LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 27

01- CANUTE

This time after Canute had escaped from his prison (cellar), he skirted the walls and made straight for the storeroom (his makeshift bedroom).  His bedding, however, had been removed already and some of the other stuff cleaned out; as his return was not expected, a few useless chests and pieces of broken furniture had been piled high (stored there), to utilize the space.  Veering around the discarded pieces, Canute tried the knob that led to his mother's boudoir (bedroom).

Finding it unlocked, he, elatedly was about to open the door to sneak in when some noises from within stayed his hand.

First, he steadied his breathing then stealthily pried the door ajar and craned his neck to peer in through the crack.  Canute's hatred and revulsion intensified seeing one of the girls, one called Juke, rummaging through his mother's personal things, her chests and drawers.  Tike was sitting woodenly by the window with a stern face, clutching his mother's small jewelry box.

 "Thieves… Bandits!  Vile beasts!  I'll make you pay for this!" gnashing his teeth he cursed them under his breath.    Suddenly his heart stilled when, to his dismay, he saw Tike discovering an old foreign coin, the thing his mother prized most.  It had a hole in it and, when he had been much younger, Canute remembered her wearing it around her neck.  This much he knew of her past, that this strange coin had been the sole possession left to her by her deceased parents.  She had been allowed to keep it up to now because it had always been deemed worthless by others.  He contemplated rushing in to grab it from Tike's claws.

"This… It’s another worthless piece of shit."  Much to Canute's relief Tike, after a brief examination of it, threw it disdainfully to the floor where it rolled soundlessly under a chair.  Tike growled at Juke not to dawdle.  She was fast running out of patience.  The intensive search had lasted for half an hour or more and had produced nothing of substance to satisfy Tike's greed.

"This can't be all," she pursed her lips, looking at the jewel box in her grip, then shifted her gaze to the sleeping woman.

02- SLEEPING HELGA

 "She must have hoarded her gold and jewelry somewhere else," Tike hissed, "but where?  Where could the sneak have put it?  Try out those drawers over there.  She can't outsmart me.  Yes, those ones, and look harder or you'll see the back of my hand!"

That night his mother's condition had worsened.  Tike was forced to defer her usual customer, a pesky middle-aged man who reeked of alcohol, to one of the other girls.  Thoroughly put out, Tike had entered sick Helga’ room with Juke to ransack the place.  Though she took it all, she still suspected the girls of accepting secret gifts from their gentlemen’s customers and shamelessly hoarding them in various secret places.  After all, that's how she had secured her own future, gained her freedom and present status.  Despite all the effort, the next few hours still proved fruitless.

"Imagine, leaving me high and dry, like this!  If she thinks I'm going to pay for her funeral out of my own pocket, she has another thing coming!  Even an unmarked grave costs a pretty penny these days." Tike ranted and raved.

 She then turned to berating Juke; when her voice got hoarse, “Oh, never mind!  You're utterly useless too!"  She finally called off the search.

  "I'll fetch Ron up tomorrow to rip this place apart, piece by piece, and then we'll see what will turn up.”  “Hmm… Perhaps her brat knows of the stash’s whereabouts? If worse comes to worse, I'll simply have Ron wring it out of that useless little horror?  Imagine that!  I take them in under my roof and provided for them all those years, even bringing up their bastards, showing them all that consideration and kindness and, what do I get out of it in the end…nothing?"  Huffing and puffing she got to her feet, with a sweep of her sleeve and curses on her lips, she then stormed out of the room with Juke timidly following close on her heels.

03-TIKE OUTRAGED AT NOT FINDING ANYTHING

No sooner was the door closed than Canute (emerging from his hiding place) burst inside and rushed to his mother's side.  Climbing onto the big bed, he snuggled up to his mother and whispered in her ear, "Wake up, mama.  They're gone."

 When she failed to respond he gently shook her.  "Wake up, mama.  You must wake up.  We have to get out of here tonight.  Tike means to kill you, mama, I heard her just now, heard her talking about burying you in an unmarked grave.  Mama, mama, please wake up!"

Stirring faintly, she meekly groaned, "Senson.  Why?  Why?"

"No, it’s me, mama…me, Canute.  Wake up, mama, you can't be dreaming now, not at a time like this.  You must wake up!"  He rocked her more urgently.

"Water...oh, I'm so parched."  Her hand gripped her throat.

 "Please, I need some water!  Oh, my head hurts so much!"  She placed the back of her hand to her forehead, her eyes still shut tight.

Her faint request was promptly, solicitously fulfilled but she was too weak, too frail to rise.  Bracing her, Canute placed some fluffed up pillows at her back.  He held the cup to her pallid, trembling lips and helped her swallow a few drops.  As he brushed back the loose tufts of hair stuck to her temples and affectionately stroked her clammy, sweat-drenched forehead he gasped in gloom, despite himself, "Oh, mama, you're burning up!"

 Her condition gave him further cause for fright and had plunged him into deep despair.  She was so sick, how was he going to get her away to safety now?  "Oh, I wish you hadn't drunk that potion, mama," he gently admonished her.  "I knew it would make you worse.  I knew it would only hurt you.  Tike is a beast, an evil, fat beast!"

"Is that you, Canute…Canute?" her eyes opened slightly.

"Yes, mama, I'm here," he answered meekly, hanging his head and biting his lip to hold back the tears.

"Were you just now swearing at Tike?"  Canute grunted an acknowledgment.  She closed her eyes again and sighed, "Oh, son, won't you ever learn?"

04- SLEEPING HELGA

"They locked me in the cellar again, mama, but I broke out.  They moved all my bedding, too," he burst out indignantly, looking in the direction of his room.

  "Mama," after a moment's pause, he nestled closer to urgently warn her, "You must be strong.  You must get well.  Tike means to kill you.  I heard her say so just now," suddenly his face hardened, and he clenched his fists, "but I won't let them hurt you, mama.  I won't let them get near you.  I'll, I'll protect you."  He resolutely dashed off to secure both doors, wedging a chair against the main door's knob.

"We'll stay locked up here until you get well."  He climbed back up to her side with a cold grin of satisfaction.  "I'll steal some food if you're hungry, mama.  I'm a big man now," he assured her with a nod.  "I'm seven years old; I can take care of you now."

"Canute?  Canute?  Oh, here you are, my precious."  She appeared not to have heard a word he had said but knowing he was by her side was enough to comfort her and she heaved a long, deep, painful sigh.

A few moments later, more of her faculties (senses) regained, Helga opened her eyes.  But Canute's wretched condition at once plunged her heart into abysmal pain and she began to weep with grief.  "Oh, my poor darling, what have they done to you?"  

She reached out with a frail hand to touch the red abrasions (scrapes, scratches) over his left eyebrow and those other marks of abuse on the left cheek.  “Oh, my precious, does it hurt much?"

