A/N: Wow, I haven't updated this in 10 days. That is a loooong time. I hope that my faithful reviewers still know that I am writing. About that, just to clear any suspicions: I am NEVER going to quit this story. I plan to finish it, and hopefully by next year. So keep that in mind, even if the updates are slow, they will come…trust me :) I have been having a very bad case of writer's block, and couldn't write any scene with Miriam and André in it without it appearing completely stupid and pointless, so I kind of concentrated on Acahuana's murder…actually, I think this chapter is really interesting. Don't worry; Miriam and André are in it, but….okay, I am saying no more. So now, READ:)
Disclaimer: I have been forgetting this a lot, so, this disclaimer counts for the rest of this story. I already know that I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean nor any of their characters, so, no point to rub it in. Basically: Miriam, André, Chris and Incas – mine. Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Port Royal and anything else you recognize – not mine; Disney's.
Mysterious-muse: I knew you would like my use of the lines from PotC! I though it was kind of funny, don't you agree? I can understand about the updating, how come school starts so early for you? Is it because of the football team, because I know that my school starts on next Wednesday because of the football team? When do you get off? Hope you like this chapter and can't wait until you update, you are a great author and your stories ROCK:)
Smithy: So PotC occurred in the 17th century? I wasn't really sure of the date and kind of hoped it was before the 18th century, since the Incas had 'disappeared' the 15th century. Sorry this chapter isn't about the Turner parents, who are in their death bed, but about their slave daughter and her captors. Keep reviewing and I hope you like this chapter, it's a bit different from the rest:)
Rose of Shade: How was band camp? I need to call you. Well, I'll also be seeing you at Welcome Back Night tonight…so, see you there! No, the names don't mean anything in Spanish, their Inca names, and the Incas don't speak Spanish, they spoke (they are an extinct race, you might say) Quechua. I read a book about the Incas so that I knew enough to write a historically correct story and there are some pretty interesting things in there :) Enjoy the chapter and, by the way, when are you going to update your Raven's Secret? I like reading that…it's good and I am in it…lol! See you later!
Scarlet- RebELLE: lol! Thanks for not abandoning my, that is some weird paranoia I have. You see, as soon as I write YAY! New reviewer, I never hear from that person again, kind of weird. Anyways, since that is not your case, I am really glad you like my story, it is hard to write (trust me) and I appreciate that you like reading it! I checked your profile and you're not writing a story! You really should, because you sound like you have a few ideas up your sleeve :) About Chris…um…well, I am not going to tell you what I did with him, but if you stick along with the story you'll find out…it should be interesting. :) Keep up the reviews and enjoy the chapter!
EternalHope08: Writer's block sucks. I definitely agree with you. Your stories are soo good. True Freedom is shaping up: I read your new summary and what is this about a Legend of Theoa…um…sound really interesting! Keep those updates coming! Bud to Bloom is also turning out very well, I like it how both Ali and Anakin are jealous, it is a good way to show that they both really like each other! Guess what? I made it on to the Tennis team! It really wasn't due to my great skills, more to the small amount of people that showed up (not a lot of cuts) but hey! I'm still happy :) Hope you like this chapter, it is kind…different, tell me what you think.
Now, enjoy … (yeah, its Chapter 13 when it actually is supposed to be Chapter 12, but you know I am having problems with that Chapter 9)…
Chapter XII: The Temple of the Sun
Anahuarque gazed out the large window, her eyes blank and unseeing. Her kind face was red and swollen from her long hours of mourning, from the shock of seeing her husband's dead body sprawled on the dirt floor. The widow's hair was done in a simple Inca fashion, the maids having left her alone in her grief once their job was done. Her mind struggled to concentrate on the tall peak of Huayna Picchu but was faced with Acahuana's staring eyes. Anahuarque felt a tear fall once more down her cheek and fall off her trembling jaw.
A soft swishing alerted her to the presence of another being in the room. Hastily wiping her face with a wet handkerchief she turned, fixing her regal visage for the public to see. What she saw took her completely by surprise. A young woman looked at her, her wavy dark hair fighting the braid she had made in an attempt to keep it back. Her brown wool dress alerted Anahuarque of her slave position. Behind the young woman, a young man let his amazingly bright blue eyes wander around the room curiously, his attire odd. Anahuarque felt herself swell with fury at this intrusion, how dare two slaves enter her rooms? She was the wife of the curaca of the Acahuana ayllu…no…she was a forgotten widow, all respect towards her forgotten at her husband's death.
"Why do you disturb me?" Anahuarque snapped, her small hands resting on the window.
The young woman frowned, her gaze cautious, "We do not speak Inca, my lady."
Anahuarque reprimanded herself for her lack of intelligence; they were slaves, they would not speak Quechua. "Why do you disturb me?" she snapped once more, but in their language.
