Aela Read online

  Ayab shadowed Eena and Ardu back to their camp, all the time wondering how he was going to sneak near enough, to eavesdrop on their conversations. Last time he attempted to get close, he was captured by the guards and he did not want this to happen again. Perhaps if he could climb a tree near where Eena and Ardu were sitting, he may be able to overhear their conversation. So, with this thought in mind Ayab quietly walked through the forest, towards the camp where Eena’s army was waiting for further orders from their leader. This time he was successful in slipping past the sentries and gradually worked his way towards the fire where Eena and Ardu were seated, talking in low whispers, their heads bowed towards each other. Ayab was pleased to note they were seated at the base of a very large oak tree.

  Ayab climbed the tree and very soon had an aerial view of Eena and Ardu. But to his disgust he could not hear what the pair were saying to each other. So he decided to climb along one of the branches of the tree for a closer view. This was his undoing, as the branch broke with his heavy body weight and he came tumbling down ending on the ground just in front of Eena and Ardu.

  ‘Well, well, what have we here?’ exclaimed Ardu, as he jumped to his feet. On seeing who the intruder was he exclaimed, ‘Eena we do not seem to be able to get rid of this menace. He is constantly popping up all the time.’

  Dragging Ayab to his feet he grasped Ayab by his shoulders, ‘Did Brude tell you to spy on us?’

  ‘Yes master, Brude ordered me to follow you both and find out your plans,’ hastily replied Ayab.

  ‘I knew he would be up to some kind of trickery,’ blurted Eena.

  ‘But we must remain calm,’ added Eena.

  ‘Men, take this man, tie him to a tree and I will think what to do with him later,’ commanded Ardu.

  ‘We will have to continue working with Brude, at least for the time being,’ stated Eena. ‘Ardu organise the men to break camp and we march to the agreed place, to meet up with Brude. We must be sure we take Ayab with us as living proof of Brude’s treachery,’ snarled Eena. ‘He is not going to beat me this time,’ Eena exclaimed through gritted teeth.

  Very soon Eena and Ardu were at the head of their army astride their horses and were once more on the move to join up with Brude and his men. This time all three combatants, with their two armies would be soon moving in the direction of the Temple of the Sun. Brude and his army were waiting at the crossroads of the ancient pathway for Eena and her army to join them.

  Brude had decided to place Eena and her soldiers, at the front of his men, to use them as shock troops and that way protect his own army. Hopefully Eena and Ardu would be killed in battle and then he only had to deal with Juno as a rival for power. He began to walk up and down all the time looking in the direction where he expected Eena and Ardu to appear.

  It seemed like for ever before Brude could hear the sound of hooves on the road and the occasional murmur of men’s voices and very soon he could make out the figure of Eena sitting astride a horse with Ardu riding his steed behind her.

  ‘You took a long time to assemble your army,’ bellowed Brude in a temper.

  ‘We came as soon as we could,’ yelled Eena.

  She was hot, dirty, very tired and seriously thinking of giving up the whole plan at this stage or at the least plunging her sword through Brude’s body as soon as she was close enough to him. Brude sensing Eena’s angry mood changed the tone of his voice and graciously suggested that the combined armies should camp for the night so they could eat and rest their exhausted limbs and their horses, in order to be fresh for battle the next day. Eena was only too happy to comply with this suggestion and very soon everyone was very busy striking camp and preparing the evening meal as well as catching up with the latest gossip of the day.

  Brude sent a messenger inviting Eena and Ardu to share a meal with him around his campfire. He was wanting to assess the relationship between Eena and Ardu, so as to see whether there were any weaknesses he could exploit, to cause discord between the two, and thus break the alliance.

  ‘We must drink to our victory tomorrow,’ exclaimed Brude as he raised the cup to his lips, ‘success is ours.’

  Reluctantly Eena and Ardu lifted their gold cups to their lips to salute Brude and both murmured, ‘Victory to us all.’

