Authors: L. M. Roth
It was not a
prince, but merely Lucius Maximus to whom Maelys was speaking, in company with
his sister Felicia. Nolwenn’s pendant had given her only partial knowledge and
did not reveal the other person in the picture the amulet had shown to her.
Lucius was
actually somewhat amused at the first sight of their visitor. He had never seen
any maiden clothed in such primitive garments, his own experience being limited
to the daughters of the wealthy with whom his family mingled. And even among
the Alexandrians in Valerium where the poor numbered among their company of
believers their robes were of a better quality than that of the young girl who
was presently a guest in their home. Her cropped hair was also a novelty when
the fashion was a mane of long and flowing locks held back by a bandeau.
That she was
also beautiful was the next thing that Lucius noted about her. This fact raised
her in his estimation of her person, but at the same time he could not help
noticing that she appeared to be completely unimpressed with him, something
that he could not recall every having happened with any maiden of his
acquaintance. He did not know whether to be amused or annoyed at her
indifference; then decided that, as he was not particularly impressed with her
appearance, he did not greatly care that she was likewise not impressed with
his.
He affected a
studied air of indifference so that she would realize he did not find her
especially attractive.
“And Maelys
shall stay with us for a few days so that she can rest after her journey,”
Felicia was telling him.
“It is so kind
of your parents,” Maelys murmured as she bestowed a glance of gratitude on
Felicia.
“Oh, but they
are delighted to have you! Mother especially since this is her first
opportunity to meet one of Dag’s children. And of course Father knows you
already and regards you as family. Really, it is kind of
you
to visit
us
.”
The two young
women exchanged smiles that revealed how much of a bond of kinship was between
them already. Lucius knew that Felicia did not particularly make friends
easily, being somewhat bored with the typical female product of Valerian
society, and therefore the Eirini girl was a novelty. But there was more beyond
that superficiality he realized, something deeper that connected the two of
them in sisterhood.
He vaguely
wondered what that might be, then decided he was not really interested enough
to hazard a guess.
He realized
with a start that his sister was addressing him. He snapped to attention and
affected interest.
“Hmm?” he
inquired.
Felicia gave
an exaggerated sigh of genuine exasperation.
“Lucius, you
must pay attention when people are speaking to you,” she said as she clamped
her lips tightly together and shook her head.
“I am
listening,” he said with a huff. “What did you say?”
Felicia rolled
her eyes and gave him the look that he knew so well and usually amused him.
Today in front of the strange foreign girl, it embarrassed him, as it must give
her the impression that his sister did not greatly respect him. That he knew
that impression to be correct only made his embarrassment deeper, and he felt
his cheeks flame with mortification.
“I told you
that the persecution in Valerium appears to be getting worse. Maelys’ father
Dag set out a few months ago to obtain news of what was happening with the
believers there, as the reports in Eirinia were evil indeed. But he has not
been seen or heard from since; that is why Maelys came to Lycenium because she
thought her brother might be coming here to visit. She had to disguise herself
as a boy for part of the journey because she was alone and unprotected.”
Suddenly
Lucius felt like someone had hit him in the stomach, and he felt as small as a
fly sitting on the head of a lion in order to annoy it. Here he was pretending
indifference to this girl, who had left everything behind her to travel alone
and unprotected in search of the father who had disappeared. Shame flooded him;
Felicia was right to be exasperated with him.
“Oh, I
am
sorry,” he addressed Maelys, for the first time since they had been introduced.
Her disguise
as a boy explained the cropped hair; she must have chopped it off to hide her
true identity.
“Please let me
know if I can be of service to you in any way,” he said, and rose to his feet
and bowed deeply before the girl from Eirinia.
She rewarded
him with a smile that was both shy and grateful, before she ducked her head
modestly.
It was little
wonder she was indifferent to him, Lucius thought. She only has one man on her
mind at this time.
As for her,
the mere thought of her courage and resolve in setting out to find her father
caused her to soar in the estimation of Lucius, who thought to himself that not
one of the maidens he had known in Valerium or Lycenium would have dared to do
the same.
It was on the
third day since Maelys arrived that a message came for Marcus. It was from
Justus Lucius, and had been held up the messenger said, by a great storm that
had blown the ship it had traveled on off course and cost a delay of a month’s
time.