"Urcon murdered Acahuana," stated the young woman simply, her gaze never wavering from Anahuarque's face.
Anahuarque felt her stomach convulse and her eyes water at such an emotionless talk of her husband, "You lie."
"No, I do not. I overheard Urcon and Chic'ya planning the murder the night before. They aim is set to become curaca of the Acahuana ayllu."
Anahuarque shook with rage, her mind blocking the truthful words of the slave girl, "You lying wench! How dare profane upon my family?"
The young man beside the young woman tensed, his blue eyes cold as he spoke, "She tells the truth, Inca woman, and I would like to advise you to watch your tongue when you speak to her. She put on hold her freedom to tell you this, to save your life and that of your children. The least I expect you to do is show her respect, savvy?"
The young woman turned around, "That was unnecessary André; I can speak for myself."
André didn't respond, instead resuming his search of the empty room, once or twice glancing at the hide that covered the door. Anahuarque didn't know what to think, the death of her husband was still raw in her mind; she could not blame her husband's brother.
"I don't believe you," she breathed.
The young woman offered a small smile, "I can do nothing about that, but I will warn you that Urcon will attempt to kill your son, and if you stand in his way he will not hesitate to kill you as well. He will show no mercy until he and his wife are situated where they wish to be."
The young woman turned to leave, motioning the young man, named André, to follow her.
"Wait!" Anahuarque cried out, her mind doubting. Both turned to face her, the young woman's face unreadable as Anahuarque whispered, "Did he speak of the sun?"
Silence reigned the room as the young woman furrowed her brow, remembering. After a few minutes she lifted her face slowly, her hazel eyes guarded, "Yes, he did. He said that he must carry out the plan before Inti Ramyi, that only then can he be the sun, as the Gods proclaimed it."
Anahuarque sucked in her breath as her mind struggled with the horrible realization.
"No…no…it can't be…," the Inca woman whimpered, her face pale.
The slave girl leaned forward, her young face curious, "What can't be?"
But Anahuarque had no time to answer as the hide was swept open to allow in a triumphant Urcon, his beautiful wife smirking behind him.
André pulled Miriam out of the center of the room, drawing her back into the wall, attempting to pass unnoticed. Armed guard streamed into the room behind Urcon, their weapons held firmly in their hands.
"Anahuarque, my dearest sister," leered Urcon, motioning the guards that flanked him to halt.
The older woman looked at Urcon with as much welcome as a capybara has for the ocelot.
"Now, I have spoken to the council and…" Urcon began, his eyes looking around the room.
"You cannot speak to the council. Only my son can, he is the curaca of the ayllu, not you," responded Anahuarque, her pale face regaining its color.
Urcon ignored her, his eyes narrowing into slits as they came to rest on André and Miriam, "You lower yourself to speak with slaves now, my sister? Or are they simply here for the matter of money."
Anahuarque didn't award the slaves a single glance as they were immediately surrounded by slaves, André pushing Miriam behind him, far from the wavering spear points aimed at their hearts.
"Money? Please do make yourself clear, my brother," hissed Anahuarque, straitening to her full height.
Urcon smile froze the air of the room, "You know perfectly well of what we speak. A deed such as that one could have hardly been carried out by a woman."
Anahuarque countered, not knowing what else to do, "What deed?"
Urcon's smile grew. With a flick of his wrist he motioned two guards forward.
"Search for proof," he ordered, not bothering to keep his voice down.
Anahuarque glared at the guards, outraged, "This is my private chamber, and the council has made it clear that no private piece of property shall be searched without reasonable suspicion. I demand you withdraw your guards from my chamber, my brother, if you do not wish my son to report this to the council."
Urcon didn't answer, nor did he order his guards to halt their destruction of Anahuarque's room in their search for proof. Instead he stood in the center of the chamber, his green cape spreading on the ground around him, an aura of power radiating from his smug smile.
Miriam glared as the guards lowered their spears to search the chamber as their master, Urcon, had ordered.
"André, get off of me," Miriam wheezed as she attempted to push André off of her.
André moved immediately, his blue eyes never leaving the menacing figure that Urcon represented.
Miriam rubbed her back as she searched the room with her eyes, "Why are they here?"
A guard cried out, his voice attracting all attention in the room towards him. His face was frightful and scared as he glanced in Anahuarque's direction before presenting his trophy to Urcon. The small dagger twirled in Urcon's fingers, the dried blood on its surface glinting in poor light. Anahuarque let out a strangled cry, holding herself against the window frame for support. Urcon smiled, his thin lips curling as he turned on Acahuana's widow.
"You have been found out, my sister," he hissed as Chic'ya sneered from behind him.
Anahuarque let out a small, almost inaudible whimper.
Urcon's smile widened as he carelessly passed the bloody dagger to an awaiting guard, "I stand for the council of the Inca and accuse you of planning and carrying out, my brother, Acahuana's murder."
