Crom
walked down the hall that led to the throne room in the castle. He saw a soldier name Mathis. Mathis had recently been promoted to officer
status because of the recent slaughter of soldiers during the raid in the
mountains. Crom asked him, “Have you
begun preparations? We can expect attack
shortly, I fear. They will surely have
great numbers of men, and possibly siege engines. Have the fletchers produced sufficient
arrows? Our archers will provide the
brunt of the defense. Every third archer
along the wall should have a torch, so as to ignite their arrows, and the
arrows of their neighbors. The siege
engines must be set aflame before they reach the walls.”
“My Lord, all is prepared. Were the rebels to attack tomorrow, we would
lay waste to them. And my cavalry men
are eager to have you lead us out of the gates to meet their attack.” Mathis was still at awe with discussing
strategy with the prince.
“Very good. Be
at peace, Mathis.”
“Be at peace, Lord Crom.” The two clasped forearms and Mathis
left.
Crom left the throne room and made way to his private
quarters. After he entered he hung his
sword from a peg by the door and turned to see Aparthie waiting for him,
sitting on the floor. There is an open
pouch beside her. Some of the contents
were spilled on the floor. It appeared
to be petals from a yellow flower. He
said to her, “How was your day, wife? I
hope you found something to fill the hours, now that no one is allowed inside
the castle.” He walked closer to see her
weeping, her eyes were red, “What has happened?
Why do you weep?”
“I have discovered something that for years has lain
plain before me. You don’t love me,
Crom. You never have. I know you, Crom. I know that if you could pick who you would
love, you would have picked me to save me this pain. But alas, love cannot be decided in such
ways.”
Crom now had a lump in his throat, “I’m truly sorry,
Aparthie. I wish I could have spared you
this. Can you not be content with what I
can give, with my intentions? Can you
not go back to your blissful ignorance?”
“I cannot. I
too, have had hoped to spare you some pain.
I expected you to be preparing for war late into the night.”
“I came back early for you. What pain would you have spared me?”
“I’m dying. I
had hoped the deed would be complete before your return. I could not live in a world that would deny
me your love.”
Crom cried for the first time in his entire
life. He softly kissed the top of
Aparthie’s head, “I would rather you die here, in my arms, than alone in this
room. That would have hurt me
more.” He held her in his arms.
Aparthie leaned her head on his chest and whispered,
“I love you.”
“And I you. It
has taken this terrible act for me to realize the depth of my feelings for
you. This much pain can only come from
love.” She smiled weakly. Crom realized that she was nearly at the end
of her tortured life. He kissed her
deeply. When he pulled back, she was
gone. He whispered, “I love you,
Aparthie.”
The door burst open and Valla entered, “My lord, I
hate to interrupt you and your wife, but the king is taken ill. I fear he may soon pass to the next
life. He has asked for you.”
Overcome with grief on top of grief, Crom shouted,
“The Gods are punishing me, Valla. Aparthie
has died, Valla. See that she is buried
in the Tomb of Nobles.”
“But. . . my lord.
She was not a noble. She was a
commoner. Had she had child, she would
have been noble, but-”
“She was my wife!
Follow my orders, Valla. I will
go see my father.”
###
More Greatest Evil
Comments
Post a Comment