by Coral Walker
When Jack’s eyes fell on the kneeling figure on the floor, he froze to a standstill. Almost at the same time, Bo and Brianna broke into a run.
“Dad!” With a shrill yell, Bo threw himself at the kneeling man, who, with hands bound in chains, threw his hands over Bo’s head and embraced him tightly against his chest.
Brianna, close behind Bo, burst into a sob before she fell to her knees next to the chained man.
A hand from behind shoved him. Reluctantly Jack took a few steps forward until the chained man was before him. Breathing hoarsely, he gazed blankly as the man’s head, sandwiched between Bo’s and Brianna’s shoulders, turned.
“J ... Jack,” the man called, gazing up at him.
Hastily, Jack sniffed, suppressing the tears that sprang to his eyes.
“J ... Jack,” the man called again.
The tears started streaming down. He struggled, and his lips quivered.
There came a voice behind them. “How touching, father and sons, father and daughter. Marcus, my brother, you are a lucky man.”
Dad, looking pale and tired, raised his head and trembled as his eyes fell on his brother, the new king, who had left his seat and was now strolling around them.
“Let ... let them go ... Mapolos,” he said, in an unfamiliar tone, low and shivering. “You can ... can do ... whatever you ... you like to me.”
A smile flashed across the King’s face. The King leaned over to Dad’s ear, and, in a mocking tone, whispered, “Are you begging me for mercy, brother? Then say it clear, and say it loud.”
Then he straightened up and barked to his men, “Take them, show them to the people.”
Hands on his shoulders and arms, Jack found himself pushed and dragged forward, towards the edge of the rostrum. He heard Bo’s scream and turned quickly to look. The man’s grip on his arms tightened.
Bo was kicking and crying as he was being dragged away from Dad. Much to everyone’s surprise, Brianna, in her simple grey top and leggings, leapt like a tigress and threw herself on the unfortunate man who was grasping Bo.
Jack chuckled as he saw how shocked the man was and how he let Brianna wrest Bo from him.
The crowd was watching and responded with peals of laughter. The man, rather large compared with Brianna’s slender form, was purple in the face and started rolling up his sleeves. For a moment, Jack thought he was going to hit back, but the King’s hard stare apparently stopped him. With a sulking face, he trudged behind Brianna and Bo, as they marched to where Jack was standing.
Slightly reassured, and with a touch of tenderness, Jack welcomed them with a glance. Brianna’s shoulder rubbed against his. She looked straight ahead, breathing shallowly and rapidly, and the trails left by her tears were still fresh on her white cheeks.
Bo was gazing up at him with half his face buried in Brianna’s hand.
He squeezed out a smile. The simple sight of Bo, of his round, tear-furrowed face, that was supposed to be filled with smiles and laughter, made his heart ache.
Before long, Dad was taken to stand with them in a row next to Bo. With his back bent, he was shivering visibly. The young, confident prince he had seen in Cici’s house was like yesterday’s dream.
“Are you all right, Dad?” Brianna whispered in a hushed tone.
“I ... am ... fine. Just ... a ... little cold.” answered Dad through chattering teeth.
“J ... Jack,” he called.
Jack tilted his head slightly.
“The ring ... you ... slipped the ring ... into my pocket,” his pale face widened into a smile. “It ... gave me ... my memory back ... the ... the best thing.”
Quietly, Jack smiled.
+++
Without barriers, the rostrum plummeted straight down in front of their feet to a deep oval-shaped pit. With its shining metallic walls and floor, the pit looked strangely out of place. Surrounding it, spectators, thousands of them, filled up every terrace. Erected on opposite sides of the pit were two great towers, guarded by sharp-eyed soldiers. Two bridges arched out from the great rostrum he was standing on, like long arms, connecting it to both its guardian towers.
In the space above the pit, there were wires and cables running across, connecting the top of one tower to the other. It struck Jack that they were for some sort of cable car and the thought intrigued him. Why on earth would they need a cable car here? Then he caught sight of the top part of a cage, parked behind a strong barrier, in a recess in one of the towers. A thick rope connected it to the cable above, confirming that it was a cable car.
