"And I win!" Gilgamesh dropped the stone cards down on the table so Hakuno could see them.
"Again!?" She leaned back in her chair and flung her cards on the table. "I just taught you this game last week. How are you so good already?"
"I am the King," laughed Gilgamesh. "Of course I am good at this game."
She shook her head. "You have to be cheating…" She stared at the cards that Gilgamesh put down and tried to figure out if it was possible for him to get this set of cards while taking into account the ones that have already been played. In the end she had to conclude that it was true. He had somehow won fairly. And that annoyed her greatly.
"How is it, that every game I introduce you too, you grasp it and are able to win in a manner of days?"
Gilgamesh laughed at her mental struggle.
She shook her head and began stacking the cards again. "Play another round?"
Grinning, Gilgamesh nodded. "Of course. You were close to beating me last round."
"You know Ekur will yell at you again for kidnapping me to play games with right?" Hakuno shuffled the stone cards before she dealt them out.
Gilgamesh shrugged. "I am the King. What could you be doing that is more important than spending time with me?"
She rolled her eyes. A couple months ago she would have found that comment so conceited but now she knew he was just saying that because that was his personality. "I need to finish translating texts today so this will be the last game."
"Oh come on! We can play more than one right?" He picked up the cards that she had given him. "I was in meetings all day! You are going to leave me to be bored by myself?"
"Yes." She dropped one of the cards on the table and picked up another from the deck. "Otherwise you can help me translate. I have a direct translation tablet you can use."
She giggled at the expression on his face.
"You know how to wound me."
"My King." Ishne's armor pieces clinked against each other as he walked into the room. He stopped before the table and bowed low.
Based on the expression on his face, Hakuno silently began gathering up the cards.
"What happened?" Gilgamesh's voice was quiet.
"Nippur has declared war," said Ishne. "Scouts have seen the army approaching Uruk. I have already begun gathering our army as a result."
"Good." Gilgamesh got to his feet.
"My King…" Hakuno held the cards so tightly that the edges were digging into her palms. She had seen the results of war during her traveling days.
"Do not worry. You will be fine here in the city." Gilgamesh reached out and gently ran his fingers through her hair.
"Do you need to go on the front lines?" she whispered. Stupid. She was being irrational. Of course he needed to go. That is what Kings did. They had to defend their kingdom with their own two hands with their people. If he did not go, he would be a coward, not worth of his title as a King.
"I will be back soon," he promised.
"I am sorry," she whispered. "This is my fault." If only she was not stupid and ended up in that…situation then this would not have happened.
"Do not blame yourself. I am the King and this is my responsibility. Get my armor ready," he ordered Ishne. "I will leave immediately."
"Of course my King." Ishne stood and hurried out of the room.
"Be careful..." she whispered.
"Of course," he replied. He leaned in close to her and put his arms around her.
"Gil?" Her voice was muffled against the cloth on his shoulder.
"I will return," he promised. Without another word, he released her and left the room.
Hakuno dropped the cards on the table. Her palms had pockmarks on them from the stone edges. She decided to take a trip to the temple to pray.
"Here are the texts that Ekur wants you to translate next."
Hakuno looked up from the tablet she had been working on and pointed to an empty spot on her table. "Just put them there Shub, thanks."
Shub nodded and put the tablets down. "Ekur wants to know if you are going to be done with the ones he gave you last week soon?"
"I am working on it." Hakuno rubbed her eyes and stared at the cuneiforms letters on the tablet in front of her. She was writing the translation out on a piece of papyrus with a reed pen. Despite having been working on this tablet set for the past couple of days she was not even halfway done.
She sensed Shub had not left so she looked up. "Yes?"
Shub chewed her bottom lip. "It will be alright. It has only been a couple of weeks. The King has not lost any war yet. Apparently it is going well for us as well. "
"For us here in the city," replied Hakuno. She put down her pen and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I have seen what it is like out there, for the people that get swept up in the battle. For them, this is the underworld on earth." She got up and stretched her arms over her head. "I am going to take a walk. Would you like to join me?"
Shub nodded. "Of course Hakuno."
