The Chains of Freedom
Chapter II
A young couple starts their life
- More wood? Are you going to build an Adonai castle?
The young man smiled at the owner of the carpentry shop, Adonai had some boards on his shoulders and was preparing to straighten them on his cart.
- Yes Melchior, a castle for that beauty over there. Adonai pointed to his horse, which he called Silpha, was his oldest friend, the only inheritance he had received from his parents before it all happened.
– Elisa assured me that if I didn't build a stable for my horse, I would sleep in the rain with the animal, so that I could see how good it was. By all the man gods, I've never really seen a woman like animals so much.
Melchior smiled, four years ago, Adonai had arrived with a wave of people in the realm of Sarmarat, one of the seven central realms of Thallassia. A quarrel between two regents had made the old kingdom where Adonai was born disappear from the map, decreasing from 8 to 7 central kingdoms, but they were still surrounded by the 3 great empires and at any time, any of the central kingdoms could disappear from the map, just like the kingdom where Adonai was born had been swept away.
Adonai had arrived as a slave, he still carried the mark close to his shoulder, however, after 3 years of work, the young man was freed and married Elisa, to the despair of the girl's father and many other young people in the kingdom.
With these thoughts in mind the carpenter smiled, indeed, although Adonai had started life as a slave, no one could say that he had not followed all the rules and procedures of the kingdom to gain his freedom, and above all, whether he was a slave or a man. free, Adonai had a great quality, he was honest.
Melchior himself had employed him when the newly freed man sought employment at his sawmill. And he still missed the boy working for him, oddly enough, Adonai had a great knowledge of wood and construction.
- You will be lost if you keep thinking Melchior. Adonai said with a smile on his face. Melchior thought how much he liked the boy, he didn't talk much, he was competent, but he was always ready to work. Damn, he could have been my son!!! thought Melchior.
Adonai held out a small leather pouch with some silver coins.
– Payment for the 3 previous and current timber shipments. Melchior thought for a moment before picking up his bag, when his hand was halfway he stopped.
- On second thought, I do not remember giving you anything at your wedding, let's do it like this, take the wood, and when I need a hand in a renovation you come.
This was Melchior's fourth or fifth attempt to rehire his former employee.
Adonai smiled, but took his former master's hand and placed the small pouch with the silver coins in the man's right hand.
- Elisa wants me to dedicate myself to the farm, and you know how it is.
Saying this and with a smile on his face, Adonai took the reins of the cart that Silpha was pulling and with a sound to encourage the horse, he put his cart in motion.
As he passed through the city streets, Adonai, while crossing the city streets, still saw mixed feelings on people's faces, on the one hand he was pointed out as an example for those who wanted to gain their freedom.
On the other hand, he had “stolen” the city's jewel, and that was hard to swallow. But what fault could he have? After all, she had chosen him, well, even if people knew how it all turned out, they probably wouldn't mind, Adonai would feel the resentment of other men in town for a long time to come, for having married Elisa.
Elisa was the daughter of the local innkeeper Lomar, she had grown up in the city and her father's tavern was famous for the baked potato pie with bacon strips and the baked ham, as well as the beautiful voice of the innkeeper's daughter who sometimes sang in the place. , this when I was not married.
She began to sing as a self-taught, as time went by from listening to the bards sing so much, one night the girl decided to sing too.
Since that day, her father's establishment had doubled the number of customers on nights when the girl sang, rumors said that even the conductor's son had come to hear her sing.
Her talent was such that even a court bard from the Northern Empire, the greatest kingdom in all of Thallassia, came to the establishment and offered to sponsor the girl to sing at court.
She could have had a good life, surprisingly it was at this time when she declared to her father that she would marry, the man was ecstatic, after all, several candidates had shown up at her door, there were those who said she had been courted even by members of the cuts from other lesser realms.
But her chosen one had been Adonai, an ex-slave, and that certainly shattered the hopes and dreams of many men.
Adonai never understood why his wife chose him, he still remembered plowing his newly acquired plot when the young woman approached him and asked if he had a wife. And he was even more astonished when the young woman, upon learning that Adonai was not married, asked him to marry him.
