At dawn Euphorbia led her people on to
the Ortian plain; it was her habit to command them, even though her co-ruler,
Proconsul Bellis, had tried hard to dissuade her. There were only around a
hundred of them, dressed in their green hooded robes, and they were almost
invisible against the endless grass. They were the best singers and they knew
that they would be enough, if all went to plan.
Elves were more susceptible to the Orbiverdi songs than humans, because
elves absorbed songs throughout their lives, while humans, however proficient
they might be, merely listened to them. The most hard-willed and prosaic humans
might even resist them, but sleepy elves at the lowest ebb of the day stood no
chance.
One by one the
Orbiverdi crept into position. It was easy enough to overcome the few drowsy
guards at their post – just a snatch of a song was sufficient. After that they
formed into a circle, only one person deep and they sang. It was the same song
as they had sung to the Knights of the Pale Flame, a lullaby of such power that
those who were awake fell instantly asleep and those that were asleep – a
majority of the company – dropped into the deepest slumber of their lives.
Aurelian, who was in charge of the whole operation in Ortia had cleared all of
his elves from the walls and sent them back to barracks with strict
instructions to stay inside until the signal came. Ten deaf citizens were left
to signal the success of the operation.
Five minutes after
the singing had started the rebel army was fast asleep. The only sound that
remained was of their horses, neighing and stomping in the early morning light.
‘Five thousand sleeping prisoners; what are we meant to do with them, sir?’’
moaned Captain Pontius, newly assigned the role of master jailor. Aurelian ignored
him. They were standing in the middle of their felled enemies and the
unconscious elves made for an eerie tableau. Aurelian turned to Euphorbia.
‘You’re sure they’re
still alive, ma’am?’ he asked
‘That plump one is
snoring’ she said, pointing at a particularly round shape, ‘and there’s a lot
of twitching going on’
Aurelian sighed in
relief. Only now did he turn back to Pontius.
‘Split your troops
into two teams and spread them out around the sleepers. Get team one to take
all of their possessions away from them – their weapons, shields and swords;
don’t worry about their armour, they can keep that. Team two can form a party
to load the stuff up on carts and shift it as fast as possible into the city.’
‘As you order, sir!
And then what shall we do with them?’
‘Line your archers
around them and then wait until they wake up. After that they will be easy to
herd into the city. There’s plenty of room in the barracks – we lost many more
elves in the Tlaxacan siege than their number. Then feed them like all the
other soldiers; treat them as confined to barracks. What happens to them
eventually is not our decision. That will be up to General Titanius’
‘How long do we
have?’
Aurelian glanced to
Euphorbia. She was holding up two fingers. ‘Two hours?’ asked Pontius;
Euphorbia nodded.
The two teams got to
work, moving as fast as they could. They were the quietest and most gentle
looters ever, tugging at backpacks, piling up swords and shields, moving any
sleeper who was face down or finding it difficult to breathe. As soon as one
area was completed the looters picked up their bows and guarded their
prisoners. Little ripples of laughter ran through the companies as they imagine
how their compatriots would react when they woke up.
While this was going
on Euphorbia took her tired people away from the city. They disappeared as
quickly as they had come, happy to have served the Emperor one more time.
A little way into the process Marthian
came out to give her General moral support. She touched him on the shoulder as
she passed him. She had a small group of archers with her, just in case.
‘The Emperor sends
his congratulations’ she said
‘Thank you. Where are
he and General Titanius?’
She shrugged.
‘Devising strategy, I
assume’
She asked her archers
to stand down. It seemed clear that she was in no danger now. Aurelian ordered
them to join one of the guard parties.
They walked on until
they were a way away from the chaotic clearing up. Thy passed the shell of a farmers
cottage, ruined in one of the many sieges, and sheltered behind it. They stood
looking at each other for a moment – this was the first time that they had been
alone since she had returned to the city.
‘I’m worried about
Titanius’ she mused, ‘he has taken his role in the uprising very much to heart’
‘I know’ said
Aurelian, nodding, ‘he seems to think that he should be prosecuted for it’
‘Why? I thought it
was an accident?’
‘It was’ he agreed,
‘but the whole thing was very complicated. I think he believes he is guilty of
disobeying a senator and causing his death by negligent actions. None of it is
clear to me’
She sighed. ‘The
Emperor will have to deal with the senate one way or another. Some sort of
nominal prosecution and a brief exile might do the trick...’
‘He’ll never agree to
that, will he?’
Marthian frowned and
wrapped her arms around him.
‘Let’s not talk about
this now, darling. It’s not why I came out here’
She kissed him. It
was a long kiss and different from earlier kisses; particularly in what she was
doing with her hands. Aurelian broke away, even though he really didn’t want to.
‘Marth – what are you
doing?’
‘Caressing you’ she
said, breathless, ‘I thought you’d realise that...’
‘Yes, but...’
‘I’ve made an
executive decision’ she said. She stopped herself. ‘I meant – I propose this...’
She kissed him again;
this time for even longer. She pulled away and stared into his eyes.
‘So?’ she asked,
smiling up at him, ‘are you happy... with my proposal?’
A lot of Aurelian’s
blood was no longer in his brain and so his responses were a little slow.
‘You mean that we
should...?’
She nodded and
slipped her hand into the pocket of her cloak. She pulled out a key and placed
in his palm.
‘That’s the master
key for the palace’ – her grin turned conspiratorial – ‘it opens every door in
the complex...’
Aurelian looked at
the key unbelievingly. Marthian realised that she’s going to have to spell it
out.
‘Although you may find
the lock on my bedroom door a little stiff...’
The desire-saturated
clouds around his head dissipated. He
cleared his throat.
‘Marth – you know
that I am very grateful for this, and I really want it to happen, but I can’t
spend my life sneaking into your bedroom at night... even if it does sound exciting
...’
She broke free and stepped
backwards, grasping his hands.
‘If the Emperor and
his paramour can do it then I think, at least until all of this unrest is
sorted out, so we can. If he survives as Emperor, then I can see no reason why
he wouldn’t approve of our liaison, if he doesn’t, then we will have to think
again’
Aurelian considered
this.
‘So we’re not keeping
it a secret then?’
‘Yes and no. We will
go about our lives together as... whatever we want to call it... but we will
not volunteer information about our status unless we are asked directly. For
the time being I propose that we have more of our personal meetings in the
palace and that the meetings are later in the evening’
Aurelian looked
uncertain.
‘Are you sure this is
what you want, Marth?’
She frowned, but this
was not an uncertain frown.
‘I thought of you
quite lot during the day when I was in exile; but when I really missed you was
at night, which was odd as you’ve never been there. Anyway, I realised that I want
to wake up sometimes and find you next to me...and I want to do all those
things that lovers are meant to do. Everywhere around us is chaos, nonsense and
death – we’ve been fools to deny ourselves some love and comfort for so long’
Aurelian took a deep
breath. Marthian’s words struck to the heart of his feelings. He remembered what
Perclivius had said when he was goading him all those months ago, making him
wonder about Marthian’s feelings for him.
‘Do you love me,
then, Marth?’
Marthian smiled
gently and squeezed his hands. Her voice
dropped to almost a whisper.
‘That’s exactly what
we’re going to find out...’
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