Three months had passed and now snow covered the ground. The air was bitter cold. Colder than anything Sophie had ever experienced before, but she was getting used to the thick woolen clothes and heavy furs the villagers wore. And she kept her hair covered, just as Svanhild had suggested.
"Have you seen Sigurd?" Svanhild asked her one evening.
"No, I haven't," Sophie replied. "I think he was going to speak to the council about something. Would you like me to see if he's coming for supper?"
"Would you? You can take the boys with you, if you like."
"Of course," Sophie smiled. The boys were always up for an outing, even in the snow. "Torstein! Leif!" she called from the bottom of the stairs.
The boys came bounding down and already had their furs on before she reached the door. Knowing it would be a quick walk up the street and back, she only grabbed one of the thick wool shawls by the door and pulled it around her shoulders. "We'll be back shortly."
Svanhild was busy stirring supper in a big pot as she held the baby on her hip and smiled as they headed out.
"Something's going on!" Leif saw a crowd up the street and the boys took off running. Sophie smiled but didn't hurry. As she drew closer to the crowd, she began to feel like something wasn't quite right. There had been plenty of times that a group of people had gathered in the street, but this was different. There were several men she didn't recognize and it was easy enough to spot them from up the street as they stood nearly a head taller than most of the men from the village.
She could hear shouting as she walked closer and she suddenly had a sinking feeling in her stomach. When the boys appeared outside the group again, she waved them over to where she had moved into the shadows of the nearest house. "Maybe we should go back," she said softly.
"Those men have Father!" Leif cried, running into her arms.
"What do they want?" she asked, hugging him and trying to see what was going on.
"I don't know!"
"Let's get you back home, quickly!" Sophie said, ushering them away from the crowd. She kept her hair covered underneath the gray shawl.
"What's wrong? What's the matter?" Svanhild asked when they burst back into the house and Leif was nearly in tears.
"There are men in the town square," Sophie said. "The boys say they have Sigurd!"
"Oh dear," Svanhild laid the baby, now asleep, into the cradle in the corner. "Torstein, are they the same men that were here before? Do you remember?"
"I don't know if they're the same ones," Torstein shrugged. "But I think they're from the same clan. They're tall, and I think they're looking for the same thing." He glanced at Sophie.
"Me? They're looking for me?" she asked.
Svanhild latched the front door. "They came looking for someone. We don't know that it's you. But they were just here a few months ago. Right before you came here. Have you kept your hair covered?"
"Yes! I always do." she said. She couldn't remember a time when she'd gone outside without it being covered. Even before it grew cold.
Svanhild shook her head. "They have spies everywhere. Someone must have seen you, otherwise they wouldn't have come back so soon. Especially not now that the weather has turned."
"Should we be worried about Sigurd?" Sophie asked. "Will they hurt him?"
"I don't know. But we can't let them see you. Get upstairs and stay there until I tell you. They've been known to search houses!"
"But what about Sigurd?" Sophie was already being pushed up the stairs.
"I'll worry about that. You stay hidden, no matter what!"
Sophie could hear shouting outside and over the next twenty minutes it got closer and closer until she realized that the crowd must be standing right outside the house. She could hear Svanhild downstairs, telling the boys to sit in the corner and be quiet.
It suddenly sounded like someone was breaking down the door and Svanhild began scolding someone for bursting into her home. She was shoved out of the way, and quickly moved to soothe the baby when she started to cry. But she continued insisting that whatever they were looking for was not there.
Sophie had found one of the heavy blankets at the foot of one of the beds. She pulled it off and grabbed a few items of the heavy, woolen clothing from a nearby basket. Sitting in the far corner, she covered herself with the blanket, dropping some of the clothing over the top of herself.
It wasn't long before she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and she held her breath. The man slammed the door open and looked around but he barely glanced at the pile of clothing in the corner. "There's no one here!" he tromped back downstairs. He pointed at Sigurd. "Take him outside! He knows more than he's telling us!"
"Leave him alone!" Svanhild exclaimed. "We don't have what you're looking for!"
But the men dragged Sigurd outside and everyone followed, objecting to the treatment of their clansmen. Svanhild was clutching the baby to her shoulder in the doorway as they shoved Sigurd onto the ground outside and Sophie took the opportunity to slip from her hiding place and sneak downstairs. She pushed one of the windows at the back of the house open and climbed through. There was no way she was going to allow the family that had taken her in to be threatened or hurt because of her. If Svanhild was right and someone had spotted her, or there was a spy in town, the men looking for her would likely know where she was staying, even if they hadn't found her there.
Sneaking around the side of the house, she peeked out from behind a barrel. The man who had been looking for her upstairs had just grabbed Leif by the back of his tunic and was holding him up off the ground, wielding a long, thin dagger in his other hand. "Bring us the woman we're looking for and no one dies!" he shouted.
Svanhild was crying, begging him to let her son go, but he ignored her and Sigurd's pleas and held the knife to the boy's throat.
Sophie felt a surge of rage rise up in her and before she could talk herself out of it, she found herself running up behind the man, jumping onto his back, and wrapping her arms around his throat.
He dropped Leif, partly out of surprise and partly because she was strangling him. He twisted around, trying to grab her to pull her off of him, but he was a large man and his thick leather armor made it impossible for him to reach her. His face began to turn red as she held her arms around his neck as tightly as she could manage.
Dropping to his knees, the man began to wheeze as everyone standing around stared in utter surprise. Sophie could feel her strength waning, but she timed it well and the moment she released him, she also snatched the dagger out of his hand. She was just about to stick him with it when one of the other men grabbed her around the waist with one arm, taking the knife out of her hand with the other.
"No," he said gently but firmly as he pulled her away from him.
She squirmed and tried to wriggle free but he held her as easily as one would hold a child.
The man he'd saved from her managed to get to his feet and he cast a scathing glare in her direction, snatching the jeweled dagger from the man holding onto her and shoving it back into its sheath on his belt.
"Leave them alone!" Sophie screamed at him as he walked towards Sigurd again.
"Then give us what we're looking for!" he shouted back.
"It's not here!" she wanted to scratch his eyes right out of his head and she lashed out at him, only she wasn't close enough.
"We've heard otherwise!"
"You heard wrong!"
The man holding her seemed quite calm, despite her thrashing and fighting against his grip. Now that his right hand was free, he reached up and easily pulled the covering off her head, revealing a head of golden blonde hair. "I believe this is what you're looking for, Ulriech," he said.
The shorter, stocky man, Ulriech, suddenly stopped his stomping and stared at the thin, petite woman who'd so brazenly attacked him. Her hair was braided and pinned up, but it was most obviously blonde. He shook his head. "This can't be her," she was barely taller than most of the children in their village and although he had to admit she was strong for her size, she was no warrior.
"We've searched the entire village," the one still holding onto her said with a shrug. "I doubt there are two of them,"
Ulriech seemed flustered. He demanded to know if there was anyone else in the village with golden hair, but by this time the villagers were refusing to even speak a word.
"Fine!" he spat. "We'll take her!"
"No!" Leif screamed but his father grabbed him before he could run to her and he and his mother tried to calm him down as they began carrying Sophie away towards their horses.
The moment the man holding her set her on her feet, Sophie took off running back to the family. She hugged the boys tightly, knowing she only had a moment to say goodbye and made them promise to help their mother with the new baby. She kissed them both, hugged Svanhild and was about to hug Sigurd when she was lifted off her feet and thrown over the man's shoulder again.