by S E Turner
Keao choked back a hard swallow and touching her light with his own, declared his love. 'The gods looked down on me the day that my mother and father brought me here because you were here waiting for me. On that first day we met, I was captivated by your beauty and mesmerised by your compassion. As soon as Buttercup gave that final nod, I knew that she had chosen us for each other.'
Red could be seen wiping away a tear as she recalled that very first day.
'I will always love you and take care of you, Red. You are my life, now and forever. My heart belongs to you, my love, and now my body belongs to you. On this day, I take you, Red, as my wife. I will love you for an eternity and I will honour you with my life. I will walk with you and guide you, and as we tread our paths and overcome life's challenges, I will always protect you. I am your guiding light'. He bowed his head and prayed for a moment.
After an appropriate pause to allow the bride to compose herself, Colom continued: 'And Red, if you could respond.'
She had rehearsed this a thousand times. In her head it was clear and concise and without interruption. But in front of so many people, it wasn't so easy. She had to steady her nerves. Colom sensed the affliction, so he closed his eyes and breathed slowly and deeply, encouraging Red to do the same. The air of contentment was like a spell; she inhaled the aura and that made her relax in an instant. As she calmed down, she was able to continue with confidence.
'My dearest Keao, I knew you were special on the first day I met you. I felt your empathy with the animals and your love of nature, and I knew that you were different from other men. Today I feel complete. You make me feel safe in a hostile kingdom. You make me feel loved in the family we call Clan. Today I am honoured. Tonight, I will lay beside you, and in the morning I will wake up with you. I am proud to be your wife. I will bear you many children, my love, and every day I will tell you how much I love you and tell you how happy you make me. I will love you for the rest of my life on earth and anything beyond this mortal kingdom. Keao, I will honour you with my life and my word and serve you as I walk every path alongside you. I am your guiding light.' She, too, then summoned her totems and gave thanks to them for this special day.
'Thank you, Red and Keao,' said Colom solemnly. 'Those beautiful words will resonate with your people and have been declared in front of the gods. Now, it is time for your totems to become as one.'
A knife nestled on an arm of the oak, which Colom held up to the spirits. 'With this blade and with your blessings, I seek to join these two people through their blood and let their totems mix and become as one. This will strengthen their bond, unite their bloodline, and any children born unto them will inherit the strength of both guides.'
The edge was cleaned again on his robes and he took Keao's hand first. Turning it palm side up he made a quick incision along the pad of his left thumb. The blood ran freely so Keao held his hand up to minimise the flow. Then Colom took Red's hand and made the same incision on her left thumb. 'Now, press your thumbs together and let the blood flow freely round your souls.'
Keao and Red stood there, joined together, under the watchful gaze of the high priest and the congregation witnessing the marriage.
Colom put the blade back on the branch and spoke softly. 'Let nothing part these two souls. Let no man or woman come between them. Let the enemy weaken in their presence. When danger is near, the other will know. When sadness is around, the other will feel it. Their totems have become as one, their souls are now a single entity. This is the word of the gods.' He held up his arms to the sky and waited. After a few minutes of silence, Colom spoke again; 'Please, who has the rings.'
'I do,' said Dainn, looking visibly moved. He carefully took the obsidian stones and placed them on the blade. He then retrieved the rings and gave them to Colom who continued with the service.
'These rings are a symbol of your love. There is no beginning or end, love is everlasting and bound in these solid circles for ever. Keao, will you please place this ring on Red's finger.'
The captive audience held their breath as Keao held it to his heart and fulfilled his part of the pageant.
'And Red, could you place this ring on Keao's finger.'
She kissed the symbol and secured it.
Colom placed Red's hands inside Keao's. 'And, now, please declare the covenant of marriage.' He held their hands together as they proclaimed the vow as one.
'By the Hill Fort Tribe, we pledge our love.
We swear by the soil and water and all that surrounds us.
We swear by the Owl and the Fox that protect us.
We swear by the gods and the spirits who look down on us.
We swear by all those who are present. This is our word.'
Colom bowed. 'I now offer you to tie your ribbons on the Blessing Tree. A small gesture for a life of plenty. For this mighty oak is born from the tiny acorn, which, as a seed, is full of nature, knowledge and truth. Our Blessing Tree is an indication of the power of nature at an unseen level, for its very roots and life-giving tendrils are as vast as the tree that we see above. We might start as the acorn, but we grow and age like the mighty oak as we advance through our own lives. Keao and Red, as you grow with knowledge and spread your wings, be sure to take care of that which is unseen, for that is the true meaning of life.'
The two newlyweds approached the tree and Red took a crimson ribbon from her hair and tied it on a branch. Then Keao removed the smaller white sash from his waist and wrapped his ribbon next to hers. They then prayed to the spirits before Colom swore the concluding rites.
'In the presence of the gods and spirits and animal totems, and with these people here present, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go and enjoy the day with your friends, enjoy the occasion with your loved ones, and enjoy your lives as a married couple.'
