Aela Read online

  ‘I will guard the Temple with my life, Oh mighty Juno and I vow I will not fail you.’

  ‘So be it,’ said Juno,’ with a shrug of his shoulders, ‘I must go now and do what I have to, kill my enemies and bring back our Sacred Sword.’

  Without looking at Arnor, Juno rose from his throne and walked out of the audience chamber to go and rally his army with a rousing speech to his men, to spur them on to victory.

  It was not long before Juno and his army were on the march, making their way through the woods towards Eena’s territory. It would take at least a day on foot in order to reach the border and then scouts would have to be deployed to find out, how large in numbers was Eena’s army. A strategy would have to be worked out of how to surround the enemy, take them by surprise, defeat and capture Eena and her army officers.

  She may still have the Sacred Sword which legitimately belonged to him as far as he was concerned and his people. He would have to face Brude and his warriors for once and all and he must be triumphant over them. Then he would be master of all the three kingdoms and own such wealth, but above all he would have complete power.

  The sheer thought of this happening, made his heart pound with delight, he could hardly wait for the first clash with the enemy.

  ‘Master I must speak with you now,’ growled Croan in Juno’s ear.

  ‘What do you want Croan? Tell me at once,’ ordered Juno.

  ‘Juno you have tricked your own people into thinking the real Sacred Sword was still hanging in the inner sanctum of the Temple of the Sun,’ uttered Croan.

  ‘How do you know this, Croan? Are you trying to hoodwink me with this story and why tell me now. Are you are in the pay of Brude and Eena? You are trying to lead me into a trap so either one can have me killed.’

  Juno leapt to his feet grabbing Croan around the throat with both hands and placed pressure with his thumbs on his windpipe. Croan experienced difficulty breathing and tried with his own free hands, to wrench Juno’s hands around his throat There was a struggle between the two, as both men tried to gain an advantage over the other.

  Then suddenly Juno let go of his deadly grip and Croan collapsed on the ground gasping for breath. There was a short pause, and Croan found his voice again, ‘I know what you did, I heard you ordering the sword maker to replicate another Sacred Sword. I was also there in the crowd when you spoke to the people that Eena and her men had stolen the Sacred Sword, so rousing them to declare war on her and her men.’

  ‘I deny these accusations,’ snarled Juno, ‘Why are you telling me these things, what do you want from me?’

  ‘I want nothing, Oh master, but to serve you loyally at all times,’ Croan bowed his head very low as he said these words.

  Juno became angry. ‘I do not believe a word you are uttering, you are a very slippery person Croan. get out of my sight now before I change my mind and have a sword thrust through your miserable body.’

  Croan could instantly see he was getting nowhere with Juno, so he quickly retreated from his angry gaze, making a mental note that he would try to gain Juno’s goodwill at another time.

  By now, Juno was in a foul mood and looking for an excuse to take it out on someone. Everyone sensing the change in the atmosphere took evasive precautions not to go near their leader. So he was left in isolation fuming away and becoming angrier and angrier at each new moment passed.

  Then Juno suddenly snapped himself out of his rage, ‘Come, men we must assemble into battle formation and commence our march through the woods. We have be there before nightfall, so we can take up strategic positions and then storm the cave at sunrise. Now men move as silently as you can through the woods, our best weapon is to surprise our enemies.’

  With these brave words Juno strode forward at the head of his army, impatient to win the battle against Eena and her warriors.

  The courier that Uthor sent to Brude with the latest news, recited the message to Brude as he knelt in front of him. As he was pacing up and down. Brude was trying to digest the information about Eena having in her grasp the Sacred Sword from the Temple of the Sun, as well as Rom and Aela her prisoners for a short period.

  ‘How did she manage to have victory in her grasp and then let it slip through her fingers. The thought takes my breath away, but I am determined not to let the same thing happen to me. I will not allow the Sacred Sword out of my sight, once I have it in my hands,’ muttered Brude.

  ‘Begone courier, go to have rest and food, you have done very well to bring me word from Uthor. But make sure you do not repeat this message to anyone else or your life will be cut short. I will recall you with a reply for Uthor when I am ready.’

