by Anni Antoni
"But why me, why us? It makes no sense, Joshaviah. We are merely ordinary people."
“I can't explain it either.” I shook my head. “All I know is the Guardian energy has been awakened in me and I am attached to you and yours to help you through this life. You may as well accept it.” I grinned at him.
“The gods be praised,” Pelle dropped to his knees. “Never fear, your secret is safe with me. What have I or my family done to deserve such an honor?”
“Don't thank the gods, I don't think they had much to do with it.” I laughed. “It all seems arbitrary to me, but anyway, here I am.” I gave him a mock bow. “I really am your Guardian and I'm here to help in whatever way I can.” I repeated through my laughter.
After a moment’s hesitation Pelle laughed too and clapped me on the back. “I'm glad we met up. Life is full of surprises, isn't it?”
**********
After about a week more of travelling, we saw a huge hill in the distance with a fortress crowning it. Fertile looking farmlands stretched around the base of the hill into the distance. Little settlements dotted the farming landscape, and a road wound up the hill to the imposing walled fort at the top.
As we got closer, we could see massive doors to the interior which were open, showing some of the activity happening inside. It looked impossibly secure. Bronwyn bubbled with excitement as she gazed up at it.
“I can't wait to stop this travelling. A nice, safe home to bring the children up in, is my fondest dream.” She gave Pelle an excited hug. “I hope they accept us. It will be wonderful to be a family with our own home and a community around us.”
The closer we got, the more uneasy I became. It didn’t look like a secure haven to me, more like a prison. But then, I reasoned, human customs were still a mystery to me and I had scant knowledge to base my fears upon.
Pelle and Bronwyn seemed happy, so I tried to ignore my misgivings. Had we made the right decision? The nagging thought kept intruding as we made our way up the path to the fort at the top of the hill.
Chapter 7.
A New Way of Life Begins
The path to the fortress wound around the hill. It took a long time for us to climb it, but gradually we came near the great doors. I could see soldiers armed with crude wooden spears standing stiffly at attention by the gate.
As we drew near, one of them came towards us. “Halt!” he said. “What is your business here?
As head of the family, Pelle stepped forward. "We come in peace and seek to join with you for our mutual benefit."
“What do you have that we could use?” the soldier asked.
“We are woodworkers and metalsmiths. We make sturdy wooden furniture and goods, and also metal knives, swords, and tools useful for soldiers and farmers alike. Our methods of forging weapons are the finest.”
"We already have a metalsmith. The man said, seemingly unimpressed by Pelle’s speech. “Why would we need another?”
The other soldier came and joined him. "Let us see what you make from metal. Show me your swords and knives.”
Things were going exactly as Pelle had explained they would. He had anticipated having to show his wares, and he had a large, wooden box containing knives and swords stored in the wagon.
However, it was only a fraction of those we had stored underneath the floor boards. Pelle didn’t want to show how much we had just yet. He beckoned me to come to the wagon with him and together we carried the box to the soldiers.
Whispering excitedly between themselves for a few moments, they looked at the opened box of swords and knives with great interest.
“As I said, we already have a metalsmith, but I will call the Arbiter to see what he thinks of these.” The soldier turned to his companion and nodded his head. The other soldier ran within the depths of the fort.
After a few moments, he rejoined us, leading a tall thin man with piercing eyes and a hooked nose.
“This is Arbiter Berkant,” said the soldier and stepped back.
The Arbiter looked from me to Pelle. “I understand you make weapons,” he said. “As my man explained to you, we already have a metalsmith, but these weapons look to be of superior quality. Can you also mend and sharpen knives and swords?”
“We make, mend and sharpen all weapons,” Pelle said, bowing respectfully.
“Come in. I think we can talk.” said the Arbiter. “I will introduce you to Prince Evrat, our glorious supreme leader. Leave your horse and wagon, and your family and follow me.”
With a glance at me, Pelle led me to understand I was in charge, in his absence. He didn't look particularly worried and I felt nothing from him that indicated any danger, so I stayed where I was and watched as the Arbiter led him away.
After a while, I started to get nervous about Pelle's absence when a soldier came towards us.
"Take up the floorboards of that wagon," he said to the two soldiers on the gate.
I stepped in front of the wagon to prevent it happening.
"I have no authority to allow you to do that. The head of our family is not here to authorize such a thing." I said.
I felt the tension mounting as I stood there, not allowing anyone access to the wagon. Bronwyn and the children clung together. Bronwyn putting her arms around the smaller children.
There was an impasse. No one moved and I was determined not to allow anyone access to the wagon. Our livelihood depended on those swords and knives stored in the wagon. If we were not permitted to stay, trading those implements and goods would allow us to proceed as we had been doing.
If they were taken we would have nothing of value to trade. The soldier drew his sword and walked towards me in a threatening manner.
"My Prince has ordered me to bring the weapons." He said, sounding equally determined, but I would not be swayed.
"The head of our family has not authorized me to let anything leave this wagon. I do not know your Prince." I replied and drew my sword in an equally threatening manner. Although I didn’t know what I’d do if he came forward and attacked, still mindful of my stern instructions to do no harm to humans.
