vi. wihtgar's revenge
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"My father's weakness drew you here as it drew me, he could not hold his lands, so I have put him out of his misery. Your men and woman, to the wall!" Wihtgar shouted down. Angrboda allowed Finan to guide her away as he shielded her, she noticed Sihtric was also blocking her from view.
"Go. Be ready." Uhtred ordered.
"Move."
"Have faith. Your father has escaped worse than this." Beocca told Young Uhtred reassuringly. Angrboda held out her hand for the bleeding boy and he allowed her to pull him into her side.
"Your father stole these lands from me when I was a boy! And he allowed the Scots to ravage them. If you want men to call you the true lord of Bebbanburg...earn it! Come down and fight me like a man!"
"I hold the fortress! I have no need to fight you!" Wihtgar shouted and she hoped the man would die brutally.
"Wihtgar! Lord! You do not know me. I was your father's priest. I knew his strength and his flaws, this enmity was of his making. You have settled that! Now, let us make peace. You are cousins! Let this be a new beginning, unite against your common foe together. You can defeat the Scots, and secure the land, for the sake of your children. For all Saxons." Uhtred looks at his son with a tense look.
"You have spent too long in Winchester, priest. And you have forgotten the north. We do not seek peace. You are a stranger here, Uhtred Ragnarson. But I am wiser than my father. I will not leave a rival alive to challenge my birthright or my bloodline. I will kill you, Uhtred." Wihtgar speaks with a smirk as Uhtred looks at his son in worry. "But first...you will watch the death of your boy."
"No!" Uhtred screams. Angrboda quickly moved the boy behind her as Finan sent her a panicked look.
"And all the fools who follow you to your doom!" Wihtgar continued as he aimed the bow.
"No! Wihtgar! Don't! Finan, drop your swords! Now!" Uhtred commands as he grows more distressed.
"This is the end, Uhtred. Your name will be forgotten." Wihtgar releases the arrow just as Beocca moves in front of him to avoid the death of the boy and woman. Beocca gasped in pain and began to fall back as Finan and Sihtric caught him.
"Uhtred..." Beocca whispered before dying.
"Beocca!" Uhtred screams in such a gut-wrenching that has Finan looking at him worriedly. She frowned at the unfolded events and refused to let go of the teen, he must have felt the same since he tightened his grip on her hand.
"Make for the ship!" Sihtric shouts as Uhtred begins to fight. Uhtred tried to shake Beocca awake as he cried, but instead took Beocca's cross as Sihtric ushered Young Uhtred into the exit stairway.
"Lord!" Sihtric shouts again as they descend the stairs. Osferth fights off some of the guards as they board the ship. "Untie the ship! Osferth, start bailing! Where is Uhtred?" Sihtric speaks as the ship is targeted by Wihtgar. She nervously picked at her fingers as she waited for Finan and Uhtred.
"They're over there!" Young Uhtred shouted as they saw Finan and Uhtred coming their way.
"We need to go. Now!" Sihtric shouts to them.
"Get going! Go!" Finan jumps on the ship as Uhtred turns to look at Wihtgar with pure hate. Angrboda moved to grasp his hand as he looked at her in worry.
"Lord, we do not have time!" Sihtric yells to his friend.
"Uhtred, hurry! They'll try to sink the bastard boat!" Finan adds frantically as he moves her away from the edge to prevent her from getting splashed or worse.
"Come on, father!" Young Uhtred speaks with fear.
"Ready the oars!"
"Easy!" Sihtric says as he helps row the boat.
"Pull! Pull!" Finan repeats like a mantra as the men, Finan being exempt, row the ship. The men around them grunt under the strain of the angry waves as Uhtred looks back at his fading birthright. Thunder rumbles as lightning lights up the sky. Angrboda cuddled into Finan's chest as they watched Uhtred's home drift away.
Angrboda hated water. Especially, now. Finan sat her down on the sand as he turned away to vomit up water, she pulled him into her lap after. He rested his head on her thighs as she rubbed his back soothingly and checked to make sure the others were safe. Sihtric ruffled her hair as he sat beside her and she pulled him close to kiss his head. She watched as Uhtred walked up the hill to sit in silence and mourn Beocca.
Finan walked up to Sihtric and Osferth, the Dane had fixed up a tourniquet for the monk in their free time. Finan was filled with too many emotions at the moment. Worry for Uhtred and grief for Beocca. And above all, love for the woman next to him. Angrboda was busy doing some sort of ritual, Finan didn't bother to ask. He watched her with a fond smile as she looked up, she locked eyes with her Irishman and moved to check on him. Finan laid his head against hers as he held her neck softly, she pulled him down for a chaste kiss.
"Bless you, Sihtric." Osferth spoke quietly as Sihtric smiled and helped slip the cloth over his head.
"Blessings," Sihtric turns when he notices Finan. "Where is Uhtred?" Sihtric turned to Angrboda who slipped her arm around his waist. Sihtric leaned down to kiss her head as he tossed his arm over her shoulder.
"He walks alone."
"I fear his spirit is broken." Osferth mumbled in concern. She frowned at his comment and looked up at Sihtric, the two shared a silent conversation with their eyes.
"The day Uhtred is broken is the day you grow hair down there, Osferth. It'll never come," Sihtric smirks at the joke. "Now, he lost a friend and grieves him...as we all do. He told me we must return south. Well, come on. We'll need horses and provisions for the journey." Finan and the men begin to take off valuables. Sihtric hesitated on his fingers briefly before Finan took off Sihtric's armbands. None of them dared to take anything from her, not that she had much, to begin with.
"But what you can. There's a village behind the ridge. Try not to spend it all on women." Finan spoke with narrowed eyes. Sihtric scoffed and jerked his hand away as he left. She shook her head in amusement and watched Osferth in concern when he hissed at the pain.
