Her happiness was short-lived. As soon as the race was over she leaned back in her seat to laugh over the sour defeat of the dragons but caught the sight of a familiar figure from the side of her eyes. It was the figure of Adna, the goddess of excess and as was natural to her, she held a jar of mead in one hand while the other dangled over the shoulder of a very beautiful male Aloni. Adna was a beautiful dark head goddess, willowy and tall but her elegance was destroyed by her love for the mead. She was laughing and staggering drunkenly. She caught sight of Helena and went over to meet her. The Aloni stood behind her as a show of submission as he bowed his head in Helena’s direction.
“Your highness,” she spoke in a slur as she dipped to a drunken bow. “I never thought I would see you here Queen Helena.” She flicked something off the Aloni’s shoulder. “I am just coming from Robos’ temple where he…,”
The Aloni must have pinched her as a warning because she jumped slightly and frowned at him. Then her eyes widened as she realized why he pinched her, her mouth formed a small circle and she slapped her palm on it.
“That was not what I meant…” she laughed.
Helena’s heart sank. Of course, it was what she meant but she pasted a smile on her face and pretended not to know what Adna was talking about. “What do you mean, Adna?”
“N-nothing your highness, I should go now.” She slung her arms around the Aloni’s waist. “Take me away from here.”
As they retreated Helena could hear the Aloni reprimand Adna while Adna defended herself and blamed the mead for her loose tongue. Tears threatened to pour from her eyes but Helena sniffed them back. She was a strong goddess, queen of gods she would not shed a tear in front of her subjects. Why should she shed tears for Robos’ actions? If he wanted to waste his time on his many whores it wasn’t in her place or anyone else’s to feel sorry for his actions.
Holding her head high she lifted the hem of her gown and descended the steps that would lead her out of the arena. The joy she came to seek here had gone cold.
Once back in her chamber she forced herself to sleep.
It took a week of lying to herself for Helena to finally admit that she was bothered by Robos’ happiness with his mistresses and also to admit that Eyrotia was a place she would rather be than home in Kpamos. It was time to pay another visit to that land.
In one week, after mulling over Robos’ actions and his latest mistress, that stupid bitch goddess Adna, she concluded that she deserved her own happiness. Not just any happiness, she wanted the one she felt at Eyrotia, in the fishermen's village.
On a verge of desperation, she teleported herself back to Eyrotia, to the seaside with the salt and salty air. But the shore was empty. It wasn’t as she had expected. There were no fishermen with gleaming sweaty skin nor the chatter of said fishermen. Her disappointment was so profound that she swore she could feel her belly drop. It was just as well. Maybe this was a sign that she should stay away from Eyrotia and Ramus before trouble came knocking.
She walked the length of the shore enjoying the feel of the hot sand beneath her feet and the cool breeze that blew from the surface of the sea. Foaming water ran over the sand in small waves. She pushed her toes into the gritty mud and wondered what her life would be like if she hadn’t married Robos. From afar she could hear the sounds of sea birds flying low over the water to hunt for fish. The peace she felt here was so good, so new and foreign to her that she got lost in her thoughts and did not hear the sound of feet approaching until a shadow fell on her.
Helena jumped back and turned around sharply and her breath died in her throat.
Standing right there as though her thoughts conjured him was Demeus and if it was possible, he looked taller and his eyes glowed like never before. Helena forced herself to swallow to keep from sighing like a silly girl at the sight of him.
“Ramus!” she said exclaimed, her voice a little too sharp in her ears.
“ Helena, what a surprise!”
Demeus could have laughed at his fake surprise but the look on Helena’s face showed that she believed it was indeed a surprise. At first, he wasn’t sure she was the one standing at the shore with her toes buried in the sand, he had thought it was a fragment of his imagination because for days since he met her, the willful, stubborn redheaded woman who made his blood hot, he swore he could see her everywhere he went. She was like a plague he couldn’t get rid of and one that he didn’t even want to be rid of. For days, against his common sense, he came to the sea over again to see if, perchance, she would magically appear and speak to him again. He didn’t he missed though bright eyes that held the color of the sea in them. Even now as he looked at them he felt a stirring and he feared his feelings would show.
