Young Jaguar, The (22 page)

She also thought about the blood seeping from the
side of her neck, and her jaw, drawing a burning line where Xicohtli’s dagger
had cut her when she whirled at him. It felt wrong to smear it upon the
pureness of his brilliant blue cloak.

Epilogue

She lay in his arms, snug in his embrace, her face
comfortable against his chest. The sun shone through the opening in the wall,
the merry midmorning sun. They didn’t care. They were not about to get up. The
time of day did not matter. Not as it would have before. Before they had known
how it would feel to lose each other.

She slid her palm along his stomach, then bent to
kiss it. She could feel it rumbling under her lips.

“I’ll get my maid to bring us some food,” she
laughed. “Can’t let you die of hunger. They would never forgive me. The Emperor
would be furious.”

“Let him.” He pulled her on top of him and ran his
palms through her hair, careful not to touch the crust of the glaring red that
ran down her jaw line, circumventing her neck and sliding down her right
shoulder. She appreciated that. The cut, though
in no way dangerous, hurt, despite the various ointments smeared upon it.

She bent to kiss him, careful not to disturb his
wounds as well. They were both in no condition to love wildly, she thought
amused, although, as always, he paid no heed to his injuries, indifferent to
any of the cuts unless it was threatening to rot. His cheek worried him a
little, she knew. It was cut deeply and still oozed some smelly substance.

How do they put up with so many wounds? she asked
herself, as she made herself comfortable on top of him, confident in feeling him
stir. She had been cut only this once, and she would never want to undergo such
an ordeal again. It hurt; the treatment no less than the wound itself.

She kissed him more ardently, her hands sliding
along his chest, purposeful, seeking to entice, to arouse, to please. He
reacted, pulling her closer, but she pushed him back, making him lie still and
enjoy her touch with no interruption, loving him for his pleasure, and for
hers.

Later they ate, still loitering between the clean
cotton blankets, not about to get up. To set foot outside would mean to
separate, even if for a little while, and they were not ready for that. Not
yet.

She winced, nibbling on the slice of avocado.

“It hurts to chew,” she complained. “How long will
it take for these cuts to heal?”

He laughed. “You are an expert on herbs. Make
yourself another ointment.”

“I can’t. My husband keeps me busy in bed all the
time.”

“He really should get up and go about his duties.” 

She grasped his arm. “No! Not yet.”

“Well, I suppose they’ll send for me when my absence
becomes too obvious.” He devoured another tamale, then drank thirstily. “Your
activities in bed make one thirsty.” He measured her with a glance, eyes
twinkling. “If killing people makes you so ardent in love, I shall take you
along on my campaigns.”

She winced, not ready to think about what had
happened yesterday. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

He gathered her into his arms.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t joke about it. It’s just
that you made me so proud. They never knew what you are made off, but I did, I
always knew it. Twenty warriors, remember? The elite ones, if you ask me.”

She smiled faintly. “I was so stupid to fall into
their hands in the first place. So desperately stupid.”

“What were you doing in the marketplace that morning,
anyway?”

She shrugged. “I really don’t know. I was distraught
and out of my mind with worry and all.” There were some things he should never,
never, find out.

He watched her closely. “I can guess, you know?”

Her stomach turned.

“I know you.” He went on, lips twitching, his
amusement spilling. “Tell me the truth. You wanted to show them all, me
included, that no one locks you in the house. No one. Am I right?”

She laughed against her will, her relief welling.
“Well, I didn’t like this edict of yours. That’s true.”

He shook his head, his face darkening. “I wish that
night had never happened!”

“Me too.” She smiled and reached for his hand. “But
it doesn’t matter. It is all in the past. And you are the hero of the Capital,
and they all worship you. The whole city, not only your warriors. My maid told
me what they said in the markets this morning.”

“A hero that spends his days in bed.”

“Extremely uncivilized!”

They laughed and proceeded with their meal.

“I’ll call the maid to bring us hot chocolate. And
some
octli
.”

“Tell them to bring the chocolate. But no
octli
.
I’ll never touch that drink again.”

 Later on, as they drifted between sleep and
reality, touching and loving and going to sleep again, the maid peeked in.
“Master, the messenger from the Palace is on his way.”

“Make the bath ready,” he ordered.

Sakuna cursed softly. “One day, one single day!” she
muttered into the blankets.

He gathered her into his arms. “I’ll be back before
darkness,” he promised, whispering into her hair.

He sprang onto the warm tiles of the floor, and she
watched him, so nicely built – wide-shouldered and muscular, with not even a
little fat burdening his flat stomach, his calves those of a man used to walk
great distances. A few more days in bed and it might have changed, she thought,
chuckling.

“Make sure you let them know that I am allowed to go
wherever I please. They all, including your children, take what you say way too
seriously.”

He winked. “I’ll think about it.” His eyes twinkled.
“You can use some time at home, resting and all.”

She straightened up. “I’m serious, Tecpatl. Tell
them!”

His smile widened. “Calm down. I already have.”

“What about Atolli?” she asked before he was gone.
“I trust his troubles are over?”

“For now they are.” He grinned crookedly. “But he’ll
get himself into another bunch of trouble soon enough. He is an interesting
boy, you know? I never knew him well, and I’m sorry about that.”

“Will he serve under you?”

“No. I want him to find his own way. He is not a man
to thrive under the shadow of his father.”

How perceptive he was, she thought, laying back and
closing her eyes. His Uncle and the Emperor’s dead brother had been correct.
Tecpatl was deeper than he cared to display, much deeper.

He would have made a great emperor, she thought
amusedly, drifting off to sleep.

Afterword

But Tecpatl’s Uncle was correct in more than his
judgment of his Nephew’s character.

While, through the late 14th century the Tepanec
Empire was expanding, gaining control over almost all of the Mexican Valley,
the Aztecs, tucked into their swampy unimportant island, did not remain idle.
They dried and expanded their piece of unwanted land, enlarging it as the city
of Tenochtitlan grew, developing advanced agricultural systems to feed the
growing population.

A causeway was built to connect the city to the
mainland, and the ten-mile-long embankment, to keep off the brackish waters of
the Great Texcoco Lake, was planned, along with two large aqueducts to provide
the city with a constant supply of fresh water. They acted humbly, just another
tributary of the mighty Azcapotzalco, but were they content with their
position?

We know the answer to that.  The Spanish
conquistadors, arriving about a century and a half later, did not meet the
mighty Tepanecs. The lands they had found were ruled by the Aztec’s empire and
the Aztec’s Empire alone. So what had happened?

More answers are in the second book of the Pre-Aztec
Trilogy, “The Jaguar Warrior”.

###

“The Young Jaguar”
is the first book in the
Pre-Aztec
Trilogy:

At Road’s End (prequel)

The Young Jaguar

The Jaguar Warrior

The Warrior’s Way

More on the later history of the region, and on
certain characters appearing in these books, can be read in “
The Rise of the
Aztecs
” Series:

The
Highlander

Crossing
Worlds

The Emperor’s
Second Wife

Currents of
War

The Fall of
the Empire

The Sword

The Triple
Alliance