I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe, I wanna be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what love can do
I'll be there for you
Jaehaera and her father Uhtred gathered around their turd King. Sihtric and Bjorn stood on either side of her while she stood behind her father. Hild stood nearby with Clapa and Halig. "Sigefrid and his army are not beyond the Tuede," the turd king announced to everyone what some of them already knew. "It stands between us, and Eoferwic." it's not an army you turd for brain 'king' she thought to herself while rolling her eyes, hiding the action by looking at her feet. How many times do we have to tell you?
"But it is not an army," Her father added as if hearing her thoughts. "We are more than three times their number."
"So we kill them," Ulf added. Yes, Jaehaera thought in agreement.
"No," the turd king answered. "No, we do not kill them." Jaehaera looked down and rolled her eyes again. The action became something Bjorn and Sihtric have become accustomed to by now. Sihtric smirked inwardly. "We must consider the battles that lie ahead. Beyond Erik is Kjartan, beyond Kjartan is Aelfric."
"And what you must do, Lord," her father spoke again, "is win the first, and this could be done this very night."
Guthred took in a breath and released it. "I have decided that we shall negotiate."
"We bargain?" Ulf asked, his voice having a bit of a bite to it. She liked him. "With an army so small?" Halig looked at Hild and the other three.
"The brothers and their man, they are a useful addition to our own numbers," the abbot's voice explained further. She wanted to kill this man and place his head on a stick as a warning.
"Why do you insist on inviting strangers into the household guard?" her father asked. Finally saying what she and the others had been thinking.
"And what of the silver?" Ulf added on.
"I have made my decision," the king told them. It's a shit decision, but what can be expected of a shit king, she thought as she moved some dirt with her foot. She looked down to hide the annoyance that had to be written all over her face. "A message has been sent."
"It will mean less silver," Ulf added again as her father looked away from the king with annoyance and disapproval.
"Ulf, it will mean more silver," the abbot added. Jaehaera rolled her eyes but covered the action by looking up at the sky above them. If there truly was a Christian God, she would hope that he would strike him now with lightning. "From Eoferwic, Kjartan and Bebbanburg-"
"Bebbanburg, and what lies within it, belongs to no man but me," Her father commented sternly.
"You are for yourself, it would appear," the abbot shot back. Jaehaera put her hand in her cloak and took hold of her knives to throw, but Hild grabbed her arm.
"Gisela, I would like you beside me at the negotiation," the King told her mother. She knew her mother and father weren't technically married yet, but everyone knew they loved each other. "Uhtred, mine is the only voice that the brothers shall hear." gods, Jaehaera wanted to throw these knives at him and the abbot's eyes and twist them to make them both blind. Blinder than they already were it seemed. Her mother and father shared a look of unhappiness.
*********************************************************************
Sihtric, Jaehaera, Bjorn, Hild, Clapa, and Halig all stood with their army outside the negotiation tent. Jaehaera no longer has to hide her frustration and anger. "This is utterly idiotic," she huffed to no one in particular. "Demented even."
"Jaehaera, hush," Hild warned her, as Saxons were still around them. "Someone could hear you, and then you'll be as good as dead."
"I am sorry, lady, but I cannot keep quiet any longer," Jaehaera replied to the nun. Sihtric and Bjorn shared a smirk, the boys not seeing the other do so.
"You must, Guthred is the king, and he decides," Hild reminded her. "It could be for our good."
"That does not mean it's a good decision," Jaehaera replied back quietly. "A dog decides to piss on a tree. Who is that decision good for? The dog? Or the tree?"
"Jaehaera, hold your tongue, I am warning you," Hild hissed at her. Jaehaera relented and huffed before crossing her arms over her chest. "I agree with you. We should be fighting, not talking. But you and I don't make the decisions."
*********************************************************************
As they marched into Eoferwic they were met with no fight, just monks and priests. They bowed to the body that is supposed to be their saint. She followed after Hild, her father, and her mother glaring at the back of Guthred's head. Once they were settled, her father went out to the stable for something for his horse and found Sihtric, Clapa, and his daughter walking together. Talking. He didn't know how to feel about that. Maybe he could see the appeal. An older boy with darker features, but what happened with her and Bjorn he wondered. The two haven't been spending as much time together as before.
