Book I of III: The Swords of the Sultan (61 page)

“I—I love it, my friend! Thank you!”

Baltor set both swords down on the bed, and
then gave his friend a strong hug of gratitude.

“Oh, I also have an identical sheath that I
will help strap on your back—my friend, and my prince!” Humonus
added.

After he had picked up a duplicate sheath
from on top of his table, he next assisted Baltor in clamping it
on, while adding, “It appears that the leader has become the
follower!”

Even though Baltor laughed, Humonus didn’t
laugh whatsoever as he delicately picked up both swords by the
handles off the bed, and flipped them around in one quick movement
so that he was now gripping the paper-thin blades—the handles were
extended toward Baltor.

Once he gripped both swords by their handles,
Humonus released his grip and placed his hands to his sides.

Still bearing an “ear to ear smile,” Baltor
sheathed both swords upon his back in one quick movement! His right
hand next clasped firmly onto Humonus’s left shoulder, just before
he said with a whole lot of appreciation, “Thank you very much, my
best friend.”

Instantly Humonus snapped to the position of
attention, threw his crispest salute, and declared, “The time for
your crowning has come—my best friend, my prince of two nations,
and my about-to-be Sultan of the Sharia Empire!”

Baltor glanced over to the mirror for another
moment, and upon seeing that everything was as it should be, he
looked back at Humonus and said just above a whisper, “Yes, it has,
Ruling-General Humonus, yes, it has!”

After an affirming nod, Humonus released his
salute, performed a right face, and walked for the bedroom
doors—Baltor followed.

Ten seconds later, Humonus called out, “Open
the doors!”

Simultaneously, two of the guards standing
out in the hallway opened the two doors.

Together—with Baltor and Humonus in the
middle of the procession—they made their way down several hallways,
and one staircase that led down, until they reached the final
hallway that led to the double doors of the throne room. Doors made
of pure gold with large diamond doorknobs; in the middle of each
door was the carving of a curvy saber.

Furthermore, Brishava stood in the middle of
this hallway, as well a platoon of her own guards who surrounded
her.

Upon arrival, the guards automatically
shuffled around, so their leaders could unite at the entryway—they
did.

Brishava next reminded, “Just remember that
you’ll each be called in turn to enter the room by the Justice of
the Peace—you first Ruling-General, then me, then you, my Sultan.
Before we are crowned in front of the nobles and officers, my love,
we have certain oaths that we will have to swear to, and after we
are crowned, we can take our thrones. Trust me that this coronation
ceremony will be long and tedious, not unlike a wedding. And at the
end, about an hour from now, only you and I, my love, will be
standing out here in this hallway. Oh, and of course our personal
guards.”

Without pause, Brishava concluded, “Right
after that, I have some really important errands to take care of,
so just head on down to our bedroom and wait for me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Just then, the trumpets blew, as the ceremony
began—this turned out to be a very ornate ritual that lasted
exactly an hour—it appeared that Jamar the coordinator had every
reason to be as confident as he claimed, as all the “t’s” were
crossed, and all the “i’s” were dotted.

Following the ceremony, Brishava gave her
husband a quick kiss on the cheek, before she said, “Love ya. Gotta
go.”

With that, she left for another part of the
palace with half a platoon of guards. Meanwhile Baltor and the
other half of the platoon made their way back to the bedroom with
the balcony.

Once inside the room by himself, as the
guards had returned to their other duty posts, he heard the sounds
of tens of thousands of people talking outside.

When he peeked outside the balcony, he first
noticed the night sky above, and then it was the palace grounds
that were packed with tons of people! A little nervous, he snuck
into the back parts of his bedroom, sat on a comfortable couch, and
waited for his friends.

Only a minute later, Humonus entered the
room—after the doors were closed behind him, he snapped a sharp
salute, and said just as sharply, “Good evening, my Sultan!”

“Humonus, when we are alone, please just call
me Baltor.”

“As you command, Baltor,” Humonus replied at
a normal volume.

Baltor cocked his head toward the balcony,
and said, “I must confess that I’m a bit nervous, my friend.”

Humonus declared, “We all get nervous,
Baltor. Use those nerves and make them steel—that is what shall
make you truly powerful! Show Pavelus you are her Emperor, and
Pavelus will be yours! Show the world you are her Sultan, and the
world will become your Empire!”