“What are you doing here?” Helena asked.
He searched his brain for a good excuse. “I… I wanted to uh… have a moment to myself.” He could just kick himself for not thinking of something smarter. She was a smart woman and if she put two and two together she would guess he had come here looking for her. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a bid to draw attention away from himself.
Helena felt a strange discomfort. How was she to explain she came all the way from Mount Kpamos to see a complete stranger.
“Uh… I…” she started. “I never quite left Jamark yet and I thought I should come back to see this beautiful ocean.” And the sinfully handsome man in front of me, but he didn’t need to know that. “Anyways,” she clapped her hands in from of her chest. “I should go now.”
“Are you leaving because of me?”
“No,” she replied quickly. Too quickly. “No not because of you.”
“Then walk with me.” He didn’t know why he offered, the best thing would be to let her go but for some reason, maybe madness, he wanted her to stay. He wanted to spend as much time with her and it seemed like the only natural thing to do. So he held his hand out to her. “Come with me.”
It sounded like a temptation to sin. After holding his breath for what felt like an eternity, Helena dropped her soft hands in his and the contact of her skin on his made him want to howl with joy.
“Where are we walking to?” Demeus smiled at the sound of her voice. Some of her fierce spirits had returned since they started walking away from the ocean. He looked behind him and found her frowning at the horizon with impatience furrowing her brows. “You’ll see,” he called back at her. “I don’t want to see, Ramus, tell me where we are going or I swear by the gods I’ll turn around now and go back home.” His lips twitched. Was it bad that he liked her better when she was angry she talkative? Helena waited for a response and when none came doubled her steps and half-ran until she was walking side by side with him. “Well? You’re not trying to abduct me are you?” Demeus chuckled. Woe to the man who tried to abduct this woman, he would find himself either wanting to tie her mouth shut or kiss those lips. And he knew how much he wanted to do the latter which was why he tried avoiding her gaze. “I have a horse,” he said in re
They rode for hours before coming upon the main city of Eyrotia. And as expected it was crowded. At the center of the city was a high wall surrounding the king’s castle, the bricks were strong and the irons were used in barring the windows of the towers were painted black. Flags bearing the Eyrotian arms of the rising Phoenix blew in the wind. Soldiers stood with spears, swords and arrows on the towers overlooking the city. Helena drank in the sights of all of these. Around them, people moved about their business speaking loudly or whispering to one another. They were dressed in fur clothes while some were dressed in rich expensive-looking silks, cotton and amongst these were those who wore shabby raffia clothing. Soldiers on horses passed theirs, Demeus nodded to them as they passed. These were his people, the ones who worshipped him, they offered sacrifices to him for blessings and protection. It never ceased to amaze how easily he could walk among mere mortals and non of
Helena watched in a daze as Demeus spoke to the woman in hushed tones. Her palms grew wet and clammy and she could swear that sweat was pouring from her forehead causing her hair to plaster itself against her skin. The innkeeper glanced in her direction once and nodded then turned back to Demeus. She watched as the innkeeper pocketed the coins Demeus had dropped on the table and took a key from the board behind her. She handed the key to Demeus and tilted her head in the direction of the stairs leading to the rooms. “The rooms are up there,” she said in Eyrotian language. Helena feared that her heartbeat would be heard because it was so loud she could practically hear the beat of blood in her ears. How was she to quietly tell him that she could not share a room with him, not just because she was married and had a child but because she couldn’t trust herself not to act on the strange attraction she felt towards this man. But he was a fisherman and fishermen were not w
