Aela (22 page)

Then suddenly they were both satiated and spent of all emotion as they lay in each other's arms panting loudly, drinking in the sweet smell of each other's bodies. Then more gently, as their two hearts began to beat slowly and rhythmically in unison, soon they were in a deep sleep of utter contentment, their bodies still locked together. At irregular intervals, both awoke, again and again they rose to higher heights of passion of pure love for each other, until all energy was drained from their bodies. This time their sleep was one of sublime exhaustion, contentment, coupled with complete fulfilment.

It was not until the first illuminated liquid golden rays of sunlight began to flicker through the dense leaves and branches of the trees they were lying under that the two lovers began to stir in each other's arms. Aela was the first to be alert to life and laughingly tickled Rom's nose with a fallen leaf, that she had carelessly picked up from the ground.

Rom opened his eyes taking in the scene instantly and he hugged Aela close to his chest. They then both rolled over each other a couple of times, before becoming breathless again.

‘You are wonderful my darling,' exclaimed Aela, as she sat up beside Rom.

‘You are my fairy princess,' exulted Rom as he played with her long blonde tangled shiny hair.

‘Oh, Rom I am so hungry; I could eat you alive' but you are too divine for tha,' sighed Aela.

‘We must hunt for some fresh meat and gather wild berries before we die of starvation,' added Rom.

So the two lovers hurriedly dressed, adjusted their weapons and began to look around their surroundings in earnest. Without saying a word Rom consulted his sacred pendant and he motioned for Aela to follow him in the direction he was compelled by his pendant to go. Very soon they came upon a gentle stream of water flowing into a clear blue lake, surrounded by a thick, dark mass of trees.

Without saying a word, both stripped off their clothes and dived into the velvety, liquid water, savouring the refreshing and relaxing sensation, encompassing their tired satiated bodies. They made love again and again as they lay half in and half out of the water at the edge of the lake, completely wrapped in their own simmering passion for each other.

As the sun rose higher in the clear blue sky, Aela and Rom then lay naked on a nearby flat rock, that was jutting over the water of the lake. They both felt the warmth of the sun seeping through their bodies, as the droplets of crystal liquid was dried from their muscular bodies, giving them renewed life-giving energy.

But the severe gnawing pangs of hunger blotted out any further feelings of pleasure they have felt towards each other, quickly and silently they dressed once more.

‘I will go looking for game,' stated Rom, ‘You can seek some edible roots and berries, Aela. We can meet back on this rock once we have found something to eat.'

Ayab made steady progress through the forest and was feeling very pleased with himself when suddenly his world was turned upside down. He was thrust on his stomach, with his arms pinned tightly behind his back and he felt a very heavy weight lying on his legs. Piercing pain was stabbing in his legs as Ayab lay face down on the ground. He let out a heavy groan of agony as he tried to frantically free himself from this iron grip, but to no avail.

‘Who have we here?' stated a male voice. ‘Well if it isn't our old friend Ayab, the biggest cur in the world, who would kill his own mother, if he thought it was to his own advantage. What are you doing in the woods, my friend? Tell me the truth instantly or I will wring your neck now,' threatened the voice.

By that time Ayab was in panic mode as he tried to squirm his way out of the iron grip but was soon exhausted. ‘Don't kill me, don't kill me, I haven't done anything wrong' bleated Ayab.

‘Yes you have, you scum,' hissed the voice. ‘With you escaping, as well as Rom and Aela, myself and my men have had to flee into the forest, running away from Brude who has sworn to kill us because we have failed in our duty,' angrily yelled the voice, as he tightened the grip still further around Ayab's arms.

Ayab let out another yell of pain, ‘I know where Rom and Aela are hiding in the forest.'

‘I don't believe you,' retorted the voice.

‘I was with them yesterday, but I decided to leave them, to make my own way to a village, food and shelter,' desperately replied Ayab.

The stranglehold on Ayab's arms loosened a fraction.

‘Can you take us to them now?' demanded the voice.

