THE IRON CROWN by Andrej Koymasky (C) 2009 written on on May 28, 2002 translated by the author English text kindly revised by Randhir
USUAL DISCLAIMER
"THE IRON CROWN" is a gay story, with some parts containing graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land, religion, family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be better not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU don't care, or because you think you really want to read it, please be my welcomed guest.
Chapter 12 - THE USURPER - THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE CROWN
The winter was more severe than all the others they ever had experienced in those foreign lands. Blizzards were following blizzards and the twelve friends were preceeding with difficulty towards the land of their king.
In the castle, the king was wandering about the rooms, feeling agitated. None of the knights he sent on the quest for the iron crown was still back, Arseno, after leaving the castle with that child didn't show again and almost to worsen the situation, that winter was the harshest he ever experienced in all his life. The closeness of his three sons and of the queen could soothe very little the pain he was feeling inside his heart.
King Waltha often asked himself if he did well to send his three best knights on the quest for the iron crown. He feared he had sacrificed them to his desire and this saddened the good king. If he just could have opened his heart to the old Arseno! The wizard had always been at his side in the difficult moments, and his wisdom always had had the power to infuse him courage and strength.
Down in the High-city, in the old and wide house with the straw roof, also the witch Zedee was walking back and forth, restless. All long all those years of waiting, she prepared numberless times the potion of the magic vision, hoping to single out the three knights who had to bring back the iron crown. On the quivering surface of the greenish liquid no image was taking shape to tell her if the three knights found the crown or where they were.
Zedee even dreaded that the potion she prepared in her cauldron could have lost its power, or that she could have made mistakes in preparing it. It was essential, if the three knights with their squires found the crown that she intercepted them in time to be able to steal it from them in order to give it to her son Atlah, who could so become the king of that country and would have a power that nothing and nobody could resist.
In the mean while Atlah was at the upper floor, shut in his room with a couple of young merchants that he succeeded in bewitching just a few days before on the market place. As he liked, while he was mounting with rude violence the woman, he had her cousin mount him with vigour. Atlah was not yet tired neither of the eighteen years old girl nor of the twenty-four years old young man, and he was enjoying them both, day after day, even several times each day, with an unappeasable lust. To avoid the two from getting tired of those sex jousts, he made them drink, with each meal, a potion of herbs that increased their sexual resistance and yen.
He liked feeling the hard member of the young man hammer inside him with violence, so pushing deeper, with each stroke, his hot member into the girl's vagina. He kissed them, in turns, with passionate kisses, pushing his tongue deeply into their mouths, and scratched their limbs with his hooked nails as his enjoyment was increasing and his orgasm approaching. When he finally reached it, he howled his pleasure almost like a hungry wolf in the winter nights. His mother hearing him smiled, proud for the ravenous luxury of her son.
One night, while her son was sleeping sated between his two sexual slaves, Zedee prepared for the umpteenth time in the cauldron her concoction and she finally saw an image taking shape on the greenish and steaming surface - from a big boat with a square sail and a curve, tall prow, were landing twelve young men on their horses, and in three of them she recognised the three knights she was waiting for years - Harti, Axel and Jens.
She emitted a low and gurgling laughter of satisfaction - if they were back, it meant they had found the iron crown! She uttered some magic words and saw it, enclosed in the golden casket, inside the iron one and inside the wooden one. It was splendid, and soon it would belong to her son. Atlah would at last reign over all the lands belonging now to king Waltha, and possibly also on the neighbouring kingdoms. And she would live like a real queen!
She had planned for a long time how to cheat to the knights to seize the crown before it could fall in king Waltha's hands. She knew plenty of enchantments and she would use all of them. She already knew she would never be able to charm those men so unresponsive to the womanly graces, no, it was not that the right way. But she could do so that her Altha assumed the features of king Waltha, and herself those of the queen, go to meet the knights before they reached the capital and have them give her the crown.
The only problem was that the king and the queen would never leave the castle without an adequate escort of dames and knights. But to this also she could possibly get round. She hurriedly went to her son's room and woke him up.
"Put on your clothes, Atlah, hurry up, we have to go." she said in an urgent tone.
"But mother! It's still night, let me in peace!"