In the distance, I spied Pelle coming towards me followed by a stocky, older man with a pot belly. As they came closer, I could see the man had a regal bearing, and wore a luxurious long fur cloak. Was this Prince Evrat?
Pelle ran to me. "Joshaviah, put down your sword," he commanded, his voice carrying an urgent tone. “The Prince has asked for our swords and knives in payment for staying in this place.”
I lowered my sword at his command. Although he seemed worried, he knew better than I the customs of his world. I hadn't a clue. And I was glad to see him return.
The regal man walked casually behind Pelle. Soldiers fell in behind him as he walked.
As he came closer I noticed his small beady eyes, red fleshy lips and slightly sunken chest. At close quarters, he was obviously unfit and looked as though he enjoyed his food a little too much.
Bring me all the weapons,” he commanded the soldiers.
Pelle turned and bowed his head, then nodded to me. I went inside the wagon and began lifting the floorboards.
“You can give the soldiers all the weapons we have,” said Pelle in a louder than usual voice. “We have been generously granted permission to make our home here.”
Pelle was speaking unnaturally and something felt wrong, but I quickly unloaded the weapons, which soldiers carried away. By this time, the regal man had strolled to the wagon.
As I climbed down, Pelle introduced me. “Joshaviah, bow to our new commander, the glorious supreme leader, Prince Evrat. He has graciously permitted us to stay here under his protection. And he has granted us an audience with him later today.”
I did as Pelle asked and bowed to the Prince, who looked at me with undisguised amusement. I didn't like this man upon sight.
He had a hard, cruel, self-indulgent demeanor. I felt he cared nothing for anyone except himself. A strong feeling of relentless self-absorption and self-interest flowed from hi
m and he seemed to enjoy the power he had over these men.
My heart sank as the soldiers carried our wealth away and the Prince followed. I fervently hoped I was wrong in my assessment. Had we thrown our freedom away for nothing?
Chapter 8.
Prince Evrat Gives His Conditions
As the last of our weapons were carried away by the soldiers, Arbiter Berkant came towards us. "Ah I see the weapons have all left. Now let me show you to your quarters," he said.
Bronwyn had been quiet while everything was happening. Now I could feel her excitement rising. I hoped for her sake our quarters were up to her expectations.
The Arbiter led us away to a long low building towards the back wall of the fortress.
"These are the living quarters," he said. "As newcomers, you have outlying rooms.” He took us inside the building and led us to the far end. "These are your two rooms. One is a bedroom the other is for the children. You may use it as their bedroom or as a room for your family to eat and spend time together, or both.
I noticed Bronwyn was smiling in an awestruck way, looking around with glazed eyes, as though she couldn’t believe her luck. The space was so much more than she had in the wagon and she acted as though it was a palace.
All I noticed was it seemed dark and it had an unpleasant odor. In fact, the whole fortress had this same unpleasant, organic odor -- a combination of human and animal excrement and unwashed bodies lingered over everything, at times strong and at times barely noticeable. I wondered if the residents noticed it once they had been there for a few weeks.
“All cooking is to be done outside in the communal fire pits,” continued the Arbiter in a bored voice, as though he had mouthed the speech a hundred times or more. “There are two community meals each day. You may partake of them or do your own cooking. If you partake of the community meals, you are required to contribute to the cooking and preparation. If you do your own cooking, you will have access to the community rations.”
So far, the rules seemed fair, I had to admit. At least Bronwyn still looked happy.
"Remove all things you want from your wagon and bring them to your rooms,” the Arbiter continued. “Your horse and the wagon will go to the stables. As you won't have any use for them, they become community property.”
I noticed Pelle raised his eyebrows at that statement, as he looked at me, but he said nothing and I didn't question him in front of the Arbiter. I realized that anything we said in front of him would probably be reported to Prince Evrat, and I did not think that was a good idea.
“I will send a soldier to get you when it’s time to have your audience with our glorious Prince," said the Arbiter. "If you have no more queries, then I'll leave you to get settled in." He turned on his heels and walked back towards the main building.
As Arbiter Berkant walked away Bronwyn turned to Pelle and gave him a hug. "Oh Pelle, I'm so glad you managed to get us a position in here. I hope it didn't cost too much." Surprisingly, she seemed oblivious to the uneasy undercurrents passing between me and Pelle.
"It cost us all our weapons so far,” he said with a shrug. “But we still have our base metals and we can make more weapons and jewelry. I'm just glad you're happy to be here.”
"Yes, oh yes, I'm happy," Bronwyn smiled at Pelle. “Our children will be safe here and they can grow up and learn their trades from you. Our daughter can learn how to cook, weave and sew from me and the many women I see around here. This is perfect Pelle. Thank you for bringing us here."
"Let's get our things from the wagon." Pelle said.
We all walked out to the wagon, still where we had left it, near the gate where we had entered. Soldiers had already taken the horse away. There were a few things in the wagon that Bronwyn and Pelle needed, not much.
