━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━

It wasn't until the next day that Uhtred woke up. Honestly, Signe had grown slightly worried that her brother would never wake up. When he finally did approach the group, he was walking beside Hild almost looking brand new - almost. His beard had been trimmed, but his hair was still matted and wild. He had been changed into fresh clothes, but the thing that brought Signe the most comfort was seeing the sword nestled between his shoulders. Uhtred's sword was an extension of him, they were truly one in the same. So seeing her brother approach, walking taller brought her some hope; he would be okay.

The men within the camp made haste at taking down the camp and packing everything away. They would start the trek back to Winchester this afternoon, making camp halfway tonight. If everything went well then they would be returning to the chaotic atmosphere by the weeks end. The road back to Winchester was quiet, men talked amongst each other, the sound of horse hooves steady as they went. The sun was warm for early spring but it was welcomed nonetheless.

When they setted to make camp that night, Signe sat quietly, her eyes narrowed at the fire. A figure sat beside her but Signe didn't need to look to know who it was. It was Finan, settling on the grass beside her as he groaned at the ache that riddled his muscles. "You sound like an old man." Signe told him, a small smile tugging at her lips due to the shocked expression Finan shot her.

"I am the embodiment of youth, I'll have you know." Finan defended, shoving the woman's shoulder in retaliation for her words.

"Ah yes, the actions of a child and yet the body of an elderman." Signe hummed, laughing quietly as the man beside her grumbled to himself about being called old.

"I come over to keep you company, and you insist on mocking me." Finan sighed in disbelief, a small chuckle slipping past his lips. "What has kept you so quiet today?" The man asked, looking over to Signe. The fire accented her beautifully, her skin glowing under the light. Her green eyes trained on the flames, a small frown adorning her lips as her eyebrows knitted together.

"Nothing." Signe denied. The woman broke her eyes from the burning logs to the man that sat beside her, his eyes narrowing at her.

"I wish I believed that." Finan hummed, leaning back on his elbows as he embraced the welcoming heat of the flames. "You're a horrible liar."

"I'm okay." Signe assured, resting her head on the top of her knees. "I have just been wondering where fate will lead me next." It wasn't a complete lie, Signe was unsure where her path would stray once she was granted her freedom. Would she and her brothers set out of Dunholme and finally avenge their family after all these years? Would her brothers go separate ways once again, leaving her divided as she was left to choose who to follow? Signe was uncertain of it all, and she was always the one that was certain of everything. Things were changing around her quickly, and when it came time to make the decision on where to take herself, she wasn't sure what she would choose.

"I thought you said your Gods would lead you to where you need to be?" Finan asked, his eyes on the back of her head as he spoke. "Just have faith that they know what they are doing."

"Thank you." Signe said softly, her eyes drifting to the others around them.

"Signe! Tomorrow we set out to go get my woman." Uhtred called to his sister, the woman looking at him confused.

"Your woman?" She asked, how did she not know that Uhtred had someone waiting for him? "We gave the King our word we would bring you directly back." Signe told the older man, shaking her head in protest. "I would prefer to actually be granted my freedom."

"It's been decided." Ragnar told the woman, a small sigh slipping past his lips as their eyes met. Something was going to go wrong, Signe could feel it. Despite the feeling in the pit of her stomach, Signe nodded her head in agreement. If Uhtred wanted to go and get this woman he was so desperate to get back, she knew there was no choice but to help him see it through.

Uhtred told his siblings all about the woman, Gisela. She was the sister to King Guthred, and they had grown fond of each other during Uhtred's time with the underwhelming king. "For your sake, I hope this Gisela is nothing like her brother." Signe commented, her eyes narrowed at Uhtred. "I do not wish to continue hunting you down."

"Lady Gisela is a very kind woman." Hild spoke, sending Signe a warning look. Uhtred was still not fully himself, but Signe did not know when to keep the comments to herself unfortunately.

"We should all rest, it will be an early start if we wish to get to the nunnery and back to Winchester before the King sends out a search party for his search party." Ragnar spoke up, standing from the log he was resting on. Everyone agreed, quickly finding their bedrolls and settling down for the night.

"Are you coming?" Finan asked, looking down to the woman as he stood from his spot in the grass.

"I'm not tired." Signe denied. "I will take first watch."

"Lady, you said the same thing last night as well. You need rest." Finan urged, his arms crossing over his chest. Brown eyes stared down at her full of worry, but Signe could only shake her head.

"I'm fine, Finan." Signe uttered quietly. "Please, do allow yourself to rest. You don't need to worry about me."

Finan sighed, looking from the woman who sat in front of the fire, and the group of people resting peacefully. "Come get me if you need company." Finan finally said softly, before turning to find his own bedroll. Signe watched as he walked away, making sure he was settled under furs before letting out the breath she had been holding.

She hardly thought anyone would notice that she took watch two nights in a row. When one of the men had woken up to take over last night, she insisted he went back to sleep and enjoyed a few more hours of sleep. This time of year was always hard for the woman, for it was during the early days of spring that the three siblings had lost their parents. Uhtred was out with Brida that night, Ragnar was in Irland with their kin. It was Signe who fought Kjartan and Sven trying to save Thyra. She watched their homestead burn to the ground, hearing the screams inside from the people she called family. It was always the nights during spring where her dreams would be littered with Sigrid crying out for help. The lingering sounds of Earl Ragnar telling her everything would be okay.

Signe would refuse sleep for as long as it took for the dreams to subside once again. She would sit further away from the fires at night, staring at it hatefully as the logs crackled and the embers burned brighter than the sun. Her green eyes lingered on her brothers sleeping for just a moment, she couldn't help but feel jealousy. Neither of them were there with her, neither of them were there to help her that night. Instead they both got to sleep soundly throughout the night, while she sat awake fighting her own eyes to stay open.

She didn't know how much time had passed since she insisted that Finan went to sleep. The sky was still dark as she carved into a small piece of wood, before the sound of footsteps broke her from her concentration. Her hand gripped her sword tightly, ready to attack when her eyes landed on Finan. The man yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, before he was greeted with a sight of Signe about to pounce on him.

"What are you doing awake?" Signe hissed, placing her sword down on the ground beside her once more. "I almost killed you."

"You couldn't even if you tried." Finan quipped, the furs he had draped over his shoulders clutched tightly in one hand. He lowered himself beside her, leaning his back against a log as he sighed. "Couldn't sleep knowing you're up alone." He spoke, answering her question before she even had time to ask.

"I'm more than capable of keeping watch alone." Signe muttered, looking up at the man sitting beside her. Finan looked down to her, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I'm fully aware of that." Finan agreed, taking the furs from off his shoulders and spreading them across both their laps. "Doesn't mean you have to."

"Finan please-"

"I don't want to hear it." Finan cut her off sternly. "You won't sleep, you refuse to tell me why. We're friends now right?" Signe nodded her head at the question. "Well I don't know how Dane friendships work, but typically with mine you tell your friends what's keeping ya awake at night." Signe groaned at the man's stubbornness, stretching out her legs in front of her. "So are you going to tell me or what?"

"Nope." Signe quipped with a smile. "I will be fine, now will you just sleep?"

"Absolutely not, I'm here to keep you company." The man told her happily, settling himself comfortably in his spot. Signe rolled her eyes at the man, letting her eyes rest on the stars above them. She always did love the stars, she remembered trying to count every single one she could see when she was a child. She had come a long way since those days. "You like the stars a lot."

"I do." Signe agreed, her eyes meeting Finan's. "If you looked at them instead of me, you would know that they are truly beautiful." She told him, not missing the way the Irishman's face turned pink at her teasing words.

"I regret waking up for you."