It didn't take long before Sihtric and Erik reached the stables,
"Uhtred, she said that you would come. I dare not believe her but you are here."
"What has changed?" Uhtred asked impatient with Erik's talk. Erik's eyes looked to the ground and wearily back to Uhtred as he replied.
"In truth, it is hopeless." he admitted. Uhtred turned around agrily pacing between his men and Erik.
"I have no crew for my ship. The first task is not how we escape Beamfleot but how we free Aethelfled. She hangs where every man can see her."
"Lord I enjoy a fight as much as the next idiot but this is beyond us." Finan said candidly avoiding Erik's eye. Ignoring his comment Uhtred continued to get information.
"She is inside the hall?"
"She is inside the hall, inside a cage surrounded by men."
"Warriors." Sihtric corrected trying to side with Finan and discourage Uhtred. None of his men wanted to fight a loosing battle.
"Then we must first get rid of the men. We do it now." Uhtred was a quick thinker and no quitter. He came to free Aethelflaed and that is exactly what he would do.
It was Tove's job to set the fire and rejoin the rest of the men at the hall. The buildings were dry allowing the fire to spread quickly, lessening her job. She managed to slip back in as Erik locked the doors. The 6 guards had been killed but the problem of the princesses' cage was now their main issue.
"Clapa, Sihtirc, the cage." Uhtred shouted while barricading the door. He knew there was only so much time before Siegfried realised what was going on. Sihtric hacked at the chain with his axe leaving Clapa to lower her and the cage's weight down as gently as possible.
"So we cleared the hall of men Lord. Now how do we clear the yard?" Finan shouted over the commotion outside. Uhtred looked to him thinking, his eyes wandered to Aethelflaed.
"They will follow the silver." He said to himself quietly.
A serving girl volunteered herself for the job. She took Aethelflaed's clothes and a horse from the stables.
"Lady quickly, ride for the red gate do not stop!" Sihtric shouted after her as the mare bounded off. Just as Uhtred predicted the men in a panic scrambled for their horses and began to follow her. But not Siegfried, he knew there was a traitor.
"Erik!" The boom of Siegfried's yells echoed through the hall as he and his men broke through the door.
"Erik, do not do this. Do not dare to do this." He softened his voice as he spoke to his brother. He had suspected his fondness of the princess but this was truly unexpected.
"Brother, we have this one chance I cannot let her go." Erik took pity on his brother, he knew what he was doing was betrayal but hoped Siegfried could forgive him.
"She is our fortune! She is our reputation!" He bellowed bewildered at how his brother had suddenly changed.
"If it is reputation you want you can start with killing me." Uhtred would not let Siegfried have the chance to change Erik's mind. He drew his sword with every intent on using it.
"No." Erik shouted, he was torn. Should he protect the woman he loves or his brother?
"If you want the fortune. You mus kill me." Erik approached his brother, he had chosen Aethelflaed. Ignoring the princesses' apposing shouts he lifted his sword and began to fight his brother. Siegfried had no intent on sparing his brother. He was in full attack, yelling and lunging as he fought. With Siegfried busy Uhtred's warroirs were back to their main priority. Tove was first to the cage, she hacked at the bolts with her axe. With a struggle she had managed it, neither her or Aethelflaed wasted time. She pulled the princess from the cage,
"Uhtred." she shouted trying to get his attention. His eyes briefly met hers but Erik spoke first.
"Uhtred get her out of here." He yelled still dodging blows from his brother's hateful weapon. They had made it up the stairs of the hall when Aethelflaed stopped and began to scream. He had done it. Siegfried's blade was wedged deep into his brother's chest. His face was frozen, eyes wide as he looked into his brothers. Aethelflaed called out to Erik but he could not reply.
"Come on we need to go." Uhtred ordered, the fire had now spread to the hall. Any moment the hall would collapse trapping them all inside.
"You. You did this." Though his blade delivered Erik's death he did not want him to suffer a death without Valhalla. He squeezed Erik's hand tightly around his sword. "You've killed us both."
They met with Osferth and Sihtric round the back of the hall where they stood with the horses. Dane's had begun apon them before they had managed to mount their horses. Tove and Clapa who brought up the rear of the group began to fight them buying the other's time. Tove heard Clapa's stuggle, he was wounded. An axe had hit him in the chest, she stepped forwand to help only to be knocked backwards by his arm.
"Go." he said through gritted teeth. Before she could protest Sihtric was pulling her away.
"Wait," she stuggled against his grasp as he pushed her onto her mare. She had to help. Why was no one helping?
