"I am Uhtred, son of Uhtred." "Lady Aethelflaed has followed her father's wishes and married." "Aethelred, the Lord of Mercia." "Bringing King Alfred's dream of an England ever closer." "Lord, love should be gentle and kind." "In a happier union, Father Beocca has married my sister, Thyra." "Excuse me, Lord Uhtred." "I am Osferth." "You are Alfred's bastard son." "After failing to convince me to join them, the Northmen brothers, Erik and Sigefrid, have taken the city of Lunden." "You say you are sworn, yet you float into Daneland and back again." "How am I to trust you?" "Alfred put Aethelred in command of his armies..." "Tomorrow we ride." "I would like you to travel with me." "To battle?" "And we were sent to take back the city but found not a soul." "If we wish, there is a way to raise the greatest army these shores have ever seen." "Lord!" "It's a signal that can be seen from a mile or more." " Thyra!" " Death is coming." "The forest!" "The forest!" "It's a trick, I know it." "And I fear terrible consequences." "Destiny is all." "No, no." "Please, God, let this not be true." "Thyra!" "Lady Aethelflaed!" "Thyra!" "Thyra!" "Please be alive, please be alive, please be alive." " Lady Aethelflaed!" " Thyra!" "Thyra, please!" "Thyra!" "Lady Aethelflaed!" "Not a single man left living." "Nor woman." "She is the daughter of King Alfred, they would not kill her." "They..." "They would not." "Thyra!" "Please." "Beocca!" "Beocca!" "Thyra!" "Beocca!" "Thyra!" "Beocca!" "Thyra!" "Beocca!" "I thought you were dead and I wanted to die!" "I thought you were dead." "I thought you were dead!" "Thyra?" "Thyra?" "Thyra, where is Aethelflaed?" "You will answer!" "Of course she will answer!" "I do not know." "Did they take her?" "!" "We ran and... then she was... gone." "We will continue the search, Lord." "They've taken her, they must have." "Why else abandon the city, why raid the camp?" "She is the daughter of the King." "They wouldn't dare." "We will scour the camp and beyond!" "We are looking for the Lady Aethelflaed!" "Where are you taking me?" "You have found your voice." "We're headed to Beamfleot." "And then?" "A ship?" "A cage?" "I'm still to decide." "I have given up Lunden for you." "Erik!" "How does she feel?" "Warm?" "Rich." "As she should." "She is our pathway to glory." "What will you say to Alfred?" "What can I tell him but the truth?" "He will ask why she was with you." "She should never have been there." "I am aware of that." "You say she insisted, begged." "You're so enthralled by your bride that you could not deny her." "And make myself appear weak?" "It is a choice, Lord, between appearing love-sick, or foolish." "Uhtred?" "Uhtred, where are you going?" "I'm going home to Coccham, where Alfred has asked me to remain!" "And where I left my wife." "But the King, he may need you." "The King, in his wisdom, has all but banished him, Father Beocca." "You should also raise the question of how the Northmen came to know of Aethelflaed's situation, of where she would be." "If you believe her to be alive, you will not abandon her." "You will not." "That is a fact." "So, what is the real reason we're travelling home to Coccham and not to Winchester?" "There's nothing to be said in Winchester." "I won't be part of a whispering court." "We will go when I have something to say, not before." " Sihtric." " Lord?" "Take Rypere there and go to Beamfleot." "That is where Erik and Sigefrid's fleet lie, that is where they'll be." "We are to spy?" "You're to confirm that Lady Aethelflaed is alive and how they're treating her." "Send Rypere back to me at Coccham." "You will remain there and, yes, you are to spy." "Sihtric, I will need to know every part of Beamfleot." "Every blade of grass that surrounds their fortress." "Yes, Lord." "See this?" "Warriors join us by the day." "With word of your capture, there will be more." "All waiting for war." "You have my thanks, Lady." "There will be many men inside." "They will want to get close to you, look you in the eye." "They'll want to frighten me." "They will." "What did I say?" "!" "I told you I would invite." "King Alfred's daughter, and she is here!" "I swear to the gods... that this prize will not be sold cheaply." "There will be wealth and glory for every man here." "It is the best we have." "These are my own men, they will watch you." "You will have a guard at all times." "You