The Man With the Sword

The very Beginning 

"Who is she?"

"My king, she must be Uta's wife, the Warrior, the brave man who fought alongside you in the battle against the Nemetic People. Your father rewarded him with a new sword, land, and the woman who is now his wife."

"Enough with the praise, Japthan. I just wanted to know who she is."

"Why, if I may ask, my king?"

"Because I want her in my bed tonight!"

Japthan stood dumbfounded, struggling to understand the king's unusual request. There were many eager young women vying for the king's attention, and he couldn't understand why the king desired another man's wife. Despite his confusion, he dared not object, knowing the consequences of challenging the young king's desires.

""Of course, my king. I'll ensure she's brought to you tonight."

"Wait! Where is Uta, her husband?"

"My king, he's among the men you sent to explore new lands in the hilly regions and gather food for our kingdom."

"Really? Well, that works in my favor. With him away, there'll be no objections to me having her. Perhaps I'll keep her for myself, and we might need to handle Uta in the long run."

The king dismissed Japthan, revealing an ominous glint in his eyes. As Japthan hurried off to fetch the desired woman, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Uta, who not only stood to lose his wife but also faced the threat of losing his life to a power-hungry king.

——-

He was too young to grasp the situation, but he sensed something was wrong when he peeked from the door and saw the king's right-hand man arriving to request his mother's presence in the palace. She had been preparing herbs for her friends, but she dropped everything to attend to the urgent summons.

His mother, initially taken aback, had little time to ponder as the king's man hurried her away. She had no choice but to leave her seven-year-old son with a neighbor, urging them to look after him while she quickly responded to the king. Elim vividly recalled the worry in his mother's eyes as she glanced at him before disappearing from his view. That night, his mother didn't return home, leaving him deeply concerned as he had to sleep in his neighbour's house without either of his parents. No matter how hard their kind neighbour tried to put him to sleep, he kept bombarding her with questions about his mother's whereabouts.

"What could my mother be doing in the palace so late at night? Do you think she's in trouble or maybe even imprisoned?" He inquired, but the neighbour simply brushed his ebony hair, assuring him not to worry.

But when his mother returned the next morning, he knew there was something to be concerned about. He may have been a child but he was very observant. The king's man had ordered for his mother's presence, she didn't come home last night and now she was in tears. Though she believed he was still asleep, he overheard her quietly sobbing. He caught her in the act of wiping away tears and adjusting her dishevelled dress.

Curious and worried, he asked her what happened, but she hugged him tightly, insisting it was nothing.

It wasn't just that one night; every other night, the king's man would arrive, taking his mother to the palace. This infuriated Elim as his mother would consistently cry uncontrollably the next morning.

What shocked him the most was a morning when he found his mother wailing and rolling on the floor, tears streaming down her face. To his dismay, they told him his father had been killed on a mission for the king. At just seven, he felt devastated by the news.

Three days later, his mother was taken away by the king, leaving him in the care of his neighbour. He never saw his mother again. It wasn't until he became a teenager that he learned his mother was living with the king as his wife and that his father might have been killed by the king.

How could he ever forget the king's intense hatred that forced him to flee the malicious kingdom as he grew into a young man?

Now, as a grown man, Elim concealed his face under his black hood, riding through a small village in pursuit of the man he had to kill to survive. He wasn't an honorable man, but every life he took belonged to someone deserving of death. They were evil individuals who escaped justice, much like the king of Maribah. He wouldn't allow that to continue; he simply wouldn't.

One day, he vowed to himself for the hundredth time that he would make the king face the consequences of what he had done to him and his family. Despite numerous attempts to forget the day the king took his mother and shattered his happiness, he couldn't shake off the memories. Many years after he learned truth about his father's death and the rumours of the king's involvement, bitterness had lingered in his heart, and he couldn't forgive the king for robbing him of his entire life – the chance to grow up with a father, enjoy his mother's cooking, and experience her lullabies every night. He made a vow to take his vengeance. 

Scanning the quiet environment around him, secured his horse near a tree before the house he intended to visit, and decided to cover the remaining distance on foot. Swift and determined, he intended to end the wicked life before anyone could intervene. Drawing his sword, he tiptoed towards the roadside, with only one goal in his mind – to take a life.

Chapter 1

"Why are you taking too much time applying the makeup and tying the headgear? Do you want us to be late?" Zeep yelled at their maid, who hurriedly tied her headgear with shaky hands because she was afraid of Zeep losing her anger on her. Asha sat on the bed, carefully applying shea butter on her smooth dark skin while her sisters frowned angrily and continued to bark at the servant, making her fidget. The spoiled attitude made Asha's skin crawl; they were just like other privileged people in the kingdom of Maribah. It was so annoying watching them.

"You should get me a proper comb to braid my hair. I want it looking neat even if it will be wrapped up with my headgear," Nena demanded.

