The Asters of Ogaza

Chapter 16

          She was running short of breath, but her mind wasn’t running out of the possibilities that this was it. She would die here, alone, in the arms of this crazy beast of a human. She took of her knapsack and pulled out the dagger, holding on to it like it was a precious stone while she ran. The boys were coming even more apace now, and as she tried to sling her knapsack back on her shoulders so it doesn’t affect her race for dear life, she tripped over something on the ground she didn’t see and fell face first into the ground. Crap!

           It must have been a rock, or an old log, but she didn’t care. Her dagger had gone out of her hands with the fall, so she scrambled on the soil, looking for it. The moment she grabbed it, she felt callous, big hands grasp her right foot and pull her backwards. She screamed and tried to kick with her free leg, but that was hard, as the boy was still dragging her with her chest to the ground, and a very unhealthy amount of soil had gotten into her mouth.

          A new set of hands held her legs in place, and the rough ones went to turn her over. It was the tall boy. His sinister eyes morphed into a caring pair.

          “Oh, honey! Don’t cry.” He wiped tears and dirt off her face. She hadn’t even realized she was crying.

          “Leave me alone!” She yelled, wriggling for freedom under his grip she was sure was breaking the bones in her wrist. Her dagger was out of her hands, and she needed to get it back.

           “Look,” her voice took a pacifying tone. “Let’s talk. Let’s . . .let’s come to an agreement. My husband—”

          “Don’t talk about him!” He bellowed at her, and the air from his mouth smelled like meat and grass. He really was an animal. “Stop saying that when it’s not true.”

          “Okay,” Zina said with a small smile. “I’d stop. I won’t mention him. But please, let’s not do this like this. We can . . .enjoy it. Together.” It took every discipline in her to keep from barfing on his stupid face as she said that. He was gullible, Zina could tell by the way he looked back to communicate with his brother through their eyes, and the way he gazed at her, like he was considering it.

          “Release my hands,” Zina spoke calmly, like she was talking to a child who wouldn’t stop wailing for sweets even though he just lost his front teeth. “Release them, and I’d . . .take my clothes off. Myself.”

          His eyes grew wide with hunger, and lust. He licked his lips, watching her like he was a hunter and she was the miracle game he was plotting to shoot down after hunting for almost the whole day. Zina knew that he couldn’t wait to get into her guts. If she wanted her plans to work, she had to do something to assure him. So even though her upper body was firmly held down to the ground, she tried to raise her head to meet his.

          “Come closer. I want to taste your lips.” She whispered in what she hoped was a seductive enough tone. Tears rose in her eyes and bile, in her throat. She was about to have her first kiss, with someone who wasn’t a part of the human species.

          Of course, the tall boy came closer so fast, and Zina planted a kiss above his lips, directly on his cupid’s bow.

          “Release me. And I would kiss you till we’re both drowning in our passion,” she said, watching him lick his lips, his hands loosening their grip. He was panting as she slid out from under him. The shorter boy released his hold too, and the tall one asked him to turn around and keep watch.

          From the corner of her eyes, she spotted the shiny blade of her dagger and calculatedly reached for it. She hid it under her cloak. As she slowly (and a little seductively) took off the cloak, she transferred the dagger to her pants and knelt, giving him a wink. The tall boy was almost dying from the tease. He had taken off his tunic now, and Zina took note of how sculpted and tan his body looked. Like he worked on farms or on fields.

          She gulped, steadying herself as she crawled toward him. Another attempt at sexiness. She placed her lips to his hard belly and tasted his sweat. His grunt made her cringe even more and he stroked her head. She pushed his hands off, more tears pooling in her eyes as she thought of Pa. Of, Angel.

          She raised the lips to his shoulder blades, his neck, and when she brought them to his lips, tears glided down her face. He wiped the tears off, the callousness of his hands making her shudder. She pressed her body to his, and as their lips were slowly finding their way to each other, she drew out the dagger and slashed him across his left shoulder.

          “Hey!” He shouted gutturally, sprang up his feet and was after Zina. The blood seemed to make him more passionate, because in no time, Zina felt those same callous hands encircle her waist. She left her cloak and knapsack behind, so now, the tall boy could feast his eyes on her clearly if he wanted.

          He aggressively turned her around to face him, one arm still firmly around her waist and the other nursing his wound. “You lied to me again, honey. I hate it when people lie to me!” He snarled and Zina screamed.

          “Please! Please!” But he had roughly thrown her to the ground and put a punch to the sides of her face, firmly securing her between his thighs and was taking off his trousers. He didn’t have on any underwear and Zina screamed even more with all her might. Her head was throbbing from his blow.

          When he was done undressing, he punched her multiple times again and pressed his palms to her mouth, also covering her nose in the process because of the bigness of his palms. She struggled, making muffled sounds as he fiddled with her trousers. This was it; she was going to have her first time in this unfortunate incident. The grunts escaping the lips of the tall boy as he undressed her just confirmed her inevitable death.

          She lay there, an excruciating pain building in her head, tears rushing out of her closed and swelling eyes, blood trickling out of her nose and mouth, unable to properly breathe. She heard a scream that didn’t come from the tall boy. And then he craned his neck backward speedily, a scream leaving his mouth this time. He took his hands off her face, and she gasped, gathering all the air in the woods into her nostrils.

          She forced her hurting eyes open to see an arrow pointing out of the tall boy’s back. And then he sprang up and off her. She sat up, tears and pain making it difficult for her to see, but then she made out the silhouette of the two boys. And someone else, holding the bow and arrow. She rubbed the tears away from her eyes so she could see try to clearly see who it was.

