Aela (26 page)

Tua turned her back on Brude all the time holding her breath, waiting for the lethal blow from Brude's sword to be plunged through her body. There was a heavy pause and a deadly silence. She slowly turned around, to see Brude kneeling on the floor with his head on his chest and his hands over his eyes, muttering to himself.

‘It is all too hard. I do not know what to believe.'

‘Come, get up immediately. We have much to do before dawn,' exclaimed Tua.

With these words Brude slowly got to his feet and allowed himself to be led away by Tua, who whispered in his ear, ‘Now this is what I suggest you do.'

Aela was very rudely awakened by two servant women. ‘Come, you must dress quickly, as we have orders to take you to the inner sanctum of the Temple.'

‘What if I refuse?' Aela defiantly retorted.

‘We will hold you down and dress you anyway, and we will not be gentle with you.'

Aela realised she was in a difficult position and tossed her head in disgust. ‘All right. I will dress myself.'

So with little enthusiasm she slowly put on the beautiful long flowing gown, encrusted with diamonds and pearls across the bodice in the shape of the rising sun. There were further diamonds placed on the material, cascading in a swirling fashion down the long skirt. The whole ensemble had a dramatic impact, especially when Aela moved her body and limbs.

‘Just as I thought, I knew the gown would look splendid on you,' Tua triumphantly exclaimed as she swept into the room.

Aela looked directly at Tua. ‘Why are you making me wear this dress?'

‘You my dear, are going to be the centre of a huge ceremony,' purred Tua. ‘The first human sacrifice to our Sun God, Luno.'

Aela was completely horrified, ‘No, you can't do this to me,' she shrieked.

‘Guards, take her to Temple, now. You do not have any choice in the matter. Do not think of escaping. If you do, Rom will be killed immediately' spat out Tua.

Her mind in a turmoil, Aela was led away by the guards.

‘Now I must deal with Rom. I do not think he will be too difficult to handle. Men are so easy to trick and be manipulated especially by women. They are so simple, how they think and act,' laughed Tua as she left the room.

Rom was also being prepared for the ceremony, as he was dressed by the servants. But unlike Aela he did not ask any questions. Rom was deep in his own thoughts as he desperately searched for a way to escape without raising any suspicions from his capturers about his intentions.

‘You certainly look very handsome, Rom. What a pity you have to be sacrificed for a greater cause,' sighed Tua. ‘Well no matter. I have news for you. Brude is going to give you a chance to tell him where you have hidden the true Sacred Sword. If you do not reveal the scret place, Aela will be sacrificed to our sacred god, Luno.'

Rom lost his cool and lunged towards Tua in rage. The guards prevented him from reaching Tua and pinned his arms behind his back and at the same time forcing Rom to kneel on the floor before Tua.

‘That was not a very clever move on your part Rom. I thought you were smarter than that. But then one can be misguided in one's assessment of the other person. I can never tell what you are thinking Rom, and that is very frustrating as well as intriguing,' sighed Tua.

Rom had time to collect his thoughts. ‘As I have told you before, I do not know where the Sacred Sword is hidden. But I may know someone who can tell you where the Sword is located, but on condition you free Aela and myself, if I give you this information.'

Tua laughed loudly at this news. ‘I don't believe a word you are saying, Rom, I have a much better idea. You are going to fight our champion, Thune. If you win, you and Aela can go free. But if you lose you have to tell me where the Sacred Sword is hidden and I will spare Aela's life but not yours,' Tua triumphantly stated.

Then a voice interrupted, ‘What do you mean, that you will spare Aela's life and not Rom's? I am the one who makes all the decisions around here, not you Tua,' shouted Brude as he stormed into the room. ‘What have you been doing behind my back, woman.'

Brude glared at Tua and then turned towards the guards. ‘Release this man at once, you fools!'

The guards were only to happy to carry out Brude's orders and immediately let go of Rom. Rom was then able to get to his feet very quickly and rubbed his arms with his hands vigorously, as they had been aching when the guards pinned them behind his back.

‘What do you think you are doing, taking over my position of authority. This is not the first time you have done this, Tua and my patience is fast running out with you. Everything you have suggested so far has come to nothing. I almost lost my life in front of the crowd just a short time ago. I achieved nothing in gaining the trust of the people, let alone their loyalty and support.'

Tua rounded on Brude and faced him squarely, ‘Well you didn't have any better ideas. What big clever plans have you in mind Brude, to save the situation and turn the tide around into a victory,' retorted Tua.

There was a heavy and deadly silence between the two, as they angrily glared at each other across the room.

All the time Rom was carefully watching the pair shouting at each other. His thoughts were, how to turn this situation into an advantage for himself. Then he had an idea.

‘How about when I fight Thune. People love a spectacle. If I win I will lead you to the person who knows where the Sacred Sword is hidden. If I am killed then the secret location is lost for ever.'

‘What do you mean, if you are killed. That is no answer to the problem!' yelled Brude in disgust. ‘But wait. If you will not give me back the Sacred Sword, then nobody can have it.'

‘That is not good enough,' uttered Tua. ‘The only way to find out the truth of the matter is to make sure that Rom defeats Thune and then he has to reveal the location of the Sword. You will have to be the victor Rom, otherwise Aela will die. So you have no choice in the matter.'

‘If that is the deal, I will defeat Thune on the condition that both Aela and I are released alive,' coolly stated Rom.

There was a moments silence, then Brude nodded his head in agreement. ‘I will grant you both your freedom,' sighed Brude.

Rom was quite pleased with the outcome. ‘Well I must go and prepare myself for the contest now,' exclaimed Rom. His biggest worry was that Brude would change his mind all of a sudden before he was able to leave the room.

