The Leopardess and the Hrum Servant
Looks into Soraya and Ludo's relationship.
What if Soraya and Ludo secretly shared a relationship right from the day they first met, and nobody ever found out, until after Farsala claimed its freedom from the Hrum?
Whole Story is told in Soraya's POV
I grimaced when she realized the truth. I had to go the Hrum's main army camp and discover where my mother and brother, and possibly my cousin—Sudaba, Merdas, and Pari—were sent. I was a nervous wreck thinking that all sorts of terrible things would happen to me. I was scared that someone among the army would like me, for my beauty but thought little of the soldiers, and most of the servants, except for Ludo. Ludo was different from everyone else. He cared, he genuinely cared about me. I just automatically felt safe around him, even though he was my equal as a servant and a little too compassionate toward me, even though I was the enemy, or actually, technically, I was the daughter of the original high commander of the original Farsalan army, of deghans, which had fallen.
I reached the Hrum camp after traveling for at least an entire month, because I had traveled for two weeks from my home in the desert, with the Suud tribe, the Proud Walking clan, because I had wanted to find and get my mother and brother to safety with the Suud, but I had been supposedly, "sacrificed," the year before, so I couldn't let anyone know that she had survived, and hadn't really been sacrificed to please the djinn of war, but really, no body actually believed in the power of the djinn these days, since the great hero, Rostam, father of the mighty Sorahb, who come and free Farsala from the might and strength of the Hrum army, had cast the last djinn emperor, Zahhak, many centuries ago, and I wanted to find the remainder of my family, so I could buy them back and take them to the desert and hide them with the Suud clan that she had lived with, during the winter, because the Hrum would never be able to find them, because the Suud would be able to keep the Hrum away from my family, and the Hrum would not be able to hurt them, because the Suud would not close their eyes to the violence or condone it at all, for any reason.
When I first reached the Hrum main army camp, I was terrified, because I was scared that I would get hurt trying to figure out how to get to Sudaba and Merdas and then rescue them, without the Hrum ever finding about my plans, until after it was two late for the army to stop me. I didn't who I would be meeting when I first arrived, but when I first met Ludo, I felt my heart racing and over time realized that I was falling love, but I couldn't put him in danger while trying to rescue the remainder of my family, because he could be punished for something that could and might be considered and technically could be treason and treachery. They agreed to keep their love a secret, and I told him, late one night, before falling asleep, that when Farsala was free, I would ask the Hrum to leave Ludo in Farsala for me. I soon wished that the Hrum's year was over, with a Farsalan victory of course, and then Ludo and I could disappear and get married and I wouldn't go back to being the same deghass I had been before the war; rather I would try to be myself and stay with Ludo for the rest of my life, even though my mother, the lady Sudaba would not approve of Ludo, but that probably made it better for me, because I loved making things difficult for my mother, even though technically I shouldn't be doing just that. I honestly enjoyed causing trouble for my mother, because I was the favorite child of my deceased father, rather than Merdas, my brother, or Jiaan, my half—brother, who had been serving her father, for as long as she could remember, from when I was nine—years—old or eight—years—old and up until the present moment.
I soon discovered that Ludo shared the same feelings of affection for me, and I couldn't ignore my feelings for him either, and soon we were secretly talking together about their pasts, but I really tried to keep everyone else I met in the camp, from discovering mine and Ludo's secret relationship, because we could get punished if anyone ever found about the relationship the two lovers shared in a great deal of secrecy, but I knew that sooner or later, someone would find out and Ludo and I would need a extremely convincing lie to cover up our love and our secret relationship, no matter how hard it would be to fool the officers and other soldiers and workers and servants about what really was happening between the two of them, because I refused to let Ludo get hurt because of me, because I loved him so much and I couldn't bear to see hum get hurt, because of my actions, but I knew that someone would get curious and find out what was going on between me and Ludo, so we were extremely cautious.
I soon was caught attempting to find out where my mother and brother were sent to serve as slaves in the Hrum Empire, so that I could buy them back, free them, and take them to the Suud desert. I was forced to work as a slave in the army camp, but a few weeks before, the original slave, my friend, Calfaer, who worked in the army camp, was punished and sent home to his original master, to his family. I was marked as a Farsalan slave and all of my possessions, the hair ribbon braided by Casia the woodcarvings from Ludo, and my hard-earned money, which I was hoarding away to get the remnants of my family back. I was marked as a Farsalan slave—because all of the deghans' families were being captured and later sold as slaves in the Hrum Empire and the only way for me to be reunited with her family, was to reveal how I was communicating with Sorahb—the leader of the so-called Farsalan resistance—with a tattoo that said FARS in capital letters in the square script of the Hrum with a horseshoe over it, to remember the charge rushing towards the Hrum army like the waves in the ocean toward the seashore. While most of the Farsalan slaves, who were mostly deghasses and the children of the fallen deghans, considered the tattoos that marked them as slaves as terrible and cruel, I, on the other hand, considered it a badge of honor and hoped that someday I would have earned the right to wear it, as a proud and free Farsalan.
