A/N: Hello everyone! So I managed to get another chapter uploaded. It was either sleep or upload chapter and you can guess which option I took. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll have more uploads for this chapter and Wildest Dreams very soon.

Enjoy the chapter

Chapter 18: The Burning Village

Christine couldn't believe everything Erik told her about the war and her father. She still didn't want to think that her father was the reason behind the war; that he would have ordered his men to burn villages, steal supplies from the Scottish people. Looking down at the burn village, she could hear the screams of the people.

"We should help them." The words came out of her mouth before she could realize what she was saying. Erik looked at her, as did Malcolm.

"There's nothing we can do." He said to her.

"Yes there is." She argued back. "You can still save some homes and the people. There's a river nearby that you can use for water."

"Why do you care about helping us?" He asked her.

"You may be the enemy but you are still humans. I told you, I'm not like my father." She answered him. "If you need proof, remember Kilchurn." He did remember that, he always remembered that. Looking down at the village, she was right. They still could save the village even if more of the supplies were already destroyed.

"Alright, we'll help." Realizing he agreed with her, she couldn't help but smile slightly at him. He looked at Malcolm and the soldier who was with William, telling them were to go while the rest of men would help with putting the fire out. With the order out, Malcolm rode over to a spot away from the flames. They weren't far but enough to be safe from the flames. Erik wanted them to stay away, but also close by so he could still see them.

Splitting the men up; half of the men went to help the villagers gather anything they could save and get a distance from the flaming buildings. The rest of the men, including him, set out to put the fire out. Getting every bucket, they could find, they would rush to the river to fill the buckets and try hard not to spill any water as they made their way back to the village. Once the villagers were to safety, the men who helped them went to help the rest. Some of the villager men would help as well, but the women and children stayed away. From her view, she could see every soldier running around, trying to save the burning buildings. She could see Erik right along his men, shouting order as well throwing buckets of water onto the fire. She watched as the men worked tireless to put the fire out, not taking a break to catch their breaths or rest their bodies. When one building was saved, they'd move to the next and the next. It was a large village and almost every building was on fire.

"They won't be able to save everything." Malcolm commented, standing next to her. She glanced at him, knowing his was right. The fire spread quicker than the men would save.

"I wish I could help."

"But the captain ordered you to stay here." He said. "You don't want to disobey his orders."

"Even if that means helping them?" She asked him. "An extra set of hands could help a lot." She knew he and Jacob wanted to help, but since they were the youngest, Erik ordered them on guard duty. "We won't run." She assured him. "We're unfamiliar with the land so we couldn't get far."

"I'm sorry, lass. But the captain ordered you to stay here and for us to guard you." She sighed. Are all Scots stubborn? No maybe they don't want Erik to be furious. She had never seen him furious, but something about him made her not want to see Erik furious. Looking back down at the village, all she could do was stand and watch.

Hours and hours passed by and the men kept working. More of the villagers started helping the men. More and more buildings were being able to be saved and only now a few more buildings were still on fire. Christine and William still kept their distance from the village, still being watched by Malcolm and Jacob. As they continued to watch, Christine could faintly hear someone yelling. It wasn't loud enough to draw attention of the two soldiers. Looking around for where the voice could be coming from, she noticed a barn in the distance, the edge of the village. Smoke and flames were coming out of the windows and somehow she knew, there was someone in there.

"Don't you hear that?" Christine asked Malcolm who took a minute to listen, but he couldn't hear anything.

"I don't hear anything." He said. Sighing, she started walking in the direction of the barn. He quickly went after her. "The captain-"

"The captain can get over it." She immediately said back, at this point no longer caring what Erik said. She knew there someone in the barn and she wasn't going to let him burn alive when she could help him. Malcolm grabbed her arm, stopping her. Before he could say anything, they both heard a shout coming from the barn. "I told you!" She made a run for the barn.

"Lass!" He shouted out, but Christine kept running towards the barn. Sighing, he ran after her. The doors were opened and smoke was coming out. Stopping just beyond the smoke, she ripped a piece of her dress off and used the fabric to cover her nose and mouth. Going inside, she tried not to let the smoke affect her.

"Is there anyone here?" She yelled out, hoping whoever was in the barn could hear her.

"Hello?!" She heard a voice and turned in the direction of it.

"Hello!"

"Over here!" The voice shouted back and Christine tried making her way towards the voice.

"Lass!" She stopped when she heard the sound of Malcolm. "Where are you?" He shouted out.

"I am over here!" She called back and soon saw his figure amongst the smoke. "He's over here! We can stay him!"

"Erik will be furious!" Rolling her eyes, she turned back around to find a man on ground with a beam over him. Rushing to him, she knelt down, trying to see how long the beam is. Looking back at Malcolm, she hoped he would help her. "Malcolm please. I can't lift this off of him by myself." She plead with him. Agreeing to help her so they could get out of here, he walked over and grabbed the beam.

"Ready…. lift!" He shouted and they tried lifting the heavy beam up, but it wouldn't move. "Lift!" They tried again, no movement. Malcolm knew that they couldn't move the beam, it was too heavy. "We can't lift it! It's too heavy for just for the two of us!" He shouted over the flames. Looking up, he could see the barn starting to crumb. Flaming boards began falling all around them. "We should leave!"

"No! We have to stay him!" She refused to leave him. "Please Malcolm!" Before he could anything, part of the ceiling collapsed. The wood landed on him, pinning him under the heavy wood. Screaming as she tried to get out of the way, she saw the beams falling onto Malcolm. "Oh god!" Rushing back over, she tried to move pieces, but they were too heavy. She needed someone stronger…she needed Erik.

Will Erik help her? Find out soon

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