CHAPTER 8

Mahnu stared at the King, still angry and said, "You"re an idiot!"

"Yes, I"m an idiot. But now you"re free, so it worked! Now come here."

King Richard put his arms out to her and she stopped in front of them. The King smiled and stepped forward, taking her into his arms. "Mmm...I"ve missed you."

Finally, the King felt normal again. It really hadn"t been that long since he saw her last. Now holding her, he finally let go and relaxed, like he"d come home after years of being away.

Mahnu tried to be serious but couldn"t hold back and returned his embrace.

He stepped back against a tree, taking her with him, and sat down. "You are really adorable when you"re angry."

Mahnu lifted her head and looked at him furiously, only for him to pull her head towards him for a kiss. Her anger vanished and she lost herself to him.

They didn"t part till they were panting.

Should I tell her I know she"s a G.o.d? He asked himself.

Her body went stiff and he remembered she could hear his thoughts. He held her tighter and said, "It"s fine. Marcus told me what he knew. But even though you are a G.o.d, you shouldn"t have let them capture you."

Mahnu put her forehead against his and remembered the past month. "They didn"t capture me. I wanted to try and talk them into peace."

"So they didn"t torture you?"

Mahnu made a face of pain, shivering slightly, and King Richard said in haste, "They did, didn"t they?!"

"It"s okay. It"s nothing I don"t deserve. Besides, I"m free now and we have to get the box ready."
"Not yet."

Mahnu looked at him, his voice was strange and his eyes stared at her with longing. "What"s wrong? They won"t stop..."

The King, holding her even closer, stopped her. He looked at her with eyes full of desire and pushed her against him. Even through the layers of clothes, she could feel his want for her.

Just a little bit longer, his thoughts penetrated hers and she consented to him. Her body and her heart unable to say no.  Now that she was with him again, she found that all that time without him had built up inside her and she had missed him more then she had realized.

He lifted her clothes and put his to the side and he placed her on top of him. They felt everything else around them disappear, eagerly discovering each other once again and they both continued to think, just a little bit longer.

***

After, when their breathing started to slow, the King looked at her, "I want to hear about you after this. I want to know everything about you."

Mahnu sighed, laying against him. "I"ve lived a long time..."

King Richard interrupted her, "Yes, that you have, but you aren"t alone now and I want to share your loneliness and all that sadness you felt."

He put a hand lovingly on her face, looking down at her as though she was the most precious thing on the land. "Will you share...Will you share yourself with me?" He asked her.

Mahnu stared back at him. Her heart was captivated by him and his words, it was the most beautiful question she"d ever heard. A tear feel down her cheek and the King wiped it away.

He put his other hand on the other side of her face and kissed her eyes. My beautiful Mahnu, please don"t cry. His thoughts only made her want to cry more.

"Ah! Your Majesty!...Excuse me."

Mahnu looked away, wiping at her eyes, while King Richard answered. "Yes?"

The King didn"t even try to hide his naked chest and some of her exposed naked thighs.

"The knights are restless. They have found out about the G.o.d"s and are getting scared."

Mahnu looked at Marcus and said, "I don"t blame them, We should finish this before they open The Chest of the G.o.d"s or use the slaves for war or..."

"Okay!" King Richard sighs, "We will be there, as soon as I am finished here!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed and walked away still in shock of their close relationship. He knew King Richard wasn"t normally someone that had other women besides the Queen. But, remembering the King"s expressions and words when it came to Mahnu, it seemed to all make sense now.

Could it be possible? Not only for the King to love another woman but for a G.o.d to fall in love?

King Richard did not let go of her hand, even when walking up to Marcus and the knights. They had all gathered away from the tents, close to the river that led into Brackan. Only two big torches were used to light up the area. As the King and Mahnu arrive, the knights all went silent and Mahnu heard their confused thoughts. Not only were they thinking about the two G.o.d"s inside of Brackan but her as well.