"I'm all right, mama.  It doesn't hurt, really."  Canute, putting on a brave face, slapped the bruise, bearing the pain with a smile.  "See, it only looks bad.  I'm strong, they can't ever hurt me."

05-CANUTE ACTING TOUGH

"Oh, my poor, brave boy, I love you so much."  Cradling him in her arms, she pressed his battered head to her bosom and sobbed tragically.

Her hot tears fell onto his cheeks as he looked up to again disclaim his pain and urged her, "Please don't cry, mama, or you'll get sicker.  You must get well fast, so we can get out of here.  We’ll go somewhere else, anywhere but here, mama… Please open your eyes mama?"  He pulled his head away and sat up.  His face turned to the door of the storeroom, his room, and misgivings stirred in him.  He hesitated before continuing, "Mama, Tike is a liar.  You won't listen to her, will you mama?  I know you need pretty clothes but please, please don't send me away from you! I promise when I grow up, I won’t want to get married. And I could never ever hate you mama!"  He bit his lip, his face burning with fire.  "I love you mama; I don’t never, ever want to be parted from you!" Again, he pleaded in a whimper.

"Oh, my poor darling,” she caressed his face.  "You’ve had such a scare.  Of course I won't.  I could never condemn you to, such a cruel fate.  I could never bear to part with you either, you are my life."

 Weeping and trembling, she pressed her face against his brow.  "I only said that to Tike, to stop them from hitting you.  As soon as I'm able to, we'll get away from here, I promise.  We'll go far, far away."  Sighs punctuated her resolute words.

Gratefully, irrespective of the pain, Canute Yonn wound his arms around his mother and hugged her tight as though he was afraid of letting go.

 Words crammed his throat at first but then, vehemently gesticulating, he poured out his grievances against Tike and Juke who had ransacked the place.  As Helga listened passively, her strength gradually had begun to ebb; she felt parts of her body going numb and was fearful that Canute might notice her failing condition.  But Canute suddenly recalling the coin just then darted down from the bed and, crawling on his hands and knees avidly began searching the area under and around the chair where he had last seen the coin roll. 

When he returned to her side clasping the coin her lackluster eyes were wearily closing.

"I have it here, mama.  It's now in my safekeeping."  She did not see or hear him.

"Oh, mama, I hope you’ll get better soon, very soon.  I'm afraid."  He spoke almost in a whisper as he hung his head low in hopeless emotion.  Suddenly terror gripped his heart.  Would she get better?  What if...?  He clenched his jaws tight, looking away, trying to hold back his tears but, as if in defiance, his eyes reddened and he sniffled.

With great effort she patted the back of his head and forced a smile to her pallid lips.

 "You mustn't be afraid, my precious.  I'll get well.  I'm just feeling tired, that's all."

But even as she said this, she realized that her condition was indeed serious, perhaps irreversible, and became equally apprehensive for her precious Canute.  With a look of despondency on her face she sighed, "Oh, my poor, wretched darling.  What will become of you after I'm gone?  Who will take care of you then?"  She buried her face in her pillow and quietly wept, the tears gushing like streams to drench the pillow in minutes.  Their coolness gave her some relief.

At his wits’ end to find ways to comfort his mother, Canute clenched his fist and softly cried out, "Oh, if only papa was here.  He would take us away from all this.  He would keep us safe and make everything all right."

"Your papa…?"  Her crying ceased as she looked at him in great surprise.

Before she could go on Canute interceded and placed his hand over her lips.  "Oh, mama, please don't tell me he's dead again.  I know he's very much alive; I’m a big boy now and you can't deceive me any longer but why, why can't we go live with him?"

The intense pain from conflicting emotions and remorse burned at her soul.  Immersed in total misery, her heart palpitating wildly sent the blood rushing to her (brain) head and she became quite dizzy from the throbbing, splitting pain; suddenly, an anguished cry escaped her lips, “Oh, I've been so wrong, so very wrong in keeping the truth from you."

 Canute's eyes lit up as his heart filled with hopeful anticipation. This was it… Long at last he might learn all the missing info about his dad. And then, he will come and save them.

But what Canute heard next was totally unexpected and blunt details terribly angst (wrenched) his heart.

 "Your father is a monster, a vile, cruel heartless beast.  You must stay away, clear away from him.  Promise me child that you'll never go seek him out."  Her cheeks afire, she looked searchingly, intently into his bewildered, disbelieving eyes.

Her obvious distress (anxiety) forced Canute to stammer out his acquiescence though, in his heart, he had no intention of keeping it.

Helga, seeing that Canute needed to be convinced, tearfully bemoaning their cruel fate, gradually, unfolded the rest, the entire, painful truth about Canute’s father.

Helga confessed how, at first, it was only the burning desire for vengeance that had sustained her and, how unwittingly for a time, she had almost transferred that hatred to her innocent little baby, Canute, who bore such a likeness to that cursed Senson Luko.

 She had lingered in this tormented state for so many years, torn between her intense abhorrence of Senson verses, the innate, powerful bond that existed between mother and child, till eventually her emotions had sorted themselves out.

 As Canute grew up and she, wanting to see him grow up healthy and have a normal life, had forced her to forsake vengeance and bury those dark, painful memories that were eating her alive.

"Oh, my precious, it was wrong of me to have carried such hatred in my heart for so long, but I could not help it. As it were, it irreversibly sapped my life's blood, drained my youthful vitality from my veins and left me infirm, a shriveled up ailing fool that I've become.  My own folly (psychosis, obsession) has been my undoing, not anything Tike has done or could do.  Now it’s too late for regrets, too late for anything."  Her words were punctuated by deep sighs and tearful sobs.

"Please, darling, don't be like me.  Don't be like your senseless, useless mother who has thrown her life away on, hate.  Bury the past for good and leave it where it belongs.  Forget Senson.  Forget that you've ever had, a father.  Forget what he has done to me, to us.”

“I had to tell you these hard truths to make you understand.  I know how inquisitive and stubborn your innate nature is; however, you must desist and never, ever contact him.  Stay away; stay clear away from that unconscionable beast if anything should ever happen to me."  She paused to wipe away her tears and blow her nose.

She was fearful lest she should lapse unconsciously before she had finished her say, so ignoring all the signs of alarm, she pushed on relentlessly.

 Her hoarse voice took on a note of urgency as she counselled him, "Be strong, son, and get away, far, far away from this miserable, horrible place.  Now, don't be obstinate!  Promise me you'll do as I've asked."  Receiving an obedient, reluctant nod, she continued, "Remember, Canute, beneath that third, loose board, and the one I'd shown you earlier."  She pointed to a spot on the floor beneath the overstuffed chair where Tike had been sitting.  "There's a small amount saved up.  You can use it for your escape.  You must get away, far, far away from here, child.  Oh yes, one more thing..."  She had to stop for breath. 

Exertion, the wear and tear, were beginning to take its toll on her.  She shifted the covers to conceal the stain of the hemorrhaging from him.

