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        Upon returning to Winchester, the siblings had an audience with the King to tell them everything that they had learned on their journey. "The first full moon after Sigr Blot?" Alfred questioned, stepping closer to the siblings as he spoke.

"Yes Lord King, they will return to refresh their crew, and find trade off any remaining slaves that have turned weak." Signe spoke, her chin tilted high as she spoke.

"Then you will set out in time to meet them there." Alfred told them, nodding his head in the direction of the guards. "Until then you remain here, where we can ensure you stay true to your word." A guard latched a hand around Signe's bicep, making her grunt as she shook him off.

"I know how to walk you fool." She spat, stepping away from him and following the guards back to the cells. They would remain here for almost a year, waiting to be beckoned by the King once again. The cell clicked as the guard locked her in, the woman shooting glares at the back of his head as he walked away.

"How was it out there?" Brida asked the siblings, she was just happy they returned safely.

"How well do you think if we are back here?" Signe grunted, kicking up hay that covered the floors. "Waiting to be called upon like some pathetic lap dogs begging for a goddamn bone!" Her foot made contact with the wooden plank she had been using as a bed over the months they had already been her. The noise rattled through the cells as she kicked it again.

"Signe that is enough!" Ragnar called, his hands gripping the cool metal of the bars of the door. "We will be released when we find Uhtred."

"If he lives long enough to see spring." Signe muttered, sitting down on the wooden plank, her back against the stone walls. Signe knew Uhtred was strong, he had the will of a thousand warriors in the body of one man. Yet she could not give into the hope that her brother would survive months at sea, and months during the harsh winters before docking back in Wessex. She wanted to believe that her brother was strong enough to endure the life of a common slave, but she knew almost no one ever did.

Day's quickly blurred together, the trio running out of stories to reminisce on. The only indication to the months that had passed by were the furs that were brought down to keep them warm through the winter. Hild would sometimes come to visit, but she never stayed long when she did. Father Beocca had come to visit Signe once, it warmed her heart to know that the man still cared for her after all of these years.

Too much time had passed when Ragnar and Signe were brought before the king again. They were given clean clothes and ordered to bathe before being brought before him. Stepping into the throne room Signe allowed Ragnar to do the talking for them, she wasn't sure if anything she had to say would be acceptable in the presence of the man.

"You will set out with Steepa and Hild. It should be a week's travel to arrive at the beach Sverri is said to dock at." Alfred told the two, sitting comfortably in his chair covered in the finest furs. "You are granted as much time as you need in order to get Uhtred back in health and back here in Winchester. With your word you will not deter from the path back here."

"You have our word, Lord King." Ragnar agreed, bowing his head slightly. Signe stood with her hands folded behind her back, glancing around the room and at the patrons that gawked at her.

"You have Ragnar's word." Signe uttered. "You get nothing but my sword." People around them gasped, but Alfred was too used to the attitude that was being directed towards him. He had been on the receiving end of it from Uhtred the entire time the King had known the Dane.

"That is just as good." Alfred told her, waving his hand in dismissal. The two Dane's were guided out of the throne room and to the courtyard to prepare.

"You need to watch that tongue of yours sister, it will get you killed." Ragnar hissed, his hand wrapped around her arm as he pulled her away from the guards and towards the horses.

"I will not bend the knee to such a man, you have a kind heart Ragnar... it will get you killed." Signe spat back, accepting her weapons from one of the servants. "Let us just go and save Uhtred, assuming he is alive, and take back our lives." She spoke, securing her sword and other knives before mounting her horse.

Ragnar said nothing, before doing the same as his sister so everyone could head out. The air was warm, but the nights were still cold as they traveled. In order to make time, rest periods were short for the horses, and camp wasn't made until right before nightfall. The closer the beach got the smell of salt and sand grew stronger. It almost made Signe feel giddy at the thought of being reunited with her brother. Day's turned into hours, which turned into minutes before Ragnar looked at his sister who rode beside him.

"You stay close to me, you hear me?" Ragnar hollered over the wind, making Signe nod her head in agreement. It was always the same order before battle, the only rule. Stay where Ragnar can see her. Signe knew that there were others waiting for Uhtred. He had made a mess for himself before he was enslaved. There was talk of him taunting those of Dunholm, spearing the head's of men before the walls of the kingdom. Sven the one eyed, son of Kjartan, had always wanted revenge on Uhtred, and this would be the place and day to get it.

The men around her let out cries of battle before they broke over the hill with swords drawn. This is what Signe loved about battle, no matter how big or small, the adrenaline pumped through her veins like water through a river. Signe broke from the group slightly, raising her sword before striking down one of the fleeing Danes. She worked her way through the men quickly, her eyes catching sight of a blonde mounting a horse hastily. Sven the one-eyed. Pulling on the reins to redirect her horse to go after him, Ragnar called after her.

"Leave him Signe!" Ragnar yelled, making the woman pull her horse to halt. She looked between the fleeing man and her brother, breathing heavily as she did so. She could deal with him right now and rid the world of one more useless man. "I said leave him!" Signe glanced in the direction once more, Sven no longer visible. She groaned before sheathing her sword and climbing off her horse. Her skin felt sticky from the blood of the men that had fallen by her sword, but she didn't have a moment to care about it now. Her eyes searched for Ragnar in the crowd of men, finding him curled around another, Uhtred.

