The
two made their way down the mountain.
Crom was rather upbeat, because the way back is always quicker than the
way there. He did not achieve his goal,
but that could wait for another day. He
found a sister. He helped somebody, and
that is much more important than helping yourself. Aparthie was joyous herself. She had security. Aparthie now had a future. She could be a completely different
person. She could finally put the past
behind.
Not all was happiness, however. The two came across a bloodied corpse on a
trail. It was the body of some poor
peasant. The corpse had been ripped and
slashed into pieces, even burned, as if he were set afire. Crom decided to investigate further, Aparthie
was apprehensive. She gasped and said
they should move on. Crom comforted her
with an arm around her. Aparthie was not
calmed by this however, “Oh Crom, the horror of this scene has overwhelmed
me. What could possibly have done this?”
Crom replied, “I do not know. Could it be something. . .Evil? It is my intention to find out who was behind
such a gruesome murder. Come, I must
deliver you safely to the castle. That
is of the utmost importance. Once there,
I must prepare to battle this mysterious beast which has so terribly slain this
innocent peasant”.
It was another day of hiking before the two were
safely out of the mountains and into the strong walls of the castle. Crom slightly hesitated, because he had to
explain to his father his failures. Crom
exuded confidence, but inside he was somewhat fearful of his father’s pending
disappointment. There was no pomp and
circumstance, all was quiet. For this
Crom was thankful. “Sylis! Come by me!
It is I, Crom!” Sylis came
immediately. Sylis was a messenger; it
was his job to know where everybody was.
“Yes, my lord?”
“Where is my father?”
“In his chamber, master”.
“Thank you for your swift response.”
Crom went to speak with his father, Aparthie by his
side. Entering the chamber, Crom saw his
father and some mistress making passionate love. It always hurt Crom to see his father in such
acts. Ganesh explained it to his son as
a release of aggression, for if he could not rid his body of lust, it would
turn into wrath. It is never good to
have a violent king, especially during a time of peace, by peace he meant
within the Norsemen’s realm.
Crom waited outside the door of his father’s room
until the mistress exited. Upon her
exit, he made his entrance. Ganesh saw
his son and smiled, but that smile quickly evaporated when he saw what Crom had
with him, “Crom! Why have you brought
home this harlot? You are powerful
enough to bring back the head of a demon.”
Crom was ashamed, but responded as such, “Father,
Aparthie was in distress. My concern was
for her safety. But worry not; I intend
to leave with the dawn back to the mountains.
I shall not disappoint you father, I swear”.
“Very well, Aparthie shall spend the night and on the
morrow, she shall return to her home”.
“She has no home, father. She is an orphan. I was hoping she could stay with us
. . .permanently, as a
sister to Strom and myself. Please
father”.
“Very well.
She is a human, Crom, not a pet.
She has special needs as a young girl.
You cannot change your mind ever.
She shall be a member of the family.
Are you sure you are prepared to shoulder the burden of an additional
unit to our family?”
“Yes father. I
am”.
“Very well.
Aparthie, if you are to be a member of our family, you must be
clean. Go with Arkus and bathe.” Arkus, a servant, took Aparthie by the hand
and led her to a bathing room. Aparthie
slipped into the warm water and cleaned herself. This was her first bath in ages. It was her first private bath ever. Things were looking up for Aparthie. She welcomed these changes. She smiled.
Later in the evening, the entire family and royal
cabinet members met for a feast. At the
table, everybody noticed how lovely Aparthie looked. She was wearing a clean dress and her hair
was neatly brushed. Crom introduced her
to the family and cabinet and they feasted.
Strom was smitten. He was in love
at the first site of this angel, this miracle.
His heart sank, however, as Crom announced her as a sister. This was like being served the finest meal of
your life and then being told it was poisoned.
This was unfair.
Strom spent the entire feast speaking with Aparthie
about various aspects of her life. He
tried to delve into her past, but she simply said it was painful and she did
not remember much of it. Trying to keep
her attention, Strom made small talk, “I understand you are to be my
sister. It shall be grand. We shall have much fun together”.
“I indeed look forward to it, Lord Strom”. The two spoke of trivial things throughout
the evening while Crom’s attention was paid to other, more important matters.
Crom spoke with Ganesh, Valla, and other heads of the
military. He said unto them in a
concerned voice, “I saw the corpse of a peasant in the mountains. It had bee badly mutilated and molested by something.
. .Evil. Some foul beast roams our
kingdom and I intend to see it slain”!
Proud of his son’s newfound quest, Ganesh announced,
“You leave with the dawn. Choose your
weapon carefully, for you can only take one, and you must bring back the head of this evil beast. Do not fail Crom”.
Alarmed, Valla suggested, “My Lord, allow me to send
men with my Lord Crom. If this beast is
a demon, it may be beyond even his ability to slay”.
Ganesh was somewhat insulted by this and proclaimed,
“No, General Valla. Crom must journey
alone. See that he is prepared well for
his journey”.
“Yes, my King”.
Not long after that, everybody had finished their
meals and gone to bed. Strom and
Aparthie remained, however, and spoke until the late hours of the night before
retiring. Sorry that the evening was
coming to an end, Strom said unto Aparthie, “You have only been my sister for
less than a day, yet I already love you.
Sleep well”.
“I will have the best sleep of my life. Thank you, Strom”. And she did.
###
More Greatest Evil
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