"Trust no one…No one other than Nikish, perhaps.  The old gardener likes you; I know.  Yes, ask his help but only his, no one else," she stammered despondently turning her face away. 

06-NIKKISH (THE OLD GARDNER)

Her head was swimming, and her face had again turned ghostly pale.  She sighed softly and closed her eyes.  With great effort she murmured, "Tonight.  Remember.  You must flee this wretched cage tonight!"

Yes, mama, we'll get away.  I'll ask Nikish.  He'll help us escape, don't you worry," new hope sprang up in Canute's heart as he elatedly responded.  He liked Nikish, the sympathetic, countrified old widower Canute'd lately befriended and he knew that, if asked, he'd do his best to help them flee to safety.

"No, child… My poor, poor baby!  You're so frantic that you're not listening; you're not hearing what I'm saying.  My wish, my desire, is that only you break free.  Forgive me, Canute, my precious, but I can't come with you.  I don't have the strength.  I don't think I have very much longer left to live."

He was already half-way to the door with the intent of fetching Nikish when, turning, he'd rushed back to her side.  Clutching her hand, he cried frantically, "No, mama, you mustn't speak like that.  You'll get well.  Don’t lose hope. We'll both get away together, you'll see.  I won't leave you, mama.  I can't leave you.  Let me go get Nikish, he'll help us."

"No, I can't.", she panted, gasping for breath.  "Now go, please go."

"I won't.  You promised.  You promised you'd never leave me!"  Canute, livid with fear, clung to her tightly.  "Why?  Why are you trying to drive me away?  Please, Mama.  Don't you love me anymore?  I'll be good.  I'll be-behave.  Don't push me away, mama.  Please, mama."

"Oh, child," she gasped in exasperation.  "Why, why are you making this so difficult for me?  Please, precious, do try to understand.  I'm not abandoning you, not by choice."

 She put her trembling hand over his and, her throat constricting, managed to whisper, "Don't you know, my darling, that wherever you go, I'll be there.  Even, even in spirit form I'll always be watching ov…"  The last word froze midway on her lips and her painful breathing grew weaker and weaker still.  There was a slight gurgling sound from her throat as all the color drained from her face.  Then she opened her lackluster eyes a crack and her lips quivered as if wanting, trying to speak, but no sound emerged.  There was no breath to carry it out.

"Mama... Mama!"  An inexplicable fear wrenched Canute's heart in its iron grip as his hysterical, muffled cries pierced the cold night air.  Recoiling in terror, then wretchedly clutching her limp body, he collapsed over her weeping.  Trying to breathe some life back into her he hugged her with all his might, shaking her and rocking back and forth.

His revulsion against Senson intensified.  "I hate him, mama.  I hate him!  I'll make him pay for what he has done to you," he ranted.

 Like a mad bull his mouth foamed in all-consuming rage as his nails drew blood from his clenched fists.  All the pent-up anger, resentment, terror, gloom, pain, loneliness, sorrow, despair and disillusionment mixed together to tear his soul to shreds.  With these fiery storms erupting in his heart, the hot tears gushed ceaselessly in torrents to wash his burning face clean and drench his mother's pale blue gown.

Subsequently, in accordance with his mother’s last wishes, Canute had tried hard to purge his heart from that consumptive hatred of Senson, but in vain.

 Oh, how he had loathed Senson then, and thereafter! That vile beast was responsible for all the misery and grief heaped on his beloved mother. 

He’d also promised at her deathbed to forget (to put all hatred behind him) but tried as he did, he could not, nor could he forgive.

 How could he?  How could he not avenge Helga, his darling mother, who had been so wronged and so tormented all her life? 

The injustice wrought by Senson had seared Canute's heart so completely, with such fiery intensity that he would never again be able to staunch its blaze.

(END OF SECTION 27)

 

LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 26

Canute Yonn swallowed heard, then fighting the blinding, throbbing pain in her head, he continued to relate (reveal) his mother’s tragic story to the indifferent (unsympathetic) ears in court. “Tresor and his wife Suen were a kindly folk; and at the beginning they took great pains with herbal tonics and diligent care, to save my mother’s life. After a partial recovery, however, she was again driven out into the cold; this time the culprit was poverty, and the humble farmer and his wife had to harden their heart to do this.  Their reasons being valid, I carry no ill will towards them."

“How very magnanimous of you," Mouro ejected sarcastically and sneered.

Disregarding him, Canute Yonn elucidated (explained) why he’d so readily forgiven them: "Their deprived circumstances were onerous enough, but that year’s incessant rain had spoiled most yields (crops) and created scarcity. This prohibited any acts of charity to kin, much less a stranger.  Famine had already claimed two of their children, one at the age of three, the other barely a year old. My mother, Helga, was crippled by Senson's countless blows to her legs and could not work the fields or do any other strenuous work; she was a liability and a hindrance to them.”

01-FARMER TRESOR

“Subsequently, with scant clothing and food, her baby a millstone in her belly, my poor mother drifted from place to place, scavenging, begging for alms, to survive.  All the while trying not to hate the innocent child, me, in her womb. I’m telling it as is, when she had later unburdened her heart to me. She had endured these unspeakable hardships, living for the day of her vengeance."

"See, trouble begets trouble.” Micen stroking his beard, mused heartlessly. “They should have made certain of the serving maid Helga’s death before abandoning her in the ditch; if they had, all this trouble now could have been averted."

"I came into this world in a house of ill-repute, where we stayed until the day of my mother's passing." Canute Yonn, oblivious, continued hoarsely.  "I grew up hearing her bitter, tragic sobs every night, for she had never grown accustomed to selling her body."  He gazed dully at the floor to hide his eyes, brimming with tears.  The rekindled pain of those times again tormented his mind, wrenching his soul.

                                                                                       ~

"Please don't cry, Mama!"  His heart breaking, Canute buried his face in the pillow to drown out his sobs.  What was it that ailed her so?  Who was Senson, this name she had so often, like now, cursed out loud in her sleep?  He was seven years old.  He felt quite grown up and he did the chores like grownups, but everyone still treated him like a child.  I'm old enough to understand, why won't she tell me?

He tossed his covers aside and, sitting up, fixed his gaze on the locked door that separated him from his mother.  The room, no bigger than a closet, in fact it had once been used as storage, had a tiny window so high up that it let through only a thin sliver of moonlight.  The wind was howling outside but the dancing shadows in the room did not scare him.

 I wish I could comfort her; he rubbed his eyes sleepily; I know she needs me.

 Hanging his head low he heaved a deep, stealthy sigh wishing he could forget that another, a stranger, who was sleeping snugly beside his mother.  As he tried to purge his heart of the gripping loneliness, troublesome thoughts and haunting questions again crowded his brain.  Why does Mama claim we have no family?  What about my father? 

