The screams from the forest echoed across the meadow, and into the town. Fence, who had been staring as hard as he could at the writhing bushes, before they suddenly became still, did not have any idea how close he had come to death, but he knew that something was wrong here. “It’s a trap, it’s a trap!” Fence cried, running as fast as he could away from the town square and away from the forest, across the meadow, not exactly knowing where he was going or what he had just seen, but the first did not really matter to him, so long as he got away from here, and he could guess at the last. “There are more soldiers in the forest!” Fence cried.
Rajar, who had stopped at the mouth of the alleyway, to watch his brother stare at the bushes and take off running, heard Fence’s cry. He turned around in time to see an overwhelming mass of people start pouring into the alleyway, trying to escape the town square, Habala, and the soldiers. “Stop, stop, it’s a trap!” Rajar cried, trying to stop them, but then he was forced to jump out of the way to avoid being trampled.
Many, if not most, did not hear him as they thundered past, and those that did hear him were too hard-pressed to leave the crowd. He thought he saw Jawen and Talia amongst them. Fearing what he might see, or what might happen to him, if he went out into the meadow after them, he stayed in the alleyway, crying silently to himself.
The townspeople in the square faintly heard screams in the distance, the sound of people running, and almost everyone turned their heads to stare out in the direction of the forest, almost everyone terrified of what it meant. “Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten that.” The soldier in command muttered to himself. “I wonder what’s wrong now?”
“What’s happening out there?” Geda, Habala, and others cried, but they knew, or they thought they did, and they turned their attentions back to attacking the soldiers on horseback. For the guards of Coe Aela, the nightmare had begun.
Chapter 17: A Purpose
Purpose in life is never fixed and straight, though we
Wish to know where we are going and if we are heading
In a direction which will lead us to fulfill that promise. We
Can only hope that we may find a way that will fulfill us.
--Purpose, Angora
Nisa sat upon a bench in the kitchen, rubbing her forehead to relieve the pressure that had built up in her mind the past couple of weeks, the longest Basha had ever gone without observation from either Nisa or her father, and perhaps the farthest he had ever been from either one of them as well. She felt guilty for having allowed Basha to go on ahead without her when she was supposed to be keeping her eye upon him, and protecting him as well.
It was her fault this time. She should have gotten out of Coe Aela sooner, before Goga captured her and tortured her along with the other servant women he suspected of helping the group. He had then ordered that none of the servant women could leave Coe Aela, although by then it was already too late for her to track down and catch up with the group running away in the vast wilderness of the Popo Hills region. In fact, if she had not held back and waited to leave Coe Aela, for fear of being discovered by the group if she followed them too closely on their depature, then she would not have been captured, and she certainly would not have been captured lying alongside Janus.
Janus, she had goofed up there. She wasn’t even sure she trusted him completely yet, but she had found herself drawn to him, soon after she had held a knife-blade at his throat and he had proven that he had ties to the royal messenger bird accompanying the group. So she had tried to draw him out after that, to get to know him better and know what he was doing here in Coe Aela before she left, but then he had responded to her attention in kind, and that had been rather nice for her. Though she had taken a brief stint away from him, in time to help Gnat retrieve the Black Sword from Goga, she couldn’t stay away from him for very long, and had returned to Janus that evening before she was captured. It was quite unlike her. She had delayed leaving Coe Aela, a dangerous place, to follow after Basha and the group, for a man she barely knew, even after she had told him so much about herself and what she was doing--it was unlike her. She was losing her head, and Basha and his friends might pay the price for her negligence.
She feared that Basha might be in trouble, especially with Goga and his men right after him. She hoped that he might stay ahead of his pursuers, but there was no guarantee that he would be protected out there without her. She wished that she could go back home, and talk to her father face-to-face, instead of by the weak mode of communication that they had devised that barely ever worked, so that she could understand why she had done what she did, why she had found Janus to suddenly be more important than her duty. She couldn’t love him, could she, not after all these years of responsibility? What was the matter with her?
She was tired, and ached all over from the days of labor she had performed at Coe Aela, not to mention the stint in the dungeon cells she had gone through that ended in torture, that she wished it all would be over soon. In fact, it would be. The kitchen door opened, and she looked up at Janus. “Ah, Nisa, there you are, I was wondering where you had gone off to,” Janus said, closing the door behind him as he entered the kitchen. “I hope you are ready for--Nisa, what is the matter with you? Are you all right?” He asked, studying her.
“Janus, I am fine, I just worry for us, for Basha and Oaka, for all of them--” She said, standing up to face him.
“Nisa, you worry too much.” He said, grasping her by the shoulders. “They are fine, they have each other and the Black Sword, and as for us, we will be fine. I have prepared for everything that can happen.”
“How can you know? Janus, I don’t think you can prepare for everything that will happen, not in a situation like this. These people will be facing difficult odds, for though they might overwhelm the guards in numbers, the guards will be heavily armed, well-trained, and in peak condition. There are old people and children amongst the servants. You can’t imagine--”
“Nisa, I know a little more than you think. Have some faith in me.” He said, hugging her tightly, and kissing her on the cheek. “You are wise beyond your years. You cannot imagine that things will go well.” He murmured.
