"You are a lady," Finan repeated again, a frown forming on his lips. "And I am no lord." He pulled away from her again, brushing past her to occupy himself with looking at the well that was in the center of the courtyard.
"You do not need to be a l...
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─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆. ─── Chapter Fifteen: Your Time Is Up ─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆. ───
It took a lot of begging, but Uhtred finally agreed for Sihtric to train Eawynn. She was fuming when he first said no, and she went back to him every day for a full month. So finally on the thirty-first day of asking Uhtred for his blessing - he agreed.
"The first sign of you not being strong enough to handle this it will end. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord." Eawynn bowed her head slowly, though she could barely contain the excitement coursing through her. She looked up and met Gisela's eyes, a small smile appearing on the older woman's lips as she placed a hand on her husbands shoulder. Eawynn turned on her heel and rushed out of the hall to go find Finan, Sihtric, and Osferth.
"My love, Wynn is stronger than you all give her credit for."
"I know that." Uhtred replied with a smirk, "But I do not want her to know that."
"Don't be foolish!" Gisela laughed and kissed her husbands cheek gently.
"Are you ready for a new training partner, Osferth?" Eawynn grabbed one of the wooden swords with a large grin.
Finan sighed from his spot on the bale of hay. "You finally wore our Lord down, I see."
"I did. No thanks to you." Eawynn mumbled, glaring at the Irishman before she turned back around and smiled up at Osferth.
"I-I do not want to hurt you, lady." Osferth explained, holding the sword by his side.
"You won't hurt me." Eawynn replied quickly, looking over at Sihtric. He started laughing and curled himself forward with his arms hugging his stomach.
"What is so funny?" Eawynn was back to glaring again.
"You are adorable when you are excited. Adorable but childlike." Sihtric replied once he gathered himself from reeling in his laughter.
"This is going to be fun."
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆. ───
Training with Osferth and Sihtric brought to life muscles in her body that she did not even know existed. She was up before everyone, even Osferth, which was a surprise, and was always impatiently waiting for the men to make it to the training yard. Gisela was almost at the end of her third pregnancy now, and Eawynn knew the men were heading out somewhere new - leaving her behind.
"Do ya ever sleep?" Finan groaned, rubbing his face with both hands as he stepped further into the fresh sunlight streaming through the clouds.
"I do. But the difference between us is that I do not spend my nights drinking my body weight in ale and trying to get the whores to sit on my lap." Eawynn smirked, glancing up at him quickly before she turned back around and started fidgeting with the tunic Hild had given to her. This was the first time she was wearing it and she felt extremely out of place.
