Back to the start...
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| It was peaceful the next few days. They only stepped out of the room to request food or firewood, and even then it was usually Alexander's job to do so. Chilandrea would stay in the room and wait for him to return. She felt so comfortable and safe with him there. Strangely enough, she truly hadn't had any visions since her marriage to Merrick. She wished she knew why and how she could remedy it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| However, she did have dreams. She dreamt of her baby, and in her dreams it was a boy. She dreamt he would grow up to be as great a warrior as his father and as skilled with magic as his mother. He was more powerful than anyone could ever hope, but he could never leave Varadorn for fear of his recognition. His eyes pierced through the darkness in that shockingly bright color -- a mix of both blue and green that created a beautiful and unnaturally clear teal. His hair was just like his father's -- stark black and wavy. He was just as stubborn as both of them and just as smart. It warmed Chilandrea's heart to think of their son being so magnificent, but it was just a dream. If he was born and both of them were still alive and safe, then he could mature and help Alexander fight off the order when they were found. (Chilandrea was sure they would be found eventually, even if it did take years.) Yet every morning she woke up and knew that Alexander was more troubled and that their child was, in fact, not a boy. She wondered if perhaps knowledge of their child would comfort him, but thought against it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Alexander, is there anything you want to tell me?" she asked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Like what?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You told me you were troubled, but you seem more sure of the danger than wary of it. What's making you feel this way?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He hesitated. "I have been having some odd thoughts and dreams lately. And they've been making me think..." He placed his hand on her stomach tenderly. "Is there anything you're hiding from me? Something important?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She stared at his hand in amazement. Could he be having visions? How would that be possible? "W-w-what are talking about?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Well, my dreams have been centered around a little girl. She looks like you, but she's with Horace in the castle. Neither of us are around, and she couldn't be Horace's daughter, so the only explanation would be..." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "...That we have a daughter?" she asked innocently. He nodded. "No. I am not with child," she lied. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Then, they were only dreams. I'm glad." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Why?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Because in my dreams, we were found... and executed." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilandrea turned away to hide her concern. Oh no! He knows about our child, which means he has had visions. Then we will be killed. "Are you sure that's what you saw?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Yes. Is there something you know?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Only that I've had no visions, but what you're saying sounds awfully close to what I experience in dream visions. I'm not sure what to believe anymore." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He slid his arm around her. "Don't worry. I'll never let them kill either of you." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| That's what I'm afraid of. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chilandrea stood looking out a small window at the snowy surroundings. She wore a thin black gown that one of the nice men had brought up for her, but held Alexander's deep green cloak tightly around her shoulders for warmth. She looked at her hand and stared at the small ankh on her finger. It held so much meaning for her now. Alexander had left to get some food from the kitchen downstairs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A small knock on the door behind her signaled that a tiny man entered with some more blankets for the bed. "I do apologize for the lack of firewood, milady," the man said in a quiet voice. "We weren't expecting any visitors." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "It's alright. Thank you for your kindness. I welcome it now more than ever in times like this." He bowed and began to exit when Chilandrea began to shake. "Oh no, no!" She turned to the window and stared out, recognizing all the snow, the room, the little man. It was all so familiar now, so real. "No! Not now!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What is it, miss?" asked the man. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "We have to leave! Leave now!! Ale--" she tried to yell, but the door exploded cutting her off. She fell to the floor from the blast. Coughing from the dust, she stared up in horror. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molandra entered the room holding Alexander -- his hands tied behind his back -- high in front of her by his collar. He looked battered as she dropped him to the floor in a heap. "Who would have guessed? A law breaking fiend like this brings the rumored Child Priestess here of all places." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The little man looked at Chilandrea with sudden recognition. "The Child Priestess," he whispered and bowed back into a corner. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alexander barely moved on the floor, obviously hurt beyond help. Merrick entered and stood behind Molandra, looking awfully proud of himself. "Your husband saw him take you by force from your room on your Honeymoon and reported to us immediately for your safe return. It is obvious that he has forced himself upon you and violently," said Molandra, standing above him like a hunter with her kill. "This man has confessed that he stole you away, forcing himself upon you and will die for it. Come Chilandrea, we will bring you back to Storindrake to discuss his death." She reached her hand out for Chilandrea to take, but Chilandrea hesitated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilandrea stared at Alexander in horror. She remembered the dream that resembled this very moment. Should she object? He'd die either way. She could hear his words in her head, telling her to lie for her own sake. 'Don't make our love known,' he said. 'Our love is not worthy of your sacrifice. Stay alive.' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Chilandrea, why haven't you healed yourself completely? Those bruises are unbecoming--" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I can't heal myself," Chilandrea snapped. "This healing must occur naturally. I am not the one who created that rule." