The prompt is: "I wished every day to hold you once more".

Warnings: mentions of death, mentions of violence, mentions of fighting, cursing

It had been supposed to be a quick journey to York to visit your aunt and uncle, and to to bring them some of the handcrafted tunics and dresses your family had made.

Your parents worked as tailors, just like you, and even made the clothes for the royal court, which made you wealthy and sought after.

It also set the attention of the royal court on your family, and of the young men of the royal family on you.

Prince Alfred and Aethelred visited you often, but you spent most of your time with Alfred.

He was sweet, and over the years you learned the depth of your feelings towards each other.

The more time you spent together the more your parents, and his as well, condoned your relationship.

Alfred was a royal, he was expected to become great, and to marry well, and the relationship the two of you had seemed too close to be a mere friendship.

Your parents worried too, since you as a woman had to lose far more than a man would have, and a Prince at that.

But you had faith in Alfred, so your friendship continued and blossomed.

You knew that Alfred felt more for you than the mere friendship you feigned, but you didn't know if he knew you reciprocated those feelings.

So you kept it at that, because it was better for the both of you.

When you told Alfred you'd go to York to pay a visit to your relatives he was worried, because he knew of the heathens trying to invade the country.

You tried to console him that nothing would happen, but you knew he'd be worried either way.

When you reminded him that he had taught you how to use a sword, and that you were not afraid to use it he smiled gently, placing a kiss to the top of your head and hugging you tightly.

That had been your goodbye, but had you known it would have been for so long you would have told him your feelings.

When you arrived at York you had found the city in chaos, but before you had been able to turn the cart around you had been captured by the men that had brought the chaos, heathens.

You had been dragged by your hair into a church, to kneel alongside a few other women, being eyed by sickly looking unclean northmen.

You tried not to look at any of the men in fear that something might happen to you, but a young lanky man approached you, his hair hanging in messy loose braids at the back of his head.

He had hoisted you up, dragging you behind him to a room he seemed to have chosen for himself.

You didn't see your uncle and aunt anywhere, but you doubted that they were left alive.

The man you were supposed to call 'Prince Hvitserk', or just Hvitserk, was strangely kind to you in comparison to what gruesome stories you had heard about heathen raids, he was usually quiet and contempt, sometimes laced with brooding or grief.

You served him his food reluctantly, you had been grateful that you had to prepare meals at home so you knew how to cook, but that had been all the duties he required, which you were grateful for.

He liked talking to you, in your language, and you grew a habit to have nightly talks while eating dinner.

When Hvitserk told you that a Saxon army would come to try and regain the city you became uneasy.

You knew King Aethelwulf would be amongst the warriors, but you dearly hoped neither of the Princes would.

You had heard that the heathens were ruthless, and you wanted neither of the young men hurt, but your worry was mostly focused on Alfred.

When you looked up you saw Hvitserk studying you, making a shiver run down your spine.

He had never looked at you like that, and though it wasn't in a longing way you didn't feel good about the way he was eyeing you.

"Can you fight?", he asked you, which you hadn't expected.

You frowned, making him chuckle.

"Well, I know Christian women don't do that but you look... different", he said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair comfortably.

"Let's make a deal. When the Saxons arive, and they will soon, you will have a choice. You can either stay my thrall for the rest of your life, or you can fight beside me. If you do then I will make sure you will become a free woman, staying with us heathens, of course", he grinned as he watched your every reaction.

You let your eyes fall to the ground as you thought about what he had said.

You knew life as a thrall was draining, but you also knew that you didn't want to stay with the northmen, though that option wasn't offered to you.

But in the chaos of battle, who knew who would slip away?

"I agree", you said softly, nodding and smiling at your surprisingly rather friendly captor.

Hvitserk went out to get you your sword and clothes fit for fighting the next day, making you prepared for battle.

The battle came, and with it your fear of losing your life, or Alfred.

You admired Hvitserk's attitude towards fighting, he seemed giddy and excited, his eyes gleaming in a wicked way, as he staggered around, waiting for your landsmen to attack.

You were scared rather than excited, but your quickened heartbeat made even you feel euphoric as well.

