Chapter Three

For a moment she couldn't breathe, for a moment the thought of jumping and that ice-cold water seemed better, seemed warmer than anything else that was about to happen now; but then he threw her to the floor and she caught sight of that axe, sharp and polished, and thought of nothing else.

She was still there, still frozen with her eyes fixed on that shining metal when she felt it, something thick and heavy fall on her, something that made her teeth finally stop banging together. She sighed, turning and running her fingers through that wonderful fur, burying her face underneath it. That was when her hands brushed up against the hard leather of his vest and her head bolted out into the cold air. He was sitting there, beside her, his eyes closed and his head resting against the wall behind him.

"No." she said, pulling the fur off of him. His eyes flicked open, studying her for a moment before he pulled the fur back. He was so strong, so strong it hurt to try to fight him, so strong it hurt her fingers as she pulled on that fur. "No." she said again.

It was one thing that he would force her, one thing that she would have no say in the matter; but she would not willingly share a bed with him, not when she was supposed to marry Cormac!

This time he did not even look as he yanked the fur back, this time he turned on his side so it was pinned underneath him and she would have to come even closer. For a while she laid there, half of her still out in the cold air, for a while she thought she could manage; but it was not long before she was shaking, before her teeth were banging together and she was diving for that fur and that warmth.

The whole night she felt it, that back against hers, so big and warm, almost pleasant. By the morning she felt something shift, something sharp and pointed in her heart that softened, that gave way to something weightless and bright. She saw the others, those women still tied to the mast, all pale and gaunt. They had not been fed, they had not been cut loose and kept warm now that it was colder, now that the air was thick and grey with a biting mist.

That was when one of those giants spoke, when he kicked at the knee of that woman who had sat beside Enid. The woman did not move. She did not even open her eyes or wince as his boot nudged her again. Another giant answered the man before they cut her loose, before she slumped to the floor and crumbled without making a sound.

Dead…

They were gathering her up then and lifting her over the side of the boat.

"Wait!" Enid said, "What are you doing?!" Before she knew it, she was pulling at their arms. She was fighting to get to that woman and bring her back. "She's a Christian. You can't just throw her in the water!" The men stared at her for a moment, their eyes big and wide, their faces slack and dull; and then one of them laughed, then they said something to each other and threw the woman over. "No!" Enid shouted, leaning over the side.

But the woman was gone, no mark in the ocean to show where she sank, no blessings or prayers said over her grave to welcome her into Heaven. Enid watched the waves, the side of the boat digging into her ribs, her heart slowly sinking inside her.

Would they do that to her if she died too…?

That was when she felt it, that hand that grabbed her arm, that pulled her back into the boat.

"No." she said, pulling against it. "No, leave me alone."

For a moment he only stared at her, those sky-blue eyes dull and dim, for a moment he did not seem to care that she was fighting and struggling; but then she saw something snap, saw a sharpness spring to his face as his forehead furrowed into a deep crease. Then that hand gripped her even tighter, then those eyes were cold and fierce as he jerked her towards him.

"No, wait!" she said, "Wait, I just want to pray for her!"

But he did not understand, he only pulled at her harder, so hard she felt her hand go numb, so hard she had to stifle a yelp. She grit her teeth, turning to face the side of the boat they had thrown the woman over. So quickly she tapped on her forehead and her shoulders, so desperately she tried to remember the words the priests would say to ask for the Lord's forgiveness.

"Father, please watch over your daughters." was all she could say in the end.

For a moment that seemed to be it, for a moment she felt worse than she had before; but then she heard it, one voice around the mast that said "Amen."

And soon there were more, soon each woman was praying, was speaking in whatever voice they could muster to help the soul of the one they had lost. Each man was watching, their eyes big and bright, not a sound made between them until the women were finished. And then they laughed, then they were smacking their knees and stomping their boots. One of them said something, his eyes never leaving her face, a wide grin on his lips; but soon it turned into a scowl and he repeated himself but this time a little louder.

"I don't understand." Enid whispered.

This time he seemed to growl, this time he stood and made to kick at one of the women; but then there was a whistle, a loud cry and a shout from one of the men at the front of the boat. She saw them then, dark shapes and smudges appearing out of that murky mist around them. At first nothing more than some large, wooden posts in the water and then something bigger, then long piers and buildings and then suddenly a village.

Enid was staring, her eyes wide and bright, a strange burning in the pit of her stomach. It was another village, so different yet so similar to the one she had just left, to the only place she had ever known. Another village… and the boat was twisting and turning and making to dock in this new world.