Chapter Text
When Diana finds out she does not tell anyone. She does not pick up the phone and call Ivar like she has been wanting to do for months. She does not tell Sigurd even though she knows that she has the right to hear it from her. She does not tell Ubbe who is one of her only friends. She does not call her father. What can she say? She is nineteen years old and pregnant. In three months she was due to leave London for Paris. She has her entire life planned out. Goals to be met and dreams fulfilled. Now instead she is a walking statistics about having drunk sex with no condom.
So Diana does what she is bets at. She runs. Packing a bag she leaves the family manor and in the dead of night and does not tell a soul. She turns off her phone and hops on the train. Three days later she is in Edinburgh and at 1 am is knocking on her brother's door. He has lived here for a few years to run this branch of the family empire. Here with his wife and two children. Judith answers the door and takes one look at her before welcoming her in.
Judith makes her a cup of tea and they sit in silence while her sister-in-law fries some bacon which is one of their rituals. But the smell is vile and makes her stomach turn. Diana runs to the sink and pukes up all the food in her stomach. After she is done she runs to the nearby bathroom and pukes even more. Leaning against the bathtub she begins to sob.
Judith comes in and closes the door. Dressed in her robe and with dark circles under her eyes Judith simply holds her and strokes her hair. Diana clings to her and sobs. She cries until she has nothing left in her. Eventually Judith leads her to the guest room and they fall asleep holding each other.
This is how her brother finds them in the morning. Judith leaves the bed while Diana never wants to leave it. Leaving means facing everything in the real world. Eventually Alfred and Aethelred join her. At seven and five they love their aunt and she loves them back. But they terrify her in this moment. They represent what could be. Eventually they grow bored and leave her alone. Her brother comes next. He takes one look at her and hugs her.
"Judith tells me that a bun is in ththe oven." He says it with mirth and irony.
She snorts and punches his arm. "I admit nothing."
Her brother smiles at her and nothing is said for a tim. Eventually he gets up to leave. "You need to call father. He is most concerned." A pause follows before he looks into her eyes and continues. "Apparently Ivar Lothbrok is also looking for you. He even called me a few hours ago. He threatened me and demanded answers. I hung up. Diana I will support you in whatever you decide. But you can not hid from this forever."
He closes the door and leave her to her thoughts. Eventually she falls asleep dreaming of a baby with blue eyes and her fiery hair.