“The dress is not tight, my lady, you’re wearing it the wrong way.” Helena raised an eyebrow at the maid the innkeeper had sent to help her dress. The maid came forward and unbuckled the hooks holding the dress up, she helped Helena locate where to put her hands then buckled it up for her. It was a dark red tunic that stopped at her sandaled feet, over the thick material was a veil of see-through silk that had blew gently in the wind. “You will need this.” The maid pulled a veil from the bundle of clothes Likia had sent to her. She pinned Helena’s hair up and attached the veil to it before wrapping round. “Have you done this before?” Helena asked. The maid giggled. “Yes, my lady, I have taken care of many merchants' daughters. They always love my services.” She brought the mirror from the dressing room and handed it to Helena. Helena gawked at the image she saw. The only time she had ever looked this good was during her wedding feast with Robos. The m
For the millionth time, Demeus squeezed his hands by his side. If the jeweler’s son’s hand touches Helena’s skin anymore under the guise of fastening a jewel piece on her neck or wrist he may be forced to throttle him. And the smile on Helena’s lips gritted his nerve. Why wasn’t she smiling at him like that? She only ever seemed to argue with him and when she wasn’t arguing she was silent and her silence was even worse than her arguments. But with this jeweler’s son, she seemed to be at ease and they were conversing smoothly. “Try this one on,” the jeweler said to her while holding up a nice piece of bracelet with ruby stones encrusted in the silver chain. The ruby stones were the same color as her hair. “This will look beautiful on you,” he said. Demeus had to agree with him. He could already envision the look of the bracelet on Helena’s pale skin. “Bring your hand, my lady, let me help you.” “Let me do it.” It was Demeus who spoke to the surprise of everyone since
Early the next morning Helena got a visitor. When the inn maid came in she announced that someone was outside the room waiting to see her. For just a second Helena’s heart almost stopped beating for fear that her presence was missed at Mount Kpamos and Robos had sent seekers to come and find her but as soon as the fear came it was quickly dispersed as she remembered that Robos did not care where she was or how she lived her life unless he wanted to get between her legs so she asked the maid to let the visitor in since it could either be Robos or Banjo. But it turned out to be Likia, Banjo’s wife. The tall dark woman was wearing a lightweight white tunic with and a bright smile. She looked even more beautiful than she did when Helena met her at the fishermen’s village. “Helena,” she opened her arms wide and hugged Helena like a long-time friend. Helena leaned into the hug. She liked Likia. The woman was genuine and was indeed a good friend. “I see you got the dresses
After wandering all morning they came upon the temples. The square where the temples were located was quite busy as people moved up and down their businesses. Some were entering different temples to present their offerings and offer their prayers, some priests were moving around to attend to the people seeking to make offerings to the gods and some other simply sold things outside different temples. There were temple prostitutes who lingered around calling out to passersby. Helena gazed at the tall, beautiful buildings in awe. There were many temples and she was deeply awed by the beauty of the temples but not surprised because mortals were known to spend their precious possessions pleasing the gods and if pleasing the gods required them to give up their gold and silver they would happily do it because they wanted favors from the said gods. Back at Camelorn, there were temples for her, Robos, Termla, her daughter Ashterah and many other gods of Camelorn. During festivals, the gods w
For the fourth time, Demeus thought he would scream at the top of his lungs if Helena cooed over the beauty of the temples one more time. She acted as though she had been trapped for a long time in a dungeon and this was her first chance at seeing the light and the things it contained. However, he did not know that he wasn’t so far from the truth. Helena’s life at Mount Kpamos could be described as a prison of some sort since she could not do whatever she wanted back at home without being reminded of the wife of who she was. For the first time in a long time, Helena felt genuinely happy and free. The world held a bigger, brighter light that held her transfix and every time she looked back at Demeus and he smiled at her she wanted to grab him and kiss him and thank him for doing this for her. He was so patient, so kind and his ear was open to her every talk. Often times she caught herself reaching down to hold his hand then she caught herself and linked her arm through his. It pained