Aela (11 page)

With this thought in mind, a select number of men were chosen and they moved silently through the woods with Tet in the lead. The climb up the pass was difficult and arduous and all the men arrived at the top panting and exhausted. Only to find they had misjudged the direction where Ardu and his men were and they had overshot the position by quite a long distance.

In the valley, one of Ardu's sentries saw a flash of light on a shield and immediately raised the alarm about the impending danger of enemies situated at the top of the pass. Warriors from both sides were than seen running through the trees towards each other with their swords unsheathed held in front of their bodies as both forces were on a collision course of destruction to kill their enemies. Then there was a clashing of metal on shields with their swords, as the two armies met and fought each other with raging fury reflected in the eyes of the warriors as they clashed with each other.

The battle was soon over and a number of prisoners were taken by Ardu's men, including Tet much to his horror. The prisoners were quickly hustled along and were soon standing in front of Ardu.

‘Well what have we here! I believe I recognise one of you,' said Ardu and looked straight at Tet. ‘You are one of Brude's close advisers. Tell me his plan to attack Eena's territories.'

Tet replied testily, ‘I think it is more like Eena and Juno who are joining forces and together united, plan to storm the defences and overrun the Temple of the Sun.'

Ardu was amazed at this accusation coming from one of Brude's chief officers.

Tet continued ‘And how is it you have our Sacred Sword here, when it is carefully guarded in the inner sanctum of the Temple of the Sun? This one must be a fake!'

At this verbal attack Ardu grabbed Tet by his throat and glared straight into his face. ‘What do you mean by making up these wild stories? I had my men pull down the sacred sword from the chain it is attached to, when I and my men invaded the Temple of the Sun.'

Tet did not answer Ardu immediately as he was winded by the attack, ‘I think I am mistaken Ardu.'

Ardu slowly released his hold and let Tet fall to the ground gasping for breath. Take this man out of my sight but guard him very well as he must not escape,' exploded Ardu. ‘Rom, bring the Sword to me instantly. I want to have a close look at it.'

After a quick examination Ardu muttered to himself, ‘It is the real thing!' and handed it back to Rom. ‘We will take these prisoners back to Eena and she can decide what to do with them,' ordered Ardu.

Very soon Ardu, Rom and the warriors were back in the main Cavern and the prisoners were presented to Eena.

‘So Brude wants to take over my territory and you are the advance guard to spy on us,' hissed Eena.

She was greeted with silence from the prisoners and they all stared ahead expecting Eena would issue the command for their death. They had no choice, as they had failed in their mission for Brude so they knew that death awaited them at home as well.

‘Who gave Brude the idea I had an alliance with Juno?' demanded Eena.

The prisoners turned to look at Tet accusingly, as they realised that the end was coming for each one. Quickly, Tet realised he would have to do some fast talking to save himself and his men.

‘We can be useful to you, Mighty one, as we can spy for you in Brude's camp,' said Tet bowing very low before Eena.

‘Take these men away and guard them with your life,' commanded Eena. Turning to Ardu, Eena said in a low whisper, ‘Perhaps we can use Tet and his men and lure Brude into an ambush. In the meantime we will place one of our own men in their midst, in an attempt to learn the real reason they have been spying on us,' added Eena.

During this exchange, Rom had been standing close enough to Eena and Ardu to over hear their conversation and Eena's proposed plan. Rom thought, what a good strategy Eena had thought out and he would see how this information could be used to his advantage sometime in the future.

Eena and Ardu continued their whispered conversation as they walked towards one of the side tunnels, completely forgetting the fact that they had left their other special prisoner, Rom on his own, still clutching the Sacred Sword.

Rom wasted no time, as he ran down another side passage, tightly clutching the Sacred Sword with both hands. His first thought was to get out of the maze of caves and tunnels, into the woods and freedom, and then plan his next move. As he now had an advantage, as he had the Sacred Sword in his possession.

By a miracle Rom succeeded in making his way into the woods without anyone pursuing him. He knew Eena's warriors would be not far behind, especially as he had the prize Sword in his possession. Firstly he must hide the Sacred Sword and then backtrack to Eena's Cavern to find an opportunity to rescue Aela, so that they both could escape to freedom.

Rom saw just in front of him a number of large stones piled on top of each other, in a particular distinct pattern and he memorised the location in his mind. Then taking the Sacred Sword in his one hand, he plunged it into a slim gap situated between two of the rocks which were located at ground level. Rom studied the general area for some time, so that he could return to retrieve the precious Sword, when he needed it again.

Then without looking back he retraced his footsteps back to Eena's Cavern as he knew that somehow he must find an opportunity to rescue Aela. After a long exhausting walk, he found himself once more in front of Eena's Cave, peering out from behind some thick undergrowth, ever mindful that he might be seen by one of Eena's warriors.

There was a sudden commotion at the entrance of the Cave and loud voices were heard. A number of armed men came running out, with Ardu at the head of the group of men. From the agitated movements of Ardu's arms and body, Rom could see that Ardu was determined to track him down at all cost and to recapture him as soon as possible. Rom could see that death awaited him, if he was caught again, so he knew he must be extra careful not to be recaptured. He thought he had better find a safe hiding place for the time being, so he could rest his weary body for awhile as he was feeling totally exhausted.

Ardu was absolutely furious, that Rom had escaped so easily with the Sacred Sword and then had disappeared with it into the forest. His reputation was at stake, as Ardu knew that Eena would be extremely unhappy with him and he needed to act with lightening speed to be back in favour with her again. Perhaps he could use Aela as a bait to lure Rom out of his hiding place and have the Sacred Sword in his possession again.

