Burial of hearts the black widow's malice (4 page)

“The passing of
the broken hearts, the growing of the free, tonight I see a rising soul, the love
for you and me.

Let the truth of
merry rise their glasses and let the sad shine in glee, for tonight we marry
the couple here for everyone to see.

Not a tear, nor
a curse, can break up this bond, for each of you have seen these two are rather
fond. No broken, no smashed, no devoured nor hunted in rash, no snagging, or
nagging, or even the typical bragging, just a smile of love from you and me,
for the happy couple to be.

The passing of
the broken hearts the growing of the free, tonight I see a rising soul, the
love for you and me”.

A smile crossed my face as I
watched them sing and dance, a
marriage
, the most loving of unions, a
joy filled occasion and I am lucky enough to see it. I tapped cheerfully along
to the intoxicating sound of the music, hitting harder upon the floor with each
verse that passed; before I knew it I was tumbling down the hillside, as I had
lost my balance.

A sudden silence crept throughout
the crowd of people as they turned their focus over to me. Around twenty of
them gathered towards me, they were tall, very tall in fact, the smallest being
around seven foot. Both the males and the females were muscular in dimension,
veins enlarged with any movement they made. The glistening of their eyes caught
my attention, not like any other I had seen before, they were average sized
compared to humans, but they were illuminated by thousands of differing
colours, moving gracefully in all directions. Their skin was pale as almost
white, their hair perfectly smooth, shoulder-length and brown fading to red;
the females wore garments composed of what appeared to be a type of wool, but
it was dyed in such a way to show off splendid designs, affront and back; the
men however wore plain black and brown clothing, providing a huge distinction
between the sexes.

The tallest of all the men
approached me. My heart began to race at the thought of possibly being
tortured, killed, or perhaps something even worse. He spoke to me in a
demanding tone:

“Who is it that dares venture to
the land of ‘Yilesul’? Speak
now
or a carcass you shall become”.

“I am Avis”. I said in the voice
like unto a mouse.

“Avis whom? I demand to know,
now
”.

“Avis Aldebourne, I am sorry,
really I am, and I did not mean to interrupt your celebrations. I was admiring
them from close by and I... I fell down”.

“And
what
business do you
have being here? What allowance… do you grant to be in our lands?
”.

I paused for a moment, giving
thought to the question he had asked, deciding if the truth would be enough.

“
Answer me
Avis, my
patience is starting to fray”.

“I am from Malkarertz; I am but
an average woman, not overly poor but neither rich; my husband he was taken
from me in the night by a force, I have no idea by what. I have come to try to find
him, if I can…
”.
Looking at his stern posture this
seemed like a lost idea now.

“I am trying to find the gates…
”.

“
Gates
you say Avis, what
gates would perhaps you be looking for in such a place as this?
”.

“The gates that hold the amulets,
the seven gates of Malkarertz, I read of them in the Librarium back home,
please
I am truly sorry”.

“Normona, come here and take her
to my place of rest. I shall speak with her soon, let the celebrations cease
until I have otherwise spoke and return immediately to your daily tasks”.

Normona came before me, her hand
reached out as a kind gesture; my hand in hers, she pulled me up from the
ground, with a firm, but not overly harsh tug. She wore jewellery made solely
of dried fruit, both around her neck and wrists; old looking sandals were tied
upon her feet with rigid laces, I could quite clearly see chafe marks from
where the leather had slowly begun to rub.

Coming to the place of rest, I
was seated upon soft quilts in the right-hand corner. The quilts themselves
were decorated with small sequins and placed atop of luxuriously soft cushions;
incense burned from upon an altar central to the dwelling, the walls made from
clay, bonded with the shoots of a willow, that curved effortlessly inwards.

A bird I had never seen before
sat perched from a cage, it was like an eagle in size, with a hunters look, but
it somehow lit the room, glowing a golden yellow, creating shadows with the
occasional flap of the wings.

“It is a rokson bird”. Normona
said, after watching me gaze lovingly at it.

“They are very rare and very
precious to our people; your people many years ago used to hunt them like dogs
and kill them for their meat, pushing them deeper into the forest; we took a
few and protected them from harm and through care they multiplied, but they do
not venture far from Yilesul anymore”.

The large man entered the room
and asked Normona kindly to let us talk and to prepare breakfast before dawn
breaks.

“Hello Avis, please excuse my
brisk tone on your arrival; I love the land and the people so much, I risk not
anyone taking it away. I want to invite you to stay with us, even if just for a
little while, my people and I would be humbled to have a lovely guest such as
yourself
stay; for it is not very often a new face passes us
by you see”.

A broad smile passed from cheek
to cheek, his perfectly white teeth carved to be like that of a wild animal, I
could see the love in his eyes seeping through from his heart. He seemed a
genuine man, only wanting to protect what he held precious to him. I could do
with a good place to gather my thoughts, I suppose.

“I would be delighted to spend
some… time here”. I said in a cautious tone that was only beginning to warm to
him after the events that unfolded just moments before.

“
Excellent
Avis, how rude of
me not to mention this, my name is ‘Jonule’ I am the leader of the people of
Yilesul”. His voice rose in excitement at the prospect of a new member of the
village.

“That is perfectly fine, I am
sure you have been preoccupied with all the celebrations I observed taking
place”.

“
Yes
that I have, we are
marrying two of our dearest people, ‘Sandriah’ and ‘Lakon’; they have beautiful
souls, together I am sure of it, they shall be truly happy. Would you require
sleep Avis? As unlike your people we do not tire, we live our lives aware at
all moments”.