When I was first caught, I challenged Governor Garren, and I refused to tell him how she was communicating with Sorahb. Later on, in the same conversation I said, "No deghass would ever work for the Hrum." Garren scoffed, rolled his eyes and said, "Tell that to the gov. Never mind." I then accused him of suborning the governor and said, "You've suborned the governor," and then Garren slapped me and my face burned. I refused to cave in and confess to Garren how I was communicating with the Farsalan resistance, while I was in the Hrum main army camp when I given all the worst tasks in the camp, but when Ludo was in trouble, I quickly stepped forward and then later that same night, Kavi, a traitor to Farsalan High Commander Merahb and the Hrum tactimian Patrius, came and helped her escaped.
I asked Kavi to take her back to the Suud desert, where I would be safest, because if she went back with Golnar and Berahs, I, would be much easier to find, because the only way to find Soraya in the desert would be for the Suud to give the Hrum some guides and then I would be taken away and punished. I stayed with the same clan as I did when I first went to the desert, but I was unsure of whether or not I would be staying after the war, but I had my doubts but really I felt that belonged with the Proud Walking Suud clan, but I still hoped that maybe I could convince the Hrum to leave Ludo behind to ensure the continuation of the House of the Leopard on my side of the family and the continuation of the House of the Leopard on Merdas' side of the family. I was happy in the desert and ended a fight between my half-brother and the peddler, but then I was unable to understand why Jiaan, my half-brother was so reluctant to forgive Kavi, but that was probably because Jiaan had fought alongside our father and he wanted Kavi dead to avenge High Commander Merahb's death.
Kavi, Jiaan, and I attacked and destroyed the siege towers built by the Hrum army on the way to Mazad, the only city that had not yet fallen to the Hrum. I knew I could save Farsala and stop the Hrum, if I gave up my need for revenge and then I would have avenged my father and defeated the Hrum with one shot, a kinda of kill two birds with one stone kinda of thing that would result with Farsala's freedom. Kavi helped infiltrate the base in Setesafon, but then was captured by the Hrum guards.
When Kavi was caught and held hostage as a traitor by Garren in effort to prove to the peasants that Sorahb was merely a myth, Fasal, of all people or deghans, for that matter, stepped forward and fought for Kavi and almost won, when Garren cheated. When I saw Garren signal the archers, I knew who killed my father. I grabbed a swirling ball energy from a dying storm and fed it all of my negative energy, creating lightning and then guided to the ground, at Garren. When I saw his dead body, I felt victorious and relief, knowing that I had avenged my father, by destroying his murderer and freeing Farsala.
When the Hrum prepared to leave, I convinced Tactimian Patrius, he's a really nice man for being in the Hrum army, to let Ludo stay with me, because I loved him too much to let him leave me behind, and when Patrius agreed, I was thrilled. I returned to live with the Suud again, and brought Ludo with me and my brother Jiaan fought alongside the Hrum to in a sense, free the Kadeshi peasants from the cruelty of the Kadeshi overlords, and in addition to helping the Kadeshi slaves. I married Ludo while I was still in the desert and I now have a son. I told Ludo about my father and he had the deghans surrender and then challenged the Hrum to send forth a champion to fight him in single combat, but was murdered by five archers. When our son was first born, Ludo encouraged me to name after his grandfather, and so I named my son Merahb, and like his Uncle Jiaan, he was a half—blood deghan. I insisted on having my son call Jiaan, Uncle Jiaan, and under Jiaan's instruction, along with Patrius, Merahb soon became an excellent fighter. When my mother and brother came to the desert, I introduced to my son and Ludo and when my mother saw how happy I was in the desert, she ordered me to stay. I stayed in the desert, and my son soon learned our legends and the legends from Ludo's home and his cousin, Nadi, named for another hero during the war, soon fell in love with him.
They eventually got married and have twins, a daughter, Soraya, kind of ironic, considering the fact that was my name, and a son, Jiaan, who is extremely adventurous. However, unlike me and my half—brother Jiaan, this Soraya and her brother Jiaan, were as close as twins could be, plus they were full blood siblings.
Years have passed, I already committing this story to paper, have given my children specific orders to give this story, to the next female member of our family who is to be sacrificed to the djinn to get the djinn of war to guarantee a Farsala victory, well basically whoever's story closely, resembles, if not mirrors my story.
The End