"No, obey immediately, don't make a fuss. You will see that it is worth. If you do all I am going to tell you to do, you will for sure have nothing to regret, on the contrary,"
"But what can I do of these two? I still want to enjoy of them for a while,"
"When we will have done what we have to do, we will have at our entire mercy all the males and all the females you can desire, and even then without needing to do a spell to get them."
"All I want? Without spells?" the young man asked, his eyes shining with lust.
"Of course, I can assure you. Now send away these two and prepare yourself, we will have to walk all night. Cover yourself well, outside it's very cold, the snowfall is heavy."
Atlah sent away his two bed companions, with some regret, and carefully muffled himself up. Meanwhile his mother put in a sack all the ingredients she needed to do the enchantments that would help her to fool the knights.
They went out in the dark and cold night, sheltering as they best could from the icy and cutting wind that was blowing between the houses with a sinister howling. They reached the valley gate and Zedee put a spell on the guards who at once opened for them the postern gate letting them go out.
They took the road that, flanking the river Hulig, was leading to the lake. They walked all the night and just after dawn they reached a small village still asleep.
"Mother, will you tell me where the fuck are we going, and what the fuck to do?" the young Atlah asked, gloomy.
"Atlah, my son, I'm keeping my surprise for you, But you have first to help me to do an enchantment. Go and gather some wood, we have to light a fire."
"One of your usual spells? " To do what?"
"You will see, you will see,"
They lit the fire, and then Zedee took from her sack some herbs, roots and special preparations and threw them on it. Soon a thick, acrid violet smoke rose and started to spread all over the village. Atlah was looking at his mother with a bored expression.
"Mephitic air, breath of witch, All the villagers bound to me. Old people and children let still asleep, But men and women to me have to obey. Make them awake and come out here, To give us two the owed honours. In knights and dames transform all of them, To get in our hands all this kingdom,"
the woman declaimed tracing in the air mysterious signs with both hands.
Atlah looked at his mother with an air half bored half curious. The doors of the village poor houses started to open and out trugged the men and women who gathered around them and the fire as if they were puppets devoid of any will.
Zedee then threw another handful of dusts and herbs on the fire and a yellow smoke gushed out. As the yellow cloud wrapped the crowd, they lost their humble and shabby aspect, straightened up assuming a proud air and a noble gait, and their clothes started to change shape and colours so that in a short while they all seemed to be the dames of the queen and the knights of the king.
Zedee threw a last handful of her concoctions and a red cloud come rose out of the fire, "Breathe this smoke, Atlah, breathe it deeply!" the woman ordered him, bending herself too to breathe it.
And lo! Atlah assumed the aspect and the clothes of king Waltha, and Zedee those of the queen his wife.
"Well," Atlah said, amused, "what's the use of that masquerade? Now we resemble the king and the queen, and we have even a semblance of a court, but we haven't the power, I know you aren't able to give me that also,"
"Not I, my son. But soon you will be able to seize it in your hands, literally," Zedee said triumphant, and finally explained to her son the story of the iron crown and what they were about to do.
"That crown will really give me the power of a king?" the young man asked with a sneer.
"Certainly!"
"And I can have all I want, without any limit?"
"So it is!"
"All the males and females I want in my bed, all the gold and silver I desire in my coffers, all the food and drinks I want on my table?"
"Exactly so".
"I adore you, my dear mother! I will finally get a life worth to be lived!" the young man exclaimed, excited.
"Remember, Atlah, that from now on you have to say you are Waltha and I your spouse,"
"Should I also screw you, dear mother?" the youth asked, laughing out loud.
"No, we will have to pretend only until you have the crown in your hands. We will then resume our real aspect and nothing and none will ever hinder us. We have now just to wait until the knights pass here to go to the capital, and do as I explained you".
In the mean time the twelve friends were climbing up the road flanking the river Hulig, going to the capital, happy and unaware. Soon their king, who was a good and wise man, valiant and strong, would wear the sacred crown and he would rule making the justice and wisdom triumphant, exerting the right power and the law. All of them were conscious that, thanks to their enterprise, the good king would be remembered for centuries and centuries.
When they were in sight of the village where Zedee was waiting for them, Kimon was the first to see that, at the village entrance, there was a crowd standing on the road, as if they were waiting for them. Drawing nearer the twelve friends recognised the king and the queen, surrounded by the court.
