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CHAPTER VI:

✧. ⋆ south

     𝕴N THE DISTANCE ELDRID COULD SEE THE NUNNERY waiting for them on a hill, the sun casting its light over the highest bell tower. Their horses carried them swiftly over the green fields towards the building of stone. They had been riding towards Epchester all morning at high speed. Uhtred was eager to see the woman who had been waiting for him. Eldrid couldn't be less interested in the reunion of the happy couple but it seemed fate had wanted her to go in this direction and so she followed. For no one could reject their fate.

Her brother steered his horse next to hers, looking around in a manner that let her know he wanted to discuss something without being overheard by their companions. Only when he was sure no one was listening in did he speak. "You really think going to Wessex is the best thing for us to do?" He asked. "The men will not fight for a Saxon king."

Eldrid raised her eyebrows at him. "You were the one who told me to form an alliance with Ragnar."

Bjorn nodded. "I did and the men have gladly followed the son of Ragnar the Elder but they won't follow us into Wessex without the promise of plunder."

He spoke the truth, of course he did. Hunting slave traders had made her men rich. She never allowed them to keep the women, which was a strange thing to do and she knew it but she refused to stand by and watch them betray their wives and rape other women. It had taken them a while to follow that order, but in the end it had turned them into honorable men. However, any plunder they managed to find, they were allowed to keep. And more often than not the slave traders had ships filled with silver, pelts and even strange things from beyond the sea. If she brought her men into Wessex without the promise of any plunder awaiting them, they might refuse her.

"Okay brother," she finally spoke. "After we freed Gisela you will ride to the encampment and tell the men to Loidis. They are to wait there for our return. I will tell Ragnar to send his men to join them."

He nodded, seeming satisfied with her decision. "As you say."

She needed every able bodied man if they were to attack Kjartan and by allowing her men to take some rest with the promise of being joined by Ragnar's men, they would be happy to do so. Much happier than if they were to follow her into Saxon land without being allowed to raid.

They were close enough to the nunnery now to spot one of the nuns running inside to sound the alarm. Eldrid could only imagine the fear she must feel upon seeing the look on Uhtred's face. He was ready for war, ready to fight for his woman.

They dismounted their horses and left them in the courtyard.

"Gisela!" Uhtred shouted, looking around with wide eyes.

"Uhtred! I'm here!" A female voice came from inside the main hall of the nunnery.

Uhtred hurried towards the door, pulling it open, only to freeze when his eyes landed on the scene awaiting him inside. "You will let her go!" He shouted as he made his way inside.

Her hand went to her sword as their group followed him inside the hall. Only then did she see the priest standing in front of Gisela, as the poor woman was being held in a tight grip by a couple of soldiers. One even held a sword to her throat as Uhtred approached. She must have put up an impressive fight for this many soldiers trying to contain her.

"You are too late," the priest spoke as he walked up towards Uhtred.

She recognised him. It was the priest who served Guthred and told them Uhtred was lost. The urge to run her sword through his chest had been strong before, but it only grew in strength now.

"You will let her go," Uhtred repeated, staring at Gisela with wide eyes.

"She is married now," the priest said. "She belongs to Aelfric."

"It is a lie, Uhtred," Gisela said, her eyes filled with fire.

"Where is Aelfric?" Uhtred questioned, looking around. "If he's not here he cannot be married."

The priest looked at him with utter hatred and spat: "By proxy, you fool! This man stood beside her in place of Aelfric." He gestured at a man with fearful eyes who stood beside him.

"Marrying someone without them being present makes you a fool, priest," Eldrid said, speaking his title with so much disgust the man took a small step back.

She swore she could hear Finan grin from behind her but didn't turn around to find out.

"Did you hump her for Aelfric?" Uhtred questioned the fearful looking man, who shook his head, unable to utter even a simple word.

"He did not," Gisela spat.

"Then there is no marriage, it is a lie," Uhtred said.

"She is married and it cannot be undone," the priest continued with his hateful voice.

"Make her a widow," Ragnar suggested.

Eldrid smirked. "I like that."

"No!" The man finally seemed to have found his voice.

Another priest spoke up. "Gisela is married to Aelfric, not to Aiden."

Ragnar chuckled and shook his head, turning Eldrid. "Do you understand any of this?"

She shrugged, playing along. "I'm afraid I do not. You Christians have very strange rituals. I'd like to try it. If I were to kill this man would Aelfric die as well?"

"Perhaps we should kill them all," Ragnar said, walking up to stand beside his brother.

Eldrid stepped forward as well, her hand on her sword. Finan came standing next to her, seeming almost eager for a fight. Her brother was right behind them, scanning the room with his sharp eyes to make sure no one would escape.

The priest stumbled back, holding up his hand to stop his soldiers from doing anything. He scanned their group of warriors and decided he would probably lose for he made a gesture and the soldiers let Gisela go.

She ran towards Uhtred, who didn't hesitate to take her in his arms, reunited at last. Then the soldier took a step towards the priest, but Gisela was quick to pull him back, holding his face in her hands to try and calm him. Uhtred took a deep breath, letting her guide him away to the door.

But the priest was foolish enough to open his mouth again and that was his doom. "Do as you wish!" He shouted. "In sight of God she's married!"

Uhtred turned back around, his eyes wild. "Say she's married again!"

"She's married!"

He stormed forwards, sword in hand and grabbed the priest by his throat, pulling his head back. "She's what?" He snarled.