Miriam thought Anahuarque would faint as the accusing words left Urcon's lips. The Inca woman visibly swayed, her breathing labored as she attempted to regain control of herself. Chic'ya smiled, her beautiful features stained by the hatred portrayed on her face.
"The punishment for murder is death on the foot of the jagged cliffs of the Andes," Urcon continued, altogether ignoring Anahuarque's struggle.
The bronze skinned guards closed in on Anahuarque.
"However," Urcon grinned, his solemn air vanishing, "I have petitioned to the council that your punishment not be as severe."
Miriam frowned, her face not trusting Urcon's consoling words. André's expression was unreadable as he surveyed the scene in front of him.
"You will be punished as for a petty theft," Urcon smiled malignantly.
Anahuarque let out a dry sob, her body shaking.
The guards looked at the Inca woman apprehensively but stood their ground as Urcon's voice once more cut through the thick air around them, "Your eyes will be gouged out and your hands cut off for your crime."
Miriam felt her eyes widen. The Inca laws were harsh, and the punishment for petty crimes, seemed to her, worse than death at the bottom of a cliff. She sensed André shiver involuntarily next to her. Anahuarque collapsed on the floor, her tears escaping her eyes as her frail body shook, the sadness and mourning for her husband forgotten as she mourned for her misfortunes and her past life that she would no longer enjoy.
"We will give you time to dress. Two guards outside your chamber will escort you to the temple once you are done. The council is ready, and the punishment for my brother's murder must be carried out," Urcon said, wrinkling his nose in disgusts as Anahuarque's sobs grew louder. Without a further word, he slipped out from the chambers, his green cape swishing mutely behind him as he disappeared.
Miriam had never before seen a woman so broken, so beyond despair. Anahuarque sobbed softly, never stirring from the ground as she cried out her grief. Tears drenched her elegant robes…tears from eyes that would soon turn the world black for the Inca woman. Miriam felt her hand reach out, heard her feet step forward on the coarse ground. She gently stroked the Inca's long black hair, hushing softly under her breath. The sobs diminished; faded into the distant Andes, never to be heard again. Miriam's brown hair fell in wavy cascades over her shoulder as she tenderly helped the grown woman sit. The melody of Miriam's soft comforting hum drifted through the chamber, now bathed in the rays of the warm sun as it shone through the obstructing clouds. Anahuarque's timid eyes lifted to Miriam's face, sadness etched in the lines that surrounded them. For a few minutes she didn't speak; content with simply gazing at the young woman and being soothed by the gentle music. Then finally her kind lips opened, her words quiet and whispered, fear shining frightfully in her kind, innocent eyes, "Who are you?"
Miriam felt the tiniest of smiles tug at the corners of her lips, "Miriam."
o o o
Anahuarque dressed simply. A white flowing dress draped itself around her frail figure, trailing on the floor until it disappeared. Her pale bronze face was covered by a transparent white veil that fell to where it blended into the creases of her dress. An unadorned braid drew all of her black hair back, ending lightly below her waistline. She muttered not a word, but Miriam followed her quietly. André trailed behind them, his face bowed and hands down at his sides. His strides were silent and solemn, his presence that of a ghost. Miriam nodded at the guards, signaling that they were ready to follow.
The streets of the Inca city were silent. No one walked the streets, and no one appeared at the windows or doors as the small party made their way to the heart of Machu Picchu. The shadow of the Mountains reigned over their heads as the sun dipped lower in the sky. Not once did Anahuarque lift her face to the skies. The veil streamed over her bowed head, covering her eyes, nose, mouth and cheeks from the world beyond her. Once during the walk, Miriam though she saw a single tear falling to the ground. It sparkled a pure white as it cascaded; the sun glinting on its transparent light, distributing rainbows everywhere until the precious gem shattered, dispersing on the coarse dirt ground. But Anahuarque made no noise, nor did she lift move or make any attempt to see the bright sun above their head, and the tear could have been a trick of the light, or a tear from the gods.
The Temple of the Sun rose imposingly before them as they strode nearer to its tall looming shape. The stones were covered in moss, decayed by time and the mystic fog that hung over the valley. The steps of the temple challenged Anahuarque, daring her to climb and meet the high priest upon its pinnacle. The small Inca woman didn't stop walking as her feet conquered the first steps. Miriam went to follow, but a small bronze hand stopped her. Anahuarque's dark eyes bore into hers, expelling all emotions before they could no more.
Her kind voice whispered silently as the breeze carried her words to Miriam's ears, "No. I thank you for your help. Protect my children and live happy. I must do this alone."
Miriam halted, her brow furrowed in question, but she did nothing and watched Anahuarque continue her march. A comforting arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and she felt as a familiar voice whispered into her ear, "We can leave now, if you want."
Miriam shook her head, her eyes never leaving the Inca woman's figure, "Thank you, André, but I must watch her."