"Isn't it odd, Harti, that they came to meet us here with all the court?" Jens asked.
"I don't think so. After such a long waiting, Arseno possibly told our king we were coming back with the crown and the king decided to honour us coming to meet us at mid-way, instead than just waiting in his castle," Harti answered.
"But how does it come that they are on foot? Where are their horses?" Axel asked.
"They should be behind the houses, where the villagers are taking care of them," Harti quietly answered.
When they were in front of whom they believed to be king Waltha, all twelve dismounted and kneeled on the road.
"Our good king, we salute you! We are glad to finally see you again, after so long years!" Harti said.
Zedee, slightly frowning, asked, "You left just as six knights, how come you return as twelve?"
"The other six are companions we met along our journey, who united to us in the quest for the iron crown. They shared with us hardships, dangers and adventures, and now they ask you to be admitted into the king's service". Harti explained.
"The crown, where is the crown?" Atlah asked, impatient.
Derk was a little surprised by that tone, but took the sack from the horse, extracted the wooden coffer and deposed it in front of the man whom he believed to be his king.
"Open it!" Atlah ordered.
Derk took away the wooden cover, extracted the iron casket and put it on the ground, then opened its cover, extracted the gold casket and opened this also.
Zedee was triumphant, her eyes shone. "My good husband," she said with a mellifluous voice to her son, knowing that he only could with impunity touch at the crown, "take the crown and put it on your head".
Atlah bent down with a smile, took the crown with both hands, straightened up and, slowly, wore it.
"Here it is, that's done. I am now the most powerful king on earth!" he exclaimed, satisfied.
"Yes, my son!" Zedee said and burst in laughter as she saw the surprised expressions of the twelve friends, who were still kneeling on the road, then added, "Poor dumb little men! Stay on your knees in the dust and swear obedience to your new king, my son Atlah!"
She made a gesture with her hands and all the villagers fell down on the ground, senseless, their clothes turned back to poor patched-up rags and the witch and her son resumed their real aspect.
The twelve at once stood up, their hands at their swords, but Zedee stopped them with a gesture, "Don't move, idiots! You can do nothing against Atlah! Swear him obedience, for your good!"
"How is it possible he could wear the crown without dying?" Harti exclaimed, astounded. "Only the son of a king can wear it with impunity!"
Zedee laughed scornfully, "But my Atlah is the son of a king, his father in fact is the father of Waltha. And now, at last, the rank of my son will be recognised. Atlah is your new king".
"Never! We rather prefer the death than to betray our king, the only king, Waltha!" Axel yelled, unsheathing his sword.
"Mother, should I make them die?" Atlah asked amused, and not at all scared.
"You don't need to. They will suffer much more alive and free in their helplessness, meditating on the facts. They dared to humiliate me, now it's the time of their complete humiliation, when they will see their Waltha, his wife and their three sons serve us like the lowest servants".
"Our king will never bend to such a thing!" Jens exclaimed, unsheathing his turn his sword.
Also all the other friends unsheathed all their swords and all together hurled themselves against the witch and her son. But as they were just at one step from them, they froze - a powerful and mysterious force prevented them advancing any further to use their swords against the two usurpers.
Atlah laughed and asked, "Mother, what will we do with these foolish men? I would rather take one after the other to my bed, after all they are not bad at all".
"No, my dear son, it will be more amusing ordering them to escort us to the castle - just think how much they will suffer in being powerless to help their Waltha, seeing him humiliated and not being able to do anything. They have to stay with us and witness all we will do, without being able to move even just a finger to avoid it, Don't you think it way better than just submit them to your yen? You don't need them, you have all the kingdom in your hands to amuse yourself,"
"You are right, mother. So, then, I order you to give us the most beautiful of your horses, and to escort us to the castle!" Atlah said in a haughty tone.
The twelve friends could do nothing else but to obey, in spite of being furious with rage. So the train moved towards the capital. As it was full day, the city gates were open. They passed through the Low-city, then the High-city, and finally entered the castle esplanade.
Atlah dismounted and said to the major-domo who came out to see who had just arrived, "Lead me to Waltha, hurry up!"