Later, Angrboda feeds Osferth some broth with added ingredients to help him heal as Young Uhtred prays. Uhtred walked past the group as his boys made themselves busy across from them.
"Lord, forgive my sins for they are all very grave. Whoever fears you, lord God knows that is your will and you'll show that man just..."
"Stop this nonsense." Uhtred barked in order. She glanced briefly at the man and felt Finan's hand move to her back when he stopped sharpening his blade. She liked his simple acts of affection. It was comforting.
"I pray for Father Beocca." Uhtred froze before walking to his son in bitterness. "Please allow the soul of Father Beocca to rise to heaven—" He was cut off by Uhtred jerking him up roughly.
"Get up! You think he needs your words, hm? Do you think I need them?"
"I know you blame me for his death." Young Uhtred claimed and she frowned softly, she would hug him later.
"I am told your God gives mercy, where is he? Where is he? I've never seen him." Uhtred screamed in distress and sorrow.
"Uhtred." She spoke with a tone of warning, he looked at her in both shock and understanding. She was right to stop him, his bond with his son was strained enough.
"It is not my God that you hate...but the fact that I am not you." Uhtred placed his hand on Young Uhtred's jaw before glancing away and letting go. Finan and Angrboda approached Young Uhtred in concern.
"Are you alright?" Finan questioned the boy by placing a hand on his neck. She outstretched her arm and allowed the boy to cuddle into her side.
"He does not want me. You know, I will return to the church." Young Uhtred spoke with spitefulness.
"And that's what you want, is it? To run away?" Finan questioned. He would never speak it out loud but the sight of her comforting Uhtred's son made his heart grow fonder. He imagined his life with her many times over and each time involved the beautiful woman and children running around with her mismatched eyes and his mischievous traits.
"I remind him of his defeat and Father Beocca's sacrifice." Angrboda rubbed his back with a frown and kissed his head. She knew he hadn't felt the touch of a mother in so long, although she might not be one but she still held the protective instincts of one.
"Oh! The blindness of youth. Uhtred is a warrior and a father. It was his job to save you and he could not. That's what eats at him." Finan informed the teen.
"As a warrior perhaps, but not as a father. He has never been a father."
"Because he was absent? Do you know how many battles he has fought? How many times has he sworn oaths and risked his life for your Christian kings at the cost of his own hopes and comfort? I met your father as a slave when we had...nothing." Finan cleared his throat. She reached out to cup his jaw in her palm and stroked his cheek gently, he exhaled softly and kissed her palm before continuing.
"Now, you look at what you lack, not what he has given to others. He fights for Bebbanburg, not for himself, but for you. To give you the legacy he never had." Finan grabs the cross on Young Uhtred's neck. "I swear...he is a great man...and his blood runs in your veins. You should be proud to follow him." Finan walks away as the teen stands alone. She allowed the teen to stay in her arms as she held him.
"For what it is worth, Angrboda. You and Finan would be incredible parents. Your future children are going to be so lucky." She smiled down at the boy when he pulled away. "I like to think that my mother would have loved you. You both knew how to keep men in line." She laughed quietly and was relieved to know he had smiled.
When Uhtred walks back to camp she moves to hug him, the Dane melts into her embrace and is once again reminded how thankful he was for Sihtric convincing her to join them. It was like having another sister.
"The men can no longer go on wandering in the wilderness like this. They will need silver." Uhtred mumbled as he glanced around.
"There'll be an opportunity to earn it, we're warriors. There are always battles to fight." Finan said casually as he watched his woman and friend.
"To fight, men need a lord who can lead them into battle without fear. I'm tired. My reputation is waning." Uhtred claimed sadly and she rubbed the man's back.
"Uhtred." She spoke with a frown and he dropped his head with a sigh.
"These men depend on you." Uhtred looked up at the sky before facing his friend.
"I know what you do, Finan. I know what you say to them. I'm finished with battles. I thought that my destiny was to return to my home. I have not. I have lost my lands. I've lost my name. I can no longer call myself Uhtred of Bebbanburg. I am nothing. If men want to leave me, you should let them go. I can no longer be their lord." Uhtred confessed before leaving again.
"I worry for him." Finan mumbled next to her and she propped her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes when he gently knocked his head against her forehead.
"He needs a friend, darling. Go to him." She whispered and was surprised to hear her voice becoming less brittle. Finan caressed her cheek with a twinkle in his eyes that signaled how much he loved her, it was overwhelming at times.
"Beocca would not want you to starve or stay destroyed by grief." Finan spoke as he moved beside Uhtred on the hill. Angrboda had decided to stay back to watch over Osferth.
"He held me on the ramparts when Earl Ragnar rode to Bebbanburg with the head of my brother. When my father named me Uhtred in his stead and told me to die for Bebbanburg. Beocca was at my side. He put me into the water to baptize me, and he held me under for so long that I nearly drowned while he prayed to his God. He saved my life as a boy and as a man...many times." Uhtred spoke softly.
"He was like a father." Uhtred exhaled slowly and nodded as Finan hugged him while he sobbed. "Hey, it's alright." Finan says quietly.
"He'll have no grave...no place blessed by his God." Uhtred sobbed into his shoulder.
"He is with God now and with your sister. He is at...peace." Finan began to cry as he spoke. "Hm? I'm sure he'd be touched by how you mourn for him while we're stuck in the middle of nowhere. But if he were here now, he would tell you this is not the end. We will gather more men." Finan speaks again once they pull away, he places his hand on Uhtred's heart as Uhtred exhales. "We will return with an army and batter down the gates."
"Yeah." Uhtred spoke softly as he was hugged by Finan.
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