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 going to be. He felt hopeful that all will be well so long as he provided what the gods needed.
He pressed his heels to the sides of his horse and spurred it forward. Far away he could see the walls of Intavia. Emilia had written in her letter that she would be watching for his arrival every evening by the watchtower. She had asked that he whistle her favorite ballad aloud when he got to the walls. The watchtowers were just ahead and as much as Octavius wanted to see Emilia he hoped the guards would refrain from shooting at him when they heard him whistle.
As he came closer and the structure of the tower became clearer he saw a familiar figure dressed in a black cloak standing beside a soldier in armor who was holding a shield in one hand and a javelin in another. The figure leaned over the side of the tower as if to get a good look at him, she pulled the cowl of her cloak back and Octavius immediately recognized Emilia's maid. The middle-aged woman whispered to the soldier who spoke in low tones to another person on the second level of the tower. The maid disappeared from sight and as Octavius neared the wall Emilia came running out with her maid in tow.
Octavius brought the horse to a stop for fear that Emilia running would spook it which in turn might make it hurt her. Emilia was in an identical cloak as her maid and her cowl covered her hair and half of her face. Octavius dropped from his horse and approached her with a smile that was mirrored on her face. Her hand held her belly which was still flat.
"I want to hold you so tight," Octavius whispered "But I fear that your guard might spear in the head with his weapon or that your maid's eyes might poke a hole through me or that I may hurt our child for that matter. Are you fine?"
Emilia nodded. She bit her lip to hide her smile at his concern for her. "I know you only have a limited time to be out of your kingdom. Come with me quickly let's go to the temple." She gestured to her maid who produced a cloak from beneath her cloak and passed it to Emilia who gave it to Octavius. He wrapped the cloak around himself.
"There was no need for me to whistle the Trials of Roses and Soldiers to you if you were going to be keeping watch for me all day and night."
"I feared that you will arrive when I won't be here to watch for you," she sighed. "It's a dangerous game I played watching for you but I bought the trust of the soldiers here so we are safe. Come this way."
As they started into a small opening that looked like a secret passage by the side of the wall Emilia's maid led his horse to a small space between the wall and a huge tree, securing the reins around a large rock.
The small opening opened to a dark damp passage that held scones on the wall and pieces of rags on the floor. There were broken jugs on the floor and platters of unfinished food.
"This is where the night guards spend the night," Emilia explained in low hushed tones.
Octavius scoffed "They don't do much to keep it clean."
"They are men, my love, common men not royalty like you. No doubt Garius had drilled the need to be neat in your skull millions of times."
"That and many more and I seldom obey them. One of his famous lessons is how not to act like a fool in the presence of a lady and I have failed miserably in that."
Emilia cast a loving look and smile over her shoulder "Wonder what lady could do that to a high and mighty prince like you."
"You, my lady, are a tease."
Emilia laughed. Behind him, Octavius heard the maid's feet against the cobblestone floor. She was ever faithful and loyal to her mistress and Octavius made a mental note to see her employed in Emilia's train of servants when he succeeded his father as king.
"Is there a name you call your maid?"
"Ilena," Emilia replied.
They had gotten to the end of the passage and the bright light of the evening cast long shadows against the street that was beyond the door. Emilia paused to look out before pulling the cowl of her cloak over her head. Octavius followed suit, pulling the cowl over his face as he followed Emilia out into the street where merchants and commons moved with wagons, trays of goods, and other things they had either gotten from the market square or the fields. Emilia's feet were fast and Octavius walked beside her to keep up with her. Neither of them talked. The maid walked at a safe distance away from them with her cowl down since no one would question her especially since she had the mark of her service to the Intavia royal household hanging on a cord around her neck.
The crowd of people hurrying to their homes and families pushed past the trio who made their way as quickly as they could to their destination. They go to the market square where traders advertised their wares at the top of their lungs, dogs ran between the legs of the people picking up strays on the streets, children squealed and chased dogs or ran at each other, mothers haggled prices with the traders. The trio sidestepped all of these activities and made their way to the temples which were set as the temples of Camelorn, the only difference was the amount of gold lavished in Camelorn which seemed to be lacking in Intavia.
Intavia was a small kingdom.
