WARNING: there is rape and death in this chapter.

Name pronunciations are at the end

"Like Hell he is." Maebh snapped. She threw down the shirt she was repairing and headed out the door of the home. "If he thinks he is going to use that outhouse like a brothel he can live there permanently."

"Maebh." He sister sighed.

"Well he can Síofra, "if she gets with child where do you think she will end up, in our home, another two mouths to feed and with her it could be anyone's brat."

Maebh burst in the door of the outhouse and scoured it until she found what she was unwillingly looking for. "Daire, what in Midgard do you think you are doing?" She shouted.

"I would have thought it was obvious sis." He brother responded, his hands up the dress of the young girl with him, his pants unbuttoned and his shirt discarded on the floor.

"This is not a brothel." Maebh roared.

"She is not a whore." He replied indignantly.

"Are you so sure? I have seen her with many a man, including old man Burke over a ditch near the town. You'll catch the decaying decease off that one and what woman would ever want you with that? What sons would you ever have to care for you when you are old?" Daire froze and looked from his sister to his potential partner, and in horror, pushed her away.

"Get away with you, go." Maebh shooed the girl.

"Bitch." She commented.

"And if I ever see you around my brother again I'll put a blade through you." Her eyes widened and she turned and fled. Daire was unable to look into his older sister in the eye as they headed back into the cottage. Síofra laughed in the doorway at seeing her older sister scolding their brother as though he was a child. "Aodhán's awake." She informed them.

"Daire will deal with him." Was the response, and the oldest boy dared not argue.

"You are worse than any mother." Síofra laughed.

Maebh smiled and playfully slapped her head as they walked inside. She placed the dinner to cook in a large pot on the hearth and thought of what had to be done for the day. She needed to get more grains and supplies from the neighbours so she readied some things to barter. Daire would mind the others and she would go alone, it would be faster that way, the others agreed and she set off.

She noted that the bell was not ringing out for midday prayer in the nearby village, a practise she thought futile and ridiculous, it made no sense to speak to an invisible being on a cloud in her opinion. She arrived at the neighbours fast enough, and traded what she needed. Satisfied, she headed for home once more.

She looked around the countryside as she headed back down to their small cottage. The one her mother, herself and Daire had repaired when her father had been murdered and they were cast from their home. Her mother had been expecting Aodhán at the time, but had subsequently died while birthing him, leaving her to raise her siblings rather than looking to find a man and raise a family of her own.

For whatever reason, Maebh looked towards the village, it took a moment for her eyes to register what she was seeing, but when they did, she froze. It was in flames. She could not see any of the occupants, but even from her position up the hillside, when she concentrated, she could hear their cries and wails. Maebh dropped the goods she was carrying, and with all the strength she possessed, ran towards her home. She fell twice in her hurry, but picked herself up and carried on, without even checking for injury.

She crossed a field belonging to another neighbour and jumped a small stream that divided the two territories, she could see the thicket to the back of the cottage and darted through the bushes and rounded the side of the outhouse, stopping suddenly and clasping her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Face down in the dirt, with blood pooling beside his little body, was Aodhán, his eyes wide, but the life was gone out of them, an axe lodged in his little back. She did not know how he had gotten so far, he must have tried to flee. Maebh's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her littlest brother, but a shriek from inside the cottage pulled her thoughts back to the current situation. The cry was Síofra's, she went into the outhouse and grabbed the knife she had sharpened only the day before for skinning and gutting animals. She cautiously made for the front door, keeping as silent as possible.

When she entered, she was facing the back of a large man, larger than she had ever seen before, covered in metal, leather and pelts and his wild hair long and braided in parts. He was eating the contents of the dinner pot, paying no heed to anything around him. Beside him on the floor, Daire was bleeding badly, blood spluttered from his mouth with every breath, a line of blood dragged with him as he tried futilely to pull himself to the bedroom, where Maebh could hear Síofra's whimpers, and the other distinctive sounds of grunting and the bed banging rhythmically.

Maebh saw red and silently walked over to the unsuspecting intruder and pierce the back his skull where it meets the neck, as hard as possible. There was not a sound from the man as fell backwards of the chair and crashed to the floor dead. Daire turned his head shakily, he had relief in his eyes when he saw his older sister, he laid his head on the floor and his raspy breathing ceased, his body stilling immediately.

Fuelled by anger, anguish and hatred, Maebh tightened her grip on the knife and walked purposely to the bedroom, stepping over Daire's lifeless body as she did. Another large man was on the bed, pounding into her ten year old sister as though his life depended on it. Síofra's anguished cries were weak and seemed to become even more so by the second. Maebh walked over to the bed and grabbed the man by the hair, and before he could comprehend what was going on, or retaliate, she slid the sharp blade of the knife deeply across his throat. Crimson fluid poured from the wound and onto Síofra, who was ashen faced and barely breathing. Maebh pulled the man off her and wept. Protruding from her abdomen was the vegetable knife from the kitchen. Looking at the wound, Maebh knew there was nothing she could do, she merely got on the bed beside her sister and curled the girl as close to her as she could and tried to comfort her through the last few minutes of her brutally ended life. She thought of Aodhán, outside in the dirt, not even five years old, and Daire, who had not yet celebrated his ascent to manhood, whose last words to her were an attempt at an apology that she refused to listen to, wanting him to think of what he was doing just a bit longer. She held her sister close to her and felt the life drain from her body, and cried.

She was unsure how long she sat there, holding her sister's body before she heard the sound of men's voices, the words they spoke made no sense to her, she could not understand a single thing they were saying. She heard them enter the house, gasps and shouts sounded out from the kitchen and then heavy footfalls toward the bedroom. At that moment, she could not care whether they were friend or foe, she welcomed death. She held Síofra close, never wanting to let her go.

The sound of an odd voice called her from her sorrow, with her eyes red and wet, she looked up. Another tall man, with hair as black as onyx, neat, long and braids within it, and eyes the colour of the richest grasses pierced into her own. Though was not as burly built as the two men she had killed, he was clearly still very strong. He just looked at her with horror on his face, his hands were covered in blood and specks of the fluid splattered his face and clothes. He laid his weapon on the floor and held his hands up as though not to startle her, she just glared in response.

Unsure of what the stranger wanted, Maebh felt for her knife beside her thigh and wrapped her fingers tightly around the handle, holding it close, poised to attack, waiting for the most opportune moment. The stranger advanced still, slowly and cautiously, when a deep voice like thunder entered the house and he became distracted responding to it, taking his eyes off her for a mere moment.

It was then that Maebh leapt off the bed, knife in hand, onto the man. Though she was of short stature, she was sturdy built, and weighed more than she appeared to, causing both to land on the floor with a thud. The man quickly noticed the knife and held the hand wielding it with great force, while he tried to push Maebh off him, clearly surprised by her strength, shouting as he did so.

After a moment Maebh felt herself being picked up by a seemingly wall of muscle and the knife being forced from her hand. She kicked and screamed at the man and fought to free herself. He slammed her into the wall of the cottage and in the mayhem she was able to note his sun coloured hair and his ocean blue eyes. In the corner of her vision she saw his huge muscular arm rise, and in it a hammer, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, accepting her fate and in turn, her end.

The other man seemed to be shouting "Thor" over and over whatever it meant and after a minute or two of waiting, the hammer still had not struck her. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw that both men were just staring at her.

Maebh – May-ve

Daire – Dar-re

Síofra – She-fra

Aodhán – Ay-dawn