Seal of the King (25 page)

Aurora leaned close to him
, and said, “These people must be starving.”

“I know.”

Eustus said, “Please help yourselves. We have all brought what we were able to.”

David
, “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

Aur
ora added, “Yes thank you, you’re too generous.”

Eustus
said, “It is our privilege to serve.” Then he walked off.

If David
and Aurora hadn’t been so hungry, they probably would have felt too guilty to eat at all, but after the rigors of the day, and not having eaten since the morning they each took a piece of bread, and a small piece of cheese. They thought about the supplies in the carriage, but did not want to offend these people by refusing their generosity. David, taking a bite, turned to see a small girl looking up at them.

He knelt down
, and said, “Hello, young lady, and who might you be?”

“My name is Sarah
.”

“I’m David. It's
nice to meet you, Sarah. Do you live here in the village?”

“We live on the other side of the river
, my mommy, my brother, and me. The soldiers took my daddy away.”  Sarah said as she stared longingly at the cheese in David’s hand.

David noticing asked her
, “Would you like some cheese Sarah?”

Her eyes going wide, she nodded her head “oh yes, please, I’m
awful hungry. We haven’t eaten today.”

David handed her his cheese as she began to grin from ear to ear. Then David
said, “Why don’t you have a piece of bread too, and go share it with your brother?”

Sarah said
, very enthusiastically, “oh yes, David, I will. Thank you very much.” Then she ran over to a little boy sitting by the wall, and turned pointing at David as she was talking to her brother.

David stood to find Aurora looking at him smiling when she
said, “Here have some of mine.”

He smiled back at her
, and said gently “you eat it, I’m suddenly not very hungry.” Then his grin faded, and she could see a fire burning in his eyes as he said, “God willing, we’re going to put an end to this.”

Aurora looked at him with that fierce determination in her eyes “yes we will.”

Eustus returned, and seeing the intensity of their expressions asked, “is everything all right?”

David turned to him
and said, “We were sent here by the Lord, and we don’t know why, but what you people are enduring is intolerable, and if there’s anything we can do about it we will.”

Eustus
said, “That is very kind of you to say, but the Dark One has a vast army, and as brave as the two of you might be I’m not sure that it would be enough.”

David suddenly felt that sensation again
; only it was not driven by rage. It was like energy washing through him, imbuing him with that sense of clarity and certainty he had during their previous council meeting.

“
Where I come from there’s a story about a man called, Gideon. The Lord asked him to lead an army against a vastly superior force. Gideon asked the angel of the Lord, ‘how can I defeat this vast army?’ The angel told him that the Lord would defeat them. Gideon had to have faith. Then he told Gideon to take his small force to the edge of the city, and to blow his horn alerting the enemy to his presence. When he did, the enemy went into such a panic that they slaughtered each other to a man. It is not for us to defeat his army, the Lord has asked us to be faithful, and he will deliver us.”

Eustus listening to David attentively suddenly went wide
-eyed, and said, “In the city council hall there is a secret chamber protected by a seal. Inside the chamber is a blade said to be forged from the horn of an Angel, a horn that was said to have defeated an entire army with a single blast. The men at the time were told to forge the horn into a blade, and that when the hour of darkness was at hand the Lords anointed one would come to retrieve it.”

David
and Aurora looked at each other understanding now this was the reason they were sent to Roktah. David turned back to Eustus, and asked, “Do you know the prophecy?”

Eustus asked,
“Which prophecy?”

Even though David had only heard it spoken once he knew it by heart
, and said, “When the hour of darkness is at hand, a son of David will be anointed to lead his people, and he will find favor with the Lord. A child of equal measure from the house of Roktah will rise-up to awaken the Lion, and together they will face the Evil One. They will be bound at birth by our Father, separated until the time of fulfillment when they will unite in his cause.”

Aurora gave him a quick glance she knew he left off the last line.

Eustus asked, “What are you saying?”

“
The hour of darkness is at hand. I’m from the house of David, and Aurora is from the house of Roktah. In fact, she comes from this very village. We have been anointed to lead the battle against the evil one. It is time for us to act. It is time for the people of Roktah to stand.”

Eustus looked at him, stunned by his words, then his face became resolved
, and he said, “It is time to talk to our people.” David nodded in agreement.

Eustus led them around to a platform where they could stand above the crowd
, and then he spoke. “Brothers and sisters,” he paused for the crowd to quiet, “Brothers and sisters, we have come here often for many years to pray for our deliverance. The time has come. We are in the final hours. This is David, and our own daughter Aurora. I ask you to listen to them.”

David stepped forward. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say
, but knew the words would come. He looked out at the crowd. Many faces held a look of rapt attention, and others looked uncertain. He had never spoken before a crowd before, he was a simple farmer, but all that had changed. Everything that had happened to him during the past week, everything he had seen, and all he had done humbled him. Who was he that the Lord should find such favor in him?

Without thinking David spoke “Brothers
and sisters of Roktah, I stand before you today your humble servant. The Lord came to us” he looked at Aurora standing tall and confident by his side, “he told us to come to Roktah, and seek his will. He has filled our hearts with compassion for your plight, and determination to end your suffering. Tomorrow together we will retake the city, and purge it of His enemies.”

