'Splash.....'
She closed her eyes as a warm pool of blood blotched her face. It colored her red. She didn't dare to open her eyes for that splatter was followed by a gut-wrenching scream of her mother and a light thump.
'Thud....'
Tears ran through the corners of her eyes for she couldn't dare to see the reality. She had seen the sword rise once at the coliseum and that had drained blood from the chest of her brother. So she couldn't fathom what havoc it had created next.
"Leonidas!"
"Leonidas!"
Nefeli cried like a mad woman holding the headless body of her husband. For a moment the body trembled in her hands just like a flicker, before departing forever, leaving her beloved agonizing in the pang of separation.
Holding her breath, Eva opened her eyes only to scream and fall back as she saw the head of her father, lying in a pool of blood.
Her hands trembled, for she didn't dare to touch .....
"No..... No..... No.....," she screamed, pushing herself further away as if trying hard to run away from reality. She turned to her side and saw the lifeless body of her father which had been beheaded, and there was a sudden surge of anger deep within her heart.
"You monster!"
"If there is God, and if he is watching you, then you will have the same painful death. I curse you!" yelled Eva.
"Huh! You runt! How dare you?", yelled Nubeous and his men surrounded Nefeli and Eva. Seeing the march of the soldiers, the villagers who for once thought of going up to Nefeli and Eva to console them, went back into hiding.
"You want to kill me? Do you want to kill my mother too? Go ahead! What are you waiting for?" yelled Eva and desperately looked around for something to hurt Nubeous, but alas, she could find nothing.
Dejected, she pounced on the soil with her bare hands, picking up the dirt and flung it at Nubeous. But her desperate act couldn't even touch a hair on the body of Nubeous. The soil, the grime, the dirt, all fell down in front of him as if even they were obeying his orders.
"You coward!", yelled Eva again and then turned back in search of help. She couldn't fight this man alone. She needed someone just to stand next to her. She needed someone to support her. But that someone was nowhere to be seen.
She had nothing more to lose, so with all her might, she yelled,
"Morpheous!"
"Morpheous! Help me Morpheous!"
"Come back, brother. Please come back!"
She was about to yell some more but her shout was suppressed as she heard a peal of grated laughter from the mouth of Nubeous, and when he was done laughing his heart out, he paused for a second.
His lips were curved and there was blatant pride that reflected from his face at that moment. Looking at Eva with fake pity he said,
"Forget about him. He isn't coming here to save you."
Clenching her fists Eva turned back towards him.
'When he had arrived he had asked for his brother and now this statement. Why? Why? Why?' she thought but before she could ask him anything she heard her mother speak.
"You vile ingrate man. Do not take the name of my son with your uncouth mouth." Her eyes burned with anger. The mother inside her couldn't take a word against her son.
"Hah... Hah... Hah...," laughed Nubeous again and said,
"You mere humans. You never understand that I am not you. I am the chosen one whom you should fear and this is what happens when you forget the fear," grunted Nubeous.
"We are not scared of you!" said Eva and stood there with a brave face, ready to accept death then and there.
"Tch... Tch... Tch..."
Said Nubeous and then looking at Nefeli with a sly smile on his face, he said, "Your son didn't learn to fear me. At least teach your daughter to do so..." and without a word, he turned back and started walking towards his horse.
"What do you mean? What do you mean by that? Where is my son? What did you do to my son?" begged Nefeli as she ran and held his legs.
But that merciless man kicked that poor lady away and mounted his horse. But before he galloped he said,
"Let's just say your son and your beloved, have met the same fate!"
"Hiyaaaaahhhh..."
Eva slumped on the ground, for it was too much for her to take.
The day was coming to an end, devoid of any sunshine and so was her life. Slowly the people gathered around them to comfort them but their words seemed hollow. Nothing was able to calm the tremor that her heart was suffering from.
Soon the night came in.
The harvest moon was shining bright in the sky for the sky had been cleared in the downpour. The stars flickered every now and then
Nefeli sat next to the palm tree like a log of wood, devoid of any emotions. Her eyes looked dry as if she had run out of all her tears, but seeing her, Eva couldn't fathom if it was the weight of grief that was not letting her tears flow down.
Wiping away her own tears and mustering up the little remnant courage in her heart, Eva got up and sat close to her mother.
She looked at her, but Nefeli gave no reaction. She didn't even blink her eye, so Eva bent her head a bit, wanting to rest her head on the lap of her mother. Apart from her, she had no one upon whom she could count on now. Nefeli was everything that she had. Her last straw of hope, upon which she desperately wanted to cling on to but,
'Thud....'
And before she could even rest her head for a second on her mother's lap, her body slumped to the opposite side.
Her last straw of hope was now lying limp on the floor.