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molandra just stared at her in astonishment. "What are you saying?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What does it sound like, Molandra? I cannot heal myself because of a certain ritual that bound my powers. You remember, don't you? You attended. You even wanted it to happen." Chilandrea was slowly walking forward as Molandra turned to look at Merrick. "Because of the order, I was injured beyond my ability to heal myself. Because of the order, I was nearly killed!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You?" Molandra hissed. "No, you just want Alexander to be free of his punishment. Merrick would never harm his wife OR a priestess." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilandrea waved away Alexander's bindings. "Would you like proof? I could attempt to heal myself if you like, or maybe tell Merrick that I will never come back to him and see how he reacts!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merrick took a deep controlled breath. "She's obviously trying to protect him. He may have treated her this way, but she's still bewitched by his strange unknown powers. That must be why she chooses to not heal herself." Molandra eyed him suspiciously. "Well who are you going to believe: me or some young girl who doesn't know anything? He's already confessed to forcing himself on her! Why would you doubt it?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molandra glanced at Chilandrea -- who was staring at Alexander with tears in her eyes -- and felt a small change of heart. But if she let down her fa�ade, then all the future priestesses would take advantage of the rules. Should she tend to the heart or the head? "Lord Merrick, there is a way to tell who harmed a priestess. Did you know?" Merrick looked a bit confused. "It's a quite simple spell, really." She pointed at his forehead and said, "Nyara mani nauva anwa." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What did you do?" he asked nervously. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Now I want you to tell me what happened in Chilandrea's chambers the night of your wedding. Tell me exactly what happened." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chilandrea stood with Molandra on a balcony overlooking the kingdom. A large stage with an executioner's block stood in the center of a steadily growing crowd. Molandra looked beside herself. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Both Merrick and Alexander had been kept in the dungeons since they came back from Varadorn and would stay there until the stage was finished. Merrick had requested a visit from Chilandrea, but she had not complied. It wouldn't have mattered anyway -- Molandra would not let her leave her side until the executions were over with. Molandra had also sent notice that once Merrick and Alexander were dead, Chilandrea would be the next one in line on the block. She was to be used as an example for future priestesses. It was to show what would happen to those who disobeyed the law, but most people thought of it as a punishment for falling in love. In the meantime, Chilandrea was ordered to watch the gruesome event. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The rumors that flooded the kingdom ranged between Merrick's first lie and the truth. Many believed that Alexander had bewitched Chilandrea while Merrick truly loved her, but most believed the truth simply because they wanted to believe it. The tale of Chilandrea's betrayal had reached the order sooner than anywhere else, and though her powers had already been stripped, she could feel a strong presence of anger and rebellion rising in the crowd below. Molandra seemed oblivious. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chilandrea began to think that the events were not going to follow Molandra's plans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horace entered and stood beside her. "We've given them both one last request before they are taken out to the stage. Merrick still wants to speak to you." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I will not speak with him. It is because of him that all this happened." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I understand." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "And... what of Alexander?" she whispered. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "He only asked that you find a way to refrain from seeing his death. He does not want you watching it." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I wish I didn't, but I have to." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horace sighed and looked at his feet. "All of this is my fault. If I had listened to you when you told me to send Alexander away, none of this would have happened." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "No, you followed your heart, as did I. Because of you, Alexander and I found love in each other, and I would never give that up for anything. Neither would he." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I'm truly sorry for everything. If I could, I would hug you." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Horace, I am no longer a priestess. You may do what you wish." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| He stepped forward and embraced her, holding her close and tight. "I wish there was a way I could stop this, but I don't have the power." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I know." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molandra looked on with a disapproving glare. Horace stepped back. "I have to go to the other balcony to observe. I wish you a painless passage into the afterlife, and a peaceful eternity with Alexander's spirit." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "That means a lot to me, thank you." He kissed her forehead and walked swiftly away. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The crowd was considerably larger now, people shoving others out of the way just to move by. Molandra was still unaware of the tension mounting below. "You know, for a woman to be executed, the people usually demand that she be adorned in white no matter how criminal she is. They want her to be as innocent in the afterlife as the day they were born." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You know damn well I won't comply to wearing white." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I wasn't going to make you. I was just saying that even in death, you are as rebellious and forceful as the day you began training. Even in death." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drums began to sound below as the march commenced, bringing Merrick out first. He looked awful, unshaven, dirty, and completely disarray. His hands were tied tightly behind his back. The crowd threw rotten vegetables at him, though with little or no aim at all. "Scoundrel!" shouted one woman. "Villain! Miscreant! Lowlife!" the rest chimed in. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "It's such a shame. I had such high hopes for Lord Merrick," sighed Molandra. