ten-year-old uhtred dragged two-year-old kathryn out to the battle. he watched their father die, shielding his sister from the carnage, before they were taken by ragnar the fearless. they were his kids now.

they spent the next eight years together, learning the dane's way of life. uhtred had always wanted to be a dane, they were rumored to descend from odin after all, so he embraced this life proudly.

kathryn had never known another life. she loved her family and her culture. it was something she celebrated.

then ragnar the fearless was no more. burned in his own home with his father and wife. uhtred was blamed, and he had to flee with kathryn to wessex.

kathryn was kept in wessex for fourteen years, ordered by king alfred. she was used as unofficial collateral; she was a guarantee uhtred would do what the king asked.

despite being raised by saxons for fourteen years, kathryn acted just like her older brother. they were so alike . . .

"she's as stubborn as uhtred," finan mused one day. "i swear she scares all the men around here."

"including you?" sihtric asked with a smirk.

"no, not including me," finan added hastily before grinning behind his drink. "well. . . maybe just a little bit."

they could spend decades apart, but they would always be alike. perhaps that's why they could see the faults and strengths in each other so easily; perhaps that's why they fought and made up so quickly.

“they say she acts just like him,” edward said to aethelflaed, “she negotiates like him, writes like him, argues like him… even walks like him at times. it's said that some of the danes fear she might be another alfred.”

the two siblings watched as kathryn hugged her brother uhtred. the two pagans in the great saxon hall.

“it’s as if he’s still here, even if she detests him now,” the young king said with a sigh.

“she doesn’t detest him,” aethelflaed swiftly replied, “she is just angry. she was in winchester for fourteen years, and he practically raised her alongside us.”

“he shouldn’t have promised her bebbanburg,” edward mumbled to himself. “after years of her service and uhtred's, they have nothing to show for it. he made them swear to be loyal to me before he died. bebbanburg... it was a promise he couldn’t keep.”

“perhaps she is like our sibling, in a way,” aethelflaed mused with a warm smile, hoping to get away from the heavy topic. “i’ve always wanted a sister.”

“i already have one. she's quite a handful,” edward replied with a smirk, earning a small shove from her.

“they call her the godless,” he continued, “so leave uhtred, boy. leave them both before the gods punish you.”

sihtric remained leaning on the wooden table, his jaw clenched as the rage grew to an inferno within.

“she hasn’t cursed anyone,” finan said harshly, “though i wish she’d start with you.” the irishman pointed to the prisoner, who merely scoffed and drank his ale.

“i’ve been told she’s eaten the hearts of men,” the prisoner countered with a smug grin. “has she eaten yours, irishman?”

“stop joking,” another prisoner piped up. he was scrawny and looked panicked. his pale eyes never settled on one area for long, as though he were searching for something. “she is no mere seer. they say they see her in their dreams, just lurking. i’ve even seen her in my own; i swear it! she possesses more than odin's sight, but i've not figured out what. i’ll not be associated with the likes of you when she overhears your jests.”

“do you think i’m scared of a woman? i'm not tempted by her magic.”

uhtred of bebbanburg.

　　　considered the lapdog of king alfred, this warrior struggles to find his place in the world. born a saxon, raised a dane, but the former is the only thing he ever hears. 'daneslayer' they call him — the saxons cheer it and the danes detest it.

　　　　　　　　　a man who only wants to go home . . .

kathryn of bebbanburg.

　　　a seer who never knew of her home but only of her upbringing in the heart of daneland. she's born saxon, raised a dane, but the latter is the only thing she ever hears. 'godless' they call her — the saxons detest it and the danes cheer it.

　　　　　　　　　a woman who has never known of a home . . .

