War and Fire

- Chapter Six -

For Odetta, the days felt long. Longer than most, and rather quiet since the men had left.

The weather had suddenly turned harsh. The sky turned grey, and gloomy, and the air felt damp.
The rain had come down hard for the first time in a couple of months. The ground had become thick with mud, making it difficult to walk through. And water had started to pool.

Odetta both loved and hated this type of weather.

She prefers lighter rain to this heavy rain they had received overnight

A month had passed since the men had left with the horses. They received word from Uhtred that they had completed what needed to be done and would be coming back by the end of the week. Relief filled both Odetta and Gisela.

Their boys were coming home.

In his message, he noted they would be staying a night or two in Winchester, and Odetta agreed to stay and watch the children so Gisela could go be with her husband. When she left, the weather started to clear, but the mud was still there, which had annoyed her whenever she had gotten it on her clean dress.  

The following morning had come. Odetta had been awoken by her nephew, who had begun to climb up onto her bed. The sun had yet to rise. Young Uhtred once calmed down, shifted his body down, and crawled underneath the cover, laying his small body next to Odetta, who opened her arms to give the boy what he wished.

Cuddles.

It was clear that this sweet little boy missed his mother and father.

"Good morning, darling boy," she says, still half asleep

"Auntie Ottie, when are mama and papa coming home?" The young boy inquires

Odetta kisses the top of his head and says softly, "Soon, my sweet boy." She signs, "So will uncle Finan, uncle Sihtric, and uncle Osferth too?" she continues

"I miss them, auntie Ottie"

"I miss them, too"

——

The sun had now risen; everyone was fed and dressed. It was mid-afternoon, and Uhtred was playing on the floor by the fireplace while Storria, who was almost a year old, bounced happily up and down in Odetta's hands, giggling away. Odetta made sure the kids were dressed warmly since the weather was a little chilly that day. A few hours passed, and the children had turned restless, so Odetta put them down for their naps and quickly went to the fields to pick some new, fresh flowers for the house.

She returned home and read by the fireplace until the children had awoken. It was not too long after when she was met with the giggles of her nephew. Odetta knew he was awake and went upstairs into the nursery and checked on her niece, who was smiling up at her.
She brought both of the children downstairs and prepared them a small snack and a drink.

Two hours had passed, and the silence was broken by the sound of horses' hooves on gravel. Gathering up the children from their toys, she ran towards the window, lifting each of the children up so that they may have a look at what was happening.

And true enough, they'd returned.

Their boys were home at last.

"Come Uhtred, your mama is home, let's go see them" she says taking the young boys hand in hers

They walked down the path leading from the door, and as soon as Uhtred saw his mother, he let go of Odetta's hand and raced towards the open arms of his mother, who was standing by her husband. She picked up her son and kissed him all over his face. Odetta smiled at the sight and placed her niece in the arms of her father.