LOVE ME AGAIN PRIM

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The setting sun found the men in Birons home playing a sports. The game they played consisted of two teams with each team having five members. The objective of the game is to have the runner of each team reach the finish line of the other while the opposing team prevented him from doing so by any means necessary. It was a grueling sport that required both speed and brute strength, and in no time all the players were sweating profusely and bleeding heavily.

Biron played with Yukon, Goron and two of Yukon's friends whom he had invited for the festivities. Goron served as their runner because he was a natural sprinter. The other team consisted of Padario, Razan, Ladiff, Kultar and one of the house guards to complete their teambwith Ladiff serving as the runner because of his agility. The women in the house watched helplessly as the men charged, slammed and wrestled themselves, while they set up the table for the feast and made other necessary preparations for the festival. The children sat on the sidelines cheering the team they supported with claps and whistling. Both teams were tied and it was the turn of Ladiff to served as a runner for his team. A gong was rung and he sprang across the field, skillfully dodging the attacks from Yukon and his father and was almost at the finish line when he was grappled mid air by Goron and slammed to the ground. It was beautifully executed but unanticipated by Ladiff who was knocked out cold by the move. All the players checked on him and after confirming that he only had a concoction, he was carried off the field to rest.

'Nice move Goron, but try not to kill my son next time.' Biron said as Ladiff was being led back to his room by Kultar and Padario.

'I'm sorry father, I got a little carried away. I honestly thought he was trained enough to break his fall', Goron replied.

'Is he going to be alright?' Razan asked

'He'll live, thankfully no bones were broken', Yukon responded and turned to Goron. 'Where did you learn that move? I've seen it done on the ground but never in mid air.

'I learnt it from pirates', Goron responded.

'Pirates?' Biron responded

'Its a sweeping attack they use when they want to board a ship. Its very effective for surprise attacks but also leaves you wide open from so many angles. I saw them do it and practised it with my men till we perfected it.'

'I hope you will teach it to me', Razan asked.

'I would be honoured', Goron replied but turned when he heard Vashas voice boom from the distance, 'WHO WAS IT? WHO HURT MY BOY?'. Biron looked at his sons and ran to sit among the little children, quickly cleaning his face and arms with the loose end of his wrapper and placing the twins on either side of him smiling at the remaining men on the field and whispers 'Good luck'.

Vasha storms in with a look that would kill an army, followed in tow by Padario and Yukon who had shoe prints all over their torso and backs.

Razan looked at the short but intimidating elderly woman with beautifully creamy skin and deep blue eyes. He knew just by looking that she would have been an extremely beautiful lady in her days youth, even now standing beside her daughter, you would mistake them for sisters. She walked into a field of warriors to avenge her son, a son she didn't bear but still loved as her own.

Razan felt alone and for the first time in his life wished he experienced this with his brothers before they all died. As he watched her chasing all her sons around the field with a broom and scolding them for playing rough while everyone laughed at them, he realised that this was the true meaning of the word home and he was glad he came here.

His home was nothing like this, his step-mothers never defended him, on the contrary, they constantly plotted against him, his mother, his sisters and themselves; which in turn caused him and his siblings to be cautious and distrusting of each other. At first when he arrived at Biron's home, he thought that the family put up a show for him like most family's did to give a good impression about themselves but after watching time and again the way the brothers drank wine left over by each other and their father, the way Vasha and Ulpe related together so easily and treated the servants with dignity and respect, he knew everything about this place was real and hoped one day to build a home just like this.

'So you think just because you have learnt a new move, you can come home and hurt my child? Is that it?' Vasha said to Goron twisting his ear while he knelt beside her.

'Mother, seriously it not like that. I thought he could take it. He was going to win and I had to stop him somehow.'

'And giving him a concussion was you way to do that?'

'Mother, it is a contact sport ,he knew the risks and we weren't even playing seriously like we do in the barracks.' Kultar said but turned his face and hid behind Yukon who pulled Padario when Vasha looked in their direction.

'I told your father not to play that game in the house again, wait!' she said and looked down at Goron with eyes like slits, 'Where is lord Biron?'

Everyone including the children pointed to the lord sitting with his grand daughters by his side.

'You!' Vasha said walking towards him. Everyone around him including the servants, guards, royal grand children stepped away from him in fear of Vasha.

'Vasha darling, calm down.'

'You were here when they hurt our son?'

'I was merely observing my love.'

'You promised me you wouldn't play the game at home anymore since the time you got hurt and now Ladiff is hurt.'

'Vasha...I...'

'Fine then, since you like the game so much I'll play you for it, if I lose I won't stop you from playing it again. If I win, the game is never to be played. I mean.....never.'

'Vasha, my love.'

'Don't call me that, until Ladiff gets better, its princess Vasha to you and you are sleeping on the floor mat. Fusha gather the women, we have a game to play. Lord Biron, choose your team!' Vasha said looking straight at her husband

'Mother, are you serious?' Yukon asked

'Yukon, assemble our team now' her husband told him looking down at his wife.

'But father?', Padario said

'Now!' Lord Biron barked

'Yes sir' Yukon replied bowing, 'Padario, Kultar, Goron, Plavi on the field. Now!'

'Are you serious?' Prince Razan asked

'Just sit and watch, mother is a princess from a warrior tribe living on a small island, north of here. They take betrayal very seriously. If father refuses her challenge, she'll keep challenging him to the point of asking for death match.'

'Your mother is from Murel.'

'No, both my mothers are from Murel'

'This should be interesting' Razan said walking towards one of the stone benches.