Death of Karmen

Argus’s heart stopped for a second. He guessed what could have happened. Both of them ran down the stairs towards the place where the shrieking was coming from. It was from the great hall.

Karmen laid sprawled on the floor with a knife plunged into his chest. Blood was spilling from the wounds of his chest. Platters of food laid scattered everywhere. It seemed there had been a fight, a hustle maybe. Selene dropped down on the floor beside her father’s body and cried. A blood-chilling cry of a heartbroken daughter. He was her everything. She threw herself upon his chest and sobbed. His body was cold, lifeless and his eyes were full of horror. Of course, when sons betray their fathers, they die not from the stab of a knife but from the horror of betrayal.

‘ Who could have done something so heinous like this?’, she cried in anger. Her eyes blazed fire and her hair was flying everywhere. ‘ Who saw it first?’

A girl came forward from the crowd of servants and people. She was shivering in fear. ‘ When I came to arrange the dishes of food and to call out our guests, I saw him lying here already dead. I cried in fear’.

No one had seen the murderer. None but Argus knew what had happened. He knelt down beside Selene and took hold of her.  She buried her head on his chest and broke down into a rush of fresh tears.

‘ Selene, you have to strong at this moment. Your father has died and you to find who did this. You have to take revenge for your father’s death’, Argus consoled her. He caressed her hair with his hand and tried to stop her tears.

‘Selene. Look at the knife’, he whispered softly into her hair, ‘ can you recognize it?’

Selene slowly pulled back to look into his eyes. Her black eyes were full of pain and shock. Argus knew what she was going through. Losing a parent was itself the worst punishment meted out by Zeus, and losing both parents is like the suffering at Hades.  She looked towards the knife which was still in her father’s chest.

It was Makhaira. A small knife, double-edged, specially built for forcefully cutting and thrusting in. the hilt was ruby-encrusted with a curving snake sculpted upon it. The eyes of the snake were blue sapphires and the forked tongue was just like its owner. A snake in man’s clothing.

‘ This is Karseus’ makhaira’, Selene said softly. ‘Father gifted him when he became fifteen. He always carries it with him.’

Slowly realization dawned upon her. Her hands started to tremble. She understood everything. The murderer was from inside the castle. Always been inside. Always been one of them. Her own blood. Her brother.

‘How could he kill him? His own father?’, she looked imploring at Argus. Tears were streaking silently down her eyes, upon her cheeks onto her lap. Her face was contorted with pain. The death of her father and the betrayal of her brother was too much to handle for her.

‘ We have to find him’, Argus said with a mark of determination. ‘ Then we will ask why he did that.’

Selene nodded. People all around her were sobbing silently. The whole village outside had stood transfixed. No voices could be heard. No laughter of children. No chattering of ladies. The news has already spread. The sudden demise of their king has made everyone bewildered and traumatized. Karmen was a benevolent ruler who provided a good secured life to his tribe. He fought battles, looted rich nobles, and donated everything for the welfare of his people. Now his death brought confusion in their minds regarding their security and future. Who would direct them? Who would lead them?

‘We know why he killed—why he killed his father’, came a voice from the stairs. Fabian was crawling down on fours. He was injured. Blood was splattered on his white chiton. His forehead was bleeding. And there was a deep gash on his right thigh. He was on the verge of losing consciousness.

‘Fabian! Fabian!’, Argus ran towards him. ‘What had happened to you? Who did this? Say something’.

Argus shook him vigorously to let him stay awake. Fabian was crying. A Greek man never cries. Things must have been too distressing and painful.

‘ Argus, I am sorry. Please forgive me’, he whispered in between his sobs.

-‘ Will you tell me what has happened? Why are you begging forgiveness?’

-‘  He came all of a sudden. I was outside her room sitting on a couch. She was sleeping inside. He forced himself in. I tried to stop. We fought.

But there were too many people. I couldn’t do anything. They stabbed me on my thigh and I fell down. Before she could even protest, he hit on her head. She became senseless. Then he picked up her body threw her on his shoulder and went down.’

Fabian took a deep breath. He was trying his best to remain conscious. Argus looked at him in shock. He looked petrified.

‘ Argus, I could hear that Karmen was trying his best to save her. To stop his son from taking her away. They killed him. He fell. They took her away Argus’, saying this Fabian laid on the floor and blacked out.

Argus was transfixed. Blood drained from his face.

‘ Karseus took whom?’, Selene asked.

-‘Cassandra. Karseus took Cassandra’.