with Sihtric?" Osferth asked as the men joined him in the hall for dinner.
"Well, from what people have told me there really is no way to get in unless you have someone on the inside. There are 2 gates, one is the main gate which usually has 2 men on the outside and 2 men inside to open the doors. The other is a one man job because it is only really an out way, the back gate leads to a small pond where apparently Einar washes privately opposed to the lake south of the fortress. The walls are high but scalable if someone is inside to throw down a rope. The drop can kill."
"That's an obvious pointer that we are sending people in isn't it." Uhtred asked already knowing the answer.
"Yes my Lord."
"Has there been any sightings of her?"
"No but people know she is there. Einar had a feast in celebration of her return."
"So she is alive. That's a positive." Finan placed a kind hand on Sihtric's shoulder.
"Well I propose we send 3 men, 2 will stay until we ambush and 1 will return to us with news of a way in or if anything happens. It can't be Me or either of you." Uhtred gestured to Finan and Sihtric, they knew they couldn't go as Einar had seen them and would most definitely recognise them.
"What did you have in mind for the ambush?"
"It needs to be a stealth mission, we can't take on all of Einar's men even if we took every man from Coocham." Many nods of agreement were given in returns.
"How soon can we do this?" Sihtric wanted to stop wasting time.
"The 3 men will leave at first light."
"And the ambush?"
"Sihtric. Eat your supper, Tove will need your strength." What Uhtred said was true. Knowing something was being done brought so much relief to Sihtric. But he couldn't stop worrying until he had Tove back.
The plan was simple enough, which is where every problem starts. This was no exception.