  The courier bowed his head low, then Brude rose to his feet with one movement and very quickly slipped out of the audience room.

  ‘What to do next?’ was Uthor’s immediate thought. Should he send his men after Eena and her warriors? Or arrange a search party to find Aela and Rom, who had in their possession the Sacred Sword.

  What a perplexing situation, but first he must arrange the cremation of the dead and have the wounded attended to. He needed to place sentries outside the Cave to make sure they were not taken by surprise by the enemy. Also, his men required rest and time to have a meal, he was feeling very tired himself after the long battle. The initial elation he had first felt after achieving victory was wearing off, so he slowly went about his business of arranging order amongst chaos from the aftermath of war.

  For the first time he began to realise his right arm was injured, he had a long gash down his arm from his elbow to his wrist and he was bleeding profusely.

  ‘Bring the healer to me now or I will bleed to death and you, Artis take over my duties of organising the men, so we are ready for any surprise attack either from Eena or Juno.’

  Artis saluted Uthor, ‘Yes, mighty one, I will carry out your orders out instantly.’

  Uthor retired to have his wound attended to and then get some much well earned sleep, as by now he was feeling totally exhausted. His last thoughts were as he drifted off to sleep, that he must find the Sacred Sword, kill Eena and Brude and somehow find Aela and Rom. Especially Rom, who was the cause of all the troubles for his master Brude. How dare Rom defy the authority of one so powerful as Brude!

  So that night there was a gentle silence over the land, as if the earth itself was asleep, it too, requiring time to heal its wounds before the awakening of the dawn. It appeared to Rom that they had been travelling through the forest for a long time and Ette still continued to push her way through the thick undergrowth. For one who appeared elderly Ette was showing remarkable stamina, whilst both Aela and Rom were beginning to feel tired.

  ‘How much further do we have to go Ette?’ Aela breathlessly shouted.

  ‘Not much more,’ Ette replied over her shoulder, as she continued plunging through the undergrowth.

  Suddenly they found themselves in a clearing and directly in front of the trio was a huge upright stone blocking their path. Ette began chanting strange words, in a sing song fashion, bending her head slowly sideways from left to right and taking small steps slowly towards the huge stone. Raising both hands upwards towards the sky, Ette’s chanting became louder and louder, ending in a very long wail. She lowered her head and stood, as if still waiting for something. Then in the far distance there could be heard a voice chanting, it appeared louder and louder, all the time coming closer and closer.

  Then, from behind the standing stone, out stepped a tall dignified figure wearing a long plain blue robe, on his head he had thick shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes staring at them from the face which was topped by a prominent forehead. He looked serenely towards the trio and gave Ette a very warm smile of recognition.

  ‘Good to see you again Ette and you have brought Aela and Rom with you.’

  Rom reacted immediately, ‘Who are you, and how do you know us?’ exclaimed Rom as he clutched the hilt of the Sacred Sword, ready for any action to defend himself or Aela at a moments notic
e.

  ‘My name is Rem. I am keeper of the Sacred Fire that must continue to burn everlastingly, otherwise darkness will descend on this land,’ Rem stated quietly. ‘I understand the three leaders Brude, Juno and Eena are at war with each other, using the excuse of the missing Sacred Sword, which you have in your possession Rom.’

  Both Aela and Rom were amazed at Rem’s knowledge of what they were doing and the events that had occurred.

  ‘How did you know I had in my possession the Sacred Sword and that Brude, Eena and Juno are after us?’ demanded Rom.

  Aela was looking very agitated and she tugged at Rom’s sleeve, ‘We must run further into the forest away from everyone, before we are captured and killed. Come, Rom, now, I don’t trust anyone.’

  Rom was confused and he didn’t know what to do, whether to run or place his trust in Ette and Rem.

  He slowly began to realise that he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, if Aela and himself decided not to accept the help, it would only be a matter of time before they were hunted down and killed by the enemy. Aela was having much the same thoughts as Rom, so they looked at each other for a few seconds.

