My name is Themis and I am not supposed to be alive. I survived the hunt, saddled with a husband and still I have to waddle my way through so many things to remain alive at the end of the day. The one person I can count on other than myself is my new husband who saved my life from the get go. And my gift of prophecy. Maybe, just maybe, it is also enough to save the Dar Empire too. My name is Themis and this is my story.
View MoreThey are close, I could hear them. My heart slammed against my chest, beating like a war drum in preparation of war. I stumbled as I ran through the forest, stumbling but never falling because I knew deep within me, my feet knew that the moment they stop running, my life was over.
I knew I was dead long before my race started, I was the maiden selected from my tribe, for the maiden hunt, a gory event practiced by the Dariths, our lords and masters, the race that controls seven tribes for as long as time.
I was selected because I was the last of my family, my father died less than a fortnight ago. He died a disgrace, all because he could not stomach one of his people being given over to the Dariths for the maiden hunt, he stepped down and how was he repaid? His only daughter was sent as the maiden representing my tribe the very cycle he died.
A tortured scream rose from my left which served as motivation for me to run faster. That was the scream of a maiden as she is caught and being raped to death and if the warriors of Dar got tired of her before her death, she is taken to the other side of the forest where she is be being burnt alive along with the bodies of her fellow maidens that participated in the hunt.
If any maiden reached that field without being caught is granted clemency and a place to live among the Dariths, our salvation or demise happens in the same field, it just depends on how we reach there.
That is the hope of all of us, the maidens. To achieve the impossible goal. Impossible because for more than 400 years, a maiden has never outrun the warriors of Dar. The closest they let us get to, was the middle of the forest before they start picking us one by one like flies.
I heard the heavy breathing of a man behind me and I released a sharp scream but unlike the rest, I am not screaming out of fear. I have accepted my fate, it had been sealed for some time now, and my scream was one of warning. Warning any maiden close to me to get far away as possible since a group of warriors will soon join the one behind me to enjoy the spoils of the hunt and I was the spoils.
I used the last of my energy to run and when I focused in front of me, I saw the clearing … I am almost at my freedom when my legs got entangled and I fell. The warrior landed on top of me like he had to jump to catch me and my breathing halted.
The real torture is about to begin. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the tearing of my clothing and the mauling to begin, when the warrior placed his hand underneath my clothing and shove a finger in me, my eyes flew open as I tried to buckle the warrior off me but I was pinned down by his heavyweight on top of me, I wasn’t as ready to give up as I originally thought I was. I yanked as hard as I could on the warrior’s head only for him to chuckle at my efforts.
“A virgin.” He muttered. He hauled me up and hung me from his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he walked briskly to the clearing, I struggled as much as I could but it didn’t make any difference.
I was going to be burnt without being ravaged, a virgin sacrifice, maybe they will task my village to be providing only virgins for the hunt. The Idroms were tasked to provide their weakest female fighters for the hunt and nobody knows why. I refused to be the reason why untouched girls from my tribe suffer.
As soon as we reached the clearing, he dropped me to the ground where I stared wide-eyed at him, he was bigger than every other man I have seen.
“Orel, what is the meaning of this?” an old man in dirty robes asks as gasps rented the air when they realized that I was not dead or raped.
“My bride.” My captor replied tautly.
“Don’t be ridiculous Orel, you cannot choose a Maiden Of The Hunt as your bride.” A woman dressed fancily replies, her manner of clothing meant she was of noble birth.
“My lady, he can.” The dirty dressed man said as the field went silent, so silent you could hear the screams of the maidens coming from the forest. “The warriors of the hunt can choose a bride from the hunt only when he is satisfied with everything that she is. Are you Orel, son of Bryman satisfied with the maiden before you?”
“I am.” Orel, my captor replied.
*Satisfied with me?* My mind rebelled against that thought, *Who does he think he is to be satisfied with me?*
“There is nothing she has to offer you, how can you be satisfied with her? You must be jesting.” The noblewoman shrieked in anger.
Orel spared her a look then turned back to me and speared me with the full force of his gaze, dismissing her as unimportant of his gaze. “If I was not satisfied, I would not have chosen her.”
I stared into his eyes completely absorbed, he said those words again but I was not feeling the anger that should accompany them. When he said them, it made me feel giddy inside which is strange because I am not sure that I even want his attentions on me.
“How can he do this? He is trying to get out of the marriage, can you not see? He cannot tell she is his by one glance.” She shrieked again, jerking my mind back to the present. This was a very wrong place to be lost in my thoughts.
“Actually, he can.” The dirty man said again as the murmuring swells.
The old man raised his voice high above the dim of the crowd and continued “Many things are expected of the warlord, great things. It has been 500 years since a warlord picked a bride from the hunt. Terrible but great things happened. Today, another maiden was picked. Let us hope that the fates are with them. I bless your union.”
“I bless your union.” People repeated in the crowd, some hesitant, others confused, I was even more confused than them. Does this mean that I am now married?
“You can leave with your bride.” The dirty man said as Orel gave a quick jerk of his chin and picked me up, my stomach landing on his shoulder as he walked off with me hanging off him, I wanted to badly hit him or scream at him but my self-preservation kicked in.
