Heima: Challenge to the Crown

by S. W. Gunn

  Part of him wanted to tell her about the sex of their child but it was a surprise he just had to keep to himself so he just shook his head at her.

  Her smile quickly returned as she pulled Daell into a hug.

  Although her voice was muffled as she was close to him he could hear the joy in her voice as she said, “Daell I am so happy. I did not say anything, but when I held your brother’s baby, it made me long for my own child.”

  “You did not need to say anything. It was written on your face as though you had said it; even my family could see it.” He replied with a laugh.

  She laughed with him.

  Chapter 23

  Astir was in complete shock from the revelation that she was with child. Until she had held her little nephew she had not known it but now she knew that she had wanted her own child, but to actually find out that she would soon have her wish granted was shocking. As they slowly walked down the steps into the Kyla she found that her hands kept wandering to her belly, she could not feel anything different. Unlike every other woman in Heima, she already knew the sex of her first born child, a girl. It was the way it had been for each Queen before her; the first born was always the heir to the throne. Astir’s reign would be one of the shortest of the Queens. She heard of some Queens that waited until they were well into their fortieth harvest to have their first child. The first Queen apparently had ruled for over one hundred years before she borne her own heir. Astir still did not believe a woman over one hundred harvests could bear a child, but she was reminded of Daell’s words about her earlier. She had barely warmed the throne and she was already with child, which caused her to chuckle to herself. Perhaps if she could have kept her hands off of her husband, and he kept his hands off of her, they might have had a longer reign. There was little doubt in her mind that Daell would not complain the turn he was no longer King.

  As they walked down the stairs she had to admit they were pretty impressive. Daell had told her that they must have been newly added, which she was glad for it because she doubted she could navigate a rough tunnel. Even more so with her newly discovered condition. The thought of sharing the news to everyone back home excited her; she imagined that her mother would be quite happy. She had to struggle to pay attention to the Hyggja as they guided her on a tour of their Kyla, thoughts of her impending child kept creeping into her mind. Although she did have to admit to being impressed by the Kyla, within their massive cavern was a small city built. She noted several tunnels that led to other areas. The Hyggja showed her the main buildings and then took her to the tunnel that led to the place an embassy would be located at. Apparently her brother had ordered a building made just for Daell, it was the first building completed in the cavern that the Jordlings had carved and sat next to the site of the embassy. They were still hard at work on the embassy when Astir and Daell arrived.

  The workers all stopped work and bowed on her arrival which she smiled softly at them as she instructed them, “Return to your work my friends.”

  They turned and went back to their work.

  Johtaja spoke, “You are both welcome to stay here in our Kyla as the sun shall set soon.”

  Before she could speak Daell shook his head as he said, “Friends I will stay, however Astir must return to Tryggr. I gave my word that she would return.”

  “A being is only worth what they say. Let us escort her to her strange wooden riding box. Some of the Lisko will escort her and her guardians safely back to the oasis.” Johtaja announced.

  It was now crystal clear to her that Daell was right, the Hyggja would never harm either of them. She wondered about the attack on her way to Araedi before the Kostir. Where they searching for her then? She knew she had a unique appearance from others from Heima.

  She decided to ask, “Johtaja I have a question for you.”

  “Yes Astir?”

  “Some time ago I was with a caravan heading to Araedi and your people attacked the caravan, I was wondering if the attack was intentionally towards me.”

  Viisaus interrupted, “It was my doing Astir. I had sent some of our kind to the point where they met you. I did not know you were there. I had a vision beforehand that told me they must be there. It was sad when they did not return.”

  Astir felt bad, her guardians killed all of the Hyggja. Once they finished the tour Daell escorted her back through the Kyla and to the carriage that awaited her. As the carriage moved away she waved at Daell, who waved back. She rested back into her seat and as if on instinct her hands immediately dropped to her belly. The realization caused her to smile widely. The next few cycles were going to prove quite exciting and she could only imagine the reactions of their friends when they found out. All of the jokes at her husband’s expense made by their friends was going to be quite fun to listen to, they all loved to play around with each other. She loved to join in with them many times. As she glanced out the window of her carriage, she saw the oasis of Tryggr quickly approaching. No doubt her handmaidens would be relieved to see her arrive; their reaction from her short time with Daell’s family was something that would make her laugh for probably the rest of her life. The carriage stopped in front of the small inn and an Aldarnari guard led her into the inn. Her handmaidens helped her change quickly and as she laid her head on her pillow she realized that missed Daell intensely. It took her some time but she was eventually able to fade to sleep.

  * * * * *

  The next morning Astir awoke alone for the first time in some time and it saddened her greatly. She hoped that Daell would return soon enough so she would be with him again. As she sat up, she again found herself touching her own belly. The thought that within her was a life growing was something that she could only be describe as sensational. Soon illness might strike, then her belly would begin to grow, followed by movement within and finally she would give birth. It was all new and very exciting to think about but she was also quite nervous about the prospect. Even though her mother was also busy as the Queen, Astir could remember as a small child being tended to by her. Astir could only think positively about her mother’s ability to deal with her wayward daughter. She laughed to think about her own daughter, between her and Daell’s personalities; she could only imagine how much of a naughty and strong-willed child she would be.