  Then Aela turned around facing Ette and Rem, ‘We have decided that we would very much like to accept your help and are very grateful you both are willing to hide us. You do understand by sheltering us, you are placing your lives at risk of being hunted down and killed.’

  Rem replied, ‘I am fully aware of the situation and that I am placing myself in danger. But there is a prophesy and a destiny that must be fulfilled and I have no control over it. Come with me and I will take you both to a safe place at least for the time being.’

  Then Rem began leading the group, by walking through the trees just in front of them. The foursome made their way along a faintly discernable track, which gradually widened into a well worn pathway, until they reached the entrance to a very large cave. Rem walked purposively towards the entrance and was greeted by two large sized wolves, who circled him with their tails wagging and tongues lolling out of their mouths. The wolves look suspiciously towards Aela, Rom and Ette and stared at them, with their nostrils twitching, picking up the new human smells.

  ‘Inside now,’ commanded Rem.

  The wolves responded immediately to Rem’s voice and they ran into the cave and sat near the sacred flame which was situated on a platform at the centre of the Cave.

  ‘Come with me into the Cave of the Sacred Flame. Your heart must be pure, otherwise you will be consumed by the flames within,’ exclaimed Rem.

  Without looking back, Rem strode into the cave with Aela, Rom and Ette following behind him. They were expecting to be struck down by flames at any minute, that would suddenly spurt out of the walls of the cave.

  ‘Stand here near the Sacred Flame, you will be safe from any harm, at least for now,’ uttered Rem sternly. ‘I will bring you both food and drink and then you must rest for awhile.’

  He, then disappeared into the back of the cave, leaving Aela, Rom and Ette looking at each other. Soon Rem returned with food and drink and all four sat and silently devoured the meal. The wolves leant forward expectantly hoping to be thrown some scraps of food by someone.

  ‘You all must rest now, for at least you are now safe from your enemies,’ ordered Rem. He showed them into an antechamber where there was a pile of animal skins on the floor of the cave. ‘Take some of these fur skins and you can lie on one of those sleeping platforms and rest yourselves. I and my trusty wolves will keep watch whilst you sleep. I will wake you if there is any danger,’ stated Rem as he disappeared back into the main cave.

  Without another word the trio collected a number of furs, arranged them on one of the platforms and were soon asleep. Aela made sure she curled up close to Rom, at least for the moment they were safe from harm.

  Eena and her men were sitting on the ground, in an open area somewhere deep in the forest. ‘How many men have we with us that are not wounded and are fit enough to still fight?’ demanded Eena.

  ‘There are four army units with most of the men able to bear arms and are capable of confronting the enemy,’ quickly replied Ardu.

  ‘Where did we go wrong Ardu? We had victory in our grasp. I even had the Sacred Sword in my possession. Now Uthor and his men occupy my kingdom, Juno must be laughing at me for being so stupid to be taken by surprise by Uthor and his army. Here I am, skulking in the forest with a wounded and beaten army of men, no food and general supplies or fresh weapons to give to my men. What am I going to do?’

  Then a sudden thought came to her, she could form an alliance with Brude against Juno and together with their combined armies they could defeat Juno. She could then get back her territories and she and Brude could divide Juno’s kingdom equally between each other. Of course she would make sure that she obtained possession of the Temple of the Sun, plus the Sacred Sword and glory would be hers.

  She speedily conveyed her plan to Ardu in great detail and he quickly generally agreed with it. But he added, ‘I like the idea but we must come up with something extra that will make Brude want to ally himself with them rather than Juno.’

  There was silence between the two as they pondered the next step. ‘If only I had the Sacred Sword in my grasp as well as Aela and Rom as my prisoners, then I would have something to bargain with Brude,’ exclaimed Eena.

  Ardu nodded his head in agreement, ‘But where is the Sacred Sword and how are we going to find Aela and Rom? Somebody must be helping them to hide in the forest.’

  Just at that instant there was a commotion in the background and raised voices could be heard, a general scuffle was occurring in the bushes, near where Eena and Ardu were standing.

