The king has left me alone for three days now.
I sit in the open archway, looking across and down at what all there is to see. This land was filled with a beauty that was cruel.
The ground held no life, the limited trees seemed to fight for survival. The sand in the distance stirred and swayed in the wind. The people below me looked worn.
This Kingdom held beauty- but at the same time- sorrow.
Like all places, I thought to myself, all places hold the good and bad together.
The male with skin like the night comes twice a day to bring me food. At first, I thought of poison. It wouldn't be outlandish to think that they had tainted my food in some way. But the second day caused me to give in.
I didn't care.
Poisoned or not- survival lasted only as long as my will did. Could a Goddess be poisoned? Could such thin drops bring something divine down? Did the holy path that ran through my veins protect me of such evils?
He finally came on the fourth day. I knew his curiosity would bring him back.
He sits and watches me before leaving.
On the fifth day he watches again. But this time he speaks.
"Tell me your name."
I ignore his request and continue to look out the archway. To see the world. To think of what it may be like to live life without a cage.
I hear his sigh of frustration.
"You are being moved."
With that last statement, he leaves.
True to his words, I am collected the next day and transported elsewhere.
I look around at my new surroundings. It is divided and separate from the main palace. The building is still connected to the structure.
Stepping inside, there are plants that hold the color green. There is a pool of water in the middle. The guard who is escorting me is distracted by the sight of the naked women who bathe in it.
A male steps forward, blocking the guards' view.
His appearance is startling. His head is shaven, his long cloak of dull brown wrapped around to cover his body. His garments are simple. Nothing about them stands out- but there is a subtle command in his gaze as he looks to the guard.
The guard wordlessly bows and turns away.
The male focuses his attention now to me.
"My Lady...welcome...I am Valerin, head of the wife's household."
I look around. It occurs to me then, where I have been moved.
The women who are bathing stop in their motion to look at me. I recognize two of them. I had met them before. Clio and Evadne.
One of the women rises. She does not bother to cover herself. She steps out of the water. I see the drops fall from her skin as she makes her way to me. She is beautiful. Her skin that has been tamed by the sun and long midnight hair capture my attention as she advances.
She stops before me. I watch as she smiles down at me, but there is something in her gaze that tells me I should be wary. I know who this woman is. I know what situation the foolish King has thrown me in.
"They said you were coming," her eyes that match her hair inspect me. I take in her also, watching as she shifts her gaze to the male called Valerin. "Show her where she will be staying."
The male bows before her.
A flash of anger rushes through me. He bowed to the wrong one. He lowered his head to something that was mortal and weak.
No one is aware of my thoughts as she turns back to face me.
"I am Lelian. First wife to the Elephant King and mother of the crown prince..." she looks expectantly at me.
I feel my face morph into a smile. I picture my hand wrapping around her throat. I can taste the blood of her skin as I watch the water drop from it. Clear drops now, but maybe they would turn red later.
"I am the Goddess Mikabellum."
Amusement flashes across her eyes. She laughs openly at me, before turning back to say something else to Valerin. It's something in a foreign tongue. I do not understand the words, but the male before me nods and looks at me.
I follow him, letting my gaze linger on the other females. They are silent, their eyes holding a hostility that shimmers on the surface.
I turn my back to them and follow Valerin.
The King comes later that night. He stands in my doorway, watching me as I also take him in.
"Do you like your new room?" He steps inside, closing the door behind him.
"You brought me to live with your wives."
He takes a step closer. "Yes."
"Why?" I ask.
He stops in front of me. His hand reaches and slowly, he drags a single finger down my face. He bends, letting his knees fall to the floor. Now we are eye level. Now I am looking into the soul of the King.
"Because I want you," he whispers.
"You cannot have me," I tell him, moving so that I am leaning down, letting the robes I wear slide up my legs. His gaze flickers to the exposed skin. I continue to lower myself, letting my full body lay on the bed as I hold my head in my hands and look down.
"You became greedy after one taste of the divine."
He smiles at my words, "I think I want to be blessed again."
"Do you think you are the first male who has tried and failed to claim me?" I said.
"Did he?" The king asks, "Did the great leader claim you? Did he make you his?"
Silence echoes after his words. He moves closer, so that our lips are just a breath apart. "What did he do to you?" he wonders out loud. "How did he find something like you?"
"Maybe he did claim me," I think the thought out loud, watching as the King pulls back to see my face.
"Maybe he did...he came in the night. I still can hear the sound of hooves...the brightness of the fire. The screams..."
The King says nothing as I slowly crawl down. He leans back on his heels, watching as I bring my hands and place them on his knees. I look up at him. He is breathless.
"Kiss me," he commands.
I lean forward and place my lips to his neck. His breathing hitches. He becomes breathless for a split second before I pull away.
"Again," he says. "More."
