Life was simple, easy, safe despite the nagging of others demanding to know what Y/n wanted to do with her life she had little to complain about.
Still she wished the sea would take her, she didn't want to worry about where her life was headed, she...
The trip to Winchester proved to be of little fruition while Ragnar and Brida got their freedom; Uhtred found himself once again sworn to King Alfred.
Still after almost a week of travelling via horseback I could not complain when I finally got to sleep in a real bed. Even if it was a slab of wood with the thinnest of mattress, the crumbliest of pillows and the thinnest blanket.
Good thing it was summer, I had little need for the blanket.
Still the trip to my first alehouse was eventful, Finan surely had no problem making himself comfortable and as such I actually found myself laughing at his drunken antics.
Laying on the bed in my room I couldn't help but reflect on the night before. It was my first good time here in this timeline. Uhtred, despite his news even joined us with Gisela.
Our laughter echoed around the ale house followed by some embarrassment when Finan teased me about all the male attention I was getting.
Gosh, Gisela, I could see why Uhtred was so taken by her. She was the most kind hearted woman besides Hild I had met. We immediately got along, almost inseparable for most of the night. Something Uhtred eventually tired of and swept her away.
A knock at my door alerted me to rise.
"Finan!" I giggled when I opened the door only for a small cup of water to be thrown at my face. "My clothes are wet."
"Rise and shine, sleepy head, we will be back on the road by noon." He says throwing an arm over my shoulder.
"And here I was starting to settle." I groan.
"Settle? I saw no man in your room." Finan jests. I jab him in his side, earning a groan in response as we head out to begin readying the horses.
Before we left however, Gisela had expressed her concerns and worries about not being wed and an outside to Wessex.
'Girl same.' Was all I thought on the front of being an outsider. Till news came from someone named father Beocca that we should join Uhtred's, him and Gisela in the church to see the two lovers wed.
The wedding was simple, sweet and filled with love. Their rituals differed so much to what I was used to. Uhtred's stood in his armour while Gisela wore a red dress.
"One may be overpowered." Father Beocca took both Uhtred's and Gisela's hands jointing them together.
"Two can defend themselves." He continued wrapping three multicoloured pieces of fabric around theirs joined hands.
As he tied it he said. "A cord of three is not so quickly broken." And clasped his hands on top of theirs.
"Now that you are bound together, Uhtred and Gisela, I can declare you man and wife." He declared stepping back and removing the tie around their hands.
"Now I will never be taken from you." Uhtred's whispered joining his head with hers and bumping her nose with his. After Gisela smiled at his words the two sealed their vows with a deep kiss.
Finan and I shared happy smiles and clapped quietly to celebrate their union. Back outside I walked up to my horse behind Uhtred and his now wife Gisela.
"Where is it we ride to?" I ask when we arrive back at the stables.
"To the brothers, Siegfried and Erik and then to the man who enslaved me." Uhtred replies to which I nod.
I hesitate to mount my horse when a thought crosses my mind.
"Is there likely to be a battle?" I then ask no one in particular.
"There is." Ragnar replies. "Have you ever seen a battle before lady?" He then asks.
"I am from a time of ... peace ... well there are still wars but none in my country. You'd find war and battles are a lot different in the future to the past." I reply by mounting my horse.
"Most of us have never even laid eyes on a sword." I add, waiting for Uhtred and Gisela to bid their farewells before we head out.
"Then what do you fight with?" Finan asks.
"That would be far too complex to explain to your simple minds." I tease earning chuckles from some men but a glare from Finan.
"How long will we be travelling for?" I then ask.
"You are full of questions today girl." Steapa comments.
"I am simply trying to stay in the loop. Besides there something I am undecided on." I replied.
"You aren't planning on leaving us?" Uhtred looks back over his shoulder, worried in his eyes.
"The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. I wouldn't survive on my own, Uhtred." I reassured.
"Then what is it you are trying to decide?" Hild asks from her position besides me.
"..." I remain silent as I watch children running between the market stalls, a crease in my brow.
"I wonder if I am cut out for this, I was brought here for some reason and what I do not know..." I pause sighing as I turn to look at Uhtred who still looks over his shoulder at me.
"I cannot rely on you and Finan, Hild, Steapa or even Ragnar and an army of men to protect me. If there is no certainty that I am to return to my home I will need to learn to adapt, to defend myself." I say in a small voice as we pass through the gates of Winchester.
"You wish to learn to fight?" Steapa says somewhat shocked at my proclamation.
I nod in response, unsure my voice would allow me to repeat my thoughts.
"When we were slaves, you not only shared your food with us but for those first few months you stood in the way of that whip despite my telling you not to." Uhtred reflects, causing me to stiffen at the mention of our enslavement.
"What are you saying?" I am unsure why he was bringing up that time all those months ago.
"We are bonded, you will always have my protection." He continues. "Even if you are stubborn." To this I groan with an eyeroll. "There is strength in you that only you cannot see and doubt." He replies.
"And yet I barely know how to hold the dagger Ragnar gave me. Hand me a sword and I'd look like a melon." I sigh.
"That's the doubt talking." Finan says from behind me.
"We will be on the road for a good week or two..." Ragnar replies to the previous question.
"If you wish to learn sword skill you will train when we rest. By the time we reach Kjartans fort you will fight with us." Uhtred declares.
I once more straighten on my saddle despite my paling face and nod to confirm that is what I'll do.
~~~
To Be Continued
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