Free The Forgotten Tale Of Larsa by Seja Majeed

times.
    ‘We’ve found what we were searching for. Bury her body. Make sure you leave no trace of her misfortune for anyone to see. We can’t afford to anger the Gallant Warrior with such barbaric truths.’
    ‘What about the rest of the bodies?’
    ‘Leave them for the animals.’
    The soldiers began to dig a large ditch, attempting to conceal the truth. If only they had known that the headless body they had found was not the princess, but a slave woman …
    ***
    ‘By the glory of the gods, what am I going to do? What if they don’t find the princess? What if she’s dead?’ shouted King Nelaaz.
    ‘You must keep calm. No good can come from speculating,’ replied his advisor.
    ‘Speculating? Why, there’s nothing to speculate about. If they don’t find the princess, one way or another I’m dead. What man wants the Gallant Warrior as his enemy? I certainly don’t, not after all he’s done for me!’ blasted the king, heatedly. His bulging belly heaved up and down with his short breaths; for once in his life he was unable to set aside his troubles in favour of food or a naked woman. The sweetness of ripened apples had finally turned sour in his stomach, leaving him choking on foul bitterness. ‘By the gods, I’ve been cursed! I can feel it within the pit of my stomach; those hungry peasants in my kingdom have cursed me with their wretched prayers, I just know it. I can hear them cursing me in my sleep.’
    ***
    ‘We’ve found her!’
    ‘Well, where is she? By the gods, I demand to see her now.’
    ‘I wouldn’t advise it, unless you wish to see a corpse,’ replied the commander. He had returned from the desert as quickly as he could.
    ‘Don’t speak to me in riddles, boy, I have neither the energy nor the patience to unravel their meaning. Now, tell me where the princess is. You said you found her – where is she?’
    The commander jumped straight to the point, breaking the news without any niceties at all.
    ‘She’s dead. Most likely raped before the Assyrians killed her.’
    King Nelaaz looked at him dazedly; it was a strange reaction, as if the news had gone over his head.
    ‘Dead? That’s impossible! No one would dare kill the sacred daughter of the Garden of the Gods!’ He could not bring himself to accept such news; nor could any of his advisors. Larsa was unlike any other royal soul; she was considered a deity with the purest blood, sent from the gods themselves in all their glory. Every royal from the Garden of the Gods was seen as a descendant of Ishtar herself.
    ‘I don’t believe you.’
    ‘I knew you wouldn’t, so I brought you this,’ said the commander. He took out a golden pendant from his pocket; its soft metallic sheen was partly obscured by the dried blood splattered over it, hiding its beauty.
    ‘What’s this?’
    ‘It’s proof,’ he said, handing it over to the king, who looked at it for a few seconds, then passed it along to his advisors. Only they could guarantee its authenticity.
    ‘It’s the royal pendant of Ishtar,’ said one advisor.
    ‘Indeed. Look at the back – see what’s written across it.’
    The advisor turned it over. Engraved on the shiny metal were the sacred words of the kingdom.
    ‘“Allegiance lies in the heart of the sword”,’ read the advisor aloud.
    ‘I found it lying beside the body of a headless woman. I have no doubt in my mind that it was the princess.’
    ‘A headless woman?’ said King Nelaaz, sinking into his chair. The news was getting more disastrous by the minute. He put his hands over his head, not wanting to hear more. This was it; the end of his mortal journey. It was only be a matter of time before he would be thrown to the lions, just as the people had wanted. The spectacle would be a celebration for them.
    ‘By the grace of the gods, what am I going to do? When the Gallant Warrior hears of this he’ll crush me with his fist.’
    ‘Does the Gallant Warrior know of this misfortune yet?’ the advisor asked