""Yes, my mistress." The entire interaction bothered Asha deeply because she couldn't fathom why her sisters treated their maid so unfairly. Asha could clearly see the servant was on the verge of tears or losing her composure as she struggled to fulfill both her sisters' demands. The servant was on the brink of fetching a new comb for Nena when she accidentally stepped on Zeep's feet as she rose to admire her reflection in a crystal object on the side wall.

"Oh! Look what you've done. Are you completely stupid? I washed my feet with the most expensive black soap and oiled them to perfection. Do you know how much time I dedicated to washing my whole body, and you dare step on them with your filthy servant legs?" she shouted at the servant, nearly pushing her to the ground.

"I'm truly sorry, Mistress Zeep," the servant mumbled, moving backward until she fell to the ground. On the floor, the servant continued pleading with an angry Zeep while Asha sighed loudly. This was just too much

"I don't get the point of this annual meeting for the chief's daughters, or why we're in such a rush for this unnecessary ceremony," Asha asked, rolling her eyes as her sisters adorned themselves in beautiful robes and applied some Uli on their eyes to highlight them.

"Don't you understand the significance of these meetings? Without the chief's daughter, there would be no celebration of royalty. If royalty isn't celebrated, we might as well be dead and forgotten. We need to remind them who rules the land and keeps everything running smoothly. You know our history, right? These lands were once barren, and people were so hungry they resorted to cannibalism until King Eruh's ancestors changed everything around! You know your history, right? So you should know why we celebrate them annually. You're not as foolish as people believe!" Her immediate older sister retorted.

"Get me my headgear and fix it up for me now!" she snapped at the servant after responding to her younger sister.

"I understand, but I see no reason to celebrate royalty when it only encourages the oppression of the lower masses. They might have been heroes then, but now, they are..."

Asha, can you stop with meaningless talks about things you can't change? We need to get ready before the likes of Soma take over our spot, take over the meeting," Zeep snapped at her. Asha listened to the voice of the eldest child in their home and focused on dressing up. Disobeying Zeep was almost the same as disobeying their father. And that she could not dare do. 

Asha sighed as she pulled her robe and placed a tiny necklace. The idea of celebrating their privilege when it encouraged oppression still eluded her. If she were a leader, she would ensure everyone was equal. The growing power of the royals annoyed her, but what could she do? She was just a teenage girl perceived as carefree and silly.

"Please hurry up, Asha… you're going to make us run late!" Nena scolded her.

"Please, Nena, I'm done already. Don't make it seem like I'm the one holding us back," Asha retorted at her immediate older sister.

"Nena we will be off with or without Asha. Let's go," Zeeps warned, walking majestically out of the door, with Nena following suit.

"Come on, you guys should wait for me. Father won't be too happy if I inform you that you left me behind."

"Shut up, Asha! You have a way of ruining all of my plans, don't you? Did I not make it clear that I wanted to be there before Askims gets there? If she leads the meeting today, everyone will assume she's the leader of the chief's daughters, and who knows, she may find her way into Prince Mayo's heart. We don't want that, do we?" Zeep yelled into her youngest sister's face before turning quickly and continuing her journey outside their beautiful home toward the road that led to the hall close to the palace where they held their meeting.

Asha's face betrayed her anger as she restrained the hurtful words she wanted to hurl at Zeep. She knew better than to yell back at her elder sister; her father would punish her severely if she did. Despite being a young woman with a beautiful shape and a well-defined face, she was still treated like a child.

"Are you daft? Pick all of that melon seed from the dirty floor, and make sure not even one speck of dust is found in any of them. If there's any trace of sand, you'll spend the night outside, you silly girl!" A woman's harsh voice drew attention as they walked into the yard leading to the palace. It was an older woman scolding a young girl barely older than Asha, probably her mistress. Asha was overwhelmed with pity as she watched the girl shake in tears while carefully picking up melon seeds from the sandy ground.

Asha diverted her gaze for a moment only to see the servant girl being flogged by the woman. Her face contorted in anger at witnessing such unfair treatment, and she didn't realize when she walked into a heap of ash at the side of the road. Her robe was now completely dusty, and there was no way she could enter the meeting with such dirty attire.

Her immediate elder sister, Nena, turned at that very moment, eyes widening in surprise at the sight of a dirty Asha. Her. Purple wrap-around robe their father had bought specially for this occasion was completely ashy. She wasted no time in tapping Zeep, leaving Asha standing on the road in confusion, looking completely bewildered.

"You're a very stupid girl! What am I going to do with you? How do we take care of this mess and make it to the meeting on time?" Zeep screamed, dragging Asha into a corner to figure out what to do with her dress.

"Quit treating me like a child. I can take care of my own robe. Just go to the meeting!" Asha shouted at her sister.

"Shut up, Asha! You know what father would do if he finds out we left you alone on the street! What kind of girl are you? You don't behave like your age!" Nena scolded, while Zeeps scowled at her.

Asha bit her lips as her eyes travelled the length of her dusty robe. Once again, she had proven to be the most foolish of the three. She felt immensely ashamed of herself.