"This film takes us to a time when freedom was won on the battlefield and in the hearts of men, just as it is today." "Then, as now, the world was split into two irreconcilable camps those of freedom and reaction." "Erik xiv of Sweden and his advisor, the commoner Goran Persson were waging an uneven battle against the Sture family nobles who were aided by Erik's stepmother and brother Johan." "This battle steered the fate of one woman - little Karin of the court and this film tells her story in three different ways:" "Why me, Goran?" "Why am I dragged ever downwards down into the mud and filth?" "You have the blood of a commoner." "You're a Vasa." "You are drawn to the earth, you are of the people." "Forget the finery of the nobles." "The stars speak only of a blonde woman." "Fist in the form of a ballad about little Karin's ascendancy." "Then her story as told by a great poet, August Strindberg." "And finally as a few visions based on the meagre facts known about Erik's last days." "Prologue - Little Karin:" "A Ballad" "AT HOME" "Oh, mother, mother!" "Why did you run off to the forest?" "I went to the inn to talk to Agda." "Let's get married, and I can take care of you." "AT THE CATHEDRAL" "Oh, my knight... ..save my sinful soul!" "I thought you were my late mother." "My father killed her." "She sleeps here, beneath the icy floor." "Your hand is so warm." "Who are you?" "I shall walk you home." "Have you been looking for the unhappy one, twice-vanished?" "Crown Prince Erik will relieve his advisor, Persson, of his duties." "Why does the church bell chime?" "The King is dead!" "coronation DAY" "We're going to the ceremony." "Can Your Highness help with the crown?" "They say the young King has the castle full of mistresses." "I have come to take you to the castle, young Karin." "Dreaming of the prince, Karin does not hear what Persson says." "I have brought you here, for l believe that Erik may have use of you." "Welcome, little Karin, to the King's harem." "And I see a face." "I believe it is my fate." "I have seen her face before." "Perhaps when I was a child hanging over my bed when I slept." "High, high up there." "That is why I wish to get up there." "Above all the wretched insects." "That's why I aim so high." "What say you of Elizabeth of England?" "is that too high for me?" "Where is Karin?" "I looked for her at home, they said Goran took her." "Where is she?" "You rogue!" "You've killed her!" "Tell me where she is!" "Why have you hidden her here?" "Do you want her for yourself?" "Confess!" "l wanted to spare her the harem." "Then why bring here to the castle?" "She is fair and good, and I thought one day she might open your eyes." "Open my eyes to what?" "To what?" "I tire of your guardianship." "Can't a king take a mistress?" "You're just another dullard and you can go to Hell!" "Go!" "Before I cut you down!" "Take me too, Goran!" "I want to live a normal life." "Goran!" "Can I come and stay with you?" "l can't keep you as you are here." "You can give me a home." "My home would be nothing to you." "It would be everything to me." "As though you're so worthy!" "Nonsense!" "You're no angel, don't be so pompous." "There are no good people." "There are only wild animals, devils and rogues." "We are all roguish, lost and evil." "Why do you stare so?" "Yes - l weep!" "What of it?" "is a King incapable of weeping?" "Stare if you will - l care not!" "For I am no King - l am not worthy." "Johan deserves it all more than I." "I just want to be alone!" "Wait!" "Where are you going?" "I shall go home, I suppose." "Are you blonde?" "I did not see your hair!" "How old are you?" "Fourteen." "Fourteen?" "Good God!" "Do you know who I am?" "Yes." "You are the King." "Erik the 1 4th!" "Fourteen and fourteen." "You see?" "Do you know there is a blonde in my stars?" "Karin, Karin." "Are you sent by providence?" "Hallo!" "Hallo!" "is there no one here?" "Karin - you must never leave me." "Listen now, by God!" "is the whole castle asleep?" "is there no one here?" "Fetch the Marshal of the Court, hurry!" "This is a K." "This is an F." "Try not to blot!" "Oh..." "What is happening?" "She's had a baby - it's the talk of the town!" "I'm so ashamed!" "Are you going, Max?" "This would never have happened if you'd shown her some sympathy." "I hope she can return, for she does not deserve this misery." "Even if I must wait for thirty years!" "So there!" "Scenes from August Strindberg's "Erik the 1 4th"." "Stockholm Castle." "Come no closer!" "The King is spying on me!" "Where?" "For God's sake, do not look!" "You are unhappy, Karin!" "Leave