Red River Fan Fiction ❯ The Happening of After the End ❯ The Missing King ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Missing King

The war ended only to be followed two years later by the Assyrians attacking and so once again Sayuri was left under the able care of Kikkuri and his family. Some miscalculation and come up and now they were on the offensive. She didn't mind much anymore, the man had been so kind to her and Ryui, Tito, and Salma soon became close friends. Ryui like the mother she never knew and her children like siblings. Tito was just a year older than her and Salma was five. Sayuri loved to play with them all day but they just couldn't help her when she was sick from loneliness that grew brighter and more painful with each passing day her father was gone. They received encouraging letters but it wasn't like the real thing to her.

“Tito, Salma hurry up, come on! Kikkuri said he'd tell us a story. Let's go.” The excited girl said as she ushered the siblings over to where their father was leaning against the house while taking a relaxing break from gardening. His garden was small and provided just enough vegetables for the whole family. Her father would take care of it usually but when he was gone the duty fell on Kikkuri. Tito and Salma also enjoyed the stories told to them by their father as well but they didn't have the attention span that Sayuri did. They fidgeted and didn't listen the whole time while Sayuri listened attentively with her hands in her lap. Nothing could tear her away from the tales of gold maned horses and glittering jewels and fine gowns. How she would love to touch them and stroke their smoothness, it was more than she could ask for. To see the king would certainly leave her breathless at his ability and beauty. She didn't know why but such an important person she guessed must have been handsome.

Running up to where he was sitting Sayuri sat right in front of Kikkuri with Salma and Tito at each of her sides. Looking up innocently the girl expectantly sat.

“Can't get anything by you can I, Sayuri? Alright, what do you want to hear about?” he laughed as he wiped sweat and dirt from his sun burned brow.

“I want to know something new about King Kail and Ishtar! I want to know everything!” she said gleefully and her companions nodded enthusiastically.

"But I don't know that much!"

"Oh yes you do, Uncle Kikkuri, you know lots! Tell us, please?" she begged and unconsiously made puppy eyes.

“Well alright, how about I tell you how Queen Yuri came to be known as Ishtar?”

“Yes! I haven't heard that one before.” Sayuri exclaimed and then went into listening mode.

“The Kashugas attacked Alina soon after Princess Yuri came to Anatolia and so in order to protect his majesty decided to bring her with him to the battlefield. However no one knew much about her, they thought she was merely a concubine and therefore didn't want the king to bring her. So they day they were to leave the prince lifted her up on her shoulders as if she were weightless and said, I put it to you, my soldiers! This girl sprang from the sacred spring as Ishtar, the star of the morning, rose! As you know, Ishtar is a goddess of war. Is she not a gift from the goddess?! I say, while she is with, our armies will prevail! That man was always a charismatic speaker. He said that just so he could take her with him but over timeit became known to the entire orient that the goddess of war was in the hands of the Hittites. Though originally it was a lie, in time she proved to truly be our heroin through hard times.” He finished and the party looked up as they heard someone come up and say,

“Kikkuri! We just got a tablet! The war is over! Assyria has fallen and accepted a peace treaty.” Ryui came running up while the children stared at the interruption and smiled happily all the same. Even they, young children with little knowledge of war, hated violence and were relieved whenever a war ended. The tension that had been hanging on the town for months had suddenly lifted to form a peaceful existence. The empire would mourn, as it always does after a battle. To mourn for those lost and those now scarred and mutilated by the harshest form of anger. Yet all would continue, the country would prosper; babies would be born, not like the king. His castle had fallen long and now all he guarded was his sacred treasure, which was all that was left of his humility.

“So Father will come home now?” the child asked, already knowing the answer before hearing the lie. Her mysterious father always left on hi “trading missions” right as the war went into full swing and then returned shortly afterward. Maybe this was a good time for trading, she didn't know, but her caretakers would never tell her the truth so assumptions were her best bet.

“We don't know when your father will be home, Sayuri.” Ryui said gently after a period of silence. The statement was only half true, as she knew. The exact date they knew was undetermined but they knew as well as she did that it would be soon. “We haven't gotten word from him yet but we'll tell you when we do.”

The subject was then brushed off as quickly as the wing brushed a leaf. To make up for the awkward silence all of Sayuri's questions seemed to bring Kikkuri asked, “Do you want to hear more about the king?”

“Well… I guess. How did the king go missing and where is he?” she resigned herself to her fate. She'd never know what her father was really doing, so why bother? Clearing his throat Kikkuri got ready to tell another tale while Ryui left to go about her business.

“When the queen died the king was overtaken with sadness-“

“What caused her death?” Tito interrupted.

“Childbirth and at first he wanted to join her in death but he was persuaded by his son out of it. Instead he ran away from his post as the king. When she died he lost his fire and no longer wanted to run his kingdom so he turned it over to his younger brother, Juda, and even gave his son up.” He said sadly but then gained more resolve. “ Now don't think he was a coward, he was overtaken with the possibility that after the queen dowager died that there was a threat to her life. Her suddenly dying made him go suicidal.”

“I understand.” Sayuri said for the first time in her life interrupting a story. “She was all he had and she died at such a young age and unexpectedly that he was shocked that it really happened so almost refused to believe it. Yet how could he be so stupid as to try and kill himself, that's not what Ishtar would have wanted, I'm sure of it. She would have wanted him to live out his life happily even if she couldn't have been with him.”

After her speech was finished everyone stared at her especially Kikkuri and Ryui, who had come back to hear her. It was as if the spirit of Yuri had had invaded her only daughters body. They seemed to have been just speaking with the goddess of war, instead of her seven-year-old daughter. If that wasn't odd enough, she looked exactly like her mother making for an uncanny result.

“Ah, y-yes you're probably right. Anyway I have to get back t wok so you kids go play.” He stumbled as he tried to think what to say after such an assessment.

The day went on normally as it should have as the sun set on the country. The three children played outside the rest of the day even though for Sayuri the fact was unimportant compared to the story they'd just heard. Her vision of her hero hadn't really changed all that much but now she saw him as a more fragile man that's emotion were wrapped around Ishtar's finger though shedoubt Ishtar had known it.

The family had all gone in but she. Knowing she would have to go in soon but wanting to enjoy the cool evening breeze, stayed. The girl lay down in the tall grass and let the wind toss her dress and black hair that reached her mid-back wildly around. She gazed at the sinking sun and pink sky. How she would love to hold that gleaming, warm ball to her heart and see all that it had seen. It warmed the green grass under her and opened the flowers to see the beauty of the world

Sayuri closed her eyes and imagined what it would be like to have all of her family together. Her father smiling and looking a some woman with an unknown face that loved them both and took care of her as only a mother could. Caught in her own daydreams she never heard anyone walking down the path toward her house.

“Sayuri!” a voice called to her, causing her to start from surprise. Quickly sitting up she turned around to see the face of which she knew and loved like no other in the world.

“Father!” she shouted at the man. Jumping up she galloped up the hill to him and threw her arms around his waist. She was so petite that at seven she seemed to be about four and so he picked her up and held her close as Kikkuri's family strode out after hearing the two yell at each other. Her father was covered in grime and dirt from the road that only a weather worn traveler would be able to accumulate and Sayuri's hands brushed his hair back, causing a mountain of dust to fly up.

Sayuri was so happy that he was home that she involuntarily started to cry and tried her best to hide her face in his shoulder and wipe them away but to no avail. Kail saw her and rocked her back and forth as he did when she was small, well smaller, and murmured, “I'm home, I'm home baby.” into her neck while stroking her hair. And he was.