Eleanor

"Shhhhh will you Cal! You want the bastards to hear us?" Domhnall whispered. "You're sure you saw her come here?"

"Yes, I saw here arrive with the gypsy whore" Cal replied.

"Remember Cal, Eleanor's mine, you kill anyone who tries to come after us, stay in the woods." Domhnall spoke, the venom barely concealed.

Eleanor was going to pay for not being in the village last night; his Da might have been saved if the barbarians had been given the bitch. Well, he was going to have his fun with her this night, and leave her as a nice surprise for the invaders in the morning, a blow to the bastards, losing one of their own. And he would be the one to deliver it.

"MacLean? Now?" Cal nudged his cousin.

"Aye, now. You go round to the edge near the trees, I will take her past the river, that will be far enough should she wake." Domhnall ordered as he quietly left the cover of trees, and crossed to the tent she had retired to.

This would have all been done hours ago if that giant had gone to his tent when his other men had retired Domhnall thought bitterly, his anger had been strong at the beginning of the night, now his anger and exhaustion was pushing him to the brink of wanting to risk slaughtering them one by one as he passed their tents. But he had no intention of dying. Only the Viking bitch was.

Entering her tent, Domhnall looked down at the sleeping girl, rage entering him once more, as he grabbed her hair and knocked her head forcibly against the chilled ground, stifling her waking gasp, her world black once more. Throwing her over his shoulder, Domnhall entered the woods, passing Cal.

"You stay here. I will come back for you." He ordered, jogging deeper through the brambles until he reached the river.

Wading through the wash, he threw Eleanor to the ground on the other side, the rush of the water loud enough to disguise his course of action. Kicking a great deal of water over her, she woke with a start, her scream caught by his hand as he shoved a dirty rag into her mouth and forced her bleeding head back against the mud hard once more.

"You are going to pay for my father's death ya little bitch" Domnhall raged, as he ripped her tunic down the front, pinning her hands above her with one as his bit the top of her breast hard, drawing blood.

Her muffled scream was very loud, even with the rag in her mouth. Slapping her to shock her into silence worked as she caught her breath from the pain of her split lip. *********************** Ragnar woke as a quiet scream broke his light slumber, detangling himself from Kate's arms, he left his tent into the night, as Bruni did.

"You heard it too?" Bruni whispered.

"Yes" Ragnar replied, looking into Eleanor's tent, seeing the blood where her head had been resting. "She has not been gone long Bruni, a few minutes maybe, the blankets are still warm."

He tried to reassure his friend, who was now vibrating with anger from the sight of blood on Ragnar's fingers, as they ran into the woods.

Hearing the muffled cries, Cal cursed his cousin; he wasn't far enough away to take her. Turning his head towards Eleanor's scream, Cal felt the blade press against his throat before he could draw breath to cry out.

"How many of you are there?" Ragnar spoke, menace pronounced in each of his words to this man against the tree.

Bruni ran on, his sword drawn, his legs moving fast, covering the ground as fast as possible. The sound of her cries of pain spurring him on. Then the sight of the bastard lifting her shift caused the anger to over ride all.

His terrifying shout raged through the hours before dawn, birds scattering from their resting places, as he ran through the rapids to the Scot. His hand over his erection halted, as he heard the loud war cry of the Norse man.

Domnhall cursed his bastard cousin for no warning, smashed the whore's head against the mud once more hoping the Viking would stop and tend her, and ran into the woods. He heard the splash of the water halt as the giant reached the shore, and the muted cry from the whore he hoped was a plea.

"Get him." she cried. Two simple words, spoken in his language, Bruni smiled gently and rushed past her, after the Scots bastard. It did not take him long to catch him. The bastard's sword drawn in defense, as Bruni stalked towards him, he muttered something in that language of his that meagerly sounded like a warning.

Smiling sardonically, Bruni moved ever closer, his sword held strong in his hand, no shake to his stance, no fear in his eyes. Not like this pathetic mass before him, sword looked although as light breeze could disarm him, fear in his eyes, especially as Bruni spoke.

"Ww-what?" Domnhall asked, not understanding the Norse language. "He said," Ragnar spoke, appearing from the right wiping the blood from his sword. "That you are going to jump like the coward you are."

