Mere hours after their little rendezvous in the river they were covered in blood, fighting side by side. Cnut had fallen for the trap, letting his anger at Uhtred take over and even he had fallen into the ditch. Brida seemed to be the only one who was hesitant about charging into battle. It felt good to be on the battlefield, the adrenaline pumping through her veins and her axe and sword taking out anyone who dared to get too close. She watched in awe as Sihtric threw someone over his shoulder and stabbed them without even breaking a sweat and she felt a familiar fire building in her body. She was obsessed with him. Watching him fight and kill did things to her she was almost too ashamed to admit.
As her eyes stared at him, she dropped her guard momentarily, until one of Cnut's men had bashed her face with his shield. Her nose popping, blood covering her cheek as the force made her drop to her knees. Quickly wiping the blood away with the back of her hand she dodged the mans sword, her own sword driving deep into his stomach before she twisted it.
When the Welsh armies finally advanced on Cnut's men, it was over quickly. Sihtric didn't waste a moment before he was holding her face in his hands, tilting her head under the sunlight to inspect the damage. If he had known she was distracted during the battle because of him, he would have felt horrible but thankfully he was clueless.
"It's okay. Really. It will heal." She spoke quickly, the blood had finally stopped. And she had enough experience in resetting her nose now that with one quick movement she had popped it back into place.
Finan and Osferth soon joined them, the Welsh gathering up their prisoners and taking all of the spoils from the battlefield. They were all bloodied. But no one could find Uhtred. They knew he was set on killing Cnut. Especially because of his involvement in Ragnar's death, but Cnut was unpredictable. They all hoped he hadn't managed to pull one over on Uhtred.
Returning to their camp in the search of water and ale, Uhtred had finally made himself known again. Cnut was dead, Brida was handed over to the Welsh with the other prisoners and maybe life would be calm for a while?
"We will be returning with Aethelflaed to Saltwic. She has gone ahead with her soldiers. I told her we would follow after we have rested. I'm taking my daughter back to Coccham" Sigyn handed him a tankard of ale and he drank it's contents in seconds. This battle had weighed heavy on him. Handing over someone who he no longer recognised. Someone who threatened his very existence.
"Will we remain there for a while?" Finan asked curiously, just eager to enjoy his drink and the company of women for a while. And to just take a break from the fighting.
"Until someone else calls upon us." Uhtred knew that it was always in his destiny. To win battles for everyone else. But he had missed out on so much of his children's lives already and wanted to try and be there from now on.
"Maybe enough time to have a child." Sihtric whispered into her ear and her body slightly tensed but thankfully she hid it well. She wanted to give him children. Give him that happiness because she knew he would be an amazing father. But she didn't want to be a stay-at-home mother. She craved the battlefield.
The rest of the night was spent drinking, all of them falling asleep beneath the stars and in close quarters. Their sleeping forms hidden by the trees. When the sun started to peak through the brush she groaned, covering her eyes before moving to her feet when it was clear she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.
"Wake up, Princesses." She spoke groggily before washing away her dry mouth with fresh water. Tapping them all with her left foot, one by one so they were awake too.
Osferth was nursing another one of his famous hangovers. Finan as annoying and alert as ever. Sihtric was the last one to wake. Chuckling to himself as she had to resort to kneeling beside him and pouring some water onto his face.
Uhtred was already gathering his things, getting ready to leave for Saltwic and his woman. Sigyn followed his lead. Smiling warmly over at her husband as she placed her sword back in it's sheath and he was spinning his dagger in his hand. Always observing everything around him.
"Are we taking the horses?" Osferth spoke, clearly worried about the motion on his sensitive stomach. Sigyn chuckled softly and passed him a warm cup of tea she made especially for him. He eyed it for a moment, wondering what was inside.
"Drink. It will get rid of the aftereffects of alcohol." She smiled as he finally sipped the liquid. Part of him confused as to why she was helping him. But she had grown to care about them all. In her own way. Finan was her annoying brother. Osferth was her sweet little brother who she would kill for. Uhtred was the father figure she never had.
Sihtric finally climbed to his feet, his dagger placed in his belt as he automatically moved beside her side. Leaning over to place a gentle kiss against the top of her head. It was a stark contrast to the same man who had humped her in a chapel with a priest as a witness.
The tea helped settle Osferth's stomach and symptoms like Sigyn had promised so it made the horse ride easier. Uhtred and Finan were leading the group, Osferth quickly following them. And then Sigyn and Sihtric lingering behind as they just spoke about what they would do when they reached Coccham after Saltwic. He promised to be the best husband he could be, and she believed him. He already was.
It took several hours before they arrived. Lady Aethelflaed seemed anxious and was already ushering Uhtred away from the group. Finan rolled his eyes and helped tie up the horses before heading straight to the ale house with Osferth following behind. Finan really was the bad influence in that duo.
"We don't have to stay here. We can go back to Cent." Sihtric told her as he lead her to one of the houses he often stayed in when he was here. Uhtred and Lady Aethelflaed had gifted his men property as a thank you for their continued loyalty.
"Cent is in good hands. I left my most trustworthy men in charge. I just want to be with you." He seemed happy by her answer, approaching her quickly to capture her face between his hands as their lips met in a loving kiss. Quickly being interrupted by a loud knock on the door. The kiss broke with a low groan from his lips.
