A cool breeze blew through the windows of the castle making hollow sounds along the walls. The night was not cold, it was just pleasantly cool enough that all the occupants of the palace, except the guards, were fast asleep. The night was dark and there was no moon to cast its light against the stone walls. The only sounds heard were the dogs sniffing out rats in the kitchen and the rustle of dried leaves on the stone floors. Even though the night was peaceful sleep of Barigo was anything but peaceful. In his bed, he tossed and turned beneath the large embroidered fur covers as his dreams haunted him. It was a dream he had many nights and those dreams were the reason he had ordered that Merea sleeps in the room down the halls away from him to prevent her from hearing the sounds of his groans and scream.
He clutched the sheets of his bed as though he was drowning but in truth, that action was a reenactment of how his brother has died at his hands. He could see himself holding
The seer offered Barigo a stool to sit on. The seer’s house was simple, just a small space with a sleeping pallet, above the pallet, was a small collection of clothes hanging on hooks, a small earthen stove was built into the wall, there was a washbasin at a corner of the room where he washed before going to the temples for consultations. Lastly, at the center of the room was a fire that caused the smoke. Barigo sat beside the flame and buried his head in his hands as his dreams still haunted him. This was not the first time he had the dream nor the second but never once in his dream had Jumi or Merea or even Herentik and Phoenix appeared in his dream. When he raised his head he saw that the seer was watching him through bushy eyebrows. “I need your help, seer, if you keep holding the past against me I fear I may have no one else to run to.” The seer took a stool for himself. “I don’t see how I can be if any use to a murderer.” Barigo hit his thigh wi
The sun was high in the sky but the wind that blew was cool and it successfully reduced the intensity of the sun on her skin. Phoenix was aware that from where Basten sat, watching her hang the queen’s clothes to dry he was seething at her refusal of his help. He could not understand why she refused to let him do any of her house chores for her. He was always careful not to allow any of the other servants to see him but Phoenix was still worried that one day one of the servants would see them talking and separate them and may even forbid them from seeing each other again. Phoenix did not want that to happen, he was her only friend, after all, the only one she could trust. He had come in that morning with the promise of teaching her how to handle a sword and dagger around anyone who wants to assault her. The previous day he had taught her how to balance the sword and what stance would make it easier for her to handle the weight of it. She was a fast learner and was already looking fo
“Who says there is nothing to fear?” One of the boys scoffed. He came out of the water. He wore nothing but his loincloths that was wrapped loosely around his waist. “This is our fishing spot which means you will have to find somewhere else to fish.” He saw Phoenix coming out from behind the trees and a wolfish smile appeared on his lips. He hit his companion who was still beneath the water oblivious to what was going on lightly on the shoulder. “He brought his poulus back,” he laughed. Basten raised his sword and approached him again with the tip of his sword aimed at his neck. “I have told you, she is not a poulus.” The boy's eyes widened as the cold metal of the sword pressed against his skin. But his companion was not so intimidated, he moved quickly and was back with a dagger that was angled at Basten’s throat. “If you harm my brother I will slit your throat,” he said in a cold voice. Phoenix ran down the bank of the stream and drew her own sword
Phoenix was amazed at how easy it was for Basten to talk with the brothers. Both Teo and Dan had been on guard when she and Basten first appeared at the stream but now they were on their backs exchanging tales of their mischiefs as boys. Teo’s shoulders were relaxed now as his suspicion of her and Basten reduced, he even regarded her with more respect. Dan was more trusting of the two, after all, he had not shown any aggression when Teo had touched her at the King’s Seat. He was even more reserved than his brother. Once they were done sharing the fishes Dan scattered the fire pit and arranged the tools they had been using to fish. “What do you intend to do with the rest of the fish?” “We hope to sell them in the market this evening. Hopefully, it would fetch us some money for the rest of the week.” Basten stood up and dusted himself free of leaves and sand. The sun was already setting behind the clouds. Somehow they had lost track of time in between bites of
Her words failed her. She stood at the threshold of the room hoping the image of him would vaporize and she would find out that it was only her imagination that conjured him there. But when he reached for a lamp and turned it on to illuminate the room she knew he wasn’t just a fragment of her imagination. Her father, king Barigo of Eyrotia was indeed sitting on her bed. If she wasn’t so afraid of him she would notice that his expression was not one of anger, rather he was trying not to show too much concern. Since his visit to the seer, he found himself questioning his actions towards her. If the seer claimed that she was not to bring retribution on him then she was not his enemy. Her only crime was being born in the first place, she didn’t deserve to be treated cruelly for that. As he waited for her to show up in her room all evening fought with his conscience, and his conscience told him that Herentik would not have been happy with how he was treating her child. For whatev
In Mount Kpamos Helena, locked in Robos’ dungeon struggled to breathe. Her wounds were not healing quick enough and this was because Robos had applied the Mekai, a golden liquid substance that was known to kill gods if it was stabbed into their hearts. But he had only applied a small amount to her injuries making it impossible to heal quickly, it was his demented way of punishing her. She squeezed her eyes in pain as the broken bones of her wrists merged slowly. Tears fell down her cheeks but her heart and mind was set; she would not reveal the whereabouts of her children. If they were destined to destroy the gods then she’ll happily die in the hands of her children so long as they lived. Her body may be broken but her spirit was not. I hope Demeus is holding on as well as I am, she thought. Memories of the day they both revealed themselves to each other came rushing into her mind. Weeks after leaving Eyrotia for Mount Kpamos she found out that she was pregna
Demeus’ heart dropped, he felt a physical pain in his chest as the news hit him. How could this be? Surely she was lying, there was no way she could be a goddess. He couldn’t feel any current of powers from her but then again he had concealed his powers so that would make it impossible for him to feel powers from another god. “H-Helena…” he started. Helena who had completely misread his silence clutched his hands tighter. “I don’t care that you are human, Ramus. I don’t care about that, I love you.” Demeus stared speechless at her. Her eyes were hidden by the darkness that was beginning to form, the night was drawing near. In a stunned silence he stood up and lit the fire and two lamps in the room to illuminate the space. “Ramus I do not want to impose anything on you…” “My name is not Ramus,” he said in a low voice. His head was bowed. “What…?” Helena stood up, she intended to walk towards him in case she had not heard him cor
A guard stood by the door of Barigo’s room with his hand on his sword. He bowed in respect. “The priest is here your majesty.” Earlier in the day one of the priests of the temple had sent a messenger to bring news to him; if Eyrotia needed help conquering the nations around her then the gods would help but they had just one request. The messenger could not say what the request was, his only duty was to bring the message to the king and after he left Barigo sent for a priest for clarification of the message. Barigo glanced at the guard and waved a dismissive hand. He let his servant tie the knots of his robe then went to his throne room where the priest was waiting. The priest was a middle-aged man, tall and slim with deep-set eyes. He bowed as Barigo passed by him raising his scepter as a sign of peace. Barigo sat on the gilded chair that was set on the dais. Without wasting any time he asked, “What is it that the gods demand?” “The goddess of the ear