𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 || ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴋɪɴɢᴅᴏᴍ

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄 - ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴀʏᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴀɴ.

There was a smile on her face, dimples in her cheeks, the curvature of her lips just reaching her eyes, eyes that reflected the image of her sister standing at the altar beside Beocca – the man she'd chosen to marry.

Freyja's happiness was not her own, rather it was Thyra's – her happiness was for Thyra.

Uhtred, standing in a place where a priest should, took both Thyra's and Beoccas hands, laying them upon each other and unslipped the thin rope from around his shoulders, tying it around their hands, binding them to one another

"I am witness." He spoke so quietly, but due to the church, the tall stone walls, the cold ground, his voice echoed with a whisper. "You are together, never to part, bound as man and his wife."

With a lingering smile of Beoccas lips, he glanced towards his beautiful red haired wife before peering thoughtful towards Uhtred, attempt to make in subtle as he spoke aloud. "And a prayer?"

Uhtred grinned, his joy contagious, amused and he gave a slow shake of his head, teeth clenched with a sheepish expression. "I don't know any prayers."

Beoccas face fell and a chorus of lighthearted laughter balanced out the heavy, weighting silence.

"I will say a prayer." Hild smiled kindly, her eyes filled with awe as she inched closer to the near wedded couple.

Beocca bowed his head. "Hild, please."

The nun stepped forward, taking Beoccas and Thyra's combined hands into her own. "Let us pray that God and all his saints and all his angels in heaven smile and bless you. Let us pray that this union of Dane and Saxon can show that this is a land for all people."

"Under one god." Beocca muttered.

"Under one god, of course." Hild corrected, untying the wraps of their hands. "Amen."

"Amen." Thyra repeated, turning to face her husband.

"Amen." Beocca spoke, mirroring her actions and facing his new wife. The two fell into each other's arms, soaking into one another's embrace.

Aethelwold turned and left the room.

Freyja's hand silently brushed along Thyra's back, a gesture of celebration as she left the married couple to their own. She stepped away, walking alongside her brother as she watched the king's nephew flee.

Finan's head peered between them both, his words soft against their ears. "When are you going to tell him what sihtric saw? That the ghost is a lie."

Uhtred drew in a breath. "If I tell him, he'll talk and Sigefrid will hear. They must believe that we believe."

—— • ° ☽ ★ ☾ ° • ——

THEY STOOD IN ANOTHER CHURCH,
more grander than the last, a palace hall for another much grander wedding – the wedding of aelthelflaed and aethelred.

Freyja stood silent, the smile no longer on her face, her happiness now far gone, snagged away the moment she stepped outside of the church. Her arm's were folded behind his, shoulders squared, fingers locked around her wrist.

"I do enjoy another wedding." Aethelwold shifted on his feet, gazing ahead of him with a stoic expression as he leaned towards Uhtred, whispering to the Dane as to not drawn the attention towards him. "A royal wedding in particular. It is a tonic for the soul. The excitement, the expense –"