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wheres-mylove · 2 years ago

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damsel in distress | sihtric kjartansson x fem!reader

Summary: Sihtric arrives in Winchester for Aethelflaed’s wedding, and finds a princess for himself by the way - the bride’s younger sister with a feisty temper and an overpowering desire to break Aethelred's nose. But there’s a little more to the story than just that.

Disclaimer: English isn’t my first language!

Word count: 2.9k

The young warrior stared at the ground, not daring to look his lord in the eye. He had warned him. Everyone had.

“She's gone?” Uhtred asked, trying out a sympathetic tone, realizing it was not the time to mock his friend's misplaced feelings.

“Yes, my lord,” Sihtric confirmed quietly. “The silver too, before you question me about it. Gone with her.”

“No woman, no silver,” Uhtred summarized and crossed his arms over his chest. “Just so we're clear, I would have agreed to the marriage. Suffer if you're foolish. But not for too long. You need to find someone decent.”

“We would have named our first son Uhtred, lord,” he said, absentmindedly staring ahead.

“No, you would not,” the older warrior replied, visibly grimacing.

“It doesn't matter now,” Sihtric muttered, earning a comforting pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile from Uhtred.

“Find Finan, we'll meet in the main square.”

Sihtric Kjartansson walked gloomily ahead, pondering why he had such bad luck in life. He took out his anger on a few pebbles scattered on the dusty road. The gods were not too kind when it came to sending him a woman who...

“Sorry, sorry!” He heard a girl's voice behind him and several other irritated grunts or a hushed 'Watch out.' He turned his head slightly and it was a miracle he avoided colliding with a cloaked figure in a visible hurry.

“If you'll excuse me, lord,” the girl quickly spoke, not even bothering to give him a passing glance, squeezing past him and running into a narrow passage between a stable and a nearby dwelling.

Sihtric furrowed his brow and observed the stranger leaning against the wall, anxiously looking towards the main street. With her slightly tilted hood, he was certain she was a young woman, clearly running away from something or someone.

What was he if not a hero?

“My lady,” he began, but faltered at the sight of her angry gaze.

“Are you crazy? Go away,” she snapped, waving her hand at him dismissively. The hood fell back, revealing the girl's face in all its glory.

Sihtric didn't know what to do. The lady was beautiful. But also pissed off.

“God, you idiot,” the girl said with a heavy sigh. Then she grabbed his arm forcefully, pulling him into a dark alley with her and positioning him with his back to the street.

Sihtric still didn't quite understand what was happening. Being pushed around by a mad gorgeous woman was not part of his plans for today. He didn't have any plans at all since the last one ran off with the remnants of his wealth.

“If someone is hiding, they have a reason for it and don't want someone standing in front of them, announcing it to the world,” she scolded him like a disobedient child, and Sihtric felt himself blushing.

“Right. Makes sense. I apologize, my lady,” he stammered, not taking his eyes off her.

She was even more beautiful up close.

“Discreetly look behind you and see if a monk is coming this way,” she instructed him gravely, to which he gave her a half-surprised, half-amused look.

“A monk is leading the chase?”

“Yes, you see, I'm a witch, and I was about to be burned at the stake this afternoon.”

Sihtric chuckled softly, but he complied with her request. He thought the girl was joking, but indeed, a monk was heading their way. Slightly bewildered but definitely annoyed, he was looking around vigilantly.

“Are you really a witch?” Sihtric suddenly asked with a hint of uncertainty.

“I sacrifice boys like you,” she replied without a trace of a smile, but mischievous sparks danced in her eyes. He smirked. “But seriously, you might come in handy. The holy man won't sniff around here for long. Let’s make him look away.”

She threw her arms around his neck, and without hesitation, Sihtric placed his hands on her hips.

Only after a few heartbeats did the absurdity of the situation dawn on him. He stood very close in a dark alley with a girl whose name he didn't know, protecting her from the wrath of a monk.

“But honestly, what about your troubles?” he asked gently.

“Brother Ceolwulf sometimes gives me calligraphy lessons. My father says I scribble rather terribly. I ran away to avoid that pleasure. And apparently, Lord Aethelred is due to arrive soon,” she almost spat the name as if it left a foul taste. “Maybe I'll go see that prick. Quite a commotion over a simple farce.”

“You don't fancy lords from Mercia and royal weddings, my lady?”

The girl didn't answer; instead, she scrutinized Sihtric intently. He felt a wave of embarrassment under the piercing gaze of her sharp eyes.

“And what business does a Dane have here?” she asked after a while, smiling slightly at the sight of his blush. Brother Ceolwulf flashed behind Sihtric, so she tightened her grip and rested her head on his chest. The warrior held his breath. A stream of muffled words reached him. “No, no, you can talk; that rascal is just behind you. You could also use a bath, you know? Great, he went searching on the other side. You could also tell me your name, for the sake of appearances and decency.”

“I'm Sihtric, lady,” he said with a laugh, which (Y/N) not only heard but also felt. “Together with my lord Uhtred, we arrived…”

“Uhtred?” the girl interrupted, raising her head with surprise. “You serve Uhtred?”

“Do you know him?” Sihtric tilted his head, intrigued.

“Oh, I'm in trouble,” she said barely audible, more to herself than to him. “I have to go. I apologize for the assault.”

She took a few steps back before Sihtric panicked. He didn't know her name. He didn't know where to find her. And he definitely wanted to see her again.

“What's your name, lady?” he called after her, but she had already blended into the crowd heading to the main square. He wasn't sure if she had gone to greet Aethelred. Even if she had, he wouldn't find her in that mass.

Brother Ceolwulf came to the same conclusion. The reprimand for the princess of Wessex would have to wait.

The delicate fabric of her blue dress fluttered with each touch of the wind as she gracefully crossed the courtyard. They strolled towards the main hall.

“I only have two options: jump out the window or become a nun,” Princess (Y/N) announced in a calm manner.

“Only jump out the window, my dear,” Father Beocca specified. “Nuns would chase you with crosses and torches in their hands.”

(Y/N) looked at the priest. He had an amused expression. And a soft spot for the princess. According to Alfred's commands, he shouldn't tolerate certain behaviors and opinions. But how dull it would be if he asked her to stifle her carefreeness and restrain her sharp tongue.

“I was just praying a moment ago.”

“Yes, with the intention of our heavenly father making your sister run away from the altar.”

Aethelflaed didn't run away from the altar. She paid no mind to her sister's efforts, who, with sheer willpower, tried to steer her away from it. (Y/N) saw that the bride was enchanted by her groom, and she wanted nothing but all the happiness this world could fit for her. But something in the back of her mind warned her about Aethelred. An unbearable premonition. She blinked a few times, telling herself that she simply didn't consider any man worthy of her dearest sister's hand.

She scanned the gathered guests with her gaze. At the back of the hall, she spotted Uhtred. She nodded at him slightly. He raised an eyebrow with a smile. They had last seen each other when she was a little girl and kicked him in the leg. She wondered if he still limps.

And then she noticed Sihtric.

The warrior paled the moment he saw her standing side by side with the king.

His stranger. The king's daughter. The princess.

Only he could have such damn luck.

“It's her. The girl I told you about. It's her!” He nudged Finan's arm, to which the latter chuckled.

“Sure. Your whole story sounds shady already. Don't involve noble families in it.”

“I'm telling the truth!”

“I believe ya. Yesterday, for example, when little ol’ me was drinking beer with king Alfred…”

Sihtric sighed, but he didn't try to convince his friend anymore. He didn't register the entrance of the bride or a word spoken during the ceremony, and especially not Finan's mocking. His eyes were fixed on the princess in the blue gown. He held his breath when she finally looked at him. She smiled faintly but immediately averted her gaze, with a violent blush on her cheeks.

Sihtric Kjartansson felt his heart beat stronger.

Uhtred embraced the princess with laughter, still wondering how she had transformed so quickly from a snotty child into a breathtaking woman.

Sihtric paid special attention to that breathtaking part, as he was having trouble with that.

“The older you get, the uglier you become. Good to see you, Uhtred,” she greeted him politely. The man snorted and gestured towards his companions.

“Princess (Y/N), these are my friends…”

“Sihtric,” she greeted, bowing her head. He smiled widely, and Finan's jaw dropped, before he realized he should probably bow too. The idiot wasn't lying. Unbelievable.

“Do you know each other?” Uhtred furrowed his brow, looking at the young Dane, then at the princess. “Is there something I don't know?”

“Yes, we've been secret lovers for the past year,” she replied, rolling her eyes. Sihtric's face took on various shades of red, much to Finan's delight.

“You haven't changed at all,” Uhtred commented with a wave of his hand.

“I would be more at ease if this reception wasn't so dull,” she said, wistfully glancing at the cup in Uhtred's hand. “Is he watching?”

Uhtred glanced at the king and nodded. (Y/N) groaned.

“So, after Edward, it's your turn?” Uhtred inquired, earning himself a murderous glance from the princess.

“He'll probably be a twat or at least hundred years old,” she grumbled in disappointment. “Beocca presented me with a list of potential candidates. About each one, he says they are pious, as if I were looking for a personal priest and not a husband. Why can't he say that one of them is kind? Wise? Or handsome.”

She shifted her gaze to Sihtric and smiled mischieviously.

“We only hope to be invited to your wedding, Princess,” Finan laughed, observing his friend's bashful demeanor. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll be no older than ninety-nine.”

“That's kind of you. By the way, Sihtric, did you take that bath-”

“Princess!” Father Beocca called out as he passed by. “Maybe nunnery isn't the worst idea.”

Humorous remarks and a grin froze on her lips when (Y/N) looked into her sister's eyes. The food tray nearly slipped from her hands.

Aethelflaed didn't have to say anything. She didn't have to scream or complain about her misfortune. (Y/N) understood everything from that one look and felt the unpleasant sting of tears.

“I will kill him,” she declared forcefully, slamming the tray onto the wooden table with a loud bang. “I will kill that arse.”

“(Y/N), please...” Aethelflaed whispered. “It won't do any good. And I am capable of handling it myself.”

“You shouldn't even say that,” her sister protested, getting closer and gently placing her hands on Aethelflaed's cheeks. They were wet. “It's alright, sweetheart, it's alright.”

She planted a kiss on the top of her head and headed towards the door.

“Don't tell anyone, (Y/N). Especially not father,” she begged, getting up.

“I'll only speak to those who already know,” (Y/N) replied, barely containing her anger towards Aethelflaed's pathetic husband. “You're the Princess of Wessex, for God's sake. You're his woman, and he shouldn't treat you like this. He won't have a cock if he lays a hand on you again, trust me.”

“You'll get into trouble, (Y/N),” Aethelflaed warned, shaking her head nervously. “He can hurt you as well-”

The princess didn't listen, for she had already left the chamber. Blind rage consumed her, but so did a sadness so great that it was even more dangerous than her anger. She knew there was something wrong with him. She shouldn't have allowed this marriage to happen.

She should have protected her sister.

Aethelred appeared just in time. He strode down the corridor, his posture straight, absentmindedly trailing his hand along one of the tapestries.

“Lord Aethelred,” she snarled, making no effort to be polite. “I was hoping to have a word with you.”

The man turned slowly, bestowing upon her the sweetest and most deceitful smile.

“Little princess.”

(Y/N) tried to calm herself, but she wasn't making much progress.

“Let's get to the point,” she hissed, finally getting Aethelred to reveal his true face from behind the mask he wore daily at the royal court. “I saw my sister and the state she's in. I will not tolerate such insolence or cruelty. Who do you think you are? Hurt her again and I...”

That pile of shit started laughing.

“Terrifying is the barking of an angry bitch.” He took a few lazy steps in her direction. “I almost pissed myself in fear.”

“And you should, because I promise that...”

Aethelred rushed forward, pressing her against the wall with a hand around her throat.

