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Chapter One: The Future Begins Now

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Life in the nunnery was somewhat slow. Eawynn was able to make her prayers every morning before sunrise, just in time to pick the wild berries that grew by the stream in front of the abbey. Eawynn was grateful to have Gisela by her side, the playful banter between them and being able to learn about Gisela's Danish culture certainly kept Eawynn on her toes.

She had been raised to fear the Danes – not befriend them. Gisela was different, though. And from what she told her about her beloved, Uhtred, he was different too.

But Uhtred was lost. Not just lost in a physical sense but he was lost to Gisela in every other way. Sold into slavery and Gisela had every right to believe that he was dead. His once beautiful face surely rotting down in a ditch when he was of no more use to his slaver.

"Eawynn."

Gisela was standing in the back of the kitchen, plucking the small round blue fruit from the stem, and tossing it into the bowl that was nestled safely on the chopping block before her.

"Yes?"

Eawynn was busying herself with the bread, wrapping the freshly baked rolls in cloth before looking over at Gisela with a smile.

"Do you think we will live out the rest of our lives here?"

At the suddenly serious question Gisela proposed to her, Eawynn scrunched her nose. She honestly did not want to think about it. She was terrified that, even if they both wanted something different, that they would end up living out their lives here. Atleast until the Danes invaded the land nearby. And with that thought, Eawynn shook her head and leaned against the side of the table Gisela was working at.

"Do you want my honest response?" Eawynn reached over and tugged a berry from the stem to toss into her mouth.

"Yes, I always want your honest answer, Wynn."

Eawynn couldn't help but smile fondly at the use of Gisela's nickname for her. "Yes. I think that we may end up dying here."

Gisela rolled her eyes, reaching over to playfully smack Eawynn's arm. "You'll do no such thing as talk of death."

"I did not say it would happen soon. I am almost certain that I will be looking at these same four walls when I take my last breath." Her fingers reached up to gently brush against the cross hanging around her neck. This was the only earthly possession she had left that belonged to her mother. The only thing that she could physically touch and magically – metaphorically speaking – be transported to a time where she was in the meadows with her mother.

Gisela went to open her mouth to respond before they were instantly hushed by the other sisters. There were new voices joining the air around them and Gisela's eyes widened in fear. Were these the voices of the men who served her brother Guthred? Was she finally being dragged back to being forced into a political marriage? That was certainly not what she wanted or how she thought her day would go.

Eawynn gave Gisela's hand a gentle squeeze before she picked up the freshly baked bread and walked out with her head down to assist in providing the food to the men. She listened intently, remained silent, and tried her best to get a good look at their faces without making eye contact.

"Girl." The one man spoke up, reaching out to grab onto her wrist. She groaned slightly at the unwanted touch before looking up. "Have you had any travelers?"

"Traders and the like, but that is all." Eawynn spoke softly, her eyes searching his before she looked back down at where his dirty hand was wrapped around her wrist.

"I'm not sure who taught you to lie, girl, but you are not very good at it." The man spoke again, a laugh escaping his lips as he stood abruptly.

There were two other men with him and within the blink of an eye, they had walked past the partition and found Gisela. Roughly pulling her out from behind the wall, Gisela made eye contact with Eawynn. The look in her eyes screamed for Eawynn to not speak a word on her behalf, but Gisela knew better.

"Unhand my lady at once." Eawynn glared, fire behind her eyes as she moved to try and weave her way between Gisela and the man holding onto her arm. It was no use, of course, Eawynn was not strong enough. And she was just a woman. A girl, really.

"Silence!" Abbot Eadred's voice echoed loudly. "You," he turned away from Eawynn and stared down at Gisela. "You will be married. Immediately."

Everything had happened so quickly that Eawynn was not even sure if she was still conscious or if she was dreaming. The man, who she know knew as Abbot Eadred, was rushing through a wedding ceremony with one of his poor men, Aidan, to stand in place of Lord Aelfric of Bebbanburg.

"No! Stop this madness!" Eawynn cried out. Her hands were clutching the forearm of the man who stood beside her, gripping up the back of her dress roughly.

"Brother Trew, shut that girl's mouth! I beg of you!" Abbot Eadred groaned out of annoyance.

Eawynn was about to continue her incessant screeching – she could sense that it was starting to bother Abbot Eadred, as well as Brother Trew – but she was interrupted as the large wooden doors burst open. Three men and a woman, Eawynn noted that she was an abbess but one look at her side she noticed the sword and raised a brow in confusion. In her eighteen years of life, each new year feeling longer than the last, Eawynn had never see an abbess with a sword.

"Uhtred!" Gisela cried. The tears that now streamed down her cheeks were those of happiness and relief.

Eawynn was still being gripped up by Brother Trew but the moment the blonde-haired Dane took a step towards them, he released the back of her dress and flung her forward before taking his place behind Abbot Eadred. The dark-haired girl could barely focus on what was happening around her. She was feeling extremely overwhelmed at the men yelling at one another. The loud shrieks of anger brought her back to the last time she was with her father – when he beat her senseless after she refused to whore herself so that he could line his pockets with silver.

She landed roughly on her hands and knees and let out a huff of anger. She was pulled up by the blonde-haired Dane and she immediately shrunk back in fear. She did not know this man, and although he traveled with Gisela's love, Uhtred, she was still unsure.

"You alright, sister?" he asked in a rough voice, his bright eyes piercing into hers before he took a step back to get a better look at her.

