Fantasyland 02 The Golden Dynasty (36 page)

“You know how he treats her,” I
whispered.

“I do.”

“She had no other choice,” I explained.

Lahn nodded. “She didn’t,” he agreed. “And
now, neither do I.”

“But you’re king,” I said quietly.

He took a step toward me and I used my hands
to scoot back on the bed. His eyes dropped to my body, he stopped
then they came to mine.

“I am king,” he said quietly. “And in one
week, I face the challenge of Dortak’s blade. But today, I face the
responsibility of releasing his wife from the prison he has made of
their cham. Dortak will fall. She had to wait one week for release.
She decided not to wait that week. She is Korwahk. She knew exactly
what she was doing when she took steel to him. She knew if he
didn’t end her life, I would. She was asking for this judgment,
Circe. She is asking for this release. She knows, I know and you,
my tigress, know that her treatment at his hands has broken her
spirit. It is dead inside her. It is gone to another realm. She
wishes to rejoin it. And you will sit on your throne beside me as I
cast this judgment and the sentence is carried out. You will be
there as my queen, as is your duty to me and your people. But you
will also be there for her. It is your eyes she wishes to see
before she moves to the next realm. It is your spirit so close to
the surface that will guide her.” I had my eyes glued to him and I
was panting as he finished in a gentle voice, “This is my judgment,
my golden doe. Prepare yourself for your throne.”

Then he instantly turned and strode out of
the tent, all the warriors following him.

I stared at the cham flaps for long moments
after they were gone and even after my girls came bustling in.

Then my eyes slid slowly to Diandra.

“Did he just say I was attending that
woman’s execution?” I whispered but she was close to the bed,
reaching out to me, her manner hurried.

“He did, my dear, and we must not delay. For
the sake of that poor girl, we need to end her suffering quickly.
Therefore, we need to get you prepared.” She grabbed my hand,
tugged me to my knees and automatically I crawled out of bed.

And then, without a word, stuck in a haze of
horror, I allowed my girls and Diandra to prepare me to take my
throne and witness an execution.

*
Translation:
“It is the Eunuch.”

**
Translation:
“Me and my king… [to Eunuch] My Lahn is busy but we are,
um, coping well, uh, we are well. Happy.”

***
Translation:
“Farewell [until later], Tunakan.” [
Tunakan:
Warrior of Suh Tunak or the Korwahk
Horde]

The Execution

Korwahk Queens had execution apparel.

I learned this when my clothes were taken
off and new ones put on. A large, square piece of black silk,
folded and tied around my breasts, the end dangling down and coming
to a point at my navel from which two gold disks were stitched and
hung down, one to each point, two more hitting me, cold and heavy,
from the tie at my back. A black sarong shot with gold. A black
belt made of woven leather with gold chains braided through. A gold
choker made of links that covered my neck from base to chin. My
gold bands were pushed up to my biceps, long, wide gold loops fixed
to my earlobes. Black leather sandals were tied to my feet.

My makeup of the day was gently but swiftly
washed off and black kohl went around my eyes, charcoal gray eye
shadow, the dusting of gold powder along my cheekbones and temples
and deep berry lip tint was painted on my lips.

My hair was left as it was, hanging long in
twists and curls but the pins and clips adorning it for the day
were removed and Teetru slid her fingers through, shaking it and
ratting it out a bit so it even felt big.

The golden band of feathers was laced
through my hair and tied around my head.

The minute Diandra walked us through the
tent flaps, I saw the warriors. Not one, two or four… but ten. As
Diandra guided me toward the sea of chams, they fell in, four in
front, one on either side, four in the rear.

The Daxshee was eerily silent and as we
walked we saw not a single soul. Night had fallen and torchlight
lit the vast space. I could see the open space on the rise nearly
to the opposite end of the Daxshee was blazing with fire and even
from a distance, I saw people gathering there and this was because
there were a lot of them.

And I knew that was where we were going.

The air was wrong, as it had been when I
woke up to it that morning and all day but now it was worse. It
pressed in. It felt thick.