After Colom's final words, the newlyweds turned to walk up the aisle to their new life together. Before them went Ajeya and Dainn who brushed the aisle clean with fresh branches from newly felled trees and sprinkled new rose buds and recently opened petals to pave the way for a clear life that is blessed with good health and many children. The path led to the celebration enclosure where the musicians were playing and a wedding banquet waited.
Keao took Red's hand. 'Red, before we can share our wedding banquet with our guests, I have been practising something that I would like us to perform together alongside our friends.'
He nodded to a musician who started to beat rhythmically on the drum. The flautist tuned in after a few minutes, and Keao adopted his opening stance. Red knew instantly what to do and affectionately followed his lead with a smile—she just wondered how Keao knew the dance. She held Keao's hand lightly in her own and her body tingled with excitement. She poised her body on her toes and nodding in time to the drumbeat, they both began to move. First of all, it was very slow as they dipped and turned, face in, face out, step in and step out. Turn around once, dip again and turn. Face in and face out, step in and step out. The constant drum beat kept them in time. The congregation began to clap in time to the rhythm, others clicked their fingers or tapped a foot.
Once the dancing started, Dainn noticed that the basic steps could be elaborated with a little imagination and an appropriate turn of footwork. He grabbed Ajeya and invited her to copy him, and as the music shifted to a different tempo, he shuffled and skipped his way around the dance floor while his steps were mirrored by his partner. Soon the flutes, drums and rattles were picked up by more musicians and Keao invited more people into the sequence. Hagen led Jena, Colom took Peira, and Gules escorted Flame.
The novices kept to the simpler choreography around the perimeter as Keao moved to the middle and stepped up the pace. The spring in their feet, the grace of their posture, the strength in their control was mesmerising as the dynamics of the routine suddenly burst into a vibrant frenzy of intricate moves and complicated steps. The emotion of the dance was absorbing when Keao scooped Red up and held her in mid-air. A curved back supported a long thrown back neck
and as he raised her up higher she reached out with her fingertips. The drumming stopped. The wooden pipes stopped. The people were silent. The supporting cast froze. Not a sound could be heard as he gently put her back down on her toes and let her spin around him, their index fingers touching all the time as if he were controlling the action. Everyone's eyes were on Red as she spiralled round and around. Then, with just a hair's breath separating them, the pipes whispered again and the drum beat like the ebb and flow of a wave. Red slowed, took Keao's face in her hands, and held his gaze as the music stopped. Their beating hearts and short panting breath filled the silence. The crowd went wild. It was a spectacular sight to behold.
The music and dancing never stopped that evening. As long as the music was being played and the wine was flowing, there was no shortage of people wishing to continue. Dainn and Ajeya stayed the course and their movements got more intricate and captivating as the tempo shifted.
'That lad of yours has certainly got dancing feet. Look at him go.'
Gules' recognition was beautiful music to Peira's ears. 'I know. I always knew he had it in him.'
Flame smiled graciously. 'And look at the affection between him and Ajeya. It is truly wonderful.'
Gules and Flame bowed out while Peira and Colom continued to watch their son spin and twist and shuffle with his beautiful partner. It was a magical moment for them to observe.
Hagen took Jena's hand and led her even further away out of ear shot. He found a patch of lush green grass, the blades silvered in the sunlight and the blooms of the buttercups and daisies moved about joyfully as if they had been mesmerised by the dance.
Today, the world was a joyous place, filled with the dawn of a beautiful spring day with its fresh new buds and rich azure skies. Neat little clouds puffed by quietly, only a light sprinkling from them would be required in the next few days. New stems rose from the ripened earth as honey bees threaded their way through the scatter of blooms strewn like jewels across the fields of the meadow below.
'Here, this looks a nice place,' he held her hand while she lowered herself to the ground. When they were settled, and he was sure that no one could hear them he spoke again. 'Are you happy here, Jena? Do you feel safe now?'
'I am truly happy and feel very safe. Being part of this community with you by my side has made that happen.' She touched his knee. 'This is such a wonderful place for Ajeya to grow up. I know that we are very lucky.' She looked at him and sensed there was something else he wanted to say, something that had probably been on his mind for some time, and she didn't have to wait long to be proved right.
'Jena, you are the most beautiful, mesmerising woman I have ever met. You have made me laugh, cry, question myself, but above all, you bring out the best in me. I have grown to love you where love has no boundaries. My love has no constraints. This love is limitless.'
She stroked his face and smiled.
He dipped his head and took her hand, kissing it gently then held it to his cheek. 'I watched with pride as Keao took Red for his wife, and I saw the love in their eyes and listened to the words as they pledged that love.'
'It was very beautiful,' she replied with a thoughtful thin smile.
'And it made me think of us and the only thing that is missing.'
She looked at him with wide eyes. 'I am too old to have another child.' her tone was one of shock.
He shook his head and laughed. 'No, my dear lady, not another child.'
'What then?' her voice rose in disbelief.
'To be married, Jena. I want you to be my wife.'
Tears came immediately to her eyes, her face flushed, and she felt her heart quicken.
He responded quickly to her emotions. 'What's the matter, have I said something wrong?'
She sighed and sniffed back her runny nose. 'No, Hagen, you have said nothing wrong. I love you with all my heart. Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife. It would be an honour and I would be so proud.'