“That’s because things rarely do go well.” She murmured, shaking her head. “This is all so sudden, it is beyond anything that I ever could have imagined, and I do have a good imagination. That I would trust somebody so quickly, though, makes me speechless, because I have not trusted anybody as quickly and as much as I have trusted you, aside from my parents,” Nisa told Janus, lifting her head and staring at him. “And even then--I do not trust you completely.” She said. “I look at you and think how can you be so young? How old are you, Janus? Are you close to my age, or are you far older?”
“Far older, Nisa, far older than you can possibly believe.” Janus admitted, staring down at her.
“Try me. My father is the Old Man, and he is at least 2,000 years old, if not older.” She said.
“Is that right? Nisa, I am 75 years old.” Janus admitted.
Nisa stared at him, backing away. “How can it be so?” She asked. “How is it possible? How can you two be so well preserved?” She asked.
“I don’t know about your father, but as for me--I made a mistake in my past when I was young, a long time ago, believing what I was told by others and falling in step with them. I learned the foolish error of my ways at the foot of their master, but by then it was too late. I was changed irrevocably beyond my years, I could not change back, nor could I move forward. I remained stuck in my position--”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Nisa cried, raising her hand. “I cannot believe--are you telling me that you were once a Follower of Doomba? And that you met Doomba?”
“He is the one who changed me,” Janus said, lowering his head, “Against my will, he sucked everything out of me--”
“No, no, no!” Nisa cried, slamming her fist down on the counter as she turned away from him. “You can’t be, you just can’t--” She lowered her head, and
covered her eyes as she whispered, “I trusted you.”
“You can trust me, Nisa.” Janus said, reaching out for her, but then she swatted at him.
“No, I can’t even look at you.” She muttered as he backed away from her.
“I thought that, for the longest time, I would have to live on with this face and continue on with what I was doing like nothing had changed,” Janus said, rubbing the back of his head, “Like I was still a loyal Follower of Doomba. But something had changed in my heart.” He said, looking up at her with eyes like silver shadow pools. “And soon after, my actions reflected that. I abandoned my old ways and gave up my career, my acquaintances, and my habits as Cannon, the loyal Follower of Doomba with his mark upon him, and I became Janus, the unknowable, the unfollower. I turned towards the highest authority I could find opposing Doomba, King Sonnagh, and I told him the truth of what I had done, of what I had known, and he believed me.” Janus seemed stunned by this revelation still.
“You have the mark of Doomba upon you, a part of him still inhabits you.” Nisa muttered, peeking out at him from between her fingers. “I can’t look at you, because he might be looking back at me. I cannot risk that.”
“I can’t change that,” Janus grimaced. “And I wish I could, but I don’t know how. But the chances of Doomba looking through me, of using that part of himself inside of me--I’m not sure how often he does something like that, but it has got to be rare.”
“You’re not sure,” She gritted her teeth, “And he has a hold of you.” She said, lowering her hands slowly, warily, as she glared at him. “I cannot risk everything for you, Janus. I cannot risk—I have told you too much already.” She said.
“I’m not sure how often he uses that ability, but I think I have a greater hold on myself than he does.” He said. “Remember that humans get to choose what they do as Followers. What hold Doomba has on any one of us is a wisp compared to what we do ourselves, and I chose to leave him behind me. I chose to follow King Sonnagh, and I choose now to lead these servants out of Coe Aela. I want you to come with me.”
Nisa dropped her hands completely. “You seem sure.” She said.
“As sure as I can be.” He crossed his arms, and continued, “I was given this task to perform, of spying upon Lord Fobata, to prove myself as a loyal citizen of Arria, but then I went a step farther. I prompted this servant rebellion, to ferment dissatisfaction into greater disorder, to destroy the infrastructure of Coe Aela, and destroy Lord Fobata’s ability to function as a Follower of Doomba. He cannot turn around and hire more servants instantly. Training new people, if he can find new people who will accept positions here, will be difficult to say the least. Coe Aela will fall apart.” Janus smiled.
“You seem cocky.” She remarked, eying him askance.
“Maybe I am a little, but I know what I am doing here, and it is the right thing this time.” He said, going towards the kitchen door. “After all of the years of wrong, awful decision-making. Will you be joining us, Nisa?” Janus asked, turning towards her as he opened the door. “We are about to march out of Coe Aela, after all, and this could be your last chance to get to Coe Kiki ahead of or just behind Basha, Oaka, and their friends.”
“You certainly didn’t know what you were doing when you joined the Followers of Doomba.” Nisa muttered, following after him, “And I certainly didn’t know what I was doing, getting involved with you.” She muttered, glaring at him as she went out the door.
“Believe me, Nisa, I will prove myself to you,” Janus said, closing the kitchen door behind them. “I will prove that I have what it takes to be your true love. I will do whatever it takes to reunite you with your charges, Basha and Oaka.”