Signe pushed her way through the men around them, falling to her knees beside Ragnar and throwing her arms around her brother. "Signe?" The voice was small, cracking through chapped lips as he spoke. Signe would know that voice anywhere, and all that hope she had suppressed over the last few months had bubbled over. Tears welled up in her eyes as she squeezed the man's shoulders slightly.

"Did you really believe we would abandon you?" Ragnar asked, as sobs raked through Uhtred, the man clinging to his siblings desperately. Signe's eyes wandered as they held onto one another, a man standing behind Uhtred almost protectively. His hair was disheveled, his lips cracked and chapped, skin red from days in the sun.

"Release them all!" Signe called, her eyes falling to the guards they had traveled with. "They walk free with their lives today." Ragnar patted his sister's shoulder, standing to his feet to help free the men of their chains. Uhtred clung tightly to Signe, making the woman softly smooth down his hair. "I'm here brother." She whispered, moving to cradle the back of his head. "You're free, you're safe."

The sound of a sword being lifted from the ground caught Signe's attention. She shifted her eyes to find the man that was once standing behind Uhtred, stumbling towards the man that kept them enslaved for almost a year now. Signe slightly nudged Uhtred, gesturing to the man as they watched on. The death of Master Sverri was quick, if Signe had blinked she would have missed the man falling to the floor as he choked on his own blood. The man who had been so close to Uhtred fell to the floor, his arms falling above his head in exhaustion.

"Help him sister, please." Uhtred whispered, his voice unsure.

"Of course brother." Signe hummed, rubbing the man's shoulder as she motioned for Ragnar to come over to them. Ragnar was quick to take Signe's place and held up Uhtred as the woman scrambled to her feet. "Uhtred has asked that I take care of you." Signe spoke, forcing her voice to come out softly. She was sure that there had been enough yelling and harsh voices used over the past months to last him a lifetime. She had hoped to give him some peace in the time they would travel together. She slowly lowered herself to sit on her knees, almost like she was scared of scaring off rabbit in a hunt. "What is your name?" Signe asked quietly, her eyes scanning over the man as his head lulled to the side to meet her gaze.

"Finan, my Lady." He told her, the words harsh against his dry throat.

"Please, call me Singe, Finan." She told him, her hand catching the arm of a guard who was passing them. "Fetch some water so we can get Finan cleaned up." She told the man.

"Yes, Lady." The guard spoke quickly, scurrying away from the pair to do as the Dane had ordered. Signe pulled her waterskin from her belt, pulling out the cork and handing it over to Finan who had slowly sat up.

"Drink." She said sternly.

"Thank you, Lady." Signe rolled her eyes at the name, had she not just told him to call her by her name? The guard she had sent off to fetch water was now running back with a bucket in his hands. Water sloshed over the sides of the bucket, soaking the ground as he went. Singe was quick to take the bucket from the man, thanking him and sending him on his way once more.

Finan now handed the waterskin back to Signe, his hands shaking slightly as he did so. "Finan, would it be okay if I touched you?" Signe asked, her green eyes meeting Finan's brown ones. The man studied her silently for a moment, before slowly nodding his head. The man couldn't remember the last time he had been touched by a gentle hand. He was used to being on the receiving end of a whip or a hand, so her gentle touch almost scared him more. "Let's start slow, okay?" Singe hummed, feeling how his body would tense as she so much as untied the cloth that held back his hair. "We will tame this hair of yours for now. Perhaps tomorrow we will clean out your wounds."

"I would appreciate it, Lady." Signe nodded her head in agreement, she quite enjoyed the sound of his voice. The accent that laced it was heavy, and one that she knew well. Irish from Irland, she had spent years there with Ragnar and Brida before their imprisonment. Slowly, Singe moved so she sat behind Finan. It didn't take long for him to ease under her touch, the woman telling him everything she did before she executed the process. Every time she cupped water over his head, untangled a knot, and used her fingers to smooth back his hair, she told him every step. Signe replaced the old cloth he used to tie his hair back with a strip of leather she used to her own hair, securing it properly before smiling to herself. Finan was sitting with his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around his knees as she worked.

"Would you like to rest here for a while longer?" Signe asked quietly, now sitting with her knees pressed against the man's back to provide him with some support. Finan only nodded his head, breathing in the freedom that he was granted today. Signe watched as guards surrounded the bow of the ship, her eyebrows frowning when she noticed them untying a body. A chill ran through her body at the thought of such a brutal death.

"Halig." Signe looked down to the man who rested against her legs. "He was Uhtred's man." Finan told her, his voice full of remorse as he spoke. Signe recalled Jonis telling her that he sold off a Saxon man with Uhtred.

"Would you like to pay respects to him?" Signe asked, helping Finan stand to his feet when he agreed. "I will take you to Hild, she knew Halig as well. You two can pay your respects together."

"You're not coming?" Finan asked, taking the arm that Signe offered when he stumbled. The woman helped him walk towards the group that worked at digging a grave for the man. It wouldn't be much, but it was all they could do for him now.

"I think it would be better for those who knew him to say goodbye."

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Don't be a ghost reader guys! I love reading comments and would love to talk to you guys about your thoughts on this book so far <3