this misery and come to me!" "And what of my children?" "They shall be mine." "l have faith in your sweet words..." "Quiet!" "Karin, we both know that the King is soon to marry." "What will you do?" "Think of Elizabeth of England's father." "His consorts met the gallows and now Elizabeth is to be your queen!" "Go quickly, he has spied you." "Where do you see this?" "Go!" "He aims a missile this way!" "He is mad!" "Perhaps." "Go, go!" "Good news, Miss Karin." "Take care!" "The King is nearby." "Hear me!" "The King's courting in England has been unfruitful." "ln truth?" "As true as I sit here." "Be with him when the news arrives." "He will not receive it well." "I hear that you are the King's true friend." "But he is not mine." "My King is my life!" "Begone, or he shall kill you!" "Watch out!" "More!" "More!" "Do not walk on the spikes, Goran!" "I shall walk barefoot, if it please my master." "Goran!" "Goran, wait!" "I shall come down." "Goran is in poor favour." "Goran, stay, Goran." "Goran!" "Your Highness, Nils the goldsmith!" "Ahh!" "Look, such a thing of beauty, Karin!" "Look, Karin!" "Who shall bear that crown, pray?" "Brittania's - and my own" " Virgin Queen." "We shall reach across the sea and Europe will be ours!" "Hence the six precious stones..." "You may test its weight." "If you please?" "It suits you well." "Look in the glass, with which you spy so well on your master." "Where did Goran go?" "What will you, my stepmother?" "Please, take a walk in the garden!" "Off you go!" "Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Scotland, Ireland!" "They are six precious stones!" "Erik!" "King Erik, if you please." "And Queen Karin, perchance?" "Queen Elizabeth, if I may!" "Poor Erik!" "Pay no attention to her, Karin." "Sture sends news from England that my chances are better than excellent." "And I had a dream the other night." "You love me, Karin." "You are gladdened by my successes." "And pained by your failures." "Come, Hans Redbeard, you shall shall have a gift!" "Erik, do not harm him!" "My brother, after careful musing- l have decided to grant your wish." "You shall have Catherine of Poland." "Much appreciated..." "is it signed and sealed..?" "Your nag so about papers!" "Here is my hand." "He's a rogue, that one." "You can see that, can't you?" "You see only enemies, Erik." "l need Goran when you irk me so." "That is why you despise him." "Poor Erik!" "Poor?" "Shame on you!" "Lord Nils Sture..." "At last!" "Stay!" "Be wary of arrogance, Karin." "The Gods find it most loathsome." "What say you?" "Does master Nils wish entry to the Royal Castle?" "lf my King and Lord permits." "Deliver your news and be done!" "Merciful King, it gives me no joy..." "Where is the letter?" "Have I suffered rejection?" "Yes." "And you are happy... you pig!" "No, by God!" "You laughed, you devil!" "He laughed to himself, as did you!" "All three of you were laughing." "They were not, by all that is holy!" "You, too!" "It's a diabolical conspiracy!" "Out by God!" "Out!" "Out, you bastards!" "You will stay no longer in this beast's lair." "Follow me home!" "Go, Max!" "God knows I would go too, but I must stay for the children." "Go!" "Go!" "Next time you will follow me." "l have dismissed the Englishwoman." "Why?" "She's but a whore." "She had a lover!" "Very wise." "What troubles me is that the Sture family think that she slighted me." "What is it with these Stures?" "The stars say they will cross me." "They are my mother-in-law's blood." "My hatred for her could unseat me." "Why say hate?" "Say love instead." "Has Agda changed your tune?" "No, no..." "Do you not think her fair?" "l saw a glimpse of her purity the purity of which philosophers speak." "Since that day I love her." "When you said 'love' now, you became beautiful." "Am I so ugly?" "Absolutely frightful!" "Haven't you looked in the glass?" "No." "But she sees my beauty." "Will you marry her?" "Perhaps." "Who shall I take for a bride?" "Catherine of Poland, of course." "Then we have the Baltic lands." "Death and doom..." "A messenger!" "Arrest Duke Johan at once!" "Dead or alive!" "Quick!" "What does it mean?" "The scoundrel tricked me into promising him Catherine of Poland!" "Erik, what have you done?" "The mistake of my life!" "Speak!" "The duke's party have set sail." "Give chase immediately!" "Loosen your tongue!" "Johan has wed the Polish princess." "We are saved!" "The duke has entered an alliance with a foreign power." "Order Admiral Horn to come to his King and the chase can begin." "ls it you or I who is King?" "Just now it would appear to