CHAPTER 10

4 days later

"Ca.s.sandra." Betty yelled, "Come and eat."

They had all stopped along the road towards Conrella to eat and give the horses a rest.

King Richard grumbled, knowing Betty would hear it.

"Oh, I"m sincerely sorry, Your Majesty! I will try harder." Betty bowed for her wrong doings.

Mahnu put a hand to his, "It"s fine. Let her call me Ca.s.sandra."

"No." The King replied stubbornly. He had heard enough of that name lately. Even though he has grown fond of the old couple, he wasn"t going to let this continue!

Her name had been Mahnu for over a thousand years, it won"t change now! I would prefer a t.i.tle over Ca.s.sandra!

...King Richard finally had an idea, "Is the name Ca.s.sandra very dear to you, Betty?"

Betty looked down, "It was my mother"s name, Your Majesty."

He smiled, "I see. Well then I have a proposition for you. If you call Mahnu by her real name, from now on, we will call our daughter Ca.s.sandra."

There were quite a few different reactions to the King"s words. Betty seemed thrilled, "Yes, of course, Your Majesty. I will stop and call her Mahnu from now on!"

Donald was speechless. So was Marcus and William.

The King turned to Mahnu, to see nothing on her face. She"s turned into a statue, he thought, recalling a similar memory.

He took her hands and said, "Talk to me, my dear."

He watched as colour entered her cheeks and she looked away, only making him think that she was adorable...Then she sighed. "I don"t know if I"d make a very good mother."

He grabbed her face and chuckled, "Well, there"s always Betty, Donald, Marcus and me to help."

"Uh!" Marcus said, but wasn"t heard.

"Yes! I"ll help you Mahnu!" Betty"s enthusiasm made the King laugh but Mahnu still looked worried.

How can I help with this problem? He wondered. He didn"t want her to think of bad things when it came to motherhood, as he was so delighted with the idea of Mahnu bearing his children, that he was already looking forward to it!

He put his hands around her and whispered into her ears, "You became good friends with my daughter before, back when you were last at the palace."

"I did?"

Ah, her voice sounds curious. Better, he thought. "You used to play hide and seek with her. And you used to make her smile a lot."

"Really?"

Good, King Richard thought. At least she doesn"t hate it. "Yes!"

As they travelled closer to Conrella, King Richard remembered the Queen and wondered what he should do to tell her about Mahnu.

He sighed, she won"t be happy. He tried to remember how the Queen has been lately but couldn"t remember.

Has she been away or just ignoring me?

"Marcus, what has been going on with the Queen?"

Marcus wasn"t sure how to respond to the King"s question.

"What is it? Is she ignoring me?"

Marcus cringed, of course he forgot, he had been drunk at the time. "Your Majesty did not want to see anyone but the Queen ignored your command and entered your bed chambers."

"What? When?"

Marcus replied, "When Gregory was beheaded, Your Majesty."

Instantly, the King remembered what Gregory was beheaded for...Finding out his own father had been killed by that man had shaken him up inside...King Richard couldn"t even remember going to bed that night because of how much he had drank in loathing.

The King stared at Marcus and when he shook his head, the King widened his eyes in bewilderment. What happened that it can"t even be said here! Did I...I must have done something to her!

"Richard?"

Suddenly, Mahnu"s voice vanished any bad thoughts and he looked at her. She looked uncomfortable, turned like that on horseback, but she was searching his face. King Richard smiled. He loved that she had started to call him Richard again.

"It"s okay. I think I"ve made a mistake but I"ll apologize, that"s all."

She turned around but put her hand tighter on his arm that was around her waist.

King Richard breathed out, it"ll all work out now, nothing could ever be so bad that Mahnu disappears again. Now that my beloved is by my side...

***

When they reached Conrella, the King dropped Mahnu, Betty and Donald off at a residence, close by the palace, that had been prepared for them at the King"s orders before he had left Conrella. William was told to guard Mahnu as his new duty from now on and he happily started to help unload their belongings.

On his way to a meeting, the King got Marcus to tell him what had happened with the Queen so that he could try to fix it.

"Oh...I see." King Richard said after Marcus informed him.

"I didn"t realize I had become that big of a mess. I am sorry Marcus."

Marcus sighed, "I don"t believe it"s me you owe an apology to, Your Majesty."