“Well, what? What will you do? Maybe you'll switch places with her to spice up this tedious life of mine a little bit."

Sihtric wandered through the palace, looking for lord Uhtred his excuse, but in reality he hoped for an encounter with the princess. They were about to head out from Winchester soon. Leaving without saying goodbye was not something he wanted.

He found them just in time as (Y/N) pushed Aethelred back with all her might and punched him in the face. They all heard the unmistakable crunching sound.

Lord of Mercia was trying to regain his balance, clinging to his bloody face in shock.

“You whore,” he snapped, but Sihtric was already nearby, placing his hand warningly on the axe.

“Hope I misheard something,” he said to Aethelred, voice dripping with venom, and then looked at the princess. “Are you alright?”

“She broke my nose, of course she’s fine,” the man snorted, trying to stop the flow of blood. “You will answer for it. Just wait. And your heathen friends won’t rush to your rescue, I assure you.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath, holding on to the fist that struck Aethelred. She watched him leave with an absent look in her eyes, and then as if she finally registered Sihtric's presence.

If he had come a few moments earlier, he'd surely fling himself at that arsehole in her defense. But it turns out she was perfectly able to fight back. Sihtric felt a sudden surge of admiration and respect for the princess in a beautifully embroidered dress, who did not hesitate to throw a punch.

“Are you sure he didn’t do anything to you? Shall I go after him?” he asked, but instead of answering, (Y/N) slid slowly down the wall. Sihtric crouched beside her, worried as never before. He gently held the injured hand. He raised her bruised knuckles to his lips, but left only the ghost of touch on them. “Princess?”

“He hurt her,” (Y/N) sobbed helplessly. She wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but she had a feeling Sihtric would know how to keep a secret. “He hurt her and he will hurt her again, and there’s nothing I can do. He will hide behind his title, behind his lands, wealth and nobility. He was right. I can't do anything."

She was shaken by a wave of tears, and Sihtric instinctively embraced her with one arm and supported the back of her head with the other. She cried there on the cold floor, in the arms of a warrior who couldn't stand the sight.

He knew what was going on. And his heart ached at the thought.

“You were very brave,” he whispered, letting her lean on his chest. “Others would look away. You confronted him. You are a brave, brave girl.”

He kept saying it like a mantra, holding her in his arms until the crying subsided. He wiped the tears from her face with the thumb of his hand when she finally lifted her head.

“I won’t run away from that either,” she whispered in a faint voice. Sihtric raised his eyebrows in a questioning gesture. “I can laugh about it and put it off, but I’m just a woman with a cursed title before my name. They'll hand me over to a man I won't choose. And he will have the right to violence as soon as we tie the knot.”

Sihtric shook his head. This fate wasn’t meant for her. There was strength and courage in this lady’s heart that demanded freedom. And demanded love, the wild and untamed kind.

“It can not be like that. I won’t allow it.”

“You don’t have much power in this matter, Sihtric. You don’t make the rules.”

“Let me decide for myself.”

He looked into the eyes of the princess and knew that the battle he would have to face was beyond his means. The only witnesses to this promise were the faces on the ancient tapestries. Men's faces behind unbreakable laws, traditions and customs.

But Sihtric Kjartansson was a warrior. And if there’s one thing that warriors can do, they can fight.

#sihtric #sihtric kjartansson #sihtric the last kingdom #sihtric x reader #sihtric fanfiction #sihtric kjartansson x reader #the last kingdom #the last kingdom fanfiction #sihtric imagine

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whitedarkmoonflower · 1 year ago

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Caged bird

Pairing: Sihtric x reader (female)

Authors note: I felt so sorry for the load of angst I dumped on you this week. Have this little treat as a compensation.

Warnings: SMUT 18+

Summary: It had been only a week since the handsome Dane, strength and danger emanating from his every pore, had evaded your secluded life, turning it upside down in the blink of an eye.

Word Count: 2,3 K

A startled yelp escaped your lips as you felt two strong arms encircle your waist, swiftly pulling you into one of the nearby empty rooms. Your arms were laden with fresh beddings as you were swept away.

A hand promptly covered your mouth, muffling any sound, while searingly hot breath caressed your neck, followed by hungry lips that sent shivers coursing up and down your spine, as you struggled to catch your breath. Words were unnecessary; you would always recognise those lips, the rough yet tender touch of those hands, and the heat of that familiar breath against your skin.

You let go of the bundle of linens, allowing them to scatter across the floor, disregarding them entirely. Your fingers found solace in the soft, thick strands of hair, urging the eager mouth closer as you arched your back against the sturdy wooden door.

"This is madness, Sihtric," you murmured softly, barely audible, as the hand that had covered your mouth now ventured downward, caressing your breasts through the fabric of your dress. Hot lips followed, leaving a trail of kisses from your collarbone to your shoulder and back down to the curve of your cleavage.

"We can't... I can't... Oh, God, Sihtric," your protest dissolved into a gasp as an eager hand boldly gathered the fabric of your skirt, slipped beneath it and delved behind the hem of your undergarment, reaching your core.

"Don't deny me," a throaty whisper, laden with longing, brushed against your ear, eliciting a soft whine from your lips, as your legs spread on their own, without waiting any conscious command from you, the heat in your belly hitting you with the force of a thunderstorm. "I know you crave me as much as I crave you."

Thick fingers parted your folds, ravenously ravaging your dripping cunt. As much as you tried, you were unable to suppress the lewd moan, clawing through you as Sihtric pushed one finger inside you.

"God, forgive me," you panted breathlessly, your fingers entwining in Sihtric's hair, pulling firmly, as you shamelessly rolled your hips into his hand. "More... I need you. Please, give me more," you pleaded into Sihtric's ear. With a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes, he obliged, adding another digit and starting to pump them in and out of your tightness, his thumb brushing against your sensitive bundle of nerves..

“Such a needy little girl. Missed me so much,” Sihtric’s breath was picking up, a low groan reverberating in his throat, as you clenched around his fingers. “Let it go, my little bird. My sweet, beautiful girl. Give it to me. I want to see you flying again, I want to hear you calling my name.”

And you did as you were told, not that you had any choice, you were already crumbling, falling apart, your eyes rolling back in your head, his power over you beyond your comprehension, as you had never felt anything like this before. Breath catching, you dug your fingers into the thick leather covering Sihtric’s shoulders, whimpering his name between panting breaths.

It had been only a week since the handsome Dane, strength and danger emanating from his every pore, had evaded your secluded life, turning it upside down in the blink of an eye.

The looming threat of war hung heavy in the air. A large army of Danes was gathering at the borders of Mercia. The word had been spread that Lady Aethelflaed was rallying forces to defend the kingdom from the impending Danish invasion. The prospects appeared grim, with Lord Aethelred and his household troops delayed in East Anglia. Your husband, wary of sending his men to certain death, as he repeatedly voiced, preferred to await the outcome from the shadows.

The choice was taken from him one rainy day with Lady Aethelflaed at his doorsteps, demanding lodging for herself and her war council, the scarce army setting up a camp in the nearby field.

As the lady of the house, you stood in the yard, welcoming esteemed guests and trying to offset your husband's stern demeanour with a warm smile. You courtseyed Lady Aethelflaed and greeted Lord Aldhelm, and Lord Uhtred, as introduced by the Lady. Your attention then shifted to the three other men dismounting their horses, and it was then that you saw him for the first time.

Tall, athletic, with broad shoulders and muscular arms, he stood in stark contrast to your husband and any other man you had encountered, not that you had encountered many.

You couldn't help but stare at him, feeling a blush creeping onto your cheeks and a slight shiver down your spine, as your eyes scanned his handsome sharply defined face with a strong jawline, involuntary stopping at his crazy haircut - dark curls cascaded to his right eye, while the other side of the head was shaved with beads and pearls woven into the hairline.

He casually handed the reins to a stable boy and joined his companions, his hearty laughter momentarily distracting you from the solemn reason for their presence in your husband’s estate.

Sihtric’s lips crushed against your parted ones, eagerly swallowing your moans and whines, his kiss searingly hot, as he kept fucking you with his fingers through your high.

"We must stop this, Sihtric. It's not right. It's a sin," you whimpered, your chest rising and falling heavily. Yet your hands spoke a different language, clutching onto him, drawing him nearer, a soft whine escaping your lips as Sihtric withdrew his fingers.

"Tell me to stop, and I will. Say you are happy in your gilded cage, that you don’t love me, don’t desire me, and I'll disappear from your life forever," Sihtric's forehead pressed against yours, his hands on your waist. Was he holding his breath?

Your teeth grazed your lower lip as you reached out, tracing your fingers along the scars on his face. How could you deny what was so obvious?

"I love you," you breathed, drawing him into another kiss, allowing the fervour of his eager lips to carry you away from this place, from the mundanity of your existence, into another world where you were free to choose your own path, where you were free to love and be loved, if only for this fleeting moment of happiness.

“I want you to be mine,” Sihtric groaned against your mouth, “I want you to come with me, to leave this place and that old coot you call your husband. I’ll provide for you, care for you, worship the ground you walk on.” His covetous hands roamed your body, words flowing from his lips like a sweet wine, dizzying and inebriating.

He lifted you effortlessly in his strong arms, your legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he carried you to the table at the back of the room and settled you onto it, hastily pulling your undergarment down your legs.

"The mere thought of him touching you, makes my blood run cold," he hissed, positioning himself between your thighs. "You are mine. Do you hear me? Mine to claim, mine to cherish, mine to love. I need you like I need air to breathe. You cannot deny me."

You licked your lips as you watched him freeing his hard cock from his breeches, giving it a few strokes and aligning himself with your entrance.

“Come to me, claim me,” you purred, your eyes half lid as you reached out for him.

The force with which Sihtric sinked into you made you whine out loud, your nails digging into his shoulders for support. With a throaty moan he sheathed himself to the very end of his shaft, his lips on your neck, arm around your waist to hold you in place, and started thrusting into you with a maddening pace.

“Say it again,” he demanded, voice low and hoarse, his hips moving against yours, forcing himself deeper and deeper with each thrust, “I need to hear it.”

“I love you,“ you whimpered between your panting breaths.

“Say that you are mine.”

"I'm yours," you mewled, clinging to him as if your life depended on it. Lost in the throes of pleasure, you would have said anything he desired without a second thought. Yet, it was not a lie, in this fleeting moment you were indeed his, wholly and willingly.

You were but a girl, tightly gripping your mother's hand, your curious gaze fixed upon the stranger seated at the table with your father. You had no idea that this was the moment your future was decided, sealed with a simple handshake.

Your father had meant well, eager to secure a husband and livelihood for his youngest daughter. Grateful, as a dutiful daughter ought to be, you accepted his decision. Five years later, just after your first bleeding, you found yourself murmuring prayers outside the church, pondering what your husband might be like.

The slight silver glinting in his hair and the wrinkles etched around his eyes went unnoticed by you as you placed your hand in his, obediently casting your eyes downward—a dutiful daughter transforming into a dutiful wife.

Apart from the vows exchanged at the altar, he hadn't truly spoken to you; instead, he observed you with the detached gaze of a horse trader appraising a fine mare. It was only later in the night as your new wed husband grunted in your ear, slapping his hips at your bare ass from behind, that you wondered whether this was how love was supposed to feel.

He wasn't cruel, nor was he kind. He simply possessed you. Your life flowed on like a tranquil river—no hidden currents, no waterfalls, not even the playful splash of waves against a rocky shore. There was no affection, only indifference and emptiness. But you had nothing to compare to, you couldn’t even tell why those hot tears trailed down your cheeks in the evenings as you curled up in your bed, watching your husband tug himself back in his breeches and depart without a backward glance.

