After being together for two days Emilia packed the few items she had brought with her and back to her kingdom while Octavius and Angus did the same, mounting their horses and rode back to Camelorn.
Octavius practiced, with fear in his heart, the right way to tell his father he had fathered a child. His greatest fear wasn't in telling his father but having his father reject Emilia but his mind was made up, if Emilia was rejected then he would reject his duty to the throne too and relinquish power to Angus. He had said as much to Angus who had called him a dolt and rejected the offer.
"Father would have a heart attack if you forfeit your duty to the kingdom for a maiden no matter how beautiful she may be. Think how much worse a condition Garius would be in when he hears of such," Angus had told him as they packed their things to head back to Camelorn.
"When my child is born my duty will be to my child and its mother not the throne"
"I am both happy and proud of you brother but worried at the same time for the foolishness that has taken over you. No woman is worth your throne"
Octavius had curbed the urge to laugh at Angus' claim. He had once thought no woman was worth his head until Emilia came into his life and now he would gladly carve out his for her if she wanted. But Angus would never understand that, his younger brother was quite happy planning midnight trysts with the maids in the palace.
As they rode fast and hard towards Camelorn Octavius convinced himself, there was no way out, his father would either accept or not accept and he was fine with either of his father's decision because at the end of the day would do as he wanted.
The guards at the gates saw the steeds and the royal coat of arms and swung the heavy gates open, admitting Octavius and Angus. They dismounted and handed the reins of their mounts to the stable hands that came running towards them.
"Welcome back, Your Majesties"
Octavius dutifully nodded in response to their greetings and continued on his way, up the stairs, and into the palace, Angus headed was head in the other direction, no doubt to catch some winsome maid or stuff the bottomless hole that was his belly with food. He walked to the passage that led to the royal quarters and made his way to his room. There was a maid in it changing the sheets of his bed as he had commanded. His father was not to know about he and Angus' disappearance and the only way to do that was to ask the maids to bring new trays of meals to his room at regular intervals and change the sheets of his bed. The impression was to convince his father that he had spent four days in his room studying war strategies and maps. He had also convinced Garius to cover up for him.
"You can go now," he said to the maid.
The maid picked the discarded beddings and the empty tray of food and went out the door. Octavius stripped off his fur coat, hose, and tunic and laid them on the large exquisitely carved bed made of dark wood with the figureheads of lions at the corners of the headrest and bears at the foot of it, each of them artistically carved and painted to look real. There was an adjoining washroom covered with heavy velvet curtains which he entered. The maids had been alerted of his arrival, from a small door by the left of the washroom two maids came in carrying a bucket of hot water while three more came in with a gilded tub, setting it at the center of the room and with bath oils and salts. Once all was set and the bath salts had been poured into the tub of hot water they all went out of the room the way they came leaving Octavius to have his bath in private.
He sank into the tub of hot water and rested his head on the edge of it allowing himself a moment of privacy before going to confront his father. He was glad his mind was made up but apprehensive of his father's reaction to his news and his subsequent decision if things went out of hand. Surely, his father would survive the disappointment of having his crown prince chose a woman over his throne because he had another son that would take over. But he was not going to concern himself with that for now, he was back home and he needed a moment of solitude to gather himself together and get the courage to face his father.
King Philip III was no hard man but he took his duties as king seriously. Like every other king before him, he took advantage of his position as king from time to time and that attested to the many nameless bastards he sired and his numerous visits to the establishments of soiled doves. Octavius knew his father loved his mother but was greedy and had had a reputation for sowing his oats wildly from a very young age. His mother had known about his many children, children who would never bear his name, before she had married him and she knew about his regular visits with the soiled doves but he was a king and he had entitlements she wasn't going to deny. There in the quiet of the bathroom, Octavius vowed to be loyal to Emilia alone.
There was a heavy knock at the door of the main room.
"Your Majesty"
With a sigh, Octavius lifted his head and spoke "In the washroom"
The heavy door of his room swung open and the muffled sound of hard boots against soft carpet reached his ears. It was one of the guards and it was a voice he recognized.
"What is it, Dextus?"
The footsteps stopped at the front of the washroom and the Dextus voice boomed through the door "Your father, His Royal Majesty demands your presence at the temple"
"What temple?"
"The temple of Ashterah"
The goddess of war. That was not a good sign but if anything, Octavius was not easily deterred from his path so he raised himself from the tub, letting the water slid off this body, took a robe hanging on the rail on the washroom wall, and wrapped himself in it. His moment of solitude was over. He opened the door and found Dextus waiting there.
"I have been told to accompany you myself"
"Fair enough. I guess that means I am wanted now"
Dextus nodded and stepped aside for his prince to pass. Octavius donned the royal robe of purple, pulling the front close with the gold-thread cord that marked him Crowned Prince of Camelorn and slid on his finger the ring that held the signet. Dextus went ahead of him opening the door and stepping aside for him to go.
