Captive Part 2
Sihtric x OC
Authors note: this is somehow Part 2 of the Captive, but at the same time it is not. This is the same story, just from the perspective of the captive girl - her name is Elfflaed. I am thinking of what will happen next. I am not sure whether this is something worth reading at all, so if you have any comments or suggestions - let me know.
Summary: Sihtric is sent to Heasten’s camp to spy and discovers the Danes have a captive – young Saxon girl he just can’t leave to her fate.
Word Count: 894
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Elfflaed was holding on to Sihtrics hand and followed him into the woods. She still couldn’t believe what had happened. The moment she saw him entering the tent, she had no doubts about his intentions. He stood there with his gaze fixed at her, scanning her from the head to the toes, eyes so dark with lust that she felt herself naked. Elfflaed wanted to scream for help, but what help could she expect here? She had seen the glances Danes were casting at her.
The bigger was her awe when the Dane spoke to her.
"Stay calm," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I'm not your enemy. I have come to bring you to safety," he continued, his voice filled with a mixture of awe and determination.
Elfflead couldn’t believe her ears. She looked at him with a gaze full of mistrust, anger, and fear. Her mind was racing in search of an escape. He was tall and imposing, his muscular frame rippling with strength and battle-hardened prowess. His broad shoulders and muscular arms attested his physical vigour and training. There was no chance she could stand against him, but nevertheless she was determined not to give in quickly. And still she felt so helpless, so ashamed and full of fear and anger. She could do nothing to escape her fate of being raped by a vicious Dane.
The Dane reached out a hand, his voice filled with sincerity. "I understand you don’t believe me. But I give you my word, I am not here to harm you. I am here to offer you a chance at freedom, to return you to your people, and ensure your safety."
Of course, she did not believe him. Why would she? But something cached her in the Danes voice. It sounded so sincere that she wavered torn between the hope of liberation and the fear of betrayal. She couldn’t remember anymore whether she said something to him nor his answers
“I am Sihtric and I am lord Uhtred’s man,” was the only thing that reached her consciousness and in the same moment she saw him drawing his knife and leaping towards her. He put his hand on her mouth, silencing her, and at that very moment she was sure she was going to die. What a foolish thought he would be her savior! Her eyes widened with terror, she wanted to scream, but his hand was holding her firmly and not a sound was escaping her and in one single motion he cut the rope holding her hands.
"Promise me, you will not scream," the Dane whispered in her ear. “If you do, we are both doomed.”
Elfflead was torn between the wish to believe this stranger could be her salvation, her way to freedom, and her common sense that told her that this was simply not possible.
“Promise me," she finally managed to pull herself together and find her words, her voice still laced with a fragile mixture of fear and longing. "Promise me that you will protect me, that you will not lead me into further harm,” she whispered.
“Sihtric,” she thought, “His name is Sihtric. He is Uhtred’s man, and he will not harm me”.
Of course, she knew Uhtred. He had been a regular guest in her father’s house. Her father had always supported lady Æthelflæd. She was the wife of the Mercian King Æthelred, but her husband hated her, and Uhtred was well known as a friend and protector of lady Æthelflæd.
“I swear on my life that I will protect you, that I will do everything within my power to keep you safe," Sihtric's voice held unwavering conviction as he made his pledge and Elfflead believed him, she wanted to believe him and so she felt a flicker of trust kindling within her, a glint of belief in the possibility of an escape.
Sihtric stepped back and extended his hand towards her, and she felt the faintest touch of a smile unconsciously gracing her lips. Hesitantly she reached out, her fingers intertwining with his and Sihtric helped her to her feet. She looked in his eyes and noticed that they were of different color.
His strong jawline exuded an aura of determination, while a scar etched along his cheekbone served as a reminder of battles fought and battles won. Despite the harshness of his appearance, she could not deny there was a certain magnetism in his features. He moved with a grace that defied his imposing stature, each stride purposeful and confident. With every movement, his muscles flexed beneath his taut, battle-worn skin. There was an air of confidence that surrounded him, a palpable energy that drew her towards him. But beyond that in his eyes, there flickered a glimmer of compassion and respect.
