Chapter 59

Domir was on his knees panting heavily, he was too tired to get up. Gorsep was still sitting on his horse and calmly watching the unfolding drama.

He ordered about 70 men to be bricked up for almost three weeks, after a moment twenty came out into the daylight. They covered their eyes as the sun was blinding them. They were dirty, smeared with blood and smelled of death and madness. Emptiness was visible in their eyes.

"Are these all of the men who have been locked here?" Gorsep asked.

One of the men nodded in confirmation.

"Well, you see Domir - Gorsep turned to the kneeling aristocrat - this is your work. Your greed and desire for revenge on your ruler has driven these people to the brink of madness."

Domir raised his exhausted face and in a hoarse voice, weighing each word, said

"It was not me who gave such an order and their blood does not stain my hands."

"No, I gave the order. - Gorsep looked at Domir with superiority - but nothing - like this would have happened if not for you. Kwadrim!"

"Yes, my king." The tall Equerd appeared in front of the king in a flash.

"Lock Domir in the temple and burn this village. There is not to be one stone left on another here. Such a fate befalls those who oppose the will of the king. Those who survived will be fed, they will be a penal unit under your direct orders, Kwadrim. If they survive two years of service, they will join the regular army."

Gorsep pulled his horse and, surrounded by his retinue, set off on his way back. Behind him, he heard Domir being locked in the temple and the Equerds from Quadrim's company preparing wood to burn the temple and other buildings.

 Only twenty survivors of the month-long hunger strike were silent. A few were kneeling on the ground, sobbing. Domir was silent as well. He allowed himself to be pushed into the stinking hole that had once been the temple. In the darkness, he could see numerous bodies lying randomly on the floor. This was the closest thing to him that bore the signs of cannibalism. The young boy had his arms bitten off. Domir felt sick, for a split second he felt the despair of the men locked here, fighting for water and eating each other. Then the smell of smoke reached his nostrils. He regretted some of his decisions. He regretted that he had not listened to his son when he warned him, or his wife's pleas.

He wanted to punish Gorsep and undermine his power. He wanted the people to rebel against the Equerds. Smoke began to fill the entire room. Domir was grateful for the fire. He had nothing to live for. Choking and coughing on the smoke he devoted his last thought to his daughter Salema, imprisoned in Gorsep's court.

The horse's hooves resounded with a roar on the cobblestones of Kanror. Gorsep returned home with his entourage. He jumped off his horse and wordlessly handed the reins to the stable boy. He quickly walked from the stable straight into the courtyard, passing Salema chained to the well without giving her a second's attention. As soon as he entered through the main entrance, he met his wife face to face. She curtsied at the sight of him. Gorsep watched her slightly rounded belly with satisfaction.

"My lord, can we talk for a moment?" Dagrana began in a shy tone.

Gorsep nodded and together they went to his small room, where he dealt with the most important matters. When the door closed behind Dagrana, Gorsep pulled out a chair for Dagrana and then sat down himself.

"I'm listening, my dear wife. What is it that worries you?" Gorsep clasped his hands and rested his chin on them.

Dagrana felt as if she was being interrogated, she was slightly nervous, but also certain of her arguments.

"It's about Salema." She barely started and Gorsep immediately frowned and, crossing his arms over his chest, leaned back in the chair. Dagrana knew this gesture, her husband was already against it. Too bad, she started it, she had to finish it. 

"I wanted to ask you to send her home. She has suffered enough."

"Well, my dear - her husband sighed - she no longer has a home. Today I ordered all her relatives to be killed, while her entire fortune will be divided and given to my loyal subjects."

Dagrana, shocked and surprised, did not know what to say for a moment. She took a deep breath and calmly decided to argue her request once again.

"I feel even more sorry for her, her father's betrayal is not her fault and she was punished cruelly. I beg you to have mercy on this woman." Dagrana looked into Gorsep's dark eyes and placed her hands expressively on her stomach. She knew that ever since she had been pregnant, Gorsep had been unable to refuse her anything.

Gorsep knew he was in a hopeless position, and he didn't want to refuse his pregnant wife an act of mercy. Besides, Domir's family practically didn't exist, only the girl he had given to the soldiers to play with remained. Many had gladly taken advantage of that.

"Fine, let it be as you wish, but first all the ladies of the court will go and see her. Let them know what the consequences of betrayal are. Then Salema will become one of the servants. Don't count on more.

"Thank you." Dagrana stood up, the conversation was over. Walking down the corridor, she convinced herself that it was better to clean the floors than to be raped every day by insatiable soldiers. 

At her command, all the ladies-in-waiting, dressed in warm coats, went to the courtyard and stood for a moment looking at Salema. The girl was in a terrible state, her clothes were in tatters, revealing her bare breasts, she was shivering from the cold and her empty gaze was fixed somewhere in the distance. Dagrana, standing at the window overlooking the courtyard, watched her ladies-in-waiting. A few looked away, discreetly wiping away tears, but there were also those who smiled at the sight of the misfortune of the once most important aristocrat. Indeed, the line between downfall and power is very thin and fragile. Dagrana sent a servant to free Salem and take her with her. The queen of Kanror wondered if the broken girl would ever recover or if she would forever remain a shell without a soul.