CW: MINORS DNI, afab reader, Mercian reader, mentions of Alfred's death, mentions of inappropriate comments, mentions of childbirth, semi public sex (throne sex), praising (Edward to reader), p in v sex, dominant Edward, hair pulling, fingering, possessive Edward.
Words: 2956
AN: Edward does not yet have a taglist, so this is for my precious wifey @legitalicat 😘
Edward had once balked at the idea of getting married. Of tying his life to another, likely someone he wouldn't know. But his parents had ingrained the importance into him, that when he was king, he would need a wife not only for heirs but as support. Alfred would often laud Aelswith for the part she had long played in his desire for a united England.
Then he met you. Like his mother, you were of Mercia. His parents knew how important the alliance between the two kingdoms was and how important it was to keep that alliance strong after Edward became king.
He had been told tales of your kindness, of your beauty and your faith. Edward had held on to those things, reminding himself of them as you walked into the throne room. His mother and father had stood off to the side. Your own parents had walked in behind you.
Those memories stayed with him, even now. You had been with him through so much. Especially when his father had died and he had been crowned as king. You had been the support his parents had all but promised you would be. Through the good and the bad.
He knew his marriage to you was something to take pride in, that it was something envied by others. To not only have a beautiful wife, but to a wife that loved him unconditionally. So often, visiting nobles would praise him for it. Would say God had blessed him with 'the perfect wife and queen'.
For years he had listened to those words. Before he had become king, they had been innocent comments. Deflected away, usually, by his mother. You took them as compliments, thanking them each and every time. Assuring Edward that they were simply being nice.
But as the years rolled on, as you both got older, the comments became less veiled in innocence.
Though somehow you continued to remain blissfully unaware. Edward, however, mentally marked each and every comment and who made them.
Every single one.
He was exhausted, frustrated and everything in between. What had begun as a simple afternoon of petitions followed by visits from neighbouring nobles had soon turned into yet more comments on his 'luck' in securing such a pleasing wife.
Edward could only find happiness in the fact you were not there to hear them this time. You had bore him a child a few months ago and royal obligations were not on the top of your list of priorities. But it seemed as though the news had only made the comments ramp up.
Most were not directly spoken to Edward anymore, however. Though they often made it to his ears, through drunken ramblings at feasts. Those comments in particular were usually the most lecherous. As though not saying them directly to the king gave them leave to say what they pleased. That frustrated him the most. Not only were you his wife, the mother of his child, but you were queen.
Heavy steps took him towards the chambers he shared with you. Knowing just hearing your voice, seeing your face would be enough to make him forget his frustrations. Even only temporarily.
You were in a chair by the window as he entered, your daughter held in your arms as you rocked back and forth. Every worry and frustration leaving him the moment he crossed the threshold.
"My love, is everything alright?" you asked, hearing the door click closed.
Slowly, you stood. The baby hardly stirring in your arms as you walked over to her cradle and set her down. Edward simply stood in the middle of the room, and you could tell immediately that it wasn't something simple that was bothering him.
By the small frown that still pulled at his brow, you had a feeling you knew what it was. Your hand moved to cup his face.
"Do not worry yourself, the comments mean nothing," you smiled, leaning in to kiss him.
You said the same thing every time and Edward had to wonder how you always seemed so unbothered about the things being said about you.
"Some men simply want what another has, and you have many things they do not."
You knew your worth, you knew how others would look at you. But the only thing that ever mattered to you was what your husband thought of you. If he found you to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, then that was enough for you.
But for Edward, he saw beyond their words. Especially when they came from men. He had made such comments himself when he was much younger. That was what bothered him. Knowing that what they said aloud was probably only the beginnings of the other thoughts they would have about you.
"It is not what they say aloud that concerns me, but what they do not," he muttered, kissing your forehead before settling himself on the edge of the bed.
You stood in front of him, lifting the crown from his head and setting it away on the dressing table.
"You cannot rule their thoughts, Edward."
You continued to talk, but he was barely listening. Yes, you were right, he could not dictate what they thought. But maybe he could remind them that those thoughts would only ever remain as such…
Days passed before Edward had the, in his own words, displeasure of meeting with any nobles again. You tried to assure him over and over again that the comments were nothing to concern himself with. Yet the words seemed to simply pass through one ear and out of the other.
Thankfully, the meeting passed without incident. It was the planning a feast to celebrate the birth of the first royal child, something you were beyond excited about. The date was set, the guests invited and even the food was beginning to be sourced and prepared.
The date was less than a week away, not all that long in the grand scheme of things. But it became the focus of everyone of any status in and around the palace. A distraction for Edward as well, you hoped.
But unfortunately, you were not that lucky.