"Sihtric," her father's voice rang out, interrupting the three's conversation. He quickly walked over to him, Jaehaera close behind, even though he hadn't called her.
"Yes, lord?" Sihtric answered.
"Kjartan's fortress at Dunholm, you will tell me of the weaknesses," he commanded him.
"There are none, lord," Sihtric answered. He spoke the truth, she could tell. Jaehaera turned her gaze onto her father. "Lord, there are no weaknesses," he repeated when his father gave him a look. A look she didn't understand, but Sihtric did. It told him to keep away from his daughter.
"There are always weaknesses," he told him, glancing at his daughter as he walked towards the boy with his horse. He got onto his horse and looked down at his daughter, who stepped a bit away from the boy which seemed to please her father. "I will go, and see for myself."
"Your father does not like me," Sihtric commented to her as her father rode away.
Jaehaera shook her head, "no, he just does not know you," she answered. "He will come around to you. Trust me."
Just when Sihtric opened his mouth to reply to her, the annoyed blond bug that followed found them. Bjorn glared at Sihtric, and Sihtric glared back. "Jaehaera," Bjorn called before walking to her. "Would you like to come train with me?"
Jaehaera nodded, and then looked at Sihtric. "Sure," she answered. "I will see you at dinner, Sihtric," she told him before walking away with her Bjorn to train. Leaving the dark-haired boy behind her.
"I don't trust Sihtric," Bjorn told her once they were out of earshot.
Jaehaera looked up at him, "why? He's a dane like us, he wishes to serve my father and hasn't given him bad advice yet," she reminded her lover.
"Yes, but are Danes to be trusted?" He asked her. "Especially one that came from Kjartan? He killed your aunt and your grandparents. He almost killed your father, why should we trust him?"
"Because my father trusts him," she replied sharply. "Do you not trust the word of my father anymore?" She asked, pausing in their walk to train, raising an eyebrow at the boy.
"Of course, I trust your father," He told her. "I just-"
"You just what?"
"I do not trust him around you, Jaehaera," he finally spoke. "You tried to kill him, twice, so why should you be so friendly with him, and why should he want to be so friendly with you?" She did not think about that. But the two had made up their differences when she had untied him. The times they spoke, they seemed friendly enough. "Just, I just want you to be safe," he told her, gently taking her shoulders in his hands to look at her.
"I know," she answered. "And I you." Bjorn just kissed her head before they continued their walk.
*********************************************************************
Early that next morning, Hild walked outside for some fresh air when she saw the abbot and other men rushing towards where Uhtred and Halig lay. She dropped the bucket she held in her hand for Jaehaera to wash with when she woke and rushed back to where she had rested the night before to get her weapons. When she returned, she found men carrying her Lord, and Halig out with swords and daggers to their throats.
Halig saw her first. "Hild, no!" he called for her to stop with worry laced in his voice.
"No, Hild!" Uhtred commanded. "Put down your sword! Put it down now!" he couldn't lose her too.
She dropped it at once and looked at him with utter helplessness. "What should I do lord?"
"You will do nothing," the abbot snapped at her as he pushed her aside.
"Hild!" Uhtred called after her. "My sword! And find my daughter and Gisela!" Hild did as he commanded at once. She took his sword first and took it with her to find his family. She found Gisela being walked, "Lady Gisela," she called out to her.
"Is it true they have taken Uhtred?" She asked her friend.
One of the priests pushed Hild aside again, "out of the way, this is God's work!"
"It is!" She answered the woman.
"Then you must help him," Gisela called out to her. "You are his only hope! Find Jaehaera, Hild! Please!"
*********************************************************************
Jaehaera was shaken awake with Sihtric over her, he covered her mouth so she didn't shout. Bjorn had been right. She tried to free herself from him, going to headbutt him, but he stopped her. "It's alright, Jaehaera," he whispered frantically to her. Worry and fear riddled his eyes. "Come with me, quickly, please!" He commanded her.