The King nodded to a few of them, looking totally oblivious to the aura of doubts surrounding him at that moment.

"I will not harm you." Mahnu said.

"Yes, please men. Be rest a.s.sured Mahnu is and has always been on our side." Marcus said loud and proud.

"But isn"t she a G.o.d?"

"We saw it!"

"The G.o.d"s really don"t die!"

Mumbles of scared soldiers went around their gathering and Mahnu was at a loss for words. To speak to so many to declare her innocence seemed to be such a big step for her. She was still getting used to talking to one person...

"Enough!" King Richard said firmly. "Mahnu is our saviour. Without her, we wouldn"t even be here today! If that is not enough, then I can tell you that in my time, I have only seen her help me, this land and the people. In my eyes...she is the heart of Kralaide!"

Everyone went silent. Mahnu looked at the King and heard what wasn"t said, while he turned and looked at her. That"s right Mahnu, you hold my heart too.

He squeezed her hand, in which were now hiding behind him and turned back to the knights. "And now we depend on her again for the future of mankind. Put your trust in her, as I do, and we can contain the threat that those two G.o.d"s have...Marcus, did you bring what Mahnu asked for?"

Marcus unwrapped something in William"s hands that revealed a box. Mahnu nodded to William in acknowledgement at his smile.

"Is this sufficient enough for our needs Mahnu?" Marcus asked picking up the box and giving it to her.

Mahnu only quickly examined it, seeing it had all the ingredients needed and nodded, "Yes, good job. A lockable, contained box with gold and silver. Thank you."

"What happens now?" King Richard asks her.

"In the previous chest, to contain approximately one hundred G.o.d"s, it took the future sight from all three prophets, about five hundred lives from Havlish, dreams of any King and drained my G.o.d powers for about a month."
The hush that went over the gathering still seemed loud to Mahnu as the humans heard the price of their freedom.

She looked at the King to see his questioned look back at her. "Yes, Your Majesty, you have dreams of The Siege even though you weren"t even there."

King Richard stared back at her and finally nodded. "I know I had dreams, but, it was hard to ever recollect what they were about."

The soldiers were stunned to the truth.

"I realized after the first time you fell asleep and I was close enough to read your thoughts. King Maximus wanted any future King to remember what had happened and that is how you remember it. It really stunned me, seeing my own past through you..."

The King squeezed her hand again, understanding a few more things about her and himself.

Silence filled the gathering and Mahnu listened to their thoughts. A question lingered on many of their minds and that was sacrificing lives to entrap the G.o.d"s inside.

"I do not think it will be the same this time." Mahnu said, seeing everyone look at her. She had enough time while being tortured to think of a solution.

"I will be the only one to sacrifice this time." She said not daring to look at the King.

"Mahnu?" Both King Richard and Marcus said.

"I will sacrifice my immortality instead. So human lives should be spared."

Again, there was silence.

King Richard wondered a question she was unsure of how to reply to. Does that mean you will die?

Marcus concluded to the same question also.

"No!" They both said to her.

"You know everything that happened, you could teach the people..."

King Richard interrupted Marcus, "How is it right that the Saviour of Mankind become sacrificed? That isn"t fair!"

I want you to be with me! The Kings pleading thoughts made Mahnu finally look at him.

"Then you want to kill people, Your Majesty?"

She knew her words would hurt him. But, realistically, that is what would happen. Sacrificing one life for many...A King should know which to pick, she thought.

King Richard gave her a pained look and turned away from her. Just when I get you back...you escape my grasp every time...If there was a way to have no sacrifices, I would choose that!

His thoughts hurt her in return as she knew that would be a better solution but knew that this outcome was forced upon them. Through this though, she realized he was still holding tightly onto her hand.

"It"s settled then."

"Wait! What about the other sacrifices?" Marcus asked.

Mahnu breathed in again. "I will also fulfil those too."

"No!" Again both Marcus and the King responded.

"Why you?!" The King yelled, startling many.

"Let us do them, you already have done enough!" Marcus pleaded.