  Astir finally rose from her bed and rung the bell nearby. Her handmaidens entered quickly and began to work dress her. This time there was no issues since they had gotten their hands on her the turn before. She suspected they were quite happy with this because she was much less work for them. Once they completed with her, she left the room. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to wait for Daell in the small dining hall. He did not say when he would return, but she had hoped he would not be gone for too long. The owner of the inn provided her a comfortable chair to sit as she waited. Sadly, Daell did not arrive until close to the mid-turn meal. She spent the time thinking about him, her upcoming child, and all that must be done on her return to Bygod.

  She had not realized it until later, but her husband had sent all of the guards back with her. He stayed alone in the Hyggja’s Kyla for the whole evening. As he entered the inn she rose to greet him. He took her into his arms as soon as he saw her.

  “I missed you Astir.”

  She gave him a large smile. She had missed him dearly and was relieved at his return.

  “I missed you too.”

  “Shall we head off? We have a long trip back to Heimili.”

  She nodded. Once again, the thought of telling her friends and family the happy news of her upcoming child made her quite excited.

  As soon as the carriage began to move Daell asked, “May I touch our child?”

  Even though he had known before she did, she could see that he was as excited about the prospect of their child as she was. She could imagine it was hard to keep such a secret. She figured he did so because he wanted her to have that moment of realization on her own. He was a sweet man. Giving him a smile, she nodded at him. He reached down a
nd gently placed his hand on her belly. The look on his face let her know that he too was in wonder.

  He looked into her eyes and said softly, “I love you.”

  She kissed him before saying, “I love you too.”

  “This child is going to give us a lot of trouble isn’t it?” He stated while still holding his hand on her belly.

  Astir could not help but laugh; he had the same thoughts that she did.

  Wickedly she told him, “Of course Daell, she will be our child. And from the stories your family has told me, you were as much of a rascal then as you are now.”

  He laughed at her words before replying, “Perhaps your source must not know of the stories I have heard.”

  She was curious. He was far superior at making friends than she was, of course it helped that he was much more innocuous than the Queen of Heima. She wished she could find his sources, but she suspected he had many. The only one she could trust to not reveal her secrets was Ofriki.

  She decided to have fun with him so she said evenly, “Husband there is no stories, I was the perfect child.”

  He laughed heartily and replied, “My wife it is not polite to lie to one’s husband.”

  She feigned mock insult and with as much dignity as she could muster she asked, “Do you insult the Queen of Heima?”

  Daell snickered at her and then flatly answered, “Well my Queen perhaps I misunderstood. I have never heard of the perfect child who would sneak out after bed time to secretly exchange all of the applications of her mother’s with different application that would change color after a half turn of wearing; with the intent to make her mother appear to be wearing incorrect application with her clothing.”

  “Perhaps I was not so perfect.” She told him while chuckling.

  Daell laughed once again

  Attempting to be as evil sounding as possible she told him, “However my King, just because I am now Queen does not mean that the sorts of accidents like the one that caused my mother’s application to be disorganized could not happen to a certain blacksmith turned King.”

  He laughed even harder at her words and once he calmed down he stated, “I believe that to be true my Queen, I shall remember to watch each step I take carefully.”

  That brought her to laughter. She now knew that she would have to find some way to support her words, a joke at his expense. She already began plotting, it would have to be something attention grabbing that could be seen by all, but harmless. After all she did not want to hurt him, just get that famous Daell blush of embarrassment on his face. Several ideas crossed her mind and she realized that perhaps she would hurry his forge into existence as soon as they returned; it would probably provide her with the greatest opportunities for her evil plans.

  They rode through the plains of Riddari without issue and made it well into the Deila forest before having to stop for the evening. Astir knew this would be the last stop before they made it to Heimili. She would be quite happy to make it to Heimili. It would make for a wonderful visit for her husband before they finally settled again in Bygod. The carriage came to a stop once they made it into the small village that had been pre-planned as their stop. It had only a few wooden buildings made from logs and one building that had been built properly for travelers to stop. Astir knew that the captain of the Hamarr had sent forth a few riders to prepare for their coming. She stepped out of the carriage and then Daell guided them into the inn. They took up residence in the largest room of the inn and once her handmaidens had helped her change for the night, she cuddled next to Daell and was soon fast asleep.

  * * * * *

  A sudden loud noise and yelling startled Astir from her slumber. She rose into a sitting position and could see her husband’s face. He was also startled awake and he had a look of concern.

  A loud voice from outside called out, “The inn is ablaze, get the Queen and escort her to safety.”

  She became very frightened.

  Daell quickly leaped from the bed and urgently said, “We must leave now.”