Canute knew that his father was not dead, for once in slip of the tongue, she had referred to him in the present tense.  But why weren't they with him?  Wouldn't he be angry if he came here and found out she had slept with all these men?

He didn't play in the street anymore, for the other kids would tease him and call him and his mother all sorts of unmentionable names.  Like sharp slivers each name-calling stabbed at his heart.  Many a time he had retaliated with fierceness and pent-up anger, beating and dispersing all those who had ganged up on him.  Unfortunately, swift repercussions, beatings and berating soon followed from his elders in the house.  He was in a no-win situation.  Things will never change; why should I fight back (riposte)?  Still, a faint smile brushed his lips when he recalled the proper whipping, he had given to that big bully Yenn Katog, who was always inciting the other kids against him. It served him right!  And, it had more than made up for the thrashing he got later. 

He now stuck out his chest in self-congratulation.

Canute’s mind reverting back to his father, he reclined and closed his eyes in hopeful dreams, imagining that one day his noble, warrior father, their savior, would appear at their door, looking tall and distinguished, kindly and strong, to claim them.

02- CANUTE YONN'S IMAGINED FATHER

His heroic father would rescue them both from that ugly, intolerable existence.  For, to the marrow of his bones Canute detested this place he was forced to call home.  It broke his heart to see his mother ceaselessly tormented, day after day, by this uncaring, insensitive lot.

 Restless, he shifted his position.  His eyes fell on the discarded old plantation fan Tike had given to his mother.  He picked it up and examined it in the scant light, noting particularly the holes.  Absentmindedly he began gnawing at its edge.

 A few doors down he could hear that old tyrant of a house mother, Tike, scolding one of the girls.  In anger he threw the fan aside.  Oh, how he hated that callous old shrew who intimidated everyone, young and old!

He grimaced, thinking how when he was younger still, his mother had kept him in line with the threat that Tike ate disobedient, disrespectful children for supper and that was why she had gotten so fat.

Unsought, he saw before his mind's eye those venomous, piercing beads of eyes, encompassed by a gelatinous face which split into a threatening snarl to expose rows of rotted teeth.  "I'll get you yet, you piece of shit!" Tike was shaking a fat, threatening finger at him.  "Your days are numbered; wait and see!"  He retorted, clawing the air savagely to tear at her reverberating double chin that always seemed to drip perspiration.

03- CANUET FACES TIKE

 Tike thrived on tormenting people, always caning, hitting, beating and cursing everyone.  Never satisfied, never smiling, except at the guests, and then her smile was more hideous than her frowns and haunted his nightmares frequently.  She flogged him incessantly, not sparing the rod even at the slightest provocation.  Worse still, he resented being forced to behave, to be made to quietly submit to her abuse. His mother Helga was made to suffer the worst of it, for every one of his defiant acts.

He could hardly comprehend the extent of the fear Tike evoked in his mother's heart when Tike threatened to throw them out on their own.  In fact, had his mother Helga not been the prettiest and one of the key attractions of Tike's establishment, the street would have been their home a long, long time ago.

Oh, how I hate her!  I swear I'll kill her some day! he shook his clenched fist in the air.

The weeping and cursing finally muted after the slamming of several doors.  It was the same scenario being played out every night.

The following day Canute received an additional reason for despising Tike.  Canute's mother Helga had been sick for the last two or three days now, vomiting and feeling dizzy.  He was really concerned about her so, after the guest had gone, finding the door unlocked, he'd quietly snuck into her room and attempted to give solace to her.  She looked paler than usual.  When the steps of the old tyrant were heard approaching the door he heeded his mother's directive and made himself scarce.  Not wandering too far, he eavesdropped.

"Doctors cost money", he heard the shrew say.  "Besides, keeping it is out of the question."  A few other words he could not quite make out.  Then he observed Tike taking a small bottle from her pocket and handing it to his mother.  "There, I don't want you to think about it any longer.  I was good enough to get you this.  Never mind where I got it, just drink it.  He assured me it would get rid of the unwanted pest (nuisances).  You don't think this is the first time I've had to do this, do you?"

Canute watched with some trepidation hoping against hope that it was medicine to cure his mother’s ailment, as Helga with some reluctance, a grim, ghostly expression on her pale face, raised the foul-looking potion to her trembling lips.

"Don't drink it, Mamma!  It may be poison!" His fears triumphing (prevailing) over hope, he sprang from hiding place to shout his warning.

"The idea!” Tike turned her venomous eyes on Canute, panting with rage, hands brought menacingly to her hips.

 "You ungrateful brat, poisoning her, is that what you think I'm doing?  You, you a slandering scoundrel, you!  Haven't I warned you never to come here this early in the morning?  How long has he been there?"  She turned to Helga, worried that he may have inconvenienced last night's guest.  She had another good reason to be fearful, since abortion was illegal in Wenjenkun.  She needed to ascertain that Canute had not heard or understood enough to incriminate her.

"I'll tell-on you!" Canute warned, having sensed her fear.  "I'll have you locked up!" he shouted defiantly, not really knowing what he was threatening her with.

"You, wrenched viper in my bosom; I'll teach you to threaten me, you piece of shit!" shaking her finger at Canute Tike began to viciously berate and curse him as she pounced on Canute.

But Canute was too agile and too swift to be caught, not one with her bulk.

Huffing and puffing as enraged Tike chased him down the hall, her shouts to the others to grab him created such a pandemonium that the whole house was turned upside down.

In the end Canute had successfully slipped through those innumerable, vicious, grasping hands and hid. 

By dusk, when eventually the mayhem settled down and everyone returned to their routine tasks, exercising due caution, Canute Yonn stealthily emerged from his hiding place.

By providence spotting the old shrew, he, hugging the walls, followed Tike all the way back to his mother's room.

Once more Canute hid and, from this vintage point, watched and waited with his heart pounding, for Tike to have her say and depart. Tike’s face was beet-red from all that exertion as she huffed and puffed and animatedly gesticulating, flailed (flapped, waved)) those fleshy arms of hers.

What has she got so much to squawk (crow) about?

Curiosity, getting better of him Canute pressed his ear to the door and eavesdropped. 

On and on, with mounting rage and spurting poison, Tike cursed and scolded Helga, as she unmercifully, vented her cruel diatribes on the hapless, ailing (sick) young woman.

 "I told you to get rid of that brat long ago.  He'll never amount to anything, mark my words.  He's nothing but trouble.  You know he's no good, but then you're no better!  Why do you encourage him to come up here?  Are you stupid or something? Mother’s affection, baloney!  All useless emotions!  You've no business feeling love, not for a bastard, not for anyone!  Now you listen!  I'm just about at the end of my patience with you.  I'll only tell you this once more.  Harden your heart to him or you'll be made to suffer.  Then you'll be sorry.  Get rid of him now, I say, for he'll turn on you too one day.  Just wait.  Don't you know the innate nature of all men by now?"