be me." "You are too strong, Goran." "Not at all. lt is you who are weak!" "High Court Proceedings." "Come now and eat, Goran!" "l have no time, Mother!" "What is the meaning of this blasted trial?" "Not in that tone, Lord Sture!" "Mind your tongue, cleric!" "My mother is behind the tapestry." "And where is the bastard child?" "Shame on you, master Svante!" "You may be a nobleman, but noble?" "You despise the pen, yet it has drawn up a plan for a new age, one beyond your ken." "You know nothing of a man's rights." "Could the regiment of the pen protect the King from his nobles?" "No regiment should come between the King and his people." "Will you ask me to sit?" "Sit or stand, it matters not to me!" "Damnation!" "Do not curse!" "There is a child here." "l am head of the King's Council!" "And I his procurator." "Heed my word!" "Procurator?" "You?" "Yes!" "Here is my proclamation." "But this is revolution!" "The greatest in our history!" "Should the nobles accept this?" "The King has the people with him." "Can we not open a window?" "The stench is unbearable." "Fumes from the kitchen, no more!" "We shall open the window when you leave, to clear the air you have poisoned!" "Now go!" "Mind your head, Svante." "I forgot my gloves." "There you go." "Are you really procurator, Goran?" "Yes, mother." "Do not trust nobles!" "l trust only myself." "I was not born to wear the crown, only to rule. I can only do that through my King - he is my Sun." "When he sets, so do I." "Please leave us now, mother." "Max, I heard you talk with Karin." "l thought as much!" "Not that tone, my boy!" "Miss Karin may be Queen if you leave her be." "The King will care for her." "But he does not!" "Listen young man, that is an order." "Leave Karin be." "Understood?" "No!" "Then go forth and find a priest." "Your days are numbered." "Who numbers them?" "l do!" "Farewell, forever!" "Goran!" "Good day, Mother Persson." "Good day, Your Highness!" "Goran, I will see no blood spilled for the sake of the children!" "That's for the court to decide." "How will I live with myself?" "First the land, then the loot." "Why will you not allow me to knight you?" "No, I represent the people." "My merits will ennoble or ruin me." "I think more of you since you were captured by Cupid." "May I see the purity of which you speak?" "No wonder she loves you." "Who said that?" "Who?" "Now, now. I merely observe." "Do not pluck that string Erik, lest the devil dive into my soul where l have built a chapel to an unknown God..." "Love is a strange thing." "It is blind as childish faith." "How strange that you say so - l am of the same opinion." "What do you mean?" "Karin?" "Yes..." "I don't know." "Yes..." "So!" "There may be a wedding soon!" "And what would the nobles say?" "How would they feel, do you think?" "lt would pain them!" "A delightful idea!" "Please read this!" "Majesty!" "I would kneel, but I cannot." "Take my head - you already have my honour." "Your honour can be restored." "lf l marry her off?" "I intend to." "You will not marry off my betrothed." "You have shamed Karin." "Now there is an honourable man who will take her hand." "Tie me up lest I murder him." "l am your children's grandfather." "Take your paper and leave." "lt's my daughter, my grandchildren." "I need no paper to make it happen!" "What shall happen?" "Will you lure my Karin and my children from me?" "I only want my daughter and grand- children back." "You deny them!" "What am I to do?" "A wedding!" "Do you know Max, the guard?" "Yes..." "Take six men and meet him at his nightwatch." "Shed no blood but tie him up and throw him in the river." "See that he drowns." "Yes, procurator." "Erik!" "A report on the nobles who support the jailed duke." "What do you mean by that?" "lt means that they are accomplices." "The law shall have its course." "We must strike now, Erik!" "UPPSALA CASTLE" "ls it time?" "is the speech legible?" "A child could read it." "And the evidence against the Lords?" "Nothing can save them now!" "Karin?" "Come, hurry!" "Excuse me, my love..." "The children..." "Speak up!" "They wish to see the King." "I see them every day..." "Aha, they mean in my finery!" "Very well." "Come, little ones." "You little rogues, you needn't lie on the floor!" "Let's see now!" "You've never been this high, hmm?" "Well, Gosta, would you be King?" "Only if mummy is Queen." "She is already more than that, child." "Then am I more than a prince?" "Yes, for you are an angel!" "Everything is ready, hurry!" "Daddy!" "God bless you all." "All of you!" "What is going on, Goran?" "The King is to hold a