"You don't have to if you don't want to," André said, his voice grim.
"I have no choice."
The large crowd of Inca emitted a curious sound as Anahuarque faltered in her rise on the steps. The guards pressed her with their spears gently, not wanting to harm the kind woman. Anahuarque turned, her face covered in her veil as she faced the large crowd at the foot of the temple.
"Yesterday night was the same as any other," her voice echoed on the walls of the mountains as silence followed her words. The guards lowered their spears and observed her curiously.
Drawing a breath, she continued, "My husband, Acahuana, curaca of the Acahuana ayllu, and I, Anahuarque, slept on the under the hides of our mat, the door to the gardens slightly ajar."
Miriam felt André's grip tighten around her.
"I never sensed him awake from his sleep. Nor did was I aware that he had left our mat."
The public began to stir slightly at her words, whispers suddenly filling the air.
"I awoke and wondered where he had gone. He was dead. Murdered. His unmarked chest was bloody with the ruby blood that had spilled from his body at the stabs of a dagger. His throat pierced by a dark arrow to cover his screams."
The crowd was moving, agitated. Cries rose up at Anahuarque's words, cries of forgiveness and outrage. Miriam felt as someone roughly shoved her aside. André blue eyes flashed but he merely glared as Urcon raged past them, his green cape billowing in the breeze he created. His handsome face contorted with anger and hate.
"He was my husband. The father of the many children that resulted from our joyous union. I didn't commit the crime that I was accused of," Anahuarque's strong voice rose above the roar of the crowd.
"STOP HER! SHE HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK! BRING HER TO THE TOP!" shrieked Urcon, spit flying from his mouth, the many guards behind him charging up the steps of the temple to Anahuarque.
The two guards that had merely been listening to Anahuarque's speech picked up their spears raising them with renewed menace. Anahuarque looked about her frantically and began running up the steps with a new vigor. Her flee didn't stop the flow of words as she chose to run across the steps, skirting the temple top.
"My husband, Acahuana was murdered by his brother, Urcon," she voiced, the words shocking the public momentarily. They watched her run, her white dress held up by her bronze hands as the news sunk in quietly.
"LIES, ALL LIES!" Urcon shrieked once more, as whispers and cries began to fill the air yet again, "SHE IS GUITLY OF MURDER; THE DAGGER FOUND IN HER ROOM! STOP HER! SILENCE HER!"
Anahuarque found herself trapped in her race as a ten guards appeared at her left, while the two still chased her to her right. A frightened cry emitted from her throat as she acknowledged that there was no way out for her. Facing the guards she backed up toward the edge of the temple. One step away from a hundred feet fall.
Gently, with the care of a mother, Anahuarque lifted her white veil and turned her tear stained face to the dumbstruck Incas. A small smile lifted her cheeks as her great dark eyes looked fondly over everyone below her.
"Protect my children from, my brother, Urcon's, wrath. Thank you," she whispered, yet her soft voice seemed to reach everyone's ears. With those soft words, her small body plummeted off the battlements, falling towards the ground. The sun glinted off her bronze face as everyone watched her fall in silence. The white veil fluttered in the wind, flapping wings like a graceful bird. The great white dress billowed around her as it engulfed her body in a pure white mass. Mutely, her beautiful fall was altered as the white of the dress hit the ground, dispersing to show Anahuarque's smiling bronze features. Those dark black eyes were closed, as if in slumber. The veil fell weightlessly on her chest, its fall delayed by the feathery lightness of the soft silk.
Miriam felt her heart freeze at the sight of Anahuarque, who would now receive her long awaited beside her gods. A silent tear traced its way down Miriam's cheek as grief and shock overcome her. She turned to face André, finding his blue eyes gazing into hers full of sadness. Gently, his strong arms brought her closer to him as she buried her face in his chest. She felt André's chin resting on her head and smiled as she remembered Anahuarque's last words. No words were needed as the Incas cried in silence at the fall of the widow. Death looked beautiful on Anahuarque's calm and serene face, and all knew that she had found her husband above. André forced the tears that threatened to fall back into his body. His arms held Miriam tightly to him, and he felt her sadness radiating everywhere. As his blue eyes gazed at the fallen figure of Anahuarque he could of swore that he saw a small butterfly spread its wings out of her chest. It rose slowly into the sky, the intense light of the sun gleaming on its silky white wings. The small bronze head of the butterfly always looked up towards the sky above, and soon it disappeared beyond the clouds and into the dazzling light of the warm sun forever.
A/N: I hope that you liked that Chapter. Tell me what you think: was it too descriptive, should it be more forward, or do you this poetic way of writing prose? Please tell me what you think. I hope to be able to update soon, but with tennis going on every day and school just one week away I don't know. Please review and tell me what you think! Enjoy the rest of your vacations:)