will be safe here." "And my companions, my servants, from the camp?" "Any woman who is not Aethelflaed will have been killed or claimed." "Claimed is most likely." "There's a bucket in the corner." "A royal bucket, no splinters." "Aethelred." "I was expecting a messenger, and not for days." "My news is too important to trust to a messenger." "Lunden has been reclaimed." "Praise God." "Not a single Northman has been left alive in the city... but this great victory has come at a significant cost." "It is the way of battle." "It concerns Aethelflaed, Lord." "What of her?" "We fear that she has been... taken." "We pray that is the outcome, Lord." "By the Northmen?" "Aethelflaed was with you?" "All the things they will do to her..." "She was there?" "You took my daughter into battle?" "There was no battle, Lord." "She was not part of the attacking army, Lord, of course not." " She was a good distance away." " But clearly not a safe distance." "Admittedly, I was weak, but she is headstrong and eager." "She asked to travel a part of the way..." "You are her husband." "She makes it difficult for me to refuse her." "Is she alive?" "Have you seen her alive?" "Answer me that." "She must be alive, Lord." "What reason would they have to kill her?" "But you do not know for certain?" "No." "How they knew she was with us, we do not know." "Uhtred believes they may have returned to Beamfleot." "He knows them well." "Uhtred has returned to Coccham, Lord." "He was following your earlier instructions, Lord." "After hearing of events and excuses... what I now require are facts." "I have men across the land." "I will send word and ask for word." "That is all I can do." "That is all we can do." "My dear." "Lord, you have my word!" "I shall recover her!" "Do you know what you've done?" "Possibly not, as you are as useless as you are arrogant." "I have done nothing but carry out the King's orders." "You have put at risk the entire kingdom!" "All kingdoms!" "You're a toad, a fool, an idiot with ambition far above your capability." "And if I can see this, be sure Alfred can see it." "You have made your position clear, Lord Odda." "We will forgive your insolence just this one..." "You will forgive me?" "!" "You will not address my lord in that manner!" "May I suggest that you take a wander for yet another cup of wine?" "Father Beocca, Steapa, come with me." "You will tell me every detail from the moment you left Winchester." "With me!" "Yes, Lord." ""Lunden has been reclaimed and not a single Northman"" ""has been left alive in the city."" "You began so well." "I will be reminding the King who it was who travelled into Daneland." "I will be reminding the King that your friend Uhtred has been called King of Mercia, and I shall remind him how fond you are of his seat." "Do that." "But allow me to remind you of this-the only man capable of cleaning up this puddle of shit is the man you are desperate to blame." "Uhtred..." "King of Mercia." "What is on your mind?" "I am thinking of Aethelflaed." "If she lives, you will be her hope." "Alfred is her father." "YOU will be her hope, Uhtred of Bebbenberg." "It should not be for you to resolve, but you will do it." "By sending Sihtric, you have already begun." "Stay with me." "No, I am hungry!" "I will help you." "No, I'm doing it!" "I think I have something!" "Supper at last!" "He's a sea monster!" "Lord." "You said I should find you." " Who are you?" " He's Alfred's bastard." "I am called Osferth, Lady." "I am simply called Osferth." "Every person in every town has been instructed to pray, that she is alive and kept well." "Then, she will surely be alive, kept well, and will be free in no time." "All right, say goodnight." "You do not believe, Lord?" "I believe... but in the true gods." "And in fate." "You wish to serve a heathen, Osferth?" "God is in all good men, Lady." "And my Uncle Leofric told me often that your husband is a good man." "A great man." "He said that?" "Yes, he did, Lord." "And yet this good man here will let you join him for one reason only." "To embarrass Alfred." "It's true." "That may be the reason you allow me to join you, Lord, but I will give you reason to let me stay." "You have been brought here by fate, Osferth." "If all they have in Winchester is prayer, then they will need something more." " We will go to Winchester." " We will not." "This is what you want