The man couldn't oppose that order and led them to the castle hall. In the meanwhile the king Waltha, seeing the train come and thinking he recognised in some of the men the six knights he sent in the quest for the iron crown, had just reached the great hall.
Thus Atlah and Waltha met in the hall.
"Hey, Waltha, my dear half-brother, the day has came when justice is restored!"
"Who are you? And how can you wear unpunished the iron crown?" Waltha asked, amazed, then he looked at the knights, "You had to give to me that crown," he asked more astounded than in an accusation tone.
"Sire, he fooled us, he assumed your aspect and came to meet us. Unhappily he too is the son of your father, he could therefore take the crown with his hands and wear it, without dying for that, before he reassumed his aspect. Too late we thus became aware of his fraud". Harti said in a sorrowful tone.
"Yes, Waltha, he is my son Atlah, and the son of your father Ant hence of royal blood. And now he is the king of all this land, and your king too! Bow in front of him!" Zedee said, radiant.
"Never! If he is the son of my father he is a bastard son, and according to our laws he should have been killed even before to see the light!" Waltha said.
"Oh, yes, you will bow in front of me and you will serve me. About that law, I, being the new king, repeal it - the bastard sons will from now on inherit all the father's belongings and the legitimate sons will have to serve them! About you, Waltha, now you will take out all those precious clothes and give them to me, while you will wear my cheap clothes. Obey!"
King Waltham in spite of being furious and aroused to indignation, felt compelled to do what Atlah commanded him. He took off his beautiful sword studded with gems and the elegant clothes he was wearing and wore the clothes that meanwhile Atlah had taken off.
"No, you are still too well dressed, so, Go immediately to the stables and swap these clothes with those of the worst clothed stable man! And you, former queen, take my mother to your rooms and make her choose the most beautiful clothes, and about your three sons, they will be my personal servants, after all they are my nephews. Aren't they? How old are you, boys?"
The older, Sverger, answered, "I am fifteen years old, my brother Torgils is thirteen, and the little one, Kjell, is ten,"
"And I bet you all are still virgin, aren't you?"
"Of course we are!" Sverger answered with pride.
"But you will not remain so for long time. I can assure you!" Atlah answered sneering.
"Atlah, you will not dare to profane their purity! They are still children!" Axel protested, scandalised.
"I will dare, for sure I will dare. But don't worry, I don't like so much children, therefore at the right moment I will start amusing myself only with Sverger, for a couple of years or three, I will then deflower Torgils, and two or three years later, I will take care also of the nice little arse of Kjell, As you see, I am a wise and reasonable king, am I not?" Altha said and started to laugh scornfully. He then added, "And I will tell you more, you twelve will be the witnesses of my deflowering of these three boys, I want all of you around my bed, each time I will enjoy their virgin hole!"
The twelve protested, but they knew that, even against their will, they would have to obey also to that last horrible order.
Then Atlah went to sit on the throne and ordered that all the aristocrats, the chiefs, the knights of the kingdom went to prostrate at his feet in sign of obedience, and to bring at court all their younger sons and daughters so that he could take them on his bed each time he felt like.
He also ordered that all his subjects had to give to the crown one third of all their income. Those who refused, had to be lashed in the public square, be he a farmer, an artisan or a noble,
When the evening came, Zedee, clothed as a queen, said to her son, "So, Altha, are you happy with the gift your mother gave you? Do you see that my promises, that you never wanted to believe, are all becoming reality?"
"Yes, mother, I should admit that you are right. But now let me take off this crown, I didn't think it was so heavy,"
"Be careful, my son. If you give orders without wearing it, your orders can be disobeyed,"
"I will always have it at hands reach, don't worry. But it is really heavy, Anyway, I can't for sure sleep with it on my head,"
"But when you take it off, be sure you have carefully shut all the doors of the room where you are, so that nobody can harm you or steal it,"
"But only those of royal blood can touch it, isn't it so?"
"Sure, but remember that in this castle Waltha and his three sons can touch it. If they seize it, we will be lost, never forget it! Moreover, wrapping it in a cloth, is possible to take it away without touching it,"
"I will be careful, and tonight, when I will screw in the arse my dear cousin Sverger, I will keep it on my head! Now go, mother, I want to amuse myself a little," Atlah said, laughing.