  Then Brude outlined his plan of Eena’s army going first into battle and his men taking up the rear.

  Immediately Eena objected to this plan, ‘Your men are fresher than mine and better equipped, my men will guard the rear.’

  Brude could see that that he was not going to change Eena’s mind on the matter, so he agreed to her demand, although he was far from happy with the outcome. ‘Damn this woman!’ he muttered under his breath, ‘she refuses to agree with any of my plans to trap her.’

  Eena realising Brude might completely lose his temper with her, said a hasty ‘good evening’ and left with Ardu following quickly behind her.

  Eena was far from happy with the battle plans, but she realised that there was nothing else she could do as she was dependent on Brude and his army for their support for the time being. The best thing to do was to have a good nights sleep and be refreshed for tomorrow’s battle.

  She realised she had to maintain the momentum, so Brude would not change his mind and decide to go on his own. So as a softener, she sent Brude some special wine and rich food, she had stored secretly for the special occasion of her victory over both Brude and Juno. In turn Brude received the gift graciously and sent a friendly message of thanks back to Eena.

  Neither party was fooled by this gesture, but each leader was determined to keep up the appearance of cooperation. Very soon a peaceful quietness descended over the two armies, as everyone one tried to get some sleep before the battle tomorrow. Poor old Ayab could not sleep and he felt very uncomfortable tied to the tree. He did not think he would live another day. For all his attempts to obtain his freedom he had not been successful, so he was feeling very sorry for himself.

  Then a thought occurred to him, if he could escape he could tell Juno of Brude and Eena’s plans to surprise him and his men to take over his kingdom. But first he must somehow he must fool the guards.

  He began to let out a plaintive wail, shouting for the guards, ‘Guards, guards, quickly come here. I am dying, release me at once.’

  The guards came rushing forward, to see what the commotion was all about. Ayab went into full dramatic mode and started to shake all over as if he was having a seizure.

  ‘Let me free, I am dying,.’ moaned Ayab pathetically.

  The guards looked at each other in bewilderment. ‘Well I do not think it will do any harm if we untie him,’ muttered one of the guards.

  So they undid the ropes and Ayab fell on the ground as if he was unconscious.

  ‘He looks dead to me,’ exclaimed one of the guards. ‘We will have to report this matter to Tene our superior officer, We are going to be in a lot of trouble over this.’

  So the guards hurried away to report the sudden turn of events, to their superior officer, all the time unhappily muttering amongst themselves.

  As soon as they disappeared from sight, Ayab jumped up quickly, running further into the forest, trying to be as far away as possible from Brude’s camp, before his escape was noticed. He was now feeling triumphant, that he had succeeded in getting away from his captors.

  His first thoughts were to personally see Juno as soon as possible. But then he realised, that in his haste to escape, he had blindly plunged himself into the deep dark forest and now he was confused and did not know which way to turn. He fell onto his knees crying in sheer panic and exhaustion and collapsed in a crumpled heap on the ground. The birds and animals in the primeval forest, went on with their business of looking for the next meal, oblivious to the inert figure lying on the moss amongst the ferns and bushes.

  When Ayab eventually lifted his head, he realised that he was hopelessly lost somewhere deep in the forest. He began to feel a rising panic in his chest again and he was sweating p
rofusely. His eyes darted around, trying to see whether there were any wild animals lurking behind a tree or a human enemy who would suddenly come leaping from the ferns to tear his throat apart, sucking the life blood out of his body.

  Ayab placed his hands over his eyes in despair moaning to himself, ‘I am dying, I am dying!’ and he lay down on the earth, his whole body shaking in fear.

  Then a thought bubbled into his mind, that if he could find water, he could follow the current down stream. As he knew, somewhere this tributary would join a larger volume of water either into a river or a lake and there could be people living along the water’s edge who could provide him with food and shelter. Bolstered by these thoughts, he rose from the ground, dusted himself down and began listening intently, for the sound of rippling water.

