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Afew days had passed since Egon had left the village, but the way he had left still stung. Caoimhe's accusations had cut him deeply, and he wasn't sure what he had done to draw her ire. Now he found himself sitting on a raised rock near the shore, gazing out at the ocean, wishing once again that he could form a crew and find his glory out there on the open sea. He was interrupted from his solitude by his mother, who came walking up. Her once bright hair was now streaked with grey, but she was still slender and beautiful. She came to sit beside Egon.

“Are ye gaeing tae spend all yer days brooding out here?” Ailis asked.

“I'm not brooding. I'm...thinking,” he said.

“Oh, aye. Yer father was a big thinker as well. I heard about what ye hae been daeing with Miles and the others. They're grateful tae ye for teaching them.”

“It's no trouble to me. I think it's the only way I'm going to get a decent challenge,” he said.

Ailis laughed. “Oh, Egon, everything haes tae be serious with ye, doesnae it? Come on, tell yer ma what's on yer mind.”

“I was just thinking about the sea again, about how it would be nice to sail away and discover what's out there. Why don't you and Father want me to leave?”

Ailis sighed. “Egon, it's nae up tae me. Ye hae seen yer kin gae elsewhere tae find their destiny. If ye truly want tae gae out tae sea, then I hae no problem with that, but ye hae tae think about what yer da wants as well.”

“What is it that he wants? Sometimes I'm not sure I actually know.”

“He wants tae build a legacy here. Ye know that when he arrived here, Vikings weren't known tae settle in distant lands,” she said. Egon nodded. He had heard the story many times. “When ye and yer brother were babes, yer da and I used tae talk about the future. He wanted tae create a new way for Vikings tae live, and he wanted his children tae be a big part of that. If ye leave, it will be like ye are undaeing all his hard work.”

“But I never asked to be a part of this,” Egon said, his voice rippling with anger.

“I know, I know,” Ailis said reassuringly. “I'm just trying tae help ye see it from yer da's perspective. But I also dinnae think ye hae truly thrown yerself intae life in the Highlands. Ye always keep yerself distant from things. That's why we wanted ye tae gae tae the villages. It's fine if ye want tae gae off sailing, but dae it because it's what ye want, nae because it's what ye think the gods want ye tae dae.”

“I don't know if I'm made to be a part of this place. I'm not like Father and Erik. I'm not good with people. This village...the people there never took to me.”

“Is this about that lass?”

Egon frowned. “Erik told you, didn't he?”

“Aye, that one finds it impossible tae keep a secret. What's she like?”

“She's...difficult, stubborn, willful. But she's beautiful as well. And she's been through a lot. All she wants is to find her father, but I can't promise her that it's possible. She can't seem to accept that it's not within my power to decide whether he lives or dies. I'm trying to protect the people in the village and help the ones who are still left, but she can't seem to understand this.”

“Well, I'm sure she's hurting, and we dinnae always think clearly when we think the world is against us.”

“She also hates me,” he said.

Ailis tilted her head and pressed her lips together. “That's nae true, and I know it's nae true because she haes nae haed a chance tae get tae know ye. I think that all she wants is a wee bit of effort tae be made tae look for her father. She probably thinks all us Vikings know each other. If ye showed her just how difficult it is, she might understand ye more, and I'm sure she'll appreciate the effort. Perhaps ye should gae back and offer.”

“Perhaps, although I don't think there's much chance of her accepting. If Erik told you about Caoimhe, then I'm sure he told you about Sven too.” Egon spoke the other man's name with derision.

“Oh, aye, he did. But I wouldnae let him get tae ye.”

“He's cast a spell on her, Mother. I can't compete with him.”

Ailis frowned and looked at him sternly. “Now, that is nae the Egon I know. There haes nae been any man ye hae been afraid tae face in battle.”

“But this isn't battle, Mother. This is...”

“Love?” she offered, and smiled when Egon said nothing to disagree with her. Then she laughed before she spoke. “I know ye look like a man, but there is still a lot ye need tae learn about life. Love is the fiercest battle of them all,” she said. “I dinnae think ye will give up sae easily.”

Egon supposed she was right. There had never been a woman who had managed to burrow her way so deeply into his mind. Other women over the years had all been fleeting affairs, flurries of passion that left no lasting impression on his heart. Caoimhe was different, and he wanted to prove to her that she was wrong in thinking him a villain.

He looked out at the ocean and decided that it would still be there whenever he chose to return, but for now, there were other matters to attend to. He thanked his mother for the words of wisdom and then mounted a horse, heading straight for Caoimhe's village. If she chose Sven in the end, then he would have to accept her decision, but there was still a fight to be fought, and he wasn't going to give Sven the victory.

Egon only stopped intermittently on the way to eat some food, but otherwise, he rode at a good speed, so much so that the wind whipped through his hair. If Caoimhe wanted her father to be found, then he would make the effort to find her and prove once and for all that he wasn't responsible, and then perhaps she would believe him.