Tike paced the floor to and for in an unusual quiet, as she mentally formulated (prepared) her next set of arguments and rested her vocals.

The door he was concealed behind, (whom patrons sometimes used) was still unlocked.  He pried it on ajar and peered in to see what was happening.  To his dismay, he saw the emptied bottle in Tike's hand as she toyed with it before returning it to her pocket. Tike was careful that way; making sure to retrieve any would be incriminating items (objects) and destroying it later.

 Suddenly, in a much calmer mood Tike, going over sat by Helga’s bed and, her enormous paws cupping Helga’s delicate hand, she began persuading the ailing woman, to agree to something.  Typically, the shrew was trying first, a kinder, gentler approach but Canute knew all too well that, if this did not produce the desired result, she would in (but a few minutes) a flash reverts to her vicious nature.

"Why don't you let me get rid of the pest…? Arr, I mean the boy, for you as well?  You don't have to do anything.  I'll handle the transaction for you.  Why must you be so stubborn? I have your best interest at heart. Why won't you take my advice?  Can't you see that in the long run it would be better for him, too? He’ll grow up in a normal home.  I saw mistress Wang just the other day.  They're looking for another bond servant; trouble is they don't want to pay for a fully grown one. Now, don’t be so quick to turn this down; wait till you hear the rest of it. “

“When she told me of their wish to purchase a boy close to their Therran's age, to keep him company, be his study- buddy and, for to keep their son out of trouble; I'd at once, being so selfless (altruistic), suggested Canute.  She said she'd consider it.  I had hoped that they would have forgotten about that regrettable incident between the two boys.  But listen, if you agree I'll do my best to persuade them to take Canute off your hands; sold for a pretty price, I’ll even get a smaller commission, just to help you out. Besides, couldn't you use another new dress or two?  You really ought to be thanking me for finding him a good home.  You know that if he grows up here, he'll turn on you, sooner or later.  He'll hate your guts for what you're doing.  He'll despise you to the core for ruining his life.  Also, you know as well as I do, that no respectable, good girl will ever marry the illegitimate (illicit) son of a whore.  So why don't you heed my sound advice and get rid of him now, while there's still a chance, while there's still time."

Canute Yonn’s fury rising to the boiling point, he felt he would just explode.  He shook violently, uncontrollably.  He'd just about had his belly full of resentment against that old bat.  Grinding his teeth, he was about to dash out to gouge her eyes out… When,

"I caught you, you little worm!"  A strong hand grasped the back of his neck and lifted him up high.  "So, this is where you've been hiding all this time."

"Let go of me!  Let me go, you cursed dog!"  In vain Canute, eyes agleam with anger, tried to kick and claw his captor, the big, strong bully called Ron, Tike's nephew who (periodically) helped her with the running of the business.

The relentless verbal and physical abuse that both Tike and Ron rained on Canute made his mother livid with fear, worsening her wretched condition still more.  Her tragic pleas for them to stop hitting her boy fell on deaf ears until; finally, she uttered the words Tike most wanted to hear.  Canute was dragged outside, still kicking and screaming, bouncing down the steps until he was violently thrown onto the dirt of the cellar floor.

"I'll teach you to respect your elders." Ron ranted like a mad bull.  "So, I'm a cursed dog, am I, you, ungrateful turd."

He grasped the heavy stick which rested by the stairs.  "You've had this coming to you for a long time.  Take this, and this!"  He pounded solidly and savagely on Canute's tender young flesh.  "Plead for mercy, you wretch, or I swear I'll kill you!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Canute held fast, bit his lip to stop from crying out until he passed out. When he came to the musty smell of dust had assailed his nostrils and dirt coated his tongue.  His battered head was throbbing fiercely.  His fingers tentatively touched the area where the pain was most intense, at the hairline.  Just then he felt a sharp, cutting pain in his ankle and kicked his leg, scaring away the timid rodent that had wanted a taste of his flesh.  His torn shirt and pants had already glued themselves to his wounds.  Though every inch of his body was seared with pain he lifted himself with determination and persistence to his feet. Muffling his groans he groped his way in that semi-darkness, his path barely illuminated with a sliver of light streaming from the small window way up there; with determination, he weaved his way slowly towards the door.  As he had expected, the door had been barred shut from the outside.  His revulsion growing stronger by the minute, he drummed up his last ounce of strength and savagely pounded his fists against the wood.

"Let me out!  Let me out!  I'll get you for this, you fiendish bastards!"

 His strength was ebbing.  "I'll show you.  You can't keep me here for long…I’ll kill you all, you, you…. beasts!”

Curses on his lips reduced to barely audible whimper, his breath now coming in gasps, Canute (limply) collapsed to the ground.  He remained there motionless for an undetermined time until he'd recovered some of his strength.  The urgency of his mother's condition gave him the will, the (fuel) ability to forsake his pain.

05- CANUTE IN CELLAR

Rising to his feet, he first determined the direction he wished to go then slowly felt his way to that far corner.  He was relieved to find things undisturbed and so, with some difficulty, pushed the empty, moldy cart to the side.  This was not the only time he had been cudgeled or flogged then imprisoned in the cellar but, the last time, he had, through his resourcefulness, discovered this exit, this burrow through the wall and, enlarging it a little, had crawled outside, stolen a steamed bun from the kitchen, then returned to his prison without being seen.  He had been smart enough to have concealed the opening of this escape route and had confided its existence only to his mother, in order to ease her anxiety.

                                                                                   ~

(END OF SECTION 26)                                                                                  

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 25

Before noon the following day, sure enough, Canute Yonn was apprehended and brought in chains to the prefecture for incarceration.  Adjourning the court case in mid-session, Micen ordered Canute to be brought before him at once for questioning.

 Short time later, with a stern visage Micen watched the prisoner Canute, beaten and bruised, as he was dragged in with chains and a heavy cangue around his neck, to stand trial.

Strapped for time, the Prefect cleared the court and, skipping the preliminary procedures, ordered his bailiffs to prepare the ultimate instruments of torture (interrogation) at once.  It came as no surprise to Micen that Mouro Kerr, anticipating this wish, had already seen to this as well.

01- MOURO KERR

 Ingenious devices of cruelty were immediately hauled (lugged) into the courtroom and, under Mouro's supervision, Canute Yonn was subjected to the most horrendous, brutal torment.

"Oh, what's the use?" Canute at long last, (unable to bear the agony) groaned.  "Who am I trying to protect, anyway? All right, I yield… I will tell all.  I would like nothing better than to expose the hypocrisy of the Luko family and reveal Senson Luko, whom I am ashamed to call 'father', for the despicable bastard he really is!" Canute, so resolved, professed publicly, his version of the true accounts.

"What kind of malicious slander is this?  How dare you besmirch a good man’s name?" Mouro's red-hot rod viciously struck across Canute Yonn's already cut and bloodied face.

