Central church, Anko, Afriki
From the altar, their eyes reflected the flames that began to embrace the place.
Mothers covered their children with leather garments so that they would not burn. The men were trying their best to break down the doors and windows, without success, since they had been locked from the outside.
"Monsignor, what shall we do!" The woman knelt before the altar, bumping her head against the floor.
Toribius Xenovius, the man in charge of the central church of Afriki, stood static, gazing around the place that was consumed in an unholy blaze.
"Parishioners" he began, "This is a divine punishment," He raised his arms, tears slipped from his eyes. "We must obey the will of the Nintu! And if it is his will that we die here, in fire, then so be it!"
His voice echoed through the giant structure.
The people went mad at his words; to accept such a horrible death, they could not believe how far their fanaticism had gone,
The night sky had been tinged with an orange hue before the embracing fire.
The outskirts of the church were invaded by an exalted crowd.
"Bring water, quickly!"
In a blur, they brought a large number of buckets which they did not hesitate to throw over the structure.
The cries of those inside were heard.
Fathers, mothers, children and friends were in there, burning, their skin being torn, their organs melting.
And there was nothing they could do, the structure was too big, the buckets of water were too small, the fire had spread too fast, it was too late.
They were celebrating the day in which the place where the alababan was sheltered was discovered in the north of the viceroyal territory: the Nintu.
A large number of individuals gathered at night in the church to perform the respective rituals.
"Shit...," one of the guards watched the scene with trembling eyes. "There were at least fifteen thousand people in there...."
"Here's the other part," she handed him a bag. "You did well... Here we say goodbye, remember: you and I have never spoken."
"Of course, "He bowed mockingly to the hooded woman. "I hope we will have other business in the not so distant future, Miss."
The woman was already leaving, when, upon hearing that, she stopped, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, we will, indeed we will."
Residence of the Cynther, Anko, Afriki
Last month of 575
"Forgive me..."
Ivette couldn't help shedding tears at the sight of him so hungry.
Since she came to Anko, every night, sitting by the window of her room, letting the moonlight caress her delicate whitish skin, she cried inconsolably for being away from Arcadio.
Her chest did not stop hurting, her eyelids were already swollen from so many tears.
In recent days, so much crying had affected her emotional state, causing her to not be able to generate enough milk to feed her son, to whom she asked for forgiveness.
It had already been a week since he had received the indispensable amount for his young age.
She, with her porcelain hand, squeezed her breast so that Tarvel, who suckled from it, would receive, at least, the last drops he had left.
Oh, dear reader! They would not let her, and, nor could she, by herself, help her husband in his troubles against the Senate. And now, neither could she feed her son because of her internal conflicts; something that was, at that moment, the only thing she felt useful in.
With her nose running and tears sliding down her cheeks, she covered her chest.
She lifted Tarvel, and, gently, placed a kiss on his forehead, lamenting the condition he was suffering from.
After that, she began to rock him in her arms in an attempt to make him sleep, wrapping him with lyrics, coming from her inner overwhelm, which she hummed with a delicate voice:
Little creature, close your little eyes,
they are coming,
they are already at the door.
As if her words had been premonitory, the lock of the door sounded as if it was being forced; someone wanted to enter. She cut off the melody, her frail body began to tremble.
"Ah! We must change the lock, it no longer holds the key properly."
Her body was exalted when she saw Sila, who had gone to the center to get the food for the week, burst in.
"Is something wrong, my lady? You looks frightened." she left the bags and her hood by the door."
After that, he approached the young woman cautiously.
"I tho-thought they wanted to come in and steal or something worse...," she tried to speak in a low voice so as not to wake his son, who had already fallen asleep.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," she bowed a little in forgiveness.
When she looked up, she looked at the little sleeper.
"Had she been nursing him?"
Those words made the little peace she had achieved vanish in an instant.
"I tried...," tears again fell down her cheeks.
"My lady, I did not cry, how much worse it will be," she stretched out her hands to receive the child, which Ivette did not deny. "I, like you, was a mother, so I still have some milk. Don't worry, I'll feed him in the meantime."
"Thank you..."
Having to give her child to another woman to be breastfed hurt her to no end.
However, her crying was interrupted by the shouts of a busy crowd outside the house.