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You would. He's as narrow-viewed as you are," quipped Chilandrea. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merrick, glancing nervously around him and dodging flying food, assented the stairs to the platform. The guards held him at sword-point the entire way, poking him when he slowed. He finally stood at the center of the stage when the guards pushed him to his knees before the block. They offered him a black sack to place over his head during the beheading. He eagerly agreed and they slid it over his head. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Coward!" yelled an angry member of the crowd. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The executioner stepped forward from the side of the stage, clad in black with a dark mask. He raised his looming axe high into the air and swung down, slicing through with a sickening lop and thud as the head fell to the stage surface. The crowd roared with its appreciation. The guards rushed to pick up the head and carried it along with the body off to a cart. Another servant hurried onstage and haphazardly mopped up the blood with a rag. Chilandrea felt ill. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The drums began again, signaling Alexander's death march. He stepped out and the crowd fell silent. He walked with his head high, shoulders back and chest prominent, refusing to be shameful as the crowd cleared a path for him. He would die with warrior's honor. It pained Chilandrea, but she smiled at his courage all the same. He marched up the stairs, and stood before the audience like a true general. His men were obvious as the kneeled and bowed their heads in honor, the women and children turned their eyes away. Molandra glared at them, angry that they refused to watch. "Don't you dare look away!" she shouted, words echoing of the high walls of the castle. "You will watch the brute die like the beast he is!!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Few men even looked up to glance at her, but none watched Alexander kneel on his own to the block. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "LOOK!!" Molandra cried. Most of the crowd stared up at her in silence. "Watch him die." Not many complied, but Molandra was satisfied for the time being. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The guards offered Alexander the sack, but he declined. They offered a blindfold and he declined. They asked him for his last request -- which they had not felt they needed to ask Lord Merrick because they believed he deserved little mercy -- and he glanced up to the balcony where Chilandrea stood. He quickly looked back down, shook his head no, and bent over lowering his head to the block. The executioner stepped forward, bowed his head in respect before raising the axe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "WAIT!!" cried Chilandrea, feeling her emotions take hold of her. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Chilandrea, what are you doing?" Molandra asked. "Get back here!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She turned, pushing past the guards and down the stone steps, through the dimly lit halls and finally into the crowd. The people stared in wonder at her, never seeing her beauty before and in awe of being so near to a priestess. Many bowed, averting their eyes and stepping back as she made her way to the stage. Hurrying along, she reached Alexander's side before she knew it and knelt by him. "You shouldn't be here, Chilandrea. Leave now," he said, staring coldly at the ground. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Not yet. Before you die I want you to know that you are my reason for living. A'maelamin, tenna' ento lye omenta, father of my child." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alexander looked up at her in surprise. "What?" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| She caressed his face, tears falling steadily to the ground. "I lied to you that night at Varadorn. I didn't want you to be too protective of me. I'm sorry I kept it from you, but you are a father." Horace cried out from above and ran down. "Amin mela lle," she whispered and kissed him, feeling his own tears form, running hot down his cheeks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Chilandrea," gasped Horace, reaching out for her. "This is no place for you." He pulled her back, breaking their kiss, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and turned her away from Alexander, walking back to the steps of the stage. A sickening lop and thud sounded behind her and she felt wetness on her back. She turned and saw his head laying on its side beside her. Her body shivered and shook as she fell to her knees. His hair fell gracefully around his eyes, tears still warm and wet on his cheeks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "No, please no," she whispered, rocking back and forth. "TAKE ME WITH YOU!!" She scrambled over to the block as the crowd gasped and murmured to themselves. She tenderly pulled Alexander's body off the block and lay it down, placing her own head firmly in the groove, still wet with blood. "Do away with me before I have the chance to live in misery!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horace grimly nodded, hoping that it would stop her pain, but just as the executioner raised his axe, a cry from the crowd halted him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You will not harm that woman!" yelled a young woman, pulling her hood down from her black cloak. She stepped out of the audience and onto the stage. "She has a great destiny, and no one but the divine may take that away from her!" She pulled Chilandrea to her feet and dragged her down to a carriage below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You are defying the punishment of the Divine Law! You do so, and you will die!" shouted Molandra, appearing beside Horace. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "The Divine Law calls for punishment to those who would harm a priestess, not those who would give their lives to save her. Your decisions are out of line, All High Priestess." The woman herded Chilandrea into the cab where several other cloaked women guided her to sit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You are a priestess yourself and know the laws and rules as well as any, so why defy me? You'll only damn yourself!" Molandra growled. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The cloaked woman turned to face her. "Because I was taught to use my abilities to do what is right, not what others want." She stepped into the coach and cried to the woman at the reigns, "Go!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You will not leave this kingdom!" Molandra sent a ball of fire to the head of the carriage, but was dismayed to find the coach had disappeared. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On to the next chapter! Back to the start... |
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