She didn't move as fast as he had wanted her to, only being woken up a few seconds ago. He held out her large cloak for her and her weapons as she quickly put on her shoes. Finally sensing his urgency. Her heart dropped immediately. Where were Bjorn and her father and mother? "What is going on, Sihtric?" she asked once she had everything. Her heart sank when she registered his body language and the fear on his face.
"Come, quickly," he told her as he pulled her out of the room, hand in his. She struggled to keep up with his pace so early in the morning, she wanted to sleep. The taller dane boy stopped them in the shadows of the main square, motioning for her to watch.
There in the center stood the turd king and his priests. All sleep left her system when she saw her father and Halig being dragged into cages. "No!" She gasped, going to rush out for him, but Sihtric caught hold of her and held her safely in the shadows even though she fought him. "No," she told him angrily. "Let go of me, I have to help him!" She kicked and fought.
"No, please lady, you cannot," he told her quietly and calmly. "You must stay hidden." He looked around to see if anyone could see them. He turned her to face him, leaning towards her so they held eye contact. "If they are to be taken, then you are no longer protected, and neither are Bjorn and me. We cannot draw attention to ourselves." Her eyes welled up as she saw her father being thrown into a cage, and heard his and Halig's struggles. They beat her father when he fought.
"No, we can not just stand here," she whispered helplessly; shaking her head at him as he held her.
Sihtric's heart broke for hers. "But we must do nothing lady," he told her again, "I'm sorry." Jaehaera shook her head, this was not right. Why would the King do this?
"You two!" Hild's voice sounded relieved when she called out to them. And frankly, she had felt relieved. When she didn't find Jaehaera in her room, she thought the worst had happened, and she had failed Uhtred and Lady Gisela. Hild rushed to the two of them and embraced Jaehaera at once. "You two are to stay here. Jaehaera, your mother is still here, and she is safe. But you must watch over her. The two of you are to wait here until I or Uhtred return. Stay out of trouble and sight. Understood?" she asked the two.
They nodded. "Where will you go?" Jaehaera asked the nun. "Hild, where is Bjorn?"
"I am taking him with me to Alfred," Hild answered. "I will ask him to send men to retrieve Uhtred." Hild took the young girl's cheeks in her hands. "But you must stay hidden and out of trouble, do you understand? Clapa is staying with the two of you. Do not do anything stupid that would provoke an attack on either of you. Your father and mother would never forgive me."
"Yes lady, I promise," Jaehaera answered. "We promise."
Bjorn found them, and ran to Jaehaera, embracing her tightly. "I will bring him back, Jaehaera," he whispered into her hair. "I swear it." The two pulled their heads back but kept each other in their arms. Jaehaera gently headbutted him, connecting their foreheads.
"I know," she told him. The two shared a somber look before he gently kissed her. Sihtric looked away, and at Hild who watched the two with sadness.
"Hild, the horses are ready, we have to leave now," Bjorn told the nun quickly once he and Jaehaera released each other.
Hild turned to Sihtric, who she already knew held such an affection for the girl after these few weeks. "Sihtric, keep her safe for our lord, and out of sight. Do not let her kill the king, like we know she wishes." Sihtric would keep her safe from harm. Whether he was commanded to or not. Sihtric nodded quickly and watched as Hild ran with Bjorn to their horses. Bjorn gave the two one last glance. He would return to her and find her as he had promised, and she knew that. He just wished she didn't have to stay here with him.
*********************************************************************
Days turned into weeks as the three waited and Uhtred had still not returned. Leaving Sihtric, Jaeheara, and Clapa to go about their days as quietly as possible so that the abbot would not be onto them. The pair stayed in Hild's temporary home, keeping quiet, watching, and waiting for news of what was to come. Claps stayed in his own home but ate with the teens every night at dinner.
"Sihtric, Clapa, food," she called for the teen and the big man as they appeared inside. Hild and her mother wanted the girl to learn how to cook when she grew older. Jaehaera turned out to be quite the cook. Clapa and Sihtric didn't even have to pretend to enjoy her cooking like they thought they would. "Any news?"
"None," Sihtric shook his head. Eating more of the food with gladness. "It seems like we'll stay here for the winter, especially after Guhtred's disastrous meeting with the brothers and Uhtred's uncle." The only good thing that had come out of Uhtred's imprisonment had to be Guthred losing all of his allies. It had brought Jaehaera some joy in such a miserable time.