  Much to his amazement he could hear a very faint gurgling sound, as if the gods were talking to him, saying, ‘Ayab I am here, come to me, come to me.’

  Without hesitation he started to walk in the direction of these sounds and very soon came across a tiny stream, so he began to walk along the bank following the direction of the current. Sometimes, he would have to detour around very thick undergrowth but he always made sure he reconnected with the stream. On a number of occasions, he would stoop down to slake his thirst with water at the edge of the stream.

  Then hunger pangs began to enter his thoughts more and more. Very soon he could hear a consistent, thundering sound and very quickly realised that the noise meant there was a waterfall somewhere ahead. The gods had heard his prayers, there was a strong possibility, there would be people living near the waterfall and hence he would be saved. He quickened his pace and burst through the undergrowth finding himself on a rocky ledge, overlooking a magnificent scene of mountainous volumes of sparkling water plunging down a deep escarpment into a dark blue coloured lake.

  Narrowing his eyes and holding one hand over his brow, he could see what looked like a number of huts perched on the far side of the lake, atop a large sand dune. Ayab’s heart pulsated with joy, people would be living there and he could obtain food and shelter, all he needed to do was to find a way down to the settlement.

  At sunrise, both armies assembled to begin their march along the Sacred Way towards Juno’s kingdom.

  Eena was feeling refreshed after a night’s sleep and was once again optimistic about her plans with Brude and the combined armies.

  Very soon, the men began to sing a victory song, to bolster their spirits as they marched along the road. Each individual, was thinking of their loved ones and the booty they would collect from the Temple of the Sun. There were also some dark mutterings amongst the soldiers of the two armies, as they were sworn enemies.

  This alliance was only temporary, and could easily be broken at anytime when they would be once more be at each others’ throats, ripping the life out of each other. Both Brude and Eena were fully aware of the feelings of hatred amongst the ranks of men. So each leader rode up and down the lines of their men giving messages of encouragement, as they slowly trudged along the pathway, towards the Temple of the Sun.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Battle

  As each day went by, Rom grew more restless and dissatisfied, as nothing important was happening for him in the big wide world. He would spend all morning practising various sword techniques until he had exhausted himself and then he would cool himself in the clear gentle waters of a nearby stream. He then joined Aela in a simple meal, which was usually fish cooked over an open fire, plus a quantity of wild berries, washed down with fermented wine, generously supplied by their host.

  Rom was finding it difficult to control his thoughts and feelings towards Aela, particularly in his dreams at night. He had sensuous images of Aela lying naked on the ground, the hot touch of his hands over her thighs and breasts, the nectar sweet taste of her lips and tongue. He felt an erotic urge to thrust himself inside her, again and again thus abandoning himself to sublime, raw ecstasy and passion. Then he would lie next to her physically exhausted, emotionally spent, gulping in large amounts of air as his heart pounded in his chest, totally revelling in his masculine power and glory.

  But somehow in the harsh light of the day he found himself especially feeling unsure of himself in the presence of Aela. How was he going to approach her and engage her in clever and witty conversations! He particularly wanted to impress her with his physical strength, good looks and his wonderful masculine entertaining company. All of these three attributes he was firmly convinced that he was liberally endowed within his persona. Instead he became tongue-tied in her company, moody and abrupt in his manner towards her.

  Aela in turn, retaliated by being equally emotional, waspish in her sharp replies and then would go storming off yelling insults over her shoulder, with a decisive toss of her long flowing blonde hair. She would walk away from him, sulking in the back of the cave, feeling very sorry for herself, at being so cruelly treated by Rom.

  These turbulent confrontations went on for a couple of days, until both had exhausted their frustrations towards each other. Then, there was a heavy and deadly silence between the two protagonists, a kind of uneasy truce was struck. Every now and again Aela would give a nervous giggle snorting through her nose like an anxious filly who had detected the scent in the air of a male stallion, which had suddenly appeared on the horizon.