The King looked at him and breathed out, "Your right. Ask the Queen when it would be a good time to see her."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As the King walked to his next destination, he felt sick.

How could I have done that! Even though she barged in when unwelcome and at a very bad emotional time for me, it doesn"t give me the right punch her. Dammit! No wonder I haven"t seen her! What a mess...

Walking in, he found the governors bow at his entrance.

"Your Majesty."

The King sighed and continued to go sit in his chair. "I apologize for having to postpone this meeting, please take a seat."

The meeting commenced and slowly a few of the governors saw a difference in the King"s att.i.tude.

"I am glad you returned to you post, Zachary."

Zachary looked down and said, "I still don"t think I should be a governor, Your Majesty."

"I disagree, you care about your people and land. I remember that you did state your problems and so I believe you are innocent." The King was vague, because they didn"t know about the G.o.d"s, but he wanted to state his innocence nonetheless.

"But my brother..."

The King interrupted him. "Your brother did cruel things and now has paid the price with his death. I have thought about you and your relation to him but still feel you are a good governor for Brackan. I just want to conclude that if there are any more skirmishes between you and Sedric, both of you will be demoted. Do you understand? I am sure I have the support of the other governors."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Both Sedric and Zachary said.

"How is Valtac, I noticed you"ve stood in for him again, Rick."

"Still unwell, Your Majesty. But he sends his regards. He hopes that all royal family will come see him."

"Yes, he is my father in law. Please ask him when it is a good time."

"The Queen is there as we speak, with the Crowned Prince and Princess. Would you like me to send a message still?"

King Richard was taken aback, he hadn"t known. "I will try and clear my schedule, even if it"s for a day. Say that I plan to see him within two weeks."

Silence overcame the room.

Marcus knew why. The King had not ventured out beyond the palace, yet alone Conrella, in the last two years.

"Is there something wrong?" The King asked, looking from one to another.

"No. Your Majesty. We are just surprised as you haven"t travelled much lately."

Sighing, the King replied, "You are right but things change...Let us retire till next time."

They respectfully said their goodbyes and Marcus walked up to the King.

"They already notice a difference."

Marcus replied to the King, "It was a drastic change, Your Majesty. One, I hope, never happens again."

The King sighs and continues to walk to his own work room. "I need to complete as much as possible so that I have free time."

Marcus followed him into the room and stood at his usual spot. It was nice to not be standing on egg sh.e.l.ls around the King, but, Marcus was worried that things could be diverted back if something bad happens.

William, he thought, you must protect Mahnu well.

***

King Richard focused while working so that he could visit Mahnu before the end of each day. Visiting her, at first, seemed to be a surprise to both Betty and Donald. But as the days went by, they seemed to start expecting King Richards presence at the end of each day to spend time with Mahnu and end up spending the night with her.

After the fourth day, they both set off for Harval, leaving Betty and Donald behind.

Choosing to travel by carriage, the King nestled into Mahnu"s hair and whispered, "You"ll get to meet the Princess again."

Mahnu entwined her fingers with his and murmured back, "Are you trying to send a hidden message to me?"

The King chuckled. "No! But, you will like her. You did before."

"Richard..."

King Richard sat back to look at her. "Yes?"

She smiled, but didn"t say anything.

"What?" He said, curiously.

Mahnu laughed, "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Oh...I met someone yesterday. They had the strangest look on them and that"s why I stopped and talked to them. They said that there"s a strange rumour going around."

"Mmm." King Richard murmured, nestling into her hair again. "And?"

"Well, they said there"s an old tablet that"s been seen."

The King moved back away from her again, looking into s.p.a.ce for a moment.

"Stop the carriage!...Marcus!" The King"s yell startled Mahnu and he squeezed her hand before turning to the window where Marcus was.

"What was the last news of the tablet?"

Marcus was silent, they had been searching for it with a third of the Loyal Royal Knight Army all this time. "...It is still not found, Your Majesty."

"Mahnu just heard a rumour regarding the tablet...Mahnu tell us again what you heard."

Mahnu told them everything, even the part how she somehow saw the tablet being pa.s.sed to what she knew as the governor Sedric. How could she possibly know who that is, when she had never met him before?

When she told them this, they both just stared at her.

"I know it sounds ludicrous but I think that person has the tablet. And the one that I spoke to...was there himself, I think, I saw it from his memories...Tell me, there"s something wrong with me."