The feast was in full swing. Noble after noble coming to offer blessings and congratulations to you both for your daughter. You took them gladly, thanking each and every one personally. Edward sat at your side, but you were so focused on your guests that you didn't notice the slow change in his expression. Because he wasn't listening to the guests in front of you. He was listening to others around the table.
He could hear each and every word like he was sat right beside him. Commenting on how your figure had changed after childbirth, how lucky Edward was to have such a pleasing wife. The longer he listened, the worse the comments got. Drunken whispers about how well you fit into your gown. How that if they were your husband, you wouldn't be leaving your chambers…
His goblet slammed down to the table, a little louder than necessary. But loud enough to make the group of drunk lords fall silent. Edward's gaze found each and every one, committing their faces to memory.
And a plan was already forming in his mind.
Your hand came to rest on his forearm. Even without hearing what had been said, you knew why he would react like that.
"Calm yourself, my love," you whispered, giving his forearm a subtle squeeze.
That snapped him back to reality, but for the rest of the feast, all he could think of was how to show them who you belonged to.
As the feast wound to a close, Edward was settled in his throne. Keeping a watchful eye on you as you bid farewell to each guest and thanked them for coming. When the last guest left, you turned to your husband.
"Could you not have enjoyed the festivities just a little?" you asked, standing in front of him with your hands on your hips.
Edward kept his eyes on the door. He could hear the same voices on the other side, mixed with some others. A small smile began to tug at his lips. When he didn't answer you, you moved closer. Fingers under his chin to tilt his face to look at you.
"Do not tell me you are sulking over some drunken fools again?"
Edward's arm circled your waist, pulling you to stand between his legs. His smirk widening at the gasp of surprise that left you.
"I do not sulk," he grumbled, toying with the ribbon on the front of your gown.
You let out a derisive snort, the hand at his chin moving to curl around the back of his neck.
"You do, and you are doing so right now."
Edward heard the voices pass outside the door again. His free hand moving your skirts and pulling you into his lap. It wouldn't be the first time you had sat with him on his throne, but there was something behind his eyes that you couldn't quite place.
"Kings do not sulk, we brood," he laughed, the arm around your waist holding you steady as he shifted into a more comfortable position.
You laughed again, shaking your head.
"Whatever it is, you need to stop letting them frustrate you."
He toyed with the ribbon of your bodice again, the mischief now clear behind his eyes. He was planning something. You opened your mouth to question him, but he beat you to an answer.
"Then allow me to vent my frustrations, my love," he smirked, tugging at the ribbon until the top of your gown fell a little further open.
Your brows raised, voice breaking as you exclaimed, "What are you doing, Edward?"
He leaned forward, pressing slow kisses to the flesh of your shoulders and chest. As though that was enough explanation. The hand at his neck tangled into his hair, pulling his head backwards and earning you a frustrated growl.
"We cannot, not in here…" you whispered, tugging gently at his curls again when he moved to lean back in.
"You wish for me to be unbothered by those lechers," he grunted, wriggling from your grasp and nuzzling into the swell of your chest.
"I want to show them that they can think as they please, because I am the only one who gets to have you like this."
You felt a wave of heat run over your body. You had asked him time and time again to put those fools out of his mind, but you had never thought he would do so like this. Yet you could hardly ignore the desire that simmered in your belly.
"You wish to…in here?" you asked, hardly able to form the words.
Edward answered with a roll of his hips, letting the already hardening length of him pressing against your clothed core. His eyes finding yours and filled with nothing but lust and adoration.
"I wish to remind them that this beautiful woman before me is not for them to leer at, for them to lust over. That she is mine to pleasure, to lust for…"
That sent a shiver down your spine. Your hand winding back into his hair to plant a hungry kiss against his lips. There was something possessive in his tone that made your heart race and your thighs clench.
Edward's arm around your waist pulled you closer, his tongue sliding into your mouth with a groan. His free hand slipping beneath your gown, quickly finding your heated core. You let out a gasped moan of his name as his fingers slipped beneath your smallclothes.
His pace was quick, there was no grace or rhythm. Just pure need fuelled by possessive frustration.
"Edward, please…" you sighed, as his fingers pushed deeper inside you.
His pace was unrelenting. Two fingers buried deep, the cool touch of his ring making your shiver in his hold. His thumb pressed against your pearl, making your back arch in uncontrolled pleasure.
The thrill of getting caught, of someone hearing you or seeing you should have felt wrong. But it only spurred you on. Your hips grinding down against his hand as your desperately chased your peak.
Your skin was flushed, your eyes scrunched shut as your squealed his name. His fingers pistoning in and out of you as you barrelled through your release. His cock twitched insistently beneath you.
