Once the festivities began Atomas, Hester, and Alexa all enjoyed the food and drink with the residents of Kyrshom. Atomas only circulated with the wealthy merchants and minor royalty in the city. He spent little time with and paid little heed to the commoners of the city. As the night wore on, Atomas became louder and bawdier as he became drunker and drunker. He spent much time with a very wealthy merchant, Breeger.
Breeger had four wives, none of whom seemed to be happy. Breeger and Atomas commented loudly on the young girl servants as they brought food to the table, making derogatory statements the girls could hear. They blushed or turned away as tears came to their eyes.
Hester and Alexa circulated freely among the commoners and the wealthy making no distinction between anyone. They stayed until the last course had been served and then both Queen Hester and Princess Alexa excused themselves and departed, returning to the palace. Atomas departed soon after. As a family, they did not spend the rest of the evening together.
Hester and Atomas no longer shared the same chambers and Hester returned to her chambers where she awaited the arrival of a visitor. The visitor was a wealthy merchant from outside Kyrshom who, aside from attending the festival, had come to visit and show her his latest textiles. At least, that was the story that anyone who was curious enough to ask was told.
He was, in truth, her lover and one of the most important men in the city. Despite this, he was rarely seen in person.
Hester’s relationship with her lover was kept entirely secret and there were no rumours of her seeing anyone else. While Hester kept her relationship with her lover a secret, she was totally oblivious to the fact that he kept his true identity a secret from her too. On the street, Hester’s lover presented himself as someone else but the man who he really was, was well known by all in the city of Kyrshom. Some believed that he was more powerful than the King himself but there was never any display of his rumoured power in any way. At least not in a way that challenged Atomas directly.
The spark between Hester and Atomas had died a long time ago. His drinking and infidelity were to blame. Hester had, over time, found companionship in the arms of another to whom she was now true.
Princess Alexa pretended to retire to her chambers but, after a short while, she emerged again dressed in dark clothes with a scarf covering her head. She exited the palace and mingled with the crowd in the palace circle before slipping away out of the palace grounds. No-one recognized her and she bypassed the festivities moving off into the city on a secret sojourn for the evening. The clothes she wore did not suggest she was wealthy or royalty. Instead, they allowed her to blend in as a middle-class citizen of the city while she made her way to her destination and secret meeting.
King Atomas retired to his chambers and was joined shortly after by Gelyn.
Gelyn was well known to the palace guards who did not stop her from entering Atomas private chambers. They preferred to stay away from her for they were well aware of the wrath Atomas would bring to bear on any one of them if they upset Gelyn. The guards thus maintained control over the entrance to Atomas chambers but stayed a good distance from the actual doors leading to his rooms.
Gelyn had been a prostitute when Atomas had first met her. She had been sent to him by Madam Karla who ran the brothel that served his personal tastes. From the first time that he had seen Gelyn, he had been smitten. He had stopped seeing any other prostitutes at all which had upset Madam Karla immensely. She had stated that it was against their agreement for her to supply only one girl but Atomas had reminded her that he was King and could do as he wished. Shortly after, Gelyn had not arrived for an appointment and it was discovered that she had been attacked on her way to see Atomas.
Gelyn had recovered and Atomas had promised her safety ever after. He had made an offer to buy Gelyn from Karla which had been refused. Gelyn was attacked again but she had been saved by guards Atomas had instructed to watch Gelyn. The guards had pretended to let Gelyn’s attacker escape but followed him instead. The fool led them right to the door of Madam Karla.
Atomas had the attacker arrested and held in Madam Karla’s brothel. He had left the palace and gone to the brothel where he had made it clear he was king and his will would never be thwarted. He had personally killed Madam Karla and Gelyn’s attacker sending a message to all brothel owners that his will was not to be resisted.
After that Gelyn was free and she had quickly risen to the status of a wealthy lady who had suddenly acquired a small home for herself following what had happened. She was no longer a prostitute but Atomas’ mistress.
As arranged, Gelyn was waiting for Atomas when he returned to his chambers.
Gelyn stood and smiled when Atomas stumbled into his chambers.