The village was a bustle of activities. Villagers moved around with carts filled with goods for sale, sacks of clothes for sale at the market, trays of fruits, bread, cheap pieces of jewelry, and many more articles. The shacks of some traders housed flour, wheat, jars of milk and honey, and some even goats. The crowd, though busy and occupied with exchanging services, made way for Octavius as he approached and it helped that another guard wearing the complete armor went ahead of him and Dextus. As he approached the men bowed and the women genuflected, a few of the soldiers who were off duty among the crowd went on one knee to pay their respects. Octavius raised a hand to everyone without sparing them much of a glance for his heart was not in their respect but on seeing his father and knowing the reason for his summons. The temples of the gods were built long before the reign of his father and then the population of the people was still at a hundred but years have pas
"This way," Angus said to the small hooded figure beside him. He rounded the corner and turned to a narrow alley where filth lay. There another figure stood clothed in a dark robe but the cowl of the robe was lowered to reveal Octavius' face. He was waiting impatiently under the full moon of the night, shifting from one foot to the other. He turned sharply at the sound of approaching feet and relaxed when he saw it was only his brother and his guest The small hooded body ran to him and clung tightly to his body. He held her too and pressed his lips to her hair. Emilia held on to him like he was her last chance at survival. "Make it quick," Angus hissed in the dark "Anyone could chance on us at any moment and report this to father" "It's not going to be a surprise to him since he already knows about Emilia and me but I do appreciate your concern brother," Octavius murmured back at his brother. Emilia took a step back and stared up at him in the dark. "
The robe covering Octavius' tunic scraped the floor gently as he made his way to the Counsel Room where he knew his father and his court were waiting. He wasn't supposed to have kept them waiting but he had received news from Emilia that morning elaborating on the plan they had made during their previous rendezvous and he had sat back to write a letter to her sending it through the ever-faithful Angus who had waited to collect it. His father would be furious that he had kept the court waiting when were supposed to be judging matters and making plans for the battle preparation. The guard in front of the Counsel Room dressed in complete armor except the helmet bowed before him before opening the huge doors for him. The court was a restless group of men and one woman, Liliah, who was the noble in charge of Camelorn festivities. Maids with platters of cheeses, figs, and apples came and went with from a side door hidden behind the large velvet curtain that covered the room. As Oc
Octavius pulled on the reins of his horse willing it to go faster. While the soldiers were training under the ever-watchful eyes of Festus and Garius he had taken off into the stable and had taken one of the smaller horses, one his father would never notice was gone if he decided to search for him. Angus had come back with news from Emilia and it had taken two days before Octavius had been able to escape his father's watchful eyes. He had once again implored Garius to cover up for him. Emilia's message had been both worrying and hopeful. She was sure the gods of Intavia were willing to help but afraid of what the price for their help was goi
Octavius shifted his weight from one leg to another as he looked down at Emilia. She crooked a finger at him and started towards an alternate entrance. The main entrance was covered with flowers of different colors but this one was without the decorations and no one used it but a priest who stood there with his hand tucked into the folds of his cloak. On his forehead, he had a black dye dot at the center. Emilia approached him and whispered. He shook his head looking from her hooded figure to Octavius and tilted his head indicating they should follow him. He led them to an alcove where a tray with two jars of honey and baked pastries covered with crumbs of sugar laid for everyone knew Psagon, the Intavia god of love had a sweet tooth. "My lady, you requested for these," the priest said. He picked the tray and handed it to Emilia, reached over to Octavius with outstretched hands, took his hands in his, and led it to the tray in Emilia's. "Lovers who seek favor from Ps
Emilia clung to the hanging on her bed and wept for her child. She had held her tears well enough while Octavius had remained with her even though a few rebellious tears had slipped out. She hung on for dear life with her hand flat on her belly as she wept bitterly. Ilena stood at the threshold of the room watching her mistress bemoan the loss of a child she would never know and love. On one hand, she held a jar of mead in case her mistress needed it to get too drunk to feel her pain, and on another, she held a pot of hot water with some tea leaves and a few aromatic for though she was a woman of principles she also knew her mistress might require the aromatic plants to dull her pain. She had gotten the plants from the oldest priest who made sacrifices to Daegon, the Intavia god of gods during winter, summer, and fall festivals. He had narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her but did not comment giving the plants over. As she watched her mistress wallow in misery she kn
"Your Highness?" Octavius looked up from the stool on which he sat, a priest was waiting in front of him in a shabby cloak covering an equally shabby tunic that was excessively frayed at the hem. He had awoken early, taken a cloak from his trunk, and taken a walk. He had intended to visit the temple later in the day but on impulse had turned towards the cobble-stoned street and headed for the temple of Ashterah the goddess of war. The street was almost empty except for the fishermen who dragged their nets to their boats on the shore. He had stopped to watch them load up their boats and cut the ropes securing them to the shore with an absent mind. He had imagined jumping into one of the boats and rowing it to Intavia away from his kingdom and responsibilities until he remembered he already had his wishes all he needed now was the help of the goddess of war to win the war. With that in mind, he had continued on his way. "You must come with me to the inner room
“How was it?” Angus murmured under his breath. He was standing at the passage a corner way from the throne room. The passage was lined with passive guards trained to be present and not to listen and even if they did listen and gossip from time to time no one else was to hear of any leaked secrets. Still, Octavius pulled his brother into an alcove. “Great,” he replied with a bit of sarcasm he hoped his brother did not hear. He burned with shame and disgust knowing that Ashterah had offered herself to him but he knew that his brother as well as everyone else would call him a fool for not accepting her offer. Every man considered a night with the war goddess an honor even though not many men came out of her temple at Mount Kpamos alive. Angus raised his brow. “Just that?” He sighed. He dipped his hand into a slit in his tunic and brought out the copper coin that held Ashterah’s emblem and showed