Marcus looked at the King and the King swore under his breath.

"Were going to Bena, change the course."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Mahnu was livid, they believed her? Why?

"Don"t look like that, is it so strange for a man to trust his woman?" King Richard bit his lip. She had read someone"s mind, I"d be a fool not to trust her!

Mahnu was silent for awhile but she hadn"t felt well for a day now and wondered if she should tell Richard. It"ll pa.s.s, she thought, looking out the window.

***

Pain speared through Mahnu"s entire body. Being disconnected in her arms and legs felt utterly excruciating.

"Haha, look at you now. The Betrayer of G.o.d"s, Saviour of Mankind! Haha."

Mahnu screamed as her dream led her to more pain that seemed so overbearing that she felt herself slipping away. A black darkness came across her then and she felt very lonely.

"Mahnu! Dammit! My G.o.d, Mahnu! Breath!"

King Richard had taken her, screaming, out of the carriage, to have her suddenly go limp in his arms. Luckily, he saw that it was only an instant and she started to breathe again as she had hit the ground when he had laid her down.

Mahnu took a deep breath in and opened her eyes.

Tears started to stream down her face as she started to recall her nightmare.

"I...I was..."

"Hush. Just breath. Please breath!"

"They...tortured me! I was torn apart!"

Mahnu hiccupped and took another deep breath in." They called me...the Betrayer...of G.o.d"s"

Mahnu clung to King Richard and continued to cry.

"Oh, Mahnu! My dearest, Mahnu."

The King didn"t know what to say or do as he held her tight. Seeing her screaming so loudly, scared him so much. But he became absolutely frightened when she had stopped breathing. He hugged her tighter, rocking her as she continued to cry.

She"s remembering the past...Dammit! The King cursed silently. What"s going on?

He stood up, with Mahnu in his arms, and went back inside the carriage. "Go, stay on course till we arrive at Bena. Send someone in advance to find a doctor."

Mahnu laid there quietly as she listened to the wheels turning over  and over on the rocky road. What"s wrong with me? She thought. What kind of dream...Was that?...Could it have been real? It felt...real.

"Richard?"

She felt his hand on her face.

"Ye...Yes?" He said, after he cleared his voice.

"Who am I?"

Mahnu opened her eyes to see him staring at her sadly. He took a deep breath in and said. "You have a deep past. One that I don"t know much of. But I do know that you help people. You have helped so much, Mahnu. You even saved my life...twice, or three times!"

"Really?" Mahnu smiled. She was glad.

"Yes, you are remarkable."
Mahnu closed her eyes again and sighed. Sleep taking her to yet another place that seemed like the past.

...It looked like they were back in Brackan. "What are you doing here? Betrayer!"

"It"s time." Mahnu found herself saying to two others.

The other person laughed. "Time for what?"

"The time for G.o.d"s is over!" Her own yelling scared her.

Someone came at her but she rammed into them too and the earth beneath them shock for a moment, wind escaping in a rush.

Mahnu felt herself talk in haste, "For I could not achieve peace through words or actions, I entrust my power into this box to protect the future of mankind!"

Mahnu stopped as they attacked her and she skidded into a brick wall, leaving a huge hole. With a cough, blood came out of her mouth. She picked up the box and continued, "I am willing to sacrifice, to achieve that peace I could not obtain without this box!"

Mahnu heard her thoughts of the time. "Take my immortality! Take the sufferings I feel from humans. Take my G.o.d powers. Even take my hearing thoughts of others and if more is needed take my memories...take my whole existence!"

...I must...Lock the box. ...Feeling herself holding onto her consciousness, only through extreme willpower, she locked the small box in her hands, only then, she was able to sleep...

Mahnu opened her eyes and breathed in. Sitting up in the bed, she found King Richard laying next to her sleeping.

"So...I was a G.o.d."

Mahnu put her hand over his face and kissed him, waking him up. He kissed her back but when they parted he said, "Mahnu?"

Yes, she thought, help me forget. For a little while.

She put her hand around his waist and her leg over his and he took her invitation to lay on top of her.

He is so gentle, she thought, his touch is like happiness spreading throughout my whole body.

"Richard." She moaned as she put her legs around him.

"Mahnu."

His loving embrace took her away from reality.

***