“I was wondering when you would return to celebrate the night with me,” she said catching him as he nearly lost his balance.
“As always I couldn’t wait to leave to be with you,” Atomas slurred. He had already drunk his fill and would soon be fast asleep. Gelyn guided him to his bed where he collapsed. She helped him undress as far as possible before he drifted into an inebriated slumber.
Gelyn covered him with blankets and drank some more wine out on the balcony of Atomas chambers before she finally turned in for the night and climbed into bed next to the snoring figure of Atomas.
Gelyn lay awake for a while as Atomas rumbled next to her. She was grateful to Atomas for all he had given her. He had uplifted her from the life she had lived and ultimately released her from her life as a prostitute. In truth, she was still little more than a prostitute but she had a better life and, at some point, planned to leave Kyrshom to start anew somewhere else.
She knew that Atomas was in love with her. But she could not in truth say she felt the same way. Nevertheless, he had never hurt her or given her any cause to fear him. Although she was afraid of him. Afraid of what he would do if she asked to leave. But she was also afraid of what would happen if she was still in the city when he died. She had no doubt that the people would turn their wrath on her quickly.
Atomas was a friend to her and she would never be able to offer him more than that. But her training as a prostitute enabled her to hide her true feelings well and to pretend to be who Atomas believed she was and wanted her to be.
Gelyn felt true sadness and guilt for Hester and Alexa since she was now the woman between them. She had never intended to break a family apart although that was what she had done. With anyone else she might have had a choice but Atomas was king and he had shown the lengths he would go to to get what he wanted when it came to Gelyn. Gelyn thus believed she had little choice in the current state of Atomas’ marital affairs and wondered if Hester hated her or saw things the same way as she did. She wondered if Hester even cared.
Since becoming his mistress she had been trained in the etiquette of high society and frequently accompanied Atomas to social events as Hester refused to. He had provided private tutors to educate her and she was now a businesswoman too. But she was now, and always would be, his mistress. He was in love with her but there was no way he could marry her. He knew that his wife, Hester, and daughter, Alexa, kept the citizens at bay in respect of their anger towards him and his policies which drained them of most of their income. He knew, if Hester left, the tide would turn against him.
Hester and Atomas had reached an unspoken compromise. They had separated behind the doors of the palace and Hester had moved into her own chambers. They still appeared together in public after their separation in private but that had also eventually ended except for events such as the Festival of Kelaspin.
When Hester had first been pursued by her lover, she had initially resisted. But he had persisted and she had finally relented. She never spoke of him to Atomas or Alexa and never argued with Atomas about Gelyn. Her way to deal with the pain was simply to ignore it and give it no voice at all.
Alexa knew of her mother’s lover and her father’s relationship with Gelyn was no secret to her either. Saddened by the marriage of her parents, Alexa kept to herself and did her own thing.
After retiring to her quarters, Hester had waited for the knock that would announce her visitor. Her lover and companion. Dargo.He knocked on the door when he arrived and she let him in. “Good evening my Lady,” Dargo smiled as Hester closed the door behind him. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her tightly planting light kisses on her face and lips. Finally, their lips met and they shared a long kiss saying nothing and simply enjoying each other’s presence.“I saw you at dinner,” Dargo said as he poured them each a glass of wine. “How could you miss the queen?” Hester joked.
