The Redemption (Part 7 - Finale)

The King of Froyale of that era longed for a crown prince. 

All his first six children were princesses, who were, according to the Froyalean laws, deemed unworthy to inherit his throne.

He secretly sent a messenger to Jub to summon a Red Priestess to hold an intercession.

This was the time The Council Man’s wife took revenge against the woman, whom she believed had seduced her husband. 

She recommended Fruimuah to her father.

Deep down in her heart, she knew the selected red priestess would be a one-night concubine for the King, and would have to die after performing the rituals to protect the royal family's dignity.

Officials arrived at the Red Temple. The Council Man and his father-in-law were present at the selection ceremony. Five council members sat in a row behind the red priestesses. Sawart and a few of high priestesses from the main temple were there to witness the process.  

At the end, the council has decided to choose Fruimuah to take over the task. Fruimuah turned around and looked at the Council Man for help. 

All she saw was a man burying his head in his hands and did nothing to rescue her. Her tears were dried. She had forgotten what crying was like.

I will remember you.

Fruimuah was taken into the palace, and was made to stand before the King and Queen. 

The ceremonial ritual began with the Queen casting a handful of tiny stones at the priestess as a symbolic gesture to ‘punish’ her for seducing the King.

The queen bowed before the king and retreated. Fruimuah was then taken into a room to perform her duties.

If she defied the king’s decree, she would be beheaded immediately. She would still have to end her life after performing the rituals. There was no way for her to walk out alive.

It does not matter anymore. The man I loved has betrayed me. There is absolutely nothing on this world that I can look forward to.

After the rituals, Fruimuah appealed to the King to end the discriminatory laws and taxes against the Khebites in Froyale. The King gave his assurance that he would look into her requests if her rituals worked.

Fruimuah was given a goblet filled with venom extracted from a poisonous snake. She picked it up from the table and whispered a prayer to the soil god Tellash. She hoped that he could accept her to his world. She also prayed to Yathagrum, god of the underworld.

Please do not send your guards to pull me into your realm, please.

She took a deep breath and drank till the bottom of the goblet. The clinking sound of a fallen metal resonated. The air in the room was dead, mourning over the death of the King’s unnamed concubine.

A thunderstorm suddenly swept across Jub on the same night Fruimuah died.

Khrumakwe was struck dead by a sudden lightning. The Carpenter’s curse has finally realised. Though he has redeemed both his sisters, he failed to set Fruimuah free.

***

It was chaotic in the Merchant’s mansion.

The Merchant’s Wife, clad in torn dress and guhaty (head piece wore by rich Froyalean women), ran scrambling into the house, screaming and shouting insanely.

“He’s dead! My son is dead!” she ran up to The Merchant, trying to get hold of him.

“What son,” asked The Merchant, who was stunned by his wife’s reaction.

The Merchant’s Wife blurted out the secret she has kept for 25 years.

After learning that her husband wanted to kill their firstborn, who the foreteller foresaw was a jinx to his business, she sneaked out the baby and handed him over to a poor Khebite family.

The Merchant was infuriated.

“So the child was the reason why I had made so many business enemies for the last 20 years!” he slammed his chair, stood up and gave her a tight slap on the face.

“Are you out of your mind? Are you trying to ruin me?” he tried to strangle her but was pulled away by the servants.  

“He’s your son, you heartless creature!”

“Throw her out. I never want to see this mad woman again,” The Merchant regained his composure and left. 

Walking behind him were two concubines, who cast a nonchalant smirk at the Merchant’s Wife.

The Merchant’s Wife was thrown out from the mansion. She was seen lying on the ground, crying out the name of his dead son repeatedly, grabbing piles of sand and rubbed them against her face.

Gurgini and Bashut, who learned about her flight, decided to take her in. The Merchant’s Wife, who lost her mind after the incident, spent her last days chanting the name of her son.

***

A year after the death of Fruimuah, the Queen gave birth to another princess - the seventh princess. The Queen, who failed to deliver a prince, was stripped off her title. Out of anger, the King banned the worship of Fush-urah.

It was learned that Sawart made a trip to the Palace to plea the King to lift the ban, and has vowed to pray to Fush-urah on behalf of the newly appointed queen, Queen Yamagut.

Queen Yamagut, who used to be a dancer in the Palace, was famous for her dance dedicated to Fush-urah.  Every day, she would visit the temple and dance before the goddess. In less than a year, Queen Yamagut’s prayers were answered. She gave birth to a prince – Chotuazet, one of the great kings in the Froyalean history.

The Fush-urah worship was restored. Following the death of Sawart, Jeyah led the rest of the priestesses to rebuild the main temple. 

The Red Temple and its priestesses were never heard of again.

Fruimuah’s bid to make Khebites’ lives better failed when her rituals failed. Khebites in Froyale were still struggling to eke out a living, as the King’s government continued to impose high taxes on the so-called “foreigners” in the country.

THE END