Extending his sword like Bruni, Ragnar stalked the MacLean towards the edge of the cliff, the sheer drop onto the rocks below a terrifying end. "Is that her blood on your mouth Scot?" Ragnar asked, smiling as the man began rubbing furiously at the blood he had drawn from her breast with his teeth as he backed up against the very edge, feeling the spray of the salty water prickling his neck, beckoning him.

Raising his sword against the invading men, he ran for the blonde male, swinging his sword high to reach the giant's neck, coming to an abrupt halt as the searing pain in his manhood toppled him to the ground. Clutching himself as the warm blood seeped through his fingers, through the fabric of his plaid, he had clear view of his unmanning, lying next to him on the ground.

Whimpering from the pain, he hardly felt the strong hands on both his shoulders bringing him to rest on shaking and weak legs as the blonde giant spoke to the black haired devil. The last thing he felt, was the rush of the cool air around him, the sight of his conquerors, watching his decent into hell.

Running back towards Eleanor, Bruni slowed as he saw her knelt by the rushing water, her sobs barely concealed by the noise of the falls. He stilled Ragnar's approach as he walked gently towards her, watching her hiss in pain as she lifted some of her torn shift to wash the wound on her breast.

Startling her as his hand gently held hers; Eleanor fell back into the mud, clutching at the torn tunic with her free hand.

"Shhhh, child, let me tend to you." Bruni whispered, knowing that as she nodded, she knew his language.

Taking the rag from her scratched hand, Bruni rinsed it in the rapids, pulling her tunic back enough to see her wound, but keep her modesty and make her comfortable to his touch. He roared with anger in his head as she flinched in pain, the bleeding stopping on her torn flesh, but the skin turning violent shade of purple and black around the bite.

"Did he hurt you" Bruni paused, composing himself, "anywhere else?" Bracing himself for the worse. That he may not have been early.

A small shake of her head was all Eleanor could manage, the intensity of this giant being so close to her, crouched in the mud beside her, tending her skin with the tender touch she would not have expected of a man his size, Eleanor could not find her voice. Her head swam with pain from being knocked against the ground, and she grappled for his strong hands before she fell back into the mud, her world descending into black once more.

Catching her, Bruni lifted her into his arms, and waded through the river to a waiting Ragnar.

"Kate woke and found me gone, the other wives are coming, they will wash her here, and we can come back and get her." Ragnar placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We will be just behind the trees; no one will get to her Bruni."

Laying her down on the soft grass, Bruni rose quickly as the small group of women, swarmed the bank, with linens for the girl. Moving behind the trees with Ragnar, Bruni leaned against one of the tall pines littering the cliff side as the women cleaned Eleanor.

"The sooner we are away from this bloody land, the better Ragnar. This place his worse than our hell I fear."

"I agree, of all the places you and I have been, Scotland is Niflheim." Ragnar agreed, laughing as he heard Kate's itinery of curses roll from her delicious lips while she tended his Cousin's head. "She is ready Ragnar." Kate spoke softly to her lover. "Lets go Bruni, get her back to camp, we should leave first thing in the morning instead of later." Ragnar said as he stood, brushing the grass from his trousers. As Bruni lifted the unconscious Eleanor, he stalked back to camp, passing the bloodied remains of the MacLean's co-conspirator. Breaking into camp, he stalked past her tent, and took her to his own.

"Ragnar, he has gone past her tent, Bru.." Kate was silenced by Ragnar's kiss.

"She is safer there my hellion. Now," Ragnar paused as he pushed his pregnant woman into the tent, "get back to sleep, we leave in the morning."

"Ragnar!!!!!" Kate shouted, completely ignored by her lover as he walked to check the boats. He had promised her she could stay with her brothers!! The lying little toad! Her anger fired, she stormed from the tent, down to the shore. Her shock silencing her enough to make her hide behind the trees, Kate could not believe the sight before her. Ragnar, her brothers, loading their belongings into the bow of the Auden dragon boat. Her brothers were going with them. She had no choice but to go now. She had no protection. Clever Bastard, she scowled as she stalked back to the camp.