"I'm yours. I'll always be yours," the words flowed effortlessly from your lips, not daring to think, not daring to tear your eyes away from the mismatched gaze, burning you, consuming you. The throaty groan they coaxed from Sihtric made a smile curl on your parted lips and you rolled your hips against him, meeting his thrusts with eagerness matching his.

The sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the small room, your moans mingling with Sihtric’s panting breaths. His hand slipped between your bodies, finding your clit and rubbing against it. You bit your lip trying at least to somewhat muffle the cries of pleasure pulsing through you.

“My greedy princess, my little caged bird, taking my cock so well,” Sihtric breathed in your ear. “So fucking tight around me. You are made for my cock, you are made for me. Made to be fucked into oblivion every night, to be filled up with my seed, to carry my children.”

You had never been loved like this. In truth, you had never really been loved at all. You were starving and you were lost from that very first moment your eyes locked with his piercing gaze.

You attempted to evade him, striving to stifle the tempest of emotions raging within you. Your knees throbbed from hours of prayer, beseeching salvation from the sinful yearning he ignited, yet your pleas remained unheard.

In the evening, despite your efforts, your eyes kept seeking out his familiar figure in the grand hall, torn between dread and longing for your gazes to meet.

And meet they did. Initially, fleetingly, causing your cheeks to flush pink once more, just like the first time in the yard. Hastily, you averted your eyes, diverting yourself with meaningless conversations. Yet, as the evening unfolded, it happened repeatedly—the moments your gazes lingered on each other lengthening with each time.

You lacked the strength to turn him away when he found you later that night, seated in the small garden, seeking solace in the cool night air to banish thoughts of the handsome stranger from your mind. Your resolve crumbled as he tenderly kissed your palm, drawing you closer against his muscular frame. The touch of Sihtric's lips upon yours left you breathless and trembling, excitement coursing through your veins, torn between the desire to flee and the urge to surrender to his embrace.

That night you actually made love for the first time in your life, hot tears streaming down your cheeks as you whispered his name into the darkness like a fervent prayer.

Never could you have imagined that this would evolve into something more than just a single night of passion and regret yet here you were struggling for breath, the most sinful sensation ripping you apart, as Sihtric was fucking you senseless, again.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed your lips to his, moaning into Sihtric’s mouth, as your walls started clenching around him and you came on his cock, your head snapping back, his name rolling over your lips and mingling with the wild moans of pleasure you were unable to control. A few thrusts later he followed you, groaning in the crook of your neck as he spilled deep inside you.

"I love you, my little caged bird. I love you, and I'll come for you, take you with me," Sihtric breathed heavily, pressing his forehead against yours, his eyes searching, pleading for agreement.

"Sihtric, you know it's impossible," you whispered, holding onto him tightly, wishing to prolong this moment just a little longer.

"I don't care about your husband. He doesn't deserve you. He treats you like you're a piece of furniture. He shows more affection to his horse than to you," venom dripped from Sihtric's voice. Though everything he said was true, it didn't change anything.

"Stop it!" you cried out, tears welling up in your eyes. "Stop it," you pleaded, your voice breaking into soft sobs. "If you truly care for me, then stop. It will be hard enough to see you leave for battle tomorrow."

"I will come back," there was not a hint of doubt in his voice as his lips sealed his promise with a tender kiss.

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#sihtric #sihtric kjartansson #sihtric x reader #sihtric x you #sihtric fic #the last kingdom #tlk

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lord-aldhelm · 11 months ago

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Recommended Fic List

I honestly haven't read very many fanfics (I know, shame on me! 🫣) in The Last Kingdom or otherwise. I am starting to go through AO3 and actually read the ones I had bookmarked. I thought it might be nice to make a rec list of the fics that I really enjoyed. Most of these are rated M or E so be forewarned when you read them. I will add to this as I actually read more stuff.

Aethelflaed x Aldhelm:

Come Go with Me by Perennial (restricted to accounts only): A lovely post Season 4 fic that gives them both what they, and Mercia, deserve. Rating: M (@vinca-majors) More than Mercia by ToBebbanburg: Another lovely post Season 4 happy ending fic. (@torch-the-throne) Clever-Tongued by TheBrokaryotes: a very poetic and descriptive exploration of their first time together. (@tsukkinami) Day Out by cocchamscrew: Aldhelm has a nice day outside the castle away from Aethelred with Lady Aethelflaed. (@osferth) Duty & Decency by ToBebbanburg: Aldflaed in the universe of Pride and Prejudice. (@torch-the-throne) Meanwhile in Mercia by adamwhatareyouevendoing: A wonderful multipart series with a happy ending! (@skatingthinandice and @remembertheskittles)

Other TLK fics:

In His Father's Footsteps by holy3cake: Aethelstan x Osbert post SKMD (@holy3cake) Visions of Helheim by TheNamesWinter99: Sihtric x Reader and learning about his past and mother (@thenameswinter99) Wolf-Heart by Gemini_Mama: Finan x OC, part of a series, Wolf Warrior is the second part. (@gemini-mama)

#the last kingdom #fic rec #rec list #tlk fanfic

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illtakeyoutowonderland · 2 years ago

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The One (Part 14)

The one with the wedding

Sihtric x Reader

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The journey was, once again, uneventful until they made it to the gates of Winchester. It took some convincing to Steapa to make him finally open the gates. But once he did no one wasted time to enter the walls

Finan, Sihtric and Y/N were the last ones and Steapa was already down the stairs and next to the big doors when the three crossed them "Lady Y/N" Steapa greeted her with a big smile "Nice to see you doing well"

"Nice to see you, too, Steapa" She returned his big smile with one of her own only to turn and find Sihtric and Finan giving her a confused look "What?" She said shrugging but the men said nothing

Once they got off their horses she stood close to both men, not really wanting to get lost in this unknown place

"Is that Aethelwold the sword-Dane I see?" Finan said to a man that sat on a table near by drinking "Looks like you've mislaid an eye" And Y/N took notice of the short blonde man

"I see you perfectly, Finan" The man replaied unamused "Though I do not see your master. Uhtred, where is he?"

"Standing at your blind side, perhaps" Finan said shrugging making Sihtric laugh

"Finan" Y/N slapped the man's arm scolding him but he just laughed and the group of three walked away, not without noticing how Aethelwold looked at Y/N

Osferth appeared out of nowhere scaring Finan a little as they all made it to a corner "So, we are inside the walls of Winchester. Where will he go? To Father Beocca?" The monk said once they were sure no one listened

"Yes. He'll find us. Be sure of it" Finan replied

"And he is free of his curse"

"She's dead?" Y/N asked in surprise and both her and Sihtric shared a look

"Very"

"Then we're all free of the curse, baby monk" Finan said and went off to talk with the Bishop, to say some excuse for them to stay so no one would find them suspicious

The three of them left went to find a table at an ale house so they could eat something and wait for Finan to figure out what to do next. This time Sihtric decided to sit next to Y/N and she suddenly felt very warm. Osferth sat across them once he made it with two jugs of ale and a few cups. They drank mostly in silence, Y/N looking around her as much as she could, taking in the new big city she was in and she saw Hild talking to some of the priests not far from them

"Apparently there is a wedding" Finan said as he sat next to Osferth and grabbed a cup for himself "Looks like you lost your chance with the princeling, Lady" Y/N rolled her eyes as he winked at her

"What do you mean?" Osferth asked

"Finan have this amazing imagination where he believes Edward was courting me somehow" Y/N explained

"It wasn't Finan's imagination, Lady" Sihtric said next to her looking at his cup and Finan gave her a I told you so look "We all saw it. Ask Lord Uhtred"

"You could've been queen" Osferth said with wide eyes

"You have all lost your minds" Y/N scoffed as she left the table to find Hild who welcomed her with a warm smile "Please let me stay with you at least for a while. I cannot stand those three any longer"

"You are more than welcome to make me company" Hild said laughing at Y/N's words "I know exactly how you feel" They both laughed in complicity "And I think someone would like to see you" She said and once inside the palace they were met with Aehelflaed and her husband who had come to the wedding

"Lord" She said to Aethelred not wanting to start a fight but he only gave her a exagerated smile and went on his way. She did not complain, on the contrary

"Oh, it is so nice to see you again" Aethelflaed said as they both hugged each other

"We have some catch up to do" Y/N said to her hoping to have a moment alone with her friend

"We do" Aethelfaed nodded "But first we must find you a dress. For the wedding" She explained at the confuse look on Y/N's face

"Oh, I don't think I should come to the wedding..."

"Of course you should" Alfred's voice was strong, once again, on contrary to his looks. He walked with Edward at one side and a woman on the other "You would not reject the invitation from a king, would you?" He said with a warm smile on his face

"I wouldn't dare" Y/N replied and he nodded satisfied

"Mother, this is Y/N" Aethelflaed introduced her to Lady Aelswith

"You must be the famous Y/N my husband and children keep talking about" Lady Aelswith said qith an emotionless tone

"I do not know about famous, Lady" She replied "But it is an honor to finally meet you"

"Is that so?" Lady Aelswith said with surprise

"You are the mother of one of my dearest friends" Y/N explained as she pointed to Aethelflaed and she saw how a smile formed on the Lady's face

"She also fought bravely at Beamfleot" Edward said nodding at Y/N

"You were on the battlefield?" Aelswith asked with a disaproving tone and shock on her face "That is not place for a Lady"

"Unfortunately, yes" Y/N said to her "And trust me, Lady, I do not plan to find myself in that situation again any time soon"

"Now come, my love" Alfred said to Aelswith "We still have some preparations to make" And with that the pair were gone, followed by Hild

"It is nice to see you again, Lady" Edward said once they were gone

"And on a merrier scene as you wished" Y/N replied with honesty "I am happy for you Edward"

"I am too, Y/N" He said and that was the first time both had said each others names, which warmed Y/N's heart to had found a new friend amongst them

"I'm sorry to interrupt, brother, but we must find Y/N a dress for tomorrow" Aethelflaed said

"Do what you must" Edward said with a smile and the two woman were gone

After hours and hours of talking, catching up and trying dresses Aethelflaed was more than satisfied and let Y/N make her way back to the three men at the ale house

"What's with the bag?" Finan asked as she joined them at the table

"Wouldn't you like to know" She replied as she sat next to him, only to have him reach for the bag but she slapped his hand away "Take your dirty hands of it!" She said at his smirking face "It's a dress"

"A dress?" Osferth asked "What for?"

"The king has invited me to the wedding" She simply said making them all surprised at her words "And also, I just met lady Aelswith" Y/N said with a sigh. She wouldn't rate the meeting too bad, she knew it could've gone so much worse, but there was something about that woman that frightened her a little

"Oh, you poor thing" Finan said as he handed her some ale and she could do nothing but laugh

The next day Osferth, Finan, Sihtric and Y/N made their way to Father Beocca's house so Y/N could get ready for the wedding. And also, to ask Uhtred their next steps

"Lady Y/N" Father Beocca greeted her in surprise "It is good to see you. I see you still wander with this trouble makers"

"I happen to have grown fond of them, unfortunately" Y/N replied making Beocca smile at her

"Oi! She is more troublemaker than all of us together, Father" Finan said as he sat in the kitchen table as Y/N gasped faking innocence. And once the door to his house was closed Uhtred came out from one of the rooms with a red haired woman

"Lady Y/N" Beocca said to her once again "This is my wife, Thyra. Uhtred's sister"

"It is so nice to meet you" Thyra said and welcomed her in a big hug which Y/N happily returned "Uhtred has told me everythign about you"

"Seriously, you ask him to keep this one secret and he tells everyone" She mumbled scolding him but he only laugh

"You can trust Thyra. She is family"

"I know" Y/N gave him a look "I'm just starting to think maybe I should not trust you" She raised an eyebrow at him

"Oh, he means well" Thyra said earning an See? I told you look from Uhtred to Y/N who just rolled her eyes at him. The arrongance of this man... "Now come, you have yet to change"

She pushed Y/N to a room and left her alone so she could change in peace. Which Y/N thanked as she put her bag on one of the tables. She sat on the bed trying to catch her breath. She didn't know why she was suddenly this nervous.

