Amazing!

Amazing!

Except from Aftermath by Siegfried Sassoon

For the @tlkafterparty celebration.

Prompt: battlefield ⚔️

@morosemagick @lauwrite1225 @solinarimoon @magravenwrites @93xdiagonxalley @trenko-heart @blah-blah-blah-bla @illjustgositinthecorner @medievalfangirl @persephones-journey @amuddleofnervouswords @anotherwinchesterfangirl @saint-helga @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie

It was Over

Summary: She left. It was over. Aka, Finan and Aethelflaed come to a milestone in their relationship.

Warning: angst

Thank you to @emilyhufflepufftlk @lauwrite1225 @medievalfangirl for reading it beforehand

Enjoy

"You do not understand -"

"Aethelflaed, I do." Finan cut her off.

His use of her name made her clamp her jaw.

"I ended up on the slave ship because I chose love over the crown."

She tutted. "If you are trying to get me to renounce my vow, this is not the way." She bit.

"I would do it again. In a heartbeat. I would fight for our happiness, instead of having to walk away from ya." He said fiercely, eyes burning with fire.

She swallowed hard. The lump in her throat was unmoved by her efforts, blocking the path of the words she so desperately tried to say. So desperately wanted out of the way.

"What you did, was reckless. It did not grant you lasting happiness. Yet, it robbed Irland of a great leader." She finally said, her voice tight, tense. "I will not do the same to Mercia."

Finan's face fell, his heart with it. There was a finality in her voice that made him feel utterly defeated. Screams of protest wanted to escape his chest, but he has gone mute. Tears threatened to overflow his eyes as he stared into hers. When he attempted to turn away from her, he found he no longer had control over his body. Frozen in place, it felt as if time has stopped.

Aethelflaed hated seeing him like this, looking so helpless and lost. Every fiber of her being blazed with desire to step forward and embrace him. To whisper in his ear that she will stay with him, vow of chastity be damned. To kiss him, to -

She stopped herself there - she had to. Otherwise, she was sure her resolve would break.

With one more deep breath, she stepped a little closer to him.

"Know that I did not make this decision lightly." She said, her voice almost a whisper, soft, yet filled with firmness.

She stared into his eyes, willing him to believe her. He could not say anything in response, his mouth was too dry, his mind too occupied, his heart too pressed down by the weight of her words.

After the lingering look, when the mountain of unsaid feelings was beginning to tip over, she turned around, and swiftly walked through the door.

Once Aethelflaed was out of sight and earshot, a tear cascaded down his cheek, getting lost in his beard.

She left. It was over.

The next thing Finan knew was a sob escaping his lips, his face drenched in tears.

Awww, so soft, innocent and lovely! Loving it! ❤️🥺

Another Love | Finan x Aethelflaed

And I'd sing a song, that'd be just ours

But I sang 'em all to another heart

And I wanna cry, I wanna learn to love

But all my tears have been used up.

On another love.

~ Tom Odell

Finan and Aethelflaed both lost those they loved the most; together they heal and find love once more, only for politics to tear them apart.

A collection of one shots and drabbles charting a relationship between Finan and Aethelflaed, from their first meeting to Aethelflaed's passing.

------------------------------

Chapter 1: First Meeting

@lauwrite1225 @morosemagick @solinarimoon @magravenwrites @blah-blah-blah-bla @illjustgositinthecorner @medievalfangirl @persephones-journey @amuddleofnervouswords @anotherwinchesterfangirl @trenko-heart @93xdiagonxalley @shianshian4315

Ahhh, this is beautiful!!! And imagining Aethelred go through childbirth is hilarious!

Number 13 for Finflaed :) x x

A/N: And another for you dear! I tried to be original so I hope you will appreciate u.u

13. Lightly kissing their scars. (warnings: light smut, scars, mention of pregnancy, mention of abuse)

“Finan–”

His name echoed in her bedroom, her legs trembling around his head and her hand tugging on his hair. Her toes curled and her back arched as waves of pleasure warmed every inch of her body. His fingers pressed harder against her hipbone to keep her in place while his tongue continued its relentless work between her thighs. 

“Finan.” Aethelflaed called him, more confident now that she had come down from her orgasm. 

He hummed and she shivered before he removed his mouth and grinned proudly at her. “Ya’re good?” He asked, kissing her inner thigh. She nodded, still too breathless to fathom a sentence but a blissful smile was plastered on her face. “Ya sounded like ya were enjoyin’ yourself.” He pointed out with a smug look. 

Aethelflaed nudged his back with her heel and rolled her eyes when he started to chuckle. He peppered more kisses on her inner thighs then on her stomach and hips. Finan stopped when something on her skin seemed to have caught his attention. She looked down at him and her body tensed when she realised his fingers were tracing her stretch marks. His fingertips danced on her thin white scars and she stared away, feeling an uncomfortable lump in her throat. 