The two girls left Hakuno's room and headed for the palace gates. "Are you sure you want to walk around the city?" asked Shub. "Did Ishne not advise you to leave without a guard of some kind?"
"That is why I brought this." Hakuno held up the cloak she had grabbed on the way out the door. "It will cover my features so no one will know I am foreign. Perfect, right?"
"At least you decided to go in the middle of the day," sighed Shub. "The King would throw a fit if he knew about this."
"He can yell at me when he returns," replied Hakuno. The two were almost to the palace gates and she was trying to think of a reason to explain why she wanted to leave the palace. She was broken out of her thoughts by yelling.
"Hakuno, look out!" Shub pulled her back as a horse barreled through the gate. There was a rider slumped on the horse's back. The horse screamed angrily at the guards that tried to approach it. It was then that Hakuno noticed that the horse's black fur was matted with something else and it was dripping on the ground.
Blood.
The rider lifted his head and ruby red eyes locked onto Hakuno's. Her hands went to her mouth as she recognized him. "Gil," she whispered.
The King slipped off the horse and Hakuno winced at the sound of his body hitting the ground. The guards realized who it was and their voices rang out calling for azus, barus, anyone who knew anything about healing.
Hakuno did not know how she had gotten there, but she was by his side. She put both hands on his face so he would look at her. "Gil, Gil what happened?" She looked down at his body. He was covered in blood and deep injuries. How he had ridden a horse in his condition and not fallen off was beyond her comprehension. Thank Nabu he was here though.
"Ambushed…by a bunch of cowards." Gilgamesh winced and swallowed. "We were winning. Cowards they are…took care of them though…" He tried to raise a hand but did not seem to have the strength to even do that. "We…need to play another game…"
Hakuno could feel tears pressing against the back of her eyes but she pushed them away as she took in his injuries. Even with a skilled azu invoking Gula's divine light, he would not be saved. She stared down at her hands, already red with the King's blood. Could she do it?
The warning from long ago floated into her mind. "Do not let anyone know of your gift. Hide it. The world will brand you for it. You must hide it to keep yourself alive…"
"I am sorry," she whispered. "He is needed for Uruk's future…"
She shut her eyes tight and sent a silent prayer to every deity she knew before she put her hand over his injury. She could feel the eyes of people on her. Possibly an azu was coming over. "Make sure no one comes near me until I am finished Shub," she ordered. She opened her mental gate that held a lock on her powers and released it. Energy flowed from her hand and into his body. She could already see his injuries healing through her power.
"What are you…" he murmured.
Using her other hand, she gently stroked his hair. "Just sleep for now," she whispered. When his injuries were healed, she removed her hand and stood. The square in front of the palace gates was quiet. She could sense the bodies around her though. Everyone's eyes were on her.
"W…witch!" she heard a voice yell.
"Grab her! She is a witch!'
She did not resist as one of the guards grabbed her arms and tied them behind her. A couple guards checked on the King. "He is fine," she whispered. She noticed Ekur in the small crowd. "He is fine!" she yelled. "I did not do anything evil to him!"
She heard the azu yell for an asipu to be called in to banish the evil. The guard holding her, gave her hard swipe to the back of her head. "No more out of you witch."
He roughly began dragging her away, in the direction of the city. Her eyes fell on Shub. Her friend's hands were clutched tightly to her chest and her eyes were wide in shock.
"I am sorry Shub," she whispered. "So sorry…"
Gilgamesh was on the way back from his campaign. They had defeated the bulk of Nippur's forces. The kingdom did not have the same strength of Uruk and fallen easily as a result. He would be back within the day, probably at night. If Hakuno was still up, he would challenge her to a round in that one tablet game from….oh where was it from again? He just knew the carved ivory playing pieces were made with such care put into them that even he had to acknowledge the artist's skill.
However that plan was pushed away when they were ambushed. Apparently some of Nippur's men were lying in wait on the path like the cowards they were.
It had been a hard struggle to break through. There were just too many of them to fight off. He had been injured greatly as a result. In the end, his soldiers gave their lives to make sure he could escape. He was bleeding onto the horse and he knew it. Would he make it? He had no idea. The hot sun was pressed against his back as he struggled to keep himself awake. If he closed his eyes, he was all over. It could not end here though. He could not let it end here.