Baltor was surprised for but a moment as
Brishava seemingly came out from nowhere and said, “Ruling-General
Humonus is both correct and wise. So, my Husband and Sultan, are
you ready to meet your subjects?”

It was then that Baltor happily noticed
Brishava had not changed her appearance one iota.

She still wore that beautiful green silky
dress, filled of course with actual diamonds and emeralds that ran
along dozens of vertical seams on her bodice and arms. Her hair was
tightly pulled up into a bun, which then gently splashed and curled
its way halfway down her back—can’t forget to mention the tiny
platinum crown, stuffed with diamonds and emeralds.

The one thing that really grabbed his
attention was her absolutely adorable face—light-green eye-shadow
around her doe-brown eyes, and glossy red lipstick on her thick,
luscious lips. In Baltor’s opinion, she looked like a beautiful
porcelain doll.

After giving him the sweetest smile, Brishava
asked her earlier question, “Are you ready to meet your subjects,
my gorgeous Sultan?”

Baltor stood to his feet, cleared his throat,
returned the smile, and then said, “Yes, I am, my Sultaness.”

She turned to the guards stationed at the
doors, commanding, “Allow Ruksha to enter, so that he can make the
royal announcement.”

Without word, the guards opened his
respective door.

A man, who appeared to be in his late fifties
and regally dressed, entered the room. He bowed upon hands and
knees.

Brishava commanded, “Ruksha, you may rise and
call me out.”

Ruksha rose to his feet, and declared with
enthusiasm to his voice, “Yes, my Sultaness!”

As soon as he had stepped out onto the
balcony, dozens of trumpeters began to play the royal anthem, which
quieted the crowds.

Once the tune was over, Ruksha proclaimed
with pride, “Citizens of Pavelus…. It is my privilege and honor to
introduce to you the firstborn daughter and princess of the sultan,
who sadly passed away last night. Please welcome our new Sultaness
of the Sharia Empire—her married name is Sultaness Brishava
Elysian!”

The crowds immediately took to their
“Sultaness” as she stepped out onto the balcony, for a myriad of
cheering and applause erupted; she waved her hands out joyously to
the people.

Once the crowd had settled down, several
minutes later, she then proclaimed, “First of all my beloved
citizens, you should know that the time of my father’s cruel and
unjust reign is over!”

Yet again, the crowds broke out into cheering
and applause.

Once settled, many minutes later, the
Sultaness proudly introduced, “And now, it is my honor to introduce
my husband, the new Sultan of the Sharia Empire—his name is Baltor
Elysian!”

This time, silence immediately reigned in the
city, for the citizens became afraid that their “new sultan” might
ultimately turn out to be a tyrant like all the other rulers for
the last five centuries.

Baltor cocked his head over to look into the
mirror one last time. Not only did he see his present and his past,
yet he also saw his future—a future cast in the present! He now
knew what he needed to be—his nerves became as steely as the swords
on his back—his eyes darted forward—his feet walked onto the
balcony.

As soon as he stood to Brishava’s right, he
stopped in his tracks—in that very moment, Baltor’s mind
mysteriously tabulated to him that all of his citizens, nearly
eighty-two thousand, as well forty thousand, two hundred and
fifty-six soldiers of Pavelus had attended, even though only thirty
thousand people could fit inside the palace walls. Most were
outside the palace gates and in the surrounding streets for about
two miles every direction.

With a lightning-quick flick of Baltor’s
wrists, his swords crossed each other above his head and toward the
heavens, as he proudly proclaimed: “I have been officially crowned
your Sultan, though not too long ago, I was once a peasant…

“Please listen to my words of warning, or of
wisdom, your choice. As I speak, there are more than 120,000 enemy
soldiers making their way toward Pavelus—by land and by sea—led
none other than by Sedious Vaspan. They will try to rape and
plunder us of all our riches until bone dry, and they will try to
make all our women and children their slaves—the men will all be
executed…

“Unfortunately with my forces alone, we are
outnumbered three to one—so the time’s come for me to ask for
volunteers. You will be paid just the same as my regular foot
soldiers—you will be trained by the best of the best, I swear to
that on my honor!

