Part 1: “Here come bad ones to complicate you” Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Relationships: Finan (The Last Kingdom)/Original Female Character(s), Uhtred of Bebbanburg/Original Female Character(s), Gisela/Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Ealhswith/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom), Gisela/Uhtred of Bebbanburg/Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Hurt/Comfort, Forced Marriage, Pregnancy, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Romance, Canonical Character Death Summary: Following sisters Hranni and Katla Hrodstaeinnsdottir as they unwittingly become embedded in the politics and wars of everchanging borders following Uhtred. This entangling starts after their abduction by Kjartan the Cruel. The younger sister Katla was forced into marriage with Kjartan the Cruel, while her now widowed-elder sister plans to make an escape with the help of a bastard after hearing rumors of someone whose need for revenge matches her own. Next Part Read on ao3
Hranni had tried to run with her little sister, Katla, when Kjartan the Cruel and his men decided to spite the deal he had made with her father, Hrodstaeinn. In exchange for lending him his men, Kjartan would leave them be. It was a fine deal until Kjartan had set eyes on Katla. She was a charming little girl, clever and hair spun like gold with the promise of great beauty in her plump little face at the age of fourteen. Hranni herself had already been married for years, but the old man she was asked to call husband as was her duty did not disturb her life much.
Despite being a mere three years her senior, Hranni doted on Katla. When their father had refused to hand her over peacefully to Kjartan, in a vain attempt to shield her from the horror yet to come, Hranni had covered her eyes as in that instance Kjartan ran his sword through their unsuspecting father who fell in an instant.
She meant to run, but the screaming came as her household's guards streamed forward to their inevitable demise and the woman and children of her village tried to flee. Her feet were rooted to the ground as she stared at the now lifeless corpse of her father. Katla tugged her hand and that was when reality flooded back in and she squeezed her hand back.
"We must run." She whispered in shock and bolted with Katla around the hall to a part of the wall she knew they could sneak through, but one of Kjartan's men was blocking their path. He cut down the guard that was engaged with him with ease, ax dripping blood as he turned to face the girls.
Hranni lunged for the small blade she kept in her boot, and the man swung with the flat of the axehead at her torso. She ducked backward and pushed Katla to the side as she freed the blade and focused on the man. Pity she was in a dress, her movement hindered severely as she faced away from the man as he swung again. On his backswing, she deftly jabbed forward to cut the inside of his elbow where his armor split and he dropped the arm in pain. She rushed him, knowing the opportunity, and threw herself on him as she brought the knife down repeatedly into his neck.
As quickly as the man died, she turned to her sister only to find the frightened girl with a blade to her throat by none other than Kjartan himself.
"You'll pay for that. Shame you're married, some of my men would have loved to keep you," he smiled ruefully and twisted a hand in Katla's hair. "But I suppose they can have you anyway. You're not the prize here."
And that had been that. The two girls were led out of the dying village. Hranni's wrists were tied the whole way to Dunholm and she did not spy her sister the entire journey.
Dunholm is where the pain set in. Thinking back on that first day brought nothing besides the idle thought she should have killed Katla to spare her this torment.
Hranni lived in a dank and dark cell now, visited near daily by the warriors of Kjartan and with the only light being a window at ground level to the earth outside where all she could see were the feet of passersby. She was permitted food twice a day, a dip in the river once a week, and a bed of molding straw. That was all Dunholm offered to her.
Her long black hair fell to the side as she undid her braid to comb her fingers through it, no matter how she tried her hair never remained free of knots and grime.
The sun had just risen, and the frenzied movement in the courtyard signaled the time she prepared for every day since she was first thrown away down there. She heard the heavy door to whatever crypt she was kept in open, light flooding in as the only respite from her hell walked in with bread, ale, and water.
"Sihtric!"
The boy her age was the only one to visit that refused to touch her. A group of older men once tossed him in here and locked the both of them up for two days after they learned he was sneaking food to her through her small window grate. Little did they know, the time spent together allowed Hranni to not only befriend him, but begin to foment her plan with the cautious bastard. She was fond of him, and he of her.
"What news?" She asked and stood to greet him. He unlocked her cell and entered to set the food down. His eyes betrayed the fear of the plan she spent weeks trying to convince him of.
"They say we're leaving to find Uhtred and bring him back this evening, Kjartan is going mad thinking about him. I don't think anyone will notice you tonight." He said.
She thought carefully as he spoke. Escape tonight, leave with Sihtric, and pray to the gods they find Uhtred first. It is a shit plan, she thought and gnawed her lip in worry.
"It is all we can do. It is what we must do." She said, more for his benefit. He was reluctant to execute a daring escape, but she knew he was honorable at heart. Any man who refused to rape a girl and instead tried to make friends with her out of some spirit of togetherness in this hell was all she had.
"Are you sure you can do this?" He asked quietly.
"I have told you everyday for months I am ready. This Uhtred better be close, and if the bastard dies, it dies. I will not let it risk this chance to save my sister." She spoke with a resolve that impressed Sihtric as he moved to hold her hand. She gladly took it, this being the only gesture of kindness they dared in case someone decided to walk in.
