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Word had reached Tygon about louga the flute player; a man who seem to cast a spell on everyone around him, male or female alike. Tygon wanted to meet with such a man, if not for the mere intrigue of the whole idea, at least his noisy curiosity will finally quite.
And then; he heard it, the melodious sound of a flute emanating from the grand hall of the palace, and he knew there was no need summoning the man, there he sat like a yogi in the center of the hall playing. Spellbound energy in the air trapping everyone present.
No one in the hall took notice of the king and his entourage as they filed into the big space. louga stop abruptly as he picked up vibrations from the new arrival. As if waking up from a deep slumber the people now notice the king, breaking through the crowd, and they bowed in humility.
Tygon went straight to the throne and sit beside the queen. Zoreefa got up from her throne and bowed in front of Tygon and he placed his right on her shoulders three times, blessing her before giving her permission to take her seat beside him.
Louga stood up and walked to the throne and bowed before the king in respect and the king acknowledge his presence with a gentle nod, a courteous gesture of an aristocrat. then one of the guards rushed forward to come and whisper into the kings ear no doubt feeding him all the information he had about the stranger. Upon all that the king still demanded an official introduction from louga. "as it may please your highness, my name is louga from the kingdom of werga, a royal guard to the lord Danty by who's power I came to werga to serve the house of Zanka….. behold I bow before you now oh noble king, with all sincerity and respect, loyal to your throne, with my blood and sweat shall I defend it…." louga finished still bowing.
Tygon clapped and laughed candidly concealing his cunning …. "do stand-up now oh louga of werga, thou cometh to my court glowing like a royal, yet here you come bowing before I, in respect, pledging your allegiance to the throne of Zanka, I accept your pledge; but to serve the throne with blood and sweat is a great thing that must be proven with action and due time; action I can control, but time is quite another thing. On the morrow, there shall be a combat challenge from all the courts of Cygon in the arena here in Zanka…. fierce indeed shall be this battle among warriors, albeit; I cannot send a man to his doom, that is a choice every man has the right to make for himself, right before you is a great chance to prove thy self a worthy guard in the royal court of Zanka, and winning will guarantee a permanent place for you in the royal army of Cygon" Tygon said lively.
"I accept the challenge your majesty; with your permission I will take my leave now to prepare myself for the turbulent days ahead" louga said bluntly.
Zoreefa held her breath involuntary; she had seen what happen to losing men in the arena of Zanka every year in this stupid contest and she had no stomach for it… she knew louga will not stand a chance against those fierce warriors and barbarians from the other tribes of Cygon. She felt like crying. And louga had no idea what was coming, if only he knew he wouldn't have accepted the challenge blindly.
...
Witticism is a trait Tygon never lack and being a king only make the man nimbler to an extend his own men feared him; the man always thinks ahead, far in advance, setting traps in the webs he weaves.
A king is like a male lion who had conquered and mastered tentacles of his power, and this; he will never share. To have another lion venture in to his territory, definitely calls for a battle to the death, and only one must come out alive. Tygon male lions can't rule the same area.
There is only one king and that is him, and nobody else…. He saw the way the queen was looking at the young man the time he was playing that flute of his, no one can resist that kind of sound, sensuality is a wave no soul can ignore, for this reason he must eliminate the young man swiftly before he seduces all of them to their early graves. Werga don't have warriors, they have farmers, artists and poets; so, the young man's bold response, made Tygon a little suspicious, but he ignores it, off course; there is not a man on earth that will want to shame himself among maidens, on the contrary they want to show bravery. "well we will see about that" he dialogues in his racing thoughts.
Louga smiled inwardly; he saw the worried look on Zoree face when he accepted the challenge, and he saw stazia look away from him hiding her tears. Their worried expressions, the mere thought of having this two special women care about him is consoling enough.
Alas! to dwell in such vanity now will only get him killed. The exchange looks, quite intrigued at his bold stance…. They wanted to see whether the avid flute player can wield a sword as masterfully.
Louga went straight to his room and lock the door behind him…. he was aware the task ahead is quite dicey. He need time to go into himself to merge with the sublime version of himself, the one fashion by the priestess of Npunga, who had endeavor to teach him combat and how to wield a sword in his dreams.
Louga have never seen anyone wield a sword that good, the woman was an enigma, she only appears in his dreams or in his meditations to teach him things; as if preparing him for something…. now it was all making sense…
"your body has a mind of its own" louga remembered the woman say in one of their sparring fights "that's all the weapon it needs to fight, the sword is actually a distraction, and can mislead you, the sword only follows the command of the man wielding it…. in a real combat thought and action must merge into one…. Make the sword a part of your body and not a separate entity and victory shall always be yours…"
louga was now thinking to himself enquiringly "how can one separate thought from action?" "that is quite impossible" he had one time told the woman, but she had said "tell me about your mental state when you are doing something you truly love doing" louga had asked "like playing the flute?" and she did smile and nodded mysteriously "yes like playing the flute" "but the flute is not a sword" louga had argued.
"yes a flute is not a sword. But what if you can wield a sword like playing a flute?" she had said, and louga did understood. So like the flute, he had practice with the sword to a point he felt he is getting closer to a "no mind zone".
She had thought him many things but the above exchange between them kept repeating in his mind and he thinks that is the best advice ever for even a novice. And a novice he is in a real battle. Today is probably his last day on earth.
He wouldn't have mind back then; now he has a reason to live, and the queen is that reason. The king is a cruel man, hiding behind veil upon veil of politeness. Well if he thinks he can eliminate him that easy, then he is in for a surprise.
...
Early that night, Stazia put on a long black gown that fall seductively on her heavy round curves and went to see louga. She knocked on the door thrice before an answer came, bidding her to come in. She pushed the door gently and it opens. Moonlight brightens the dark room through one open window.
Louga lock eyes with the beautiful maiden standing in front of him, the smell of musk and cinnamon so strong in the air. "look Starzia I am not ready to be criticize for my decision to be part of the competitions" louga manage after a long pause. Starzia didn't say a word, she just closes the gap between them and threw herself into his arms.
"the king wants you dead; and nothing can stop him now…. In that arena, you're nothing but a porn in his chess board; but I am not here to talk about the trivialities of men…. Am here to hold you and tell you I need you alive.
Perhaps this all the time we have together, I love oh my lord louga, I never find the courage to tell you lord because I never found myself worthy, I know another have stolen your heart, but my love for you is pure and true"
The words of stazia caught louga off guard, he couldn't believe they were coming from her; she had always acted like a sister around him in her affection, or so he thought. He had always admired and found her very attractive until he met the queen and all sanity left him.
He is not the same louga two days ago. Once a calculative man, now an impulsive one. He might as well get himself killed with the mumbo jumbo of thoughts playing up on his mind right now. Perhaps in another life, or time in space, they could be a place for him and this beautiful woman, not now; now he was simply taken by a power so strong he has no option but to swim in the wave it whirls.
Conscious of the sensual energy emanating from Starzia, Louga felt like a cage cat. He could feel her soft breast and rigid nipples rob against his chest causing his blood to warm up to supply sufficient amounts to his racing heart. Louga withdraw from her so quick the woman nearly loses her balance. "stazia! I can't, you know I can't, please do understand …" louga mumbled apologetically. "yes I do understand my lord louga…. I will go now. Fight to win…." Starzia said and walked out into the cold night with a heavy heart trying very hard not to cry.
...…..