At first Adonai thought it was a joke, but after a week Elisa returned to the man's land and asked him about his answer.
Still thinking about how he met his wife, Adonai followed the path to his little place, life could have changed a lot for him, however, he could not deny that she was fine and with these thoughts in his mind, he arrived home.
Elisa heard her husband's cart arriving, she took a leather canteen full of water and went to the shed that Adonai built to handle the wood, arriving at the place, she saw her husband straightening the boards.
Elisa looked back at her husband, enjoying every detail she loved so much about him, his sunburned skin, his dark hair and his face with straight lines but still soft, his brown eyes and her husband's body, forged by things what he did in life, fishing, building and slave labor, every muscle and scar had a story to tell, but she loved even more, all the stories she wanted to build with him.
Elisa approached Silpha and poured some water from the canteen into the horse's mouth, the animal whinnied with joy, Silpha wasn't feeling thirsty, but she loved Elisa taking care of him.
- Hey and me? protested Adonai.
- You have hands and you can get water by yourself, besides only poor Silpha has worked so far.
- I'd rather use my hands for that. Said Adonai passing his hands around his wife's waist and taking her off the ground, water flew everywhere and the horse neighed at the scene.
Let Erebus have everyone's opinion, they loved each other and that was what mattered.
3 months later, Adonai was preparing to return to the city to buy some stones to surround the water well he had finally finished digging.
Elisa helped her husband to put some things in the cart when she felt a strong pain, but she didn't say anything to her husband, although he noticed her bending down next to the cart.
- What was Elisa?
-Nothing, I just tripped. Saying this with a smile on her face, Elisa placed another bundle of wool for Adonai to negotiate with the cloth merchant.
Elisa had suspected for some time, but now she felt a first twinge and her belly started to swell, she remembers that her husband joked that married life was treating her well, after all she had become chubby. Yes, there was a being growing inside her.
- I'll wait for him to come back from town, I'll tell him! Thought the woman, since she planned to bake a cake to tell her husband the excellent news, they had been talking about having children since they got married.
Adonai looked at his wife's ankle worriedly, it was swollen, but not for the reasons he believed.
- You have to be more careful love, look,you got hurt. Go in and put some ice water on top of it.
Taking his wife to the house, Adonai turned the cart around and went out, promising a wife who was leaning against the door to watch him go, Elisa waited for the cart to disappear on the road to start preparing the cake.
Upon arriving in the city, Adonai was soon approached by a man with a spear and armor.
Leaving no room for dispute, or explaining anything, Adonai was directed to the city's central square, where a regent's herald wearing the yellow and red characteristic of the kingdom of Sarmarat began to read the regent's decree.
- The following persons are summoned to present themselves at the court of His Majesty, Olivos to assist in the preparations for the battle to come.
Immediately the herald was interrupted by a series of voices that rose in the square, and although the official of the royal court was surrounded by heavily armed and armored guards, he could not help but involuntarily cringe in fear, the herald hated the plebs , believed that nothing good could come of her and her irrational fear, as well as her cowardice ended up reflecting in her body language.
- Battle? But our kingdom is at peace, battle against whom?
- I'm too young to die in a war...
- This will definitely move things...
The voices in the market were agitated, and the people began to stir, who would they fight? What was at stake? Who would be called up?
No questions were answered, the regent's guard used its intimidating presence to shut the mouths of those around, with the silence re-established, the pompous herald continued to read his list, those called by him should prepare to leave in at most 1 One day, or he would be considered a deserter, his possessions would be taken and his family sold into slavery, it was a difficult life.
Of course, you could buy your dispensation, but that was only available if, you had a substantial amount of silver, well, substantial at least by commoner standards... And if so, you weren't a former prisoner of war who was made a slave. Adonai had no silver and was a former prisoner of war.
This barbaric law had not yet been abolished. The thought of leaving his wife at home to fight once more dropped like a bomb on him and his world spun, but perhaps he was in luck and the ancient documents that registered him as captive had been lost.
- To the team of builders, Envel the carpenter and his helpers, Amoth the stonemason and his helpers, Filgar the bricklayer and his helpers, Justin the carpenter and his helpers, Invor the leathersmith and his helpers, Dandas , the varnisher and his assistants.... The names were called, and while some were glad to get to know the regent, as it meant that if they served the person well, one's life would change, it was still a war.
