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Emmel stank of hay and horse dung. The stench was heavy, and no matter how much he cleaned up, there always seemed to be more. He swept and scrubbed and shoveled whatever he could until his muscles ached. It was backbreaking work, and all he got as his reward was a meager amount of food and some ale. He kept to himself as nobody seemed all that interested in speaking to him, and that suited him just fine. He kept a surreptitious watch on everything that was happening in the settlement, although it didn’t reveal much to him. What he really needed was to speak to Isla in the hope she would be able to help him understand what was happening here. It didn’t make sense that she would be so comfortable with her abductor. Had Ewan been wrong? There was something flickering and twitching in the back of Emmel’s mind, but it wouldn’t form a clear, coherent thought, and he was left frustrated.

He slept on the straw with the animals through the night and got back to work the next morning. He had been tempted to go through the settlement and find where Isla was staying, but from what he had seen, it seemed as though she was staying in Rune Dolph’s house, and sneaking around there would have been far too risky.

The following day, however, it was Isla who came to him. It was the middle of the morning, and he was alone in the stables. She hissed a whisper to him to get his attention. He stopped what he was doing and rushed over to her, checking the surrounding area to make sure that nobody could see or overhear them.

“Emmel, is it ye?” she asked, staring at him through his disguise. His features were even more obscured thanks to the night spent sleeping in straw and the dirt that was smudged upon his face.

“Aye, Isla, it’s me. What’s gaeing on? What are ye daeing here?”

“I could ask ye the same question.”

“I’m here tae rescue ye!” he said in an urgent whisper. “Yer da got a message from yer sister. He said that ye were abducted. I came tae find ye and bring ye back home. I dinnae hae much time. We hae tae leave. I dinnae want tae put up with sweeping this stable for tae much longer.”

Isla had a reluctant look on her face. “Emmel, ye should nae hae done all that for me. I can take care of myself.”

“Aye, clearly,” Emmel arched his eyebrows. “This is no time for ye tae turn me away. I tried tae help ye before and send guards with ye, and look what happened! Just get Andrew and come with me. We can slip away before anyone notices. Nobody suspects me,” he said.

“I…I cannae,” Isla said, her words catching on her emotion.

Emmel looked at her with disbelief. “What dae ye mean ye cannae? What’s gaeing on here, Isla? Why are ye on such good terms with that Viking? He is the one who kidnapped ye, aye?”

Isla nodded, which only made Emmel more confused.

“Then why would ye nae want tae leave? I dinnae understand.”

“I-I cannae tell ye Emmel. Please, just gae back home and leave me here. I can take care of myself. I promise. There’s no need for ye tae get hurt. If they d-discover who ye are and why ye are here, they’ll kill ye. Please, just gae back. I’ll find a way home. Tell Da that ye found me and that I’m well.”

“Isla, I cannae just leave ye here. Ye hae tae tell me what’s happening. Haes he hurt ye? Haes he hurt Andrew?”

“Just leave!” Isla cried, far louder than she intended. Her words were so sharp that Emmel visibly recoiled from her, almost dropping his broom in the process. The horses behind them twisted their heads and looked at them idly before returning to whatever else held their interest.

“I want tae stay in the village,” Isla said, and then spun on her heels and ran away. Emmel was so stunned, he took a few moments to react, but he wasn’t about to let her leave like this. He chased after her, running out of the stable, but just as he did, Varrik appeared.

“Where do you think you’re going? Get back to work!” he cried.

“Let me get past!” Emmel said, scowling. All he wanted was to get back to Isla again. If he could just talk to her and make some sense of all this. She had never seemed unhappy on the island. She had never expressed a desire to leave before, so why would she be so content to stay here in this place where she had been kidnapped? He wasn’t going to get the chance to ask her that question, though. As soon as he tried to get past Varrik, Varrik grabbed him with both hands and lifted him off the ground, throwing him back toward the stables. Emmel landed with a huge thud, and his head cracked against the ground, sending his teeth chattering inside his skull. He cried out in pain as a large shadow loomed over him.

“Stay here and do your work. I don’t want any trouble from you,” he said, and then spat a glob of phlegm that landed beside Emmel’s face. Emmel groaned and pushed himself to his feet, glaring at Varrik as he walked away. His emotions were a mess, and he wondered how he could have misjudged this situation so completely. He retreated to the stables and continued to work with a look of gloom upon his face. He nursed his wounds and tried to think about why Isla would act this way, and to offer no explanation as well. He had come this far for her and promised her father so much. The least she could have done was tell him why she was leaving.

The longer he worked, the more the frustration festered until he could not take it any longer. In the middle of the afternoon, he ventured outside, first checking to see that Varrik wasn’t keeping an eye on him. He skipped away from the stable and made his way to the center of the village where he hoped he could shed some more light on this. There had to be another reason why Isla would be willing to stay here. It certainly wasn’t for the hospitality because this village didn’t seem to be any better than any other village he had seen. It wasn’t the people either, for the Vikings were mean and surly, and the Highlanders only stayed for as long as they had something to trade. Despite Isla’s wishes, there wasn’t any way Emmel was going to leave her here.

But then he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. In the middle of the village was Rune Dolph, tall and impressive in stature. Beside him was Andrew. The two of them were playing, practicing sword fighting. At first, Emmel thought it was another child entirely as he had never seen Andrew with a sword in his hand before. Isla had always forbidden it. Yet here he was acting like a warrior, and Emmel could not understand why.

He slunk away, back into the shadows of the settlement with a troubled mind. Questions rattled around his head as though two phantoms were throwing dice and gambling over his soul. The horses offered no wisdom, and he stood with a furrowed brow for the rest of the day, trying to understand the incomprehensible.

When it came time for him to rest, he left the broom at the stables and stretched his limbs. The shirt he wore was baggy, hiding his strong figure. He walked with a stoop as well in order to prevent people from suspecting that he was anything other than what he said he was. A fire crackled in the middle of the village, where the commoners gathered to share food and enjoy the fruits of a rigorous day. Isla and Andrew were nowhere to be seen. Emmel’s gaze drifted past the dancing fire toward the silhouette of Rune Dolph’s house. She would have been behind the stone walls, but was she a prisoner as Emmel had initially thought, or was she actually a guest?

He collected his bread, cheese, and a chunk of juicy meat. It was not as much as he would have liked, and certainly not as much as he thought a day’s labor was worth, but a part of him had wanted to be humbled, and he was certainly being humbled now. He sat with a bowed head, enjoying the warmth of the flame, trying to mind his own business. Emmel had not wanted to stay in this place for very long, and he wasn’t sure for how much longer he could stay. Yet he had promised Ewan that he would return with Isla in tow. Emmel wasn’t about to leave without her, or at least a good explanation that Ewan would understand, although Emmel wasn’t sure that any such explanation existed.

“Stable boy! Come here!” Rough words were thrown in his direction. Emmel rolled his eyes and pursed his lips in frustration. He ignored the invitation at first, but then more shouts were tossed at him until it seemed as though thunder was popping all around his mind. Varrik staggered across, his words slurring as he pointed a flagon of ale at Emmel.

“Are you deaf? I’m telling you to come here,” Varrik said.

Emmel closed his eyes as Varrik approached him, flanked by other Vikings. They were all brutish and strong, and when they breathed, the air became heavy with ale.

“I’m just trying tae enjoy my food,” Emmel said reluctantly.