[ @forgottenbairns ]
Alfred was not always the most sure of himself. He truly wasn’t. Being King, well it was overwhelming. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to rule, as his grandfather had taught him all sorts of things. It was the fact that he felt alone doing so. His brother had been so different, his fathers were both dead, as was his Grandfather. He wasn’t immune to the fact that his mother was trying to control things either. He was just..trying to figure it out. The last thing he had expected today was for the Northmen to come to Wessex, to come to the Royal Villa. He had recognized Ubbe, from when he and Hvitserk came asking for peace, and it seemed to be what he wanted this time, but there were a lot more of them. They seemed to be looking for land, somewhere to settle. It made him wonder what had happened, that they’d been driven out of their own home.
But, they had women with them. He knew that one of them was Lagertha, who his grandfather had spoken about and they did not seem eager to fight. He’d give them a chance, and he chose to give them a place to stay as a show of faith, until they could make use of the land he would offer them. But, they all seemed hungry, so he had offered them a feast. There were some still drinking and eating, although he figured that they could use a few more manners, but it was otherwise late and he needed air. He needed to breathe.
Going out to one of the terraces, he took a deep breath, and that was when he spotted her, the woman he’d noticed the second they walked in. She was beautiful in a way that he could not explain and she seemed quieter than the rest. He turned to her. “I did not mean to disturb your thoughts. Sometimes, I just need to breathe a bit.”