Y/N heard Finan's voice followed by Sihtric's laugh and her heart melted a little. It wasn't very often Sihtric was loud, unlike the former Irishman. But everytime he showed this side of him made Y/N's heart grew bigger and for a second she wondered what it would be like to make him laugh that hard by herself. But, she pushed the thoughts aside as she reached for her bag and the new dress.

She walked out of the room and into Thyra and Beocca's kitchen, wearing the dress Aethelfaed had chose her not feeling entirely like herself "It is weird isn't it? I feel weird" She said and everyone went silence as they looked at her with wide eyes "I knew it!" She said as soon as she saw their reactions "It's too much, I'm changing" She started to made her way back to the room when she was suddenly stopped

"No!" Everyone said at the same time

"You look beautiful" Sihtric suddenly said breathless and they all stared at him for a second before looking over to Y/N to see her reaction

"Thank you" Y/N said softly and she already knew she was blushing at his sincere words and intense gaze

Finan stood up and made his way to her "Let me see you" He said as he place both hands on her shoulders and looked at her to then look into her eyes again "They will be some lucky bastards" He smirked and she rolled her eyes at him "You look really nice, Lady"

"You really do, Y/N" Uhtred said to her and she saw Osferth nodding at his friend's words

"You have to let me do your hair" Thyra said with a big smile on her face and Y/n did not have the heart to tell her no

A few hours later, Y/N stood next to Thyra and Beocca watching the beautiful bride made her way down the aisle and towards Edward

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@secretdreamlandmentality

@superawesomegeek

If you wanna be tag, let me know! 💜

#the last kingdom #finan #sihtric #sihtric kjartansson #sihtric fic #sihtric x reader #sihtric the last kingdom #uhtred #uhtred of bebbanburg #sihtric kjartasson x reader #sihtric x you #the last kingdom fic #sihtric fanfic

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marystack · 11 months ago

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20 questions for fic writers

i was tagged by the lovely @garunsdottir, thank you!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3? 108

2. what's your total AO3 word count? 1,387,558

3. what fandoms do you write for? mostly tlk and dune, but i jotted down a few lines for a hotd fic last night

4. top five fics by kudos: my daensa season 7 au, both of my giant asoiaf fics, my one foray into the magnificent century fandom with hurrem/mahidevran smut, and a jaime/margaery oneshot

5. do you respond to comments? i try to! sometimes i just don't know what to say

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? probably so this is christmas, but it's just super angsty overall.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i've written several equally happy endings, but i'll pick a random one and say pulled from a flood

8. do you get hate on fics? not often, but when i do, it's usually in the form of someone hating on a female character

9. do you write smut? i rarely write anything else

10. craziest crossover? Aethelred Lord of Mercia believing that Jungkook BTS was Princess Diana in his former life

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? i wish there was a way to make a tent of folders on your desk the way we used to do in second grade so we couldn't see each other's tests and cheat but for stealing fic. anyway yes.

12. have you ever had a fic translated? yes, i was so touched 🥹

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? yes in the sense that i wrote one chapter and my friend wrote the other

14. all time favorite ship? who can really say

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? this fucking feydpaul omegaverse that has been haunting me since april

16. what are your writing strengths? dialogue and delivery

17. what are your writing weaknesses? setting. where the fuck are the characters? damned if i know!!

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? i don't really think it's necessary unless specific words in that language are important to the plot and/or the readers are expected to know some of this language without translation. i think you can just as easily say, "the woman said something in french" or "she said something he didn't understand" and it gets the same point across.

19. first fandom you wrote in? it's been so long i can't remember if it was Lord of the Rings or the Hunchback of Notre Dame

20. favorite fic you've written? honestly it was probably Worse Loras

tagging @keefechambers, @skatingthinandice, @wildwren, @abnerkrill, @imagineagreatadventure, and @stannisfactions

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maskedemerald · 1 year ago

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In honor of Worldbuilding Wednesday... How do you present your worldbuilding to your audience without overwhelming or boring them? What techniques do you use?

Hi! Thanks for the ask! Sorry its taken a while to get to it! (I've been decorating and distracted!)

When I'm writing world building into a story I'm thinking about:

How relevant is it?

If its not very relevant to what is going on I either cut it or I only talk about it in passing. Like commenting that there are street lamps. They are there in my magic alternate 1800s setting, A Curiosity Piqued but how exactly they work or function didn't matter to my first book in the series so I mentioned them only in the context of their light not reaching a space. In a future book in the series where they matter mechanically to the mystery then I'd find a way to go into that detail of how the magical energy is moved to them, through out the story so that readers could understand how it impacts the mystery and the solution to the mystery.

How much does the POV character care or know about it?

A big thing for me even in 3rd person is using my POV character to impact what and how I describe something and that applies to the world building as well. If a POV character has a lot of knowledge about something or a big interest in something, then I tend to spend more time on it when I can.

A good example from A Curiosity Piqued is the Rune Step, its a public transport system making use of teleportation runes. Aelfraed my POV character in the first book is not very familiar with how it works, its not his area of expertise so I mostly keep to the more general knowledge things. Like describing shape and how they interact with it. However he does care a lot about how it makes him feel. He hates the experience and gets the equivalent of really bad motion sickness. So I focus on how he feels about it and integrate that into his strong desire not to go where they are going.

Like this:

The Rune Step was a bustle of activity, a flow of people in and out the wide open doorways. Inside it was loud; conductors called out last calls for a Step. Familiar and unfamiliar locations being shouted across the large room. Aelfraed weaved through the crowd to keep up with the pace of his father, trying his best as he went to not bump into anyone. Alcoves lined the walls, in them sat discs of red granite that stood out against smooth grey stone they were set into. Engraved with sharp lines resembling a compass with many extra points darting out all directions. Their edges worn down and the rune carvings rounded and chipped at the edges a little.

A few moments later liquid poured into the channels made by the carvings. Running from the edges towards the middle then through narrow channels filling up the runes. As it crested the top of the channels the world lurched. His head spun. Aethelric caught his arm. The feeling of movement was gone as quickly as it had happened but in its wake it left him feeling rather unsteady. His stomach churning, head still spinning and ears ringing. It felt no better than any previous time, no matter how many times people told him it would get easier. His family around him were no worse for wear. He knew Aethelric used to have it bad too but only a few times when they were younger. His father started moving immediately, shaking each shoe a little to clear off the few drops of liquid lingering from the Step. Aethelric supported him as they followed. They had told him before that it was just like blinking. They’d even suggested that he try to blink at the time of activation. Most didn’t experience the disorientation, lack of balance or the sickness. At least not over such short distances, the longer ones could disorient even the best travellers.

The role of the setting to the character.

This one's a little similar to the previous one but it impacts how I treat world building both in the planning and actual story as a whole rather than just specific bits of it. Basically how the world building is presented in A Curiosity Piqued that I've been talking about is going to be different from how it's presented in my Fae Pocket Dimension setting, Magic Act.

For the first one nearly everything Aelfraed encounters is going to be normal. A lot of it he will see every day. It might be things he doesn't understand or know but it is normal aside from the equivalent of new scientific discoveries. So I treat the world building like science and tech. Its understood on a user level if not a technical one. I try to treat it as mundane in how the characters react to it. I describe it maybe a bit more visually for readers than I would a computer on a desk in a modern setting but in how the characters treat it I use that as the rule. It should to them be as normal as a computer.

It also involves a lot of planning in this setting because of how the tech like magic has to work together and have structured rules to work well in a detective style story. I can go into the nitty gritty of how it works and rely on the familiar feel to help it seem normal. I try to treat for example the Rune Step a bit like the metro system in my local area or other train stations I've been in. Familiar sights, sounds and feelings.

For the Magic Act what the POV character encounters is more unfamiliar and intended to be levels of uncanny and sinister. So I focus on the feelings of off ness and get heavy into the sensory descriptions. What's different from the familiar. I think this kind of world is the only time I spend a lot of words all at once on world building in the text. Its still very WIP so that might change but the chain of unfamiliar things that don't make sense I feel helps with evoking the overwhelmed feelings of the POV character. However as he gets used to things I do less of that but still keep the world building to a very observational thing. He doesn't know how it works so the only time I get into the details of how something works is through other characters interest. Night, the other character that is at home in the world tends to focus on only explaining the social norms if they explain anything at all.

#writing #writeblr community #creative writing #writeblr #amwriting #magic act novel #A Curiosity Piqued #ask

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lya-dustin · 1 year ago

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🩹 tending to each other's wounds - whomever you’d like!

Thanks 💙

So this inspired a prequel of sorts to Potiphar's wife

Temptation

Aethelred I of Wessex x fem!spanish princess!reader

“Do you speak our tongue?” the wounded young king asked you and you shook your head. You understood more than you spoke, but when your return home hinges on the gracious nature of Aethelred of Wessex you know better than to try your luck.

“Latin at least?” this you responded with a nod and with words.

“I would be a terrible daughter and even worse Christian if I did not, your grace.” You say as you begin cleaning the wounds he’d sustained fighting off the men who’d raided your father’s kingdom and made a slave out of you.

You were spared the indignity of rape or harsh labor after convincing them to give you to their lord on account of your nobility. But slavery is still slavery, and the daughter of Ramiro of Asturias was meant to be more than the whore of some Viking scum.

Or even the King of the Saxons.

No lady in Europe wanted to be the next Judith of Flanders either. Poor Judith passed on to father and son before she had even had her first blood and if that hadn’t been humiliating enough, forced to sell her things because either the king here before you or his late elder brother was too miserly to send her home properly.

“What is your name?” Aethelred asks, inspecting the bruises your manacles and the collar on your neck had left on you. You had been thrashing like a fiend, screaming until the Kentish nun enslaved with you translated your words.

“Y/N, daughter of King Ramiro and Paterna of Castilla, Princess of Asturias.” You wait for him to look impressed.

He looked at you with suspicion, many would claim nobility to swindle their saviors. Many a slave girl had claimed to be daughters of ealdormen in hopes of being left untouched.

But he doesn’t stop you from tending to him. Even better, he takes the soothing salve from the stand next to him and gently applies it to your neck when you finish.

“I would ask how you came to be here, but I already know about the raid in Castille. Your brother will be told of your rescue, until a ransom is agreed on, you will be my guest in Winchester.” The fingers on your wrists tell you he intends to do more than just ransom you to Orduño.

If his wife were to find herself divorced and sent to a nunnery within the month of your arrival, your ransom will become your dowry and you would only return home as an impoverished widow.

And sure your hand is worth a kingdom, but the men of Wessex fear a woman with power so much that these past kings scandalized them by giving their wives the title of queen.

“I will not become the next Judith of Flanders, the continent still talks about how terrible the Saxons were to her.” You say hoping to kill whatever idea he has about you.

Not that it would matter, your capture already put in doubt your virtue and whatever the king says is law anyways.

Although Aethelred is somewhat handsome and neither an old man nor a child, and Y/N Regina does have a nice ring to it, now that you think about it.

“That was Aethelberht, not I. Judith was like a younger sister to me.” He corrects you and began rubbing the salve on your neck.

It feels damnably good, you feel your face warm up at the feel of his calloused hands being so gentle on you.

“Besides, if I were to wed you, you would return to your brother a widow with several children or at least one in your belly, god willing.” The king adds tilting your face up to force you into looking at him in the eye.

You want to look away, feeling embarrassed at how a somewhat innocuous touch and his certainty at his own words had you tongue tied.

“You have a wife.” You say, not sure if you meant it as a way to stop him from going further or yourself.

