Obsessive Daydreams & Beautiful Nightmares

The Price of War

The frantic screams spiralling around him pulled him abruptly out of his sleep. His clouded senses quickly cleared at the sight of his wife hunched over, clutching her stomach as she screamed to higher volumes.

He threw himself at her side to unroot her cries of pain. "Aurina, my love, what is it you cry from? Are you injured?"

"Call Superio," she chocked out between strained cries.

He wasted no more time as his built body sliced through the panicked air and hurried itself to Superio's hut. The witchdoctor's hut stood near the outskirts of the land, a distance away from Tiamo's home.

The old healer awoke from his slumber at the calls of a frantic Tiamo. Superio rose from his mattress.

"What is it you seek at such an hour?"

"It is Aurina, she is unwell. She cries in great agony, for what, I know not."

"Then come my child. Lead me to her, I will aid her." Superio collected his medicines in a brown leather poach before running at Tiamo's heels to Aurina's care.

The cries were louder and more pained than what Tiamo had recalled. He led the witchdoctor to his wife's side in their shared hut. Superio had sent him away as he was not of use to them. The cloth wall between them however did little to penetrate his beloved's anguished wails.

Meer minutes later, the healer came out to address the young man. "Call my daughter, Liana. Tell her to come here with her equipment and bolied water immediately."

Before he could ask of his wife's condition, Superior disappeared
in the shelter once again.

Aurina's screams faded as Tiamo focused on the task at hand. He woke Liana and delivered the message, helping her gather all that was asked for.
It had seemed hours that Tiamo waited for news of his wife before both the old man and his descendant left the tent to speak with him.

The young man could not contain his desperation. "What news have you of my dear Aurina?"

The witchdoctor placed a slender, leathery hand on Tiamo's broad shoulder. "It is a strange case my son. It does not look good."

Fear squeezed the youth's heart. "Please, I beg of you to tell me of my wife's health."

The old man sighed. "Liana and I agree that Aurina has been suffering from labour pains," Tiamo froze, "she has dilated, but there are no signs of a child. It is as if her body is ready to birth a child, but no child is ready to be born." Superio looked out to the black emptiness, "I have never witnessed such. This must be of a spiritual nature."

The testiment flooded the capacity of Tiamo's mind. He could not make sense of the words. How could his dear wife be in labour if she was not with child? It is impossible.

"Superio, surely this cannot be true. There must be a mistake, she must be suffering from some illness of sorts."

"My child," Superio spoke with finality, "you will be wise to accept this finding and aid your wife in any way you can manage. If this is spiritual, you must communicate with the spirits to heal your wife of this disease."

Liana took her turn to speak, "We shall not speak to the villagers about Aurina's condition. They will be unhappy should she have brought bad spirit and curses into the land. Should anyone ask of her, we shall say she suffers from a terrible fever. I will come to check on her during the days and should she need assistance during the night, you may call me not my father."

"Gratitude kind Superio and kind Liana. I do not take your works lightly.

***

The warriors surrounded an enemy village in the silince of the night. Tiamo, amongst them, was excited to see through his plan of ambush he suggested to his commandor. He awaited such a moment to prove his warriorship. For the sake of pride, this evening's activity could not fail; and he would see to that.

He looked over at the captured watchman's head, feeling a smile forming on his lips at the sign of what he thought was sure victory.

At his signal, the warriors distrubed the sleeping village with their horses pounding huffs and the men's cries. They enter houses and slaughtered unsuspecting families, burning most of the homes to the ground. They all kept in mind Tiamo's instructions to not spare anyone the sharp end of their sword.

Tiamo entered a hut of a craftsman and his wife who he caught trying to escape. They stopped in his presence.

"Please, I beg you," the craftsman pleaded, "spare my wife, she is with child."

Tiamo looked over at the trembling woman caging her unborn young with her arms. She was due to deliver in a matter of weeks.

"She carries the future of the Taelon tribe. I would be a fool to spare them." Tiamo silenced the man's desperate please with the tip of his sword when a clay bowl broke against his helmet. He turned his gaze to the offender. "You incompetent woman, you shall surely die for that."

He stood towering over the screaming mother, pulling his sword from his belt. With his back and his free hand, he defended himself from the craftsman's wife's frantic attacks. With one swift motion, the tip of Tiamo's sword broke through lays forming mother and child. He pulled out his weapon just as quickly to allow the blood to pour from the anguished woman.

The warrior searched the hut for anything that might be of worth. In the process he knocked an idol of a curled up snake with the head of an owl in the pooling blood of mother and child.

***

The warriors cheered in unison on their way back to their camp. Their victory had come easily as most of the Taelon warriors were away to fight another battle. They were a strong tribe that threatened many. Tiamo was delighted at the thought of his enemies broken hearts and spirits upon the  sight of their destroyed homes, families and livelihoods.

Tiamo was especially excited to return home to his newly wed wife, Aurina. He had captured a slave as a gift to her as well as jewel's from the burning village. He could no longer wait to lay eyes on his beautiful wife.

Amongst the jewels he had for his love, there was a golden pendant. It was a small figure of an idol.

At sunrise, the warriors rod long and hard with the promise of seeing their loved ones again, and for Tiamo, the promise of a promotion for his success.

***

Every night since he had arrived from his conquest, Tiamo was awaken by his wife's unusual labour pains. The days were peaceful, but the nights had proven to be hell.

His inability to aid his wife fustrated him and peeled away his youth. The witchdoctor had worked for months between tending to his other patients to discover the cause of Aurina's condition, but with no success. Superio was still sure it was the works of the spirits, but none of their gods answered to this mystery.

Tiamo had taken leave from his position as he was no longer able to perform. His weary body, from lack of sleep, only came second to his weary soul.

He stood by his sleeping wife's form in the early evening. The moonlight bounced off the blade of his sword and onto the gold snake-like pendant Aurina wore around her neck. He thought it strange since she was not in the habit of wearing jewelry to bed, but the thought was made no room on his preoccupied mind. He licked away the salty tear that slipped from his eye and wiped off the growing sweat from his palm.

He stared for one last moment at his beautiful Aurina's delicate features. He came down to feather a kiss on her warm lips, his heart squeezing tightly at the gesture. He straightened his once muscular form holding the hilt of his sword so tighly, the skin on his knuckles threatened to break open. He ignored the streams coming down the side of his face down to his neck.

"I'm sorry, Aurina," he whispered, triggering a fresh onslaught of tears, "I'm so sorry."