Sihtric pushed up the back wall of the tent and together, they crouched out. It took just a few steps to reach the nearby trees, so Sihtric guided her towards them, their movements silent and purposeful. Elfflead clenched to his hand seeking a reassurance that everything will be all right and he squeezed her hand in response. She was overwhelmed with his strong presence and was slowly melting into his grip. He was her savior and she thought that she would follow this man where ever he would take her. She had never felt anything comparable before.
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Chapter Two; The Lion's Den
Note: I'm painfully aware it's taken me a trillion years to post this but uhm....listen sometimes the anxiety hits and you just use Balders Gate as a coping mechanism...it be like that (:
🦊🦢🦊🦢
Erin collided harshly with the ground beneath her. A heaving gasp was all she managed to pass down her throat. When she tried to move, painful spasms rocked through her body, locking her limbs in place. She whimpered quietly while frustration pooled in her eyes.
Minutes passed, and Erin swallowed the dryness in her throat.
“Ivy?”
There was no response.
Erin lifted her head and scanned the surroundings. A little frown pressed itself between her brows. Not a soul was around when she knew the tourists must have been up ahead. The benches and stone paths that should have littered the greenery were gone. It was eerily quiet too. Funny how background noise can make such an impact on your surroundings. Usually, Erin would complain about the sound of car engines and the high pitched screaming of children. Unease now settled in Erin’s stomach.
She needed to find Ivy.
Her muscles resisted but Erin managed to stand up. She wiggled her arms and shook her legs, and considering she was in no great deal of pain, she guessed nothing was broken. That was something at least. Hand over her eyes, she searched for her friend more diligently, and spotted her deep red hair. She was face down at the bottom of the hill, and she was not moving.
“Ivy.” Erin mumbled. She broke out in a run. Her legs wobbled like that of a newborn deer, veering left and right, and she tumbled along the grass. She didn’t stop until she collapsed at Ivy’s side.
She turned Ivy over onto her back, and gently brushed away the strands of hair from her face. There was a small cut above her brow, and when Erin flitted her fingers along the back of her head, she felt a small bump.
Erin took Ivy’s face in her hands and shook. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, “Ivy, come on, wake up.”
Ivy didn’t stir.
Erin swallowed her panic, “I don’t know anything about first aid, help me out, come on, you have to wake up.” She muttered over and over again.
As if her prayers were answered, Ivy’s eyes fluttered softly.
“Yes!” Erin laughed. She blinked her tears away. “That’s it, wake up.”
Ivy groaned as she slowly made it to a sitting position, and leaned into Erin’s front. A throbbing pain steadily beat in the back of her skull. Ivy recognised the symptoms as a concussion. She guessed it was only mild but she forced her eyes open nonetheless. She couldn’t fall asleep.
She turned to Erin, “What happened?”
“Remember being by the rock?” Erin asked.
“Hm, remember that but,” Ivy paused, “what happened?”
Erin chewed her lip, “I don’t know…maybe a big gust of wind slammed into us-”
“A gust of wind?” Ivy interrupted, incredulous.
“Maybe gravity went on strike for a moment,” Erin waved her hands dismissively , “how am I supposed to know?”
The sound of voices snapped the girls out of their shared confusion.
Erin sighed, “Okay, you stay there, I’ll get…whoever’s attention.”
Ivy nodded, still stuck in her daze.
Erin stood. Legs shaky and stiff but the pain dulled with each step she took. Once she made it up the hill, she lifted her arms up and waved, shouting for the strangers' help. Their silhouettes became clearer in her mind’s eye and something akin to dread filled her stomach. They sat on horses, which on its own shouldn’t be strange. But there were so many of them, and more kept coming over the horizon.
The horses turned tail straight towards her at a leisurely pace. With every step closer, their collective appearance confused Erin. They looked like something out of a history documentary. Weapons hung from their backs or hips, looking concerningly sharp. They were dressed in furs, leather and cloth. Some of them had the appearance of Viking warriors.
If Erin was a more confident girl, she might have trusted her gut to grab Ivy and run. Instead she batted away her instinctive thoughts and told herself that many people wouldn't hurt her. She stood her ground. Nerves fired across her entire body.