speech against the nobles, and Duke Johan." "The imprisoned nobles?" "The very ones!" "Great things are afoot!" "New hope for you children." "My children?" "The widow queen seeks an audience." "With me?" "Spare my brother and my friends." "Please rise..." "You presume I can grant pardon?" "Save my imprisoned family!" "I can do nothing." "He planned to kill me not so long ago." "Then it is not true, that you shall be Queen?" "Me?" "I am the last wife of the court, if I may even be called that." "Then why not leave?" "Where on earth should I go?" "My father will not see me, my sisters ignore me." "The last of my friends, Max, has vanished I know not where." "Then you know not that Max, the lieutenant..." "What is it?" "Max is dead." "They murdered him." "Oh, God!" "Have pity on me, poor sinner that I am!" "Come, I know a castle where nobles have gathered against this madman." "But my children!" "Bring them!" "You cannot stay here!" "Quickly!" "He has killed my only friend, the only heart that cared for me." "I forgive him, for he is unhappy, but I can look upon him no more!" "Help me gather the children's clothes." "Take their toys, lest they pine for home and start to weep." "My doll!" "There, there Gosta." "Here it is." "What beautiful children you have!" "Does their father love them?" "He adores them, but he could kill them." "God, I must do this for him!" "Leave it all..." "Quickly, quickly!" "We'll go through the garden." "What is this?" "In the name of God!" "No, it is the work of Satan." "Get a hold of yourself!" "What is it?" "l'm no speaker, I had the paper in my pocket, or so I thought." "I saw Johan smirking at me." "Then I couldn't find the speech." "I went wild, accusing everyone but I had no proof!" "At first they laughed." "Then they freed the scoundrels." "Now we, the judges, stand accused!" "The result?" "The nobles acquitted!" "I must think!" "The law decrees that traitors be executed." "They must die!" "Why is no one here?" "is this the nursery?" "Goran!" "I fear the worst!" "The halls are so empty." "Where is Miss Karin?" "Speak, before I kill you!" "The good lady has gone." "Gone?" "With the children?" "Yes, Your Highness." "Then you may murder me!" "They cannot have travelled far!" "They were bound for Horningsholm." "The Stures!" "And fair Karin left!" "The common whore!" "They took my children with them." "I'll never forgive that." "Never!" "Listen to my logic, Erik." "The law says traitors must die." "The Stures are traitors." "They must die." "Good." "They say Duke Johan has escaped." "Then all hell is loose!" "Calm!" "Calm!" "One more thing, Procurator..." "They gave me this, and said it had been exchanged with another." "Another common whore!" "Purity!" "See now Goran as the devil!" "Angels are devils, holy spirits." "Are you religious, you bastard?" "We have rats in the cellar." "Go and kill them." "l would like some payment first." "What?" "Will you be ennobled?" "Say!" "I cannot make a King, but a Queen." "I can make a Queen from a whore." "You can be a queen if you like." "I should like to be a corporal." "A corporal!" "Such modesty!" "Well, corporal, serve your King!" "'Tis a fine Whitsun eve." "Green leaves and white lilies." "I might have gone to the lake with Karin and the children..." "The children!" "To think that those animals have taken my children!" "That swine Svante is singing hymns in the gaol." "Are you religious, Goran?" "l do not know." "A few bubbles of faith rose from the swamp of my youth." "But they burst, stinking." "Look at it!" "'Tis Sigrid's." "She calls it Blind Bloodless." "I know what their dolls are called, you know... I have feared this moment more than anything that I should be abandoned by my own." "Yet I am cold." "As calm as never before. lf only it were not Whitsun!" "It awakens so many memories..." "Mostly memories of the children." "The best thing this wretched life has to offer." "Last year, we went rowing on the lake." "Sigrid and Gustav had bright new summer clothes." "Karin put forget-me-nots in their hair." "They were in full summer bloom." "Barefoot, skipping stones." "Sigrid raised her stone and met Gustav's cheek." "Oh, her sorrow!" "She caressed him, apologised." "She kissed the sole his foot to lure him into laughing..." "Death and pestilence!" "Where are my children?" "Who dares touch the bear's cub?" "That swine!" "Let the corporal do it, or there shall be hell to pay!" "Nay!" "I seek my own justice while the Gods sleep." "Think not of the Gods..." "Exactly!" "Do not touch me - you will kill your children, our hostages." "Stop, cease, desist!" "Stop!" "What