His hands find their way to my waist. I feel the heat from his skin slip through the thin fabric. I raise my hand, letting it touch his hair that held the color of flames.
"You are no different."
He unconsciously leans forward. Closer. Trying to reach me when I do not immediately obey.
I pull back and shake my head, "you are weak, Elephant King. You do not have the strength to resist temptation."
"There is something about you," his hands leave my waist and go to tangle in my hair. He wraps his hands around the strands, pulling my head back so that my neck is open and exposed. His tongue traces the curve that is revealed.
"You capture attention. No...you demand it. It is hard to take my eyes off of you. I think you are right," he whispers against my skin, "I think you are right to call yourself a Goddess."
I pull back. He lets the golden color fall between his fingers. He watches as I stand. He sits on the floor, looking up at me.
"Mikabellum..." he says my name and a flash of satisfaction runs through me when it is whispered like a prayer.
"Leave," I tell him.
Without a word, the King follows my command.
* * *
I look at the pool of water and slowly take off my clothes.
No other female is in sight. They are nowhere to be seen.
The coolness causes me to sigh as it hits my skin. I slowly begin the process of washing. Valerin had brought me soaps to use. They held different fragrances, all something that hinted of royalty and softness.
I turn when I hear a splash behind me. Clio is entering the pool also. She makes her way to me, her gaze never wavering.
"So you are the seventh?"
I scoff at her words, "I am not his."
She smiles in response, "he seems to think otherwise."
I ignore her and continue to bathe.
She interrupts my silence again, "the other women...they..." I turn to see the internal battle waged. "They do not like you...they will act out."
"And you?"
She seems genuinely surprised at my question. "I am the second wife...but only through an arrangement made by my father. I can live without the attention of the King and the cruelty his wives inflict when I receive him..."
Her gaze goes up, "he is watching."
I look to where she is staring and see the Elephant King. He is on a balcony high above, his arms crossed as he stares down. I cannot see his face from such a distance, but I can feel his eyes on us. There are images that haunt me of another male whose eyes fixed on my form as I had cleaned my skin and soul.
I look back to Clio and smile, "so?"
She laughs at my response. We continue in silence until both of us finish and leave.
Midday, Valerin comes into my room.
"The first wife requests your presence."
It's curiosity that makes me accept. I follow Valerin into a room. It is certainly bigger than mine, with lavish adorning's. I see all the other wives surrounding Lelian. They sit on pillows made of silk, their clothes matching the grandness of the room. Each woman is looking at the other.
I make my way to them, watching the war that was being held before my eyes.
"Mikabellum," Lelian pats the pillow that is beside her, "next to me."
I remain standing, accepting the cup they give me but not drinking. There was too much hostility and tension in the room to make me take in their offering.
"I noticed that the King visited you last night?" Lelian is straight to the point as she delicately takes a sip of her tea. "Did you enjoy his visit?"
"Yes," I said.
The other women still. Their sudden rigidness provokes me to continue.
"He has a way...doesn't he..." I look at the anger that rises in Lelian's eyes. "You taught him well," I whispered to her.
She smiles, but the motion is stretched and fake. I see the demon that lies under her skin. I am suddenly tired of this. Of their pettiness and the way their world worked. It revolved around one male. But then again- was I any different?
"I hope you saved it to your memory- because that will be the last time he visits."
"I don't think so..." I look at the other woman, meeting their eyes one by one. "I don't think that will be the last time I see the King on his knees."
* * *
There is temptation in the flesh that men cannot resist. It proves to the world that they are mortal, and something easy to manipulate. But only men who let their eyes drive their minds.
He wasn't like that.
Or maybe he was. But maybe the temptation could not outweigh the desire for something else. The great leader wanted both- but he did not need it all. Not for his plans. Not for the perfectly constructed formation of ideas that had led to this now- to me sitting in a room of silk and colors, with women glaring at me and Khalid no longer by my side.
I know what is coming. I know that the King had placed me here for another reason- to stop flow of information. To better monitor my movement from women who would do anything to gain his trust and attention.
The male with skin like the night comes to me. He stand at the doorway, a weary look on his face as he takes me in.
"You are needed."
I stand also, following his path- saving the route to memory as we advance to the throne room.
They stand there; the past will always haunt me it seems. I will always encounter familiar actions because of the people who surround me.
The men stand at a table, looking down at a map. Figures stand upon it, hands moving them, then bringing them back. Frustration showing on their faces, arguments quick to be fired, and ideas rising only to be shot down.
"Ah, here she is," the King speaks in a familiar tone, as if he and I are friends who share hidden secrets.
I approach, looking down at the map and noticing subtle differences from the one that had been spread before the great leader. There are names that do not match, or areas that had not been outlined. Confusion on who owned what and how land should be divided was apparent. The arrogance of these people resulting in their own downfall as they misplaced actions because of their own arrangement.