"Who are you?" One of the men in front asked. She assumed he was the leader. He had a strange accent she couldn’t place. His chestnut hair was half down while the rest was tied back in a bun. He had a goatee, several of the men did. It surprised Erin how much it suited him.
"Uhm," her eyes flitted nervously to the rest of the group, "I'm Erin."
A quick silence passed between her and the group of strangers. God, there were so many of them. Why were there so many of them?
Erin shifted on her feet.
"Are you just going to stand there all day or tell us of your problem?" A bearded man, with a thick irish accent, spoke next. His hands were crossed and leaning against the saddle of his horse. Playfulness glinted in his eyes.
Erin grumbled but it brought her back to why she'd gone to them in the first place. She stood a little straighter and pointed behind her, "My friend and I…something's happened and she's hurt, and I was wondering if I could borrow your phone?"
The Irishman and the leader looked at one another. The same puzzled look on their faces.
“We don’t know what you’re saying, lady.” The leader said, irritated.
"A phone." Erin bit out, “you know the things that you speak to people with.”
“Like what we’re doing now?” The Irishman spoke slowly, as if Erin was going insane.
"Really isn’t the time for your roleplaying." Erin said between gritted teeth.
"Roleplaying?" Another man spoke. He was tall and well built. His blond hair was tied back and unlike the others he had a full beard, it was just long enough for a small braid down the middle of his chin.
"Jesus Christ, I’m not playing 20 questions!" She erupted.
A few of the men gasped, and one bald man who was dressed like a monk spoke up, "Do not take our Lord's name in vain, it is ungodly."
"I do not care," The monk's eyes widened with shock but Erin continued, "my friend is hurt, and I think she might have a concussion, and we're confused because I touched a fucking rock and now everything is different and you're all dressed weirdly and the paths are GONE and the rock is GONE…oh God I'm going to get fined."
“Fined…for touching a rock?”
“It’s a special rock.” Erin whispered.
She didn’t wait for an answer, they weren’t going to be any help anyway. She walked away without turning back. She didn’t want to look at them, she didn’t want to hear them. She was afraid the longer she looked at them, the more impossible her thoughts would become. What if this wasn’t technically Durham as she knows it? What if that rock really was special? Erin’s imagination was wild enough as is, and from the books she’s read, she should have known the stupidity of touching a big rock.
She stiffly walked down the hill and crouched besides Ivy. She took her hand in her own. She squeezed it tight and willed the tears away. Erin had been through worse surely. What was a bit of time travel compared to the horrors of the world as she knew it?
"I have bad news."
Ivy groaned. "But I just stopped feeling dizzy."
"We might have time travelled."
Ivy looked up at her friend. The words settled in her mind at a terribly slow pace. She nodded, then she frowned, and then she stared at Erin like she'd truly gone insane. Ivy was about to ask Erin if she was experiencing any symptoms of concussion herself but suddenly her eyes darted behind Erin, and any question she wished to ask disappeared. Her mouth opened, forming a perfect O.
Erin turned, already knowing who stood behind her. Four men had dismounted. The leader, the Irishman, the monk and another Erin hadn’t noticed. He resembled a Viking, like many of the others but much younger, probably hers and Ivy’s age. He had mismatched eyes and dark hair that was braided along the top of his head. Unusually, the sides were shaved to show off a tattoo along the one side of his head.
Ivy shuffled closer to Erin, and Erin placed her arm over Ivy's body. Both making a failed attempt to protect each other from whatever came next.
"You can come with us." The leader stated.
"What if we don't want to?" Ivy countered, attempting a glare that only made her look like a small fluffy dog.
He raised his brows, "I thought you wanted our help."
"We're fine now, thank you." Ivy said quickly.
"Let us help you, hm?" The monk spoke in a much softer tone, "And maybe get you some … appropriate clothing." he coughed uncomfortably which made the irishman laugh.
The girls frowned at the same time. Ivy stared at Erin's oversized shirt and shorts and wondered what was inappropriate. Erin thought the same as she stared at Ivy's tank top and shorts.
"I told you. Time travel." Erin whispered.
"Maybe they're just crazy."