‘Yes, yes.' Ayab quickly replied.

‘Men, come, tie up this idiot. He is going to take us to our ticket of freedom. By handing over Rom and Aela to Brude, we will be pardoned and back in favour again.'

There was intense activity as Ayab's hands were tied behind his back and he was dragged to his feet.

‘Okay show us the direction in the forest where Rom and Aela are hiding!' demanded the leader of the group of fugitives.

Ayab momentarily lifted his eyes to the skies, randomly pointed his head in a certain direction and the party moved off together, walking deeper into the woods.

Rom was fortunate to catch and kill a large hare and Aela was equally active in her quest in finding an ample supply of wild berries and fruits in a secluded grove near the placid lake. They met each other, back at the jutting rock of the lake of love.

Very soon Rom had collected enough wood to light a fire, using a couple of flint stones he kept handy in a pouch attached to his belt. The sweet smell of cooking meat permeated the air and as soon as the hare was properly roasted, the pair lost no time in devouring the meal they had prepared. Now that their stomachs were full, they could both lay comfortably in each other's arms again feeling sublimely content.

Suddenly, through the distance, they both heard the breaking of twigs, and the sound of voices that appeared to be moving closer and closer to them. Rom immediately leapt up using his feet to trample the flames of the fire, in order blot out the tell tail spiral of wispy smoke, hanging in the air that would let their enemies know of their whereabouts.

He placed his forefinger on his lips to warn Aela to be silent and the couple lay flat on the ground holding their prone bodies very still.

Soon they heard the odd words that the human group were saying to each other, as they steadily approached closer to Aela and Rom's hiding place.

‘Are you sure we are heading in the right direction, you miserable piece of meat?'

‘Yes, yes, I am sure that Rom and Aela are close by,' replied Ayab, but not very convincingly.

‘Well for your sake you had better be spot on, otherwise I will wring your neck now,' replied one of the men in the group.

The others muttered in agreement, as they continued to make their way through the thick bracken. The party came within a hair's breath of where Aela and Rom were hiding, who in turn were hardly daring to breathe.

Then, the party moved steadily on and was soon out of earshot of the couple.

‘That was a close one,' whispered Rom into Aela's ear. ‘We must be so careful from now on and one of us has to be awake on duty, when the other is sleeping,' muttered Rom.

Aela nodded in agreement and buried her head still deeper into Rom's chest, as if wanting to blot out any black thoughts of danger for ever.

‘Let us sneak off now whilst we can Aela, before they backtrack and discover us,' commanded Rom.

Not wanting to lose a moment of their freedom, the two lovers moved swiftly and silently heading into the opposite direction of the fugitive group. Every now and again Rom stopped to consult his pendant, closed his eyes momentarily and then continued in a certain direction, with Aela following close on his heels.

Brude back at his camp was ever growing more and more impatient that there was no news from his scouts that he had sent out to locate either Rom or Aela or both. What to do next, he thought frantically. He had better summons those two women Eena and Tua to see if either could come up with a better plan.

Soon the women were standing before Brude as he was seated resplendent on his golden throne. He thought this ploy would impress the women with his mighty power over them. Neither Eena nor Tua were taken in with this so called display of glory. All they could see was a frustrated, cranky middle aged man dressed up in glittering clothes, who was oozing vanity and over-confidence, like a proud peacock and no female mate in sight.

Both women were very careful not to show their contempt for Brude and waited silently for him to speak. There was a heavy pause, ‘I am becoming more and more uneasy. There is no news that my scouts have captured the runaways and brought them back to kneel at my feet and beg for mercy.' Brude spat out the words disdainfully.

‘It was your idea Tua to send out the scouts in the first place,' glowered Brude.

‘Well, have you a better plan of action,' retorted Tua defiantly. Drawing herself up to her full height, hitting her ample bosom with her hand as she spoke, staring fully into Brude's face, with an unblinking angry stare of anger in her eyes.