I couldn’t breathe.

“The Dax was tolerant, my dear,” Diandra
whispered to me as we walked. She had, as usual, curved my hand
around the inside of her elbow, pulled me close and held her other
hand over mine. “It is a blessing,” she went on. “He does not
punish you or his warriors, he took his time to explain his
judgment to you; he did this gently, beautiful Circe. I am
astounded. It is a blessing.”

I kept my eyes straight ahead as I whispered
back, “I adore you, my sweet friend, but right now, I need to
prepare myself for what’s going to happen so can I ask that you
please be quiet?”

She removed my hand from her arm but slid
hers along my waist and pulled me even closer as she murmured, “Of
course, my love.”

I slid my arm around her waist and we walked
through the silent, vacant Daxshee. It was a long walk but not long
enough for me to prepare myself to witness the execution of a woman
whose only crime was to be beautiful enough to capture the
attention of a Korwahk scout.

Finally, in front of us, through the warrior
guards I saw a wall of people, shoulder to shoulder. They saw us
and parted slowly so we could pass. When we did, I held onto
Diandra tighter, looked straight ahead and avoided all eyes. They
thought I’d done wrong, many of them probably thought I should be
punished, but that wasn’t why I avoided their eyes. I didn’t think
I had it in me to face this and I needed to hold together what I
had so I didn’t lose it, not now, not this early. Whatever brought
me here, I was their queen. I needed to act like one.

Then we walked into a clearing lit
relatively brightly with torches all around and firepits burning on
the rise and my eyes immediately went to what was in it.

Dortak, standing, feet planted wide, arms
crossed on his chest, bandage around his shoulder, back to us but
his neck was twisted so he could watch us arrive.

I barely took him in before my eyes dropped
to the stone to see his bride at his feet. She was on her knees,
bent fully forward, forehead to her hands which were resting on the
stone.

From what I could see, she was wearing a
stark white gauze sarong.

My eyes went to the rise where I could see
Lahn standing on a platform with our thrones side by side, firepits
next to it, torches surrounding it.

He was painted.

I felt something at my side, looked there
and saw Seerim was next to Diandra. He had his hand on her but
suddenly looked to the rise and I followed his eyes to see Lahn
shake his head once. I looked back to Seerim who was nodding. He
dropped his hand to take his wife’s and even in the torchlit night
I saw the firm squeeze before he moved away and disappeared.

I was to have my friend.

Thank God.

My friend was to have a front row seat at an
execution.

She walked tall and her step didn’t falter
nor did she leave my side.

As promised.

Damn, but I owed her huge.

I looked back to the rise and noticed that
Bain and Zahnin were both standing behind my throne. As we
approached, Lahn sat on his. He was in king mode, I knew this the
minute his blank, painted eyes left me and he sat on his
throne.

I did not dally. The guard peeled off and I
walked right to my throne and sat down, Diandra standing at my
side.

The drums started pounding, the small ones,
but the noise thumped like a giant mallet into the night.

My hands went to the armrests of my chair,
my fingers curling around and I squeezed.

Then suddenly the drums stopped and the
instant they did, Lahn shouted and Diandra bent to my ear to
interpret.

“We are here because the new bride of Dortak
took steel to her husband!”

No one said a word. The torchlight danced,
the firepits crackled. My fingers tensed into my throne.

Lahn spoke. “Now, she must receive my
judgment!”

I swallowed and my eyes dropped to the woman
who was still bowed low to her king.

Then a whisper went through the air, I
looked up and saw a warrior push through the crowd. He strode into
the small clearing that was nowhere near the vast space of the
ceremonial clearing of the other encampment and stopped.

It was Bohtan.

He shouted and Diandra translated, “I wish
to speak, my king!”

“You will be heard!” Lahn shouted back.