"Clapa with us." Uhtred shouted, but Clapa would not move. His hand grasped to the wound on his chest and eyes set on the men now approaching.
"Clapa!" Uhtred repeated. Clapa gave Uhtred a determined smile before turing away his sword gripped tightly in his hands.
"We go." Uhtred changed his order, his horse sped away followed by the others. Tove began forward in a trot.
"Come on Clapa." she called to him. She looked to the rest of the group who had begun disappearing out of the fortress. When she turned back Clapa had been brought to the floor, 3 men stood above him taking turns in slashing and stabbing at him while he struggled. She let out a cry and tried to turn her horse around, she couldn't bring herself to leave him but someone else had hold of her reigns. Sihtric tugged at her reigns pulling the horse towards the gate.
"Clapa!" She called out to him struggling against her saddle.
"No, Clapa come on!" She desperately shouted to him. It was no use. She knew they couldn't stay. Siegfried had emerged from the flames.
"It is an army Lord." Finan shouted as they entered the clearing. He was right,
"It is Odda," Uhtred agreed "Its Odda's army." They rode forward to meet Lord Odda. Not only was it Lord Odda but the king was there aswell.
"Lord, we are being pursued by Siegfried." he said out of breath as he dismounted and began towards them in a swift movement. "The danes are low in number and disorganised. My advice is that we kill them all."
"Steapa put a guard around my daughter, keep her safe." Steapa took Aethelflaed into his arms guiding her away from the soildiers.
"Father I want to fight." she yelled.
"You will do as i say." he ignored his daughters request harshly. As Alfred looked forward contemplating what to do he saw Siegfried and a small number of Danes ridning out from the forest.
"Erik is dead Lord. Siegfried will have no mind to negotiate nor wait, he wants saxon blood. We have to fight!" over hearing the convorsation Lord Odda approached the king.
"Shield wall Lord, only you can give the order." As Alfred discussed his options with the two Lords more danes had joined Siegfried and Haeston though they were only a fraction of the saxon number. Siegfried knew they would not win. But he knew he could not achieve his plans nor live without his brother.
"Sheild wall!" Alfred bellowed as the danes began up the hill towards them. Tove stood next to Osferth and joined him in watching the saxons build their long barrier of sheilds. Unlike the monk stood beside her she was ready to fight. She hoped that in the fight she would find Clapas killers, anger was a good fuel to fight on.
The shield wall was immediately broken by Siegfried's giant stallion as it charged through the middle. Try as the men did the wall was no use anymore, the men were scattered everywhere some swinging their swords blindly in the darkness. Tove began to move forward until she noticed Osferth's struggle. He manage to hold off a few men before he was knocked to the ground. Tove wrenched the Dane off of Osferth earning herself a punch to the chest, winding her.
The fight did not last long, after Siegfried's demise many of the Danes fled and those who didn't were killed.
"Are you alright Osferth?" Tove said looking him over. She had witnessed his first kill and he didn't seem so pleased about it.
"Yeah just a cut to my thigh but I think i will be okay." he said still brushing himself off. "I just.." he looked around with an unsettled look on his face, he had most likely never seen so many dead bodies before. He excused himself politely and walked to a part of the clearing free of bodies to pray.
"There you are, where did you go you were stood right beside me then you disappeared.Are you alright?" Sihtric put a gentle hand on her shoulder and brushed a piece of her hair out of her dirty face. Tove looked at him teary eyed as she nodded quickly.
"I'm um I'm fine, uh." Tove struggled to find what she wanted to say. She was so overwhelmed, the death of Clapa who she held very dear to her, the battle, fatigue. Everything she had tried so desperately to bottle up just came pouring out in the form of tears and croaked 'i'm sorry' s. Sihtric pulled Tove close to him wrapping is arms around her. This was just what she needed. Sihtric. Tove sighed deeply calming down and wiped the tears from her face.
"Do you think he will forgive me for leaving?" Tove whispered as she watched the remains of Beamfleot burn in the distance.
"Who?" Sihtric replied confused from her question.
"Clapa, I could have stayed and helped he could be here with us."
"Tove," Sihtric pulled away form her to be able to look in her eyes. He held her face gently in his hands wiping the last of her tears with his thumbs. "Clapa told us to go, he would have rather died than see you be killed, that's what he did. If you stayed you would have met the same fate as him. I know you can't help it but you need to stop blaming yourself for everything." he kissed her gently her forehead. "You are the most empathetic and thoughtful person I know and I'm sure he would say the same. He thought very highly of you and his sacrifice showed it."