Marcus was
eager to hear from his old friend and did not even wait to take the message to
the library to read it as was his custom. He had been sitting with his wife,
children, Kyrene, Antonius, and Maelys in the atrium, enjoying the morning sun
together when the missive arrived. He quickly opened the scroll and scanned its
contents.
He abruptly
sat down on the nearest chair, and clasped a hand to his forehead. A moan
escaped his lips before he could stifle it, and he cradled his head in his
hands. He sat thus for a very long moment, unable to speak or to look at the
others.
Kyrene’s eyes
took on the far-seeing gaze that Felicia knew so well from her days at the
school when her mentor had prophesied over others.
She knows,
Felicia thought. Whatever is in that missive, she knows it already.
Finally,
Tullia rose and sank to her knees before him. She gently removed his hands from
his eyes and looked deeply into them. When she addressed him her voice was but
a whisper.
“What is it,
Marcus?”
Marcus raised
his head and took a deep gulp of air; he inhaled it and then slowly released
his breath. He shook his head and looked at Tullia with the helpless air of a
small boy who tries to express something he does not yet have the words to
express. But perhaps there were no words for the news he had to relate.
The others
waited anxiously, each aware that they were not going to like what he had to
share…
At last he
spoke, first rising to his feet and crossing the room to Maelys. He took her
hands between his own and rubbed them as soothingly and gently as if she had
been his own child. She raised a bewildered gaze to him, as her eyes grew wide
with apprehension.
“Maelys,”
Marcus spoke at last. “I have news of your father.”
Felicia’s
first thought was that she was grateful that Maelys had been with them instead
of the Archippos family when she received the news of her father’s
imprisonment. Although she had grown close to that family on the voyage, they
did not know Dag, and the fact that he was a dear friend of the Maximus family
was an incalculable relief to the young girl, who felt their genuine love and
concern for him as well as herself.
She had borne
it bravely and with dignity, Lucius thought. She did not cry or faint or do any
of the other things that other young ladies might have done in her position.
Instead, she had paled and swayed on her feet, before straightening her spine
and standing as erectly as a young goddess. He felt a surge of admiration and
rushed to her side. He caught one of her hands just as his sister caught the
other. The three of them stood together, and he and Felicia led her to a chair
where they insisted she sit down.
Tullia placed
a stool in front of her, and placed her feet upon it. Then she stroked back the
copper curls from her brow and kissed the top of her head. And for the first
time, Maelys cried. Whether it was that the news finally smote her with an
agony of comprehension, or the tenderness of a mother’s love that she received
from Tullia no one was certain. She stifled her tears and dried them quickly,
turning her face away so none could see her pain.
And it was in
that moment that Lucius fell in love. He gave his heart to her completely,
whether she would ever want it or not. For the first time he saw past the
coarse garments of a primitive people and even the beauty of her face to the
simple nobility and majesty of her soul.
He also knew
in that moment that he must hide his love for her if he were ever to gain hers.
He was roused
from his thoughts by the sound of his father’s voice, addressing them with
further news.
“Justus states
that the persecution in Valerium is increasing,” Marcus informed them. “He
writes that there have been confiscations of property, tortures, and exiles,
even more than there were in the last days of Emperor Urbanus.”
There was
silence in the room as they digested the horrible tidings. No one looked at
anyone else; all eyes seemed fixed on a distant point that was visible only to
oneself.
Ultimately
Marcus voiced the thought that was uppermost in everyone’s mind.
“I do not know
what shall become of Dag.”
The next afternoon
Felicia and Antonius invited Maelys and Lucius along with Kyrene to their
villa. The October day was cool and rainy, so they sat together in the family
sitting room in front of the brazier that gave warmth to the room. Felicia
glanced around the room and noted the pale gold walls festooned with frescoes
that primarily depicted scenes of war and battle heroes. Their color schemes of
red, bronze and black complemented the ivory walls and blended in beautifully;
yet she hated those frescoes and wished she could tear them down and replace
them with something cheerful.
Today the
frescoes seemed to her to depict the horrors that were taking place in Valerium
among the Alexandrians, inflicting death, pain, and calamity on those she
loved. She wondered if she would ever see Valerium again and her family home,
the place that was still dearest in all the world to her. She wondered if
Maelys would ever see her father…
She heard a
clap of thunder in the distance and knew that one of the late afternoon storms
that frequently brewed in the Mountains of Moldiva was about to let loose its
fury. She drew slightly closer to Antonius, who glanced at her in surprise, but
put an arm around her.