"Wha-what's all the fu-fuss?" She took a few steps toward the window, intent on observing what was going on outside.
"Haven't you heard, my lady?"
Ivette shook her head, pushing aside the curtains, catching a glimpse of people running from one side to the other, shouting at no one in particular.
For a moment she thought the worst: an impromptu attack, however, this thought vanished when she saw the expressions on their faces: a naive happiness.
"It must be because my lord has declared himself in rebellion against the Senate, proclaiming himself the sole imperator of all Afriki."
"What?!" She turned, and approached Sila quickly and roughly, scaring her, almost causing the child to fall out of his hands, something he didn't seem to care about. "Philipart declared himself a rebel without waiting for Arcadio?!"
Sila twisted her head at his question, frowning.
"Were the two of them friends?"
Her question seemed silly to him, he rolled his eyes, letting out a chuckle between his teeth.
"I ask because... I was passing by the Curia, when my lord, in the midst of a mob, shouted: Arcadio is an inept, suck-up man who will bring only evil to our region! And he went on with his statement...."
Her purple pupils, which were trembling next to her arms, turned crimson red upon hearing that, clenching her jaw.
"My lady?"
She didn't answer, turned and walked to the door, where, before grabbing the handle, she grabbed Sila's hood, putting it on without asking permission.
"Take care of Tarvel," she said with little interest in the little one, as if he had taken a back seat.
"Where will you go, my lady?" She took a few steps towards Ivette, careful of her grip on the child.
"I won't be long."
And she said no more words.
She opened the door and stepped outside, covering her face with her hood so as not to be recognized. Sila closed it, to which she turned to the baby, saying to him:
"I hope your mother doesn't get into trouble, little one."
Streets of Anko
Last month of 575
Hey, where are you going?
What do you care?
So after behaving so badly to Sila, you're also coming to take it out on me?
Please, I'm not in the mood...
Oh... Ha! Don't tell me you're still feeling bad about not being able to breastfeed Tarvel.
Well...
Oh, that's right, it turns out that the family friend has betrayed your husband. And you... There's nothing you can do!
We'll see about that.
Well, apparently you're serious. It's very brave of you to walk the lower streets of Anko without fear.
I repeat, what do you care?
Don't think I care about your well-being, but seeing such a beautiful young woman, with such beautiful eyes and hair and that juicy body... it can make anyone hungry.
Will you shut up?
It's true! You're also the wife of the man who bore the image of the Empire, although with what's going on...
Don't even think about saying it.
Huh? Now you're going through the alleys? Are you looking for some carnal fun to let off steam?
Don't talk such nonsense! I'd give anything for Arcadio!
Ouch! How's love, you're definitely naive!
Shut up.
"I'm looking for Nefarius!"
You weren't looking for fun, were you?
Look... They're all looking at you.
Be careful, in a second they can pounce on you like lust-filled wild beasts.
"What's the password?!"
A voice shouted at us from... Who knows? Do you even know what to answer?
"Forty-four years of executions!"
What kind of password is that?
Oh... That man over there is approaching us. I think he's the one who shouted at us.
"What does he want?"
He doesn't seem to be playing games. You'd better have thought through your reasons for coming here.
"I want a.... little job."
You don't what?
Shut up, it's not what you think.
Huh? Why are you holding out your hand with an open palm?
"If you've come all this way, you must already know what my fee is... My time is gold, so first give me some of the money... You might be one of those who only come to waste time with stupid questions and leave as if nothing had happened."
"I understand."
Did you really give him the money?! How much was in there?!
I think ten thousand darios in coins.
That's too much!
Ouch!
He's already put it away!
"Now tell me, what's that little job? -You can tell me what you're planning to do?!"
Can you tell me what you're planning to do?
"Well... is it true that today, in the evening, a large number of people are going to gather at the church to celebrate the meeting of the Nintu?"
Only idiots answer a question with a question.
Shut up at once!
-That's expected, why?
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
What's that smile?!
What are you think...?
No, no, no, no, no, that's too much! You can't stoop that low!
I hope this helps Arcadio...
No, it won't help him at all, don't do it, they're innocent!
"Well, you see..."
Noooooooooooooooo!