“Zara, stop!” she screamed as she wrapped her arms around her lover’s body. With a hard yank, she pulled the taller
woman and managed to throw her to the ground. Still filled with a rush of battle rage, the Moroccan now began to flail at her,
the captain’s fists aiming at her face.
“STOP!” she screamed as she ducked her lover’s blows, then frantically grabbed the taller woman’s wrists as she sat on her
waist and pinned her to the grass.
Suddenly returning to her senses, the Moroccan gasped and then began to pant as she stared up at the sky. Gabrielle noticed
her lover’s swollen eye and split lip. With sweat dripping down her face, her arm bleeding and her fists bloodied, Zara
remained still as the blonde straddled her torso. Only when the Moroccan captain looked at her in something like puzzlement,
did the healer release a sigh of relief.
“You’re all right now, sweetheart, its okay. Just calm down,” she cooed as she ran her palm over her lover’s face. Blinking
at the tenderness, Zara gasped suddenly, then closed her eyes as her breathing returned to normal.
“G-Gabrielle… I-I…” she tried to speak.
“Shush, honey, it’s okay. Don’t say anything. It’s over,” the storyteller said as she moved from her lover’s prone form. As
an afterthought, she knelt by Daruka and examined his bloody face. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up and
saw the aged healer by her side, his grim expression fixed on the fallen Indian captain.
“Healer Gabrielle, I can tend to this… one,” he stated distastefully as he glanced at Zara, who still lay on her back panting for
air. “Please, see to your mate.”
She looked once at the fallen captain, then nodded acceptance of the aged healer’s words and turned to help her lover to her
feet. As she wrapped Zara’s arm over her shoulder, she supported the taller woman’s weight as she guided her from the
scene. Behind her, she heard the Arab healer issuing orders to his assistant as he began to tend to the barely conscious Indian
captain.
“It’s over now, sweetheart, you’ve won. It’s done with. Put it behind you,” she cooed as she helped the Moroccan into the
estate and to their room.
Although her voice held conviction, her mind worried that this was not over. Gabrielle had never wished for anyone’s death,
but for a split second in time, she was wondering if this is what it would take to stop Daruka’s madness. With a shake of her
head, the Greek healer pushed the thoughts from her mind.
Zara felt her whole body shaking out of control. She felt the inner rage searing through her soul. In silence she sat on the
edge of the bed with her head bent. Gabrielle was on her knees, a warm bowl of water by her side as she finished cleaning
and binding the sword cut on her lover’s arm. Next she turned to gently wiping the blood from the Moroccan’s hands.
“How do your hands feel?” the healer asked as she examined them critically.
“Fine.” Was all the captain could say as she felt her heart thumping in her chest.
“Doesn’t look like anything is broken,” the small blonde said out loud as she gently bent the Moroccan’s fingers and
examined her palms and wrists. “Ya coulda jammed a knuckle pounding on that hunk of meat that way, but I think you’re
okay. Next time go for the soft spots,” she said, forcing a chuckle.
“The soft spots. Right…” Zara muttered still feeling anger washing through her.
“How about your face, let me have a look,” Gabrielle’s voice was soft as she stood up and tilted the woman’s chin upward.
With a grimace, the blonde shook her head as she took a cloth and gently wiped at Zara’s swollen eye. At the instant pain,
the Moroccan flinched, then grew still.
“I know, honey, I know it hurts, but I’ve got to clean it up,” the blonde said.
“G-Gabrielle… I… uhhh… it…” Zara shook her head. She looked at her hands and saw them shaking uncontrollably.
The Greek stopped and gazed at the captain, her expression filled with compassion. With a shake of her head that caused it
to throb suddenly, Zara sighed as she closed her one good eye.
“I w-wanted to… to kill him,” she whispered to her Greek lover.
“I know.” Was all that the blonde said, as she looked at Zara with sympathy.
“Gabrielle, I-I’ve never…” she shook her head as the fear of her own rage settled in. “I never wanted to kill anyone as much
as I wanted to kill him,” the Moroccan whispered as she lowered her head in shame.
Throughout her entire life, she had gone through the various emotions of anger, betrayal and longing for revenge. But Zara
had never experienced such pure, animal hatred before. These feelings she felt, the longing to not only kill Daruka, but to
make him suffer as no other had, were alien to her. Not even when she tried to kill the Sultan in her rage, did she feel such
pure darkness in her life. And this scared her.
Sensing her fears, Gabrielle smiled softly as she returned her attention to cleaning the Moroccan’s swollen eye. “I know
honey. I know,” was all she said when she moved the cool cloth to the captain’s split lower lip.
~~~~~~
Prince Arjun Asoka found himself pacing the length of his official meeting hall. He heard the echo of his own footfalls with
each step he took. With hands clasped firmly behind his back and head bent, he contemplated all of the events that had
transpired.
To anyone within the court, they would have felt that he should not have given his support to Zara, a woman who not only
was a commoner, but a foreigner as well. Yet after all of his years of knowing her, there was little else in his mind that he
could do.
Even though Captain Daruka was a distant member of royalty, there was always something rotten about the man that Arjun
did not like.
“Your highness,” the sound of Hiresh’s voice broke through his concentration.
With an arch of a brow, the young prince gazed up at his personal guard and sighed. “What now, Hiresh?”
“It is as you suspected your Highness. As soon as Captain Daruka and his wife were informed that they were to be ousted
from the estate, a communiqué was sent to his brother, Major General Pavan,” Hiresh’s voice remained controlled despite the
circumstances.
The prince chewed his lip as he tasted the unpleasant situation. Unlike Captain Daruka, his brother, Major General Pavan
was not only a capable officer but a fierce warrior. Commanding his own cavalry unit, Major General Pavan proved to be a
powerful ally for Arjun’s father and not one to be scoffed at. Although the man was loyal to his father, the ruler of Indus, the
prince knew that at times like these, family honor could take precedent over loyalty to a king.
“How long will it take for Field Marshal Kala to return?” Arjun asked as he moved to the open balcony. He absently
watched as his guests milled about in the open courtyard. All ignorant of the full situation, their laughter and voices were a
contradiction to the quickly swelling emergency that Arjun now faced.
“She has half of her troops in the eastern and lower lands, however, she herself is with a legion on the western coast. It will
take her no more than five days to return,” the taller man said as he moved to stand behind his prince.
As he watched his guests enjoying their stay, the young prince thought over his options. Should a problem arise, a
communiqué had already been sent to his father explaining the captain’s open defiance and unforgivable conduct. If anything,
his father would be pleased to know that Arjun was finally standing on his own against another royal member. But when it
came to his guests, Arjun had to take into consideration that they could be caught in the middle of a quickly brewing battle
situation and suffer for it.