Bells chimed, demanding the attention of the crowd. When the last chime died away, silence fell.
“My good people,” King Mapolos boomed, standing on a podium of gold and blue with his arms spread wide, “I’m a broken man today because I’m here to bring my own brother to justice. It’s the last thing I would ever have wanted to do, but, as your new king, it’s the first task that I’m obliged to undertake.”
With a sad face, he continued, “Now I want you to have a good look at her — this sinful woman, who blinded and poisoned the mind of my brother, Prince Marcus, and made him her slave, making him do the deed he would never have otherwise done — to betray his kingdom.”
A few loud clicks and clanks came from the direction of the tower with the cable car, and the barrier suddenly opened to reveal the cage behind. Inside stood a red-skinned young woman.
At once Bo cried, “Mum!”
Brianna’s shoulder against Jack’s trembled at the cry. Feeling sick to his stomach, Jack stole a glance at Dad and wondered at how still he stood, almost expressionless, except for his eyes, lowered and fixed in the direction of the cage.
Below them, a sensation of disgust swept across the crowd.
“My people,” cried the new King, with both hands clenched into fists pressing against his chest. “I wish you knew how much anger and resentment I have towards this woman — Princess Zeleanda. Isn’t she the very woman who led the raids and brought slaughter to our villages? Doesn’t the very mention of her name bring nightmares to the children of our kingdom?”
There was a droning noise as the cage came to life. Pulled by the chains and the cable above, it trembled, rose slightly and started to slide across the space below. Mum wobbled in it when the cage was lifted but regained her balance just as quickly, with her legs planted firmly apart. There was a stubborn, remote look to her, as if she were in a world of her own.
It wasn’t until the cage had moved almost half way that Mum’s eyes fell upon them. It lingered on each one of them, first Dad, then Bo, and then Brianna. Before her gaze fell on him, Jack grew nervous all of a sudden and stood blankly, not sure how to greet the glance that he had missed for so long. Brianna elbowed him and flashed him a shallow smile. He imitated her immediately and broke into a thin smile. He would have liked to see how Mum responded, but his eyes, too foggy for the moment to see anything, missed it. When they were clear enough to see again, Mum’s eyes had long passed him and gone back to Bo.
Bo was sobbing.
A ripple of anguish ran across Mum’s face, and the stubbornness crumbled away. She stepped forward and grasped the metal bars with her bound hands. For a moment, her face was etched with despair.
“That was a good display,” King Mapolos’ booming voice resounded in the air, laughing. “See how desperate she was when she saw them — her family. Even if I could forgive her for staining her hands with blood, our blood, I could never forgive her for trapping my brother through her evil seductions. My heart bleeds to even think of it. Believe me, with my bare hands, I could tear her throat open to see what she is made of.”
With her head held high, Mum raised her gaze and looked straight into the face of the King.
The King’s triumphant voice was again in the air, “She is in our hands. It is up to us to decide her fate.”
The crowd roared.
“Kill her!”
“Burn her to death!”
“Feed her to the bokwas.�
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But the king’s thunderous voice came upon them.
“For her, death is too lenient!”
The crowd seemed to be puzzled, and in a moment, silence returned.
“Behind every great king, there is the wisdom of his counsel,” the King’s voice was soft but firm. He turned to glance at each of his six counsellors, who stood next to the throne, and his eyes fell upon Lord Sugalur. “Lord Sugalur, the young and wise one, I pray you tell us what the law decrees if a Baran marries a Rionean.”
Lord Sugalur stepped forward, took a bow and spoke, clearly and briefly. “Death, your Majesty, for both of them.”
“What if they have children?” the King enquired.
Lord Sugalur’s lips trembled slightly, and his gaze grew evasive.
“Answer me, Lord Sugalur, I pray,” the King pressed in a raised tone.
With a small cough to settle his nerves, the young counsellor spoke again, “Death for the couple, your Majesty, but for the children ...” he hesitated and then bowed his head, “it’s not clear, for in all the records in our almanac, a child of a Baran and a Rionean has never survived outside its mother’s womb.”