The astonished Micen was very intrigued and wanted to hear more.  He quickly intervened to halt Mouro’s barbarism and then ordered to have the courtroom cleared of further nonessential personnel, leaving only the recording secretary, his assistant clerk and a miminal number of bailiffs.

 "Let him speak." Micen, his hand raised, ordered the skeptical Mouro to stand aside; then curtly addressed Canute Yonn, "What do you mean by claiming the late honorable Senson Luko was your father?  What an unmitigated gall you have!  He has (sired) no sons, only daughters."

"No sons that you know of." Canute defiantly scoffed.

"Stop your spiteful lies, impudent dog!"  The outraged Mouro again struck savagely at Canute.  "How dare you try to deceive His Honor?"

"Let him be!" Angry Micen interceded.  "If you kill him now, how are we to get at the bottom of this?" 

Though Mouro wished to protest he checked his temper (and zeal), seeing the foul mood the Prefect was in and, grinding his teeth, wrenched the burning blade away from Canute's throat and quietly stepped aside.

 "What proof do you have to substantiate this claim?" Micen voiced (posed) his next question.

"I have none Your Honor; only my word."  Canute's answer was a study in calmness.

Mouro glowered at Canute furiously then urged Micen not to be taken in by this criminal as he clenched his fist in contempt.

While Mouro seemed to be fighting the urge to pounce upon the prisoner, Micen's own feelings remained quite mixed.

 "Bring the accused closer to the bench." Micen commanded in an afterthought.  He had known Senson since childhood, being a native of Denor City himself.  Leaning over the bench, he intently examined Canute Yonn's features while he struggled to jog his boyhood memories.  Though Canute's face was burned and bruised, and most of his, admittedly handsome, features were concealed by his bloodied, short blond facial hair, Micen discerned some resemblance.

 "I know those eyes anywhere, it’s Senson's eyes all right!" Startled, he drew back then, stroking his short (well groomed) beard he mused, nodding, "Yes, there is a definite family resemblance, especially his nose.  Most definitely he's got Senson's nose, no disputing it."  Micen’s eyes now narrowed, as he sneered at the prisoner under his breath, "Fool, you could have had all of it!"  It had suddenly become clear to the Prefect why Latham and Hacket Luko had perjured themselves in court.

Micen’s contemptuous glare burrowed deep into Canute's flesh as he stormed, "What kind of monster are you that you could knowingly sleep with your stepmother and, worse still, murder, mutilate and rob your own (flesh and blood) birth father?  What you have done violates all Human decency.  It is the most unconscionable, most detestable act I've ever come across in my ten years sitting as a judge.  How dare you brazenly stand so boldly before me when you should be cowering and bowing your head low in shame?"

"Because he's a madman, a certified lunatic." came the consensus from the court clerks in back.

Ignoring this, Micen again demanded a reason for the outrage Canute had inflicted but, throwing his head back, the prisoner only let out a caustic laugh, grimaced coldly then retorted from between his clenched teeth, "Why should I owe one shred of loyalty to a man who wished me dead even before I was born?”

“My steps to achieve my purpose may have been improper; still I have no regret, nor am I ashamed of what I have done.  I know I’m right.  I'll face the Underworld King (King of Death) without flinching and, if it’s my destiny (punishment) to face this trial in my next life, I'd do it without reserve, all over again."

The prisoner's defiant response so enraged Mouro that, seeing red, he, that instant, delivered a severe, deadly blow to Canute Yonn's head, sending the accused crashing, unconscious, to the floor.  Naturally, Mouro then became the recipient of Micen's harsh reprimand till Canute was examined by the certified stated physician, Sullen, found to be alive and revived.

 

The Prefect eventually decided, in view of Mouro's genuine regret and sincere, eloquent words of apology, to tolerate his assistant's continued presence in the courtroom.  Mouro was duly warned, however, to contain his temper and that any future outbursts or disobedience would meet with the most severe repercussions.

 

Mouro, head lowered subserviently, brooded in silence off to the side as he tried to unravel the seemingly harmless facts and words spoken by certain members of the Luko family.  A sinister smile fleetingly brushed his lips as he suddenly comprehended the ugly ploy behind the conspiracy of Senson’s younger siblings to involve Canute Yonn. Moreover, the extent of which the two had gone, in encouraging Senson's offspring in his vile act of seduction and murder.  “What bastards they are…  You are deceiving, conniving, rapacious beasts; truth be dammed!  Why should I be surprised?  It’s the same everywhere; miscarriages of justice, arbitrary decisions, bribery, mutual protection, collusion and partiality.

 

Scholar Canute Yonn, by then having regained consciousness, forced to his feet and steadied, with his urgent need to be heard, he stammered incomprehensibly.

Prefect Micen pricked his ears but failed to understand or make any sense of Canute’s mutterings, except for one or two phrases, “Revenge... you can't silence me.  I will speak up.”

The scholar’s throbbing head meanwhile had made his speech incoherent at first but, gradually, with determination, he rose above his difficulties. “Yes, I shall make a clean breast of it and reveal the ugly truth for the whole world to know.  Their treachery against my mother must be exposed so that others may take heed in future.  Yes, I will tell all, all, without exception..."

Canute for a spell balefully glared at Mouro than fixed his burning gaze on Micen as he, by degrees in a resounding voice, punctuated by spurts of blood, confessed, "My beloved mother, Helga was her name, may her soul rest in peace, was the only offspring of the bond-servant Cuo, who had tended to the old Master Guzo Luko for over thirty years.

My poor dear mother (Helga) was orphaned at five, when her parents died of a plague, she was nevertheless kept on and constrained to the family's service.  She grew up with inexhaustible blows and toil, their loud commands and persistent scolding ringing in her ears from sunrise to sunset.  She endured her ill fate, adopting the persona of cheerful acquiescence so common in servants.  All those years of loyal service, of hard work, did any of it count?  Hah!  The opulent have black hearts."

"Belay the blather and get to the point!" Micen pounded his mace (scepter) on the dais.

Defiantly, Canute Yonn glared at him, then pressed on, "Despite her deprived circumstances, she had blossomed into a beautiful girl of barely fourteen when, unfortunately for her, she had unwittingly attracted the lustful desires of the first young Master, the cursed Senson Luko.”

02-HELGA

 “He pestered her from morning to night until, finally, on a fateful afternoon, he cornered her in a desolate section of the garden, arranging to have her sent there to pick peach blossoms for the Matriarch's chambers.  There, on the petal strewn ground, the rogue shamelessly, sexually assaulted her."  Canute Yonn groaned.

"So, the pretty maiden Helga was herself deflowered, what of it?" Mouro grumbled, smirking wryly.