Everything was provided within the rooms we had. There was bedding, blankets and utensils, tables and chairs. It was not luxurious but it was perfectly adequate. Perhaps this would be a good arrangement after all.
However, Pelle insisted we take everything out of the wagon and store it in our rooms. As an experienced trader, he would leave nothing of value in the wagon.
I sensed Pelle wanted to talk to me. As Bronwyn arranged their possessions in the rooms we had been allocated. Together we moved outside.
Pelle frowned. "I'm not sure about this at all." he said. “Prince Evrat made it clear to me that our weapons were of the finest quality and he would not permit us to leave.
“He threatened me and what's worse he threatened my family if I did not agree to stay. This was not what I expected. I only hope that Bronwyn will be happy here. At least I know the children will be safe for now, while they’re young. But I don't like the Prince and I fear for our future.” His haunted eyes darted around the compound as if he was afraid his words would be overheard.
I was about to question him, when I spied Arbiter Berkant making his way across the compound.
"The time for your audience with Prince Evrat is here. Come with me,” ordered the Arbiter, indicating he wanted me and Pelle to follow him.
We waved to Bronwyn and followed him to the other side of the compound. “Follow my lead when we’re with the Prince.” Pelle whispered as we hurried to catch up with the Arbiter.
A large, stone building, several stories high, clung to the back wall of the fort. We entered and walked into a wide room with a tall ceiling. Seated on a blackwood throne in the middle of the room was Prince Evrat. Several soldiers stood at attention by his side.
“Kneel in front of your Prince,” commanded the Arbiter, kneeling beside us. Pelle dropped to his knees and I followed his example, wondering what was to follow.
"Ah, welcome to the settlement of Juffort, weapon-makers. I trust you have settled in.” He smiled at us, stretching his red, fleshy lips, but it looked more like a sneer than a smile. He carried on talking as though he didn’t expect an answer.
“I want you to hear the rules from my own lips as you will be a big part in my push towards opening up more lands to the north for my father, the illustrious King Juf.”
Opening up more lands – was that another way of saying war? Did that mean he intended to take land by force from people who were settled there? I resolved to ask Pelle when our time with the Prince was over.
The Prince continued talking, although I was only half listening to him, more concerned that the weapons Pelle and I made would be used to kill innocent humans.
What would my superiors think about this situation? It would probably be considered against the rules they had laid down for me.
“It pleased me greatly to see the weapons you make. Although we have metalsmiths here, your craftsmanship is superior and your weapons are of high quality. We need your skills. Therefore, I am happy to offer you a place in our protected society.” The Prince paused here, as if pleased with himself for making us such a generous offer.
Still on my knees next to Pelle and the Arbiter, I kept my head respectfully bowed, my hands clasped in front of me, as he droned on.
“However, my protection does not come without a price.” My ears tuned in at this point. The price of his protection was clearly something I should listen to, especially after what Pelle had told me.
“The weapons you have made, your wagon and horse will pay in part for your accommodation and keep. Your continued work in repairing and sharpening existing weapons and the making of new ones will also contribute to your keep. I’m sure you realize, it costs a great deal to maintain this fortress, the soldiers and the workers. However, I will supply you the ore you need to make new weapons, especially as we may be needing a lot of new weapons, very soon.”
Well, that was a relief, I had half expected him to demand we provide the metals to be forged into weapons. He had taken the jewelry we had made as well, but I didn’t expect him to mention that. If he wasn’t of royal blood, in charge of the fortress and commanding an army, he would be called a thief.
There was silence in the great room. No one moved or spoke. Was ou
r audience over? I shot a surreptitious look at the Arbiter, who was still on his knees. The Prince stirred on his throne, and cleared his throat. He sighed and continued…
“Having all you people dependent on me is a great burden.” He sighed again. “I don’t expect you to appreciate my burden, but know this…” His voice grew hard. “You can never repay me for the protection I offer. Therefore, all people who accept my offer of protection become my property and must do as I command.”
I heard a muffled intake of breath from Pelle and I felt his turmoil. This made us no better than slaves. Possibly well treated slaves, but effectively our freedom had been permanently taken from us.
“Do you understand me?” Prince Evrat shouted into the hushed room.
“Yes, Supreme Commander,” Pelle and the Arbiter said in unison.
I didn’t want to stand out, and I didn’t want to bring trouble on Pelle and his family. So, after a heartbeat I spoke out.
“Yes, Supreme Commander,” I said in a loud, clear voice, although my heart fell and my insides felt like they had been weighed down with rocks. All I wanted to do was flash away from there. Anywhere else would be an improvement, but I would never abandon my human family, I couldn’t, the bond was too strong and too deep.
Prince Evrat droned on about how we would be treated well and rewarded if we pleased him and how any disobedience would be punished severely. Because our work was critical to the running of the fortress, we would not be punished directly, but our family would be punished instead. They could even be killed if our transgressions were severe enough. His words made my blood run cold.
My human family had been condemned to a life of slavery. How had I not seen this coming? And how was I going to rectify this mess? They were my responsibility and I was failing miserably in my duty as their Guardian. Despair grabbed my heart and overcame me.
Chapter 9.
A Ray of Hope