'So, what's wrong?'
'I am still married, Hagen, albeit to a man that I have not seen for over four years, but nevertheless I am still married, and the gods will frown on me and punish me. And after what I have already been through, I cannot risk further punishment.'
'The gods won't punish you, my love. They know what you have endured, they are not there to punish. They are there to guide.'
She held his hands and looked into his eyes. 'When I know that the Emperor is dead, then I will marry you. Until then, I will serve you as any wife would. I promise you that.' She held him close and shut her eyes and prayed for someone strong to slay her ruthless husband.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A grey pallor dulled the burgeoning meadows as though a dripping nimbus had washed out all the colour. Even the sky was a non-descriptor shade of nothing, neither blue nor grey nor white. It was actually quite a dull day. A day for doing nothing, she thought. Because that was what the day was like, a nothing. But she was already up and contemplating what to do when a familiar voice called from outside.
'Ajeya, are you ready to go out for a ride?'
Suddenly her morning became full of colour and she rushed out excitedly. Dainn was standing there with her beautiful white horse and his dappled grey.
'See, Moonlight and Cloud are anxious to get out.' His smile lit up the day.
She ran up to the filly and wreathed her arms around her. Dainn had already tacked them up and helped her into the saddle as she patted the muscular neck.
'Thank you, Dainn. Come on I'll race you to the forest before mother finds something menial for me to do.'
She crouched down and looked straight between the filly's ears and thundered across the plain. She loved riding fast, it fulfilled every longing that she had. To be at one with a horse was the greatest feeling ever, and to ride alongside Dainn, her other great love, formed the other part of that perfection. She always kept her reflexes sharp when galloping and was constantly aware of her surroundings. One mistake could be fatal and her mount picked up on these transmitted thoughts. The signals between the young woman and the filly were subtle. It was as if her horse knew what she was thinking before she even thought it. The animal became an extension of her own body.
Behind her, Dainn kept up on his own colt, shouting wildly and excitedly, 'You go girl, I'm right behind you.'
The ground from here to the forest was grassland. Fallow fields and low rolling hills, high meadows and stretches of plain between them. It was safe, but she still had to have her wits about her. so as she rode, she sent out her signals and her horse responded.
With only a couple of years of learning under her belt, she galloped across the land as if she had been riding forever with the wind in her face and her hair flowing behind her like the waves of a tempestuous sea. She felt the enormous power of the filly beneath as her strides stretched out to full capacity. She could hear Moonlight panting with each motion and she could see her muscular neck reaching forward and lathering up with the exertion. They lurched across the summer plains, leaping hedgerows and ditches at this surging pace.
In the distance lay the forest; looming, monstrous, and imposing, and that's what she was heading for. She reined back to a canter when she reached the dense perimeter and laughed out loud from the exhilaration of the gallop. At her young age, it was quite an extraordinary feat to accomplish, so her feelings were mixed. If her mother knew she was riding that fast, she would have not been happy and probably tried to stop her. But where's the fun if you don't take a few risks, she had thought.
Dainn caught up and whooped alongside her as he too relished the excitement. They slowed down to a walk as they entered the eaves and intuitively took note of their surroundings. When her horse came to a halt Ajeya slid off her back. Moonlight billowed and snorted as she came to rest and Ajeya lifted the drooping muzzle with both hands and laid her cheek on the animal’s nose. Then she tucked the filly's head under her arm in a gesture of affection.
'Thank you,' she whispered. 'Thank yo
u, Moonlight.'
The horse tossed her head up and down as if to acknowledge the embrace and the appreciation.
The ride was a thrill she could hardly contain. The very idea of going along with a horse in full gallop filled her with a sense of wonder and unrivalled freedom. She had never dreamed such a thing was possible or that the feeling of power would be so intense. The euphoria lifted her spirits to a place way beyond the gloominess of the overhead clouds.
'Shall we rest here a while?' she called out to Dainn.
'I think that's a very good idea, I need to catch my breath and so does Cloud. You both stretched us, you know.'
The glen was a small oasis, an island surrounded by trees that stood to attention like a regiment protecting the silent pool. At any time of the year, it was quiet and glistening with ripples that danced on its surface—a place where dragonflies and water boatmen skipped round the edges. Today it was more serene than ever. Dainn had packed a small breakfast and while the horses rested, the two youngsters sat down to feast on freshly baked crumpets and a bag of oat biscuits.
'This has to be the most magical place on earth,' she said, pulling up her legs to her chin.
'I know,' he replied, throwing stones into the water. 'I have always liked it here, but it's even nicer with you as company.'
She smiled at him with affection. 'Have you ever seen the fairies?' she asked him in all innocence.
'No, I haven't, I didn't think they really existed,' he answered as best he could trying not to offend her.
'But they do.' She smiled at him tenderly. 'Keao told me they live in the woods.'
He sunk his chin into his neck in response. 'Really?'
'Yes, he said that deer are really fairies because they can disappear.'
'He furrowed his brow and stopped throwing stones. 'I don't think he means that literally Ajeya.'
'Oh, so what does he mean, then?' Her tone was one of surprise.