The arrows were a signal for him. He put down his cup of wine and watched as the arrows peaked then fell back to the ground, their flames dying quickly.No shout went up from anywhere. None was intended to. Quickly he returned inside and placed his wine cup on the table. He ran into Hester’s room and crossed to her side of the bed. She breathed deeply, her eyes closed. Asleep. He considered waking her but then decided against it. She was upset with him and waking her would probably upset her more. Besides, whatever emergency was signaled by the arrows meant that he had very little time. If he woke Hester and tried to get her to leave with him, he would probably be too late.Best he left and returned another time when he could be sure that the emergency had passed and all was safe a
Hester stirred. Dargo was shaking her. Her eyes fluttered open. It was still dark outside. Sleep mixed with darkness and the remnants of sleep confused her. Somewhere in her mind, she seemed to recall Dargo leaving. Yet here he was waking her.“What is it Dar….?”A hand clamped over her mouth and more hands hoisted her up onto her feet. In an instant, she was wide awake. A man dressed in black from head to toe stood before her holding her shoulders in a firm grip.“We have taken over the palace and the kingdom. Resist in any way and we shall kill you. Do you understand?”Hester nodded fearfully.“Get dressed.” It was a simple but stern order that indicated it should not be disobeyed. The person added, “I suggest you dress warmly.”Hester tried to see the man who spoke to her. His face was covered too and she could discern no distinguishing features. She realized that he was not alone. The moonlight that poured through the balcony doors and windows outlined four companions. Hester reali
Benedict stood before Atomas. “I am truly not surprised. I had heard it all before we entered the city in any event. There is truly no end to your corruptness is there?”Atomas ignored Benedict’s question. “Who are you? How dare you come into my city? I will have you burned slowly and fed to the maggots.”“You have no city left Atomas. You have no kingdom. You are here to be sentenced for your crimes against the kingdom and its people.”“What crimes you fool? I am King!”“You were king. You are king no more. And for your information, even kings can be held responsible for committing crimes
Dargo entered the headquarters of the Black Cloaks. He did not have to send for his second in command, Tode. Tode was waiting anxiously when he arrived.“Thank the blessings of the Gods and the blessed Gods themselves!” Tode exclaimed rising to meet Dargo. “You are safe!”Dargo waved his hand dismissively. “A narrow escape. Thank you for the warning. What is happening?”“The news is not good at all. I fear Kyrshom is overthrown. One thousand soldiers entered the gates from the East shortly after the festival ended. The guards were drunk as usual on the festival night and were no resistance at all to the intruders.”“Who are they? Do you know?”“Not yet. But we are trying to find out.”“How did we not know Tode?” Dargo asked in disbelief. “How is it possible? Have we been compromised?”“I cannot say for sure but the gates were opened from inside.”Dargo was quiet as he absorbed Tode’s words. Tode was a short, round man with a bald head. Sweat glistened on his head in the lantern light a
“To all gathered here today, take heed and share the word. Anyone who does not know is deemed to have heard this announcement and non-compliance to the new order will not be tolerated.” The people looked at each other, confused. “King Atomas, Queen Hester and Princess Alexa, no longer rule in Kyrshom or anywhere in the kingdom of Aleghor. They have been deposed and anyone who still serves them as rulers of Aleghor is forthwith considered a traitor and will be sentenced to death if caught.” A murmur went through the crowd of twenty thousand people standing before the palace. The man reading the scroll looked up nervously, licked his lips and continued. “King Atomas has already been tried for his crimes and will be put to death shortly for crimes against the kingdom of Aleghor and its people.” Another murmur went through the crowd louder than the first. The man looked around nervously again. Fearfully. If the crowd decided to break through the barriers they could easily do so. He st
The city of Kyrshom was the capital of the Kingdom of Aleghor but it was not the only city in the kingdom which was overthrown. Every major city in the kingdom had been taken over in the same manner on the night of the festival of Kelaspin. Little or no resistance was encountered at all. In the months that followed people would continue to speculate about who had betrayed the kingdom to the people who now ruled. Blame fell on the Black Cloaks who had denied any involvement and put the word out that they had played no role in the change of rule in the kingdom.In the city of Galabag, the change that occurred meant little to Samnom who was fifteen circles of age.Samnom was a small boy for his age. As a result he was the object of many a bully’s attention and rage. He faced many beatings but always stood up again. He learned not to cry. His mother had died when he was born. He was brought up by his father who was the blacksmith of Galabag. His father always admonished him for getting bea
The man at the top of the stairs spoke clearly and firmly.“I am Benedict, your new King!” He paused, letting it sink in and gauging the people’s reaction.There was a low murmur but it was not one of disagreement.Benedict continued. “I claim the Kingdom of Aleghor as mine by right of birth. I am the descendant of King Maltay who was overthrown by Atomas’ ancestors.”A murmur ran through the crowd now. Louder than before as the older people recalled the overthrow of King Maltay.“Atomas has been tried for his crimes against the people and kingdom of Ale