He then summoned the twelve friends in the royal bedroom and ordered them to go to look for Sverger, to take him there to him, to undress him, and to make him ready on his bed.
As they were out of the room, Harti asked the others, "what can we do to avoid such an shame? How can we rescue Sverger from his horrible fate?"
"If at least Arseno were here at the castle, but I've heard that he left just after our departure and he never came back," Jens sadly said.
"We could tell him to hide, then to tell Atlah we couldn't find him," Kimon suggested.
"It would be useless, he would just have to order us to find him and to take him to his room, and we could not oppose," Derk said sorrowfully.
Meanwhile Sverger came where they were and heard their discussion, so he said, "Don't worry, that man can use violence to my body, not to my spirit. Unfortunately we cannot oppose to his sick mind. But my father explained to me that as more bad, perverse, unfair things he will do, so more the crown he stole from you will become heavy on his head and if he doesn't mend his ways, the iron crown will kill him".
"I really think he will never mend his ways," Axel commented with sadness.
"So much the better, he will therefore die soon and we will finally get rid of him". Sverger then said, with a serenity that hit the twelve. Then the boy added, "Come on, take heart, take me to him. I am ready, as I know that my sacrifice will not be useless!"
The twelve friends, their heart full of sorrow, escorted the young prince into the room where Atlah was waiting. When they entered, the son of the witch ordered, "Good boys! Now bare him totally and bring him here on my bed".
Sverger made a sign to the twelve not to move and started to undress by himself, looking straight Atlah in his eyes with a look firm and full of dignity then, once he was naked, went on the bed.
Atlah laughed, "Ha, dear cousin Sverger, I see that you are longing for having a good taste of my cock in you virgin little arse! But you have to first suck it for a while, to make it become even harder, And you all have to look, to look carefully how I take my amusement with him; it's an order!"
The twelve friends would have liked better to die, they would have liked the floor to swallow them, but they could do nothing but obey. More than one of them had tears in his eyes.
Atlah undressed, always careful to maintain the iron crown on his head, then kneeled on the bed and showed his already hard member towards his cousin. Sverger bent down and started to satisfy him with his mouth. Atlah seized his head and started to screw him in the mouth, each time pushing it as deeper as he could, laughing each time the boy had a retch at that violent intrusion.
Then Atlah ordered the boy to turn around, to go on all his four and tried violently to penetrate him. After several attempts, each time more violent, he finally succeeded in winning the natural resistance of the inviolate hole and with a triumph yell sank inside him. He then started to hammer in him with wild fury, grunting like an animal, abusing his cousin with lewd expressions, keeping him still at the waist at each mad stroke with which he impaled him.
Sverger shut his eyes and silent tears started to run on his cheeks, but he didn't utter the lesser sound. The twelve friends were disgusted and upset and in spite they were trying with all their forces to hurl themselves on that bed to stop such a horror, they were unable to move. They couldn't either turn away their eyes or close them. They had thus to assist to that rape, totally powerless.
Atlah was amusing himself, and was doing his best to delay his orgasm, to enjoy as long as possible that wild ride and so humiliate his cousin.
"Are you enjoying it, Sverger? Look at him, look at him you all, be my witnesses of how the one who was presumed to be the heir of a kingdom became nothing more than a little whore at my total disposal! He wanted the baton of command and instead he has to take my baton in his arse, isn't that amusing?"
But while he was going on so, the crown on his head was becoming more and more heavy, so that at a certain point Atlah had to stop and brought his hands at the crown to try to take it away. But he saw that the twelve friends were following with careful attention each of his moves and understood that, if he took off the crown, he would risk finding himself in their power. He therefore lowered again his hands, pushed away from himself his cousin with a strong push slipping out of his aching hole.
He yelled in anger, "Go away! Everybody out of here! Go away!"
The twelve friends took the clothes of the prince, helped him to dress and escorted him out of that room. As they were out they heard the door bolt fall in place and shut it.
"Sverger, we are so distressed," Harti said.
"Not I, my noble friends. Just, I pray you, not to sadden my father and my mother more than they already are, don't tell them what you had to witness".
"Certainly not, we swear!" Jens answered for all of them.
