He heard the sound of multiple footsteps as they came nearer. Three pairs, though one sounded to be bare feet. The echoes in the jail were terrible and as much as they told, they made specific sounds hard when there was too much going on. Had they caught someone else? Was there going to be a new prisoner for Haki to inflict his madness on?
They stopped in front of Erik’s door and he stood up, not sure what to do. He wasn’t ready yet. Was now the time to make a run at them? He took a few steps forward and the door came open. The guard looked into the cell without any sense of concern before quickly stepping back away. Erik stopped, confused by the motion until he saw Tove. She was shoved into the cell, and immediately dropped to her knees, falling over hard on the stone floor. Before Erik could even think of what he should do, the door swung shut again.
He ran to Tove, kneeling down beside her as she groaned in pain on the floor. She was dressed in dirty, loose shorts and something approaching a sleeveless shirt. They were made of cheap, rough linen and there was blood on them in a few places. He could see bruises all across her legs and arms.
“Tove!”
When she heard his voice, she immediately turned her head toward him, coming to her knees. She wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Erik, praise Odin.” She squeezed him too tightly, burying her head into his stomach. I thought you’d been taken—”
He knelt down, pulling her away, looking at her. “What are they doing to you? Why are you covered in bruises?”
She looked at her arms. Her voice quivered a bit. “They… It’s a punishment. It doesn’t matter. There are worse things. We have time together, we must use it.”
The sound of footsteps returning made Tove stand. Erik put himself in front of her. The door opened and guards looked at him like he was insane. They placed two plates down on the floor just inside the cell and closed the door again. They had fried sausages and boiled vegetables and bread on them, in stark contrast to the gruel he’d been given before.
“That’s way better than what they gave me last time. Do you think it’s poisoned?” Erik asked.
“What would it matter?”
She had a strong point, though Erik was in no hurry to relive the pain that came along with his last death. He walked to the plates, picking them both up and bringing one to Tove before moving to his wooden bed. The meat was pork, it was tough but had been seasoned with salt and herbs. Tove tore into it without a second thought.
“Did they give you anything to eat before this?”
She shook her head, too focused on the food to bother replying with words. He tore off half of his link of sausage and put it on her plate. In spite of her full mouth, Tove tried to protest. Erik stopped her.
“They’re treating you worse than me. I don’t know why, but you eat while you can.”
Erik took a bite of his food. It wasn’t as good as what they’d had at Inga’s but the fact that he considered the comparison said enough about what he’d been given. It was hard to make sense of.
Tove had slowed down by the time she was through half of the plate and it seemed as good a time as any to ask questions.
“You’ve seen the layout of this place, right?”
Tove nodded, swallowing a bit of food. “I don’t see any trick to this place. Two hallways with cells at the ends of them. The only other rooms I managed to see as they brought me were just down the hall from these cells.”
“Okay. I can’t remember being brought in clearly, but I remember seeing a guard at the end of the hall. And two regularly come down here to look around.”
Tove was back to her food, though she’d slowed down. She took a few more bites, saying nothing. “I think they count four in total. The two who brought me here are not two I’ve seen.”
“So two for us, two for your side. But we don’t know if they’re the same as the one, maybe two at the front of the guard house.” Erik forced himself to eat, though the distraction of deciding how they should get out made it hard to care about the meal.
“Six total, and armored.” Tove frowned, poking at the last bits of food on her plate idly. “I don’t know that I can be of help, especially if they keep… if the punishments continue. Walking is painful.”
He could tell by the tone of her voice that she hadn’t wanted to admit it, that she didn’t want to talk about it. The anger that was becoming so familiar to him crept back into his mind. He shook it off as best he could. There was nothing to be done immediately.
“Erik?”
“Sorry… I got lost in thought for a second. Can we just go when they come back for you? Are they coming back for you?”
“I don’t know.” Tove looked at the door as she said it. “They’ve told me nothing, only come to flog me and then leave. I’ve been through worse, but knowing what it’s like won’t keep my legs working.” She slammed a fist against the bed. “I won’t… I cannot be useless.”
“Then if they come back, we’ll go.”
Tove stood for the first time, on shaky legs. “This is all I can manage. If there are more than two, you’ll just be stabbed and suffer for nothing. And I couldn’t stand that.”
There were footsteps in the hall as soon as she finished talking. Too many to
