Kingdom Come

XII. Flying or Crying

"Yes, I know!" Finan commented as if it were the most obvious thing that he would know about the two.

"Sihtric and Jaehaera?" Osferth asked with confusion and awe. "Oh, this is unbelievable! How long have you known?!"

Finan breathed out a sigh of relief as if he could now breathe better knowing that someone else knew this secret as well. "Too long," Finan answered, taking the man by his shoulders, shaking his a bit. "Oh my word, baby monk, I have been dying to talk to someone about this for so long!" Finan let go of the monk and got his attention once more. "But listen, listen, we can't say anything to anyone about this, they are so weird about-"

"What's weird?" Rickon asked, finally finding the two and coming to join them. Finan and Osferth broke apart from whispering and both greeted the man with exaggerated smiles and words. He looked at them with shock and slight amusement. "What is the matter with the two of you?"

"Nothing, we are just happy to see that Cnut didn't kill you," Finan teased. Then he looked between the two of them. "You know I am going to do as Jaehaera has done, and go on a walk." Finan began to walk away, and Osferth watched him.

"Oh, yes, that does sound like a lovely idea," Osferth agreed before following Finan.

Rickon watched the two walk away with confusion, "that was weird," he spoke to himself before picking up Osferth's book he had left. Then he tilted his head at the thought that the two men were being weird just then because of a new budding relationship between them, but the thought quickly left his head as he got distracted by Sihtric walking out of the Inn. Then a few moments later, Jaehaera as well. "I wager they've just had sex," he whispered to himself before going back to reading his- Osferth's book.

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Jaehaera stood by her aunt watching as the warriors gathered around under Ragnar's orders. He wanted to play games like always. Torches lit the playing square. She smiled at her father's warriors and the danes. They had positioned themselves on either end of a giant rope. Sihtric, Finan, and Rickon had joined her father's team. Bjorn on her uncle's. She hadn't seen much of her old lover since they arrived, but he certainly has grown. He looked more like his father now, built and strong. Though his laugh hadn't changed. It still boomed around, louder than everyone else's.

Jaehaera finally allowed herself to have fun while she watched with her aunt, laughing and joking with the others. She has felt more at home with her uncle in Dunholm than anywhere else. Around danes like her.

Sihtric and Jaehaera made eye contact, and she kept her smile. It stopped Sihtric in his tracks. He hadn't seen her smile in months, and he had almost forgotten how beautiful it truly was. He couldn't help but return it. He elbowed Uhtred and pointed to her. Jaheaera looked at Sihtric and Uhtred still smiling. Uhtred could have cried at seeing his daughter's joy. Finally, he thought, finally some normalcy in all this madness.

"We are divided," Ragnar's voice rang out, "it seems." she saw his playful smirk, and she returned it. "We are two people...it seems." Everyone around laughed. "Over here," he gestured to her father's men, "we have the ugly..." the crowd laughed once more, "the unwashed," Finan continued to drink out of an almost comically large cup, "the shit-smelling, the pig-humping, Frog-licking-"

"Frog-licking?" Rickon questioned.

"The Rome-worshipping," Her uncle continued, not stopping. Oh how he loved dramatics, she thought while she chuckled with everyone else that had gathered around. "Ugly, frog-licking Saxons!" She cheered with her father's men next to her aunt who laughed at her. Sihtric leaned back for Finan to pour more ale into his mouth. Gods, she could take him right here for everyone to see, she thought to herself. Jaehaera couldn't quite explain why the action made her think this, but everything her Sihtric did make her feel this way.