Warriors at Heart (The Last Kingdom Fanfic)

Chapter 4

A couple days after Uhtred's visit our presence was requested at the hall. Ivar and I dressed our best, which really was just out cleanest clothes I could find, and we marched across the field and up a dirt path to the hall. We were promptly admitted and soon found ourselves standing before Earl Ragnar, his father, Ravn, and Ragnar the younger. The three men were sitting on benches around the fire pit in the center of the hall. Seeing us enter, Earl Ragnar waved us over. Ragnar the younger sat up from his laid down position and greeted us with a big smile.

"Hello Lord," I curtseyed, and elbowed Ivar to bow.

"Tara, Ivar," Earl Ragnar greeted us.

He motioned for us to sit and had food and water brought before us. He watched as we carefully ate. He bit his cheek and seemed like he was trying to figure out how to say whatever he had summoned us for to say.

"Now before you protest," he began. My eyes widened. "I want you to know it would please me, and Sigrid greatly, and honestly, put our minds at ease if you would at least move closer to the hall," he finished.

"Lord, I do appreciate your kindness, but we love our little home," I replied.

"You are children. You should be enjoying yourselves, not doing chores all the time," he tried.

"I promised our father I'd look after Ivar," I tried.

"And you are doing a wonderful job of it, but do you ever play?" Earl Ragnar asked.

"Play?" I questioned; the concept seemingly foreign to me.

"I would guess not by her reaction," Ravn smiled.

"I play!" Ivar said gleefully.

It was true. Ivar had a habit of not working and I would always find he's somehow turned the work into a game. I never had the heart to stop him and we would pretend all sorts of things as we got our work done. Ivar would be a giant collecting eggs for his giant omelet, I would be a princess trapped in a magical garden that Ivar had to pull the weeds out of to rescue me.

"Please," Earl Ragnar said, taking my hands into his, "I promised your father I would look after you both."

"But our home," I said, feeling tears come to my eyes.

"Will remain there and still be yours always, you have my word on that," he replied gently.

"I want to live in the big fort," Ivar said innocently

I shushed him and scolded him to be polite. Earl Ragnar and Ravn laughed at our exchange.

"If it's work you really like to do, gods know Sigrid has plenty you could assist with," Earl Ragnar tried again.

"You can help me shovel out the goat pens," Ragnar the Younger laughed.

"Think about it, please," Earl Ragnar said, gently patting my hands before letting them go.

"I will," I replied.

~~~~~

A few weeks later the decision was made for us, and Ivar and I soon found ourselves saying farewell to our house, though Earl Ragnar did promise it would remain ours to return to when we were older. I felt sad saying farewell to our home, the place we lived with our father. The place he told us stories, comforted us when we were scared or sad, broke up our sibling squabbles, and so much more. I touched the frame of the door once more before turning to follow Ivar, Uhtred, and Ragnar the Younger back to the great hall, our new home.

I trudged along slowly and Uhtred slowed his pace to match mine. He was helping us carry our few belongings we were taking. He looked into my face and tried to smile at me.

"The hall is very nice," Uhtred tried to cheer me up.

"I know," I replied glumly.

"It's warm in the winter, cool in the summer. Plus, all of the animals are fun to take care of," he tried again.

"I'm going to miss my house," I said, looking back at the ever-smaller growing house.

"I promise you; I will ensure you have so much fun, you forget all about your house," Uhtred beamed.

"Promise?"

"I promise," he said, smiling broadly at me.

Uhtred was good to his word, and he kept me laughing so much of the time, I soon forgot about missing our little home. We spent many days that summer in complete bliss. The sun would rise and we'd rush through our tasks, often times finishing by noon. The rest of the day we'd spend playing warriors and fort building in the woods until dark fell and we'd be called back for supper. These were happy times. Little did we know that the fun and games were soon to come to an end.

One day Uhtred, Brida, Thyra (Earl Ragnar's daughter), and I were playing in a fort we had build in a clearing in the wood. Uhtred, Brida and I were warriors protecting our princess, Thyra. How quickly the game became real. Kjartan's son, Sven, made an appearance with two of his friends. While we were brandishing sticks, he had a very real sword. The metal glinted in the sunlight and Brida said she thought we'd better run, for Sven and his pals were now charging at us. The three of us took off running through the thicket. We were panting and trying to catch our breaths when we heard Thyra let out a terrified scream.

"Thyra!" Uhtred shouted, and took off running back towards the clearing we had just fled.

Brida and I exchanged looks of concern before tearing after him. When we arrived we saw Uhtred being held by Sven's friends while Sven was threateningly pointing his blade at Thyra. She was crying and he seemed very pleased with himself. He ripped open her dress exposing her, and he stared. Infuriated I threw a rock at him. It hit its mark and I saw a small line of blood trickled down the side of Sven's temple. He glared at me and moved towards where Brida and I stood. His friends momentarily distracted by the change of events, let up their grip on Uhtred slightly and he wiggled himself free, sending them to the ground. He threw himself onto Sven's back and the two crashed to the ground. Brida and I grabbed our sticks and started swinging them wildly at Sven's friends who were trying to help him.

Uhtred got a good punch in, but Sven, being bigger, clocked Uhtred in the eye. I slammed my stick hard against Sven's head. He grimaced in pain and Uhtred managed to buck him off himself and landed a few more punches. Sven scurried to his feet and took off running with his friends close at his heels. We cheered at our victory and I helped Thyra pull her dress back together. We were so joyous at our win that even the stern looks of disappointment upon the adults faces when we returned were not enough to bring us down. It wasn't until Earl Ragnar dragged us all into the hall by the scruffs of our necks that we realized we were in some serious trouble.