Chapter 24 #2
“Thank you,” the woman said as she stepped inside, a covered wood tray in her hands. She headed over to the table and set the tray down. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked, turning to face us.
“No, that will be all. Thank you, Merita,” Artemesia responded, offering her a kind smile.
“A pleasure, as always,” Merita replied as she bowed her head and then left, a waft of cool air rushing into the tent with her departure.
I moved to the small, round table, resting my hands on the chair as I watched Artemesia remove the lid.
On the tray were two plates full of steaming food—a dark, sliced meat, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, and various boiled vegetables diced and mixed together.
My mouth watered, my stomach churning with hunger.
“Have a seat. I’ll get us something to drink,” Artemesia said as she turned toward the cabinets. Sitting on top of the one were three jugs and a few drinking horns. “Wine okay?”
“Wine is great,” I answered, sitting down.
“Perfect.” She reached for the middle jug and filled the two horns. When she was done, she brought the horns over to the table and handed one to me. “I’m famished. Let’s eat.”
Our conversation was light as we filled our tummies with delicious, warm food—grilled trout, boiled potatoes, and warm, golden buns—and refreshing red wine.
When our plates were empty, we both reached forward and pressed a thumb against the plate, securing a crumb.
Like that, our attention caught on one another’s, and we both started to laugh.
“I see the empress never did make a lady out of you,” she chuckled before she popped her thumb into her mouth.
My smile faltered at the mention of the empress.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought her up,” Artemesia apologized.
I wiped my fingers on the cloth napkin. Now that I had food in my belly, I felt ready to talk about the harder topics. “Actually, I’m glad you did. I’d like to learn more about my past, including the parts about her.”
She picked up her plate and placed it on the tray. As she did this, she said, “I can tell you what I do know. Maybe it will help fill in some of the gaps?”
“Yeah, that would be great.” I nodded. “Talking about it might help some of my memories return.”
“Let’s give it a shot then.” She pursed her lips in thought, then said, “You and I were born to Luna and Herulf.” Warmth spread through my chest at the mention of their names. “Before the Great Divide.”
I raised a brow. “The Great Divide?”
“Oof, you don’t remember much, do you?” she asked.
“No,” I answered .
“Do you recall anything about Emperor Alaric?”
I gave her a blank look.
She blinked. “It’s going to be a long night.
” Sighing, she got up, collected the wine jug, and brought it back to the table.
Deep red liquid refreshed our drinking horns, misting the air with the scent of fermented grapes.
She peered inside the jug, swishing the contents from side to side as she muttered to herself, “We might need more of this.”
“Perhaps we should start with what we have,” I suggested, eager to hear more.
“Very well.” She sat down, looked at me, and then she started, “In the beginning, all realms were connected together and ruled over by Emperor Alaric, also known as the Creator. On his great anvil, he forged life, from mortals to immortals to the plants and everything else in existence. It was he who discovered that when he took a star from the sky and broke it in half, it created two souls, eternally bonded.”
My heart ached. I couldn’t help but think of Von and how much I missed him.
“For a long time, he ruled these lands alone, but one day, his gaze slipped from his anvil, and he found a pretty goddess with lilac eyes, a witty mind, and a sharp tongue—Avena, the Goddess of Women and protector of femalekind. It wasn’t long before he fell for her and made her his empress.
At first, she had noble intentions; she saw the horrors happening to females—the lack of equality, the raping, the senseless murders.
So, she took her concerns to the emperor.
Together, they enacted new rules, protecting all females.
The empress merely spoke her wishes, and the emperor would make it so.
Eventually, nearly half of the realm began to praise Empress Avena’s name, thankful for all that she had done for our gender.
Some would even visit her temple and hand over their power, their magic, in her honor.
“For a while, the emperor and empress were happy, so much so that he plucked a thread of his being and gifted it to her, allowing her the ability to create as well. But as the centuries passed, the mass amount of power she was given began to twist her mind and corrode the goodness within her.” Artemesia paused for a moment, picked up her horn, and drank.
Then, “One day, a rift opened between the emperor and the empress. People speculated a great deal of things, but the rumor that became the most prevalent was that he had been unfaithful to her, although that was never confirmed. Something in her snapped, and unbeknownst to the rest of the realm, she began to plot and scheme. That’s when she showed up on our manor’s doorstep, looking for you. ”
I glanced down at my cup, peering at the dark red liquid inside.
Something about the color, about all of this, shook a memory free.