“That’s because the gods have played a hand in the judgement,” Lord Shusha interjected, stepping forward. “Any intimacy between a Baran and a Rionean is an unforgivable sin. If any child were to survive it should be killed to please the mighty gods.”
“Thank you, my dear Lord Shusha, for making that clear. There is a separate rule for royal offenders. Tell my people what it is.”
“Indeed, your Majesty.” Turning to the crowd, Lord Shusha spoke with his hands pressed against his chest. “My good people, Prince Marcus is the son of a king, and so the law is more lenient with him and permits him a chance — if, with his own hands, Prince Marcus puts Princess Zeleanda to death then he shall be forgiven.”
The crowd reacted with a mixture of responses — cheers, sighs, grumbles ... but most of all, an excited murmur dominated as if the people were excited by the prospect and the rich drama behind it.
“Thank you, my Lord. It’s all very clear now,” the King nodded his approval before clasping his hands and booming out an order to his guards, “Bring the Princess and have the stage prepared.”
A few guards scurried away via the side stairs.
Walking down from the podium, the King strolled over to the four captives. With a playful glee lighting his face, he stopped by Dad. Tilting his head, he whispered, “My brother, at least the Queen will know I have tried hard to save you.”
A heavy, rigid frame with cuffs and chains was brought in by six workmen and with a few quick movements was secured to the ground. Soon after that, Mum appeared, escorted by four armed soldiers and two feather-capped guards. They took her straight to the frame and locked her onto it with her arms spread apart.
“Unbind Prince Marcus and bring him to the Princess,” the King ordered.
The guards behind busied themselves with the shackles on Dad’s hands, and, in a short time, he was unbound. Slightly unsteady on his feet, Dad let himself be marched towards Mum, not for an instant, diverting his glance to meet theirs.
+++
Wiggling his head under Brianna’s hand, Bo looked up, first at Brianna and then Jack. “Is Daddy going to kill Mummy?” With that, his face pulled downwards.
Wearily Brianna shook her head and turned to Jack.
Aware of their gazes, Jack blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “No ... he won’t ... he loves her.”
Bo’s gaze lingered on his face a little longer as if he were studying him. When he dropped his gaze and turned to look in Dad’s direction, his lips pressed tightly together, and his small hands curled into fists. He looked, momentarily, older.
“Dad loves Mum.”
Jack heard the whisper, which sounded like a murmur of the air, without knowing its source. Perhaps Brianna had whispered it, he thought and glanced at the soft contour of her face.
Turning away from them, Dad stopped right in front of Mum. For a moment that seemed like an eternity, he stood there, motionless, while Mum looked down at him with a gaze that was both tender and sad.
A feather-capped guard brought an ornate sheathed sword and presented it to Dad. With a mechanical gesture, Dad grasped it with his hands, and instantly his body swayed as if the weight of the sword was too much for him. But soon he regained his composure. Bracing himself with his legs splayed, he drew the sword out of its sheath. With steady hands, he lifted the sword and pointed it at Mum’s throat.
The blade of the sword glimmered coldly.
Jack held his breath.
Mum smiled, not just to Dad, but to them all — the kind of smile you saw on a winter morning when you had dragged yourself out of the warmth of your bed for the sake of school.
Dad’s shoulder seemed to twitch; Jack lowered his gaze.
He heard a swishing sound, followed by a howl of anguish that was apparently from a man. Startled, he looked up in time to catch the two feather-capped men: one was howling with his good hand pressed against the bleeding one; the other was jumping like a mad frog as Dad’s sword whizzed towards his legs. The blade of the sword caught one, hit it hard and sent the man flying backwards onto the floor.
Chaos broke out — shouts, screams, the clanging of weapons and running footsteps. In a while, squads of armed soldiers gathered into tight circles, surrounding Mum and Dad.
Dad stood gallantly in front of Mum like her champion. With a magnificent swing of the sword, he took the troops by surprise and forced them back a step or two. Seeming amused, Dad smiled triumphantly. Without warning, he bent down and hurled the sword across the floor. It went straight towards the feet of the soldiers. Unprepared, the phalanx of soldiers broke into disarray — some leaping into the air; some scurrying away; some tumbling over and onto their hands and knees.