This man had just saved me. I only know of one way which a maiden gets to leave this hunt unscathed and this was another way and nobody was telling him he is wrong to save me. I do not want to offend him to change his mind about saving my life.
I raised my head as best as I could, only for me to see the noblewoman glaring at me in hatred and other warriors as they pile maidens on the pyre in the clearing, some of these maidens begging and crying, I hid my face in Orel’s cloth as the old man took a torch and set the pyre on fire as the people started chanting.
I shook as I heard the screams as the distance between me and the pyre grew larger with every stride that Orel took. I just narrowly escape death clutches but I am still in harm’s way and saddled with a husband it seems.
A deep feeling of dread engulfed me. Something told me that this is just the beginning.
“You have a pretty amazing life here.” Themis said as her eyes take everything around her while holding her babe close to her chest, I wondered what she saw and did not see, my sight and hers were different now. I saw the wonders and the mundane and none shocked me anymore.“You think.” I snorted as I rose from my throne seat which was slightly smaller than that of my husband, it was very comfy and a guilty pleasure of mine. Whenever I am on it, I don’t feel the insecurity that is crashing around me. “Enough talking, I haven’t seen my godson in a while, hand him over.”“And look, there she goes threatening me for my own son.” Themis jokes as I wrapped my arms around Themis in a hug. “I have missed you.” Themis confessed.“I knew it, I knew that you would miss the way I heap insults on you.” I teased with a laugh as I untangled myself and held Themis so
It’s been two weeks since I killed the king of Erisea, two weeks of Orel taking control of the empire and putting Dariths in top positions, now it is time to go home… it would not be long before I would welcome my son into the world, I want to do that in the capital even with Estrid there, it was still the second place I know as home and more convenient than the warrior plains of Dar where Orel mainly spend his time, it was also close to winter.According to Orel, we will spend winter in the capital as the wild fields of Dar was not the best place to raise a new born child. This he told me when he started to talk to me again, after shaking me so hard that my teeth clattered together and then refusing to talk to me. He and Gwenn spent many last night together sharing each other pain and grief. I hoped that it made them feel better but I wasn’t too sure if anybody would ever feel better after losing their friend who was a part of their soul.
Gwenn PovMy head felt like burst from the knowledge that was flashing through my head, the closer I got to the camp, my people were in. Hundreds and thousands of things, I never knew existed not to talk of need to learn ran through my mind and sank in my brain, most of them were powerful words… not spells. My brain provided me with the right word to use.“Are you okay mistress?” Sorens asked in worry behind me.I wanted to laugh, how do you define okay anymore? My life had stopped being okay a while ago when I was wedded into Northshore. My best friend died for me, my husband was probably on top of another lady at this moment, I just learnt that my new people were not demons but something close to, I had a war to fight and I could not even be left alone to mourn. I didn’t bother to try and answer Sorens question because it was clear that I was not okay. I got to the camp to meet the rest of the le
Gwenn PovThe camp was quiet, everybody was feeling the loss… not as much as the three of us. Themis, Orel and me. For a day now, we have done nothing but remain within Elison space, sitting among his things, not talking or moving around much. We didn’t care if we were in public or neither did we try to pretend to be strong for our warriors.“He always so patient with me, he taught me my first sword trick.” I said softly, the first one of us to break the silence, Orel turned to look at me with eyes that looked as if the soul have been sucked out of them.He was the first person to ever beat me in a bawl then he suggested that we should join the army together.” Orel added.“I cannot believe he is gone.” I voiced as I rubbed my palms on my shoulders like I was cold but I knew it wasn’t the cold, I was feeling the piercing loss of our friend and brother and I also knew that I would not accept comf
ELISON POVMistress of the whip, Gwenn is called, I am called something more practical, something which might not be related to torture techniques or brilliant fighting skills just like Gwenn and Orel dubbed titles but it was still important, it was still enough to be seen as special. The master huntsman is my title. Nothing can out run me, nothing can escape my clutches once I start my hunt.And now, this hunt has started, to save my sister life, a race against time… I pray to the gods, please don’t let anything happen to her, I am on my way…I am coming to take the death that is rightfully mine.********************************************DYANE POVHe left, even with knowledge that he would die, all to save those he considered as family, all to save his honorary sister. I might have just seen Elison alive for the last time. I quickly send a prayer to the gods, please prote
Orel PovEven with my mind on Themis, I didn’t have enough spare time to hunt her down until it was evening. When I found her, she was with Gwenn and Elison and from the looks of it, was solely distraught and begging Elison to agree to something, Elison, I noted was also looking pale and a little too taunt for my liking.“What’s going on here?” I asks as soon as I got close enough to hold my wife so she would not jump in shock as I approached them from the direction her back was turned to.“Apparently, I might leave you all soon.” Elison said with a wry grin on his lips but his eyes were hunted.“Don’t be silly, you are not going anywhere even if we have to tie you to keep you safe, I am sure that we can avert this.” Gwenn said in a brash tone as if she was taking on an unwilling candidate that would beat her and know this fact yet she is still charging into the battle with a war cry and weapon in her hands, w
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