to do, so why be childish about it?" "We will go when I have news... from Beamfleot." "My men tell me you are refusing to eat." "I am." "I would like to wash." "You have a bowl, you have water." "I would like to bathe!" "I would like to breathe cool air." "I am beginning to feel sickly." "My brother suggested you bathe inside a barrel in full view of all men." "Lady..." "I will arrange for you to bathe with privacy, but in return you must eat the food we provide." "Very well." "Agreed." "Thank you." "I feel she is alive, in my heart, but what might they do to her?" "She has her mother's courage, and that is the very reason that she will survive this ordeal." "Lord King, although I would usually prefer him miles away at Coccham... would it now be appropriate to recall Uhtred to Winchester?" " I accept that he will never know God..." " I cannot." "But if you would send him to Beamfleot, if she saw him..." "You know that I cannot." "Perhaps her spirit would rise." "She believes in him." "Our belief is in God, in prayer." "It is." "I will leave you to your letters." "We have our proof, Rypere, you will go to Uhtred." "Now!" "Why so many guards?" "Are you afraid of me?" "You're a prize, Lady." "Even when unwashed." "She's the daughter of a King, you will all turn away!" "Show her the backs of your heads!" "Lord, where is the harm in looking?" "The back of your heads!" "You were right, Lord..." " she has beauty." " She does." "More than that, she's worth ten times her weight in gold and silver." "I'm thinking we should fatten her." "Does this game have a name?" "Stones." "And why's it called that?" "It's Rypere." " He must have news from Beamfleot." " I'll go and tell Uhtred." "Uhtred!" "Uhtred!" "Uhtred!" "Lord, if the Northmen from Beamfleot are now raiding into." "Mercia to feed their army, how long before they come to Wessex?" "Is it not time to consider raising the fyrds?" "Aethelwold, as you have no estate, it is not your place to talk of raising fyrds." "As for the ealdormen with estate... for each of you there is a harvest to be gathered." "This must be done quickly and stored within the nearest burh, it must be protected." "Should they raid, we shall not be overrun and importantly we shall not feed them so much as a single grain." "Wessex is fortified." "Once the harvest is gathered, the fighting men of the fyrds shall be free of labour, should they be required." "Should they be required, Lord?" "!" "Mercia requires them now." "The heathen must be dealt with!" "The heathen hold a hostage, Lord Selwine." "Would you have the Lady Aethelflaed killed?" "Lord King, I do not wish to cause distress, but if the lady was in fact alive, surely they would have made clear their demands?" "They want us supplicant, Selwine, they want us afraid." "They do not know of our faith, Lord." "Father Pyrlig?" "Excuse me, Lord, but Uhtred of this parish is here." "He is asking to attend." "Can he be trusted?" "Lord?" "Are we sure of Uhtred's position?" "Lord Uhtred's position is that of an ealdorman of Wessex." "Lord, it is my own view that he should be admitted." "And mine." "Allow him in." "Lord King?" " The Ealdorman Uhtred may join the Witan." " Yes, Lord." "Lord." "Lady Aelswith." "I am here with news of Aethelflaed." "From the Northmen?" "From my own spies, who sleep within the walls of Beamfleot." "Lord, Aethelflaed is alive." "My men have seen her with their own eyes." " Praise Him." " Praise Him to the heavens." "Then, why have they not made clear their demands?" "They've been spreading news of their hostage, Lord." "Boasting?" "About seizing a woman?" "Boasting of the great army they will raise with the ransom." "This is what I fear, Lord." "No man in this hall should be in any doubt, when their demands arrive, they will be considerable." "As will be the consequences." "Of course, they will make outrageous demands." "That is the purpose of strong negotiation - to ensure there is agreement." "You intend to negotiate, Lord?" "I intend to recover my daughter." "Regardless of the price, Lord?" "Mercia is not a land of plenty-far from it." "Wessex shall pay its share of silver and, if necessary, its share of blood!" "I will do what needs to be done." "If that means negotiation, then I will negotiate." "Lord, I would advise that you don't attend the negotiations." "The presence of the King and father would only serve to