Throwing him a venomous glance, Canute Yonn continued, "Though tormented, she bore the shame in silence, until her pregnancy was discovered, and, under interrogation, she sobbed out the details of the shameful, tragic episode to the Old Master and the Matriarch.  But it was she who was punished instead of Senson.  The jewel of the old man's eye could not be touched.  When Senson professed his innocence with affected conviction and claimed that it was he who was being victimized by my mother, Guzo chose to believe his son.  Senson, with false nobility, made it seem as if he was trying to protect her from her own promiscuous nature on account of her youth and his own compassionate, merciful heart.  Gradually he unfolded his entire fabricated account.  According to Senson it was my mother who had pursued him untiringly until the vixen, he had the unconscionable nerve to call her that, had caught him at a weak moment when he was suffering from a minor ailment, a fever after having been caught in the rain.  That particular night she had supposedly sneaked into his room once everyone was asleep and clad only in her undergarments, slid under his bed covers.  At this point, to reinforce this farce, he had even fallen on his knees and asked forgiveness from Guzo for his weakness.  The womenfolk rushed in to plead on his behalf. “

“Yes, the crafty cur continued to admit his guilt for not having the willpower to refuse her (brazen, lustful advances) and, clutching his father's feet, begged through his sobs to receive his due punishment.  His father understood for, after all, what hot-blooded young man could resist the seductive advances and improper embraces of a wanton young girl?  He had committed no crime.  Such was the knave's cunning!"

Undaunted by Mouro's clenched fists, which he had noted just out of the corner of his eye, and before Micen could launch into a reprimand for reviling the deceased, Canute Yonn quickly added, "To deepen the trap, Second Young Master Hacket, who had been in on the conspiracy from the start, came forward in support of his elder brother to confess his shame.  The servant girl Helga had, supposedly, tried to make improper advances towards him also and he was guilty of failing to report her.  He had felt, in his compassion, that if she was driven out it would be her end, for there was no other place she could turn to.  Helga was still young and impressionable and therefore could still be molded, turned with due understanding, good guidance and tolerance onto a righteous, virtuous path.  Why should the investment the family had already made in her go to waste?  Remarkable as it may seem, Guzo bought into this well-rehearsed façade (sham, charade) and as well praised both his sons for their tolerance, compassion and good sense. Bah!”

"Though her rectitude and moral integrity were known to the entire household prior to these malicious slanders, those sympathetic few were deterred from speaking on her behalf or coming to her defense when they observed how Master Guzo was totally beguiled by his sons.  Even if Guzo was only pretending, why shouldn't he take his son's word over that of a besmirched bond-servant Helga?"  Canute Yonn ground his teeth in disgust.

"Consider this your last warning!  I will not tolerate any more of your theatrical elaborations and your disrespectful reviling of the deceased."  To the satisfaction of Mouro, who also was simmering, Micen suddenly exploded, shaking a finger at Canute Yonn.

"But I am relating the facts as I had told them.  I'm not being disrespectful of your court, Your Honor.  I do not have the command over words to eloquently summarize it to Your Honor's satisfaction." Canute Yonn dryly (disdainfully, coldly) protested.  He was a condemned man, facing more torture; there was little else left for him to fear.

Tauntingly, as if to try Micen's patience, Canute continued as before, "Yes, taken in by his own sons, the infuriated Guzo Luko cursed and reviled my mother, the true victim, endlessly until his voice grew hoarse.  Then he ordered Senson, his precious jewel and the one injured most by her, to punish the culprit Helga properly.”

03- MASTER GUZO LUKO

“Calling my poor mother a most despicable, ungrateful vixen in their family’s bosom, an evil reincarnate that must be expunged before she corrupts anyone else, the brutal Senson, taking hold of a heavy staff, unmercifully rained down his vicious blows on her.  He stopped only when he thought she was dead."

Biting his lips and clenching his fists, Canute Yonn abruptly broke off at this point, beads of perspiration mingled with blood to sting his lacerations.  His face contorted in pain as he tried to suppress his bursting rage and his all-consuming contempt for his father.  He regretted that he could kill him but once as his eyes flashed fire and looked about the courtroom wildly.

 Soon he was able to restrain his emotions, grimaced coldly once again and said indignantly, "Then, barely alive, she was taken away in the middle of the night with the refuse to be mercilessly discarded (dumped) in a deep ditch outside of the city walls.  Left to die a horrible death in pools of her own blood, she was exposed to the rain, the bone-chilling cold and the scavenging rats and insects that came to gorge themselves on her infected wounds.  By some miracle she survived the ordeal until, just after dawn; a peasant's dog led his master to the spot where she lay.  Taking pity on her, the kindly peasant who was called Tresor rescued her from the pit and carried her on his back to the safety of his home.

 

(END OF SECTION 25)

                                                                                      ~

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 24

Prefect Micen Do and his assistant Mouro Kerr spent that afternoon overseeing the plan and deliberating on the meticulous steps they would take.  Since Micen felt that Yenis held the key to too many riddles and was the most expendable, Mouro was assigned the gruesome, tiresome task of her interrogation and torture. Knowing that Mouro's personal preference drifted more towards male actors and young man, Micen remained confident of his success.  Mouro would not be so easily swayed or beguiled by her feminine charms to show her any pity and easy going on the torture.

01- YENIS

Unreconciled at first to her fate, Yenis had stuck to her story, using everything within her means to seduce Mouro, but she’d failed to sway (affect, move) him.  Where another would have succumbed to her irresistible charms and consequently human frailty, lust Mouro had instead, maintained his stone-cold composure and unyielding, hard (merciless) heart.  Without a trace of compassion, the finger vise and other brutal instruments of torture were repeatedly applied until the truth was literally wrung out of her.  She sobbed out her full confession, which was promptly written up and submitted.

As soon as it reached him, Micen Do poured it over in the comfort of his study. Her story, after all her reticence, was a simple one.

This innocent seeming beauty had, in fact, conspired with her lover, one called Canute Yonn, to dispose of her husband, Senson Luko, and then afterwards ran away with his valuables in order to begin a new life elsewhere.

Yenis had never loved her sadistic husband and, in truth, had wholeheartedly despised him.  Her family had owed Senson a great sum of money and the recent widower had proposed to overlook the debt if they, as he put it, "were to become related".

 In a despicable bargain, despite the vast age difference, her family had forced her to enter into wedlock with Senson Luko.

02--SENSON LUKO

Headstrong to begin with, she had not reconciled herself to loving Senson as a dutiful wife should and had immediately begun to seek happiness and gratification elsewhere.  Contrary to the wanton adulteress that the testimony of the vindictive Latham and Hacket Luko had made her out to be, circumstances kept Yenis outwardly faithful to her aged husband, though there was no lack of trying on her part.

The recent appearance of the tall, dashingly handsome, charming scholar/ warrior, Canute Yonn, on the scene had fulfilled her latest desire, this void in her heart, and precipitated the consequential, tragic set of events.

Canute with his gentle disposition and fine mannerisms, at their (numerous) secret rendezvous, had entertained her and remained most sensitive (attentive) to her needs and vacillating, oftentimes nitpicky moods until; he had completely won her over.