“Those who can’t fight or will refuse to
fight—we shall provide you with safe haven within Pavelus’s strong
defenses, or you may attempt an escape on your own, by land or by
sea, if you so wish….”

Nearly ten seconds later, he sheathed his
swords in one quick motion, thrust his open-palmed hands out to the
crowds, and suggested with fervency, “But consider this option for
a minute… Declare me your Sultan and fight for me, and I will lead
you all toward successes that are beyond imagination. Believe me,
it is my intention to pave the entire streets of Pavelus from gold,
even if it means that the walls of this palace be used to build
them….

“So who amongst you shall hail me…
your
Sultan
?!”

THE END

COMING SOON: BOOK II OF III:

THE REIGN OF THE SULTAN

1) “Kid—are you okay?”

2) “I think he’s still out cold—boy was that
kid really lucky I saw him when I did, or he’d be cat chow!”

3) “Kid—are you okay?”

4) “I’m glad to see that the kid’s going to
survive!”

5) “Lie down.”

6) “Are you hungry?”

7) “Are you feeling better this morning,
kid?”

8) “If he can talk, then that is definitely a
sign of improvement!”

9) “Follow me!”

10) “Oopsy-daisy.”

11) “Baltor, please follow me, friend. Follow
me—follow!”

12) “I see Baltor.”

13) “I see saber tooth tiger.”

14) “I shot saber tooth tiger.”

15) “I killed saber tooth tiger.”

16) “Thank you.”

17) “You are welcome, Baltor.”

18) “Good morning to you, Valuspo! My, you
are such a beautiful creature, and so strong and powerful!”

19) “Follow me, Baltor.”

20) “Yes, Baltor.”

21) “No.”

22) “Hungry?”

23) “Honey, do we have anything to eat for
Baltor? He’s hungry, Jimnee.”

24) “Sorry no, I’ve been very busy making
these fur coats for him and his animal.

25) “Yaush, why don’t you take him to
Starving Bear
?”

26) “You are welcome, Baltor.”

27) “Follow me, Baltor.”

28) “Good morning to you.”

29) “Everyone, this is my new friend, Baltor!
Baltor, these are all my good friends!”

30) “Good morning to you, Baltor!”

31) “Baltor, sit.”

32) “Good morning to you, Yaush!”

33) “And good morning to you, Yeea.”

34) “How is Jimnee?”

35) “She is great—thanks for asking!”

36) “Good morning to you, Baltor.”

37) “So Yaush, what can I get you and your
friend for breakfast?”

38) “Can we please have two orders of
omelets, eggs and sausage, along with some alasvo juice,
please?”

39) “Sure thing!”

40) “Salami my old friend, will you please
join us for breakfast?”

41) “Salami, this is my new friend, Baltor.
It appears that my friend can speak quite a few other languages,
though he cannot speak Valakanese. I, being a simple local hunter,
can only speak our native tongue. Will you please try and see if
you can speak any of his languages, my friend?”

42) “Yeea. One second, please?”

43) “Yes?”

44) “Salami, what would you like for
breakfast?”

45) “I’ll have what they’re having.”

46) “Sure thing.”

47) “Thank you, Yaush.”

48) “Good morning, my friends. I have a quick
though serious question—were you guys by chance laughing at
Yeea?”

49) “Absolutely not, Paelsho. My friend, the
only thing we were laughing about was our own silliness—that’s all,
I swear! Where is Yeea now, so I can explain to her about the
misunderstanding, and apologize?”

50) “I let her go for the morning. Yeea
seemed so convinced, and shaken up, that you guys were laughing at
her—that she was literally in tears when she gave me Salami’s
order! Just so you know, I didn’t believe a word of it to be true,
as I’ve known you two gentlemen for many-many years, and we all
know how women can be at times—emotional wrecks!”

51) “We must also apologize for the
inconvenience it has cost you as well, Paelsho—apology
accepted?”

52) “Ahhh, don’t worry about it—breakfast’s
crowds almost gone anyway. Oh, don’t worry about Yeea either—I’ll
explain the misunderstanding and extend the apology when she comes
back this afternoon. She’ll be just fine! Come back soon,
friends.”