When you heard the first cries you tried to make out the voices, but you never heard Alfred.

When the first few Saxon men came running towards you you tried to make out Alfred in the crowd, Hvitserk watching you with a confused look in his face.

You saw him shrugging, grinning widely before lifting his sword and running towards the intruders.

You had never been in battle, never even witnessed one, but you followed Hvitserk, though all you could hear was the blood rushing through your veins and your quickened breathing.

You were hot, sweat dripping when you faced your first opponent already, if of exhaustion or fear you couldn't say.

The first time the blood from your opponent gushed from his throat onto the floor from your strike you were shocked how easy it was.

The man fell onto the blood stained floor, making your first kill official.

The rush you were in kept you from thinking about the man you had killed as you heard Hvitserk's cry of triumph at your first kill.

You rushed further into the battle, focusing solely on survival, when you felt someone's hand on your shoulder.

You turned immediately, lifting your sword to defend yourself only to come face to face with the person you had been longing for since leaving your home.

All you could do was stare at him, until he extended his hand to grasp your arm, pulling you aside as gently as he could.

When you reached a deserted alley Alfred stopped walking, looking at you before pulling you into a strong hug.

You hugged him back immediately, careful not to hurt him with the sword you were still holding, and you felt tears in your eyes.

It was hard to breathe with how strong your embrace was, but you didn't even notice.

All that mattered was that Alfred was alive, well, and with you.

"I was so scared I had lost you when I heard York had been taken", you heard Alfred whisper into your hair as he gently kissed your temple before letting go of you.

"Don't ever leave me again", he told you and the sound that came out of your mouth was a perfect mixture of a laugh and a sob.

"I promise", you answered him softly as you smiled at him.

You didn't want to know what you looked like, your usually perfectly designed dress exchanged for rough trousers and armour, your hair pulled back by messy braids and blood splattered across your face in the most vicious way.

"We need to go, now, we need to get you out of here", Alfred told you as he looked back towards the sounds of battle that had grown faint.

You nodded, reaching for his hand as you made your way back to the battlefield.

When you saw the Saxons in a corner surrounded by northmen your heartbeat sped up again, fear rushing through you.

After a meaningful look you let go of each other's hand, lifting your swords to continue fighting.

You heard King Aethelwulf's voice shouting to retreat.

Moving quickly you searched for Alfred, who was being pulled by his father.

You moved to follow him when you felt a stinging pain at the back of your head before your vision turned black.

When you woke up you were inside, laying on a bed that wasn't yours.

When you tried to move the pain returned to your head, making you groan in defeat.

"You know, you did well today", you heard a voice you didn't know say and you sat up to see a man with an undercut, a long thick braid and piercing blue eyes say to you.

Next to him was Hvitserk, and you were entirely glad to see him.

"Shut up, Ubbe", Hvitserk said, and the usual playfulness and kidness had vanished from his face, making you scared of what he would do.

"How do you know the King's son?", he questioned you as he moved towards you with his arms crossed, glaring at you.

"I'm... friends with him", you whispered as you stared at Hvitserk, who was more intimidating than you had ever seen him.

You heard a laugh escape the other man's lips as he looked at you, amusement prominent in his eyes.

"Yes, friends, my arse", he chuckled as he looked at Hvitserk.

"They're fucking, and if they're not they will be in the future", he told him and your breath caught in your throat at his accusation.

Hvitserk chuckled as well before nodding and looking back at you.

"We have a plan, and I think you'd like to hear it", he told you.

Being back in your dress, clean after washing off all the blood you had on yourself was heaven, but what made it even better was that you were led out of the city by Ubbe and Hvitserk, and knowing that you had a hope of freedom.

Their plan was a good one, you just hoped that it would work out.

Strangely you didn't hate the northmen for what had happened in the past, Hvitserk had treated you well, and you could understand his actions when he had kept you away from Alfred.

You missed him terribly, but if the plan went well you knew you'd be with him soon enough.

It was beginning to get dark outside and you were growing tired after fighting earlier the day, but you kept walking with the two northmen until you reached the Saxons' encampments.