Believing that he would reciprocate her affections fully and that he would remain true to her, she had consented to his pleas for intimacy on more than one occasion. 

03-YENIS AND CANUTE YONN

Mouro Kerr had shamelessly extracted the complete details of these sexual encounters and recorded them in their entirety for Micen to drool over.

The killing of her husband had been Canute Yonn's idea, for Yenis would have been quite content with simply running away with her lover, carrying only her jewelry.  Canute had persistently warned her that, unless her vindictive husband was disposed of, Senson would spare no effort to hunt them down and bring her back to suffer ceaseless torments, to punish her for her indiscretion.  Forced to live hiding, they would always be looking over their shoulders, fearing discovery.  They would be robbed of solace and peace of mind regardless of the distance they may put between themselves and Denor City.

Seeing the obvious truth in his claim, Yenis was finally cajoled into accepting Senson's demise.  On that stormy night hence, she had snuck Canute into the compound and, as planned, led him through the interior of the house straight to her husband's bedchamber.  Being rather squeamish, she had wanted to wait outside and keep watch while Canute completed the gruesome task of decapitating Senson. But again, on his insistence she had been forced into being his accomplice.

Bloodthirsty Micen re-read this part of the confession with added interest:

“I let Canute through the side door and as he crept like a cat to a position behind sleeping Senson, I, as per instructed, silently disrobed, leaving only my undergarments on me, and stood just inside the room. In a most seductive whisper that I can muster, I called out my husband’s name, and then waited with fearful, trembling breath, for Senson to wake.  His eyelids opened, but then hungry, licentious gaze at once burrowing into me, he sat up bolt upright in his bed and, smirking (grinning), beckoned me to come to him. An involutory shudder passed through me, as I felt tormented by the sensation of my skin crawling with million insects, slithering and taking chunks out of my flesh.” Micen interrupted his reading at this moment and dawned a sinister, broad smile, imagining her in that compromised position.

“Just as Senson, delighting at my obvious unease, impatiently opened his mouth to bark his command at me, Canute struck from behind, in one powerful, lightening move he severed the main artery and sliced his throat. I nearly fainted at this gruesome sight, the terrible gurgling sound he made, the gushing blood! Then as if I was outside of myself, watching, observing the practiced way Canute tucked the head of Senson forward to stop the surge of blood. Next, he wielded his sword with practiced force once more, to decapitate him!  As the head rolled onto the floor and the corpse flopped back onto the bed, Canute moved in position to strike the body time and again, as if assuaging his deep-seated ire, his years of pent-up revenge, and mutilated Senson’s corpse with his swift, sure strokes.”

“I could no longer stand the grizzly, horrific scene any longer and so, in panic-stricken-terror I turned, picked up my wrap and fled to outside of the bedroom.  With wobbling legs, I willed myself to hasten to my chambers where I collapsed on the floor vomiting and crying, in a state quite beside myself. Sometime later when he came in, he was able to calm me down and with his assistance, I quickly dressed for the journey and gathered up the valuables to take with me. In my flustered (muddled) state I failed to note that Canute had taken for himself, a jewel- inlaid strong (metal) box, Senson’s prized possession. “

04- JEWEL-ENCRUSTED METAL BOX

 That night, in the cover of darkness, two cloaked riders, Yenis and her lover, had successfully made their getaway with some valuables, but certainly far less than the amount claimed to have been stolen by the Luko family.

Mouro proved his worth by gathering a detailed list of the stolen items, which verified (attested) that only one quarter of the goods that Luko family had claimed to have gone missing, exposing their mendacity (deceit).

After a long ride, Yenis and her lover had eventually taken refuge at Kuno Temple, mistakenly thinking that they would be safe there. It was also there where, in dust, Canute, invoking prayers, had made the fiery sacrifice, burning hell money and something else, she was not entirely sure what. As for the jewel encrusted metal box, failing to unlock it, he had tried smashing it, and when that also failed, in seething rage he then had thrown it down some deep well, she couldn’t say which one, only that it was somewhere within the temple grounds.

 Despite the severity of torture and all other means employed by Mouro, in order to extract the entire truth, Yenis had stuck to her original claim of ignorance of the box’s contents. Her husband, you see, had never let her see what was within it.

 At one point in her confession, she had even cursed herself for not realizing the obvious change in Canute Yonn’s demeanor, shortly after his fiery sacrifice and later still, his unusual refusal to seduce her, that first night in the Temple.

At the time quite unsuspectingly, she had attributed his indifference to his superstitious beliefs as the ruins had permeated (infused) such an overwhelming eerie aura.

 It was beyond her comprehension that, as she slept that night, her beloved would so heartlessly sneak away with the valuables and horses, leaving her stranded to face a fate far worse than death. It was indeed a wonder that she had maintained her sanity through it all.  Victimized and betrayed in this cruelest fashion, when her tears were all but spent, she had vowed in her bitterness that, if she survived her ordeal she would, from then on, seek vengeance and bring destruction upon all men.

Fradel Rurik Korvald, although not deserving of her wrath, was unfortunate enough to have stumbled into the path of her rage and scorn.

Though he had treated her most solicitously and honorably, she could not soften her heart even a little to forget her bitter disappointment with Canute Yonn.  Consequently, it had been her intention from the first to seduce Fradel Rurik Korvald and make him pay dearly as a kind of atonement for Canute Yonn's sins.  She was luring Fradel, by feeding him false information, away from Denor City with the intention of never letting him go when they were, unexpectedly, apprehended by the authorities.

05- NEVETS AND FEM FATALE  YENIS

“What a wretched fool!  Women are such weaklings.” With a contemptuous snort, Micen put her confession aside and then sent for Mouro.  Upon his assistant's prompt response, Micen relayed his orders with a stern visage, "You must dispatch the search parties at once for the apprehension of the one called Canute Yonn, now that his complete description has been secured from the woman."

"Yes, you’re Honor; that has already been taken care of.  Begging for your pardon sir, but, since there was little time to be spared, I took the liberty of sending out every available guard we have to scour the Prefecture in force for the culprit.  Wanted posters, offering the customary reward for the criminal's capture, are being posted at every junction as we speak.  I'm presently awaiting news of his capture."

Looking pleased, Micen acknowledged, "In this instance your perfunctory response was most appropriate.  You may now return to your other duties.  You are to inform me the very minute you learn of his capture; Dismissed!"

The second after Mouro's back was turned, Micen's face blackened with annoyance.

“What audacity!  What gall he has to act without first consulting with me!  Next thing you know, he'll be presiding over my court.  He's efficient, yes, but far too clever, too overbearing and too ambitious.  I must watch him carefully and never let my guard down for a moment where he's concerned.  I may have further need of him for now, but I had better look towards finding his replacement long before he becomes a real threat to me.”

                                                                                   ~

 

(END OF SECTION 24)