You needed more. You needed him. Edward kept going as he felt your muscles clench around him, your hand scrambling to try and push his hand away. Your head dropping back as Edward's lips latched onto the exposed column of your neck, his thumb still pressed against your swollen bud.
Before you could even relax, you could feel Edward shift beneath you. The laces of his breeches were torn away by his desperate fingers. His hips shifting until his head slipped between your folds. Moans left you both in perfect unison as every inch of him was enveloped by your warmth.
He started slow. Holding you tight as he began to thrust up into you. His lips continuing their both over your neck and jaw. Your hand tangling tighter into his hair, the other gripping his shoulder. His hand at your waist encouraged you to roll your hips, matching the rhythm of his thrusts.
"Let them hear you, my love, let them hear what only I can do for you," he mumbled into your neck, slowly but surely picking up the pace.
"You always sound so pretty, they should hear what they'll never have."
His words sent wave after wave of pleasure through your veins. Making you roll your hips faster with the urge of his hand. His own grunts and groans joining your moans and sighs in a symphony of pleasure.
Your nails scraped against his scalp, trying to pull him in for a kiss. You could feel your release already creeping up on you, faster than you could have expected. Both of his hands held your hips tight, taking full control of the pace as he felt you pulse around him.
You felt so sensitive, the aftershocks of your first release having barely subsided as your second begain to creep up on you. Your head fell towards his shoulder as you gave in to the waves of pleasure that flowed through your body.
His hips slammed into yours. Chasing his own end with a flurry of growls of your name. He could still hear the voices outside the door. Edward knew that if he could hear them, they could hear this. Perfect.
He kept going until he felt your core clenching around him again. Your moans muffled by the fabric of his tunic. A hand moved to your hair, gently pulling you back upright.
"I said, let them hear you," he growled, punctuating his words with a thrust of his hips.
You gasped out in surprise, eyes meeting his as you stopped trying to bite back your moans. Edward's lips met yours, your eyes rolling back as your second peak finally crashed over you. Your moan barely muffled by his kiss.
The squeeze of your muscles around him pulled his own release out of him. His forces brutal as he spilled inside of you. Your joined moans echoing through the room.
Slowly, your bodies stilled. Your breathing heavy as you rested your forehead against Edward's. A small smirk breaking on your lips.
"Jealousy suits you, my love," you giggled, earning you a lazy thrust into your still pulsing core.
Edward chuckled, letting himself slip out of you. His frustrations had subsided, for now. But he had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time.
You might not have known the faces of the men from the feast, but you could find them easily now. They seemed unable to meet your gaze, let alone Edward's. Yet you knew your husband. He wasn't about to let this lie.
The table was filled with nobles from around England, though you couldn't for the life of you remember what the feast was for. All you could focus on was Edward's hand on your thigh, hidden by the heavy wooden table.
But his eyes were trained on those men. There was no anger in his gaze this time, however. There was pride, amusment even.
As the meal ended, you both moved to socialise. But just as Edward stood, you took his arm and pulled him back to you.
"Be nice, you proved your point…twice."
Edward smiled, lifting your hand to his lips and placing a lingering kiss to the back of it. You didn't need to watch him to know he was walking over to the group of young lords as he let you go. The idea that he was so impossibly in love with you that he was this possessive, sent a wave of desire through you, even now.
"My lords, you are awfully quiet this evening!" Edward called, smiling as the men hurried to bow before him.
"My king, we…uh…" one of the lords could hardly stammer out a sentence as they all met Edward's gaze.
Each one looked as though they would prefer the earth below opened and swallowed them whole. Your words echoed in Edward's mind, but so did every comment about your appearance.
"I should hope you have thought twice about speaking about your queen in such a manner," Edward hissed, leaning in so only the lords would hear his words. He was sure he could see at least one of them shaking with pure nervousness.
"Because I will take great pleasure in reminding you all again, should I need to."
Traditional art jumpscare: I love Edward, I’ve nicknamed him “salami sandwhich” because everyone treated him like one for the entirety of season 3 as if he had no free will and would listen to them (cough, Aelswith.)
i love aethelstan and edward's father-son relationship because aethelstan sees him being sent to uhtred as edward not loving or caring for him and edward sees it as protection and care.
"but this child deserves more than a monastery, he is brave and a godhearted boy but he will need guidence. protect him and take him to safety".
edward understands the danger that aethelstan is in by simply being born first (and his son in general) and that the succession is determined by the ealdorman rather than just your birth. we as viewers also see that his fears are correct because aethelhelm tried to assassinate him more than once. but aethelstan doesn't know that (they think it is sea raiders) and at the beginning of season five when he meets edward there is an obvious resentment because he sees this differently than both we and edward do. anyway, i really like their relationship because edward do love aethelstan very much but there is clearly a distance between them that aethelstan recognizes as indifference.