"who is he?" the priest asked, disdain and envy lacing his words. "uhtred of bebbanburg," the acolyte replied with awe, "the one man known to bring anyone to their knees with a mere whisper of his name."

　　　uhtred goes by many names: uhtred of bebbanburg, uhtred ragnarsson, uhtred the wicked, the daneslayer . . . all spoken with both envy and fear.

　　　he was born and raised in bebbanburg until he was twelve. his father went into battle and he, foolishly, followed. after the gruesome battle, uhtred was taken in by a dane — ragnar ravnsson.

　　　he was kept for a few days before a negotiation took place. a trusted priest privately informed the young boy that if he were to be brought home, his uncle would not allow him to live. his uncle had usurped the boy's birthright and did not wish for it to be taken back. fortunately, ragnar felt something was off and decided to keep the boy, whether his uncle approved or not.

　　　uhtred was raised like a dane, fought like a dane, even spoke like a dane. he became part of ragnar's family, barely remembering his own. the only connection he had was his little sister, who he would give the world to.

　　　after ragnar's passing, uhtred was left stranded. he was framed for his death and had to flee somewhere. after failing to convince other danes of his innocence, he decided to head to wessex with his sister. wessex, the heart of saxons, where he would be the least welcomed.

　　　the same priest that saved him as a child vouched for uhtred to king alfred. after proving himself, he was welcomed into king alfred's court . . . so long as he did his bidding.

　　　years have gone by and the danes both fear and laugh at uhtred. he is seen as a lapdog for the saxons — for king alfred. they find him dishonorable for turning his back on the danes, but uhtred just wants to reclaim his home.

"why would i fear a woman?" the saxon asked gruffly, his arms crossed in a dismissive manner. "oh she is no mere woman," the dane replied, "she is a wolf who is starving — not for food, but for revenge."

　　　kathryn is addressed differently throughout the continent. saxons prefer to call her lady kathryn or the lady of bebbanburg, but the danes prefer the more fearsome names such as the prophet, the girl king, and the godless. she prefers to just be called kathryn, no titles or adornments.

　　　she was born in bebbanburg but has no memory of it or her biological parents. when she was two, she followed her older brother outside the castle walls but never made it to the battlefield. she was found by ragnar ravnsson and taken in.

　　　kathryn was raised in the ways of the danes and never knew of another life. her visions were taken seriously, she was cared for and happy. she could never wish for a different life. however, after ragnar's death, she was pushed into a new one.

　　　in wessex, she was kept as collateral by king alfred. she was no prisoner but she did not enjoy her time there. she was forced to learn the saxon language, to act like a saxon, to speak like one. a wolf dressed like a lamb, forced to conform and pretend.

　　　after fourteen years, she was allowed to leave and live with her brother in a small town he ruled over (with alfred's permission). she realized how much the danes and saxons have in common, how they can both be monstrous and saintly. she does not wish to make the dividing line any bigger, she wishes to close it completely.

the wolves of bebbanburg . . .

　　　the two have a bond that is unshakeable. they love each other fiercely and know how to weaken the other. they are two wolves, biting and barking, and then licking the wounds they've inflicted.

　　　while uhtred recalls little of his saxon upbringing and much of his dane, the opposite is true for kathryn. they are two sides of the same coin, opposing yet the exact same. he is a dane with a saxon's heart and she is a saxon with a dane's heart.

　　　their foster siblings, ragnar ragnarsson and thyra ragnarsdottir, hold a special place in their hearts but they could never be bound like the two are. their fates are aligned by odin himself.

　　　the two wish more than anything to reclaim their home and never have to worry about whether they are saxon or dane. they wish to be by the shore, collecting seashells and throwing rocks once more.

　　　the doomed siblings, the heirs of bebbanburg, ragnar's adopted saxons, the wolves of northumbria . . . the priests fear there may not be enough ink to write their stories.

kathryn was said to have three brothers; one was biological, the other two were not.

uhtred was her biological brother, the other wolf of bebbanburg. he often put her needs before his own. even when he dragged her from their home and got taken in by ragnar the fearless, he didn’t regret anything. so long as she was by his side, he would be fine.

ragnar the younger wasn’t around a lot during the eight years kathryn lived in loidis with his family. however, whenever he returned from voyages, he would spoil her with trinkets and necklaces that he got while raiding. when his parents had died, his first thought was kathryn. she was only ten, he traveled home immediately.

when she was in winchester, ragnar visited only once. her brother, uhtred, had been kidnapped and sold. kathryn delivered a vision to help ragnar find him (after being held hostage by alfred to get him back).