"She's married!" The priest repeated and his words made Uhtred shake him violently.

"Uhtred!" Hild cried out but Ragnar stopped her from interfering.

"Is she married?" Uhtred said, his anger now gone and filled with the calm certainty of battle descending upon him and Eldrid knew then the priest was going to die.

And still he cried out: "Yes!"

Uhtred kicked him in the stomach, which made Hild scream again but he ignored her. "Say it one more time, priest and I swear the devil will take you."

"You're nothing but a heathen and the bitch is married!"

That was the end of it, Uhtred pushed his sword through the man's chest and he collapsed onto the ground, dead.

The other priests standing around all stumbled back, away from Uhtred and the deadly anger that shimmered in his eyes. Then he lifted his sword and pointed it at the man the priest had called Aiden. "You!" He shouted. "You will go to my uncle and when he asks of his wife, you will tell him she's in the bed of Uhtred of Bebbanburg."

Aiden swallowed nervously before finally nodding.

At last Uhtred turned around and left the hall.

Eldrid grinned at the priests, enjoying their fear. Then she spat on the ground before following the others outside. She ignored Hild, who stood shocked in the door opening, staring at the priest's dead body. She couldn't care less for the dead priest. He had, after all, brought it upon himself.

They made their way back to their horses and Eldrid walked up to her brother. "I will join you as soon as possible," she said. The only reason she was going to Wessex at all was to make sure Uhtred and Ragnar kept their promises and would join her to defeat Kjartan. She would much rather stay with her men than go into the strange Saxon land to the south, but she couldn't bring herself to trust the warrior who had fought for Alfred just yet.

Bjorn nodded and she knew he wanted to tell her to let go of her worries. He trusted Ragnar and Ragnar trusted Uhtred. But he also knew that wouldn't be enough to convince her. She needed to trust the warrior himself before she would let her men march with him. "We will be waiting for you," he promised.

They embraced and then Eldrid walked back to her horse, got into the saddle and joined the others as they left the nunnery behind. They made their way across the fields and she rode up next to Ragnar. "My brother is going to gather our forces at Loidis," she spoke. "If you have any men left loyal to you, you should tell them to join us."

Ragnar nodded. "After we have seen Alfred I will send a messenger to gather my men." He smiled at her. "And then we will march to Kjartan."

With that promise burning in her heart, she rode to Wessex. The road was long, even if they tried to take as little rest as possible. She noticed both Ragnar and Uhtred were eager to get the business with the King over with. Their blood feud was waiting in the north and so it felt strange to gallop south instead.

Eldrid couldn't care less for King Alfred and whatever he was planning to do but she had to admit she was growing more and more curious to Wessex as they approached. It was strange to see a land unoccupied by the Danes. Here their religion was free to be practiced and less hidden than in the northern parts of the Saxon lands. Almost every village they passed had a church. In the more poor villages it was usually only a wooden shed with a cross attached but in the more wealthy parts the building was extravagant and obviously better cared for than the structures surrounding it.

She couldn't understand their religion and the strange rituals they practised but that didn't make it any less interesting to see. She half surprised herself by feeling that way, thinking she couldn't have cared less about the Saxons. But perhaps they were more interesting when they were free of the influence of the Danes.

After several days of riding they reached the city in which the king had his hall, Wintancheaster. As they rode through the streets people looked at them with distrust and some even spat on the ground in front of her horse. And Eldrid was immediately reminded why she disliked the Saxons so much, always thinking they were so much better because they served one god instead of several. Her awe for the country disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

Ragnar and Uhtred left to go find the king and Eldrid, Finan, Steapa and Hild decided to wait for them while quenching their thirst in a nearby tavern. After one sip of the ale, however, Eldrid came to regret that decision.

Hild noticed her disgusted look and smiled softly. "They brew it differently here," she explained, while drinking hers without problem.

"It appears they do," Eldrid agreed, deciding her thirst was worse than the taste and taking another sip.

"I'll tell ya," Finan spoke, already having finished most of his drink. "There is no finer ale than in Irland."

Eldrid looked at him, amused. "Have you tasted all the ale in the world before making such a claim?"

He frowned at her. "I'd like to see how much ale it would take for you to stop trying to wound me, my Lady."

She couldn't stop the grin appearing on her lips. "A lot more than you might think, Irishman."

"Is that a challenge?" He questioned, tilting his head.

She shrugged. "Not one you can win."

Before he could try to restore his honor however, a priest interrupted their petty squabbling by calling out her name. Frowning she looked up at the small and bald priest, clothed in grey robes that seemed way too big for him. "Yes?" She questioned.

"Father Beocca," Hild said, a smile on her face as she stood up to embrace the man.

He clumsily returned the hug before focusing his attention on Eldrid. "Are you Eldrid Brynjarsdottir?" He asked and she winced at the way he pronounced her father's name with his Saxon accent.

"That is me," she confirmed. "What do you need, father?"

Her mocking tone at his title either went over his head or he decided to ignore it. Instead he took a deep breath and said: "The king wishes to speak with you."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys!

So it's finally summer break which means I finally had the time to finish this chapter! I'm not really sure how to feel about this one but I did really enjoy Eldrid mocking Father Eadred with Ragnar. Also I will never get tired of Finan and Eldrid banter, so yeah maybe I do like this chapter more than I first thought haha.

Please don't forget to comment, it really means the world to me! And thanks to everyone who continues to vote on this story. It's much appreciated.

xx Nelly