After the House Under 3 Moons.

The Five Women of Chichester

Survivors of the Sussex Manor — Autumn, 1068 AD

When Hati, Bastian, and Æthelflæd departed the captured manor in Sussex, they did not leave alone. Five Anglo-Saxon women were brought out of the house alive. All were descendants of families long established around Chichester, and all had suffered under the violence and upheaval that followed the Norman conquest of Sussex. Four had been treated as property by the former ghouls Hugh de Vassy and Martin Leclerc, while the fifth had been imprisoned because of her former position within the household. Hugh and Martin are now dead, and the women have been returned by the Kindred to what remains of their families in Chichester before the three travelers continue back toward London.

Lady Ælfgifu of Chichester — Age 32

Former Lady of the Manor

Ælfgifu was born into a prosperous Anglo-Saxon family whose lands had been held near Chichester for generations. Educated unusually well for a woman of her station, she can read some Latin, understands household accounts, knows local land boundaries, and remembers the names and obligations of many families surrounding Chichester. Before the Norman seizure, she was the Lady of the Sussex manor, responsible for its servants, stores, livestock, and domestic affairs.

When Norman men seized the estate in 1067, Ælfgifu refused to recognize their claim to her home. That defiance saved her from being immediately carried away but condemned her to imprisonment. For nearly a full year she was kept locked in a small upper chamber, occasionally brought downstairs when her captors required information about the estate or local families.

More than half of Ælfgifu's extended family is now dead, missing, or scattered. Two male relatives were killed resisting Norman soldiers, while several younger women were taken away as wives or companions and have not returned. Ælfgifu has emerged from captivity physically weakened but remarkably composed. She speaks little around strangers and carefully studies everyone who enters a room. She has not forgotten that the manor was once hers.

Of the five women, she alone was never considered the property of Hugh or Martin. She was their prisoner.

Wulfgifu Cissa — Age 27

The Healer

Wulfgifu descends from a family of healers and herb gatherers living outside Chichester. Her family claims distant descent from the old people associated with the lands surrounding Cissa's settlement, and her surname has become a local reminder of that heritage. She has dark brown hair usually worn braided, weathered hands, and a calm manner that hides considerable anger.

She knows common remedies for fever, infected wounds, childbirth, burns, and broken bones. That knowledge was why Martin Leclerc kept her alive. Rather than allowing her to leave, he forced Wulfgifu to tend servants, guards, and captives at the manor.

Her father and two brothers were killed during the Norman occupation of the surrounding countryside. A younger sister was taken from Chichester and reportedly married to a Norman soldier before being carried north. Wulfgifu does not know whether she went willingly.

She was one of the four women claimed as property by Hugh and Martin. Following her rescue, she has become protective of the younger survivors and rarely allows them to travel anywhere alone.

Eadgyth Bosham — Age 24

The Keeper of Names

Eadgyth comes from a family connected with fishermen, traders, and boatmen who traveled between Chichester, Bosham, and settlements along the Sussex coast. Before the conquest she assisted her father with household accounts and learned enough letters to recognize names, marks, quantities, and certain Latin words.

Her greatest talent is her memory.

Eadgyth remembers faces, conversations, family connections, and names with unsettling accuracy. During her captivity she quietly memorized the names of Norman soldiers, servants, visitors, merchants, and strangers who came through the manor. She can describe wagons, heraldry, weapons, and even portions of conversations she overheard.

Her father and eldest brother were killed. Two cousins disappeared after Norman soldiers entered their homes, while an aunt and several children fled deeper into Sussex. Of a once-large family, fewer than half are known to remain near Chichester.

Hugh de Vassy claimed Eadgyth as household property, expecting her to keep records and assist with supplies. Hugh apparently never realized just how much she was recording in her own memory.

Now free, Eadgyth possesses information that may prove far more valuable than anything Hugh left behind.

Leofrun Ælfsdaughter — Age 20

The Stable Girl

Leofrun was raised among horses. Her father bred and cared for riding animals outside Chichester, and by childhood she could calm frightened horses, recognize illness, repair simple tack, and ride confidently. She is strong for her age, with sun-darkened skin, long light-brown hair, and a habit of speaking to horses before speaking to unfamiliar people.

The Normans killed her father and an older brother after accusing them of hiding animals that should have been surrendered. Her mother survived, but two sisters disappeared. One is believed to have been taken as a wife by a Norman man and removed from Sussex.

Leofrun eventually came into the possession of Hugh and Martin, who valued her ability with horses. She worked the manor's stable and was forbidden to leave the grounds without an escort.

During the rescue, she proved unwilling to remain merely a victim. Once she realized Hugh and Martin were losing control of the manor, Leofrun helped release animals and locate supplies for the escaping women.

She has developed particular respect for the warriors who freed them, although she remains understandably uncertain about exactly what kind of people Hati and Bastian truly are.

Wynflaed of Fishbourne — Age 17

The Youngest Survivor

Wynflaed is the youngest of the five. Her family lived near Fishbourne, west of Chichester, where generations had worked farms close to the remains of old Roman lands. She has pale blond hair, gray eyes, and still possesses the unmistakable appearance of someone barely entering adulthood.

Before the conquest, her concerns were livestock, spinning wool, village celebrations, and whether she might eventually marry the son of a neighboring family. Within two years nearly everything familiar disappeared.

Her eldest brother was killed. Another vanished after being taken for labor. Two female cousins were carried away with Norman soldiers, and her intended husband was reportedly killed somewhere outside Chichester. Her mother and one surviving aunt are among the few relatives she believes remain.

Wynflaed was the fourth woman held as property by Hugh and Martin. Because of her youth, she was largely assigned domestic work, particularly cooking, cleaning, carrying water, and tending fires. The other women, especially Wulfgifu and Ælfgifu, did everything they could to protect her during their captivity.

Of all five, Wynflaed is the most openly grateful toward Hati, Bastian, and Æthelflæd. She has begun calling the three rescuers the Night Travelers, unaware—or perhaps deliberately refusing to ask—why some of them seemed so comfortable traveling after sunset.

Their Return to Chichester

The journey back is a somber tone. These women are not returning to the Chichester they remember. Houses stand empty, familiar families have vanished, Norman authority is becoming entrenched, and nearly every survivor can name someone killed, displaced, or carried away since the conquest.

Yet there are still relatives waiting.

When Hati, Bastian, and Æthelflæd bring the five women home, word quietly spreads that travelers from London rescued Anglo-Saxon prisoners from a manor controlled by Norman men. The full truth of what happened—and what Hugh and Martin truly were—is not spoken.

For the Kindred travelers, Chichester is only a stop before the road back to London.

For the five women, it is the beginning of something far more difficult: rebuilding their families from what remains.

And before the travelers depart, Lady Ælfgifu makes them a promise:

“You returned five daughters to Chichester when others would have left us behind. If ever you return to Sussex seeking shelter, knowledge, or friends, ask for my house. Whatever remains beneath my roof will remember what you did.”

Whether that promise will someday aid the Kindred of London—or draw them into the troubles growing throughout Sussex—remains to be seen.