“Had a wife, Wulfthyrth died with my eldest son of a plague months ago.” His voice remains steady and releases you now that the mood was ruined.

“I am sorry for your loss.” You should take your leave, and yet you stay. He didn’t sound much in love with her, more sad at his sons death.

Besides with only one son, he would be in need of more and while you may not be a descendant of Charlemagne, you are in the flower of womanhood and have a king for a brother.

God, what are you thinking?

This is the land of the Saxons, everything paved with mud and shit just as Judith had said when you served in her court.

And yet when you arrive in Winchester wearing cleaner and better clothes than what Aethelred found you in, you wonder if Judith was exaggerating.

It was nothing compared to your home country, but it had a hardy charm to it.

Perhaps being queen of the Saxons may be better than being handed off to some lord your brother will sell you to. Even better, the Witan chooses the next king not the order of birth, considering how your brother and father repelled the vikings they would be fools not to cast their lot with you.

The moment you are given time to write to Orduño, you make sure to hint at a match between you and Aethelred, and sure enough, it is not a ransom that arrives with your brother, it is your dowry.

A/N: when Alfred and Aethelred were 9 and 8 respectively, their dad, Aethelwulf took them to Rome, accidentally caused a civil war between his elder sons, Aethlstan of Kent and Aethelbald of Wessex, and married Judith of Flanders who was the 12 year old daughter of Charles the Bald and descendant of Charlemagne.

Judith was then widowed, married off to Aethelbald then widowed again and then forced to sell her things to get a ship back to Flanders where she married Baldwin I, Margave of Flanders.

Divorce was pretty common in this dynasty and irl Uhtred and Edward teh Elder would force their wives to take holy vows so they could divorce them and marry other women(and rinse and repeat)

Aethelred also had two sons who irl had been infants when Alfred was king. Here, Aethehelm died of the plague with the wife Aethelred didn’t particularly love.

#aethelred of wessex #aethelred x reader #potiphars wife fic #the last kingdom fanfic

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whitedarkmoonflower · 25 days ago

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How do you do it? It's some kind of magic. Your stories fly by in one sigle breath and make my heart beat as fast as that of the reader when Sihtric pulled her closer to his chest.

It was so beautiful, so touching, so real and magical all at once. The way they both fall for each other, the way they both want it to be real but are afraid of it simultaniously. The way they need to learn to trust one another...

And the scumbag Aethelred. I want to punch him soooo badly. I've missed your stories so... and this was just... just...

The Wedding Date

Title: Based on the movie from 2005, forced to attend your sister's wedding where you have to face a family that are perpetually disappointed in you, and your ex who treated you like crap, you hire someone to be your date from an escort site so you don't have to face the ordeal alone.

I also listened to this song the whole way through writing.

Modern!Sihtric x Reader

Warnings: Brief mentions of domestic abuse. Reader's family are horrible.

You felt stupid, waiting in the station watching the boards to show the arrival of a train from London, a scalding hot coffee in hand.

Two hour long calls was all you had ever had with this man and now you were here anxiously waiting for him to arrive.

You were so engrossed in searching the boards that a voice calling your name nearly startled you half to death.

“Sihtric?” you questioned, taking in his appearance, long hair pulled into a bun at the nape of his neck, black skinny jeans ripped at the knees and a leather jacket open over a white v-neck t-shirt and your mouth almost went dry.

That was before you even honed in on the tattoos.

“Hey,” he smiled, a genuine smile that reached the whole way up to his mismatched eyes, and you couldn’t help but smile too.

“You mentioned on the call that you liked your coffee black,” you fumbled with the cup before handing it over to him and he smiled gratefully.

“That’s so thoughtful, thank you,” he smiled almost sadly and you motioned to the exit.

“The car is right this way, should we?”

“Of course,” he nodded, taking a huge gulp of coffee “Lead the way.”

You drove in silence for a while.

Sihtric settled into his seat winding it back a little to relax, you offered him to play his music and he was busy queuing up songs on his phone not really paying attention to much else. You couldn’t help but glance over at him while he wasn’t looking, he was one of the most beautiful men you had ever seen, he genuinely looked as though he had been carved from the gods, but then again that is exactly why you had chosen him.

“May I?” he asked, holding up a pack of cigarettes and you wanted to say no but the way he was looking at you almost like a kid afraid of getting in trouble, you couldn’t say no.

“Sure, just roll down the window,” you relented and he smiled big and bright as he cranked the window down, and stuck his head out to smoke.

The city was long left behind and now the open countryside was rolling into view and Sihtric seemed to be taking it all in, his cigarette was almost gone when he turned to face you, and was surprised to find you already looking his way, but he did not miss the way your cheeks tinged red as you hastily looked away.

“So,” he said, relaxing back into his seat “You got any questions for me, or have you done this before?”

You gripped the steering wheel as you swallowed hard “I have never done this before,” you answered voice shaking “I don’t even know why- I don’t know what I’m doing,” you were nervous and Sihtric wanted so badly to put you at ease, so he rolled his seat up so he was sitting upright again.

“It’s alright,” he promised reassuringly “You can ask me anything you need to know.”

“How does it usually go?” you asked, cheeks still tinged pink and he smiled.

“For the entirety of our time together I am whatever you want me to be. You want me to tell people I’m an investment banker..I’m an investment banker. You wanna create a backstory for us, I’ll learn it off. I’ll hold your hand in public, I’ll dance with you, I’ll do anything that you need me to do in order for people to believe this is real.”

You nodded, taking that in and he smiled.

“No sex,” he continued and you nodded in agreement, staring straight ahead, hands like a vice grip on the steering wheel, “Or that will cost you extra,” he winked cheekily, it was a cheap shot at making you squirm, but it was worth it to watch the blush spread all across your face for him.

“Do you have any rules, or I guess boundaries that we shouldn’t cross?” you asked gently and he smiled that almost-sad smile your way again, almost like he was in awe of how considerate you were being.

“I guess kissing feels very personal to me, so I would ask you not to do that.”

“It’s done,” you replied without missing a beat and he watched you from the corner of his eye again.

You drove in silence for a little while more until he interrupted the peace again.

“I’m sorry I gotta ask. You’re an attractive woman and you seem super nice and with your shit together, you telling me you couldn’t find a date to this wedding off your own bat?”

You huffed out a breathy laugh, “If you only knew the half of my bad luck with men,” you cringed “And worst of all, my ex is one of the groomsmen and he is a bit of a prick” you trailed off but Sihtric knew what you were getting at.

“So I’m here to make your ex jealous,” he deduced and you deadpanned with a pained laugh.

“It’s even sadder when you say it out loud,” you whined and he couldn’t help but laugh, and despite yourself you laughed too.

You pulled down the long winding lane that led to the country estate you had grown up on; a Georgian Manor House nestled among acres of ancient woodland and set in the backdrop of rolling hills and lakes.

It was the perfect place for a wedding, and the last place on earth you ever wanted to be again.

“Close your mouth,” you swiped at Sihtric as you struggled with your bags and he reached in over you with a “Here let me,” as he pulled them easily out and sat them on the ground, before diving back in for his own.

Standing back up to re-inspect his surroundings he muttered “Shoulda charged more,” and you shot him a dirty look,but laughed when he smiled that huge smile your way.

He insisted on dragging your bags up the steps to the door for you and when you suddenly stopped and patted yourself down, taking deep but uneasy breaths he could see that you were shaking like a leaf.

“This was a mistake,” you suddenly panicked and took off back down the way you had come, abandoning the bags in a heap he took off after you, you didn’t stop at the car, you continued sprinting down the path through the trees until you reached the shores of the lake and could run no further, and Sihtric burst out through the trees to find you absolutely freaking out, pacing back and forward trying to force air into your lungs.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you panted, pacing before him and he tried to reach out a hand but he wasn’t sure how best to comfort you, he didn’t even know you.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here, Sihtric. It was cruel. You don’t know these people, they make my life hell, they’ll do the same to you.”

“Hey, I don’t care what they say to me,” he hushed and you stopped pacing to glance at him, and shook your head.

“It’s not fair to ask this of you, Sihtric, you seem like a nice guy and I feel wrong forcing you into this, I know you were joking earlier but you are really going to want to charge me extra once you’ve spent a few days here and I won’t blame you.”

“You didn’t force me Y/N,” he finally reached out to place a hand on your arm and made you look at him “You told me exactly what I was in for on the phone, and I still took the job, you haven’t tricked me and you’re not forcing me to do anything. And I could be speaking out of turn here but are you sure you want to put yourself through this, if this is how they make you feel?”

“I have no choice,” you cried and Sihtric sniffed and then nodded.

“So we get through it together then?” he nodded, eyes boring into yours in a way that told you everything would be fine.

“Okay,” you eventually whispered and allowed him to lead you back up the path and up to your discarded bags.

Your parents took in Sihtric’s appearance and he didn’t miss the way your Father scrunched up his nose as if something stank, your heart thumped in your chest but you said nothing.

“You should freshen up before dinner,” your stepmother announced with a forced smile, “You are in the west wing.”

“Why not my room?” you quipped and she looked at you incredulously before smirking wryly,

“Honey, that ceased to be your room the day you turned down Cambridge to pursue that little art career of yours, besides your sister needs it for her new in-laws.”

Sihtric followed you up the stairs and into the room on the west wing of the house, not facing out to the lakes, but rather the forest of ancient trees to the back.

“So you’re an artist?” Sihtric asked you from his position on the bed, arms locked behind his head, staring up at the ceiling while you freshened up in the wash basin in the ensuite.

“A failed one,” you laughed back, before joining him in the room again, “I work for a publishing house as an editor now, and I do art in my spare time.”

“Anyone who creates is not a failure. It’s only failing if you don’t do it,” he answered as if it wasn’t the most profound thing you had heard in ages.

“What about you?” you asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and examining him, “How did you end up in this line of work?”

He considered you for a moment, he couldn’t explain why but he felt like he could tell you his whole story and you wouldn’t judge him, but he decided to give you the long story short.

“I was modelling on the side to make some extra money to get out of an incredibly shitty situation, and then my friend Uhtred put me on to this and I was making so much more this way I decided to pursue it. Surprisingly, I’ve never been short of work-”

-”With sad cases like me, incapable of finding a man on their own,” you were joking and he knew that, but something deep down inside of him wished you wouldn’t speak about yourself like that.

“So what do I do?” he laughed tapping you with his knee “Investment banking? Insurance? Hedge Fund Manager? Oh maybe I could work for a Consultancy Agency?”

“I was leaning more toward architect,” you suggested, pushing his leg off playfully, and he grinned at you “Always wanted to be an architect actually,” he mused and then he looked at you seriously “Okay, you are a fantastic editor and painter and I am a highly successful architect we live in a penthouse apartment in the city and we are very happy together. Drinks down the pub every Saturday with my friends Uhtred and Finan and Osferth and Sundays we spend browsing the markets and art galleries.”

“On Wednesdays I go to a jewelry making class,” you chimed in, that part was true and he made a mental note of it.

“We’re going to make this work, it’ll all be over before you know it and I promise I won’t leave you to face it alone.”

Dinner was a horrible affair.

Everyone talked over each other and Sihtric was questioned within an inch of his life, but he never faltered, that quiet confidence he carried himself with was such a breath of fresh air to you and you could not deny he looked absolutely and sinfully gorgeous in his dinner slacks and black shirt, which the top few buttons had been left open on.

“Where did you find him?” your sister asked in a hushed tone, openly ogling Sihtric like he was a piece of fresh meat.

“London,” was all you offered by way of explanation and she raked her eyes up and down his form, “He is delicious,” she mewled “Aethelred is going to simply die when he sees you two together.”

You took a monstrous gulp of wine from the glass in front of you, and Sihtric placed a hand on your knee and squeezed it once in reassurance, your sister nearly squealed beside you and you prayed dinner would end soon so you could be excused to the reprise of your room.