"I understand. I will bring the spare key tonight and then you must make your way to the wall directly ahead when you leave. Follow the wall left and out to the well. If I am not there, head west and I will meet you," he spoke of the plan as if he had not confirmed it with her twice a day for months. The only change to it was when they heard rumors of a man who swore to revenge his family and rescued King Guthred to do so. "Then we find Uhtred."
She nodded. Threads of worry tugged at her chest as sharp as needles. She folded her hands across her swollen, pregnant belly as someone yelled for Sihtric and he pulled back to leave. Even if they came in, most of the warriors thought Sihtric deluded himself into thinking he was the father of the bastard, hence his kindness. Their stupidity made little difference. The thing inside her would not stop her escape, even as every day came she knew the birth was soon. The plan must work, else she feared no one would be left alive to save Katla.
That evening, he delivered not only the key but one of his dark cloaks for her. It was big enough on her for the hood to nearly cover her entire face, and ideal for her to hide by covering the plain brown dress she now wore. Nearly all the men in Dunholm knew her face by now, but Sihtric assured her there would be fewer out tonight due to the men who would be leaving soon to deliver the Ragnarson to Kjartan.
As the youngest of them, Sihtric knew he would get first watch and could sneak away to return with a horse to retrieve Hranni. Before he left, he did something he had not done before and bowed to match her height before gently touching his forehead to hers. Hranni closed her eyes at the kindness, and the two passed a moment like this before he pulled away.
“I will see you soon, I promise.” He nodded, and with that he was gone.
With each passing shadow by her window, she waits for what seems like an eternity before sun finally dipped past the walls and darkness flooded her cell. She quickly pulls on the cloak before reaching out with the key to unlock her cell door before quickly making her way to leave. Hranni stopped at the door, listening carefully for any movement. Hearing nothing, she carefully opened the door and peaked out, thankfully seeing nothing but a few torches in the distance. She somewhat knew the route to take to leave by the well the servants used for water, but she only knew Dunholm in the day.
Sihtric was right though about the lack of guards, as she followed the wall waiting to see the little entrance he promised existed she did not see nor hear a single person. She sticks herself to the wall as she moves as quietly as she can, but her heart beats so loud in her chest she can barely hear any noise she makes.
Suddenly, she sees a gap in the high wooden wall, and enters the dark tunnel with only a hand to guide her forward until she spies a touch of moonlight. Giddily, she quickens her step hoping to see her friend, but as she leaves the tunnel she does not see him.
"Shit. Shit." She whispers alone before clapping her hand over her mouth at the accidental slip. She cannot wait for him to come, she knows this. But before her and the freedom of the tree line is an open field she has to cross in the sparse moonlight.
Hranni peers up for the leidarstjarna, the guide star always showing the way north and quickly decides there is no hope in waiting for Sihtric here. Wait for a cloud, she thinks and waits. Blessedly, one gray mass cloaks the moonlight and plunges the field further into darkness. Hranni holds the cloak close to her and walks as quick as she can straight towards the trees. The ache in her gut prevents her from running despite so desperately wanting to, and she stumbles over rocks and rabbit holes but never falls.
As quickly as she stepped into the field, the cloud passed and she found herself suddenly in the treeline. She glances back at the shape she knows is Dunholm and half gasps in relief and shock. She blinks sudden tears at her cheeks and resists a giddy laugh that bubbles up in her throat.
"Hranni!"
She whips around in blind fear, hand searching for a seax she has not worn on her hip for nigh on a year, only to meet Sihtric's face in the dark. Before she can speak, he grasps her hand and tugs her away further into the forest.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I think Tekil wondered something but I got away with a horse. I overheard him saying we were for Eoferwic." His feet quickly move through the woods, capably missing fallen sticks and tree branches. Hranni follows dutifully in his steps as a horse comes into view.
"That will have to do. Do you think they are stupid enough to look for you?" She asks. "Or are we foolish for going to the same place as them?"
He sighs, and kneels by the horse before holding his hands together across his knee as a makeshift lift for her to mount the horse.
"I don't know," Sihtric says, an odd and far away look on his usually cool face. "It is too late for anything else. Now come on, we can only ride so far like this."
She doesn't say anything more. They both knew running was not a choice. To flee would be to abandon any honor they both clung too. That was something that had bonded Hranni so quickly to him; she was honor bound to protect her sister and he desperately wanted to follow someone true, someone honorable. Neither could succeed alone.
She stepped as gently as she could onto his palm and he lifted her leg up as she squirmed up into the saddle, her body ungainly and foreign to the movement now. As soon as she is settled, Sihtric mounts up behind her and spurs the horse on. The weight of him behind her is a comforting touch and he wraps a hand around her waist to help steady her. His grip is tense on her, and she understands the risks he took to get here must also be pricking at him the same way her fear in leaving Dunholm feels like a great stone sitting on her chest
Hranni knows there is not much else to do now besides move forward to Eoferwic and hope they find this Uhtred Ragnarson before Kjartan's men can find them first.
