Always Be By My Side - Sequel to Always Return to Me (The Last Kingdom Fan Fic)

Chapter 29

I was about to protest when I felt her hand rest on my arm. "Yes," she breathed out heavily. I scowled at her stubbornness but knew there was little point in arguing. Without giving her any warning I scooped her off her feet and despite her protests carried her the rest of the way. I felt her head rest on my shoulder as she gave in, and pressed her cloth tighter against her wound.

~~~

The Irishman's stream was like music. I felt my heart lighten and saw relief fall upon everyone's faces. As gently as I could, I leaned my wife against a large boulder near the edge of the water. She winced slightly, but settled in quickly. I watched as she set about untying and removing her leather bodice, revealing a red stained shirt beneath.

"Is that my shirt?" I chuckled.

"Sorry," she replied, turning away so I wouldn't see her face redden. "I need clean cloths."

As if summoned, Osferth appeared by her side. The baby monk was full of surprises. I watched as he pulled ointments and clean clothes out of his bag. "Osferth you have to open your eyes, to stich and dress the wound," Nadia kindly chided. I had to refrain from laughing as his face reddened. "I won't bite," she continued. The monk took a small breath before opening one eye, and then the other. "Now stick the needle in the fire," she instructed. I watched the monk's shaking hand do as she told him. Right until she told him to stick it in her side. At that he practically fainted.

"Allow me," a voice said from behind me. The tightening of my wife's face was all I needed to know about how she felt about Eadith's offer. To my surprise, she nodded her head. The Mercian woman knelt down and took the needle from poor Osferth. I watched my wife's face twist and her squeeze her eyes shut as the woman began closing the wound.

"How old is this wound?" She asked as she worked.

"A few weeks," Nadia squeaked back.

"You traveled with this barely healed?" Eadith asked.

"It was healed," my stubborn wife hissed back. "Besides, I hadn't planned on running for my life," she added, leaning her head back against the rock.

Eadtith looked to me. I shrugged. She let a small smile slip before turning back to her task at hand. I prayed to the gods that Nadia had missed it. I did not want to discover what my wife would do to any woman who looked at me the wrong way.

After what felt like a long time waiting, I heard Nadia instruct Eadith once more. "Now, tie it tight. I don't want it to bleed again." I had to admire Eadith's patience as she silently obeyed.

Nadia's face relaxed some and she sighed heavily. "Tak," she said. Eadith politely nodded and left me sitting alone with my wife.

I moved to her not wounded side and let her nestle herself into my side. I breathed in her scent and felt a warm feeling growing within my soul. "You should've said something sooner," I gently scolded her.

"Mhmm," she replied, turning her head to look up at me. I stared into her dark eyes and saw a mixture of softness and mischief.

"You are going to be the end of me," I whispered to her.

"Probably," she chuckled, turning to look out at the band we traveled with.

The Irishman was playing with Aethelstan, while Kjartan's bastard and Uhtred chatted a ways downstream. My eyes fell to where my wife was looking. Osferth and Eadith were crouched down by Aelfwynn. The monk stealing glances at the red-haired woman beside him.

"I think Osferth likes her," Nadia said, interrupting my focus. "What's her name?"

"Eadith," I replied.

"She's really quite beautiful... for a Saxon," Nadia laughed.

I felt my face redden slightly and looked down at my wife who was beaming at me. "I'm not going to kill her," she assured me.

"I never..." I began.

"It's you I'd slit balls to gullet," her smile vanished a moment as she took in my shocked face. She laughed mischievously at my reaction. I shook my head at her and stole a long kiss, not caring if anyone saw. I felt her kiss me back and felt a deep longing begin to make its way into my soul.

I pulled back gently and watched as she readjusted herself and quietly drifted off to sleep in my arms.

~~~

Nadia

I slept a good long while in the safety of Ragnar's embrace. The light when I had closed my eyes had long faded away. The woods were shadowed eerily in the light of a small fire. I blinked a few times before shifting some to find Ragnar was no longer next to me. I groaned lightly as I sat up.

"Yer awake," a familiar voice said, as its body plopped down next to me.

"Aye," I replied, accepting the water skin being offered. "Where's Ragnar?"

"With Uhtred," Finan replied, taking the skin back. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and nodded. "You feel better?" He asked, his brow furrowed.

"I do."

"Scared us half to death," he chuckled. "You should've said something lady,"

"You sound like Ragnar." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, what good would it have done? The Mercian's would've caught us, and that would've been much worse," I argued.

"Losing you would ave been worse," he said softly.

"It's going to take more than a nasty cut to get rid of me," I smiled.

"A cut? That's a gash," he laughed.

"To you perhaps," Sihtric chuckled, as he smacked Finan on the shoulder. "The lady is ten times tougher than you Finan."

"How many times do I have to tell you two to not call me lady," I scowled, earning more laughter from the two idiots.

"You are Lady Ragnarson, my lady," Sihtric cackled.

"And if you keep that up you are going to be a dead man, Sihtric," I replied, fingering my knife.

Sihtric put his hands up in mock surrender. The three of us laughed a bit before looking over to where Osferth and Eadith sat with the children in different states of sleep around them.

"I think Osferth likes the lady," Finan teased.

"She could do better," Sihtric laughed.

"Osferth's sweet," I chimed in.

"Lady, did you know he jumped from the ramparts at Lundene into a band of armed Danes and lived to tell the tale?" Finan asked.

"Osferth?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "You're messing with me Finan."

"Hand to god, that's how he and Uhtred tell it anyway," he smiled deviously.

"Osferth the warmonger. Has a nice ring," Sihtric chuckled.

"Are these two fools bothering you?" Uhtred smiled, sitting down next to Sihtric.  I felt Ragnar take up residence on my other side. "Nothing I can't handle," I grinned back.

"I don't doubt it," Uhtred mused.

Our joyous mood slowly grew silent as people began drifting off. Finan went off to take first watch. I insisted I be woken in a bit to take a turn at watch. I shivered as Sihtric and Osferth put out the small fire to avoid attracting any extra attention. Ragnar draped his fur cloak over the two of us and I curled up in the warmth of his arms, resting my head on his chest. His heart beat steady. After a while I drifted off to sleep, knowing it would be over Ragnar's dead body that anybody would wake me for my turn to take watch.