At first, Nairna had expected to travel alongside these men for company and fight when she needed to, for a short while and then go her own way, as she was often accustomed to doing, but fate clearly had other plans. A month or two was all she had planned, but after a year, these men were far more than travel companions to her.
They had taken her in as one of her own very quickly. She had sworn loyalty to their leader, the lord Uhtred, for whom she had a great deal of respect, and befriended the other three men soon afterwards.
Her and Finan had taken to each other almost immediately, Nairna being Scottish and him Irish. Neighbours had been what Finan had referred to the two of them as, though by now they may well have been siblings. They got along very well, making light-hearted digs at each other the way siblings would. She had a quick word for everything he said.
"You're just like him," Uhtred would say, a hint of a smile on his face, "except you're a woman."
"And prettier," she grinned, sticking her tongue out at Finan, who gave a mock-offended gasp.
"You wound me!"
Nairna had found Sihtric to be far more quiet and reserved than the rest, though he had accepted her almost immediately. He was one of the greatest friends she could have asked for, someone willing to sit down and talk whenever she needed to, or simply just to sit in silence with for a while.
And then there was Osferth.
She hadn't noticed him at first, his horse being behind the other three, but on that first journey he had sped up to meet her and introduce himself, catching her by surprise.
"Are you a monk?" she asked rather bluntly, taking in his haircut and the robes he was wearing. She frowned at the breastplate and chainmail on top, wondering what his story was. Whatever it was, she was interested.
"Yes, lady," he responded politely, only meeting her eye for a few moments before his gaze dropped to his hands again. "I was raised in a monastery most of my life but I wanted to be a warrior instead, like my uncle Leofric was, so I joined Lord Uhtred."
Nairna hummed. "So you're a warrior-monk instead, then," she amended, "right?"
"Of sorts, lady, yes," he smiled, and Nairna found herself smiling along with him. He was rather sweet, she thought, and she began to like him almost immediately.
"You can just call me Nairna, y'know," she reminded him soon after. "I'm no lady."
"Alright, Nairna," he said rather tentatively, as though he was testing out the sound of her name, and smiled.
A year on, she was close with all of the men but especially him. She wasn't sure what it was exactly that made her seek out his company more often than the others. Perhaps it was the calm security she felt whenever she sat beside him and talked about anything at all, or maybe it was the genuine warmth of his smile that could always bring one to her own face.
Whatever it was, she liked being by his side, and while the other three had picked up on this, they decided not to say anything to either of them about what they thought of this. Not yet, anyway.
One particularly hot day, she was stretched out by the river bank while the other men took their horses to one side to drink. Osferth had offered to take Nairna's horse along with his, noticing how exhausted she looked, and rather gratefully she relented.
There was not even a breeze that day, and the hot sun was beating down on her until she huffed and stripped off her armour, leaving her in her linen undershirt and trousers. The water looked shallow, and she didn't mind getting her clothes wet too much, so she slipped into the water to wash.
Nairna shivered at the cold sensation of the water as it submerged her up to her waist, before she splashed some on to her arms and her face to get used to it. She was well aware that she couldn't swim, but the river was almost completely still, so she allowed herself to relax.
She hummed a tune as she washed her hair, the area quiet but for the sounds of leaves rustling and the men chatting in the distance.
Suddenly and without warning, the current rapidly began to quicken, causing Nairna to lose her footing. As it grew faster, she was mustering everything within her to try and remain above the water, but soon found herself weakening as the force of the current increased.
She started to panic, trying to reach the edge of the bank and grab on to it, but she was being swept too far to be able to reach.
"Help!" she gasped, fighting to keep her head above the water. "Someone, please!"
The effort soon became too much and Nairna was swept underwater, her outstretched hand breaking the water's surface as she desperately tried to signal for help.
She was feeling more hopeless by the minute as her consciousness faded. Her hand slipped under the water, until miraculously another hand grabbed it and pulled her forward, and an arm hooked under her shoulder and managed to pull her above the surface.
"Finan, Sihtric!" she dimly heard a voice yelling, before her world faded to black.
When Nairna finally came to, she found herself lying down, her head resting in Osferth's lap. She started coughing without meaning to, weakly sitting up and immediately being hit with a wave of nausea.
"You're awake!" he said, and patted Nairna's back while she coughed. "How are you feeling?" he asked once she was finished.
"Sick," she muttered, settling back with a sigh. She did look rather pale, and she realised then that she was shivering. Her clothes had started to dry in the sun, but despite the heat were still cold against her skin. "I was only going to bathe," Nairna added rather huffily, "the water didn't seem so deep. Then it decided to have a go at bloody drowning me!"
