Later
that evening, Boxt went to Aparthie’s living quarters to speak. He approached her slowly and said to her, “My
Lady, I must speak with you in private.
It concerns your husband and his brother.”
She sensed a the gravity of Boxt’s concern and told
the servants to leave them be. She asked
Boxt, “Tell me, young Boxt. What is
troubling your heart? What is this with
Crom and Strom?”
“Many things, my lady. But what I shall tell you concerns both Lord
Crom and Lord Strom. Lord Ganesh will
also have his place in my story,” he said sincerely.
Aparthie was now worried. She inhaled deeply and was ready for whatever
Boxt had to tell her, “Tell me your tale young Boxt. And I hope what you tell me will lighten your
heart.”
Boxt sighed sadly and began the story he had created.
He had rehearsed it
many times that day and recited from memory, “My lady, as I understand, you
were rescued from the teeth of a fierce mountain blizzard by Lord Crom. That day, he adopted you into the noble
family as a sister. Later, Lord Strom
fled the castle. Many in the castle
understood why. I do. Strom, my father, was a broken man when he
met and wed my mother. I’ve only known
him with a crushed spirit. And since
I’ve lived here, under your care, I’ve come to understand why. Lord Strom is deeply in love with you, Lady
Aparthie. Not the love a brother holds
for his sister, but the love a man would hold for his wife. That was the reason for Lord Strom’s original
departure. He loved you more than life
itself, yet you had eyes only for Lord Crom.
My father was devastated, and so he left to try to find contentment as a
commoner. He attempted to leave his
noble life behind, but he ultimately failed.
Lord Crom holds you high in his affections as well, but not as a lover,
only as a sister. Since birth, Lord Crom
was raised to be king after Lord Ganesh.
Early in Lord Strom’s childhood, Lord Ganesh had spotted something in
his first son that would make him unfit as a king. And so the heir was to be young Crom. Lord Crom was trained in the arts of warfare,
politics, and governing the land. He was
forced to manhood earlier then nature had intended. Lord Ganesh instilled in Lord Crom an immense
sense of duty. The future king was to
hold his duty above all else, even above his own personal feelings. And so, he was not allowed to know love. He was permitted to have love for his father
and brother, and for the people he was to rule, but never for a woman. Lord Crom married you out of duty to his
people. His marriage to you gave the
downtrodden a reason to hope perhaps someday, they could marry into the noble
family, and rise above the mud in which they dwell. Lord Crom has never loved you as a wife, nor
is he even capable of it. By some cruel
twist of fate, you were married to the wrong brother.” It was uncanny how much Boxt knew about Crom
just by observation. The story was
entirely true, but it was not that simple, at least until Boxt put it into
words. After spinning this accurate
yarn, he fell silent, awaiting Aparthie’s reaction.
Tears slowly crawled down her cheek. Aparthie was stunned, “I was blind never to
see it. When he gazed at me, there was
always affection in his eyes, but never love.
Never the passion I wanted so desperately to be there. The man I love does not return my
feelings. Leave me to my misery,
Boxt. Thank you for opening my eyes, but
I feel the need for solitude now.”
Boxt pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and
placed it upon a table and turned to leave.
He said, “You should go to Lord Strom, my Lady,” and he left. Boxt did not feel good about what he had
done, but it had to be done. He
whispered to himself, “May the Gods forgive me, and watch over her soul.” He left.
Aparthie cried for several minutes. She thought about her life. Her marriage.
She thought about all the lies she never knew of. She said to herself, “He does not love
me. He has never loved. Instead, I’m loved by a wretched traitor, a
man who would betray all out of petty jealousy.
How could I go to a man like that?
How long before he betrays me too?
I’ve never wished for anything but Crom’s love, and the God’s have
denied me even that.” She looked into
the pouch and cried herself to sleep like she had done so many times before.
###
More Greatest Evil
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