Read Online The Forgotten Tale Of Larsa by Seja Majeed - Free Book Online Page B

princess.
    ‘My lord, the men are growing weak, and are in need of some rest. We must give them time to recover from the sun’s daggers,’ said a lieutenant, mounted like all the officers. He trotted beside his men, watching them battle to carry on. The combination of rough sand and leather sandals digging into their skin made the journey an excruciating one.
    ‘No, we have to go on, we must keep searching. I don’t care if your skin turns to chalk and your mouths burn with thirst; none of you will leave this desert until we’ve found the princess. Do you understand? Now keep searching.’
    Like many of his fellows, the commander had grown tired of rectifying problems caused by his king. If it were not for the pledge given by Marmicus, King Nelaaz would have certainly found his head mounted on a spear by now. Of course, if they did not find the princess, Marmicus would happily do the job for them.
    ‘We’ve found something,’ declared a foot soldier, pointing into the distance. ‘Over there …’
    ***
    A massacre had taken place at this spot in the vast reaches of the desert. The foot soldiers tried to dodge the scattered bodies that lay everywhere, all of them covering their noses as they tried not to breathe in the stench of rotting carcasses. They were seasoned soldiers, accustomed to the gruesome aftermath of battle, but none of them had ever seen such foul mutilation as this. Whoever had killed these people had wanted to leave a message behind for their enemies – butchering them was not enough.
    ‘May the gods have mercy on them,’ said the lieutenant. He was staring upwards. Thrust into the ground were long metal spikes, and the severed heads of the Royal Guardsmen were mounted on them, their eyes deliberately left open, while their hair blew eerily in the wind like reeds. Flies infested the area; they were laying eggs in their open mouths and nostrils. ‘Assyrian bastards! Was killing these men not enough for them?’
    ‘Forget your pity. Our orders are to find the princess, and we won’t leave this place until we’ve found her, dead or alive,’ the commander replied.
    Soldiers began to use their weapons to turn over the bodies, careful not to tread on severed arms and legs. The stench was awful. Vultures circled above, waiting for them to leave.
    ‘How are we supposed to know which one’s the princess? It’s impossible to tell by looking at these corpses.’
    ‘Search for her beauty.’
    ‘No beauty of this world can survive such brutality,’ said one soldier.
    ‘Over here! I think I’ve found something!’ yelled another soldier, picking something off the ground.
    The commander leapt off his horse and covered his nose with his sleeve.
    ‘Give it to me,’ he demanded, snatching the object. ‘Where’d you find this?’
    ‘It was over there, lying beside her body.’
    The golden pendant had been delicately inscribed with encrypted words, giving the jewellery meaning.
    ‘What does it say?’ asked the soldier as he looked on. The golden object shimmered in the commander’s rough hands.
    ‘It says “Allegiance lies in the heart of the sword”,’ he replied. His finger softly traced the engraved words.
    ‘What does that mean?’
    ‘It means the princess is dead,’ replied the commander as he peered at the headless body of the young woman. Her head was nowhere to be seen in the carnage; they must have taken it with them. He knelt down and looked at the remains of her decomposing body. The young woman had obviously tried to fight off her attackers – her fingers were broken, clearly showing a struggle.
    ‘She was raped, then killed,’ said the lieutenant, brushing the flies away from his face. He hovered over her, trying to gain as much information as possible; he knew the last moments of her life must have been cruel. He examined her partially naked body; her dress had been ripped and her legs exposed. It was enough evidence to show she had been ravaged, no doubt a number of