Osferth laughed and put his arm around her, drawing her close to him. "I'll warm you up," he told Nairna, rubbing her arm, and she gratefully settled her head on his shoulder, her hand resting on his chest. "Do you not know how to swim, then?"
"No," she sighed. "I never learned how to."
"Maybe one day I can teach you," he smiled, and she chuckled.
"That would be nice, I think," she said. "As long as you don't chuck me headfirst into the river and go 'swim.' "
"You'd kill me if I ever did that," he laughed. "I wouldn't do that, don't worry, Nairna."
She said nothing, but smiled at the way he said her name. She quite liked the sound of it.
At that moment, Finan came over, with Sihtric following close behind. "You alright there, Nairna?" he asked her. "We were seriously worried when we pulled you out the river."
"I'm alright," Nairna replied, turning her head to face him but other than that, hardly moving from the position she was in. From the grin spreading across Finan's face, she knew what he was thinking, but was too tired to dispel those thoughts. He wasn't completely mistaken, however. She had grown to like the man holding her, more than that even. She liked every aspect of him, from his gentle nature down to the kindness he always showed her, even on the days when she was being a little more difficult than usual.
"Good," was all Finan said in reply, snapping her out of her thoughts, but now, she saw, he was looking at Osferth.
"Shut up, Finan," he said, before Finan could even say anything.
"What?" Finan said defensively, putting his hands up. "I didn't say anything, baby monk."
"Well, it's obvious what you were thinking," Sihtric supplied, a small smirk emerging on his own face.
"And what was that, then?" Finan retorted, still unable to keep a straight face.
"That our baby monk fancies Nairna," Sihtric finished, leaning back against the tree with a smug look on his face.
"Well? Is it true?" Finan asked, folding his arms.
Nairna's eyes widened at this. She had never thought even once that he had liked her as anything more than just a friend... though Finan and Sihtric may well have just been teasing. However, both of them were looking expectantly at Osferth, so she supposed she would find out either way.
"Look, she's only just woken up, can't we leave it for a bit?" he asked them, clearly growing uncomfortable under the weight of their stares.
"Of course we can," Sihtric said quickly, cutting over Finan. "Come on, let's find Lord Uhtred. He should be here soon."
"Fine," Finan said, sighing exaggeratedly as he got up. "Try not to jump in any more rivers while we're gone, eh?"
Naina grinned. "I'll try not to," she told him, lifting her hand as the pair of them left. She turned back to Osferth with a little smile. "I'm sure they're just teasing you," she said, stifling a yawn.
"That's the thing, Nairna," he said quietly. "They're not exactly... well, lying."
"What d'you mean?" Nairna asked, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she sat up and looked at him.
"I really like you, Nairna," he began, his gaze fixed on his hands, which were fidgeting nervously in his lap. "Well, I-I've liked you since we first met, 'course I have, but I mean... you, y'know, you're funny and you're an amazing warrior, you've always been really lovely to me, and... you're really- really beautiful, too," he finished shyly.
Nairna was unable to say anything for a moment, simply staring at him in complete shock before she remembered to speak. "Really?" was all she managed.
When he nodded, a smile began to blossom on Nairna's face, which caught him by surprise.
"Then, I like you too," she told him, leaning up to press a small kiss to his cheek. It was impossible to tell who was blushing more.
"You mean-?"
"Yeah," Nairna finished for him, laughing a little. "I do. I like you a lot, Osferth. Granted, at first I was a bit confused about you, but I've always thought you were the sweetest person I'd ever met. Plus, I've- y'know, I've been able to watch you grow into a fighter and a man, too. I wouldn't trade this for anything, really."
"Then, can I kiss you, Nairna?" he asked softly, meeting her gaze with a smile.
"'Course you can."
He tilted her chin up and gently kissed her, and Nairna felt like everything had finally fallen into place, the part of her that she had never known was missing was there, finally there. He pulled away soon after, trying to see what her reaction would be, and was swiftly met by Nairna with a second, more passionate kiss, her hand resting on his cheek.
When they finally had to pull away for air, it was with uncontrollable smiles on their faces. Nairna had almost forgotten how damp her clothes and hair still were, and she laughed as she realised. "I must look terrible," she said, still a little breathless.
"No, you... you're an angel," Osferth said softly, still transfixed, and she blushed.
"Even when I've just been dunked in the river?"
"Even when you've just been dunked in the river," he replied, and they both started laughing, before he pulled her in for another kiss.
Later that evening, as Nairna sat curled up into his side, she started thinking about her future. Wherever her path would lead, she thought, she knew it would be intertwined with Osferth's.