increase" " their price." " But if not the King, then who?" "There will be silence!" "Aethelred?" " Yes, Lord?" " It must be you." "This is for Mercia to resolve." "You must go to Beamfleot." "Of course, Lord." "And a representative of Wessex, Lord, as the burden of your daughter is to be shared between the two kingdoms." "I will suggest that the Lord Uhtred represents Wessex." "Agreed." "Forgive me, Lord, but I do believe he is your only choice." "Lord?" "Uhtred, you will accompany Aethelred." "I will do all I can, Lord." "Lady." "Uhtred." "Uhtred, forgive me, but I have asked the King to excuse me from this journey to Beamfleot." "For my sins, God has always placed me at your side." "And I feel... shame for abandoning you." "No, Beocca, your place is in Winchester with Thyra." "Bless you." "Uhtred, you have given me so much, but giving me the courage to approach Thyra-that was your greatest gift." "I will be in your prayers, no doubt." "Perhaps." "Always." "Say it's mine!" "My men are restless." "Hunting is not enough." "I may go across the river, spill a little blood." "Across the river is Wessex." "Then, if I see Alfred, I will tell him that my brother is humping his daughter." "I can see that you like her." "I would like to ride her, yes." "Then, ride her." "One tiny cock isn't going to hurt her." "Haesten, what are you doing?" "Shut your mouth, Dagfinn." "You saw nothing." "What do you want?" "What do I want?" "I'm here to remind you that you're a woman and a hostage." "I like the paleness of your skin." "Show me." "Take off your clothes." "Does the Lord Erik know that you're here?" "It was the Lord Erik that sent me." "Now, remove your clothes or I will rip them from you!" "Dagfinn, hold her!" "Get up!" "GET UP!" "Lord, she's a hostage!" "Get up onto your feet." " She is a hostage." " She is precious." "She's of value!" "Release her." "Leave us!" "All of you!" "This should not have happened, and it will not happen again." "My apologies." "My apologies." "It is not the first time a man has mistreated me." "Who else?" "Not here." "Before here." "Now I know what to do should it happen again." "I will use my night bucket and a knife." "You should." "You are precious, Lady." "Sleep well." "Safely." "Odda." "It is late." "I was about to sit, contemplate." "As is your habit, Lord." "I have been waiting for you." "Lord, I hope you will forgive me for what I'm about to say." "My intentions are for Wessex, for the hope of an England." "You spoke of paying for Aethelflaed's release in one of two ways-with silver, or with blood." "I did." "There is a third way." "Should the ransom be too great, should the likely loss of men be too great, should Wessex wish to emerge with honour," "Lord, and greater strength... then should she not be encouraged to take her own life?" "For the good of the kingdom." "Some might say it would mean martyrdom." "I hear you, Odda." "I'm glad you feel able to proffer this advice." "Now, I wish to sit." "You will leave me." "Lord..." "Look around you, see the sacrifice that has been made." "Hundreds upon hundreds of men, women and children have given their lives for what we now have..." "They have GIVEN their lives, Odda, they did not TAKE their lives." "And there will be reward in heaven for each and every soul, that is what we believe, is it not?" "That is what I say, Lord, there will be reward enough, in heaven." "You are a king before you are a father." "I know my place!" "Now you will leave me." "Lord." "I thought you'd like to breathe the night's air." "Thank you." "I was born on a night of a whole moon." "My father wanted to call me Mani, after the moon god." "But Mani is chased each night across the sky by Hati the wolf." "My mother did not want me to be chased by wolves." "I saw the moon, the clear sky and I wanted to share it." "I'm glad you thought of me." "It was either share it with you or with my brother." "The choice was difficult, I admit!" "I have never seen a face like this before." "Now I see it, even when I close my eyes." "Your husband is a fortunate man." "My husband does not see me." "Then, he's blind or stupid." "He is not blind." "And he is not gentle, I would guess." "He is the one who mistreats you?" "He is not the man I would choose to be with." "You." "You!" "Aethelwold." "Odda, you are drunk." "I sincerely hope so, I can barely see." "At your age, it is not good