"She don't look like a nun to me." The dark-haired bearded man behind him spoke up. Eawynn could tell instantly from his accent that he was not from around here. Irland, most likely. She thought this was the most excitement she has ever had, meeting all these new people all in the same sitting.

Hearing the true abbess, the one wielding a sword, speak to her brought her back down to reality.

Eawynn was about to speak back, about to tell them that she was just a runaway girl and not a woman of God before she heard Uhtred's voice continue to rise in anger.

"Say it again, priest."

Eawynn turned and made eye contact with Gisela. The older woman nodded and continued holding onto Uhtred's arm.

"She is married."

In the blink of an eye, Uhtred unsheathed his sword and stabbed it completely through Abott Eadred's stomach. Eawynn gasped loudly, her small hands moving to cover her mouth as she watched in horror. This behavior was what she expected from a Dane, and it pained her to know that it was from the man Gisela loved.

Her brown eyes were wide with horror, but she could not take her eyes off the blood dripping from the wound and from his mouth the moment Uhtred pulled his sword free. The sound of blood spurting out, flesh tearing, and groans of pain leading to death, sent chills down her spine. She remained frozen in place as Uhtred told the scrawny man, who was called Aidan, to run back to Bebbanburg and tell his Uncle Aelfric that his wife was going to be sleeping in his bed.

Eawynn blushed at Uhtred's crude words, her hands grasping together tightly in front of her as she watched them stalk off, back out the door.

"Sorry about the mess, sister." The Irishman spoke up, one hand remained on the hilt of his sword by his side while the other clutched the cross hanging around his neck.

Blinking to free herself from the confusion, Eawynn turned towards the voice. "Oh," she laughed and shook her head. "I'm not a nun."

"Aye?" The Irishman smirked a bit but was brought out of his gaze as the blonde-haired Dane grabbed his shoulder.

"Time to go, Finan." He spoke with a nod. His bright eyes turned their attention back to Eawynn before he turned to head back out of the nunnery.

Finan left without another word, leaving Eawynn standing there in silence. She looked around at the destruction that was left behind before picking up her skirts and rushing through the threshold, down the stone stairs and into the clearing.

"Gisela!" she called, making her way to the woman who was in a tight embrace with Uhtred.

"Uhtred," Gisela smiled warmly, leaving her lover's embrace to take hold of Eawynn's hands. "This is Lady Eawynn." She let go of one hand, though kept a protective grip on the other.

Uhtred bowed forward just a bit, showing respect to the young girl. "Lady Eawynn, a pleasure."

"Thank you, my lord. It's a pleasure to finally meet the man my dear Gisela has never stopped talking about." Eawynn giggled softly, showing off her childishness before reeling herself back in.

"Good things, I hope." Uhtred countered.

"Of course, my lord. Nothing but good things. Great, even." Eawynn nodded.

Gisela explained Eawynn's situation, causing a blush to rise on her cheeks at the revelation that her dreadful father wanting her to whore herself out for coin. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip and looked down at her feet, the thin wrappings around her feet – something she was still not accustomed to – now dirty with the mud she stood in.

"I want her to come with us. This place is not a home. Not for a young girl like her, Uhtred." Gisela begged him, for which Eawynn was grateful. She had come to truly love and care for Gisela and she knew Gisela felt the same. Eawynn needed this motherly figure in her life, never having one to begin with.

She grew for eighteen years without the warmth of a mother's touch or love and had no appropriate womanly figure to look up to and learn from. Eawynn knew nothing of being a woman but had started to learn from her short time with Gisela. It was silly, but it was important. Atleast to Eawynn.

"Your father?" Uhtred spoke, his attention directed towards Eawynn. "Will he come look for you?"

Eawynn sighed. "To be quite honest, my lord, I don't know. He has not come this way since my arrival. I left after he beat me in the middle of the night."

Finan grunted at the thought. It was obvious that the Irishman had a distaste for men who treated women badly.

"If he does, we will be ready for him." Uhtred moved to rest a hand on Eawynn's upper arm before sliding it up and squeezing her shoulder. "If Gisela thinks you are family, then family you are. You will have a place in my household. Always."

Eawynn felt an instant release of pressure in her chest. She didn't even realize her hands were trembling out of fear before Gisela took her hands and brought her into a warm hug. "I told you he was a good man, Wynn." Gisela whispered, kissing the girl's forehead before releasing her.

"We ride to Winchester." Uhtred helped Gisela up onto her own horse before turning to look at Eawynn. "Finan, can the lady ride with you?"

Eawynn glanced at the Irishman and was glad it was him and not the large blonde-haired Dane, whom she now knew was Uhtred's brother, Ragnar. Although he was nice to her, she was terrified of him. The Irishman, atleast, was a Christian. They had the same God, and his people were not known for raping and pillaging villages. One day she would not be so quick to judge others, but alas... that day was not today.

"Aye, my lord, she can." Finan, and without warning, hoisted Eawynn up onto the horse before getting on after. "If I were you, I'd hold on tight, lass."

Eawynn let out a gasp as he kicked the sides of his horse, speeding off to catch up to the others in their group. Instinctively her arms wrapped around him tightly, pressing her cheek into his back as the wind whipped through her hair.

After all this time, she thought that the day she entered the nunnery was the start of her future. She was entirely wrong in thinking such a thing. Never having been this close to a man before, Eawynn was glad that she was behind him and everyone else so that they could not see her red cheeks.

This moment right here – the sudden sense of real freedom she was feeling – was the start of her future. She could feel it.