“Ashat, I’ll skin you alive if you drop my son!” Rosa pointed a warning finger at Ashat. She stood at the opening of their bigger home pregnant and huge.
Ashat and Rosa had spent the last three years in peace, happiness and in love. All their problems seemed to have disappeared with the death of Baku, and all that was left was love and joy.
They still lived close to the lake but Ashat had to increase its size when they found out they were expecting their first child. Saura wanted them to move closer to the chief’s teepee, but Rosa refused. She knew how much Ashat loved the lake and she didn’t want to separate them. She said that she might be the love of Ashat’s life and his wife, but the water spirit was his soul mate.
Ashat still worried about the day he would become chief but there was minimum pressure on him because Chief Roa was still healthy and strong. He spent most of the day with the chief, diligently learning as much as he could from him. Ashat aspired to be a great leader like his father-in-law. Ashat felt at ease knowing that Kiyo would be around to help him.
Tepeu was proud of Rosa after she gave birth to their first son. She blessed Rosa or cursed whichever way one looked at it- with the strength to follow in her footsteps and bare five more sons. He thought Rosa would complain, be up in arms about it, but she took it as a duty she had to fulfill to him and the village, especially since her mother was not able to have a son or any other children for that fact.
Ashat’s joy of fathering other sons was always sobered up by the memory of Rosa in labor pains. The screams she let out while giving birth made him shiver at the memory of it. He always felt guilty knowing he was putting her through hell just to continue his bloodline. Tepeu always said it was the sacred duty a woman was given to bring new life into the world, carrying the child for nine months and the pains were all sacrifices women proudly bore. Seeing her pregnant again brought all the horrors back.
Ashat was holding their son, Kiowa over his head, spinning and throwing him in the air, his squeals of delight ringing through the air.
“Throw me again papa, again!”
“No, your mother doesn’t want that.” Ashat held him to his chest securely, taking Rosa’s warning to heart. He had learned the hard way pregnant women were bad tempered and weren’t to be messed with.
Kiowa pouted, sticking his lower lip out, “But I want!”
Ashat smiled at him. Kiowa looked so much like his mother when he was sulking, “And I want to keep my skin. Do you really want your father walking around with no skin on?” Kiowa shook his head, “Then let’s do what your mother says.”
Ashat set him down on the ground. He took off running towards her, wrapping his tiny arms around her knees. She rocked unsteadily, reaching for something to hold on to. Ashat rushed to her and held her in his arms, Kiowa was still holding on tight.
“Ashat, what is he doing?” Rosa laughed, struggling to see down past her huge belly and to her son. “Will you tell him to loosen his grip, I almost toppled over!”
“Kiowa, let go of your mother.” Ashat kept his hand firmly on her arm and bent down to loosen the hold Kiowa had on her knees.
“Only if she promises not to take your skin.” his muffled voice came from between her knees. She laughed even harder, leaning back. Ashat shot up to get a firmer hold on her.
“I promise. Now let go before I fall.” She said between laughs.
Kiowa let go of her and tagged on Ashat’s leg beckoning for him to reach down and pick him up. Once Ashat felt Rosa was steady enough on her feet he let go of her and picked up his son who had a big triumphant smile on his face.
“He definitely has the Kiyo smile.” She traced her thumb under his chin, then moved and traced it under Ashat’s before she pulled him in for a kiss.
Loud screams cut the pleasant moment off. Some of the villagers were running screaming out of the forest. Ashat went rigid. He placed Kiowa down next to his mother and grabbed his spear and sword from inside their home before he ran towards the forest.
“Ashat!” Rosa’s scared scream went after him.
He stopped to look at her- tears were already running down her cheeks. As much as he wanted to go to her, he had to make sure that whatever danger was in the forest wouldn’t come anywhere near them. Ashat turned around and went on running; his body fueled by determination to keep his family safe.
Ashat stopped when he got into the forest, other men were already there—his brothers obviously at the forefront, and he walked up to join them.
“What’s going on?” Ashat said stopping close to Cano.
“They say they saw huge wolves in the forest.” Cano didn’t look at him as he spoke; his eyes were roaming around the forest.
“What?” Ashat couldn’t believe the panic had been started because of wolves!
“Ashat, they weren’t ordinary wolves, they are three times the size of a mountain bear.” Nalu said, catching the amused disbelief in Ashat’s voice.
The tension was back inside him. The only way that would be possible was if witchcraft was involved. They had heard the legends of the tribe across the sea, of the magical powers they possessed. They were said to draw their power from the moon and its subject spirits. The twin spirits Loskeha who brought good fortune and Tawiscara who brought bad things and suffering. It was legend that they would transform into wolves as tall as horses and heavier than two bears put together when the moon was full. They would then howl at the moon god and its spirits in praise of their power. No tribe had dared to go against them in fear of their powers.
“What do they want with us?” Ashat looked out into the forest, careful to spot one of them. It unsettled him even more when the sun abandoned them, leaving them at the mercy of the moon and her children.
What had they done wrong to deserve this?
