𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 | 𝐨𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

Although Bryn and Iseult had only known each other for a few days, they were already well on their way to driving Uhtred to madness. He couldn't blame Iseult, of course, for she had been sheltered and imprisoned for most of her life. Bryn, on the other hand, was definitely old enough to know that the way she was acting was entirely unacceptable and somewhat dangerous. If anyone outside of Uhtred's men caught wind of who she truly was and what she was capable of, she was susceptible to capture.

"Bryn!" Uhtred barked for the umpteenth time. Why he had let Bryn and Iseult ride together in the first place was beyond him. "Behave yourself or you'll be riding with Leofric the rest of the way home!"

Bryn had been showing off to Iseult the entire journey, demonstrating how she would maneuver herself around to the back of the saddle when the time called for it. Iseult was absolutely fascinated and impressed to the point of laughing in disbelief every time Bryn would expertly crawl around her.

"Oh, leave her be," Leofric said. Uhtred glanced at him to see that he was watching Bryn with a certain amount of fondness in his eyes—the same amount of fondness a father would reserve for their own child. "I can't remember the last time I saw her smiling like that, can you?"

Uhtred's eyes drifted back to Bryn, who was still riding with Iseult. Bryn had settled upon standing behind Iseult with her hands on the shadow-queen's shoulders. Vikar and Orri had joined the girls, riding on either side of them as they all spoke to one another. They were too far away for Uhtred and Leofric to hear what they were speaking about, but the intonations in their voices and the grins on their faces suggested that they were playfully bickering about one thing or another.

"This freedom she feels, it won't last," Uhtred said, regretfully. He had not been ignorant to Bryn's enthusiasm, and watching her be her true self without the fear of her abilities being discovered by Alfred was truly a sight to behold.

"No, I suppose it won't," Leofric replied. "That doesn't mean we can't give her these last few moments of freedom, does it?"

"But there are still Danes in these lands that know who she is and what she's capable of, Skorpa is proof of that," Uhtred said. "What if we are attacked and we find ourselves outnumbered?"

"Then one of us will take her and run for the hills," Leofric said. "Uhtred, there is not a man among us that wouldn't lay down their life for her."

As if summoned to prove Leofric's point wrong, Aethelwold appeared on the other side of Uhtred. "I've been meaning to ask you, Uhtred... How was I as a warrior?"

Uhtred nearly scoffed at him. "Aethelwold, you are as much a warrior as you are a king."

✭

The return to Liscumb went just about as well as Bryn had expected. Mildrith, needless to say, was none too thrilled about her husband returning home with another woman at his side. Even after being informed that Uhtred had cleared her debt to the church, Mildrith still banished Uhtred and Iseult to the stables. She had tried to do so with Bryn, Vikar, and Orri as well, but reluctantly relented when Uhtred pulled her aside to tell her that there was nothing they could have done about it.

"Are you sure we can't come with you?" Bryn asked Leofric on behalf of herself, Vikar, and Orri. They were standing just outside the stables, watching the man prepare for his return to Winchester.

"You know you can't," Leofric said. "Little Odda is there with a marriage proposal, remember?"

It wasn't until later, long after Uhtred and Iseult had retreated to the stables for the night, and Leofric had returned to Winchester, that Mildrith found Bryn. Fortunately, Mildrith had found the younger girl entertaining Little Uhtred as the midwife, Edwina, prepared supper. She half-expected to find Bryn with Vikar and Orri, so when they weren't anywhere in sight, her suspicions grew.

"Where are Vikar and Orri?" Mildrith asked, glancing around as if saying their names would make the boys suddenly appear.

"Watering the horses before bed," Bryn lied. The truth was that the boys were out procuring a few pitchers of ale for the three of them to share in celebration of their first official raid as Danes. "Did you need them for something?"

"No, I was hoping to speak to you alone, if you don't mind," Mildrith said.

"Not at all," Bryn said. She pushed herself up off the ground before throwing a playful finger in Edwina's direction, "You'll protect him with your life?"

"Always," Edwina replied, grinning at her.

"Good," Bryn nodded, escorting Mildrith to the bedroom she shared with Vikar and Orri. "Everything alright?"

Mildrith sat on Bryn's bed and beckoned the younger girl to sit beside her, she waited for her to sit down before speaking. "Odda the Younger came while you and the others were gone." Bryn nearly shuddered at the mention of Little Odda, and her rigidity did not go unnoticed by Mildrith. "I know what you think of him, but he would make a fine husband, Bryn."

"What lies has he told you?" Bryn asked, defiantly. "Surely you must know he only seeks my hand because your hand is already taken."

Mildrith's gaze fell to the floor at Bryn's comment. Of course she knew, and she'd be a fool to deny something so obvious. "He's been in love with me for as long as I can remember."

"Right, you marry him, then."

"Bryn—"

"No, Mildrith, absolutely not!" Bryn all but yelled, fear seeping into her voice despite her best efforts to hide it. She slid off the bed to her knees, collecting Mildrith's hands into her own. "Mildrith, I beg of you, please listen to me," she implored. "I have seen my future. I have drawn the man I end up with, and it's not Little Odda."

Mildrith stared into her eyes for a moment before nodding. She had been around Bryn long enough to know that her visions were rarely wrong. "Okay," she said, squeezing Bryn's hands. "Okay, I believe you."

Bryn surged forwards, throwing her arms around Mildrith's neck. "Thank you."

"What's going on?" Vikar suddenly asked from the doorway, causing Bryn and Mildrith to flinch.

"Nothing," Bryn lied, already knowing that she would be telling them everything after Mildrith left.

"I'll leave you to it," Mildrith said. As she left the room, Vikar and Orri hid the pitchers of ale they had behind their backs so that Mildrith wouldn't be able to see them. "Good night."

"Good night," Bryn, Vikar, and Orri parroted.

Once Mildrith was gone, Bryn whirled around to face the boys. "You won't believe what's just happened."

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ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ     not proofread. pls let me know if you see any spelling mistakes