You were greeted by guards, but when Ubbe took a knife from his belt, holding it to your side for everyone to see the men scrambled away, and one went to inform the King and Princes of your arrival.

You were led to a tent, and once you entered the relief flooding you at seeing Alfred was the greatest happiness you had felt in a long time.

You trusted your company not to kill you, as was the plan, you were merely their shield and piece of bargain to keep them safe.

Alfred looked scared at the fact that Ubbe was holding a blade to your side, and he moved to stand up quickly, earning looks from everyone present.

The distress was visible on his face as he looked at you.

"We've come to bargain", you heard Ubbe's deep voice and watched as the King straightened up.

"So we see", said Aethelwulf before glancing at his son who still hadn't sat down.

"What is it you want?", he asked as he watched the vikings, and you as well.

You weren't sure if he remembered you, but the way Alfred had reacted linked him to you unmistakably.

"We don't want to fight anymore", Ubbe began to say, and that brought a hopeful and proud smile on the King's face, never mind the fact that Ubbe was still holding a knife to your side.

"We want to claim our land", he said and Aethelwulf winced slightly.

After a time of silence Ubbe continued.

"In exchange we will not attack your people anymore, and you will have her back, unharmed, if we agree to a peace treaty", he said and your eyes moved to Alfred who was still standing, but looking as if he could faint any minute.

"And if we do not come to an agreement?", you heard the King ask, and you watched Alfred brace himself for what he would hear next.

"We will take her back with us, when we're out of your camp we will slaughter her for your men to watch, and then we will continue raiding, sowing destruction over your lands and death and despair over the people", Ubbe answered and you saw Alfred's eyes closing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

He seemed even more pale than usual, which which already was difficult in the yellow glow of the candlelight.

"We must consider their offer", you heard him say and you felt like a weight had been lifted off your chest.

"My father had no right to grant them that land. He was no longer King", Aethelwulf said to his son, and the nervousness came back to you.

You knew Ubbe wouldn't kill you, or at least you had enough faith in you to believe he wouldn't, but hearing the King speak against him made you feel uneasy.

"You are King. And you can offer it", you heard Alfred say harshly, or maybe it was just desperation.

You saw the King look at his son with pity in his eyes before turning back to face you.

"I will grant you the lands", he said and you saw Alfred breathing out loudly, his mouth opening in relief.

"We want you to write it down. I don't trust a word you say", you heard Hvitserk speak and you nearly nodded in agreement.

You weren't on anyone's side, but you felt sympathy towards the northmen who had been kind and respectful towards you, even more respectful than some Saxon men.

Aethelwulf nodded and asked for a quill, ink, paper and the King's wax sigil before he began to write.

The long standing made your bones ache, but at least Ubbe let the blade sink back into its rightful place at his belt, still standing beside you protectively.

When the King finished writing and held out the paper Ubbe went to take it from him, and after glancing over it he nodded towards you.

You didn't know if he could read or not but you didn't care as you rushed towards Alfred, who mirrored your actions until you were wrapped in each other's arms.

Alfred let go of you to keep a hand on your waist, putting the other at the side of your face as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

You weren't used to being kissed by him, he rarely ever did so, and especially not in front of people, but you were entirely grateful for it.

"Thank God", he whispered when he moved his other hand from your waist to brush the hair out of your face and clasp it in between his hands.

"Thank God you're alright", he repeated as he kissed your forehead again before looking down at you.

"You're so brave", he told you and you felt tears gather in your eyes.

You had missed him so much, you had been scared and you had killed, but you went through all of that just to come back to him.

"I wished every day to hold you once more", he told you as he kept you in place in front of him, holding you to him gently.

"You promised not to leave me", he told you and you nodded your head softly.

"I'm sorry", you whispered before leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to", you added as you looked into his eyes.

"I promise I won't leave you again", you said to him, pushing some hair out of his face.

"This time it's final".

When you glanced away from Alfred you saw his father smile as he watched the two of you, and even Hvitserk and Ubbe wore grins on their faces.

You saw them nod at you before they slipped out of the tent and out of the encampments with the treaty in hand, and you realized then that it had been their doing that Alfred and you were now closer than ever.