"Your great leader," the King points to a spot outside of the city, "is here. He's brought the whole of the Onism tribe down upon us."
A soft thrill runs through me as I look down and realize how close he is. Outside of the city. Soon with the possibility of being in my sight.
"He continues this lie that I have killed you- and they are angry." The King's men reflect on his words, concern and hostility etched into their features.
"He's created you to be a martyr, hasn't he?" The King reaches his hand out, as if he is about to tuck away a strand of gold that has escaped. My eyes meet his, and the hand that has ascended- falls. Words do not need to be spoken. He has already fallen into the spell created by my divinity- not aware- that I could command a King with the power of my gaze alone.
But his words ring with truth.
He has created you to be a Martyr.
"I wonder how long he's thought of this- this is obviously something more complicated than we could have imagined..."
The men are uneasy at the idea that they are walking into a trap.
He is clever
The thought slips to my mind as I take in the black dot that symbolizes my ruin. My downfall. I had been aware of it also - that fact that I had been taken from the beginning for a reason. That I had been located...but how....how had it all begun. How did I play into this game.
"The Onism tribe has always been peaceful- it's changed within the years- they grew before we had even realized it."
"But what does a nomadic tribe want with kingdoms? What can they gain by taking away thrones? Power has a limit..."
I laugh at the naïve words.
Eyes trace their way to my face.
"Power has a limit?"
The King's gaze darkens, "it should."
"But it doesn't."
I stare at the map. I take in the land. I see the presence of death that is coming closer. Closer. I can almost taste the air of war, filled with bitterness and containing a sharp edge.
"Do your men know that I have escaped death? That I've seen the world on the other side- that it contains anger and flames- that it reflects the future. Of what we will look like eventually. We will destroy ourselves and claim it had been necessary until the end."
I look at the males before me. Meet each of their gaze. See the fear in their eyes.
"Did you bring me here to comfort you? To gain knowledge that might save you from this fate?"
"We need to know their numbers. The formation of their men and how they operate on the battle field. There are people in this city- women and children who will become victims if our side falls," one of the males states, his eyes flickering back and forth in a dizzy circle between me, the King, and the land that his hands touch.
"I do not have the answer you want. Like you say, they are filled with rage. But maybe your own army can fight with what you have just told me- of defending their home. But I cannot tell you what thought will be the one to conquer, or what encouragement from each side will be the one to win."
"We can show them her," another male speaks out.
They look thoughtful. I cannot understand either what will be best. My thoughts do not circle like theirs. I do not think of women or children. I do not think of the destruction that will happen, or the ruin that will fall on either side.
Save me save me save me.
Save the goddess.
Save the divine.
Death could not touch me. A soul already broken could not be defeated from war.
"We've already contacted the others- only the wolf has responded. He might be able to make it in time, but I doubt he will bring the men we need."
I stay quiet, letting my presence blend into their surroundings so that I can remain and listen.
"We can hold with the gates."
"But not for long."
"They will wait."
"They are nomads who can live off the land. They will remain until we do not."
"Ask the other Kingdoms again. Promise them something, my King. We do not know the numbers, but their side grows larger everyday. There are still those who go to them. They are still taking in the tribes and making them into their own."
The King's shoulders are hunched, eyes staring blankly down at the map. Frustration is in the air. A desperate feeling. And I suddenly know what the actions will be as all their eyes rise to stare.
"They will stop if we show her."
"But they will not believe. They will think it a trick"
"Ah," a smile forms on the Kings' face suddenly. He looks around- I see the spark of his soul rising with the idea that has taken over his mind.
"But Mikabellum has said so herself-," he meets my gaze, "we lost the first time because we did not have her. But now..."
I remain numb to their stares, taking it in again at how my identity is being used to their own advantage. How I, the goddess of war, am being handed down.
"But now we have a goddess on our side."
AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Hello.
My heart is pounding. It's been so long since I've posted anything, that I seriously forgot how to upload a chapter.
How has everyone been? I can understand if I am basically talking to myself right now. I'm sure the majority of past readers have moved on and given up. I apologize (like I always do) at how late this chapter is.
There are no excuses I can make other than 1. Dude I've been living my life lol and 2. The story got so complex that I kinda felt intimidated writing it- seriously, I don't know how I managed to make a story like this with so many layers. So I also apologize for that fact that because it's been so long, there might be details that do not line up from past chapters. I tried my best to reread the chapters, but even I got bogged down with the details and all the hidden messages I had dropped throughout (I did not take that into consideration when going on such a long break). Let me know if you think there are any discrepancies with the story and I will look it over and try to adjust.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next update will come in 2024 (kidding, kidding (hopefully I'm not kidding...))
I never lie though when I state my parting words of-
Until next time,
/////WORLD_JOY_/////