once kathryn left winchester, ragnar was beyond relieved. he was terrified that she had become a saxon and had abandoned her upbringing, but that was far from the truth. he continues to visit her in cuccham and often invites her to his unruly dane parties — “you must enjoy life hrafn! you can’t keep staring at your irishman all evening.”

edward was raised alongside kathryn when she was placed in winchester. for fourteen years, the two grew close and would often find ways to avoid boring classes. once edward’s father passed and he became king, he offered a place in his court to kathryn. she declined, not out of impoliteness but because she knew if she stayed in his court, she’d never leave. she offered to continue leading negotiations when needed, and edward accepted. however, it is rumored edward would do anything should kathryn ask.

a king, a danish jarl, and the man who could gain allies who were both saxon and dane would move heaven and earth to protect their sister.

edward the elder. ragnar, the lion of loidis. uhtred the daneslayer.

finan loved her. he didn’t care that she was from another world than his own. . . he had learned to crave a part of it—a part in it.

uhtred and him were bound; those were the same words he said to ragnar the younger after they were saved. so how could he fall for his sister? uhtred’s only blood relative? it was pure betrayal.

kathryn felt similarly. after years in winchester, the only thing she wanted was a true bond with her brother. once she moved to cuccham, she was able to have that. however, she also harbored feelings for the irishman. she felt as though she was betraying her brother by wanting to have his right-hand man for herself.

she would never make finan choose between uhtred and herself, which is why she’d stay silent about her feelings. even after arguing with uhtred tearfully about how she was trying not to be selfish, she kept her feelings under lock and key.

i think alfred and his family would definitely be wealthy. they could be modern royals.

uhtred could come from a modern royal family but was hidden away after his father tragically passed. his uncle ends up "usurping" his titles and estate. he ended up living with ragnar the fearless, living a regular life instead of growing up privileged. i'm not sure if kjartan would be involved... i guess he could be but it would make this a very dark modern au lol.

sihtric, osferth, and finan could just be regular people. i'm not sure what sihtric would do. i've seen modern aus where he's a tattoo artist, which i think fits. i do know some of my friends have scripted me and finan in modern drs and he's a baker (love that man). osferth could be a youth pastor? perhaps working in a church by alfred and his family. i also saw an au where he worked at a dog shelter, which i think is very fitting as well.

alfred could have uhtred be his bodyguard, seeing as he and his family would need one. he could offer him his estate back through his sponsorship (but we know how long that would take). alfred would give him some land and let him live there.

how the boys would meet:

uhtred & finan: they cannot meet like how they do in the series. i'm thinking that finan was a former biker who met uhtred through ragnar. after all, finan has been fighting a long time in the series and it would make sense that he is in a similar position that modern ragnar is initially.

uhtred & sihtric: kjartan could've taken ragnar the fearless' home after his passing and maybe sihtric wanted to make amends and apologize for his father's behavior... or uhtred just goes to get a tattoo lmfao.

uhtred & osferth: in the show, osferth wants to be a warrior and live a different life. perhaps osferth seeks out uhtred since he was raised so far from the modern royal life and he wishes to experience that instead of being alfred's forgotten son.

other people:

hild could remain an abbess. i think she'd be a great help to modern uhtred. same with father beocca.

thyra (in my mind) would be a florist or a seamstress. i think she would live very comfortably.

ragnar would either be a biker (which would mean the people he leads would also be bikers) or a tattoo artist as well. i'm leaning towards the former.

brida would be a wildcard. i think she'd follow ragnar, be a biker as well, and then try to lead people once he passes.

adversaries in general: they could be opposing politicians or other modern royals trying to make things difficult. there would be no battles, obviously. perhaps lots of gossip in the papers.

i'm not sure if you wanted to know my place in the modern tlk au but i'll add it here: i would be a seer but it would be less direct. i would want to take back our estate and live the lives we are owed, just like uhtred. i could see myself as a modern courtier w/ alfred and aethelflaed. after i leave, i could be a journalist and attempt to uncover things about our uncle? haven't thought too hard on this part obviously lol.

thanks again anon for the great question! you had me sitting here for nearly 40 minutes brainstorming and researching, so thank you for that. i'd love to discuss more (potential) drs! keep the questions coming!!