𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 | 𝐨𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡

𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

If there's one thing to know about Bryn and her little family, it's that they are extremely competitive. So competitive, in fact, that just about everything they did somehow always ended up being a competition. One such competition that they had upheld over the years was that whoever made it to the dinner table last had to clean up after everyone else. Bryn, being the shortest and clumsiest, was often the last to the table.

Today was no different.

After supper ended, the boys said something about finding Leofric before leaving Bryn to clean up. Orri offered to help, he always did, but Bryn told him it was fine and that she'd catch up with them later. After they'd gone, she got to work.

It was while she was rinsing their plates in a basin of water that her gaze drifted over to where the pigs for supper had been skinned, prepped, and cooked. The pigs' heads had been placed on spikes and she watched as the fat and oils dripped into the buckets that had been placed beneath them.

Bryn shuddered when an unpleasant memory from a few years prior sprang to the forefront of her mind. She was ten the first time she'd been burned by fire. It was her fault, really. Uhtred was teaching her and the boys how to butcher and cook a pig and she stopped paying attention at some point. The results were quite catastrophic; Bryn caught on fire and when she tried to use water to douse the flames, the fire only spread. It took weeks for the wound to heal, and even longer for Bryn to feel comfortable around fire again.

"Pig flesh!" Bryn blurted when she came barreling into their tent later that evening. Night had fallen by then.

"I thought I told you to stay away from Odda the Younger."

Bryn blinked at her brother. "What? No, not him." She surged forward to grab his hands, beaming up at him. "I know how to set the fires."

✭

Meanwhile, on the other side of camp, Little Odda was trying to convince his father not to go to Uhtred's aid. His hatred of the man, if it was even possible, had grown even more over the last few days. And, now that he had Mildrith, he saw no reason why the cordial relationship he was forced to maintain with Uhtred had to continue, especially after his—and then Bryn's—outburst.

"If he succeeds, fires the ships, it will undoubtedly cause panic amongst the Danes."

"Which is the aim," Big Odda confirmed.

"How best do we use that panic?" Little Odda pondered. "Is an attack likely to be successful? Would it not be better to escape this hill? We can return to Winchester, without the loss of a single man." He was playing on his father's love for his people.

"Except Uhtred, and Bryn, Vikar, and Orri," he listed.

"Father, if what Uhtred says about the storm is true, and Guthrum's fleet is all but destroyed, we would join forces with Alfred. Then, we are all against Ubba. As a strategy, you can't deny, it makes sense."

"I gave him my word," Big Odda reminded.

Little Odda had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. "He will die, and you can call him a hero," he offered. He glanced outside and saw Leofric and Wulfhere approaching. "The others are here, you must decide what you will tell them."

✭

Shortly after going over everything and collecting the supplies they needed, Uhtred, Bryn, Vikar, and Orri set off to execute their plan. Their journey down the mountain and through the woods was relatively swift, but they probably would have made it down hell of a lot quicker had Bryn not been half blind.

Getting around in darkness isn't usually a problem for her, but the new environment and dire stakes were making her exceptionally more clumsy.

"Fuck!" She grumbled when she tripped for the millionth time. Vikar was quick to catch her by the arm, steadying her on her feet. "Thank you."

"Maybe you should have stayed with Leofric," he teased. She smacked him on the arm.

"Are we going to address who is to set the fires?" Orri called from in front of them.

"I will be setting the fires," Uhtred announced.

"I'm the smallest. They'd never see me coming. I could do it," Bryn said, to which the boys responded with a resounding 'no'.

"You're not going anywhere near that camp," Uhtred said, glancing back at his sister. "I told you what Ragnar said. If Guthrum and Ubba get their hands on you..." He couldn't even bring himself to finish his sentence.

When Alfred traded Uhtred and the others to the Danes in the hostage exchange, Ragnar was beyond relieved to see that Bryn wasn't with them. He later told Uhtred that Guthrum and Ubba were among the ones that believe Bryn's gift can be controlled and thus taken advantage of.

Eventually, Uhtred successfully managed to retrace his steps and led them to where he'd had his meeting with Ubba earlier that day. From there, they'd have to figure out the way to Ubba's camp by themselves. But, thanks to their vantage point on the ridge earlier, they were able to chart a course that would lead them to the far end of Ubba's camp.

On the way there, they ultimately decided that Bryn, Vikar, and Orri would wait along the river while Uhtred fired the ships. They all collectively agreed that it was the perfect spot for cover. The trees were far enough away for them to remain unseen, yet close enough for them to come to Uhtred's aid should he need to call for it.

"Good luck," Bryn whispered, hugging Uhtred and then kissing his cheek. "You come back to us, you understand?"

"I will," he promised, and then he was off.

It wasn't until she couldn't see him anymore that Bryn noticed the familiarity of the landscape. "This is it," she murmured to Vikar and Orri. "This is my vision. This is where I was standing."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Orri asked. "That mean's he'll be successful."

Although she nodded, there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that gave her pause. She felt like something was off, like something was missing. She tilted her head, hoping that the different angle might spark some sort of recognition. When she still couldn't figure it out, she decided to wait it out, assuming that it was probably just the fire on the water that was missing.

A few moments passed and Bryn spotted a small fire atop one of the ships. It illuminated the area enough for Bryn to see Uhtred's silhouette. "There he is," she said, pointing him out.

"He did it," Vikar remarked proudly.

"See?" Orri asked, nudging her slightly. They continued watching as Uhtred proceeded to light several more ships on fire. "Is this what you saw in your vision?"

"I think so," she said, but then she shook her head. "Something isn't right."

"What do you mean?" Vikar asked.

She shook her head again. "Something's missing."

Vikar and Orri pondered her words for a moment or two, and in the end, it was Vikar who discovered what was missing.

"Where are Odda and Leofric?"

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