Bohtan didn’t delay. “Our golden warrior
queen has championed Dortak’s bride. She has a bond with the wife
of Dortak and she has a bond with my wife Nahka. My wife Nahka has
felt this bond constrict, linking her through our true golden queen
to Dortak’s bride and, should it be your command to spare her life,
she wishes to assist our queen in resurrecting the new bride of
Dortak’s spirit.”

My lungs seized and my body went solid right
along with them.

Another whisper went through the air as Lahn
remained silent.

The girl five feet from the base of our
thrones didn’t twitch but Dortak’s face twisted with disgust.

Then another warrior pushed into the
clearing. My eyes went to him and I saw it was Feetak.

“I wish to speak, my king!” he shouted.

“You will be heard!” Lahn returned.

Feetak didn’t delay. “My new bride Narinda
also shares a bond with our queen. She tells me she too wishes to
assist our queen in resurrecting the wife of Dortak’s spirit.”

I felt Diandra’s hand curl tight into my
shoulder indicating she was gravely surprised at these proceedings
and I was too, especially considering Narinda didn’t have near
enough command of the Korwahk language to inform Feetak of this but
somehow she’d either managed it or he’d assumed it and for her, or
simply because he was a good man, he stepped forward.

I held tight to my throne as I stared and
tried to control my rapid breaths.

Another warrior pushed forward. “I wish to
speak, my king!”

And another, “I wish to speak, my king!”

I shiver slid over my skin.

Oh my God!

Diandra’s fingers squeezed so hard, they
caused pain.

And then came another, “I wish to speak, my
king!”

And another, “I wish to speak, my king!”

Three more came in simultaneously from three
different sides. “I wish to speak, my king!”

Dortak’s arms dropped, he took a step back
and his head swung around to take in his brothers, his face now
distorted with rage.

His bride didn’t twitch.

More warriors came forward and shouted the
same words.

“Enough!” Lahn boomed, I looked to him and
saw he had his hand up.

He did not look at me.

I turned back to the clearing to see it now
nearly filled with warriors, Dortak and his bowing bride in
white.

The air pressed in as I and the silent crowd
held our breath.

Finally, Lahn spoke. “Bride of Dortak, give
your king your eyes.”

She didn’t hesitate to push up to sitting on
her calves and her eyes lifted to Lahn. She was wearing a wide
strip of gauze around her breasts and a thin one was wrapped around
the cut on her throat. Her face had been cleaned but her left eye
was nearly swollen shut, purple and bruising.

I swallowed again.

“The warriors of Suh Tunak speak for you,”
Lahn told her.

She lifted her chin.

“Their wives speak for you,” Lahn went
on.

She lifted her chin again.

“Is it your wish for my queen and her women
to resurrect your spirit?” Lahn asked and I held onto my throne as
Diandra’s fingers clenched into my shoulder.

He was giving her an out!

She shook her head.

No!

I tensed to shoot out of my chair but
Diandra’s hand held me down.

“You understand that judgment has been
passed?” Lahn asked.

She lifted her chin.

“And you accept that judgment,” Lahn
stated.

She lifted her chin again.

No!

I felt my lips tremble as my body shuddered
with the effort to stay seated and unmoving.

I wanted to reach out to Lahn. I wanted him
to tell her that it was his decision that she must allow me and the
wives of Suh Tunak to resurrect her spirit. I sent this thought
into the night and hoped it found his mind.

It didn’t.

I knew it when he said quietly, “Very well,
my sister.”

My head snapped to the side and I saw his
head turned away and he was lifting his chin at something. My eyes
flew there and I saw The Eunuch come forward with a long, thin
blade.

Lahn turned back to the woman and I did too,
seeing her sitting on her calves, apparently calm. I looked at
Dortak to see him smiling.

God, God,
God
but I fucking
hated
that man.

My fingers tightened so deeply into the
horns I feared they’d break through as The Eunuch positioned behind
her, bent forward, cupped her, what appeared to be strangely
tenderly, under her jaw and held the blade to her throat.

Then he lifted his eyes to his king.

“Do you have words, sister?” Lahn asked
softly.

The woman in white stared at him. Then,
slowly, her eyes slid to me.