RITE OF SPRING
( the last kingdom )

written by amelia!

i was given the heart
before i was given the mind.

THE LAIS OF WILLA OF ESCANCEASTER are some that have been long-forgotten, her failing memory betraying both her heart and her legacy. Quiet and beguiling, with eyes of moonstone grey, Willa sits within her ivory tower, shut out from the world and it's malevolent whispers, isolated and perpetually alone. For twenty namedays her past has been a mystery, the tales of a mother and father she once knew passing into myth, opalescent and mystifying, like a springtime dewfall.

    For Willa, such days of loneliness were things of strange beauty. Like the first blossom of spring, the promise of one day escaping the clutches of her fickle mind and garnering her freedom would brighten each lonesome day, melting away winter's solitary virgin snow. She dreamed of a family, of freedom, of love. She dreamed of adventure, of the past, of the future. Yet such dreams were fickle, fruitless, feckless, and no heavenly persuasion would ever change that.

     But then, one cold March morning, as Willa stumbles through the hawthorn thicket, the fair maiden comes face to face with freedom, manifesting itself in the form of an unruly band of warriors and their priestly companion. And they were beautiful. Each of their weighty stares seemed to hold the promise of adventure glinting within their shining eyes. In one moment, she was transfixed.

     Thus, Willa's dream would only grow, flowering once again like the first narcissi of springtime.

     And then, when the lady catches the eye of a young bastard Dane, a new dream begins to swarm the cavernous tower, gilding the land in glistening gold that mirrored only the most loving of hearts — his heart. The Dane's dream was for the lady with eyes of moonstone grey to look at him with the same adoration he would save for only her.

He dreamed to be that knight she for so long had yearned for, to return her to the family she did not yet know of.

     Willa of Escanceaster had a dream of love and freedom, and Sihtric Kjartansson would sell his soul for such a dream to come true, at last fulfilling the Rite of Spring.

( or in which... )
the lost princess of wessex dreams
of freedom, and sihtric of northumbria
would do anything to grant her wish.

starring...
WILLA OF ESCANCEASTER
played by gaia weiss
" the moon will sing a song for me. "

SIHTRIC KJARTANSSON
played by arnas fedaravičius
" i bare the shadows that you've made. "

with...
( the supporting cast. )
yvaine, angel coulby
osferth, ewan mitchell
uthred ragnarson, alexander dreymon
finan the agile, mark rowley

and it's my whole heart
burned but not buried this time.

( the score )

SIDE A
     i. exile, taylor swift ( ft. bon iver )
ii. welcome to eden, samia
iii. salt and the sea, the lumineers
iv. dear wormwood, the oh hellos
v. blood in the wine, aurora
vi. king, florence + the machine
vii. i know the end, phoebe bridgers
viii. does it ever cross your mind, the paper kites
ix. conversation, lucy rose
x. exit music (for a film), radiohead

SIDE B
xi. the moon will sing, the crane wives
xii. all is soft inside, aurora
xiii. all i wanted, paramore
xiv. white winter hymnal, fleet foxes
xv. pure comedy, father john misty
xvi. ribs, the crane wives
xvii. fight to make it up, takénobu
xviii. dancing after death, matt maeson
xix. i wish i was the moon, ewan j phillips
xx. they stay down deep, giselle

( disclaimers! )

     i. i do not claim to own any of the characters nor plot lines of the last kingdom, those belong to the brilliant mind of bernard cornwell, stephen butchard, the BBC and netflix. i only own willa, yvaine, and the plots and leitmotifs surrounding them.

     ii. the last kingdom is rated 18 on netflix uk and contains themes of assault, voilence, gore and scenes of a sexual nature. this book will also contain such themes and as a result will be labelled mature, however i personally am not comfortable with writing smut, and so it shall not be included but explicit scenes may be implied at times throughout the course of this book.

     iii. i am relatively new to the last kingdom fandom and i have only watched the show, so please forgive me if this book is not entirely canon compliant with the book series.
    
iv. this book takes place during season two of the last kingdom, however it is a slight au and so at times it may deviate slightly from the plot of the show.

( extra notes! )

i. new book? slay? this intro is a bit shit, but a 'the last kingdom' fic? get hyped, because i am wholly in love with arnas fedaravičius and there simply isn't enough sihtric kjartansson fics out there!!

     ii. as much as i want updates to be frequent, i have a feeling that this will be updated rather sporadically as university is really something else. that being said, i'm trying to get back into the swing of writing before i start my creative writing module, so (no promises but...) expect new chapters on wednesdays and hopefully stupid cupid updates on sundays once again! whooo!

     iii. this has been in the works for a while and thanks to the british education system, it's stayed in my drafts for far too long, so consider this a sort of grand return until my next scheduled period of academic burnout...

     iv. finally this is dedicated to fuIImoons , the only other person who seems to love tlk on this cursed app as much as i do, lots of love! <3

" love nor freedom are luxuries
we women can have."

" what if i could give you both? "

( started: 25.o3.2022
published: 05.11.2022
completed: ??? )