“They look like waves.” He said before he kissed her scars tenderly. “They are much more beautiful than mine.” He added with another soft laugh. 

Her eyes snapped back at him, her cheeks blushing at his words. “Do you really think that?” 

He frowned at her and nodded. “Of course. I would never lie to ya, Aethelflaed.” He promised  then moved to collapse on her bed beside her. He smiled at her while his fingers stroked her cheek then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Don’t ya like them?”

She tried to bring her knees to her chest but they were blocked by Finan’s legs. “Aethelred thinks they have tainted me.” She admitted.

“Do ya really care about what that bastard says?” He wondered and she could hear his anger for her husband despite his soft tone. 

“No but–” She sighed, uncertain about her words. “I was still young. Aelfwynn was just a baby then. He wanted me and he never denied finding me beautiful despite disliking my temperament.” She explained with a bitter snort. “Then he told me that and even though I had stopped caring about what he could think of me, he still had enough power over me to make me hate these scars.” 

Finan listened to her and anger started to burn in his eyes, one so close to the fire he had on the battlefield. She realised how his enemies could fear him but she still felt safe beside him. This fire would never burn her but would find those who had hurt her in the past. 

“That turd knows nothing about scars. They prove that you are still alive despite everything you have been through. I have scars from so many battles, even more from this damn slave ship. They aren’t always pretty, neither are the memories they carry but they could never taint me because they prove I had the strength to survive the worst.”

His words were leaving her breathless and that was all she could do than to grab his hand and hold tight when he laced their fingers together. 

“Ya’ve carried a child and have survived childbirth.” He said with a pride that made her heart beat faster. “I’d pay a lot to see Aethelred try to do that.” He joked and Aethelflaed couldn’t help but laugh. 

“That would certainly be something.” She agreed. 

They smiled at each other for a moment in silence, his thumb rubbing her knuckles while her eyes raked his chest, taking in every single scar on his skin. She moved forward and kissed his lips before running them along a scar slashing his shoulder, his soft sigh caressing the shell of her ear. She continued down his arm, their fingers still tangled, and stopped just above his elbow. 

“Would you care about telling of your own scars?” Aethelflaed asked him when she rested her head on her pillow again. 

“Anything, banphrionsa.”

finflaed nation tags: @persephones-journey @emilyhufflepufftlk @medievalfangirl @blah-blah-blah-bla @ulfrsmal

💌 Send this to the twelve nicest people you know or who seem to have a good heart and if you get five back you must be pretty awesome. 💌

Thank you Viv 🥺❤️❤️

❤️ Thank you! ❤️❤️

It was Over

Summary: She left. It was over. Aka, Finan and Aethelflaed come to a milestone in their relationship.

Warning: angst

Thank you to @emilyhufflepufftlk @lauwrite1225 @medievalfangirl for reading it beforehand

Enjoy

"You do not understand -"

"Aethelflaed, I do." Finan cut her off.

His use of her name made her clamp her jaw.

She tutted. "If you are trying to get me to renounce my vow, this is not the way." She bit.

"I ended up on the slave ship because I chose love over the crown."

"I would do it again. In a heartbeat. I would fight for our happiness, instead of having to walk away from ya." He said fiercely, eyes burning with fire.

She swallowed hard. The lump in her throat was unmoved by her efforts, blocking the path of the words she so desperately tried to say. So desperately wanted out of the way.

"What you did, was reckless. It did not grant you lasting happiness. Yet, it robbed Irland of a great leader." She finally said, her voice tight, tense. "I will not do the same to Mercia."

Finan's face fell, his heart with it. There was a finality in her voice that made him feel utterly defeated. Screams of protest wanted to escape his chest, but he has gone mute. Tears threatened to overflow his eyes as he stared into hers. When he attempted to turn away from her, he found he no longer had control over his body. Frozen in place, it felt as if time has stopped.

Aethelflaed hated seeing him like this, looking so helpless and lost. Every fiber of her being blazed with desire to step forward and embrace him. To whisper in his ear that she will stay with him, vow of chastity be damned. To kiss him, to -

She stopped herself there - she had to. Otherwise, she was sure her resolve would break.

With one more deep breath, she stepped a little closer to him.

"Know that I did not make this decision lightly." She said, her voice almost a whisper, soft, yet filled with firmness.

She stared into his eyes, willing him to believe her. He could not say anything in response, his mouth was too dry, his mind too occupied, his heart too pressed down by the gravity of her words.

After the lingering look, when the mountain of unsaid feelings was beginning to tip over, she turned around, and swiftly walked through the door.

Once Aethelflaed was out of sight and earshot, a tear cascaded down his cheek, getting lost in his beard.

She left. It was over.

The next thing Finan knew was a sob escaping his lips, his face drenched in tears.