In the following days Atlah did all that was in his power to humiliate Waltha, the queen and all the court dignitaries, and his crown was becoming each time heavier and heavier. But this, instead of convincing him to cease with his perverse games, was making him more and more furious.
Zedee in the mean time was amusing herself in her own way, mainly confiscating estates, taking to her bed married men under the eyes of their wives, and when her son complained for the heaviness of the crown, answered him bored, to stop always complaining and to enjoy what he could get without anybody able to oppose.
But Atlah, more than for the problem of the crown, was furious for the proud and challenging glance of Waltha and his family.
So, determined to tame once and for ever Waltha, he summoned him in presence of all the court and ordered him to be sodomize, there in the hall, in front of all his family and all the court, first his wife, then all his three sons, and finally to cut all their throats.
Waltha flared up and said that he would rather die.
Atlah laughed, amused, "You well know that you cannot oppose my orders! You will do it now, and you will not die, as you will have to suffer all your life long. Stop then with all your chattering, and do immediately what I ordered you!"
Altma rose up, "You cannot order such a monstrous thing! Stop it Atlah. Or you will regret!"
The son of the witch sat on the throne and burst in laughter, "Well, Altma, as you are so sensitive, it will be you who keep still Waltha's wife while he will tear away from her the rags she wears, while he will fuck her arse, and also when he will cut her throat. Go, it's an order!"
Altma tried to resist, but in spite of himself he had to move, to go near the queen and seize her arms.
Crying, he said, "My Lady, forgive me, it is not my will to make me do this. I would like to die..."
The queen smiled sorrowfully, "We all know it. Evil got hold of this kingdom, but not yet of your heart".
Altma then yelled, "I curse you, Atlah, I curse you! May you die with the worst torments, and may your name be execrated for all the generations!"
Atlah burst in laughter and said, "Waltha, tear away from that whore your wife all her clothes, now! Then fuck her like the bitch she is!"
Waltha tried to resist to that order, he was pale for his efforts not to move from his place, but a power superior to his will forced him to move. When he was in front of the queen, he attempted a last desperate resistance, but to no avail.
While he was raising his hands to seize his wife clothes and tear them, Waltha said to her, "My queen, you know that I love you! My love for you will never end, any thing may happens!"
Atlah burst again in laughter, "Love! Love! How pathetic you are, Waltha. Love doesn't exist. Only power exists, and now power is in my ha..."
He couldn't end his sentence. The iron crown all of a sudden became heavy, more and more. Atlah brought his hands to it, screaming, trying to take it away form his head. He staggered, fell from the throne on the floor, wriggling and screaming, but the crown didn't fall from his head. Atlah was writhing on the floor. All the lanterns died out as for a powerful blow than nobody could feel. The earth trembled and from its bowels came out a deep and dreadful groan.
Zedee ran to her son screaming in her turn like a mad woman and tried to take away the crown from her son's head, but as soon as she touched it, from the crown sprang out a lightning, a deafening rumble filled the hall and the woman fell on the floor, burnt out. Then also Atlah, with a last agonizing scream, died, his eyes and mouth wide open.
Then the iron crown, with a dazzling flash that left everybody blind for some moments, disappeared.
For a short time everybody remained still, as petrified, trembling. Then Waltha embraced his wife, called their sons and all five hugged tightly, crying.
The twelve friends embraced each other, relieved, then also all the people in the hall embraced each other, festive.
Then Waltha spoke, "The nightmare is over, my valiant friends, we are at last again free. Evil killed himself!"
He then ordered a pyre to be built on the castle esplanade and to burn the two corpses. Their ashes were then dumped in a deep hole and covered with earth. On it was spread abundant salt and was poured spring water on it, so that nothing could grow on it. The place was then surrounded with a ring of white stones, and was called the "grave of evil".
Everybody avoided that place for it was forever more filled with fear.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THE RESTORATION
First of all Waltha gave back to his subjects all that Zedee and her son had collected at their advantage and did his best to put the evil they had done right, with wisdom and justice.
He then summoned the twelve friends at his presence.
Harti kneeled in front of him and said to his king, "Waltha, we did our best to bring you the iron crown as you ordered us. But we let those two fool us, like the most naive of the children. Can you ever forgive us?"