"Maybe it's both."
"Mind involving us in the discussion." The leader said. Impatience became clear in his posture.
"We don't want help." Ivy reiterated.
"I'm afraid we'll have to insist." he said.
Ivy didn’t respond. She stood on shaky legs, and Erin followed suit. Ivy wobbled for a moment. She noticed the young man with mismatched eyes furrowed brow as if in concern. He went to say something but clamped his mouth shut.
Ivy frowned at the momentary concern. She considered maybe the group was being kind just by the look on the young man's face. She thought better of it.
"Erin."
"Mhm?"
"Let's go."
"Mhm, I agree."
The strange group was shocked by their answer, which turned to relief but it only lasted a moment. Almost simultaneously, the girls turned on their heels and ran down the hill at a shockingly fast speed.
It took everything in Ivy to ignore the throbbing behind her eyes, concentrating solely on placing one foot in front of the other. It was cut short when she was tackled to the ground, a surprised yelp escaped her.
Ivy wiggled beneath her assailant, her face was pushed deeper into the grass beneath her. She cursed and screamed and kicked. She heard him grunt. She was flipped onto her back, and her eyes widened at the sight of the man with mismatched eyes. He placed all his weight on her stomach, and kept a firm grip on her hands without it hurting.
"I don't want to harm you, lady." His voice was strained as he attempted to keep Ivy still.
"Then let go of me." Ivy growled.
"You'll be safe, I promise you'll be safe." His voice was so surprisingly soft, Ivy was tempted to believe him.
Just as suddenly as his weight engulfed her, it was gone. For a moment she laid there, confused. Snapped out of her daze she looked up and found Erin atop the man with mismatched eyes. Erin scratched and slapped and kicked. The man with mismatched eyes struggled to grab a hold of Erin's hands, she fought so recklessly it was impossible to know what she was going to do next.
The Irishman came up behind Erin in a casual jog. He picked her up effortlessly, letting her dangle in the air with her legs kicking. Erin shouted.
"Feisty one, aren't ya?" The Irishman laughed, "don't worry, Sihtirc, any one of us would have struggled with this one."
Erin kicked him in the balls. He groaned but managed to hold a firm grip.
The man with mismatched eyes, Sihtric, turned to Ivy. He stared at her with such an intensity, seeming to show everything and nothing all at once. It made her want to run. She pushed herself along the ground, staining green her bare legs and shorts.
"We really don't want to hurt you."
She noticed his accent now, it was alluring to be sure but Erin's erratic screams broke the magic of his voice.
Finan started up the hill, Erin placed firmly on his shoulder. Ivy reached out a useless hand, and she whimpered. Fat tears blinded and rolled down her eyes and the pounding in her head made her dizzy. She bowed her head, her hair fell into curtains around her face.
A ghost of a touch grazed her shoulder but Ivy flinched anyway. She tried to shuffle away from the strange man. From this strange place. It certainly wasn't home anymore. Was Erin correct when she said this was the past? Was such a thing even possible, or had they finally gone mad?
"Lady," Sihtirc spoke softly, so softly, "My Lord Uhtred fears you may be spies, once our mission is done, you may leave."
Ivy laughed. Spies. How amusing of a thought. Ivy remembered playing spies with Erin as children. They'd sneak around Ivy's home, hiding and murmuring plans. They didn't know they were useless at spying at the time, Ivy's parents liked to indulge and pretend they didn't see them.
"This is true, I swear it." Sihtric insisted.
She didn't respond. She stood on shaking legs, smoothed her hair behind her ears and wiped away the tears from her freckled face. Eyes bloodshot and defeated, she met Sihtirc's eyes.
"I'll go willingly."
Sihtirc seemed to hesitate. He didn't trust her. He shouldn't really, she thought. The moment she found a way to escape with Erin by her side, she would. But Erin was not by her side so to the lion's den it is.
Ivy huffed and began walking in the direction of the group. Sooner than later, she felt Sihtirc's presence at her back. She felt bare with the knowledge he was staring at her, intent on not letting her run. She tried to concentrate on one foot in front of the other. One, two, one, two. Until Erin's angry shouting was back in earshot.
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