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Caoimhe searched her mind so that she could be certain of what she believed to be true. She was certain she had seen a hammer, but the faces were a blur. She didn't want to go around accusing anyone directly, not when she didn't have any evidence, and she didn't want to risk Egon getting angry and slaughtering half the village, for he seemed quite capable judging by his stature and the way he carried himself. He and the four men with him remained in the village, so Caoimhe kept her distance because she didn't want to be around a man who might have been responsible for the capture of her father. Instead, she ventured a little way outside the village, trying to lose herself in nature and come to terms with what had happened.

Egon's callous attitude to life annoyed her. The way he just dismissed things as the way of war seemed totally opposed to the way she wanted to live life, as though in his eyes, war was a natural part of the world. Once again, she affirmed to herself that the world would be better without wars and without warriors. Why did people have to be so terrible to each other? It didn't make sense to her, and she couldn't understand how anyone could not feel the same way.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the rustling of leaves or the approach of six men. One of them cleared his throat and caught her by surprise. She leaped back in shock and then felt dread crawl across her skin as she realized that he looked much like a Viking himself. But he smiled and raised his hands, indicating that he wasn't holding a weapon.

“I'm sorry for startling you,” he said in a voice accented with a Norwegian lilt. He had a shock of red hair that somehow made his eyes seemed even bluer. “My name is Sven, Sven Kerr, and I'm trying to find a village.”

“What for?” Caoimhe asked, not making any effort to hide her defensive attitude.

Sven chuckled to himself. “Usually, I prefer to learn a lady's name before I speak with her,” he said, teasing her a little with his smile. Caoimhe blushed, hating herself for being so disarmed by his manner, yet liking it at the same time.

“I'm Caoimhe,” she said.

“Caoimhe, what a beautiful name. You Highlanders always have a poetic way with names,” he said. “And as for my business, I'm here from Arne Hagen. He's a Viking who owns an estate near here. Word reached us of a terrible attack, and we thought we'd come to ensure the neighboring villages that they can count on our protection,” he said.

Caoimhe stifled a laugh. “Seems like there's a lot of that going around,” she said. Sven looked at her quizzically, but she chose not to elaborate on the remark. It seemed strange to her that two different groups of Vikings would come to the village with the same promise. She had never known there were this many Vikings in the Highlands at all!

“Before I take ye back, there is something I would like tae ask ye. What would yer plans be? How would ye protect us?”

“We will help bring peace, of course. There is nobody who can reason with a Viking like another Viking, and if they need teaching a lesson, then we will be eager teachers,” Sven said.

“And what of the prisoners that were taken in the raid?” Caoimhe asked.

“We will liberate them, of course,” Sven said readily. Caoimhe beamed and felt reassured at this, in a way that she hadn't with Egon. She approached Sven and lowered her voice so that only he could hear what she had to say. Her gaze drifted across to the men with him; unlike with Egon, these men were all Vikings, but somehow she trusted Sven more than Egon.

“I want tae tell ye that my father was one of the prisoners. He is the leader of the village that the Vikings destroyed. If ye could rescue him, I would be ever sae grateful, and it would mean a lot tae everyone if ye could dae such a thing.”

Sven became solemn. “Then I shall make sure that we succeed. No Highlanders should ever feel ill at ease in their own lands. We Vikings are here as your guests, and we should do all we can to protect you from our own kind. I promise you that I will make it my personal mission to find your father again and reunite you. Everything will be fine if your village works with us and listens to what we have to say.” He gazed into her eyes as he said this, and Caoimhe felt her heart flutter. It was silly, really, because he was a Viking, but if he could do all he set out to do then perhaps she would be willing to listen to Hugh's words and believe that not all Vikings were to be feared. Sven had such kind eyes that for a moment, she couldn't even fathom being scared of him at all.

With this all settled, Caoimhe took Sven and his men back to the village. He addressed the villagers in much the same way as Egon had, but his voice was smoother, and he seemed to be talking with the villagers rather than at them. The villagers were more enthused by his proposal as well. He made sure to mention that he would try and rescue the prisoners and repeated much of what he said to Caoimhe. The residents of the village seemed to be impressed by what he had to say and were nodding along in agreement. On the one hand, they had a Viking who was curt and dismissive, while on the other, they had one who was willing to listen and seemed eager to help. It didn't seem like a difficult choice. Caoimhe, like all the others, naturally gravitated to one Viking in particular.

It wasn't long before Egon learned of Sven's presence, though. He came marching out with a face like thunder, flanked by his men. He walked right up to Sven, who looked unperturbed.

“Who are you?” Egon asked.

“I'm Sven Kerr,” Sven said. “I'm here to offer protection to these people.”

“Well, you can go back wherever you came from. I've already offered protection to these people. They don't need you.”

“I think that's for them to decide,” Sven said, glancing toward the crowd. Someone called out that having two groups of Vikings to protect them seemed better than one, and the vast majority of the crowd agreed, including Caoimhe, who didn't trust Egon. If Sven stayed, then at least he could keep Egon in check.

Egon scowled and bristled with anger. Caoimhe could feel the heat radiating off him, and she was scared that a fight might break out. For someone who had seemed so emotionless when he had been talking about the village that had been attacked, he seemed to be burning with fury now that he was challenged by another Viking. Caoimhe wondered if there was some kind of blood feud between their people, although she had previously thought that all Vikings were of the same ilk and had the same driving forces. But now that she thought about it, she knew that it couldn't be true; not all Highlanders were the same, so why should that be the case for Vikings? It was clear that these two Vikings were very dissimilar. One was bordering on cruel, while the other actually seemed to care about the plight of the Highlanders, and Caoimhe knew which one she would rather side with.

“What do you say to teaming up?” Sven asked. “We might do a better job of serving the Highlanders if we join together.”

Egon snarled, but he didn't dismiss the idea out of hand.

“And how would you go about protecting these people?” he asked.

“By taking the fight to the Vikings, of course!” His words were met with a raucous cheer from the Highlanders. Caoimhe smiled too. It was good to meet a Viking who actually seemed to want to protect them rather than attack. Egon was not enthused.

“We should work to make their defenses stronger and ensure that they have enough food,” Egon said.

“Why waste all that time when we can attack the Vikings directly and end this threat once and for all!” Sven said. Egon was about to say something in reply, but he was drowned out by more cheers from the crowd who saw this new Viking as a potential champion. Indeed, Caoimhe's heart fluttered, and her eyes sparkled with attraction. She wasn't sure she had ever met anyone like Sven, and in a way, he reminded her of her father in that he was brave and seemed determined to help people.

“I think we know what we need,” Caoimhe said, striding forward, looking directly at Egon with a smug look on her face. “Making defenses here isn't going to bring our people back. We have to find these Vikings and make them pay for what they've done.”

Her words were as strong as steel. As she glared at Egon, a strange feeling swept through her, one that she had never experienced before. It was as powerful as the strongest tide and as sharp as crackling lightning. At the time, she thought of it as mere anger towards the man, but eventually, she would see that it was something else entirely...something she was wholly unprepared for.