“Thank you, but I have already
slept an ample amount; I do not think I could fall asleep after all the
excitement
you have provided me with”.

Jonule laughed merrily, almost to
the point of hysterics, his face showing a hint of colour through his pale
skin.

“My dear, we have much to show
you, much fun is to be had here, I will soon continue the celebrations,
please
,
join me”.

I was positioned quite comfortably
on the cushions, so it took some forceful will to move myself; upon arising, I
was guided outside, Jonule had gathered a small selection of people to speak
with me.

“Everyone, as you know this is
Avis; she shall be staying with us for a short while at least, please make her
feel welcome, tell her tales, teach her skills”.

In front of me, there were four
people, Jonule announced their names to me in a pleasantly welcome manner.

“This is ‘Zinmbe’ she is my
people’s holder of mysteries; creator of magick, healer of the sick, wise and
wonderful
”.

Zinmbe looked unusual compared to
the other members of the village, an outsider perhaps, brought in from another
place; her ears were stretched almost to the point that they may rupture, you
could in fact easily pass a hand through them, the very thought of which sent
colossal
shivers shooting unforgivingly down my spine; which of course I hid kindly. Her
face and arms were decorated in yellow and red paints and protectively she held
onto a handful of local herbs and spices.

“Next this is ‘Werdo’ he holds
the post of blacksmith, creating the finest swords and armour of the northern
lands; I beg you to find a man who can create a better long sword, but I am
sure you will not find them for a million footsteps”.

He smoked tobacco through a pipe,
the smoke an unusual yellow colouration, unlike most tobacco the smell was
quite satisfactory to the senses, a hint of vanilla was overpowered by the
blissful
scent of mango; in disregard to the common clothing,
he
wore chainmail, possibly a way of advertising his work more effectively to the
village.

“Here we have Operk, if you find
yourself needing clothing of any kind, he is the man to see, if it were
possible I would have him clothe the men of many worlds to show the
great
work he does”.

Werdo interrupted with an eager
tone:

“What use is clothing that tears
away at the might of swords and wears down at the graze of rocks?
”.

“But that may be so Werdo, but what
good is armour, when the body shivers and aches from the cold kiss it gives?
”.
Jonule said with a competitive glint in his eye.

“You have me there Jonule. I
respectfully retract my statement”.

Operk was smaller than the
others, yet still tall, he had a long beard, the ends of which were like
inverted horns; his eyes pierced through me as if searching for a fault in my
being; he wore a worn leather sack, fastened with the claws of some unholy
creature. His skin was the most noticeable feature, he had the same pale
complexion as the others, but it was as though he had scales, I presume they
covered his entire body, but at the least they surrounded his facial features.

“And finally this is ‘Maul’ our
highest ranked warrior”.

His name did justice unto his appearance;
he was beaten, bruised and ripped in matchless comparison, a man who I would
not like to share a feud with.

After the brief introduction I
followed Jonule and the others towards an enclosed meeting area; entering, we
walked under a stone arch, the sides of the expanse had large steps, yet they
were intended for sitting upon; a large controlled fire warmed the area, but
also did Normona as she prepared delicious smelling food for everyone. I could
not count the number of spices and herbs she had laid out before her, but the
aroma was drawing me in
every time
I inhaled. Seating ourselves close to
where the food was to be prepared, Jonule gave me and the others a small mint.

“Everyone, let us thank the grace
of life for the joys we have been given upon us; Avis, I ask that you may be
the first to start the proceedings, gently place the mint upon your tongue,
chew only a slight amount; do not want you flying away now do we ”. Jonule said
in a witty tone.

My eyebrow raised in
bewilderment, but I did not want to offend Jonule, so doing as he asked, I
placed the mint affront of my tongue and chewed all but the slightest.
Good
heavens
, I proclaimed in an abrupt manner, what is happening? With every
bite upon the mint I rose like a bird, taking the first bursts of flight. I
continued to chew, thrilled by the experience. Every person around me did the
same and before I could turn to see, they were charmingly dancing among the
air, moving to the beat as nature intended; unfolding as though a flower rising
up to receive life. My body among the others began to follow a route, turning
in a circular motion, Sandriah and Lakon centred within the group, rising a
couple of feet above the rest; I started to become increasingly unsettled as we
span ever faster, a blue haze covering each of us as we circled, flumes of
which were sucked towards the couple, illuminating them in the most vibrant and
distinct ways.

“A thousand spins and it is
done”. Jonule proclaimed.

With that, we slowed and gently
touched back down. I collapsed as my feet touched the ground, the spinning
motion making me tremendously dizzy, stupid as it may be, I kept my eyes open
throughout, not thinking about the possible effects it may have on my
stability.

Glancing over to Sandriah and
Lakon, their eyes were lit with furious colours, holding each other tightly,
they walked over to Jonule and bowed their heads, then walked back through the
archway and to the village.

“Come, it is now time to eat”.
Said Jonule.

Lining up we took it in turns to
pass by Normona. Today there was a selection of delightful treats for us to
choose from; stewed and fried rabbit meat in a rosemary infused sauce;
spit-roasted reaping pig, or hanging trout in a lemon drip sauce. I opted for
the rabbit meat; alongside the main selection of the meal, you had the choice
of five different types of bread, as well as a choice of savoury delicacies to
entice the well rounded. Scooping a heaped pile of hognobbles (Small fried
potatoes, wrapped in bacon) upon my plate I sat myself next to Operk, his skin
still intriguing me.