for you." "What is your opinion on paying a ransom for Aethelflaed?" "Do you have an opinion?" "Not one I am prepared to say aloud." "Is there much, or any, of your father in you?" " The king past?" " I'm disappointed you need to ask." "I have both my father's blood and spirit, the Danes know it." "Even the dead know it." "I am becoming more like him by the day-observe the clean tunic." "He was a great man." "He was my great friend." "If you are indeed his son, I may need you." "You may need me for what?" "I believe you need your bed, Lord." "And a pillow." "You should employ a craftsman to fit a spoon in place of the blade." "The leaves are falling." "I want the ransom paid in full by winter, an army by spring." "A king's crown by summer." "They will want the same, answers by winter." "How does she ride?" "You wouldn't like her-she's bony and she squeals." "She passes the time." "And if you put a pup in her belly?" "Then, Alfred will get two for the price of one." "And Viking blood to strengthen his line?" "What will happen when we reach Beamfleot?" "Will there be a ritual, a toast, a meal?" "There will be a heathen sacrifice the youngest member of the visiting party will be split with an axe." "They will want to humiliate us." "In what way?" "An insult, a challenge." "Why" " Because they can." "Haesten." "We're travelling to Beamfleot." "For Alfred?" "For Alfred, yes." "I am here to take you on to the fortress, Lord." "You and two others." "I will travel with half my number, no less." "Agreed." "The Lady Aethelflaed?" "She is well?" "There'll be no negotiation until I have seen her!" "She is well." "My Lord Erik sees that she is most content, Lord." " Ride on and we'll follow." " You will not be needing horses." "Lord, I have a question." "What is it we want from this meeting?" "You have to ask?" "What we want is to free Aethelflaed." "And if instead, what transpired was war-what then?" "It is a question, Lord, that is all." "I would be without a wife, no doubt, as that would be the cause of war." "War will occur regardless, that is certain." "The only change that there can be is the size of the army that we will face across the field." "We will be ready." "But what is it we want?" "Alfred wants his daughter, that is plain, but is that best for Mercia?" "Is that best for Aethelred," "Lord of Mercia, and Lunden, and more, perhaps?" "My advice to you, Lord, is rescue her by all means, but not at a price that will cut our throats." "You will all kneel." "We will not." "We have come here in peace and as equals." "You've made us walk a good distance to meet you." "That is respect enough." "You should have joined me, Uhtred." "If you wished me to join you, why have a dead man tell a prophecy?" "Why didn't you simply ask?" "Me, you would refuse, but the gods?" "The King of Wessex sends his greetings." "He hopes you have enjoyed the company of his daughter." "Enjoyed her?" "She's not his favourite." "Why else would he have allowed her to marry the pig's arse" " standing behind me?" " Before any negotiations take place, the pig's arse wishes to be certain that his wife is well." "And if she's not well?" "What then?" "What will the pig's arse do?" "Fart?" "Will you fight me?" "Will you fight my brother?" "I would like that." "You alone will kneel." " I will not." " Kneel!" "I have come to negotiate." "I demand respect." "If you do not wish to hear my price, then I will leave!" "Happily!" "Aethelflaed." "As you can see, she is well." "I would like to speak with her." "Then, do it." "They are treating you well?" "They are." "You have not been... touched?" "I have not." "What I must now do is secure an acceptable price for your release." "There will be word games played, do not be alarmed by what I may say." "I assure you, once this is over, they shall pay for what they have done to us all." "Thank you, Lord." "What is your price?" "It must be fair, or you can keep her." "You talk of your woman like you do not care." "She is important to me, of course, but she has a price, beyond which I cannot go." "I will not go." "Then name it." "Name this price." "100lb weight of silver." "My lands can afford no more." "Does this man speak for Alfred?" "He does not." "Weland!" "Where is Weland?" "!" "I do not see him." "Weland!" "Weland!" "Weland." "This man here..." "Hit him." "She is a daughter, not a son." "Unloved and, in