When the sword stopped after a good few clanks, the soldiers regrouped. Now all eyes turned back to Dad — the cause of all the mayhem.
Dad, his hands enfolded in Mum’s dark hair, was kissing her.
The moment was hilarious. Jack would always clearly remember later that specific moment and that specific kiss. How easily one’s mind could be deceived, forgetting the dire dangers ahead, and be dazzled by the pure delight of one peculiar thing.
He heard Brianna’s exclamation, “Look, Bo, Dad’s kissing Mum,” and then the small sound of Bo gasping with delight.
The kiss was short-lived. Dad was quickly pulled away as soon as the soldiers regained their footing, along with their sense of soldierly duty. Two strong men twisted Dad’s arms behind him, and he put up no resistance. The smile that had formed on his face when he kissed Mum stayed.
“I love Princess Zelda. We’ve been husband and wife, and we’ll stay that way until we die,” he declared, looking defiantly at the King, who stepped forward to confront him.
All of a sudden, Dad wrenched round in the hands of the guards and turned to the people below. “People, Rioneans are just the same as us,” he boomed in a loud voice. “We are not natural enemies, and we can love each other. It’s not the gods who forbid our love, but ourselves. The death of a crossbred child is not because of the gods’ anger, but something else. Perhaps because of the air, which was somehow changed by the appearance of the blue moon. If we can change that, such children can survive. Bo, the son of Princess Zelda and me, is the proof of it.”
“Stop him! Take him away, and put him in the pit with his son Jack!” the King barked out his order, his face turning deep purple.
Immediately, Jack’s bound hands were grabbed, and he was hurled backwards. Before he could return the anxious looks of Brianna and Bo, he was dragged away from them. A heavy hand shoved him from behind, sending him tumbling forward. He crashed onto Dad, who steadied him with his shoulder.
King Mapolos was standing in front of Dad. After a brief, cold glance to acknowledge Jack’s appearance, the King returned his gaze to Dad. His eyes narrowed into slits, a
nd his face creased into a triumphant smirk. The King leaned forward to whisper in Dad’s ear.
“I’ve been visiting her in her dungeon, my brother. She is such a creature, hot-blooded, irresistible. I granted you the chance to end her life not just for your sake, but also for mine. You refused it.”
He paused briefly to give a quiet chuckle before continuing. “You refused it — what a wise thing you’ve done, my brother — you have left her for me. I will take care of her, I promise — she will, no doubt, suffer a lot in learning submission and obedience. And you, my brother, will regret every moment you left her to live!”
The shoulder that Jack was leaning against trembled.
18
Bokwa Hole
Noiselessly the door slid back, merging with its surrounding wall so seamlessly that when it was fully closed, no trace of it was left. Following an elliptical path, a wall extended from behind and enclosed the pit like a fortification.
Immediately he caught sight of the lone figure of Dad, standing in the centre of the pit.
“Dad!” Giving a cry, Jack rushed towards him.
As he drew near he could see that Dad, rather than being pleased to see him, looked nervous and tense. There were metallic sounds overhead from the top of the tower where the cable cage was parked, and Dad was glancing up at it.
Jack stopped, following Dad’s glance, and looked up.
With a dull clunk, the cage lifted up and slowly moved out of its parking slot. Two figures, one small and one slender, were kneeling down on the cage floor, locked in each other’s embrace. The dangling cage wobbled slightly in the air, and Jack’s heart lurched.
Brianna and Bo!
Head raised and eyes fixed on the cage, Jack teetered the last few steps, and as soon as he was by Dad’s side, he panted and gasped, “What are they doing with Brianna and Bo?”
With his gaze glued on the cage, Dad shook his head. “I don’t know, Jack, but I have a bad feeling.”
The cage was slowly gliding towards them, and soon it was overhead. Held tight in Brianna’s embrace, Bo tilted his head that was resting on Brianna’s shoulder. Instantly he caught sight of Jack and Dad below. A sparkle lit up his fearful eyes, and he jerked his body up. The sudden movement startled Brianna. Together, they crouched down on their knees and elbows and stared.