  One day whilst Rom was cooling himself in the clear waters of the stream, he was so absorbed with self-pitying thoughts, that he failed to hear light footsteps fast approaching the him.

  A beautiful female voice suddenly pierced his consciousness, ‘So this is where you are hiding?’ exclaimed Aela. ‘I have been looking for you everywhere. The High Priest wants you to come back to the sanctuary immediately. He has some important news for us.’

  Then Aela spied Rom’s clothes on the bank of the stream and she knew instantly he was stark naked in the water. She scooped up his clothes in her arms and ran towards the water’s edge, and said, ‘I think you will need these,’ with a mischievous chuckle in her voice.

  Rom was none too pleased that he had been discovered in such a vulnerable position. He could hear his father’s voice in his head saying to him, ‘Always have your weapons close by your side as you never know when you will need them in combat.’

  This situation was even worse than a whole army of soldiers about to jump on him and plunge their swords into his body. Rom was completely mortified with his predicament and instantly realised that Aela had the upper hand in this situation. So he slipped once more beneath the crystal clear waters, knowing full well Aela could see his naked body through the liquid as his whole body was now on full display for her to see.

  He stayed under as long as he could and did not come to the surface until his lungs were at bursting point. Coughing and spluttering, his face totally red, he popped his head above the surface of the water.

  ‘You can leave my clothes at the edge of the stream and go away,’ yelled Rom.

  ‘What is it worth?’ teasingly retorted Aela, thoroughly enjoying Rom’s embarrassment and general discomfit at his absurd situation.

  Then Rom had an inspiration, ‘If you give me my clothes, I will kiss you.’

  At this suggestion Aela broke out into uncontrollable laughter, ‘Not good enough Rom, I think I will keep your clothes for ever.’

  Then Aela inexplicably changed her mind and dropped his clothes on the ground and quickly walked away. In a flash Rom, rushed out of the water, scooping up his clothes and ran towards the nearest clump of bushes. Quickly putting on his clothes straight over his wet body, muttering darkly under his breath all the time.

  Then, there was a sudden loud noise, of a number of moving feet situated behind him and a rough hand was clamped over his mouth and a dagger was held at his throat.

  A low guttural voice yelled in his ear, ‘Don’t move, or you will be killed.’

  Rom tried to use his full strength in his body to resist, but he was soon overpowered, his hands tied behind him and
a gag thrust very tightly across his mouth. At the same time he was thrown on the ground and one of his assailants then lay across his back, in order to hold him down even more securely. Then all went black for Rom as he lost consciousness and he lay very still.

  ‘Don’t kill him you fool,’ growled the Head Soldier, ‘We have to take him back to Brude alive, otherwise we are dead men ourselves. Fetch some water from the stream to throw over his head to revive him. Make haste, roll him over on his side as I do not want him to suffocate.’

  Two of the men ran towards the stream eager to carry out the Head Soldier’s orders, to collect water in a container that one of them had strapped to his waist. Once the water was thrown over Rom, he started to groan and tried to move his arms but they were that were securely tied behind his back.

  ‘Cut the ropes you idiots and let him catch his breath and take off the gag from his mouth,’ yelled the Head Soldier in rage. ‘Haul him up, give him air and pound him on his chest.’

  Immediately Rom responded to this rough treatment with much coughing and fighting for breath. He opened his eyes to see the Head Soldier’s face very close to his face.

  ‘Excellent! You are alive after all. I’m sure the time has not come yet for your spirit to cross the sacred waters to meet your goddess Athunor.’

  ‘Do not mock my goddess in vain as she may strike you down dead instantly, right before my eyes,’ Rom, growled back at the Head Soldier.

  Both men glared at each other, eyeball to eyeball for a few seconds and then the Head Soldier dropped his eyes and moved back a few steps.

  ‘Enough of this chatter,’ exclaimed the Head Soldier, ‘bind his hands in front of his chest and let’s start marching forwards, to meet Brude and his army.’