“When we see them, we’ll ask.” Zoha answered, his grasp on his machete tightening.
There was a loud scream behind them, followed by loud growls. It didn’t take a second longer before they all ran back to the village. When they got to the opening, they spotted four big wolves rampaging through their homes killing all that they came across.
Ashat ran towards his home, towards his family willing them to be alive and well. He rushed into it, looking around it for his son and wife. He choked on what he saw.
At the far corner, two figures lay perfectly still, red liquid surrounding them.
Ashat’s heart slammed into his chest as he stayed fixated on the two bloody bodies lying parallel to each other. He moved forward pleading with the spirits that it wasn’t them. He stopped dead when he saw the pregnant body, her hand over her son.
“No!” The anguished denial escaped Ashat’s lips. He dropped to his knees, his eyes fixed on the reality before him. A pain worse than anything he’d ever felt cut through him.
His wife was dead. His son was dead.
Their bodies were ravaged, ripped apart by what looked like huge claws. Ashat moved closer, trying desperately to convince himself it wasn’t them. He reached for her, turning her head towards him. Her face was red, her eyes blood shot and scared. She had one hand over her belly the other on Kiowa. He was blue with only three cuts running over his torso. She had tried to protect them against the creature that did this to them.
Ashat pulled her body into his arms then reached out and dragged Kiowa’s body on to his lap. He held them close, rubbing them in an effort to warm their cold bodies. He kissed Rosa’s face- her cheeks, her eyes, her forehead, her lips, expecting her to kiss him back but there was nothing, her body remained limp in his arms.
“No, please no! Come back to me Rosa! Kiowa do as your father says and wake up!”
Unimaginable agony tore through Ashat. He let his family die. His job was to protect them and he couldn’t do it.
Ashat held them tighter in his grip willing himself to die with them.
“What a lovely sight.”
Ashat jumped in response to the voice. He didn’t need to turn to know who said that, but he was supposed to be dead.
“Hallo Ashat. Unlike your family I’m very much alive.” He moved in front of Ashat, he looked down at him with a sadistic smile. He brushed his hair back. He looked stronger, bigger like something inside him had changed. He flexed, and then twirled around to give Ashat a full view of himself. “You’ve got to love the wolf people.” He laughed.
Ashat sat there, too anguished to even care about what he wanted. But that didn’t stop him from talking.
“I came back for Rosa, but she was carrying your child and already bore you a bastard. As much as it would have been pleasing to take her away from you, I didn’t want your left over’s so killing her and your child seemed like a better option. Judging by the anguish you’re in currently, it was the best choice.”
The pain Ashat was in was too much for him to react. The only thing he hoped for was that he would kill him too.
“Your family hunted me down like an animal and tried to kill me. It’s only fair that I return the favor.”
“Stop talking Baku and just kill me. That’s what you want, so be done with it!”
Baku moved forward and raised his hand high above Ashat, an angry growl filling the space they were in. Ashat didn’t care how Baku would do it, as long as he died, he didn’t care. Ashat pressed his head on Rosa’s cheek, glad that he was about to join them.
Baku chuckled then took a step back. Ashat raised his head, angered by the delay. “What are you waiting for?”
“The best revenge would be for me to leave you all alone in this world. That kind of pain would satisfy me more than killing you.”
“Baku, do not taunt me! You know you want to. You want to watch me die, to be rid of me once and for all!”
“I will watch you die, just not by my hand and not today. I will watch you die a slow death of loneliness and guilt. The pain of losing all the people you love will do the job for me. I will enjoy watching you decay away for the rest of your life!” He walked away and out of the hut.
Ashat wanted to go after him, but he didn’t want to let go of Rosa and Kiowa. “Baku, come back here!” He shouted at the top of his voice, hoping Baku would hear him.
“Good bye Ashat. Remember, I’ll be watching you. Your slow death is something I will relish watching.”
Ashat wanted to die, he needed to die. The pain was too much and he couldn’t stand it. “Please kill me, kill me now!” He begged Baku, anyone to free him from this torment and pain, but no one came to his rescue. He sat there, holding his wife and his son, waiting for his heart to stop beating.
Ashat wanted to kill himself but he wouldn’t make it quick. He was going to die a slow painful death. He saw it as his punishment for not protecting his family, a punishment that he deserved and would bare for the rest of his life.
He lay next to his son and wife day after day, not bothering to move for anything. He starved himself, hoping to quicken his death. He grew thin and weak, and when he finally thought he would die, a blurry figure approached him.
Ashat tried to push himself up on his elbow but it was useless. He didn’t even have the strength to move his fingers.
The figure crouched over him and bent down to reach his ear. “You will make right the wrong we have done. This is your new fate.”
And then the figure drove a knife through Ashat’s heart as he chanted vigorously.
Ashat smiled, glad someone had come to answer his prayer. But his relief was short lived when sharp pains attacked his entire body. His eyes flew open and a piercing scream escaped his lips masking the sound of breaking bones.
*The End*
Follow Ashat’s story in Fate Reborn