Cursed By The Gods Book 1 and 2

Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The light streaming into room from the small window was dull but that was all Emilia needed to wake up, not that she had slept a lot during the night. At intervals she awoke, hugged her knees to her chest, rocked on her heels and sometimes tears slipped out. She was so grateful that neither Ira nor Herman had pushed her for much details instead they had simple opened their door to accommodate her even though they had no reason to. There was no looking glass in the room but she was sure her eyes were puffy and red. As she rowed over on the thin bed she saw a small bowl of water on a rusted metal stand with a towel hanging from it, she smiled at Ira’s thoughtfulness. She stood up and washed, cleaning her face and hands with the towel before going outside to face her hosts.

Ira was in the small kitchen over the stove stirring at a pot while Herman was nowhere to be seen. The kitchen wasn’t large, there was a small wooden table that served as the eating area with chairs at each corner, the stove was rough from much use but very neat and tidy, even the floor was well scrubbed.

“You are awake, my lady.” Ira’s voice broke through her thoughts. The small woman was looking at her with so much concern that it brought tears to her eyes and a lump to her throat. She blinked past the tears in her eyes and drew out a chair to sit on.

“I didn’t want to wake you up so early. Did you see the water I left for your bath?”

“Yes I did, Ira. Thank you very much.”

Ira dropped a plate of the meat stew she had been stirring in the pot with some bread on the table in front of Emilia, she also poured some strong wine in a cup and passed it to Emilia. As Emilia started to eat Ira sat opposite her with her own plate of food, she wanted very much to hear what could have made a queen leave her home in tears to be with she and her husband, poor commoners that they were but she knew better than to ask. Emilia may have sought to find comfort in her humble but she was still royalty and Ira respected that so she kept her mouth shut and tore her bread. The kitchen door opened and Herman walked in, one look at Ira had him wiping his feet on a piece of cloth before joining them at the table. Ira poured him some wine and got him some stew with bitter herbs and bread.

“Where is the young stable boy?” Emilia asked when he didn’t join them at the table.

“He left early this morning with a message for you. He asked that I tell you that he wants to make a fortune for himself here with the money you gave to him.”

He was a smart young man. Intavia was now a big rich nation and finding fortunes here would be easy if he was wise with his investments and spending. Emilia nodded, she couldn’t keep him from making a life of his own, he couldn’t go back to Camelorn because like he had said Octavius could have his head off for assisting her to escape and she couldn’t keep him either because she currently had no plans for herself. She could try to get a home for herself here but her money would not sustain her.

“I am so sorry I have inconvenienced you two,” she apologized to the couple who tried their best to act like nothing was out of the ordinary with her showing up unannounced at their home.

“It is okay…” Ira started to say.

“No it is not,” Emilia interrupted her. She didn’t want to feed on their sympathy or feel entitled to taking what little they had. “I have left my home, my kingdom to show up here at your home suddenly, I should give an explanation for that.” She pulled her half empty plate away and locked her hands together. “I should say first that my maid who I came with the last time is dead, she died days ago.” As her voice broke Ira reached across the table, took her hands in hers and squeezed her fingers. “I was pregnant then and though I did say we were here to celebrate with Helos and Delia I failed to also say that I was here to see the omede to confirm my pregnancy.”

Ira drew a long breath in. Emilia’s frowned at the look on her face and asked, “What is it?”

Ira exchanged a look with her husband before turning back to Emilia. “The omede is dead, she died months ago the exact time you came.”

Emilia frowned. “What?” She pulled her hands out of the woman’s grip and cried into her hands. “Evil luck follows me. What happened to her?”

“Her hut burnt down. People who were there said there were emblems found in the ashes, strange ashes we have never seen before, none of them belonged to any of our gods. People said she must have angered some gods,” she clucked her tongue. “It was a terrible sight, her body was burnt beyond recognition.”

Emilia sniffed and cried into her hands. Of course Ashterah must have had a hand in it since it was first the omede who revealed her affair with her husband. She wished she had not gone to the woman after all maybe the poor woman would still be alive. She was right, bad luck did follow her.

“What about you child, my lady?”

Her hands fell from her face. “She is a curse. She is different. I went through pain to birth her and she came out as a curse to me,” she wailed.

Ira and Herman shared a look before he pushed his chair back silently and left the kitchen without making a sound. Once he was gone Ira pulled her chair closer to Emilia’s and pulled the shaky woman to her, Emilia immediately leaned her head on her shoulder.

“How do you mean?”

Amidst sniffs Emilia explained to her the implications of having a god as a child and how it the child had come to be in the first place.

“The omede and a wizard of Camelorn told me about the affair my husband had with the goddess of war, I don’t even know how long it has been happening,” she stifled another bout of crying and continued. “But it did lead to giving birth to a child who is different, she doesn’t look like anyone in the kingdom- not even the goddess of war.”

Ira rubbed her shoulder but said nothing.

“My husband suddenly accused me of having an affair with Helos, his guilt made him to that!” she fisted her hands at her sides. “I don’t know where he got that from but he accused me when he was the guilty one, had my maid thrown into the dungeon where she died and I only got to know when I was escaping. He couldn’t even do the needful of letting me know she was dead, that’s how much guilt he carries!” she sniffed hard again. “I had to leave, the people might have killed me if I didn’t, they would be searching for me now. The law doesn’t do anything when a man has a mistress but a woman they will happily lynch. I ran for my life and because my home, the home I thought I built with the man I loved was becoming bitter and I couldn’t bear to see that cursed child every day. My first thought was to gone to the palace for security but no doubt my husband would see that as proof my supposed affair Helos.” She stopped as she realized she had just told everything to Ira who listened carefully, she was pleased to know that as she spoke her voice hardened and her tears were no longer running. She pushed away from Ira and wiped her cheeks clean.

“I don’t have any place to go but I definitely would not be going back to Camelorn. You will only have to accommodate me for a little while before I build a house of my own and find a source of living…”

“You can stay with us, my lady. Do not be in a hurry to leave because we have enough to cater for your needs. Of course,” Ira attempted a smile for Emilia’s sake. “You will not steal us blind, besides if you need a place to hide from the soldiers your husband might send to find you the last place they will check is the barn of a poor farmer.”

Emilia smiled with gratitude. “Thank you.”

Ira smiled too and squeezed the poor queen’s shoulder.

Meanwhile as years went by, as seasons came and went in Camelorn Cleopoda grew stronger, her beauty was blinding and even at age six Strukus was already smitten by her, he wanted always wanted to be wherever she went and hold hands like they did as babies. Her smile was beautiful to look at but she rarely smiled when no one ever said any kind words to her. The servants despised her and papa never wanted to see her, not even when she requested to see him, the only people who spoke kindly to her were Strukus and Mama Remin. Termla watched her progress from a distance and her heart broke every time she saw the child cry at the lack of parental love, her heart broke even more for the worse that was yet to happen.