PRELUDE
It was dark, unusually dark. The sixth watch had just sounded and the sun had been down for some time. Epsil castle was dark; and it was getting cold. The fires had been allowed to cool; the servants would be punished, if the King wasn’t distracted.
The strong noble chin held several days worth of stubble; the court robes and armor had been replaced by a simple cloth shirt and worker’s pants; and he was pacing. Kings should never pace.
This was a moment when Kings were equal to slaves; the strongest knights were reduced to weeping like their feeble pages; and tiny women became the bravest of warriors.
King Avo paced in front of a solid wooden door. A man who had breeched the thickest stone defenses was now kept out of his wife’s chambers by a single wooden door.
It was not his place inside those doors. Childbirth was a woman’s place. The first queen had died after giving birth to three children, all who died in infancy. Now, his beloved second wife was giving birth to a precious baby. This one would not die.
A gentle cry suddenly broke through his thoughts. Avo rushed to the door and tried the latch. The click signified his uninvited status. He again resumed his pacing.
Carmen was a beautiful, wealthy, cold, and calculating young woman. Their marriage was arranged before they knew each other. He found Manterin a few days before the wedding. He loved Manterin, but was forced to marry Carmen. It was a loveless marriage, but Avo believed in duty. Manterin disappeared and Avo tried to put his heart into his marriage. It was useless. The death of the children hurt them even more. Depression set in after the death of the second child Dirge, the heir, the first son. When the third child was born stillborn, Carmen’s mind broke. She gave up and died from the trauma of the birth. Avo soon began searching for his lost love. Manterin had run away to a convent, but couldn’t bring herself to taking the vows. The king found her and made her his queen. Many of the nobles resented him for his lack of grieving. He found himself at odds the ruling class.
The crying suddenly stopped. The silence was a brief respite. It was only a moment before it was replaced by a quiet mumbling. The voice was frantic, almost in a panic. It was Manterin; something was wrong.
Avo grabbed the latch again, breaking the handle in his hand. He threw his shoulder into the door and the boards shuddered. Once more and the solid wood splintered around him.
Manterin was safe, awake, reaching towards the baby’s wash basin. The midwife, a witch, trusted by the nobility, was standing over the bath, staring shocked at Manterin. Neither noticed Avo and the pile of wood that had once been the door. Avo rushed to the bath and found his baby drowning in the water. The witch finally noticed him and tried to stop him, but he knocked her unconscious with the back of his hand and fumbled for the newborn.
She was beginning to turn blue, but immediately started crying as the cold air tore into her lungs.
A girl, a baby girl; Avo quickly brought their baby to Manterin who had finally stopped muttering. The baby quieted into a peaceful sleep as she began to turn pink again in her mother’s arms. The King suddenly felt very inadequate and clumsy.
General Kharibs, the new leader of the Epsil army, pounded into the room, followed by a handful of the King’s elite guards. Hearing the commotion, he gathered up whoever he could find and came to the King’s aid.
“The witch tried to kill my child,” Avo breathed out, pointing at the lifeless body lying in a heap. “Take her to the prison to await execution.”
“Immediately!” Kharibs revived the old woman and the guards picked her up off the floor. As she was led roughly by the armored guard, she suddenly came to her senses and stopped. The knights, who towered over her, could not move her any further.
“That child,” she croaked, “will be the death of us all. She is cursed.”
“Silence-!”
“She means the end of the world. Kill her now. Whoever controls the princess, controls the world.”
The witch, her prophesy finished, collapsed once again. The guard dragged her to the prison but found they had been dragging a corpse.
It was dark, unusually dark. The sixth watch had just sounded and the sun had been down for some time. Epsil castle was dark; and it was getting cold. The fires had been allowed to cool; the servants would be punished, if the King wasn’t distracted.
The strong noble chin held several days worth of stubble; the court robes and armor had been replaced by a simple cloth shirt and worker’s pants; and he was pacing. Kings should never pace.
This was a moment when Kings were equal to slaves; the strongest knights were reduced to weeping like their feeble pages; and tiny women became the bravest of warriors.
King Avo paced in front of a solid wooden door. A man who had breeched the thickest stone defenses was now kept out of his wife’s chambers by a single wooden door.
It was not his place inside those doors. Childbirth was a woman’s place. The first queen had died after giving birth to three children, all who died in infancy. Now, his beloved second wife was giving birth to a precious baby. This one would not die.
A gentle cry suddenly broke through his thoughts. Avo rushed to the door and tried the latch. The click signified his uninvited status. He again resumed his pacing.
Carmen was a beautiful, wealthy, cold, and calculating young woman. Their marriage was arranged before they knew each other. He found Manterin a few days before the wedding. He loved Manterin, but was forced to marry Carmen. It was a loveless marriage, but Avo believed in duty. Manterin disappeared and Avo tried to put his heart into his marriage. It was useless. The death of the children hurt them even more. Depression set in after the death of the second child Dirge, the heir, the first son. When the third child was born stillborn, Carmen’s mind broke. She gave up and died from the trauma of the birth. Avo soon began searching for his lost love. Manterin had run away to a convent, but couldn’t bring herself to taking the vows. The king found her and made her his queen. Many of the nobles resented him for his lack of grieving. He found himself at odds the ruling class.
The crying suddenly stopped. The silence was a brief respite. It was only a moment before it was replaced by a quiet mumbling. The voice was frantic, almost in a panic. It was Manterin; something was wrong.
Avo grabbed the latch again, breaking the handle in his hand. He threw his shoulder into the door and the boards shuddered. Once more and the solid wood splintered around him.
Manterin was safe, awake, reaching towards the baby’s wash basin. The midwife, a witch, trusted by the nobility, was standing over the bath, staring shocked at Manterin. Neither noticed Avo and the pile of wood that had once been the door. Avo rushed to the bath and found his baby drowning in the water. The witch finally noticed him and tried to stop him, but he knocked her unconscious with the back of his hand and fumbled for the newborn.
She was beginning to turn blue, but immediately started crying as the cold air tore into her lungs.
A girl, a baby girl; Avo quickly brought their baby to Manterin who had finally stopped muttering. The baby quieted into a peaceful sleep as she began to turn pink again in her mother’s arms. The King suddenly felt very inadequate and clumsy.
General Kharibs, the new leader of the Epsil army, pounded into the room, followed by a handful of the King’s elite guards. Hearing the commotion, he gathered up whoever he could find and came to the King’s aid.
“The witch tried to kill my child,” Avo breathed out, pointing at the lifeless body lying in a heap. “Take her to the prison to await execution.”
“Immediately!” Kharibs revived the old woman and the guards picked her up off the floor. As she was led roughly by the armored guard, she suddenly came to her senses and stopped. The knights, who towered over her, could not move her any further.
“That child,” she croaked, “will be the death of us all. She is cursed.”
“Silence-!”
“She means the end of the world. Kill her now. Whoever controls the princess, controls the world.”
The witch, her prophesy finished, collapsed once again. The guard dragged her to the prison but found they had been dragging a corpse.
3 comments:
Nick, so why haven't you posted some of your old stuff?
well, I specifically want some feedback on this one because I'm hoping to use it for something. Plus the old stuff is either unfinished, or not good, or I don't want posted.
I was hoping I would find a continuation to this story, but was disappointed. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I read it. Share more...
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