When he opened the door, silence filled the home. It was almost like he had seen a ghost. Her curiosity got the better of her and Sigyn moved to stand behind him, her breath hitching in her throat as she saw Ealhswith. But it was more the sight of the brunette child stood by her side that threatened to destroy her. His nose, his ears – they were her husbands. The child was young. A little younger than a year, after doing the calculations in her head she knew it happened that last night he had laid with her.
"You're a hard man to find. I want you to meet someone. I named him Rollo." Ealhswith seemed almost confused to see Sigyn here. But then it dawned on Sigyn, she probably had no idea that she was married to Sihtric.
Still, Sihtric said nothing. The consequences of his actions slapping him right in the face. He was a bastard himself; he knew how horrible that life was and yet he now had one himself.
"You two should talk." Sigyn finally pushed the words out, her voice nearly breaking as she gave the child one last look and went in search of ale and the company of her 'brothers'.
The inn was lively, completely different to the calm town. When she walked inside, it seemed Finan was already somehow drunk. Even though he had been left alone for maybe ten minutes. She joined them at the table, stealing the tankard from the Irishman and drinking the contents. The two men knew something was bothering her.
"Trouble in paradise already? The offer of my sword still stands." Finan grinned and she let a small laugh leave her lips, but her mind was elsewhere.
"What is it, lady?" Osferth asked her, he was sober thankfully and would understand the seriousness of the situation. But she didn't know how to say it.
"Ealhswith is here." She blurted out after playing with her empty cup, quickly filling it when both men waited for more than that. Surely this wasn't just jealousy. "She has a child. His child." Admitting it nearly broke her heart. But the alcohol helped to numb her pain.
No more questions were asked, the men took it upon themselves to cheer her up. Plying her with alcohol, singing songs and playing games. It was hours later when Sihtric showed up at the inn, he was trying to sober all three of them up.
"It seems like you could do with a drink, my friend." Finan tried to order more ale to the table but Sihtric had warned the barmaid not to bring any of them anymore.
"You all need your beds. Especially you." His eyes fell on his wife, who was a mess. Her sight blurry, incoherent giggles and words leaving her lips as she tried to argue back with him. The last time she was like this, he had saved her from falling into the fire at Bloodhairs camp.
Osferth was soon snoring loudly in the corner, Finan laughing loudly as he tried to wake him and take him out of there to rest. Sigyn finally didn't put up a fight when Sihtric helped her up from the table, his arms the only thing keeping her from faceplanting the floor. As he was leading her back to his home for the short stay he passed Uhtred, who raised his eyebrows at the sight of her.
"Is everything okay?" He questioned, now helping Sihtric with her.
"I have a child." He whispered, finally admitting it to himself and Uhtred knew what this meant. It would have an impact on this relationship, it could kickstart the hate in Sigyn's heart and it worried him. He now cared for her, deeply. He didn't want Sihtric or Sigyn to hurt and he knew that if they were apart, they would never be whole.
"Let her sober up. Talk things through." He helped Sihtric lay her against the bed, giving his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder before leaving him to look after her.
He spent most of the night fetching her cups of water, holding her hair back as she emptied her stomach contents and just watching her sleep. His fingertips trailing through her hair as a comfort to himself as much as it was to her.
It was nearly noon the following day when Sigyn finally opened her eyes. Her head was pounding but she instantly wanted the numbness back. When she pulled the covers back, revealing her armour she rolled her eyes. Of course, he was such a gentleman he didn't even undress her without her permission, so she wore last nights clothes.
"I brought you breakfast." It was a bowl of honeyed oats, but in that moment it looked perfect. Her stomach already grumbling from being empty. She took the bowl from his hands, eating several mouthfuls before he dared to sit on the end of the bed. Watching her curiously. "I didn't want this to happen."
"But it has. You tempted fate too many times." Once she had eaten enough, she stabbed her spoon into the remaining oats. It hurt because things could have been so different if he remained alone that night. If he wasn't drunk and thought that it was Sigyn in his rooms. "Does she know I am your wife?"
He simply nodded. He had been with Ealhswith countless times. She had never fallen pregnant before. But of course the one time his heart belonged to another woman, is when Loki decided to play trickster. "She didn't know when she knocked on the door. She claims if she knew she wouldn't have bothered me. But she knows now. She likes you."
There was a small laugh from her lips, her husband's ex-lover liked her. That must have been a new one. "So, what happens now?"
"She wants Rollo to have a father and I will not lie and say I haven't wanted children. This just isn't how I imagined it." He attempted to reach for her hand, she didn't snatch it from his grasp, but she didn't really react to his touch either. "She has gone back to Winchester. I told her we would visit soon."
With a small nod she placed the bowl back into his hands, moving from the bed to undress into something more comfortable. Her black shift reaching to her thighs, quickly climbing back beneath the covers to sleep away this nightmare. She had slept peacefully for a few more hours until her body woke her. Her stomach emptying its contents once again as she groaned softly. "I swear to the gods, old and new. I will not touch another drop of alcohol, just make it stop." Quickly washing down the sickness with a cup of water.
Sihtric had gone in search of Uhtred for advice. Letting Sigyn have some space. She would seek him out when she was ready. But part of her wished he had stayed. That he had been stubborn enough to ignore her sulking.