No matter how much he struggled though, his eyes grew heavier and heavier until he could no longer keep them open.
Gilgamesh's eyes shot open. No! He could not die!
His brow furrowed as he stared up at the stone roof. Where in the world was he?
"You are awake my King."
Gilgamesh turned his head and stared at the man sitting next to the bed in confusion. "Ekur?" A quick look around made him realize he was in his own chamber. "How?" He sat up slowly. His back was stiff and his chest felt raw.
Wait.
He pulled back the animal pelts and stared down at his chest. Nothing. He knew he had been injured in that mad escape but his skin was not marred. There was no blood pouring out of gaping holes in his body.
"My King, you might find this hard to believe…"
"What happened to me?" Was someone playing a joke on him? Did the gods find this funny? If they did, he was going to strangle them with his bare hands. No one messed with him, no one. "I was injured before correct? How did I get here?"
Ekur held up a hand. "I will get to those in time. First off, you did arrive here in a horrid condition. It took a while to clean off all the blood on you. The horse as well. I am surprised that you managed to stay alive that long my King."
So he had arrived here in the condition he thought he should be in. "Then where are my injuries?"
Ekur fidgeted in his chair. "My King, it is very hard to explain that one."
"How hard can it be?" snapped Gilgamesh. "I just want an answer to my question. How was I healed? Do not tell me Gula came down from the heavens and had her dogs howl to heal me."
"Of course not." Ekur put his hands in the sleeves of his robe. "Although I will say that would make more sense than what happened."
"Spit it out Ekur!"
"It was Hakuno."
Gilgamesh froze and stared at Ekur. He expected the old man to start laughing at any second but instead Ekur's face remained solemn. He was serious. Hakuno had done this?
"She put her hand over your injury and it healed." He shook his head. "In all my years as a baru, I have never seen anything like it before."
Hakuno had healed him? He rested his hand on his chest but there was no trace of the injury. It felt completely fine. "Where is she now?"
Ekur let out a long sigh. "She knew what would happen to her. She did not resist."
Gilgamesh's hands curled into fists. "She was branded as a witch then?"
Ekur nodded. "Yes. The guards grabbed her when she was finished healing you. Asipus purified your body after she was done. I knew she meant no true harm to you though. Before she was taken away, she saw me in the crowd and yelled to me that she did not hurt you."
Gilgamesh got to his feet. Even though he should have felt light-headed from his wounds, he felt fine, like he had just woken from a nap. Was this a part of her power as well?
"My King, there is going to be a lot of difficult things you are going to face if you go through with this."
"I know," replied Gilgamesh. "However I am King. No one takes things away from me. Plus she was hiding that ability from me. Think of what it could do for the kingdom."
"I thought you would say that." Ekur got to his feet. "I do not want to lose my star translator as well. She works better than ten slaves put together."
A grin played on Gilgamesh's face. "I will return soon. Have a bath drawn as well as a feast."
"Of course my King."
Rocks dug into Hakuno's knees but she made no move to make herself feel comfortable. A crowd gathered around the river, all wanting to get a glimpse of the "witch". An asipu stood behind her, speaking to the small crowd about what Hakuno was. A witch that had come to this land in order to destroy the people and hurt the King. The only way they could be sure if she was truly a witch though was through the judgment of the god that resided into the Euphrates.
In this river would be where her life ended.
She had been taken further down than where she had been when she visited with Gilgamesh. The water was faster here and a strong swimmer would be able to swim out just fine. The current would probably drag her along until it got deeper and faster further downstream. By that point, no god would be able to save her.
Hanging her head, she smiled. It did not matter. She knew Gilgamesh would be fine. If it was one thing she had confidence in, it was her gift. Or should she refer to it as a curse? Either way, she did not regret having done it.
She felt a hand dig into her hair and force her head to look up at the water. "Your trial shall begin now!" The ashipu's voice rang loud and clear. Judgment will be passed.
Her hands were freed but before she could rub them, one of the guards gave her a hard push into the river.