You weren’t paying mind to the conversations taking place around you, but Sihtric had been locked in conversation with your uncle for the past twenty minutes about Viking history and mythology and he laughed for the first time since you had met him, really laughed, and it lit up the whole room, and you couldn’t help the smile that broke out across your own face in response to it.

“Isn’t that right Lettie?” Your Father’s booming voice pulled you from your Sihtric induced haze and you whirled as your stepmother laughed out loud at the nickname.

“Don’t call me that,” you snapped and your stepmother rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.

“It’s just a nickname Let,” your sister offered and you were grasping the wine glass so hard in your hand, you thought it would shatter.

“What was the question?” you cut over the tension and your dad repeated his statement “Life is very hard for the struggling artist. Do you remember that god awful bedsit you were staying in when you first moved to the city? Thank God Aethelred got you out of there, the landlady was a god awful plump woman.”

“She was a lovely woman,” you cried “She looked after me like I was her own.”

“All the same-” Your father interjected “Thank Goodness for Aethelred.”

“She never did tell us how she managed to mess that one up,” your stepmother whispered to your sister, but whispered was too kind of a word because anyone within ten feet of her could hear it, Sihtric looked at you questiongly and you knew he had heard it too, you just shook your head in way of answering him.

You downed your wine and placed the glass down, “I’m absolutely shattered from today’s travels I’m going to call it a night,” you announced and Sihtric turned to face you.

“I’ll come too darling,” he shook your uncle's hand and promised him they would continue their chat tomorrow, he patted him soundly on the back and when he turned to you he smiled kindly, “You’ve found a good one there, Lettie.”

You and Sihtric decided to tuck and tail, he was at the top and you were down the end of the bed.

Lying in the darkness you tossed and turned for a bit, sighing loudly when you realised you could not fall asleep.

“Why do they call you Lettie?” Sihtric asked softly into the darkness and you couldn’t help the tears that sprang to your eyes.

“Piglet,” you eventually answered, voice barely above a whisper, “When I first met her, my stepmother, I never stopped crying apparently. Squealing, as she called it… like a piglet. I was four and my mother was dead and the nickname stuck.”

Sihtric felt a pain in his chest and he didn’t know what to say, “I’m so sorry, that is so beyond awful.”

“She was an artist,” you eventually spoke again after moments of silence, “My mother, she was incredible. I still have some of her work, well what’s left of it anyway. ”

“Is that why you pursue it?” Sihtric questioned and you hummed in response.

“I never knew my mother,” he added, “She died when I was a baby, but I don’t remember her, I’ve only ever seen pictures.”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered into the darkness and Sihtric rustled about in the bed a bit until he found your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

When you awoke in the morning it was to a feeling of warmth all around you and you were startled to find yourself fully wrapped up in Sihtric’s arms, who was still sleeping soundly beside you.

“Sihtric?” you whispered panicked, but all he did was nuzzle further into you.

“S’too early, go back to sleep,” he mumbled into your hair and groaned when you sat fully up in the bed, pulling the duvet with you.

“What's wrong?” he sighed running his hands through his loose curls and you sighed because it was genuinely cruel for a man to look that good first thing in the morning.

“Look,” he reasoned, picking at a loose thread on the spread “You were tossing and turning all night, and I just figured you would be exhausted today if you didn't get some proper rest so I came down here and I held you and you stopped fussing and didn't move a muscle the rest of the night, and if you lay back down we could actually catch another hour or two, it's still early.”

You suddenly seemed very interested in the pattern on the duvet and were refusing to meet his eye.

“Just c’’mere,” he urged gently, scooting back down and making room for you, and after what felt like an hour you lost the battle with your better judgement and crawled back into his waiting arms and he scooted back up behind you, throwing an arm over you and pulling you close.

“Close your eyes,” he commanded softly and when your eyes finally fluttered closed you couldn't help but hope he couldn't feel how fast your heart was beating out of your chest.

The smell of coffee pulled you from the depths of sleep and you opened your eyes to find Sihtric struggling with a breakfast tray filled with pastries and two massive cups of coffee.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” he teased, gently settling the tray down on the bed and taking a seat down the end.

He huffed a laugh as you gasped “Thank you! Bless you!” and immediately took a huge chug of your coffee.

You both ate in a peaceful silence for a while before Sihtric finally spoke, “So I was thinking. Maybe it might be nice if we took a walk in the woods today. Get away from all the madness before dinner tonight, and maybe get to know each other a little better.”

“Yeah,” you smiled lazily “That would actually be really nice, Sihtric.”

You took Sihtric along your favourite trail, one you hadn’t been back to since you were a teen and it was surprising how easily the conversation flowed and just what good company he really was.

There was an openness and freeness to Sihtric that you really envied as he swapped stories about some of the antics he had gotten up to with his friends and you realised with a heaviness in your chest that nobody had made you feel this carefree in your entire life, especially at a time that was meant to be the most painful and stressful for you.

“Look I gotta ask,” Sihtric eventually stopped walking and turned completely to face you, “Why did you hire me? Surely there is some colleague or fellow artist out there who is dying for a chance to date you. We both know you would have no trouble finding a date, you didn’t need me.”

You sighed and then laughed “I have given up on love and dating forever. I’m really happy on my own and I guess if I invited someone to a wedding with me, it might give them the wrong idea. Plus my family are so much to deal with- hell I don’t even wanna deal with them. Just seemed cruel to inflict that on another person.”

“Forever?” Sihtric asked with a cock of his eyebrow.

“Forever,” you confirmed adamantly.

“Come on,” he reasoned “You don’t deserve to be alone forever.”

“Less painful that way though,” you tried to play it off as a joke walking on ahead of him again, but he could see the truth veiled thinly behind the words.

He caught your hand as you went a little bit ahead and swirled you around.

“You have given up on yourself,” he tutted and pulled you closer “Don’t you remember how love feels, the butterflies, the longing, the aching. Don’t you ever want to feel that again?” he was almost whispering, eyes flicking down to your lips, “The rush of a first kiss,” he trailed off, pressing a slow, languid kiss to the side of your face, hand rising up to cup your face, and as he broke away he gently placed a kiss to each of your closed eyelids. But much to your disappointment his lips never met yours.

“You’re lying to yourself,” he whispered “You haven’t given up on love, you’ve given up on yourself and that breaks my fucking heart.”

When your eyes fluttered open, they were glassy with tears and Sihtric’s face crumpled, he stroked your cheek with his thumb.

This isn't real, you had to remind yourself.

That evening marked the arrival of Athelred and you were a ball of nerves all evening.

“Can you zip me up please?” you asked Sihtric who was waiting on the bed for you to finish getting ready, his fingers ghosted over the bare skin of your back and you watched him carefully in the mirror, as he gently slid the zipper up, he caught your eyes in the mirror and you were suddenly blushing furiously. He turned you around to face him.

“Do you want him back?” he asked softly, “If he tries to get you alone tonight, where do I stand? Do I let you go with him or do I come save you?”

“Come save me,” you answered, voice shaking slightly, “Please don’t leave me on my own with him.”

“I won’t leave your side,” he promised, and then he looked like he was going to kiss you again, but refrained.

As usual the whirlwind that was Athelred swept in and caught everyone up in its orbit. Your stepmother and sister swooned around him, but Sihtric, true to his word, stuck by your side all night. Rubbing reassuring patterns on your knee or holding your hand whenever he sensed your unease.

“So, Sihtric,” Athelred called from across the table disrupting the conversation the two of you were having, “I hear you are an architect,” it was hard to tell if he was smiling or sneering.

“I am,” Sihtric answered back, confidence bordering on cockiness.

“Oh? At what firm?”

“Ragnarsson & Brothers,” Sihtric replied without missing a beat.

“Funny, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them,” there it was you thought, the snobbish, judgemental sneering, you were so accustomed to.

“That is funny,” Sihtric replied, leaning his elbows on the table, “Y/n never mentioned you were so interested in architecture.”

Athelred seemed like he wanted to press the issue but he could see now was not the time or place.

“And how exactly did you two meet?” he went back to faking a smile again.

Sihtric took your hand in his and smiled widely “We met at a jewelry making class,” he brought your hand to his lips and placed a kiss to your knuckle and you couldn’t help the smile that broke out across your face.

“We’ve just recently started another one, haven’t we darling, every Wednesday evening.”

Your heart was thumping in your chest because how had he even remembered a point so trivial you had mentioned in passing?

It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.

You were repeating it like a mantra in your mind but yet you could not stop the familiar feeling of butterflies in your stomach.

After dinner, there was dancing in the marquee and you were tipsy.

Twirling around the floor with Sihtric, arms locked around each other and laughing so much your sides were beginning to hurt.

For someone so objectively sexy, he was a goofball and he was not afraid to dance with you even when there were no other men on the floor, he didn’t care for trying to be cool and that made him infinitely…cooler.

He dipped away to get you both drinks and you were dancing with your sister when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You thought it was Sihtric, you spun around but the smile immediately slipped off your face when you realised it was Athelred.

“May I?” he grinned like a shark and you searched the crowd for Sihtric but you couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Oh, come on, I’m sure your lover boy can spare you for one dance,” he mocked and grasped your hand in his and pulled you out into the middle of the floor.

You saw your stepmother's eyes visibly light up and felt as though all eyes were on you, you silently prayed that Sihtric would hurry up and come back.

“You know why they invited me this weekend don’t you? They’re hoping we will rekindle our little romance, and I can’t deny I was hoping for the same.”

“I’m with Sihtric,” you cut him off, “Besides, there is nothing to rekindle.”

“Oh come on y/n,” he scoffed. “Girls like you don’t end up with guys like him. Look at him, the tattoos, the hair, what on earth does he have to offer you in terms of prospect and comfort.”

“How about love and safety?” you cut back and he scoffed again.

“Oh come off it you’re running around with ruffians, doing your little art on the side, we all know it’s just a protest and one of these days you will have to settle down.”

You tried to pull your hand from his, but his grip tightened, and you gasped at the pain, “Don’t be stupid, I am offering you a second chance here.”

“You’re offering me a second chance?” you spat trying again to wrench your hand back, “You gave me a black eye and destroyed my mother’s paintings, it should be you begging me for a second chance, which by the way you wouldn’t get if you were the last man left alive,”

“Shh,” he warned, jerking you angrily “I warned you not to bring that up again. Ever.”

“Let go of me!” you spat, pulling your hand ferociously but he would not relent.

“She said Let.Go,” you heard Sihtric’s commanding voice behind you and you ran to him the moment Athelered released you and he caught you in his arms.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Athelred spat between his teeth.

“My girl is my concern,” Sihtric spat “And if she tells you to take your hands off her you had better do it quicker in future, or you won’t have hands anymore.”

Athelred smiled his fake shark like smile and rose his hands in surrender, mindful of the people watching, “Just a little misunderstanding between two past lovers,” he moved away and Sihtric finally gave his full attention to you.

“Are you okay?” he asked, hooking a finger under your chin to make you look at him, you were trying to play it off but eventually you shook your head and Sihtric pulled you into a hug.

“You wanna get out of here?” he drawled and you nodded into his chest and let him lead you off the dancefloor into the gardens, twinkling with the fairy lights draped overhead.

You walked hand in hand for a while through the edges and down towards the lake, before you finally felt like talking.

“He wanted to give me a second chance,” you laughed bitterly, “Like I’m the one who was in the wrong, like I didn’t have to sneak out of our house in the middle of the night to escape him.”

“What happened?” Sihtric asked, he wasn’t prying but he wanted to help.

“He came home drunk, smelling like another woman, and it was no secret he was cheating on me the entire relationship, but this time I had had enough, I packed my bags, but as I went to walk out the door, he grabbed me,” you stopped because it was truly embarrassing and you had never told another soul this in your entire life, “And he punched me as hard as he could, and while I was crying, nursing the cut on my cheek, he destroyed my mother’s paintings in rage. All I had left of her, destroyed in an instant.”

