"Who the hell do you think you are, you little shit!" yelled Ackerley.

     He stared up at a young man holding the tip of his blade at his head. 

     Leighton scrambled to get to his feet and get to Thane. No one tried to stop him as he loosened the rope holding Thane to the tree.

     "Who are they?" he asked worriedly.

     "I don't know. Are you all right?" Thane asked.

     He held Leighton's shoulders and looked over his beaten and swollen face. Leighton was shaking so severely, Thane didn't stop to think of anyone nearby before pulling him into his arms.

     Leighton nodded and looked around Thane to watch the newcomers subdue the two soldiers. There were five men and one woman, all armed with swords and daggers, and all pointing their blades at Ackerley and Dunston.

     When one of the men approached, Thane moved to shield Leighton from more harm.

     "Easy," the young man said with his hands raised in peace.

     He wasn't holding a weapon and smiled kindly at them both. Thane could see he was quite young, maybe a few years younger than Leighton.

     The young man crouched as he reached them and smiled warmly at Leighton. "I know you might not remember me, but I'll never forget you. You were my first love."

     He chuckled when Leighton leaned away from Thane to get a better look.

     "You were my sister's first love, too," he grinned with a nod of his head to the woman in their group.

     Thane stood as Leighton began to stand. He helped steady him as Leighton looked at them both in disbelief.

     "Chance?" he muttered. "Ferne?"

     "Hello, Leighton!" Ferne called out with a giggle.

     He laughed and breathed a few times as he tried to hold back the relieved and joyful tears. He wiped at his eyes as she ran up and threw herself against him. Sniffing back his tears, he hugged her close.

     "I don't understand," he said, still in shock over everything that had transpired. "How did you get he..." His eyes suddenly widened, and he looked around with a new sense of dread.

     "Father's dead," Chance informed him. "He's been dead for about two years now. He tried to go head-to-head against a pirate."

     "Pirate?" wondered Thane. "I've never heard of pirates being this far inland."

     "He was after a ransom he'd heard would be aboard a cargo ship," Chance explained. "That cargo ship turned out to be manned by pirates."

     "Father offered me to their captain to free himself," Ferne told them, snuggling closer to Leighton as if the memory still haunted her.

     "Captain Holt wasn't happy about that," Chance quickly added before the two men thought the worst. "He thought it was detestable for a man to hide behind his children, especially his young daughter. He asked us if we had any love for him, and I guess we both felt it safe enough to tell the truth because we did. As soon as Ferne and I told him about our lives with him, he lopped off his head."

     Ferne pulled away from Leighton as she nodded in agreement with her brother's tale.

     "Brother, we should see to Leighton's wounds," she suggested.

     "I can tend to him," Thane said as he wrapped his arm around Leighton's waist. "Our cottage isn't far."

     "May we accompany you?" Chance asked as he followed them down the path.

     They passed the soldiers still kneeling on the ground.

     "Kill them," Chance called out as they walked by.

     The order glided from his mouth with the same ease as asking for a biscuit. Thane and Leighton looked at each other as they continued to walk.

     "You can come with us," Thane invited. "There may be a mess to clean, but you and your people are welcome to stay for a while."

     "Splendid!" replied Thane over the sound of dying men behind them.