a mess!" "Here is the cloak, and the crown." "The regalia of the Swedish nation." "And look at this little shoe... lt's Sigrid's!" "Imagine her little foot in there!" "is this really true?" "I am ashamed." "Can you make it right, Goran?" "No." "I can grasp none of it." "I merely wait and ask:" "What now?" "Have you no advice to give me?" "Then I shall seek out the friend I never should have left!" "Go, then." "Karin!" "Karin!" "Long live Johan lll..." "Bravo!" "Out!" "Get out of here!" "Let me sit here as a beggar." "The wages of sin are death." "l know this to be true." "But ere I die, let me sit a while in the place I once called home." "You have no home." "You cannot deny me a little water!" "Come no closer. I shall strike you." "Dear Father..." "Where is Karin?" "Sir Mans, may I have the hand of your daughter in marriage?" "You doubt me." "Can you not see how highly I value your daughter that I would make her Queen of the Realm?" "I forgive you, for l myself require forgiveness." "Mama!" "You are my wife." "Mother of the nation, ruler of the nobles." "Welcome to the castle. 'Tis like a fortress - without nobles." "Fret not, Erik. lt will be better." "There will be reconciliation now." "Yes, and the enemy was more noble than I, sparing the children even as I murdered the knights." "Yes, they were better than I!" "Be happy now, Erik!" "The danger has passed." "I am happy, that is why I fret." "That the nobles would banish Goran from the coronation, when they had no intention of attending." "There he is!" "Goran!" "As I live and breathe!" "Why are there guards on every door?" "The enemy's silence threatens me." "Unnecessary worry, Erik!" "Look here and you shall see." "What is it?" "The court protocol?" "indeed!" "After you left Uppsala, I forced a judgement on the Lords." "No!" "I have apologised, and declared the slain innocent!" "Oh, Lord Jesus, we are lost!" "Erik, what have you done?" "Reconciliation!" "That's why the nobles stayed away!" "No doubt." "Someone warned them, too." "Who?" "You know!" "Speak!" "l do not wish to say it." "Then it is Karin." "Reconciliation." "Hear how happy he is." "He is happy!" "I have been noble." "I was shot right in the heart by the only one I loved!" "The only one I believed in." "What is it that worries you?" "Your fate and mine. I cannot fathom it, and therefore I am quiet." "Once I thought I had a mission, to defend your crown the people's crown, not the nobles'." "To build a new nation, for new people in a free country." "I know now that I was wrong." "Street whore!" "You false devil!" "Are you content?" "The King of Sweden celebrates his marriage to a nutcracker's daughter!" "Vasa marries Mans daughter, a knight's whore." "epilogue" "God protect the people's friend, Erik the Farmer King!" "Release him!" "Hear your Royal Majesty's word, as God's servant." "God bless the people's daughter, Karin the... I am your Royal Majesty!" "I am your Royal Majesty!" "Help!" "...we were taken from Stockholm to Abo, from Abo to Gripsholm Karin is with child..." "No, no!" "I won't eat myself!" "Mother must feed me!" "Quiet, Gustav, there's a good boy!" "We are prepared for a quick attack on Stockholm." "The peasants are rising around the country, and the Royal Family should head to Kalmar, where the rebels are gathering." "What is it?" "God help us!" "He's mad!" "He's been told that they're to be moved." "There is a conspiracy afoot to free Erik, and Johan thinks it will be safer to move him." "Do not enter!" "He is possessed, and Karin bears the brunt of his rage!" "I shall protect her from anyone who strikes her, even him!" "Stop!" "Why should he not beat me?" "I am at fault, I alone." "Do not leave me." "For God's sake..." "You are all we have." "l will never leave." "But that fool!" "Quiet, for God's sake." "Quiet!" "...we were taken to Orbyhus." "Our child." "Shall we go?" "Wait!" "My brother Johan, rightful bearer of the crown has in his mercy allowed me to follow our newborn to the grave." "I beg you, before we go give me a sign that you forgive me." "Kiss me on the forehead!" "Nevermore will that fool be King." "Karin, try to understand." "Your escape is well prepared." "The guard watches only Erik." "You can flee south at night." "Karin!" "Do you hear me?" "l hear you." "There are good men waiting to take you to the rebels." "We all know as do you, that we must leave Erik behind." "You're all that matters." "Are you going?" "Yes." "I shall go with you." "We're all drowning in hate and guilt here." "I'm becoming more wretched and evil with each passing