Azripa Kom Azgeda

Betrayal

It was a long ride back to Azgeda. I had awhile to think about things. I felt bad for what I did but it's for the survival of my people. As much as I cared about my new friends, my people had to come first. We got closer to a familiar area, Timber's village. "Hod op! Trikru ste raun hir. Blinka au, melon op en shof op." (Halt! Trikru is around here. Eyes sharp, heads up and be quiet.) I ordered. The two men nodded.

We slowly rode our horses closer to the opening that led to the village. It was still there. I could still see the lookout hut. "We must go on foot to see how many remain," I commanded.

We got off our horses and tied them to a tree. We then slowly got to the entrance again.

"Sha, en ai nou gaf em in."

"em ste enti."

"Hod op, beja."

We could hear chatter among the villagers as we got closer. I looked up behind a bush and saw fewer people than I remembered. 25 or so left. I saw the Chief, he was recovering from a bad shoulder injury. There was Leyna as well. They made it, but does that mean my brother didn't? We stood there watching waiting for it to get dark.

Now only about 10 or 15 people remained outside. "Now!" I whispered. We jumped up from the bushes and ran towards the unsuspecting villagers. By the time they saw what was happening it was too late. "Azgeda!" Someone yelled. Then more people began to come out of their homes.

The three of us were able to handle ourselves. Body after body. One of the men began burning down homes. Some still had people in it. With all the chaos, it began to make things easier for us.

The sun was starting to come up as we rounded up the remain 12 people in the village. "Aksel?" The chief said realizing my true identity. "NATRONA! NATRONA!" (TRAITOR! TRAITOR!)  He yelled trying to get up. One of my men pushed him back down. "Shof yu op o ai na frag yu op." (Silence or I'll kill you.) He said. "What should we do with them all?" The other man asked. My throat began to burn as the words came out of my mouth. "Frag emo op." (Kill them.) They pulled out their swords and began to start slaughtering the people. Most were children.

Then I heard something the woods. I saw the young warriors that I trained with. Their numbers were smaller as well. The chief saw them too. "No! Run!" He yelled out to them as he was stabbed to death. Leyna was leading them. "Jus drein!" She yelled. "Jus daun!" They yelled back. (Blood must have blood.) Then they began running towards us. We quickly got into defensive positions. Some of the kills were quick. Others took a while.

When it was down to the last 6 warriors, Leyna attempted to attack me. "Now I don't have to mimic you this time," I told her. We began fighting. She was a good warrior and skilled fighter. If I didn't have my training I wouldn't be alive. She went to strike high as I moved in time and rammed my sword into her chest. Blood began to drown the dirt. Her sword fell.

"Yu gonplei ste odon." (Your fight is over.) I said as she fell to the ground.

After the fighting stopped. We got our supplies and horses. We left the ghost town and continued our trip. We made it to where I hid my weapons when I first got here. "I missed these," I said as I picked up my bow and my sword. I took what I needed and we continued. We made it back to Azgeda. I saw the castle in the distance.

Once we got there, I gave my horse to a stable boy and began walking to the palace. I walked through the doors and saw my Queen talking to Talis, my teacher.

"Ai haiplana." (My Queen.) I said, kneeling.

"Aksel?" She said surprised.

"Looks like you saw some combat. Meaning this was a success?" She continued. "Tomis said he saw you at the village but ran off with a Trikru boy. You maintained your cover, so good job. Now, what do you have to report?"

Relief calmed my nerves. Tomis was alive. "War is here. Leksa is preparing her army to march against us. Eiko and Raika are doing the same." I told her.

"Our army will be here in a day or so. Leksa's will be here in three. We will set a trap and surprise her army." The queen said smiling. "Good job, go rest. We have a war to win."

I left and went to my room. After I felt well-rested I decided to go to the market outside the castle. People cleared the road as they saw me walk by. If you trip or bump into a royal official it was punishable by death. People feared the queen so people feared me too. "Won, beja." (One, please.) I asked the baker. He gave me a fresh roll of bread.

"HOD EM OP! EM DON JOK GON AI!" (STOP HIM! HE HAS STOLEN FROM ME!) Someone yelled.

I saw a boy run down the road. I chased him. I saw guards behind me join in. We had him cornered. When we got to the end of the road he pulled out a knife.

"Stay back!" He yelled.

"Do you know who I am?" I told him. He shook his head. "I am a royal spy. Kill me and the queen will have your head." His eyes widened and he dropped the knife.

"Give back what you stole," I commanded him. He gave me some bread and apples. "You stole food? Why?" I asked. "Please! It's for my family."

The guards finally caught up and went to grab him. "Hod op! Em ste gon ai." (Wait! He is with me.) I said. Confusion spread across everyone's face. "He's a common thief, he must be punished." One of the men said.

"I am in charge here. If I tell you something you follow it." I said. "Now return to your posts," I ordered them.

"Come, I'll get you some food," I said to him. He followed me to the castle. He was a bit cautious ready to run in case it was a trap. "It's not a trick," I said reassuring him.

I took him to the dining hall. I called the cooks and told them to make him something. I told them to make enough so that he could bring some to his family as well. "Why are you being nice to me?" He said. "Because I did somethings to hurt people. Now I'm going to help them." I said. His food arrived. I left and called up two guards to escort him home when he finished.