truth, banished to Mercia to spend her life being humped by her husband, whom you have so generously put to bed." "But like her husband, Alfred's not minded to pay a great sum." "Alfred's price is what?" "Say it!" "I will." "Separate from the 100lb weight of silver offered by her husband," "Alfred will add another..." "200lb weight of silver." "300lb in total." "A good price." "The daughter of a Frankish king was once bargained for a similar price." " Pyrlig?" " This is true, Lord, it is a good price." "No, no, no, no, no, no, no." "No, Alfred is not a Frankish king and it is not a good price." "I say it's a good price." "Like the pig's arse, you have farted." "Yes!" "And it stinks, by the gods does it stink." "Open the doors." "It is a good price?" " I think it's a good price." " You insult me!" "If Alfred is minded to offer so little, then I am minded to bring her into this hall and allow each man here take his turn!" "I swear she will be tied to a cart and she will travel the kingdoms." "Is that what you want," "Saxon?" "Do not insult me." " I'm not insulting you." " Do not." "The King has given me some discretion to increase the price." "What a surprise!" "So, say it." "Lord, if I may, and to save both time and ink, perhaps YOU might name a price?" "An acceptable price, not an impossible price." "Say it." "10,000lb weight of silver and 1,000lb weight of gold." "Delivered by Alfred himself." "Of course." "And he shall arrive with a stoat upon his head and an apple in his mouth." "With respect, Sigefrid, you fart louder and longer than the pig's arse and I together." "I need to take a piss." "It's going to be a long day." "Aethelred, Lord of Mercia!" "If your jaw is not broken, join us!" "Eat." "Yes." "I will." "I would enjoy that." "Business is done." "Done?" "!" "A bargain has been made, and not a good one." "Say nothing." "Uhtred and Father Pyrlig have gone to see how your lady is, Lord." " Then I will go to her." " No!" "You will wait here." "You will sit... with me." "To silver and gold." "And lots of it, Lord." "Drink." "She's praying." "Give her time with the priest and then you will see her." "26 ships." "By the next moon there will be more." "And more still, the moon after." "Alfred will pay for his own destruction." "You should not underestimate Alfred of Wessex." "Never." "But he will pay what you have agreed?" "He will." "Even for an unloved daughter?" "Alfred is suffering." "He loves her dearly." "Her husband does not." "I was surprised at your anger towards Aethelred." "What purpose did it serve?" "It was a mistake." "It was." "You made it clear that you care for her." "I cannot let her go." "I cannot give her up." "We have just settled on a price, there is agreement." "With my brother." " Lord Uhtred." " Lady." "Your father sends his affection." "He will be sleeping at the altar, I'm sure." "I have arranged your release." "You will soon be coming home." "Have you spoken with Erik?" "I have." "What has he told you?" "Lady, he's a Northman and a pagan." "He is a pagan as YOU are a pagan." "Any hope that you have of a life together is nonsense." " It will fail!" " It will not." "Merely because it's what you wish for?" "Lady, it can never happen." " Well, it must." " What of your husband?" "I will not talk of my husband." "I do not care for him." " And I will never care for him." " But he will not stand by." "I do not care." "Sigefrid will not stand by, and your father will not stand by!" " You will lose your entire family!" " I will make a family." "We will make a family, Erik and I." "And they will die!" "As you will die." "In a fire, at the tip of a sword..." "Then, I will die happily." "Aethelflaed, hear me." "There will be no rest." " None." " A life with Erik is what I want." "It is best for me and it is best for Wessex." "I can say this to no-one but you." "I can ask no-one but you." "Will you help us escape?" "Lady, I am sworn to your father." "If I help you and succeed, he'll have me killed, but more than that, you are asking me to sanction your own death." "No, what I am asking is for you to allow me to live!" "I will not be the treasure that builds an army against my father." "That will not happen." "Never." "I will leave this place with Erik or I will not leave at all." "Uhtred, I am asking you to save my life and with it the nations of Wessex and Mercia." "Will you help me?" "Please?"