*Eleanor*
I step into the shadows and cough into a piece of cloth. Blood.
Something has been wrong since I became ill during the winter, but it has quickly worsened while Ansuz was away. I am tired, but this is necessary. I gathered nearly the entire village, but I’m surprised as Ansuz walks into the longhouse. True to the name given to him by Anders, there is blood sprayed across his face.
Quickly, I hide the bloody cloth. Only Anders knows how sick I am, and that’s how I intend to keep things for now. I sit in my chair, my husband standing behind me as always.
“I called you here because it is time that I step down as Jarl,” I say loudly, though I know it is not loud at all.
There are murmurs throughout the room. People thought they were coming to see what Ansuz had return