The crowd burst into chatter, Aurora took hold of his arm indicating her surprise. David looked at her reassuringly then turned back to the crowd
, and spoke, “Brothers and sisters,” he paused for a moment allowing them to quiet, then went on “the hour of darkness is at hand. If we do not stand now, the suffering you have seen will pale in comparison to what lies ahead.”

A man in the crowd spoke “how can the few of us
and the two of you defeat this vast army?”

David answered
, “It is not for us to defeat the enemy, the Lord will if we stand faithful to him. Anyone who has any doubts must not come. I tell you that, as long as one man amongst you has unwavering faith, you will be delivered. But any man who is afraid or has doubts must not come.”

Jotham standing in the back of the room said in a loud clear voice “I have seen the power of the spirit in these two
, and I will stand with them in the name of our Lord.” Then he made his way to the front of the room, the silence was deafening. When Jotham reached the platform, David extended his hand helping him stand up next to him. Jotham turned to face the crowd standing tall with an expression of fearless determination. At that, six more men made their way to the front and stood before David.

One of the men looked side to side at the others who had joined him then
said, “We will stand with you too.”

David look
ed out at the crowd, and said, “So it is clear our victory tomorrow is by the Lord’s hand and not our own, let no one else join us. I ask all of you to stay here in this village where you will be safe inside the seal. When we return it will affirm for you the truth of the prophecy. ’When the hour of darkness is at hand, a son of David will be anointed to lead his people, and he will find favor with the Lord. A child of equal measure from the house of Roktah will rise-up to awaken the Lion, and together they will face the Evil One. They will be bound at birth by our Father, separated until the time of fulfillment when they will unite in his cause’. Once the prophecy has been affirmed to you, the people of Roktah will inspire all the other cities to unite against our enemy, and drive them out of their homes.“

David turned to Eustus
, and asked, “is there somewhere we can go to discuss our plans for tomorrow?” Gesturing to the men standing with him.

“Yes, come this way.”

As they all began to walk off a man and a woman approached, and the woman said, “Aurora is it really you?”

Aurora turned
, and exclaimed “Solidad, Miles, I’m so glad to see you! I was looking for you in the crowd but didn’t see you.” She rushed to them and hugged Solidad.

David turned to meet them
, and Aurora said, “David these are the people who saved me after my parents…“ She still had trouble saying the words “they helped me escape to the south.”

“
It’s an honor to meet you.”

Miles
said, “We always knew she was exceptional. Now tell us, Aurora, what is this young man to you besides the fearsome warrior Jotham has described?” He added with a knowing look.

Aurora blushed taking David’s arm
, and said, “we were married a couple of days ago. He’s my husband.”

She looked at David beaming
, and he returned the look with a loving smile of his own.

Solidad
, nearly in tears, said, “Oh, that’s wonderful! To see you happy again fills my heart with such joy.” Then she leaned in, and asked with quiet excitement looking at her dress “are you with child?”

Aurora
and David both blushing fiercely, now stammered until David finally found his voice “no, she isn’t, we haven’t had a honeymoon.”

Solidad
said, “I apologize for prying. I feared the worse for her when she left, all those years ago. I’m so happy to see her well again. The boys will want to see you too.”

Miles said with a sly grin “yes, although I’m afraid they
’ll be quite disappointed to know you are married.” Then he chuckled.

Aurora was blushing so brightly David thought she might explode
, so he put his arm around her, and said, “Perhaps we can come visit you tomorrow, unfortunately, tonight we need to talk with Eustus and the others.”

Solidad
said, “Oh that would be lovely! We’ll see you tomorrow then, dear.” And with that they gave a small wave as they turned and left.

They departed through a side door
, and Eustus led them to one of the houses. They walked in to find a table and some chairs in front of a large hearth. The room was dark, Eustus went over to light a lantern, and Jotham and another man began setting a fire in the hearth.

David said quietly
, so no one else could hear, “I didn’t know I had competition for your hand? Do I need to be worried about visiting the boys tomorrow?”

Aurora turned
, and punched him in the arm “oh you stop it, or I’ll …” She cut short what she was going to do to him for teasing her as Eustus approached.

Eustus
said, “Excuse me. May I talk to you in private for a moment?”

David
said, “of course.” He turned to the men, and said, “Excuse us for a moment, we’ll be right back. We need to speak to Eustus about something.” They all nodded at him as the three of them headed into a back room.

This room appeared to be the kitchen of the house. It was
relatively small, had a large fireplace with a brick oven and a table in it. Eustus lit an oil lamp, and they sat at the table.

Eustus started talking in a low voice “I must first apologize
, but I overheard your conversation with Miles and Solidad. I’m very familiar with the prophecy you spoke of, but did not want to put any ideas into your heads. I was waiting to hear it from you so I could tell if you truly are the ones named.”

Aurora
said, “We didn’t name ourselves. A group of servants has been watching us since we were children because they believed we were the ones. They are the ones who anointed us. We only met within this past week, although we have seen each other in visions our whole lives.”

Eustus quickly
said, “Please do not misunderstand what I’m saying, I do believe you are the ones. In fact, I’m certain of it. What you have said and done are more convincing to me than your birthrights. The true anointed are the ones who serve not seek their own glory.”

“Thank you
, but what does that have to do with Miles and Solidad?” David asked.

Eustus answered
, “ah yes, well” looking a little embarrassed he asked, “Did I understand correctly that you two were just married?”