“True love? Truly?” Nisa asked hesitantly, staring at him as they went down the steps into the front bailey, where all of the servants of Coe Aela were gathered, shouting at the few guards arrayed against them, on the ramparts and on the ground in front of the gate with the portcullis lowered. More guards were coming from the back bailey, the barracks, along the ramparts and from inside the castle.
She couldn’t believe that he was talking to her like this, so soon after revealing himself to her. Most likely it was a diversion, intended to throw her off guard and keep her unbalanced, but she needed to keep herself focused on what had to be done, who needed protection at this time, and what she could really do to investigate Janus and stop him from doing anything wrong, when she had limited resources, very few allies she could trust, and so many people here who needed help. Gods, she had to think straight.
“Truly, I promise.” Janus said as one servant shouted out a name, over and over again, until a guard dropped his sword in horror. Two more servants, and then three more, and then about a dozen more started shouting out names, and then guards were dropping swords right and left before joining the servants. “Let us go join them,” He said, grabbing Nisa’s hand and pulling her towards the crowd. She was helpless around him sometimes, and allowed him to control her, but only up to a point. She would make sure that he didn’t get too far out of line.
“My guards are fraternizing with the rebels!” Fobata bellowed from where he stood before the front doors of Coe Aela’s castle, next to his clerks and assistants. “Can someone please explain to me why all of my men seem to be deserting?” He turned, glaring at them.
“I should have realized this might happen.” Marlo the steward said with a sigh from where he stood.
“What are you talking about?” Fobata growled, turning to him now.
“Do you remember how, six years ago, King Sonnagh reduced military expenses for the entire kingdom?” Marlo asked. “One of the measures was less funds allowed for the payment of guards’ wages at the ducal castles.”
“Oh, yes,” Fobata frowned. “I seem to recall that Goga was complaining about such wage reduction. Without funds from the king, we would have to pay the guards ourselves, and so we had to reduce the wage. And then some guards quit--”
“At which point, your Grace, your brother Goga advised that it would be cheaper to recruit young men from amongst your servants to be your guards. They would not know that they were being underpaid, compared to other guards, and might even be glad that the wages were higher than--”
“Oh no.” Fobata said, slamming his hand into his face.
“That’s right, quite a few of your guards are the sons, brothers, nephews, cousins and friends of the servants,” Marlo said, pointing, “And those servants started calling out for their friends and family members to join them in this revolt.”
Fobata lowered his hand, staring out at the scene. “Let them out.” He muttered.
“Pardon, your Grace?” Marlo asked, staring at the duke.
“Let them out!” Fobata cried, and several servants and guards stared back at him. “If they’re so eager to go, and get away from this place, then let them out!” He cried again, and the servants cheered as the remaining guards obeyed their lord’s orders, and started to raise the portcullis. The first few servants, and allied guards, started to pass through underneath the portcullis, leaving Coe Aela behind them.
“Excuse me, your Grace, I won’t be but a moment,” Marlo said, going down into the crowd of servants. Fobata glared after him as he went towards Janus.
“Look around you, Nisa, this is a joyous celebration!” Janus laughed, waving his hand at the crowd. “Everyone is happy, not a drop of blood was spilled, and it was just perfect.” He said with a subtle uplift to the corners of his mouth--a smile or a smirk?
“Are you sure? The steward is coming over here,” Nisa said, pointing.
“Just wait a moment, Nisa, I want to go talk to him.” He said, pushing through the departing crowd to meet Marlo in the middle of it. “Hello, Marlo,” He said.
“Well, Janus, I just wanted to say that you certainly did fool me. I never did catch you in the act of planning or preparing for this rebellion.” Marlo said. “And it was a little less than two weeks ago that I spoke to you about this.”
/> “I know. I had to move fast, and strike before the month was gone,” Janus said, nodding as he glanced around. “We had to gather up our forces and our supplies in short order, while the memory of Goga’s incarceration of the servant women was still fresh. If we had waited too long, and hesitated to take action, the memories of that latest indignity would have just faded away, to the same old hardship that people have to suffer, and we would have lost our chance to seize upon the furor.”
“Well, good luck to you, Janus, and take care of my servants.” Marlo said, reaching out to grip Janus’s hand and shake it. “Tell Ravona that I love her, and that I miss her when you see her again.” He said.
“Why don’t you go tell her that yourself? Come with us,” Janus said, “And see your daughter and grandchild. The servant rebellion has succeeded, we’ve got guards on our side to protect us on the march to Coe Kiki, and we even have some horses,” He pointed towards the stables, where some guards were seizing their horses to take with them, “If you can’t march. Fobata certainly couldn’t stop you if you wanted to come, so why don’t you?”
“Because I’m too old to spend days marching out there in hot and cold weather. Because my bones might break, my steps might slow, and I might grow so weary that I couldn’t carry on, and I wouldn’t want to take a horse away from somebody else who might need it.” Marlo said, “I would slow you all down, and I wouldn’t want that. I want you all to go on out there and enjoy yourselves without me, seize the day, and find new lives for yourselves.”
“Marlo, Marlo, I’m older than you are, and I’m going.” Janus said.
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