Chapter Sixty-four

Enid heard the shuffle of feet on wooden flooring and she looked up, seeing Princess Gro coming from behind the thrones, her hair wet, her body wrapped in only damp cloth. Their eyes met and for a moment Enid only smiled as she nodded in greeting, but then she saw Gro wince, saw her turn to the side to try to hide the bruise on her shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" Enid whispered, and Princess Gro looked at her, a small smile spreading on her lips but tears in her eyes as she nodded, and Enid didn't know what to do as she watched Gro's eyes burn in the darkness, shining bright with sadness, bright with pain. "Are you sure?"

Those tears fell, Gro rushing forward and pulling Enid back behind the curtain.

"Don't tell anyone," Gro said. "I'll deny it if you do, but… I just want to tell someone, Enid," she gasped.

"I won't," Enid shook her head, and Gro nodded, her hand gripping Enid's arm even tighter, that wince on her face growing deeper.

"Things were never good between me and Knut," Gro whispered. "But he never hurt me when Erik still lived here," she shook her head, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks as she took a moment to catch her breath. "I want him to come back to the longhouse, Enid, but… I'm afraid that he'll fight with Knut over me and… Oh, Enid, it's horrible. He gets angry over anything and he won't leave me alone at night. I don't know what to do."

Enid stared at her, her heart breaking, her arms wrapping around the woman and holding her so tightly. "Leave him," she said, but it was only after she'd said it that she found herself thinking on it.

She'd just told a married woman to leave her husband. She was encouraging her to break her vows and commit a sin, but these people made no vows when they married. They lived like this, with marriages breaking and people moving on with their lives. Somehow it did not seem right to say anything else and somehow Enid found her heart lifting as she thought on her words.

"I can't," Gro shook her head. "Where would I go? I'm not a shieldmaiden and I don't have my own land. The only people I have left are my brother and Erik and… I can't go to either of them, Enid. Erik will turn on Knut and my brother will only use me to control my son. I'm trapped here…"

"No," Enid shook her head. "Erik is smart. He'll find a way to protect you both."'

Gro laughed, a laugh that was airy, a laugh that turned cold as she shook her head. "He's smart, but he's not wise, Enid. He's still so young and he doesn't understand what it's like to be married. And all his life he's been getting ready to take over Bergen… I, I don't know if he would choose his mother over it."

"How can you say that?" Enid gasped. "Erik would never-!"

"Would never what?" Gro asked. "How can you say for sure what my son would do? No one can. I bet not even the gods could. He only listens to himself. No… I can't go to Erik for this and I can't risk his life by going to my brother. I have nowhere to go..."

Gro covered her face with her palms, her back and shoulders shaking as she sobbed and sobbed, and Enid couldn't help it, she reached for her again, holding the back of Gro's head and fighting her own tears. It wasn't right. It wasn't right that someone so kind, so soft and gentle would be forced to live like this. Enid's mind raced, her face scrunching up in a fierce scowl as she tried to think of something she could do, and then she nodded. Ivar would know what to do, Ivar could talk to the Jarl and get him to stop.

"I'm sorry, Enid," Gro said as she pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "Now I've just made you sad too."

"No," Enid shook her head. "I want to help you, Gro," she said, holding the woman's hand. "Tell me what I can do and I'll do it."

Gro smiled, cupping Enid's cheek in the palm of her hand. "That's kind of you," she whispered. "You can't do anything, but this helps. It feels good to talk about it… even if it's just to cry. Promise you won't tell anyone, Enid, not even Ivar. I don't want his pity."

"I won't, not if you don't want me to," Enid shook her head. "But I think you should tell him… or Erik or just someone who can help you, Gro. He can't treat you like that, you're a free woman."

"Am I?" Gro asked. "No, I've known for a long time now that I would have more rights as a slave than I do as a princess. Who would stand up for me against the Jarl? I'm his wife and he's their leader," she shook her head. "I know what you're thinking, but not even Ivar would upset Knut for my sake. It would be no trouble for Knut to take that farm back off of Ivar or Hilda and banish them all. No… I think, I hope that things will get better after the wedding. Erik will be stronger then and… maybe they will move further out of town and I can go and live with them."