A knock sounded at the door causing the big man and the two teenagers to grab their weapons. Clapa nodded at Sihtric to answer the door when all three were ready. Sihtric opened the door slowly. "Lady," her mother's maid whispered as she entered the home. "I come from your mother. She asks that you prepare the horses so that we are able to leave."
"Why are we leaving?" She asked the maid.
"Guthred plans to marry her off to Uhtred's uncle," the woman explained. "We must leave now. She wants you to stay with Clapa and Sihtric and wait for Hild and your father," she further explained as the group left quickly for the stables.
"We'll prepare the horses then," Sihtric answered. Once they got there the three quickly prepared for two horses to leave. The maid ran quickly back to fetch her mother.
"What do we tell my father? Or Hild?" she quietly asked Sihtric, turning to look at the two men behind her. It seemed like everyone she had loved is now being scattered on the earth away from her.
Sihtric shrugged. "The truth? That she left."
"The horses are ready?" her mother's voice asked as she rushed to them. When she reached them, she gathered her daughter in her arms in a warm embrace. "I love you, Jaehaera, don't forget that please," Gisela whispered into her daughter's hair. Inhaling her clean familiar scent one last time before she left her. "You are my daughter, and your father and I love you." The two pulled away and she could see that her mother's face looked paler in the light now than it had before.
"They are lady," Sihtric answered.
"I chose you because you are loyal to Uhtred," Gisela told Sihtric. And she wanted to add 'and I know you're affectionate towards my daughter' but she wanted to save time.
"Always lady," he answered again. Clapa looked over Jaehaera's mother's shoulder for guards.
"You will give this to Hild when she returns," Her mother told Jaehaera as she placed a note in her hands once upon her horse. "She will return," she reassured when she saw her daughter's face.
"How long will you be gone?" she asked her mother. Gisela looked down to look at the pair of them affectionately. She brushed her daughters' hair out of her face, the pieces that had fallen out of the braid that framed her face.
"All I know is that I cannot stay," she answered them. And with one last look of affection passed between mother and daughter, her mother rode off. Her, Clapa, and Sihtric all slumped back into the shadows towards their own house, and out of prying eyes.
"When do you think Hild will come?" Sihtric asked the smaller girl next to him, who twisted her arm bands, her nerves getting the best of her.
"She will come," Jaehaera answered him. "I know she will come." And Bjorn too, she wanted to say. He would always come for her, always find her. But he probably didn't want to hear that.
*********************************************************************
Sihtric threw open the door of their house, scaring the life out of Jaehaera. She looked at him with annoyance and anger; ready to scold him for making her drop the arrow she had been making. "Hild is here," He told her before she could yell at him, maybe he would get her to yell at him later. He did enjoy her yelling at him. Jaehaera's look of annoyance quickly turned into one of hope as she sprang from her seat to follow Sihtric out to the market square. The two hid in the shadows watching as Hild, her Uncle Ragnar, Bjorn, and another man rode into Eoferwic.
"My uncle Ragnar is with her," she whispered to Sihtric, pointing to the blond dane. "How did they find him? Or why was he with Alfred?" Sihtric tilted his head at her questions.
"Your uncle is Ragnar? The one whose family my father burned?" Sihtric asked her as he flipped the note in his hand nervously. Hopefully, she would not hold the treachery of his father against him. Jaehaera nodded softly, watching her uncle, lover, and Hild rides in and stop in front of the abbot that had walked out to greet them. "How are we going to get this note to her?"
Jaehaera thought for a second, before seeing a little girl playing. "Find an apple," she told him. Sihtric looked at the girl with confusion, and she huffed. "Trust me, just go," She commanded him. She hated when he questioned her, he was always doing that. Sihtric just nodded and shrugged before he went to get the apple she requested.
She walked over and crouched by the little girl to not frighten her. "Hello," She greeted kindly. The little girl looked up and smiled at her. "Will you do me a favor if I give you a silver coin? Then you can go back to playing."
