“How did this plan eventuate?”
“Because your sister is one incredible woman,” he replies with pride. “She knew that with the predicament Emeline was in, you too would be in danger. So she offered herself to Aethelbald. She had to prove her loyalty, which is why she did what she did.
“She always had a plan. She offered a reward to whoever found me, and when she did, we waited for the opportunity to strike. We waited for Aedan’s return, and I recruited as many men and women as I could. The English are pissed off.
“As much as they are opposed to a queen ruling, they would rather Emeline than King Dickhead.”
I couldn’t have chosen a better term for the king.
“We have a small army, but their fighting skills are average. Aedan and his men will teach the English. As for Vikings, our numbers are small, but who we have are skilled warriors.”
“But?” I prompt because there’s always a but.
“But with Inga and Bodil siding with Aethelbald, they are reluctant to help.”
“Cowards,” I mutter in disgust, shaking my head.
“Aye, this is true, but we do not want cowards fighting in battle with us. They’ve done us a favor. When have we ever had the odds on our side?”
“You are right. As much as I hate to admit,” I add. “So we compile the men and women we have and propose a compromise, one which will no doubt be rebuked, leaving us no choice but to go to war.”
“As I see it, yes. The only advantage we have is that there is no collateral as such. King Dickface does not have anyone he can hold as ransom.”
“You forget King Tiny Dick also wants the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, meaning those kings are potential collateral. Word has been sent, but with so much at stake, we cannot trust anyone but ourselves.”
“We mustn’t hesitate, then. This war must come soon.”
And again, he’s right.
“Yes, this stops the possibility of betrayal from traitors. We do not allow anyone to fight if we believe them to be rogue.”
Ulf nods. “We commence training today, and we gather soldiers from the other kingdoms. However, I fear there is not enough time for those men. We can only rely on who we have now…which is not a lot. Maybe a couple of hundred.”
“Then we make do with what we have,” I reply. “We ensure the fighters we do have amount to tens of thousands of men. We give them a reason to fight.”
“And what would that reason be?”
“Their freedom,” Emeline says, startling both Ulf and me as we didn’t hear her approach.
No matter how many times I lay eyes on her, she always takes my breath away. She appears well rested, but we both know that she won’t be at peace until those who wronged her are dead.
“Where is Aedan?” she asks, always worrying about others.
“He waits outside the monastery walls, in case King Dickbreath decides to attack.”
Emeline’s lips twitch. “King Dickbreath? A vast improvement indeed.”
“What do we do with Loki and Sune? I think they are safest with us, but?—”
“No, I agree. We cannot send them away. They will be safe here, but if forced to fight, your sons are brave warriors.”
“We need to incite war sooner rather than later,” I state, as Ulf said earlier. “We do not have time to waste.”
She sighs heavily. “You are right. I wish we had Wessex and Mercia behind us, but it will take too long to gather enough troops. It’s each man for himself.”
“You know that palace better than anyone. If anyone can breach those walls, it’s you. The question is, do we ambush, or do we declare war?”
Emeline ponders my question before smiling. “Both?”