Their words were really sweet to her. For so long she wanted to not exist or sleep for eternity and here they were fighting for her to stay. "Please don"t." Mahnu said covering her mouth and turning away from everyone. How could they deny her this? I have already excepted my fate!

She had come to this conclusion while being tortured, that she was going to give all herself for this box. That it could possibly be what she was destined to do all this time. Because of what she could do, it made sense that this could be her last act. It would remove all G.o.d"s from Kralaide and the humans will have to help themselves from that point onwards.

"Put the box away for now, we need to discuss this further." King Richard turned, pulling Mahnu with him as he walked towards his tent.

Once inside the King"s tent, he grabbed her shoulders and angrily said, "What are you thinking? Do you hate the thought of being here that much!?"

Mahnu looked away from him, "Do you know what it"s like to be stuck here, branded as a betrayer, immortal and knowing the suffering of all the humans? Don"t you think I"ve endured enough?" Her voice ending close to a whisper.

She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. There was no point in becoming emotional now when I have already decided.

"I doubt I have ever come close to what you have had to endure...But Mahnu...Is it so much for a man to ask for his woman to be by his side?"

Mahnu looked at him and saw his face. He looked so sad. His question was really quite simple. Not a King or a G.o.d. Nor what town your from. Just for one person to be with another.

She put a hand to his face and whispered, "Do you not know how special you are to me?"

He leaned his head into her hand and Mahnu thought for a moment he might cry.

"Is there...If you give up your immortality...?"

Mahnu answered, "I am not sure what will happen.. I am sorry, but it is something that I must do..."

The King grabbed her, forcing her closer, "Why? If something is to happen to you then I"d be sacrificing too! Do you want that?"

He was mad at her. She could understand...But she was sure this was the best solution for everybody.

"Dammit!" King Richard yelled. I don"t know what to do...How do I keep my beloved with me without sacrificing human lives?

His thoughts were quite traumatized, holding a lot of emotion, making Mahnu stay silent. Letting her hand fall, she stood there waiting for him to calm down.

"Thank you Richard." Mahnu finally broke their silence, "Just to have you react this way, really makes everything worth it. I don"t think I"ve been loved before...and...Thank you..."

A tear fell to his clothes and Mahnu tried to calm down also. Why does she feel like her heart was breaking?

Saying goodbye was something she had really never done before. Not to Princess or to the boy, not to towns, not even previously to Richard. But, now, that there may not be a future, she felt absolutely obligated to tell him how special he was to her! How much he has done for her and how much he made her happy! That her existence felt like it had a purpose when she had met him!

King Richard pulled her face towards him and kissed her gently. He thanked her in his thoughts. While kissing her eyes, he thanked her for seeing him for himself. Kissing her mouth, he thanked her for taking the chance to talk to him.

Nibbling on her ear, he thanked her for listening to him. All these feelings reminded her of the boy from a long time ago. He had thanked her and said that she had suffered. Mahnu closed her eyes thinking, yes, yes, I have suffered.

Mahnu was defeated with all of Richard"s thanks and accepted each and every one because she wasn"t sure how much time she had left. She wanted tonight to be special, so she tried not to think of the big possibility that she may never see this man again. She had never felt closer to humans, as she did now, as she finally understood about being worried that tomorrow would come sooner then she wants it too.

***

After the King finally fell asleep, Mahnu escaped his grasp and got dressed. Her plan was clear, but her heart was rendered into a state that Mahnu had trouble moving around. Fighting herself, she breathed in and briefly wrote a note to leave on the table. Without turning back, she left the tent, feeling like she had lost some part of her soul.

There were some knights that were on guard but they had no way to defeat against her, as a G.o.d. Nonetheless, she tried to stay out of combat as she didn"t want to hurt anybody anyway. Sneakily, she roamed in between the tents and used the trees nearby as well. She found the box in Marcus"s tent, as he was sleeping right beside it. Silently, Mahnu crept over to it, wondering if he"ll wake up.