Without
preamble, Antonius spoke to their guests regarding the reason for the
invitation.
“What shall we
do?” he asked, turning his gaze to each person in the room. “There is dire need
in Valerium with our fellow brethren. Do we sit here in safety and do nothing?
Or do we risk ourselves to go to their aid?”
Lucius felt
his heart thump uncomfortably, wondering what Antonius meant about going to
their aid. Did he mean that literally? If so, Lucius was not sure that he would
want to risk his life or encounter physical danger…
Kyrene did not
speak but studied the young people with a gaze both thoughtful and intense.
It was as if
she were assessing them somehow, Felicia thought, taking their measure in order
to determine their value. She felt a little uncomfortable, and found herself
hoping that she passed muster. With that thought uppermost in her mind she
ventured to speak first.
“I think we
should go to their aid,” she stated boldly. “Antonius, you and I are in a
position to help because your father is the Minister of State. Surely he would
be sympathetic to the Alexandrian’s cause, as you are one yourself. He could
then perhaps persuade Emperor Urbanus that he has nothing to fear from the
Alexandrians.”
Kyrene was
suddenly overcome with a fit of coughing, one so violent that it brought tears
to her eyes and reddened her face. It was several minutes before she recovered
and could speak, and when she did her voice was ragged with hoarseness.
“It is
nothing, nothing at all,” she hastily replied in answer to their concerned
queries.
And yet the
tears streamed down her face and her voice choked on a sob.
Felicia
hastened to her side and turned Kyrene round to face her. As she did so she
peered into her eyes to determine whether she was truly alright, only to be met
with a strange vision. She stared intently into the eyes of her former mentor,
and as the strange vision took shape before her own eyes she gasped and
clutched at her stomach.
“It is
alright, Felicia,” Kyrene said in a tone of voice that warned as well as
assured. “Say nothing of what you saw.”
Felicia’s eyes
clung to Kyrene’s and she nodded her head obediently, her face as white as a
new blanket of snow that covers an ugly landscape with a pristine loveliness.
Against the whiteness of her face her lips flamed as red as blood…
Lucius
realized that he did not want to know what they saw; Felicia’s face was proof
enough that it must be horrible. Antonius cast a look of concern on his wife,
but Maelys was frankly curious.
“You must be
seers,” she commented thoughtfully. “We do not have a seer in Eirinia. There
used to be women with the gift of sight who consulted crystals before my father
arrived and cast down all of the idols, but we have no seer among the
Alexandrians. It would be a great benefit to us to have one with such a gift.”
Lucius took
the opportunity to speak to her and to divert attention away from his sister
and Kyrene at the same time.
“Do you have
any with special gifts among your people?” he inquired, surprised to discover
that he was genuinely curious, as he had never before been greatly interested
in what the Alexandrians did.
“Well, my
father at times seems to have miraculous things happen when he speaks,” she
replied. “I recall once when a ferocious gale blew up once and wreaked havoc,
uprooting trees and destroying homes, and my father strode right to the center
of the green, held up his hand, and commanded the wind to cease. And it did!
And my brother Cort has been known to cast out evil spirits, although we do not
have much of that in Eirinia, at least, not in our village of Leith. Apart from
them we have an occasional healing take place, but not much more. My mother
says there was more of it in the old days after my father came to the village,
but for the past year or two there has not been as much.
“I sometimes
wonder if it is because of Niamh and Enora,” she said, more to herself than the
others.
Felicia raised
an enquiring eyebrow at her.
“Who are
they?” she asked.
“They are
women who seem determined to take us back to the old ways and the old gods,”
Maelys answered with a sigh. “During this past year they have tried to bring
back the worship of the old gods and goddesses at our seasonal festivals. My
father and Cort were there at Spring Festival and opposed them, but they were
gone during the Summer Festival, and most of the villagers joined them.”
She shook her
head mournfully and stared at the floor. Kyrene gasped and gave the girl her
full attention.
“But that is
terrible!” she exclaimed. “I was there when your father and Marcus drove out
the old gods, the Tuadan the Eirini called them. The Alexandrians call them the
Astra, which is their true identity; those who were cast out of Heaven in the
Great Rebellion. How can someone call on them again after all these years?”