day." "Think only of your son, Karin!" "The people want him on the throne." "Take what you need and go out back." "I'll see you there in half an hour." "Oh, Karin!" "Are you ill, lieutenant?" "No. I had a fever, but..." "l have an order for you but if you're ill..." "At your service..." "The Queen and her children shall be escorted from the castle at once." "Look out of the window." "You will escort the Queen and her daughter in the first cart." "Gustav and his nurse will ride in the second cart, with me." "We should all be gone before Erik returns from the funeral." "What does this mean?" "It means that the conspiracy to free Erik has failed and those responsible have been put to death." "King Johan does not want further problems with the ascendancy." "The family will be broken up, and Erik imprisoned until there is calm." "By the way - your fever was not in any way rebellious in nature?" "No." "Just as well." "Sorry to enquire." "But there aren't many trustworthy souls around." "What of Karin?" "She will be imprisoned for now at Vendel's rectory." "Madame!" "Mother!" "Mother!" "You're lying..." "She hasn't left the castle." "Karin!" "Karin!" "Karin!" "Karin!" "They're taking our children!" "Anders!" "Anders!" "Follow them!" "Hurry!" "We'll never catch them!" "We must!" "My son, my son!" "Karin!" "Karin!" "Karin!" "Can you hear me?" "Poor bastard!" "He thinks she's still behind the railing there." "The guards say he writes to her every day." "King Erik xiv wishes his Queen, Karin Mansdotter, every happiness..." ""l beg of you, do not forget the vows you made to me in marriage."" ""Know that I have been imprisoned in a dark hole these four weeks"." ""Have you heard me calling for you?" "Do not forget your dearest Erik."" ""Fornication, prostitution, impurity." "No one will love you as I have."" ""l would write more, but I do not have the means."" ""Your loving husband, Ericus xiv."" "Your answer?" "My answer?" "Can his nonsense bring back my son?" "Where is my son?" "You have taken my son, and it is his fault." "His fault notjust mine!" "God is punishing both of us." "Han deserves no better than he has." "That can be his answer!" "Adultery..." "Be strong." "You have another child." "Girls can be crowned Queen... ln England!" "We'll run, I'll take you south, with your daughter." "We have helping hands everywhere." "Why notjust tell the truth?" "The truth?" "Yes." "That it is me you desire." "You always talk of the children." "You can go. I want nothing of your plots, your damned lies and plans yourjealous, insane looks!" "I want to be alone!" "Alone!" "I do not want the guilt, the burden I never asked to bear." "Go away!" "I do not want to see you!" "There are no plots..." "What do you mean?" "lt was my invention." "I'm sorry, I love you so!" "I wanted to help you!" "Beat me, beat me!" "But do not leave me!" "lt was all of your devising?" "Yes." "So there are no good rebels?" "There may be, but I know none." "So you lied?" "Yes." "You knew what hope it gave me, and still you lied?" "Yes." "Then you must love me." "Yes." "Am I too wretched to inspire love?" "Or is it my wretchedness you love?" "Speak!" "No!" "Do not be afraid." "It may only be your own lost soul you see..." "Hide me!" "Let me hide in you!" "I renounce my kingdom!" "Hear ye all!" "I renounce my crown and my wreath." "I hereby divide my kingdom among its commanders." "I give you, Erik Andersson, all the fish of the Baltic Sea." "And you, Nils Lakej, all the warships of the Baltic Sea." "Hakon Ladugardsfogde, to you I give the animals of America and to you, Jon Mansson, the footsoldiers of England." "Oh Holy Angels of God, serve me in my great loneliness in my new kingdom, with great dignity..." ""ln the event of treason, prepare a drink so potent that he" "within a few hours is dead, or..." What does it say?" ""...sit him upon a chair..." -"...sit him upon a chair" "and open his veins so his life's blood runs out and he dies."" "Freedom?" "Yes." "Say it again!" "King Johan wishes you no harm." "He offers you protection at one of the royal estates in Finland." "Moreover, to quell the unrest, he has let it be known that you have been in Finland these past two months." "You will be taken there tomorrow, in utmost secrecy." "And my son?" "Your son is in good hands." "In the wrong hands, he could have been a danger to the King." "He must be kept secure for now." "l shall never see him again!" "Do not give up hope." "You are young." "You have all the time in the world." "Anything is possible!" "Remember - you have the dearest of all prizes: freedom." "I