The empress sneezed
The room fell silent. Everyone froze, terrified by the
sneeze. The hall, vast and brightly lit, was almost empty.
Only the empress, Attila and a few councilors and guards
were present. One could see the lava currents through the
glass floor. When the palace was first built, the architects
thought how beautiful it would be to see the lava under your
feet, but they did not consider the unbearable heat. So, as
usual, the councilors were moving from foot to foot, trying
to diffuse the terrible heat striking their bare feet.
Everyone knew that in the royal family of the Tam people, a
sneeze is a clear bad omen. This time, they also knew what
the trouble was. The Tams' greatest enemy, King Mindor,
declared war on the peaceful People. Mindor wanted their
territory.
People were looking at each other, searching for a hero. The
empress looked at her chief councilor and noticed his purple
eyes were full of anxiety. She turned to look at her guards,
in their beautiful armor; this shining armor, which has
never seen blood, never been in war. The red carpet leading
to her throne seemed like a trail of blood, leading to her
heart. The columns, decorated with golden spiders and velvet
ropes, seemed to be collapsing on her any moment now. The
girls cleaning the palace were now skinnier than ever. Their
horns, once a symbol of the Tam beauty, were now only good
for self defense. They did not carry their tails elegantly
as they were taught, but dragged them behind. The only thing
the empress could think of right now was death.
Her long horns were a burden on her head, so she rested it
on her hand. Her long white hair, which had not been cut
since the day of her birth, was now nothing but a burden,
too. She touched it, as she always did when deep in thought,
and it felt dry and brittle. Suddenly, she pulled herself
together and looked at the youth standing opposite her. He
was impressive. His long, curved horns, beautiful tail and
dark skin charmed her, but she could not admire his beauty
and elegance. Not now. She had to save her people.
Attila's big eyes looked straight into hers, trying to read
her thoughts, trying to get a word out of her small lips.
She knew she had to speak, but could not find the proper
words. Eventually, she said:
"As you probably know, King Mindor wants to ruin the Tam
Empire."
Attila gave a sigh of relief. He moved his
black, shiny hair from his eyes, straightened his back and
said:
"Yes, your majesty. I have heard of the
situation."
"So you probably know that we are short of
warriors and commanders, especially a general who can lead
our people to a victory over King Mindor and his vicious
army."
She said "vicious," pronouncing every syllable in an
exaggerated manner, twisting her small, old lips as if the
word was a secret weapon.
"Yes, your majesty. I assume you need more power
in order to crush the vicious army."
Attila enjoyed saying the word as well, trying to imitate
the empress.
"I have heard a great deal about your father, Attila. He
helped my mother vanquish Mindor many years ago," the
empress said, arching her brows above her enormous black
eyes.
"My councilors tell me you fight, too. Is it true?"
The councilors, the guards and all the servants sat up;
waiting for the answer that would redeem them.
"Yes, your majesty. I know how to fight. My father taught me
much before he was killed."
After trying not to think of his father during all these
years, Attila suddenly felt as if his father was with him
there.
The empress broke the long silence.
"I will be honest with you, Attila. It will take a miracle
for us to win. Apparently, you are the miracle sent to us by
the gods. We all know you fight well. Therefore, I, Chita,
daughter of Eera, Messenger of the Red Sun, ask you, Attila,
son of Gani, to lead the Tam people to victory."
Attila's eyes opened wide. He looked at the small, old
empress. Her tired eyes showed deep love for her people.
"Your majesty, I will be proud to lead the Tam people to
victory."
The whole palace breathed together. All the worries were
forgotten. For a moment, The empress' tiny mouth morphed
into a smile. Her big eyes looked into Attila's orange eyes.
She stood up. Everyone was silent again; an expectant
silence, this time. The empress picked up her scepter and
looked up above her, to the sky. The stars shone with their
green light. She looked at the galaxy with all the stars and
moons in it. The holy galaxy. Since the beginning of time,
the Tams have built their palaces without roofs, so that
their empresses could look at their galaxies. With every new
empress that was born, a new galaxy was born as well.
"May our holy god Kaul, bless Attila with strength!"
The empress waved her scepter.
"May our great goddess Omalia bless Attila with wisdom!"
She waved her scepter again.
"May our generous god Hadass bless Attila with compassion!"
One of the stars in the galaxy exploded, and Attila knew it
was only the beginning.
October 2000