Your words from the other night came back to stab Sihtric in the chest “What’s left of it anyway… ”

Sihtric was suddenly seething “I will kill him if he lays another finger on you. I should go back up there and knock that fucking smirk off his face.”

“Don't,” you begged, reaching for him, “We just have two more days to get through and then I never have to see him or any of these hypocrites ever again. But I can't do it without you, you're the only thing keeping me sane right now and if you go up there and punch him -”

-”No of course, you're right. It just makes me sick that he could hurt you like that and yet your family would want you to take him back.”

“They don't know. You're actually the only person I've ever told.”

Sihtric’s face crumpled and he reached out for you, “Okay,” he whispered, “But I don't think I can look at him again tonight without ripping his head clean off his shoulders. So,” he proposed “How about we steal two bottles of that expensive champagne and have our own party in our room.”

“Sounds like the best idea you've ever had Kjartansson.”

The music was blaring and Sihtric was hanging out the window smoking a cigarette.

“Those things are gonna be the death of you,” you teased from the bed and he turned around to face you, you had long discarded your heels and were sprawled across the bed, one arm lazily draped over your forehead listening in a drunken haze to the songs he had selected.

He wished it was the drink, really wished it was, but it wasn't.

It really wasn't the drink that had him focusing on the way your hair fell down around your shoulders, the way your lashes fanned against your cheeks when you blinked or the way your bare legs looked like satin just begging to be touched, and it sent his head into overspin.

“You're gonna be the death of me,” he groaned and you had the cheek to cock your head innocently as if you didn't understand what he was talking about.

He stalked his way over to you, and you sat back eyeing him suspiciously.

He stopped before you and reached out his hand, “Dance with me,” he drawled and you allowed him to pull you up, and locked your arms around his neck, as he swayed you gently to the music, his mismatched eyes smouldering into yours, he fisted his hand up into your hair and brushed his thumb across your lips, you all but whimpered under his touch and before you could overthink it, you pressed up onto your tiptoes and kissed him on the lips.

“I'm sorry,” you gushed “I'm so sorry you said no kiss-”

He cut you off by pressing his lips back to yours and it was needy and passionate and your head was spinning, not from the alcohol.

Uhtred’s voice flashed like a warning in Sihtric’s head but he rushed it away, “Rule number one, never catch feelings for a client.”

You weren't sure when kissing became discarded clothes, and being pinned down under the weight of Sihtric’s body, or nail marks down his back and bite marks on your skin that you were hoping concealer would cover for your sister’s wedding, and you definitely weren't sure how one time became two, or how you ended up in the shower of your ensuite together, warm water running down your aching muscles.

But as you lay wrapped up in his arms that night, you had to repeat that same mantra that haunted you this entire week.

It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.

But no matter how much you said it, you knew this was only going to lead to you getting hurt.

“My father killed my mother,” Sihtric whispered into the night and you twisted in his arms to face him, “He used to beat her black and blue, and when she wasn’t around anymore he did it to me. That’s why I wanted to kill Aethelred earlier because the thought of someone hurting you like that makes me sick.”

You caressed his face with your thumb and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, “I’m sorry,” you told him truthfully and he nuzzled into your neck.

“The shitty situation I was running from, was because I beat him to a pulp, left him for dead but the bastard survived, almost killed me in return, kicked me out into the street and I had nowhere to go. This job allowed me the financial freedom to escape him and I’ve been doing it ever since. I just need you to know that that’s the man you are laying with. That’s my baggage.”

“I don’t care,” you cried, “We are not our families and we survived the best way we knew how, I would never judge you for what you’ve had to do to get by.”

He burrowed into you and you wrapped your arms around him.

“I need to ask-” you said but wished you could take it back because his mismatched eyes were glistening in the moonlight and the moment was so fragile you were afraid what you said next would shatter everything, and when he nodded for you to continue, you swallowed thickly.

“Have you ever done this with another client? Kissed them, lay with them? I’m not judging- I just. I just need to know that this is real.”

“Never,” he told you solemnly “You are the first and only. The only one who has never tried to take advantage. The first to respect my boundaries and not pressure me into doing things I don’t want to do.”

You released the breath you didn’t even realise you were holding and he took your hand in his and placed it on his chest, over his heart “And this is real.”

“Let me show you,” he mumbled, climbing on top of you, brushing his fingers through your hair as he kissed his way down your aching body, disappearing between the sheets to nip at the skin on your thighs and you gasped as he parted them, hands tangling in his mass of loose curls as he lapped at the skin of your most sensitive parts and he offered no reprieve until you were a panting, sweaty mess as you came around him, climbing triumphantly up the bed to rest his head on your chest and your arms locked around him, and for the first time in all your time together you ignored the mantra you had been repeating all week.

“Good morning beautiful,” Sihtric husked, kissing any piece of bare skin his lips could reach and you giggled in his arms.

“Our second last day together,” you pouted and Sihtric chuckled. “I wouldn't be so sure of that,” he kissed the pout off your lips.

“Although I do remember telling you that sex would cost you extra,” he teased and you looked at him in mock hurt.

“How much more?” you shrieked and he pretended to think about it carefully for a moment.

“Hmm, how about a date when all of this is over? I mean I know you have sworn off dating forever and all,l but I figured you might make an exception,” he mused and you turned in his arms to take in his beauty in the morning light.

“I will make an exception, just for you,” you told him genuinely and the smile that broke out across his face was absolutely radiant.

His heart fluttered in his chest, he knew he had been crossing boundaries with you all weekend, he had been the first to kiss you yesterday, albeit not on the lips, but he had still broken his own most important rule within two days of knowing you. You had slept together last night and that had been another boundary crossed, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care. He had been attracted to you from the moment he’d met you on the platform, coffee in hand waiting for him, and god dammit if you weren’t the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

Sihtric tagged along with you to the city to go pick up the bridesmaid dresses from the tailors.

He held your hand in the car, he opened your door for you and he kissed you at every possible moment, hands tangled up in yours, arm slung around your shoulder, or hand placed delicately on your lower back, you soon learned that physical touch was his love language, he simply had to be touching you and for the first time in your whole life you didn’t mind the feeling of a man’s hands on you at all times.

When you had stopped for coffee, he insisted on paying and it was genuinely nice to have someone want to take care of you this way.

Your stomach would lurch every time you thought about this week ending, would you be able to make it work on the outside? Would he feel the same about you once he was back in the ‘real world,’ and had the freedom to see whoever he wanted? You didn’t want those doubts to creep in but Sihtric was an absolute God amongst men and you had not been treated well by much lesser of men.

“Hmm?” you chimed, pulled from your thoughts on the drive home by something Sihtric had said.

“I just said, would you maybe like to come for drinks with my friends some night after our proper date that is?”

You paused for a moment, your heart swelling with the cuteness of this man and you turned your head to smile his way “I would love that,” you smiled genuinely and his face erupted with a huge grin.

“Good, because they will absolutely adore you. You’re going to want to leave me for Finan but I won’t allow it because you’re all mine!”

You laughed because this man was ridiculous, as if you would even look at another man when this man was on your arm.

Tonight was the night before the wedding, and there was a huge rehearsal dinner planned. It was almost a mini wedding itself.

You watched Sihtric dress in dinner slacks and a white shirt and your heart fluttered with adoration as he fumbled with his tie, you moved into his space and began to arrange his tie for him, his eyes kept flicking down to your lips and he moved into your space and kissed you.

“Do you think if we had met under different circumstances you would have given me a chance?” he suddenly asked and you stopped his ministrations on his tie.

“Sihtric,” you stressed “Why would you even ask such a thing?”

“Look at you,” he mused, turning you around to face the mirror as his arms circled around your stomach “You are so out of my league,” he spoke into the skin of your neck “I don’t even deserve to look at you, let alone touch you. With my job, with what I do, are you not ashamed? You could do so much better than this. Than me.”

You turned in his arms and locked your own around his neck, “I’m not ashamed of you, and I couldn’t do better than you if I tried,” you told him honestly and you meant it, and that seemed to satiate him enough to put his mind somewhat at ease, “More than that, I don’t want anyone else but you.”

You were slightly late making your way down to dinner because as soon as you had put your dinner dress on, Sihtric had removed it and your sister sent you a knowing smirk as soon as you sat down.

“Sorry I’m late,” you muttered slightly bashful and she shrugged you off, “It’s alright we’re still waiting for Aethelred,” she told you and you searched the table, silently noting that he was indeed absent.

Sihtric grabbed your chair and pulled you as physically close as possible, you were absorbed in your own little conversation and barely even noticed Aethelred’s arrival until a folder landed with a thump in front of you and his figure loomed over you.

“I’m sorry to do this here but I think you deserve to know the truth,” he rushed and you looked between the folder on the table and him.

“What is this?” you quirked and Sihtric went to reach for the files.

Aethelred began to raise his voice and you began to suspect there was about to be a performance.

“You deserve to know the truth,” he spoke and then pointed his index directly into Sihtric’s face “About this con artist. He is not who he says he is!” he spat and continued “He is not an architect, he is a hooker and has been lying to your face from the moment he met you!”

With trembling fingers you opened the folder and there in black and white was Sihtric’s escort profile and you felt like you were trapped in a glass dome that was coming crashing down in sharp shards all around you.

Your stepmother swiped the folder from your hands and her eyes flew between the printed pages in front of her and Sihtric who had gone completely rigid beside you.

“You swine!” she shrieked “You dishonest swine, you would lie to her like this just to worm your way in and all this time you are whoring yourself out to sad cases who can’t find a man of their own?”

You felt white hot rage surge through your body and you glared into Aethelred’s smug face.

“I’m so sorry to do this you Let, but you deserved to know the truth.”

“He’s a hooker?” you heard someone whisper down the table and you were rising to your feet in an instant.

“He is not the one who has been lying!” you spat “I’ve known who he was from the moment I met him. And he is the most honest, decent man sitting at this table.”

You were shaking with rage and you watched the realisation wash over Aethelred’s face and he began to laugh, “Oh my God, you never thought he was an architect…you booked him.”

“I did!” you spat, “And how dare you humiliate him like this, with your fake bullshit concern, you didn’t do this for me but for your sick gratification you fucking tiny, insignificant man.”

“You brought a hooker to your own sister’s wedding?” your step mother guffawed and you rounded on her.

“I did, and he is the best man I have ever met. He is worth 10 of every single one of you sat here tonight and I am ashamed to even call you my family.”

“You know you don’t get extra for pretending to care for her,” Aethelred mocked, “Worming your way into her knickers is one thing but worming your way into your heart, now that was a good one, and she’s so fucking gullible, it was the perfect crime and you nearly got away with it.”

Sihtric was out of his seat and had his hands on Aethelred before you could even react.

In the scuffle that ensued Aethelred’s lip was bloodied and Sihtric’s hair had come free from his bun in loose, unruly curls.

“You fucking beat her black and blue. You destroyed her mother’s paintings and you stand here judging me?” Sihtric was roaring as he was being pulled away from a sneering Aethelred, “I might be a fucking hooker but I would rather die, than touch one hair on her head. You scumbag!”

Your sister and mother were looking horrified between both men and then your sister’s worried eyes landed on yours, “This is why you left him?” she almost cried and all you could do in the moment was nod, Sihtric was being held back by your father, his chest rising and falling in anger and he spat on the ground.

“You fucking hypocrites. You give her a cruel nickname that she can’t stand. You allow her to be abused by this piece of weasel shit and you stand here now and judge her? I am what I am but at least I can be honest with myself, you are all sitting here in a house of bullshit and you can’t even see the amazing, kind hearted girl right here in front of you.”

