Emma looked up before there was even a sound, as if something had told her what was coming. She watched the sea for some moments, looking out into the mist. She heard the oars cut the water and then she saw the ship loom out of the moist air, moving with speed towards the shore. She didn't wait any longer β knowing what the sight of a Longship heralded she was off, running across the sands and shouting for the others, the winds catching her voice and flinging it back to sea. The villagers heard her, even as she gasped to catch her breath and together they began to try to hide the livestock and make the more vulnerable of the homestead safe. It seemed no time at all before they began to hear the guttural shouts in the unfamiliar tongue. Emma had never seen the Norsemen herself, but travellers told tales that woke her from her sleep for days after their telling.
Shouts outside and the sound of frightened animals signalled their arrival in the small hamlet, and when men entered her home she felt that they would hear her body shaking and her heart hammering from her hiding place amongst the roof beams. They kicked at her sparse furnishings, and inspected the few objects she owned with such callousness she felt she could weep, but when they took the burning log from the fire and held it to the roof she knew she had little choice, either burn here as her home burned, or die as she attempted an escape.
As the roof began to smoulder she swung down from the rafters, hoping for the element of surprise and made almost to the door before arms captured her and pulled her back into the dwelling. Flung roughly down she found herself looking up towards two enormous, hulking men. They spoke together and she needed no knowledge of their mother tongue to recognise the topic of their conversation. She recognised the look in their eyes and willed herself to be wrong.
The one who stood furthest away stepped closer, pushing the other to one side, giving the impression of higher status, as the other evidently dared not question whose right it was to go first. He bent down and lifted her easily from the floor, taking her across to the rough, unmade bed and lowering her down. She protested with words they didn't recognise, and the man held her wrists firmly above her head. He spoke to her in his own tongue and she could not make sense of the words, but the harsh language sounded softer, an attempt at reassurance, but she read a hunger in his eyes that she could recognise, and had felt herself, many times. He pulled at the ties of her dress and his strong fingers released her on the second tug, freeing her breasts, and exposing her flat, soft belly. He caressed her, feeling the need build in him, appreciating the softness of her body and looking into her eyes which held his with surprising courage.