Emilia knew her father's decision to marry her off to Helos was not just about having an heir to the throne but because Helos' father, commander of the Intavian army had more connections and alliances with kingdoms beyond the shores of Intavia. An alliance with his family was sure to bring more riches into the treasury, more weapons, and even allies to boost the efficiency of their army. Emilia wanted the best for her people but she refused to be used as a pawn when all she wanted was to spend the rest of her life with the one she loved, starting a family with him.
There was no guarantee that Helos would treat her right but with Octavius, she was sure of a life of happiness and laughter. If she could just let her father see that an alliance with Camelorn was better than one with his commander. The night she had met with Angus and Octavius she had failed to tell them that she had tried convincing her father to consider an alliance with their kingdom. Festus Ing Avia had narrowed his eyes at his daughter.
"What do you know about politics, child? And what is this sudden interest in Camelorn? Your mother tells me you spend your time poring over maps of Camelorn and its history. This has nothing to do with your brief visit there?" he had asked.
"No father," had been her reply. "I just wanted to be of help."
"You will be of help to me once you marry Helos."
Her heart had dropped then but with Octavius walking beside her now ready to do anything to be with her she heart was filled with hope. The god of fate will help change the hearts of both her parents and Octavius'.
They came to a stop in front of a small temple with bouquets hanging from the roof. A small group of women bearing flowers and jars of honey entered the temple.
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
The whole army that consisted of newly grafted soldiers and war heroes who had fought with King Philip marched out to the battlefields with their squires, maids, and a few helpful hands. Both squires and extra hands helped to build tents. Words had reached the Camelorn army that the Amires had set the northern villages on fire, killing, raping, stealing, and destroying. Octavius had hastened Gustoff with the weapons, getting more than 3000 swords, shields, and clubs, the trained archers had been supplied with new quivers, arrows, and new bows all with Ashterah's emblem, the foot soldiers marched in front with boxes of fire powder, horse archers and captains held their horses and led them to the makeshift stable the squires built while battalion leaders assembled to supervise. Octavius, Garius, Festus, and two more generals; Calors and Inobus supervised the all-around activities. Octavius walked slowly in the direction the maids went carrying woods for fire, pots, and pans to cook wi
The blast of the horn echoed throughout the camp and horse soldiers came out dressed in their armor, holding shields, foot soldiers carried spears with their shields, archers led by their captain Angus dressed in dark red cloaks held their bows in their hands tested the taut bowstring and adjusted the arrows in their quivers, captains ran through the camp hurrying squires about their duties. The squires carried swords and shields to their master, carrying also the bridle for their horses. Octavius stood before his armor rack and ran his hand over the same armor his father had used before in many battles, although some additional protection had been added over time, it was beautiful and strong. He began to remove the pieces off the rack and put them on with the help of a squire when he caught sight of an image on the breastplate of the armor. The red tunic of a voluptuous woman was vivid and as she came forward his heart dropped. It was Ashterah. She sensed his discom
The battle raged on and on for months, new soldiers joined the army as more men dropped dead, and with every passing Camelornian victory Octavius hungered for more. It was a feeling he could not explain, he wanted to shed more blood, wanted to see more of the enemy bleed to death. He sliced through the belly of a heavily armored Amires soldier with his sword, he reveled at the sight of him bleeding to death. He used his shield to push another soldier off his horse and watched as he dropped to the floor, the soldier's helmet came off revealing a heavily bleeding head. Octavius watched the blood drip and licked at his lips. Something was wrong with him and he couldn't put a finger on it, all he knew was he was suddenly a battle machine tearing through the enemy army, killing and hungering for more death. Garius, Angus, Festus, and the rest of the captains fought just as hard behind him. With unrelenting strength they fought as hard as the Amires, dealing a heavy blow to their
More days passed, more months, and then a year before the Amires surrendered to the Camelornians and then a half year later the Camelornian army packed up, counted their dead and buried them, put their loots together, and broke camp. Weary but victorious the men marched all the way home. Octavius, now twenty, sported a shadow of a beard, his once young, teenage, inexperienced body was a form of hard muscles, and his skin was darkened by the hot desert heat. Angus, now 17 was taller, he grew his hair so long it was past his shoulders and he held it back with a twine, his shoulders were broader, and though he still had his laughing, twinkling eyes his face no longer held youthful innocence. As the men approached the kingdom Garius moved his horse to walk beside his crown prince. He studied him with both worry and pride. Octavius had performed his duties beyond his expectation, had been in battles, and seen young princes fall behind their soldiers for fear for their liv