He shrugged your father off violently and stormed off across the grass and you followed in pursuit, but he didn’t stop until he made his way the whole way to your room, flinging the door open and throwing clothes into his bag.

“You’re leaving?” you cried when you finally reached him and he whirled on you like you were crazy.

“Of course I’m leaving!” he spat rushing around the room picking up discarded items and flinging them into his bag, “And you’d be a fool not to too!”

“It’s my sister’s wedding tomorrow,” you tried to reason, “I’m a bridesmaid, I can’t just up and abandon her.”

“Your choice,” he simply scoffed and you tried to reach for him.

“I’m sorry,” you cried and it sounded like begging, “Please don’t leave.”

He shrugged out of your grasp and began furiously zipping up his suitcase.

“Don’t,” he warned when you tried to reach for him again and when he realised he was packed he turned to you, “Are you coming, or not?”

“Sihtric I can’t,” you cried, “Please I am so sorry about Aethelred. I’m sorry about it all, but please we can face it together. I have to stay for her, but I can’t do it on my own. I need you.”

“Come with me,” he reasoned “Come with me or stay, but either way I am leaving.”

Your head was spinning because you always knew, deep down, that this day was going to come, you knew he would see enough, or wake up enough to know that he deserved better than you and he would leave.

He sniffed and then nodded in acceptance that you were not going to leave and flung his bag up onto his back and then pulled his suitcase from the bed.

“Fine stay, and let them walk all over you as always. What’s it got to do with me anyway?”

“You’re hurt and you have every reason to be, but you’re lashing out at me, but you know I have no choice here.”

“You have a choice,” he scoffed “And you’re making the wrong one.”

“I’m staying,” you said defiantly, even though your whole body was shaking. “Because I am sick of running. I’m sick of letting them dictate who I should be. I am not ashamed of you, or our time together and I will not let them make me feel embarrassed another moment of my life, and I will stand by my little sister’s side tomorrow and I will do her proud, with or without you. But I really wish it was with, so I am begging you, please stay with me?”

He seemed to consider you for a moment but he was too angry to take in what you were really asking of him.

“I would like to be paid now,” he sniffed again, as if he had disregarded everything you had just said.

“Paid?” you asked, voice small.

“Yeah. I am a hooker in case you needed reminding and I would like to be paid for my services.”

“Right,” you blinked quickly, feeling the dagger twist in your chest, “Right of course.”

You ruffled in your nightstand until you found the pale brown envelope you had kept from the moment you had booked Sihtric, you had put some extra in there over the week as time progressed and now your hands shook as you passed it his way and he snatched it from your hands, and tears sprang to your eyes as he made his way towards the door.

“Is this really how it ends?” you couldn’t help but cry as he reached for the handle,and Sihtric’s face softened ever so slightly.

“We’ve been fooling ourselves all week. Talking about us as if we were ever real. Carrying on as if this wasn’t the way it was always supposed to end” he replied, “In a way Aethered did us both a favour to snap us out of it.”

And there it was, the sickening proof that what you had been reminding yourself all week had been true.

It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.

When you didn’t respond he pulled the door open and made his way outside into the hall.

“Goodbye Y/n, good luck with everything. I hope one day you find what you deserve and the right man to give it to you. But I think we both know that’s not me.”

There had been no more trains going to London by the time Sihtric arrived at the station and he huffed in anger as he flung his bags down, realising he would have to sleep in the station.

“Good,” he muttered as he settled down on the waiting room floor, anything was better than staying in that bullshit place with your snivelling excuse of an ex, he only wished he had gotten one more swing at him before anyone else stepped in but he was satisfied that at least some of his blows had landed.

He pulled his jacket around him to protect him from the chill and pulled the envelope he had hastily stuffed in his pocket out and emptied the contents into his hands.

He ruffled through the wads of cash and realised with a turn of his stomach that there was way more than the agreed upon price there and finally a tiny hand written note.

“For keeping me sane this week and not running no matter how tough it got xx”

His heart sank down to his toes, he couldn’t shake the image of your shaking form in the bedroom as he threw shots intended to hurt your way. He thought if he could convince you that none of it was real, he would believe it too.

He had been a fool and worse than that he had been cruel and for what? All because Aethelred had wounded his pride and humiliated him.

You had defended him in front of your whole family, refused to be ashamed of him, pleaded with him to stay and he had thrown it all back in your face, all because you had the bravery to stand and face what he was too embarrassed to.

He broke his one promise to you, that he wouldn’t leave you on your own and all because he couldn’t take two minutes to sit with his feelings and cool down.

Maybe it was because everyone had spoken his worst fears out loud and Aethelred had laid it all out in black and white for everyone to see, he wasn’t good enough for you, and if you had never booked him, he would never have even had a seat at that table with you.

But he had laid himself bare for you in the moonlight and you hadn’t rejected him, and now as the sun rose you would be left to deal with his shame and shortcomings all on your own.

And he had broken every single rule in the book from the moment he realised he had feelings for you, and then it hit him like a brick and all at once, he had fallen in love with you and now it was all over.

His fingers shook as he bought his ticket and texted Uhtred asking to pick him up once his train landed in London.

He had gone too far, messed up too badly to come back and ask you for forgiveness so he took the cowardly way out, he did what he always did when things got real, he ran.

And so the train to London pulled in, he took one last breath and released it as it departed.

Your eyes were red and puffy from crying, and the makeup artist scolded you, asking if you’d had any sleep at all, but you weren’t about to tell her you had cried yourself to sleep that night.

You slapped a smile on your face for all the photos of getting ready with the bridal party, and despite the filthy looks your stepmother was throwing your way nobody brought up the antics of last night, until your sister came to sit beside you and handed you a champagne flute.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried “About the nickname, about pushing you to get back with Aethelred, for everything. Sihtric was right about everything, we’ve treated you so cruelly and I promise you I will never make you feel like that again.”

“Today is about you,” you squeezed her hand through your tears and she shook her head.

“I couldn’t do this without you,” she protested “You’ve always been by my side no matter what, no matter how horrible Mum and Dad are, you’ve never abandoned me and I’ve taken you so for granted. I wouldn’t have blamed you for cutting and running today, but I’m eternally grateful that you didn’t.”

You smiled her way and shook your head “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Sihtric?” she tried and you shook your head, refusing to meet her eye.

“Gone,” was all you offered and she pulled you to her in a bruising hug.

“For what it matters and despite what anyone else may say, it is impossible for anyone to fake the way he looked at you all week, I think he genuinely fell for you.”

“Maybe he did,” you said weakly, “But Aethelred killed it all dead, there was no going back from that humiliation.”

The bridal music began to play and you watched the first bridesmaid make her way up the aisle, followed by the second and when it was your turn you took a huge breath, nodded and held your head high as you began the ascent. You knew all eyes were on you and you ignored them all, but the wind was knocked completely from your lungs when you took your place at the top of the aisle and there standing in the back row, two- pleading- mismatched eyes locked with yours and it took everything in you not to cry there and then, so much so you could barely focus on your sister’s grand entrance.

Once the vows were swapped and the couple were deemed man and wife, you followed the procession down the aisle, eyes locked on Sihtric, afraid that if you took your eyes off him for just one second he would disappear.

He made his way over to you as soon as you cleared the aisle and you were struggling to find the words.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, the fragile hope in your voice almost shattered the tiny ounce of resolve he had.

“I promised I wouldn’t leave you alone.”

“But you did,” you cried and grief carved its way across his face.

“I did,” he replied, voice raw and cracked, almost like it pained him to say, “But I came back for you and I won’t leave you again, until you send me away.”

“Sihtric,” you cried, tears pooling in your eyes “You told me it wasn’t real and I begged you- I begged you to stay.”

“I lied,” he rushed, words fast and desperate “I lied. I pushed you away because that made it easier for me to run. I was cruel. I was embarrassed and I lied. I know I have no right to even be here but I needed you to know that it was real for me, and the thought of leaving you to face this all on your own made me want to tear my own skin off. Even if you never want me again, I just needed to be here for you.”

“Sihtric, I don’t know,” you cried, hurt etched all over your features “You’re here and you’re saying all the right things, but I am shattered, I so desperately want to believe you but I’m scared,” he nodded, eyes boring pleadingly into yours, but he fumbled in his suit jacket pocket and pulled the envelope you had given him the night before and thrust it into your hands.

“I’m never gonna leave your side again, if you allow me. And I don’t know how else to prove to you right now that my feelings for you are real but to say I don’t want this- I just want you.”

You looked at the envelope in your hand and went to argue but he cut you off by repeating, “I just want you.”

Your name being called caught your attention and you hastily wiped your eyes, and thrust the envelope back into his hands.

“Can you please..stay. We will talk later I promise. Just. Please stay.”

“How long are you going to make him suffer?” your sister asked gently, after the speeches had ended and the band began to play, and you followed her line of sight to where Sihtric was sat alone, head down-turned, but still here.

“I don’t want him to suffer, I just need time to figure it all out.”

“Y/n, he came back for you. Despite what everyone here thinks of him and did to him last night. He’s here, and he’s here for you.”

“I think I’m in love with him,” you finally admitted and your sister smiled a small sympathetic smile “Of course you are,” she sighed “And I think you should go for it. You deserve to be happy,” she looked in disgust to where Aethelred was sat at the other end of the top table, “You never laughed with him the way you do with Sihtric, he lights you up and you deserve every second of it.”

“What if he breaks my heart?” you cried and your sister squeezed your knee.

“You’re breaking your own by not giving him a second chance,” she quipped, and you knew she was right..

You had barely stepped into his line of sight when he was up from his chair and standing to attention.

“Okay,” you replied, voice small and he was stepping into your space with a childlike excitement.

“Okay?” he repeated.

“Okay,” you nodded “I want this. I want us to try again. I want you-”

You hadn’t even finished your sentence when he was scooping you up and peppering kisses all over your face, each one dissipating the worry you had buried in your chest.

You took the band from his hair and freed his curls from the bun they were trapped in, you tore his tie off and threw it aside and he watched you with a curious quirk of his head.

“But the real you- not the one we were trying to impress my family with,” you popped open the top two buttons of his shirt to reveal his neck tattoo, and ran your hand over his pecs under his shirt.

“Not Sihtric the perfect date. Not Sihtric the architect. But my Sihtric.”

He smiled his huge, breathtaking smile and dove in to kiss you.

“I’m just warning you,” he mumbled against your skin “I’m never gonna leave your side again.”

“Good,” you laughed. “Because you are my date to every single event I can think of for the foreseeable future.”

“And you’re my last,” he told you and he shook his head “I’m getting out of this game, I’m tired of running, I’ve found everything I’ve been looking for and I won’t risk losing you again. You remember when I told you you were the first and only client I’ve ever kissed, I want you to be my last client, and the first girl I give my all to.”

You kissed him, because you could, because he was yours to kiss and when you pulled away you looked at him honestly.

“What will you do for work?”

“I had been saving up to open my own motorcycle work shop with Uhtred and Finan, Uhtred got out last year, and now it’s my time.”

“Sihtric the mechanic,” you smiled and he smiled too.

“But first I have to dance with my girl,” he grinned and before you could protest he was pulling you out into the middle of the floor, spinning you around under the lights and for the first time since you arrived at this godforsaken place, you didn’t care who was watching.

In fact you hoped they all were.

Tagging:

@canyonmoon-2 @sihtricfedaraaahvicius @whitedarkmoonflower @thenameswinter99 @foxyanon

@acdassenza @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @gemini-mama

@troyottonick @alexagirlie

a-beaverhausen nebulamorada izzydlb knight-of-flowerss

justcuriousandbored @leftoverp1zza @cheesesandwichsanto

#sihtric x reader #sihtric fic #you did it again #wrote absolutely magical story that made me sniff so many times #welcome back!

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