"Alright lady," the little girl giggled as she nodded. Jaehaera's lucky that children always seemed to like her. Jaehaera helped her stand, and took her hand in hers. "What's your name?" the little girl asked.
Quickly she thought of a name, "Tove," Jaehaera answered, "and yours?"
"Alodie," the girl answered.
Jaehaera smiled, "that's pretty," she complimented the girl which made her smile. She walked the child to where Sihtric stood and took the apple from him. He saw the slit he had cut to fit the note in. She smiled at him, he could be brilliant when he wanted to be. "Could you hand this to the blonde lady, there on the horse? In the armor." Sihtric crouched to not scare her as she had previously done.
The girl nodded, and Jaehaera placed the apple gently in her hand. "Thank you," she told the girl. Alodie giggled at the strange danes before going to Hild to hand her the apple.
"We are here on the orders of Alfred of Wessex," Jaehaera and Sihtric heard her uncle tell the abbot. "I want to see King Guthred."
"You are a dane," the abbot expertly pointed out.
"I am," her uncle replied, "Earl Ragnar Ragnarson." Jaehaera smiled slightly, of course, her uncle would come for her Father. "This is the warrior, Steapa, Alfred's man." her uncle gestured to the man behind him to the left. Another big man, just not as big as Clapa.
"Alfred sends a greeting to King Guthred," the man, Steapa, voiced. Though he didn't sound genuine to Jaehaera.
"And the lady Gisela," Hild voiced, "I would like to see her. Is she here?"
"She is not," The abbot answered coldly. "She did abandon the city."
"Where to?" Hild asked
"I have yet to find out, but I shall find out," the abbot told Hild.
The turd king walked out of his shadows, and Jaehaera glared at him. "You are his brother?" Guthred asked her uncle. "You're Uhtred's brother?" Yes he is and you better hope he doesn't kill you, she thought.
"It is Guthred," Hild told Ragnar. Ragnar nodded at Hild.
"I am, Lord," he answered the King.
"Alfred sent you to do what?" Guthred asked.
"To find Uhtred," Ragnar answered him, sounding like the answer should have been obvious. "He's in Uhtred's debt and would not see him harmed." Correct, and you have shit your bed, turd King, Jaehaera thought again.
"Uhtred is lost," Guthred answered her uncle. "I'm truly sorry to say that." Jaehaera rolled her eyes, no you're not. Ragnar sat up on his horse straighter, she could see the frustration forming on his face. Ragnar shook his head slightly. "My apologies to both you and Alfred."
"There, you had a wasted journey," the abbot added coldly, though with a touch of amusement to his voice.
"Rest, please," Guthred told them. "Here, by all means-"
Her uncle cut him off. "You will tell me the name of the man who took Uhtred," Ragnar commanded the king.
"I need to gather my thoughts," Guthred told her uncle. What thoughts? It's a simple command. Tell him where you sold my father to, you turd for brains man. Or can you not perform something as simple as answering a question? Jaehaera rolled her eyes and huffed silently, only Sihtric could hear her.
"Lord, I wish to know the name of the slaver!" Her uncle called after the King angrily as he turned and left. "If you are truly sorry, you will tell me where to find him!" They watched as Alodie tugged on Hild's leg, and handed the apple to her; Hild smiled down at the girl. Then she wandered back to Jaehaera and Sihtric to retrieve her silver coin, which Jaehaera handed to her gladly. Hild then caught eyes with Jaehaera and Sihtric, and they saw a bit of tension release from the woman's body at the sight of them. Hild thanked the Lord that the two of them were still alive, and together. Hild slightly nodded at them, which they returned before returning to their shadows to not be seen.
*********************************************************************
Sihtric and Clapa sat at Sihtric and Jaehaera's house at the dinner table while she cooked for them. "Would you like help, lady?" Sihtric asked kindly. He had noticed how sad she had gotten over the weeks, and he almost couldn't bear it.
Jaehaera didn't turn to the men, as for them to not see her eyes begin to water. It was her fifteenth birthday, and neither of her parents was with her. Never once had her father missed a birthday. Not once. And now, he and her mother were nowhere to be found. She just shook her head and took a breath to keep her voice from shaking. "No, Sihtric," She answered as she continued to cut the carrots. "Thank you."