“It would
seem that Enora never stopped worshiping them and she has prevailed on her
sister Niamh to return to them. I could no longer bear it after the Summer
Festival, and that is when I set out in search of my father, who would have
done something to stop them had he been there,” Maelys replied.
A tear
traveled slowly down her cheek, but this time Maelys did not stop it. This time
the tear was for the wayward hearts of her people, and not a sign of personal
pain that she wished to keep private from the gaze of others.
Kyrene rose to
her feet and began to pace the room, her eyes looking elsewhere in a manner
that would have been familiar to Marcus Maximus had he been present. The others
watched her and waited for her to speak.
She at last
stopped and nodded her head.
“A return to
idolatry in Eirinia; and persecution in Valerium,” she stated simply. “Why? Why
at the same time, do you think?”
The others
pondered on her question for several minutes. Felicia spoke first.
“The
persecution began in Valerium when Emperor Urbanus still lived.”
“And why was
that?” Kyrene pounced on her words like a lioness springing from its hiding
place. “Why did that good man turn against the Alexandrians when he had always
shown them kindness and permitted them to meet openly?”
“It is because
he was befriended by Iacomus Cornelius, who told him that we pledge allegiance
to another Kingdom than the Empire,” Lucius chimed in. “He told the Emperor
that after first infiltrating our ranks and spying on us so that he might
betray us.”
Felicia cried
out in protest, but her brother refused to be merciful. It was true, and her
marriage to the son of his Minister of State would not soften that stance no
matter how hard she wished it to be so. Antonius hung his head and simply
looked at the floor and kept silent.
Kyrene nodded
and also studied Felicia before she continued.
“And what
happened in Eirinia before the events at the Spring Festival?” she asked
Maelys.
Maelys did not
hesitate to answer or soften her words when she did so.
“My brother
Brenus married a strange woman who would not give her history or the name of
her homeland. She is not a follower of Dominio although she told him she was.
He was foolish and refused to see how evil she is. She has brought nothing but
trouble and discord to our family. And it was she who insisted on Niamh
reconciling with Enora. And out of that reconciliation came their rebellion,
and their attempts to turn the Eirini back to the old ways and the old gods.”
Kyrene
digested this information in silence. She resumed her pacing as she meditated
on the significance of these events. At last she turned to the young people.
“I recall our
mentor Xenon warning your fathers and me to beware of false brethren who come
in unawares. He said they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing that will devour
the flock, seeking what they can for their own gain. It would appear that this
is exactly what took place in both Valerium and Eirinia.
“And they have
wrought great damage indeed. Let us hope they have not brought utter ruin to
the Alexandrians.”
They held a
council, and it was decided that they could not stand by idly while their
fellow brethren suffered. Felicia was the first to stand up.
“I would like
Antonius and me to go to Valerium, to speak to his father and see what we can
do,” she said.
She held
Kyrene’s eyes with her own until the older woman dropped hers.
“And I shall
go to Eirinia,” Kyrene announced. “I was there at the time that your fathers
drove out the Tuadan, and as there is no seer in the land,” she said this with
a bow in Maelys’ direction, “I think it is time they made the acquaintance of
one.”
Lucius alone
had not volunteered action. In his heart, he was not sure he had the courage.
Yet, he could not be the only one to sit idly by and do nothing…
“I shall
accompany you and Maelys to Eirinia,” he said with a firm resolve that he did
not feel. “I may at least offer you both my protection on the journey, and give
it to you on the way back, Aunt Kyrene.”
She smiled
approvingly at the young man, and he shot a radiant grin at her, glad that he
had volunteered after all.
“Shall we make
a pledge of our own?” Kyrene asked.
She turned on
them a look of challenge.
“Shall we
pledge to come to the aid of those who suffer for the Kingdom, and to defy the
government that persecutes our brethren? Who shall stand with me?”
“I!” exclaimed
Felicia.
“And I!”
Maelys chimed in.
“I am with
you,” Antonius agreed.
Lucius paused
before making his decision. He knew that once he pledged his word he was bound
to keep it, an oath being inviolably sacred, binding the one who made it to
fulfill it on pain of death.
He rose to his
feet and strode to Kyrene.
“I shall stand
with you also.”