Even if working as a builder, it was a war, they would move with the troops and could be hit at any time. It was with that thought that the terrible news for Adonai came.
- Head of the construction team, specialist in siege machines, Adonai Havora, the engineer.
Did the eyes of almost everyone in the square turn to Adonai, engineer? So that explained his abilities, but why did he hide it? He could make a lot of money by putting his skills at the service of the conductor.
Adonai cringed, he hated the fact that his papers hadn't been lost, he had fought for his old kingdom and lost, now he would have to take other people's lives and help them live a slave life at best.
Ignoring the stares in the square, Adonai walked over to the officer who was handing out the summons.
- You gave us work with your damn engineer machines, we hope that this time they are at our service.
Adonai wanted to say where the man could shove that comment, instead, invoking all the calmness his father had taught him to be, the engineer smiled and took the summons, preparing as quickly as possible to return to his house.
- You leave tomorrow with the sun in the middle of the sky, the Regent insisted that you come, don't make us go to that pigsty he calls Adonai's house. Said the captain of the guard that he had a large scar on the right side of his face that probably indicated he was still for a good part of his body. The man harbored a clear contempt for Adonai.
Dodging the crowd Adonai climbed into his cart and returned without trading or selling any goods.
When he got home, his wife was waiting for him at the door, with a cake in hand.
- I have news! They spoke to each other together.
Elisa smiled and wanting to be the last to count, said:
- You first.
- I was summoned to serve the regent.
Elisa felt her world crumble, her smile left her face, and she sat down on a nearby bench.
Adonai didn't know what to say to his wife, he didn't want to go, but he knew the consequences, it's only his wife's family, but he himself was at risk.
-I think it's good you come back alive, my baby won't grow up without a father.
Adonai was transfixed by the news for a second, recovered from the fright he bent down and gave his wife a long hug, took a piece of cake, put it whole in his mouth and went back to town, leaving behind a somewhat confused wife, but he had one thing to do, he went straight to Melchior's timber.
- My friend, I didn't know I was an engineer! I hope it helps defend our boys' lives. Melchior said without even remembering Adonai's origins, or considering that he might have any grievances from Sarmarat.
Instead of saying anything about the babbled Melchior, Adonai looked deep into the ex-partan's eyes.
Former slave, Adonai had lost his parents in the war, and he would do anything so that his son would not go through the same. The engineer cracked a smile as he said.
-Forget it and see me a cubic meter of Melchior pink cedar.
The carpenter staked, there was only one use for pink cedar in Sarmarat, it was to make a cradle for the first baby to be born, pink cedar was the symbol of the kingdom, it represented happiness and prosperity.
Melchior looked at his former employee.
-I don't even want to know, this one will be a gift.
Elisa was huffing with anger when Adonai returned, willing to show all her displeasure with her husband's attitude, she walked with hard steps towards the shed where her husband's wagon had entered without even passing through the house.
The lantern almost fell off its support when she entered, pushing hard on the door, her eyes went towards her husband and some boards that were in her hand.
At that moment Elisa walked to the cart and picked up a plank heading towards the pile her husband was beginning to tidy up.
Adonai tried to take the plank from his wife's hands. She was happy, but it wasn't going to make it easy for him.
- Drop it, or I'll find her in that thick head of yours.
- No. Said Adonai. You are pregnant. Said the man holding the wood tightly.
Elisa had a habit of not being contradicted.
- I'm pregnant, not sick and not dead, but if you don't take your hand away, you'll present yourself with a broken head. Elisa said, holding back all the happiness she felt with her husband's concern, but still not letting her happiness show.
Adonai took a long breath, she would want to participate in the process anyway, so there was only one thing to do, get more boards every time so she would carry less.
So, a beautiful couple learned that they were going to have a baby and at the same time they had a sad news that they would soon separate.
They entered his house and went upstairs to his room after a small dinner.
The next day Adonai would present himself, but damn the summons, tonight, Adonai would be with his wife and woe to anyone who decided to visit this couple that night.
