The king, Osric, looked back at his daughter with a grave stare. The man was known for his seriousness in all situations, and despite anything that was being said about these barbarians, the situation was grave indeed. With the civil turmoil happening in the neighboring kingdom of Mercia, war might be on Northumbria's doorsteps and these incursions were the last thing the king could have hoped for by far. He knew that the princess would have many questions, but it was neither the time or place to address them for he had much to attend to. Nevertheless, the king reached out and lovingly put his hand on his soft daughter's cheek. ''Every time I leave, I am scared to never see you again my sweet daughter. You must have questions, I know you, but you will have to excuse this old man for I have many things to attend to for now.'' After these words, the king turned to the prince before going on. ''Coric, take care of the princess for now. I need to attend a war meeting. Once you are done, I expect to see you there. Waste no time.'' and he took off, followed by two of his personal guards as well as a few advisers. 

Coric stared as his father left the room, only to turn to his sister. They have had the time to wash off before the servant came to the princess with the news of their return, but the prince had a wound on the cheek that was bound to leave a scar. He looked upon his sister with a smile. ''Dear sister, how worried you must have been. Come, let us walk.'' Without leaving her the choice, he took her hand and lead her to a door on the left of the throne leading to a large corridor. The prince did not speak at first, instead leading her to the gardens of the castle. There had been a time where the gardens were full of life and beautiful flowers, but it was not the case anymore. Not as much as it used to, anyway. Their mother, the Queen, had always been taking care of this place but...after her tragic death the place began to fall apart. Coric still loved to come here when he wanted to be at peace. ''You would have many questions, right sister? Every time we leave it is the same. I have to tell you the stories of our travels.'' the prince said, laughing lightly. He sat down on a bench made of polished rock and sighed. ''Well, we did not travel far this once, which is scary in itself. The enemy was at only half a day's walk, close by a small village to the south east. ''Blythe, these brutes that we fought...they were not like anything I have seen. They fight as if the devil was chasing them. They seem to never tire, as if they were thirsty for battle, unafraid of death. There were women among them, too. They fought like raging beasts, equal to any of the best warriors I had ever seen. The one you seen was the one who wounded me...'' he said as he caressed his cheek with a finger ''...she would have killed me if not for our father.'' The prince stood back up and tried to reassure his sister with a smile as best he could. ''I have to attend the meeting. Promise me, sister, that we will see one another tomorrow and celebrate our victory today? I look forward to it. For now, I bid you a good evening and a good night, Princess.'' and he simply took off, leaving Blythe with herself.

Sigrid had never seen such buildings, entirely made of stones. Soon after she was brought before the obvious lord of the place, the shield-maiden had been brought down below to a small and cold cell, where she had since been left to herself. The woman had seen the three faces she needed to remember. The king, his son and now...his daughter. The culture of her people was all about honor and strength. It was custom to answer insult and disgrace by revenge, and expected if one was to be respected. Her people had known victory today, but she had been personally defeated. Once she could escape from this cell, Sigrid would seek a way to exact vengeance for it. She knew her men would remain loyal and wait for her, so she only had to find a way to get out for now.