  He grabbed her hand and aided her in getting off the bed. She was still wearing her night clothing, and he was only wearing a pair of sleeping trousers. Moving over to the door he reached for the handle, he pulled his hand back quickly and yelped in pain.

  “The door is hot.” He told her.

  Turning around, he nervously looked around their room. Astir had known if the door was hot then the fire was outside in the hall. Giving her a light tug on the arm he moved over to the nearest window. With just one hand he grabbed one of the chairs in the room and violently smashed it through the window. His strength was impressive as he moved into action. Releasing her hand, he slowly raised both of his hands.

  “Be ready my love. I am calling on the earth to bring us down to safety.”

  She nodded at him. He lowered his hands and then grabbed her hand. Slowly he guided her to the window and picked her gently up. As he brought her towards the window she saw that he had made a stairwell of earth. Suddenly there was a loud thumping sound against the wall near the window. She flinched from the sound.

  “An arrow.” Her husband said angrily and pulled her away from the window.

  Setting her back down he told her, “Wait here for a moment. I am going to raise a shield and then I will signal you to exit the window and go down the stairs.”

  Astir nodded. She was impressed with his calm; it actually helped to calm her. Pausing for a moment he seemed to concentrate on something before he then immediately climbed out the window.

  She waited nervously for a few moments before his voice called out through the window, “Astir come. I have set forth a shield. I can hear many arrows striking it, but I have reinforced it as strongly as any steel.”

  As she moved to step out the window his hand shot through to help her climb out. She exited through the window and was quite impressed with what she saw. Daell apparently had made a column of earth around the window that had an opening by the window. She was standing next to him within the column.

  “We must find some way to find safety. It would appear that we have assassins who want to harm you.”

  She had never heard of anyone attempting to harm the Queen. It would explain why the Queen never left Bygod.

  “What is your plan?” She asked.

  Daell looked thoughtful for a moment before announcing, “I will place you safety on the earth and deal with these assassins myself.”

  She was very concerned because while he was powerful, but how would he deal with thugs using bows? Without saying a word she just nodded solemnly. The column actually shifted slightly, which let her know he was moving it. As they moved the amount of thumping against the column slowed and then finally stopped.

  “Have they stopped Daell?”

  “Although I suspect they plan to wait for us. I can sense them on Heima. There are nine of them, and they stand right alongside us.”

  He began to grin evilly.

  “I shall deal with all of them in one quick moment.” He stated.

  The column began to lower until Astir could tell they were once again on normal ground. Daell knelt down and placed his palms on the earth. She could sense he was concentrating, so she stood quietly. As if out of nowhere, she felt the ground beneath them and the column begin to vibrate. It started slowly and began to increase in intensity. She began to get very nervous. Her husband was doing something very unusual. As she looked at him, she saw that he was actually trembling. It took her a moment but she realized that his trembling was in rhythm with the vibrations of the ground around them.

  In a sharp reminder of the Bardagi, Daell let out a loud scream. This time in response to his scream, the column seemed to explode around them outwards. Dust flew into the air and completely blinded her vision. She put her hand over her mouth and coughed repeatedly. Stumbling from being blinded by the dust, as she reached out for him, her hand bumped into his head blindly. She then began to feel her way downwards until she could grasp his shoulder. The dust ar
ound them suddenly just disappeared, which made it easier for her to finally see. What she saw appalled her. Somehow he had turned the column into a projectile weapon. Several men were lying on the ground with dozens of shards of earth embedded into them. It was then that she realized they were dead.

  Her husband rose to his feet and as he surveyed the damage he said, “I was wrong on my count, it would appear that there were eleven men and one has escaped.”

  Astir suddenly began to fear for her life again.

  “He has run into the forest that way.” Daell announced as he pointed in a direction.

  One of the Aldarnari guards approached. Astir could see the man was in complete awe of the display her husband put forth.

  He bowed deeply as he said, “Your Highness many of our guards have been killed, including the Captain. What are your orders?”

  Daell nodded at him as he stated, “You are the Captain now. First collect the dead and wounded. You are to take the Queen immediately via carriage to the next village on the Leid. Utilize the citizens there to place a fortification and guard her with your life. There is one man left and I shall personally deal with this man. I intend to bring back a prisoner.”

  Daell turned to her and said, “My love follow the guards and remain out of sight, they will protect you. I shall return once I have dealt with this escaped assassin.”

  He took her into his arms and kissed her. She was very concerned for him but after his display, she was confident that he would be able to handle himself. After releasing her, he began running. One he got to the edge of the village he repeated the same mode of transport that he did in the desert with clouds of dust raising him up and into the air. He was gone quickly.

  “Follow me Your Majesty.” The guard said to her.

  She nodded and turned to follow him. As she walked, she glanced down at the dead men who were her would be assassins. She did not recognize a single one of them; however she noticed that they were all Vindiri. It was not much longer before she was in the carriage and heading to the nearest village.