‘Guards take this man to the armoury and prepare him for the contest.'

With a sigh of relief Rom was taken away by the guards.

‘You are such a fool Brude,' shouted Tua. ‘How do you know that Rom will keep his end of the bargain.'

Brude lunged forward and grabbed Tua's arm in an iron grip and thrust his face close to hers.

‘What better idea have you got at this moment. I don't have to keep my word with Rom if I choose not to. I can change my mind at anytime as soon as I see a reason to do so and it is to my advantage. So woman, stop criticising me all the time, otherwise I will completely lose my patience with you and kill you with my sword. I must go now to prepare for the contest. There is much to do. You, woman keep out of my way!'

With these words Brude strode out of the room leaving Tua standing alone feeling very angry and perplexed that she no longer had the control of the situation.

‘Somehow I must gain my power back over Brude again,' she muttered to herself.

Rom's thoughts were in confusion as he was marched by the guards along a tunnel, to the armoury. He had heard of the champion Thune, but never seen him in action. Somehow he must win this contest, so at least there was a slim chance that himself and Aela may come out of this situation alive.

He didn't trust Brude's word, as he knew that Brude would change his mind in an instant, if he thought there was some advantage for him doing so. As for Tua, Rom recognised she was as changeable as Brude and she was always looking for some gain in any situation that was the best for her and her only.

One thing of which Rom was now very much aware, was that Brude and Tua were not in harmony with each other anymore and he must take advantage of this situation as much as possible. Also he must choose his weapons for the contest very carefully, so he had the upper hand over Thune.

He was led into the armoury by the guards and Rom was soon very busy inspecting the weapons. In the meantime, Tua had an idea.

‘I will have a word with Aela and create a situation to complicate things even more. I will show Brude who is the cleverer leader between the two of us,' muttered Tua as she quickly walked towards the chamber where Aela was being held prisoner.

Tua stepped into the room and saw Aela had been dressed by the servants.

‘You look stunning in that gown Aela. Oh, how the crowd will love it, when Rom is defeated and you both are sacrificed to our god Luno. But if you do what I tell you to do, I will arrange it so you and Rom can escape into the forest to freedom.'

‘Why should I trust you. I have no reason to follow your advice!' exclaimed Aela.

‘You have no choice in the matter,' retorted Tua. ‘The likely chance of Rom surviving the contest against Thune is very slim. Then you will be at the mercy of Brude and he is not known for his compassion and kindness. All you need to do is tell me where the Sacred Sword is hidden and I will make sure at least you will escape alive. If Rom is the victor over Thune, I promise you that he escapes with you as well.'

Aela responded, ‘I don't trust you at all. Let me talk to Rom and I will give you my answer then to you.'

After these words were spoken, Tua let out a hearty laugh, ‘I am afraid that won't be possible. If I attempt to arrange this, I know that Brude would surely kill me with his sword. I can see that I cannot reason with you so I will leave you to your fate. Goodbye for ever,' exclaimed Tua as she left the room precipitously, leaving Aela to ponder over her words and wonder whether she had handled the situation correctly or not.

The drums began to beat loudly, to summon the people once more to the Temple square in order for them to witness the contest between Rom and Thune. This time Brude ensured that Juno was seated next to him, on a slightly lower throne, so that the people could see he was still alive and well and he was in favour with Brude.

Tua was nowhere to be seen, as on Brude's orders she was confined to her quarters under guard. Rom was marched into the square by a group of guards and the crowd, on seeing Rom let out a roar of disapproval. Then Thune appeared opposite Rom and the crowd shouted with joy, as they were hoping he would be the champion of the day. Brude stood up from his throne and raised his hand for silence.

A sudden hush descended and all eyes were, looking towards the two combatants.

‘Let the contest begin, now!' thundered Brude.

Rom and Thune advanced towards the centre of the square, eyeing each other in order, to try and assess the weaknesses of the other. Thune was the first to lunge forward in an attempt to thrust his sword into Rom's body. Rom stepped aside with lightening speed and the sword missed him and plunged into the ground.

With a quick movement Rom brought his sword down on Thune's head. There was a sickening sound as steel connected with Thune's helmet and the sword slid down his neck, digging deep into his shoulder. There was a sudden spurt of blood pumping out, as Rom's sword severed an artery. Thune slowly fell to the ground and lay very still, with blood gushing out of his wound. There was a stony silence then a cry from the crowd.

‘Foul, foul! Death to Rom! Death to Rom!'

Nobody could believe that the contest was over so quickly. Brude was amazed as was everyone else and at first he was at a loss to what next move to make. He gathered his thoughts quickly and ordered the guards to bring Rom to him.

‘What happened?' Brude shouted at Rom, as Rom stood before him.

‘I saw my chance and took it,' replied Rom coolly. ‘You must keep your promise and let Aela and myself free. I have won the contest.'

Brude glared at Rom, ‘Take him away, I will deal with him later.'

Brude then turned to the crowd, ‘The contest is over, you can all go home, now.'

There were subdued grumbles coming from some members of the mob, but slowly they began to walk away in small groups, whispering amongst themselves. Thune's body was quickly carried away by the guards. Very soon the only sound that could be heard was the sputtering from the lit torches, as the flames created a flickering effect along the stone walls of the square as well as casting deep moving shadows across the ground.

Brude was beside himself with rage. Nothing was going his way and no matter what he had planned, it did not turn out the way he wanted it to. He was no further forward with his strategy of winning the people over to his side. Also he did not have the Sacred Sword in his possession, so that he could use its magical powers for his own ends.

It was time for drastic action, ‘Guards bring Rom to me instantly. I am going to make him tell me where the Sword is hidden even if I have to wring it out of him with my own bare hands around his throat.'