The Dawn of the Lost

21

Uhtred and I rode out he had been in the town for far too long, his grief had strangled his heart for far too long. We even rode past the now deserted farmstead he had been gifted, he was quiet but comforted I was here.  "You seem different," he said as he dismounted and took my horses reins holding him steady as I too climbed down from his back.

"I do?" I asked.

"Yes, you never wore warpaint before, and you seem tougher," he said.

"Death changes a person," I replied and walked to his son's grave, a flimsy cross made of sticks marked his final resting place. I crouched down, my knees clicking and my fur cloak draping the ground.  I placed my hand gently on top of the earth and closed my eyes chanting to myself quietly.

"What are you doing?" He asked kneeling next to me. I gripped his hand and he too could see what I was seeing. Haesten had brought his men through here, killed and burnt everything. Uhtred let go the pain too much for him, I took my hand off the grave and rested it on Uhtreds back.

"Now you know. We have two people to hunt down," I said. He nodded, his vocal cords too strangled with tears. We sat by the graveside for a few hours, silence, the breeze and the song of birds filled the air.  However, when the rain came we were pushed into the ruins of the barn the decaying and weak wood offered little shelter. 

"I will get my revenge," he said. I rested a hand on his shoulder.

"After we've dealt with the more important things," I said. He sighed and nodded in agreement he knew I was right. "Do not fixate on it," I walked to the weak timber door frame and looked out at the rain pelting the ground. "Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while," I looked back over at him he just stared into the shadows of the barn. Maybe coming here wasn't the best idea. He had started a fire with the dry timber he could find and together we huddled around it. 

"What are you going to do about Cnuts desires?" he asked. 

"I'll make sure he never has children again," I replied looking at Uhtred through the dancing flames. He nodded and huffed a laugh. 

"Never thought I'd ever hear you say that," he replied. 

"Well a man has to learn," I said. 

"That he does," he smiled, "if he ever lays a hand on you again I will end him." I got up and sat next to Uhtred and rested my head on his shoulder. 

"I know," I said as he wrapped his arm around my waist. 

"Feeling any better?" I asked. 

"Yes, my son can be at peace now, his memory now in our hands," Uhtred said resting his head over on mine softly. "You are lucky to be blessed with such powers." 

"You can thank Aethelwold for that, if he hadn't had killed me I wouldn't have been bought back to life," I said. 

"You would never have come back to me," he said.