Mist & Moonlight

Chapter 14 | The Price of Defiance

Freydis moved swiftly through the dark, narrow corridors beneath the longhouse, the chill of the dungeon air seeping through her cloak. The guards let her pass without question; due to. her status as Jarl Arlick's wife. She reached Erik's cell and found him sitting on the cold stone floor, his back against the wall, chains clinking faintly as he shifted.

At the sight of her, Erik's face brightened, but Freydis's expression was clouded with a mix of anger and fear. She gripped the iron bars, her knuckles whitening. "What were you thinking?" she hissed, her voice sharp and low. "Challenging Jarl Arlick like that? Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Erik rose to his feet, the chains rattling around his wrists as he approached the bars. "I did what was right," he replied, his voice calm and unyielding. "No man has the right to lay his hands on you, least of all a brute like Arlick. Your father would never have wanted you to marry him if he knew how he was treating you."

Freydis's anger flared, but it was laced with a deep, underlying fear. "You don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "The alliance between the east and the west is not as stable as everyone believes. it's as fragile as glass. I'm doing my best to keep war from breaking out, Erik. If you defeat Jarl Arlick, the eastern clans will see it as a challenge to their honor. They will rise up against my father. And if Arlick wins—" Her voice broke, and she looked away, her eyes glistening. "Then I will lose you. I will have to raise our child alone."

Erik's gaze softened as he reached through the bars to touch her hand. "Freydis," he said quietly, "I will win. I swear to you, I will win for you and for our child. I would never abandon you to face this alone."

She pulled back, shaking her head again, her expression torn between anger and despair. "You don't know that," she whispered. "Arlick is a seasoned warrior, and he'll do whatever it takes to break you, to make an example out of you."

"And I'll do whatever it takes to protect you," Erik answered, his voice unwavering. "Your father may not be here to see how Arlick truly is, but I am. I see how he controls you, how he hurts you, and I won't stand by and let him get away with it."

Freydis swallowed, her throat tight with a mix of emotions she couldn't untangle. "This was supposed to be a peaceful union, Erik," she said, her voice cracking. "I was trying to prevent bloodshed, to avoid war between the clans. Now I'm afraid I've only set the pieces in motion for it."

"I know what's at stake," Erik replied. "But if we let men like Arlick go unchecked, then what kind of peace is it that we're preserving? One built on fear and cruelty? Your father fought for a kingdom united, not one where its people cower under the heel of a tyrant."

For a moment, Freydis was silent, staring at Erik as though trying to grasp onto some semblance of hope. She wanted to believe him, to trust that his promise would hold true and that the gods would grant him victory in the battle ring. But fear for him gnawed at her heart, and the thought of losing him, of raising their child without him, was almost too much to bear.

"You better come back to me," she said finally, her voice trembling. "I don't care what happens to Arlick, or what anyone says, as long as you live."

Erik's fingers tightened around hers. "I will," he vowed. "I swear it, Freydis. For you, for our child."

She held his gaze for a long moment, then stepped back from the bars, her hand slipping from his. "I'll speak to the guards," she said, her tone firming. "Make sure no one mistreats you while you're here."

Erik gave a slight nod, watching as she turned and walked away, her cloak trailing behind her like a shadow. He knew she was frightened for him, and perhaps, for the first time, she was realizing just how fragile their situation truly was. But Erik's resolve only hardened. He would face Jarl Arlick in the battle ring, and he would win. There was no other option.

As Freydis disappeared into the dark corridors, Erik took a deep breath, a fire burning in his chest. The gods would decide justice, but he would make sure to fight for it with everything he had.