wish you good luck!" "Sometimes one has faith in God!" "That one so selfish can name God!" "Selfish?" "All us wild animals are selfish." "Don't you think I know that I am being sent away to rot to suffocate as my son suffocates?" "Speak not of God, or of love!" "There is no other love than self- love, that much have I learned." "So be it!" "What are you doing?" "God bless you, Karin Mansdotter..." "We pray for you and your children." "Thank you for your kindness, and farewell." "There are times when prayer does not help." "One must help oneself." "You have me. I'll never leave you." "Good." "Then go and ready the cart." "Where are you going?" "South." "South?" "To Kalmar?" "To the rebellion?" "Yes. I'll give her to them." "At least she'll be loved there." "They'll proclaim her Queen!" "Then so be it!" "The civil war will recommence." "Just as you wished it would." "Are you surrendering?" "l will not surrender!" "Then go and do as I say!" "You now I would die for you." "Tell me once that nothing can stop us..." "Nothing can stop us now." "God preserve us all!" "What is it?" "The King..." "Nothing can stop us now!" "He's dying!" "Only you can calm him." "Has he sent you?" "He is very confused." "He thinks he rules the universe." "Why then does he need me?" "He never needed me before." "So you refuse?" "He is your husband." "Are you sure?" "How do you know?" "And the latest King says I am free." "His death buys your freedom." "What are you saying?" "Do not be fooled, Karin!" "How can you push her further into despair?" "is she only free when he dies?" "Trouble her conscience no more." "is it not enough that he troubled her so much that she now hates him?" "That she hates herself?" "Quiet, by God!" "You're trying to fool her, like the new King fools everyone." "He's killing his own brother." "Everyone knows it." "And now his evil reaches out to her!" "Enough, Anders!" "If I do it, will anyone know?" "No one need ever know you." "They think you're in Finland." "You needn't be in the cell." "Show me the way!" "God bless your heart!" "I knew it!" "Take Sigrid and wait in the porch." "This won't take long." "There is no one here." "Just the guards and I." "Wait - what is your intent?" "You asked me to come." "But your eyes betray you." "Do you know who you are talking to?" "Yes, you were his wife and queen but so help me God, I know not who you are now." "l think you mean him harm!" "You dare to thwart me?" "Yes, as a priest I will thwart anyone who wishes to plague a despairing soul's final hour." "And my despairing soul?" "Does no one care about that?" "Didn't you hear the boy back there?" "That he plagued me until I hated myself?" "Begone!" "You need not be afraid, he will not know I am there..." "But I must see him, don't you see?" "I must see him in his despair so I can be free and find the strength to get away from here!" "Are you here?" "And ready for the journey, I see." "Where is Sigrid?" "is she waiting for you?" "Yes." "Shall I call her here?" "No, leave the children be." "We leave soon anyway." "is Gosta out there?" "Yes..." "He's excited, naturally." "He'll be sitting with the driver, if I know him right." "It'll be lovely to get away again, Karin." "Another long, long summer." "Yes, it'll be lovely... I've been thinking..." "There is much I would say to you that might not be said otherwise." "But, I cannot find the words." "Perhaps I test your patience..." "No!" "There is nothing I would more!" "I saw that you suffered..." "No, I can't!" "Say what it is, Erik!" "I mean my voices, my dreams, my worries." "I became so evil. lt was the voices that pushed me up." "Up, so high!" "I loved you Erik, with your voices, your dreams." "Perhaps because I never had any." "I was just ordinary." "A burden." "Yesterday, when we put the children to bed, as we lay in the grass l bent over and looked down into your eyes." "Your big, dark eyes." "And I saw, deep, deep down in there where l really wanted to be." "That was the highest place." "Darling..." "You see, Karin people want to live here on earth, but they can't do it like you can." "Well, I..." "Goran could see that." "That's why he went after you for me." "He saw..." "He saw what I..." "What did I do but bring you grief?" "Unwittingly yes, but..." "Forgive me, Erik, that I was such a burden!" "Teach us to live on earth as you do in the short time that we have here." "It is our home." "Amen." "Did he set you free?" "Come." "Are we going now, mother?" "On the boat like the man said?" "Of course we are." "Just you and I?" "Just you and I." "Who was that?" "The Queen!"