  ‘Let me go, let me go, I want to talk to Eena your leader, I have important news to give to her. Take me to her at once!’

  Two guards came into sight, holding between them a dishevelled, squirming figure, which they promptly threw on the ground on seeing Eena and Ardu standing in front of them.

  One of the guards stood over the person holding a sword to his throat, muttering in low tones, ‘If you move I will thrust the sword through you.’

  Instantly the figure became still and a pair of dark eyes stared up at the guard.

  ‘What have you found, Naren in the bushes? Let me have a look!’ ordered Ardu.

  Ardu stepped forward and stared down at the huddled figure on the ground. ‘Ah, we have a welcome prize here, it is Croan, Juno’s spy Eena, We will be able to obtain important information from him of Juno’s plans, even if I have to squeeze it out of him with my bare hands,’ threatened Ardu.

  ‘You don’t have to hurt me, I am willing to tell you Juno’s plans to conquer your territory as well as take Brude’s lands. He told his people that Eena has stolen the Sacred Sword. Thus he roused the people’s anger and he arranged to send his army with Uthor in charge to fight you in battle.’

  ‘We know all that,’ Ardu impatiently exclaimed, ‘What fresh information can you give us that will be to our advantage?’

  ‘When the Sacred Sword was stolen by you Ardu and your men, another replica sword was made by his sword maker and Juno had it hung in the inner sanctum of the Temple of the Sun. He feared for his life, as he is the Keeper of the Sacred Sword and he had failed in his duty to protect it. He wasn’t sure whether the people would turn on him and kill him, as he has made many enemies amongst them with his cruel rule over them.’

  ‘So there is a fake Sword in the Temple of the Sun? But it looks the same as the real thing,’ muttered Ardu to himself. ‘Now if we could seize this Sword, we would have an advantage over Juno. Then you Eena, can be presented to Juno’s people, as the saviour by rescuing the Sword for them. Thus you can depose Juno and take over his kingdom. Victory is yours Eena, once more. Then you can confront Brude with the combined forces and defeat him and his army,’ triumphantly stated Ardu

  ‘I like your plan Ardu, but first we must seize the replica Sacred Sword from the Temple of the Sun. Bring my horse and
assemble the men to be ready for battle. I think we need to strike immediately, we have no time to lose,’ replied Eena.

  So there was frantic activity as Eena’s army was assembled, to march towards the Temple of the Sun. This scene was not lost on Croan, who was watching from a near distance, as he tried to work out in his mind what advantage he could gain out of this situation. and who to ally himself with, Eena or Brude or Juno. Croan’s main concern was, he wanted to be on the side of the victorious army whatever the outcome of the impending battle.

  ‘But there are so many risks involved Ardu, so many things can go wrong with this plan of yours,’ said Eena

  ‘Well we just can’t do nothing, we must take advantage of the moment, or otherwise all will be lost,’ impatiently uttered Ardu and began to march up and down in front of Eena.

  ‘Oh do stop, you are making me nervous Ardu. You Croan, can stand a bit further away from us whilst we are discussing the next move. Go and get something to eat at the next campsite. Ram take him away and feed him, but don’t let him out of your sight. Come with me Ardu whilst we refine our plans, as this time we must not fail.’

  Ram led Croan away to the nearest campfire, where there were a group of warriors sitting around eating and drinking.

  Turning to Ardu, Eena stated,’ We must not fail this time otherwise all is lost. I also had a sudden idea, why not use Croan to lure Juno into a trap. My instinct tells me not to trust that man. He just wants to be on the winning side all the time and he has no loyalties to anyone other than himself.’

  ‘I absolutely agree with you Eena,’ replied Ardu. ‘We must be very careful, as we do not want to arouse Croan’s suspicions that he is being used.’

  ‘First we must send out scouts to find out what Juno is doing with his army and then we will set a trap for him with Croan’s help,’ stated Ardu. ‘I will now go and organise the scouts and then we shall have to wait for their return with the information on Juno’s whereabouts. Especially if we can somehow find out his plans of how he is going to attack us again.’