Waltha smiled, "No, it is me who has to ask your forgiveness. You obeyed my orders, so losing the best years of your youth to grant my desire. I should have been a wise, fair, good king, but I only caused grief to my subjects and to you. It is really me the one who has to ask for forgiveness".
Jens then said, "No, king Waltha, your purpose was good, and rather very good. You are a good, wise and fair king, and you just hoped, thanks be to the crown, to become even more so".
Axel said, "But after all, our beloved king, you didn't really need the crown. We know that without needing to wear on your head any crown, you will always be a fair, good and wise king".
Waltha said, "You are generous telling me so. But you see, I evidently wasn't wise enough, because I didn't understand I really didn't need it. But now I've learned the lesson - we have to find inside our heart, in our will, in our intelligence and not in a crown the strength to become more and more wise, good and fair.
"But now, as before sending you on the quest of the iron crown I had a dream, and several aspects of that dream already came true, I now feel I have to realize also the remaining part. I saw, in the deepest darkness, twelve stars slowly falling all around me with faint silent trails, and this has clearly been the period when you had to obey the usurper in spite of yourself.
"But then I saw that each star was lighting a part of my kingdom which became again green, full of life, towns and villages again alive at their place, as well as all the mountains and the river" This is why I decide that my kingdom will be organised in twelve parts and each of these parts will be entrusted to one of you, as a peer of my kingdom. But you will not have to reside there, because I want you all here with me, as my councillors and friends.
"I therefore will knight the six friends you brought here with you from your journey as your squire, as I know they desire to enter into my service, as they already loyally served me even before meeting me. Waiting for the organisation of the ceremony, you will not to go back to your houses, but you will be my guests here, in my castle".
Then Waltha summoned a skilled master builder and in great secret ordered him a new building, to erect on the rock spur that was northwest of the castle, and united to it by a covered stairway. It had to be a circular two floors building, with a corridor reaching its centre, in which were opening six doors leading to the same number of apartments, composed of four rooms each. The stairway then proceeded, always covered, leaning against the external wall, to the upper floor. Here was a great hall with twelve arched windows and between two of them the entrance door.
In the upper hall, having a vaulted roof formed by six great arches crossing near the centre so drawing a star, he had a wide round table set, sustained by the big stump of a very ancient tree, All around the table there would be thirteen tall seats, all exactly identical. At the sides of each window there would be two stone seats. At the centre of the vaulted roof, hanging down from the keystone, there would be a great chandelier with thirty-six lamps hanging in three concentric circles.
Each apartment of the lower floor had a wide canopy bed in an external room and two twin beds in the side room, while in the internal rooms there was a table with chairs, and shelves, the wall that had also the entrance door, and trunks and shelves on the last room. At the centre amongst the four rooms there was a circular fireplace to warm them in the cold months.
When the building was ready with the carved furniture installed and the tapestry at the walls and fur carpets on the floor, king Waltha gathered all the court in the esplanade in front of the castle and announced he was going to knight Alfeo, Nikolaos, Floriano, Bughail and Tantas. He then announced that all twelve of them would be nominated peers of the kingdom and his councillors, and with a second ceremony he imposed them the collar symbol of their new rank.
He then led them to the new building. And told each couple to chose one of the apartments.
Finally he led them to the upper floor, everybody sat on one of the tall seats and Waltha said, "This will be the hall of our meetings. As you can see, no seat is more important that the others, as here we will really be peers. But now each of you has to choose his new squire. Like you, they have to be couples and lovers, like you they will not have a wife or children. And when one of us will leave this world, like my son will take my place, so your squire will have your place and will have to choose a new squire who in his turn will one day succeed him. You are my real iron crown, I don't need any other crown, you will be the ones helping me to be fair, good and wise, helping me with your advice, with your assistance".
Harti, being the elder, talked on the others behalf, "Yes, my king and friend, our lives will always be in your hands and we will serve you with honour and devotion to the very last breath of our lives. We will chose amongst the youths of the kingdom the most worth to take one day our places to assist your son when he will be king".
So the twelve settled in the lower floor apartments. Already that first night made love with joy and passion, with desire and tenderness. Then each of them went to the territory the king had put under his governance, to choose there his new squire. It was not of importance the youth to be a farmer, an craftsman, a merchant or of noble family - he had to be strong, loyal, generous, clever, and a lover of his own sex. As they found their squire within the year they allowed themselves, they all went back to the king's castle.