‘Guards bring Aela to me instantly,' shouted Ardu. ‘Hurry, hurry. I have no time to waste. Anyone who is slow, will have my sword thrust into their hearts.'

Not to be outdone the guards eagerly ran to carry out his order.

‘Do not tell Eena of my plan as I want to surprise her.' bellowed Ardu.

Within a short space of time Aela was standing in front of Ardu, surrounded by guards. ‘Tie her to that tree and put a gag across her mouth so that she can't warn Rom of our plan to capture him. Now men, spread out and lie low, and make sure you are well hidden as I am sure Rom will return to try and rescue her,' growled Ardu. On issuing this command Ardu strode off well satisfied with himself, that he had everything under control again.

Rom was lying flat on the ground, peering through some bushes, watching the men tie Aela to the tree. The main thought in his mind was that he must rescue Aela as soon as possible. He carefully noted where each man was hiding and in the far distance he saw Ardu striding towards the main Cavern entrance and then disappearing from sight.

Rom thought he would create a diversion, so the men would follow him into the forest and he could then retrace his footsteps, untie Aela's bonds, then together they could flee. Without waiting any longer, Rom leapt up and gave out a blood curdling yell and began to run through the trees with the guards in hot pursuit running behind him.

Rom could hear the men not very far behind him as he continued to run crashing through the forest trees, suddenly he was faced with a deep narrow chasm and without thinking he leapt across it. Much to his relief he landed safely on the other side of the gorge. A moment later he heard an agonising cry and realised that one of the men had fallen down the steep cliff.

Then there was a strange silence, soon Rom realised he was no longer being chased and he stopped running. He tried to catch his breath, breathing in the clear cold air in great gulps into his lungs. Feeling a bit better he straightened up, looked around and he could see no one in the immediate vicinity and began to retrace his steps back to Eena's Cavern.

Walking swiftly, Rom was soon back at the Cavern and he looked anxiously towards the tree where he last saw Aela. With a sigh of relief, he saw that she was still there, tied to the tree and he walked straight towards to her. Using his dagger, he quickly cut the cords binding her wrists and legs and took off the gag that had been placed over her mouth. Aela began to splutter and cough as she opened her mouth wide to breathe in air and at the same time she began to rub her wrists where she had been bound by the ropes.

‘Quickly there is no time to lose, we must get out of here now,' Rom urgently whispered in her ear.

Aela needed no further prompting, she began to run towards the nearby trees, with Rom following close behind her. For a period they continued on their way, until they were both physically exhausted with their constant running. They fell in a heap on the ground, fitfully panting, both feeling as though their lungs would burst. As soon as, they both were feeling a little better and hence breathing more easily they found they were ready to speak to each other in short bursts.

‘Thank you so much Rom for saving me,' gushed Aela, impulsively placing her arms around Rom's neck.

She then kissed Rom on the cheek and they looked into each other's eyes. Both experienced an electric sensation around their hearts and in an instant they knew they were meant for each other. A very strong protective feeling came over Rom, that he must shield Aela from the bad things in life and he must never let her out of his sight again.

‘We must go back to retrieve the Sacred Sword from the hiding place and then go home to the Temple of the Moon,' stated Rom.

Aela burst out, ‘But can we trust Brude? He really wants to kill us, at least you, Rom! I am not going to be his slave to do what he likes with me. Never, never!'

‘I will make sure that never happens to you, whilst you are with me you are safe. But at least let us go back to find the Sacred Sword and then make plans for what next we are going to do,' replied Rom. So, they both set off, glad that they were free at last and were once more together again.

Very soon they were standing in front of the rocks where the Sacred Sword had been hidden by Rom earlier in the day. Rom stepped forward and thrust his arm into the crack in the bottom rock and drew out the precious Sword, triumphantly brandishing it above his head.

‘At least we have this to show everyone at home where we have been.'

‘Possessing the Sword is not going to solve all our problems,' retorted Aela with a toss of her head. ‘We still have to get home safely and I do not trust Brude' added Aela.

Rom gave Aela a penetrating look and placed the Sword in his belt, ‘I do not trust Brude either, but there is no other place we can go. Eena is after us for her own ends and Juno will show no mercy if he catches up with us. We would find it too hard to survive in the forest on our own especially when the snow comes and food is very scarce.'

With a sigh Aela shook her head, ‘As usual Rom you are right. There is no other place we can go. We do have family and friends there and somewhere to live.'

So Aela and Rom started to walk in the direction of the Temple of the Moon, once more retracing their footsteps on their journey home.

CHAPTER 5

The Rising

J
uno was not happy with the latest news that Eena had the true Sacred Sword and it was seen by his men being carried by Rom at the head of her army. His little scheme whereby he had a replica made, he feared, would become unstuck. The elders of the council once they had examined this Sword would realise that it wasn't the ancient one with the magical powers.

Difficult questions would be asked of him of what happened to the true Sword and as custodian he would be accused of failing in his duty to protect it. He didn't want to think of what they would do to him, as he had made many enemies with his despotic rule over the people and there were a number of individuals who wished to seek their revenge.

‘I must create a diversion away from the truth,' Juno muttered to himself, ‘but what can I do?'

Then a sudden thought came to him ‘I will make up a story of how the Sword was stolen from the inner sanctuary and spirited away and the replica was made to fool the people.'

He would then rouse the people to seek revenge and demand the return of the true Sacred Sword to the Temple of the Sun. His eyes lit up with this idea, he could rule all three kingdoms at once, amass great power and wealth and get rid of his enemies for ever. I must rally the people to the Temple immediately.