Brude was momentarily taken aback as this was not the reaction he was expecting from her. He thought she would be worried about his bullying threats and fall onto her knees pleading for mercy from him. Confound the woman, he thought, women always know how to complicate men's lives with their twisted arguments and irrational emotions.

‘I didn't mean to be critical of your advice, Tua, which I have valued and implemented.' Brude hastily replied. ‘But I was wondering whether you had any further fresh ideas to add to any strategy that might help the situation.' hurriedly Brude added.

There was a long pause between the trio as they all stared fixedly at each other, letting Brude's words hang awkwardly in the air between them.

‘Well you can always continue to march towards the Temple with your army and prepare yourself for the final battle to storm the sacred precincts. In the meantime Rom and Aela may be captured by your scouts and brought in chains before you, so you can deal with them,' Eena loftily declared, at the same time shooting a venomous look towards Tua, who in turn ignored this stinging dart.

Brude was instantly enraptured with this advice, immediately summoning his officers to prepare his men to be once more on the road, marching towards the Temple of the Sun. Just to be on the safe side he doubled the number of guards around the two women as he didn't quite trust them, as he sensed they could double cross him at any moment. This strategy made the two women angrier, as they neither one were getting any further with their own plans of advancement.

Tua rounded onto Eena, ‘You with your clever ideas, advising Brude with the next move. You should bargain with our freedom before rushing in and giving free advice so liberally,' spluttered Tua.

‘Well, have you a better strategy? At least we are still both alive,' retorted Eena. ‘This diversion allows us to bide our time, to grab the next chance that comes our way for us to gain our freedom and turn the advantage to our benefit. I think we should stop fighting each other and form an alliance to outwit Brude in his messianic grab for power. He thinks he is invincible and nobody can stand in his way.'

These words stopped Tua in her tracks and she looked at Eena with new interest, ‘Yes, you are absolutely right. Two heads are better than one. Let's pool our resources and our superior minds to beat Brude completely in his plans to storm the Temple of the Sun.'

Both women smiled at each other and embraced warmly. Just at that moment guards suddenly appeared in front of Eena and Tua.

The head guard spoke, ‘You are both ordered to come with us. Brude wants you each to ride on a horse near him.'

Without saying a word, Eena and Tua accompanied the guards and were soon astride their respective steeds, looking very demure and silent.

Brude was beside himself with joy, as not only was his old enemy, Juno a prisoner, but two beautiful women of high status, were also submissive to his domination as well. His already over inflated opinion of his own cleverness soared even higher in his mind, as he rode along the road at the head of his army.

Rom and Aela continued on their way through the forest, as they felt they were making good progress, when they came upon a natural clearing. The sun illuminated the area with a strong golden light, a stark contrast to the deep gloom of the surrounding trees. They both hesitated at the edge of the circle and looked at each other for guidance, to determine whether to cross the clearing or not.

This strategy was most fortunate, as a number of human figures suddenly appeared directly opposite them. Rom and Aela immediately dropped to the ground and waited a short period before lifting their heads up a little, so they could observe what was happening. The distant figures had also paused for a brief period, then began to stride across the clearing straight in the direction where Rom and Aela were lying.

Very soon they heard voices drifting across the air.

‘Are you sure we are going in the right direction Ayab? I hope you haven't taken us on a wild bear chase. If you have led us astray your life will not be worth anything and you will soon be joining Athunor, your Moon Goddess in the sky,' exclaimed the voice.

‘I have not been lying to you,' whinged Ayab,' it is not always easy to be exactly accurate, as some of the forest trees look like others. As long as I am taking you in the general direction, we should come across Rom and Aela very soon.'

By this time the small party had crossed the clearing and were about to re-enter the dark forest again. Rom gave Aela the signal to stay still, not daring to move or even breathe.

Just at that moment Ayab tried to make a run for it, into the gloom of the trunks of the trees and the very thick undergrowth. One of the men made a grab for Ayab's bound arms tied behind his back, missed and fell over onto the ground, cursing at the top of his voice. The two guards following close behind tumbled on top of each other and onto Ayab already lying on the ground.