It was a day of spring when the king, leaning at the balcony with his wife and his three sons, saw coming through the esplanade of the castle a man wearing a beautiful tunic and a tall pointed hat that he well knew, Waltha for a moment thought he was his friend Arseno, the old court wizard. Thus he ran headlong down the stairway to meet him, feeling full of joy.
But when he was in front of the newcomer, he saw he was a young man, "Who are you..." he then asked him.
The young man smiled, "King Waltha, I am back" I am the new Arseno" You can't remember me, the last time you saw me I was just a somewhat scared, little child..."
"Arseno?" the king exclaimed, "So you are our new Arseno. My good old friend kept his word, then. Will you now remain forever here with me, with us?"
"Certainly yes".
"Do you know what happened here in all these years?"
"Yes, its echo reached us up there on the sacred mountain".
"So, you also know that I couldn't have the iron crown, that I could just see it..."
"Yes, as I know also about the usurper. But you see, my king, that crown did anyway bring you wonderful results, after a great suffering..."
"It is true, I learned many things, thank to it".
"Not only, but you also found twelve valuable councillors. Twelve like the hours of the day, like the months of the year, like the constellations in the sky..."
"And now I have you again, my new Arseno" I hope we will become friends as I was with my good old Arseno".
"So it will surely be. But now I have to see your son Sverger" give me the key of my quarters, and send him up there to me".
King Waltha went immediately to take the key and accompanied Arseno to the top of the tower where the old wizard had lived. The young wizard went in and at once started to prepare a potion.
After some time Sverger knocked at his door, "My father told me I had to come and see you" are you the new court wizard?"
"Yes, prince, the new one and the old one at the same time, as the old Arseno passed me all his powers. Have a seat. I know that during the short reign of the usurper something very unpleasant happened to you..."
The boy blushed, "They swore to me that they wouldn't tell to anybody" also my father came to know about it?"
Arseno smiled, "No, Sverger, they didn't tell this to anybody. And no one besides me nobody knows about it. But I know that what happened to you deeply troubled you, and that still in these days, during the night, you live that horrible moment over again and that it haunts you as a nightmare..."
"It is true..." the boy admitted, "I try not to think about it, to resign myself, but" I know it has not been my fault, and yet..."
"Yes. Then drink this potion I prepared expressly for you - it wouldn't erase your memories, but it will give you the needed serenity and will totally heal your spirit as well as your body. Drink it, prince, and be healed!"
Sverger drank and at once felt permeated like by an inner fire, and then a sweet somnolence seized him, and felt asleep on his seat. Arseno stood up and put his hands one on the boy's hand and the other on his heart, and chanted some magic formulas. He then gently shook the young prince waking him up.
"How do you feel, Sverger?"
The boy looked at him with luminous eyes, "I'm feeling well" I'm feeling again well, my heart is free from anguish, my mind free from shame, my spirit free from dirtiness..."
"Yes, Sverger, do your best to keep you clean inside and outside, and one day you too will be a good king as your father".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A SAD EPILOGUE
So in the land of Niderhulig everybody lived in peace and harmony for several generations, under the rule of king Waltha, of king Sverger and of his descendants. And the peers of the kingdom, always chose amongst men lovers of men, who assisted them one after the other for all the generations.
But in the year 1208 of the Christian era, the very Christian king of Sweden came with his troops and his priests up to the Hulig valley and after brave battles, invaded the entire valley and stormed the royal castle of Niderhulig. The king and his family were made prisoners and shut until their death in the dungeon of their castle by the new king. The twelve peers of the kingdom, as pagans and "sodomites" were all put to death - their heads were cut off with the axe in the hall of the thirteen seats.
Arseno, as a pagan and charged with witchery, was burned on the stake.
All this in the name of God, and of his Love!
THE END
In my home page I've put some more of my stories. If someone wants to read them, the URL is
http://andrejkoymasky.com
If you want to send me feed-back, or desire to help revising my English translations, so that I can put on-line more of my stories in English please e-mail at
andrej@andrejkoymasky.com