The box went into her hands easily and Mahnu left the tent, quickly jumping into a tall tree before being seen by a knight.

Mahnu knew that what she was doing would hurt Richard but how could he ask her to do it? Her hand patted the chest with respect as it would help her accomplish her last act as a G.o.d. This small item was going to end all G.o.d"s on Kralaide.

Mahnu held onto it tight as she jumped further and further away, from the camp full of knights...And closer to the two G.o.d"s inside the town of Brackan.

***

The King awake to noise just after dawn and got up noticing Mahnu wasn"t there. As he was getting dressed, Marcus rushed in, "Your Majesty! The box is gone!"

King Richard took a few moments, before adding, "So is Mahnu."

"Could that mean..." Marcus stopped midway, seeing that King"s face dramatically changed.

"Dammit!" He yelled, throwing a unlit candle stick at the tent. He put a hand to his head in frustration.

Of course, he thought, of course she would do this! Why didn"t we guard her and the box better? Oh...I am such a fool!

"Your Majesty, there"s a note here."

The King raced to Marcus and took it from him.

"My dearest Richard, By now you have probably found that both the box and I have disappeared. I have it and I will end all G.o.d"s. If you see the box again, a.s.sume it contains us and hide it very well. Yours Eternally, Mahnu"

King Richard wanted to tear the letter apart in anger, but he loved it too much. How could I get rid of evidence that she was here and especially when she had written, "Yours eternally."...I will not accept that you don"t exist!

"Marcus..."

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Marcus answered, unsure how to act.

"Mahnu has the chest, we are going after her! Wake the men! We are going back to Brackan!" The King yelled as he finished getting dressed.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Half an hour after they had found Mahnu"s note, the army of knights and the King entered a dishevelled town.

The people looked dazed and when asked if they were all right, they looked sceptical. "I don"t know. I feel like...I"ve been sleeping for a long time."

When the King saw the evidence of a small fight, it became certain that the G.o.d"s were no longer here.

King Richard put his hand against a broken wall and closed his eyes, "Has the box been found?"

Marcus answered, "No, Your Majesty."

The King turned around and sat against the wall, looking up at the sky. "Shut everyone"s mouth. It is to be kept a secret."

He put his head in his hands and sighed. "Calm the people down and search the area for Mahnu. I"ll...be in my tent down by the river."

Marcus ordered his knights to make sure that they all knew His Majesty"s commands and went to be at His Majesty"s side.

King Richard read and re read Mahnu"s letter. How could she leave me! No one had agreed to this outcome! Did last night mean nothing as you gave yourself me?

The King laughed, no, it was, and is, obvious that she was saying goodbye.

"Your Majesty?" Marcus stepped into the tent.

"Did you find her!?"

"No, we didn"t find her or the box."

The King sighed loudly.

"Your Majesty...How long do you want us to search for her...It"s been half a day and nothing..."

Interrupting Marcus, the King yelled, "Forever! Never stop!"

King Richard stopped. What was he going to do if he couldn"t find her?

"Sir?" A voice was heard outside the tent.

"Yes, William."

William came inside, the King couldn"t help but hope for good news, "Have you found her?"

"...No, Your Majesty. But, please, allow me to search for her...even if I spend the rest of my life doing so. I won"t stop till I find her."

The King smiled, looking at William in hope. "You will...Search for her?"

William went down on one knee, putting his hand over his heart. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Can I put all my faith in you finding her?" The King knew he must look pathetic but he needed someone who would do this, put their life down for hers.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will not stop believing she is here. I will never give up."

Breathing out, the King smiled. "Thank you, William. You have my royal degree to go look for her and I will await your good news."

William got up and walked out of the King"s tent. He wanted to find Mahnu as well, since finding out that she was a G.o.d, William has been curious. In his life he has followed tradition and lived the way he was supposed to.

But now he was excited of what he could find out! He had to find her! She was a living history chronicle!

***