*
It was after the snow melted and the weather warmed that Stefan drew his sword and was furious enough to use it. He walked around the corner of a cottage just in time to see Kannak struggling to get free of a man who had his arms tight around her. Stefan's rage was instant. He grabbed the man by the hair and yanked him away from her. Then he moved back and drew his sword. A second later the other man did the same and they both prepared to fight.
Kannak gasped. "Nay, Stefan, he dinna hurt me."
"Go to yer mother, Kannak."
But instead of doing as he said, she saw the other man begin to attack, heard the crash of their swords and screamed. Seconds later Macoran and several other men came running.
"What is it?" Macoran asked. "Why do ye fight?"
Stefan successfully blocked the man's second strike and was about to go on the offense when Macoran arrived. There was fury in his eyes and he did not take them off his opponent even for a moment, "He tried to force Kannak."
"If this be true, I will kill him myself," said Macoran.
"'Tis not true," the other man said. "I only tried to kiss her."
Stefan was not appeased, "Ye dinna kiss a lass unless she be willing."
It was the first time Stefan called her a woman and Kannak set aside her terror in favor of wonder.
"Put away yer swords. 'Twill be no bloodletting this day." Macoran put his hand on the top of Stefan's and tried to force it down. But Stefan resisted and was not willing to put his sword back in the sheath until after the other man did. He held his fierce glare steady, found it hard to let go of his anger and it surprised even him. "Be it not true a lad's family be the only thing worth dying for?"
"Aye, 'tis true, but no one will die this day. This day we anticipate the coming of spring and all that entails, finally." He noticed they had drawn a crowd and turned to the others. "There be nothing more to see." Then Macoran glared at the other man, "I will deal with ye later." Macoran's ire was evident and the man soon hung his head and walked away. "Did he hurt ye, lass?"
She was less interested in her laird than she was in Stefan. "Nay." But as soon as she started to walk to him, Stefan finished putting his sword away, turned and headed down the path toward the river. "Would ye really kill a lad if he hurt me?" Stefan ignored her but she was not about to let him get away without an answer even if she had to run to keep up with him.