Clapa looked at Sihtric, the two sharing a knowing look. "Lady," Clapa began gently, getting up from his seat. Looking at her like a father. "Your uncle and Hild will find them." He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I swear to you, they will."
She looked up at the big man with a sad smile. "Thank you, Clapa," she told him. "I know, Ragnar loves my father. He will find him," she told mostly herself. She looked up at him, "Clapa, could you get tomatoes? For the stew? I must have forgotten."
Clapa nodded once, and gently placed a hand on her cheek. "Of course lady," he answered before gathering his things and going to get what she needed.
Jaehaera sighed and went back to what she had been doing. Sihtric watched her, and he tilted his head, "something else is wrong, am I right?" he asked her. Jaehaera didn't care for the way he could read her after a short time. Though he felt the same way about her, she could read everyone though. She had a great intuition for people, he found. "There is something else that has been bothering you."
"It is nothing, Sihtric," She answered, as she shivered at the winter wind coming in through the windows. Sihtric noticed and acted at once, shutting the curtains and going to place logs on the fire. "It is silly really."
"That does not mean you can't share," Sihtric told her with a smile. "I tend to like silly things, you know."
She smiled at his kindness. "It's my birthday today," she told him finally. She looked down at the cut vegetables and shrugged. "My parents have not forgotten or been here to celebrate. And now that they are not here...everything is truly wrong."
Sihtric went to stand by here after filling the fireplace. "I'm sorry lady," he told her, and like always she knew he spoke the truth. "I did not know, and neither did Clapa."
She chuckled slightly and shook her head, "no, no it's alright, Sihtric," she told him, "of course, you did not know, how could you? You only knew me for a few months now."
"How old are you today?" Sihtric asked her with a smile.
"Fifteen," she answered him.
"A good year to be," he told her with a nod. "Trust me, lady, it will be a good year. I swear it."
Jaehaera smiled sadly. "Thank you, Sihtric. You are kind when so many others are not," she told him. Sihtric just smiled and nodded before going to sit back down. "If you truly wanted to help, I would not mind," she teased him.
Sihtric chuckled with a nod, "what do you want me to do for you, lady?"
"You can fetch water for the stew," She instructed him while handing him what to put the water in. Sihtric nodded once before taking it gently from her, and out to get her the water.
While he walked, he found Clapa and called him over, and told him what Jaehaera had told him before. And the two shared a smile and a nod. Sihtric retrieved the water, and Clapa the tomatoes, and together they returned to the house with smiles on their faces. They found Jaehaera in the same spot they had left her. "Jaehaera," Sihtric called for her to turn.
"Sihtric it is not that complicated, all you have to do is," she began to insult, thinking he needed her help with this as he did with everything else. When she turned she found Clapa with flowers in hand, and Sihtric carrying a dish of her favorite dessert, Strawberye. How he knew, she had no idea. She chuckled at the two men in front of her and sighed. Jaehaera wanted to cry at their kindness but didn't. "You two did not have to do this," she reminded them with a shake of her head.
"We know lady," Sihtric told her.
"But we figured, you needed some good in this time of sadness for you," Clapa finished for the two of them. She just nodded with another chuckle and gestured for Sihtric to place the dessert on the kitchen countertop.
She looked at him, she didn't understand his need to be so kind to her. It might just be the thankfulness he felt towards his father for sparing him, but she didn't know. She understood Clapa though, he always turned into her father when her real father wasn't there for her. Sihtric though turned out to continue to be a mystery for her, and she did not care for that. Other things about him she could read easily, the way he spoke, and the way he fought. She didn't like when he looked at her in a way she couldn't read, just like now. "Thank you," she whispered to him. Sihtric just shrugged with a smile as he placed the dish down before taking his seat next to Clapa. Clapa had already found something to place the flowers in.
The two men insisted on singing her happy birthday before they ate dinner, each one of the two in a different key. To anyone else, it would have sounded bloody ridiculous and awful, but to Jaehaera it was music to her ears. The three ate and talked together, and for once in these past few months, her stomach hurt from laughter and not from the pain of her parents leaving her.