          Amare. Amare?! How did he find her? How did he . . .

          “What in the name of the Emperor do you fools think you’re doing?!” He growled, and Zina started crying. Full on sobs. She was so happy; worse things could have happened to her if Amare showed up a second late.

          “This is none of your business. She’s our friend. She got hurt and we’re trying to help her.”

          Amare chuckled, in the way you chuckle knowingly at foolish people, and terrible liars. “You’re wearing your pants on the wrong way, man. Did you have to take it off to help her?”

          “Look, wardrobe malfunction—”

          “And you said ‘your friend’ got hurt. Why is there such a deep wound on you? That wound could get infected any minute now, if it isn’t already. You freaking liar! You’re dead for putting your hands on her!”

           He charged towards them, shooting arrows as he did. His every movement lissome and limber. With an arrow filled chest, the tall boy still ran towards Amare. The short one was already down and yelping. He got close to Amare and they had a face off. He was a little taller than Amare. Huger too. As he raised his fist to strike Amare, he stopped, his eyes widening in realization. He started coughing, slowly at first, and then quicker. Amare stepped back before he could cough out blood on him. He keeled over, still coughing with all his might.

          “You think I was going to fight with you? Touch a filthy animal like you?” He shook his head. “No, I would never do that. As much as I want to reach down and send your teeth flying down your darn throat, I would never touch your disgusting body. Nobody would find you here, so stop coughing too aggressively. Trust me, it would make your death a little slower and easier, which should be in about 5 minutes. Poisoned arrows don’t take too long to kill.”

          He rushed towards Zina, who was all dirt, bloody face and new swellings, soil and sobs. Her wrists and eyes were purple from the fierceness of the tall boy’s hold and eventual hits.

          “Zina!” He knelt beside her, tilting her head to assess the extent of her injury. “Are you okay?  Does it hurt so much? Did he hurt you anywhere else? Did he . . .” he tried to find a mild word to use. “Did he do it, to you?”

          She raised her eyes to meet his, still wailing. “Amare. Oh, Amare!”

          He pulled her into himself and she melted in the safety and warmth of his embrace. Her cries got even louder.

          “You’re okay, vulture. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

                                                                           ****

          Princess Haile had hit bullseye about 70 times. But she didn’t stop pulling out another arrow and shooting. Marjani walked up to her, alone.

          “Your Majesty,” she bowed and the Princess turned to her in shock.

          “What are you doing here?” She shot another arrow.

          Marjani swallowed watching the Princess with admiration. “I want you to train me. Personally.”

          Princess Haile motioned for the Royal maidservant with her to take the arrows out of the board. “You’re bold. To walk up to me and ask me to train you. Personally. Outside of the daily training.”

          Marjani smiled, this was a step in the journey of a relationship she wanted to create with the Princess. “You’re powerful. Talented. Amazing. Who better to ask for personal coaching?”

          “Don’t flatter me, kid,” She said, maintaining her usual austereness.

          “I’m not, Your Majesty. I . . .” She cleared her throat. “I admire you.”

          “You wouldn’t be the first. Or the last.” Princess Haile downed water, in a different waterskin from the one she used the last time. “Get in position and shoot.”

          She stepped away from Marjani, and the first six arrows she shot when into bullseye. The last one didn’t. She looked at the Princess for some sort of applaud, but got nothing.

          “I have no reason to train you. Keep working on yourself and you probably would get the seventh arrow into bullseye in no time.”

          “Your Majesty,” Marjani blurted as Princess Haile picked up her bag to leave. I admire you, so much. I want to be around you, more than you think. I want you to see me, and acknowledge me. I want you to invite me to your quarters, I’d appreciate it more than Zina does, she wanted to say, but swallowed those and instead said, “You didn’t ask me . . .about Zina today.”

          Princess Haile smirked and her eyes lit up in the way it did only when you mention Zina. “No need to.”

          Marjani’s eyes flew past Princess Haile. “Your Majesty,” she bowed.

          Princess Haile turned to see who it was, and the Crown Prince was taking gallant strides towards her, two guards behind him.

          “Sister,” he smiled when he got to them. “Aster.” He smiled equally at Marjani.

          Princess Haile looked away from him. “Why are you here, Taye? Shouldn’t you be holding meetings with the Royal Statesmen? Or at least, hanging out where you would find a wife?”

           Her statement made the Crown Prince’s smile waver. “I came to see you. You’re never in your quarters when I come to look for you. And when you are, your maidservants would say you are asleep.”

          “Bad timing, Taye. There’s something called bad timing. Yours is always bad.”

          He heaved and rubbed his forehead. Marjani noticed how much they looked like each other. It was no doubt they were twins.

          “Now that I’m here, let’s just talk.”

          “I have nothing to say to you, Taye. Move,” She said and started leaving. Her maidservant followed her.

          “I’m not getting married!” Crown Prince Taye yelled and Princess Haile turned sharply to face him. He nodded. “I’m not going to get married. Can we please talk? Please?”

          Marjani stood aloof, watching the twins both tear up. Princes Haile’s tearful face was angrier than the Crown Prince’s whose expression was pathetic. She knew she wasn’t supposed to hear the conversation, but she did. And she had just seen the Princess look . . .vulnerable.

          This was good, she could use this to get close to her! But, why was the Crown Prince refusing to get married? To take over his father and become Emperor, he needed a wife. And the whole of North Ogaza were at the edge of their seats, waiting for his coronation. So why was he refusing to be married. More suspiciously, why was the Princess refusing to talk to her brother? Weren't twins supposed to close?