Temple Sword

Chapter 126 The Song of Summer
1321th of St. Jacob's Month (July), 7

Eastern Dubica, Slavonia

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Agnes wakes with a start from her nightmare sleep.Her bed was still empty, and even after all this time she hadn't gotten used to not having her husband by her side.

Without Antal's monotonous snoring, the silence seemed too dull, without his embracing arms, the night seemed too cold.

What woke her up that night was not because he was not there, but because she dreamed of smoke and blood, and things more terrible than them...

She didn't go back to sleep, the dream was too disturbing for her.Instead, she threw her cloak over herself and took a short walk around the yard to clear her head.

She walked through the room with light steps, and every corner of the room was covered with thick shadows.Agnes felt as if a pair of dark eyes were watching her every move from behind the shadows, and this ominous feeling prompted her to quicken her steps.

The light in the yard was not much brighter than in the house, the stars were obscured, and the thin edge of the moon gave little light.She sighed deeply, took a breath of the cool night wind, thought about it, and walked towards the north gate.

The city wall is usually guarded by ten soldiers, but now there are only two on the killing hole in the north, and one in the wooden tower in the northwest.Agnes climbed the ladder, and on it saw Captain Varos, with his wife, Bograka, watching the night beside him.

"Ma'am!" jumped up the young woman sitting on the rough planks of the tower, "I'm just..."

"Sit down, Bograka," Agnes smiled softly at her. "There's nothing wrong with you wanting to be with your husband. My bed is empty right now."

"Is there anything we can do for you, ma'am?" Varos asked, "I hope you're all right!"

"Actually, I'd like to speak to your wife, Captain," Agnes admitted. "Will you walk with me, Bograka?"

The woman nodded, and soon they were walking on the dewy grass.Agnes is clearly plagued by nightmares, but she doesn't know where to begin.

All she knew was that she had to talk to someone, and Bograka seemed like the best option, as neither she nor the other maids at the manor were too close or big-mouthed.

And somehow, Agnes had taken a liking to her from the moment she had shown up at the estate with her soldier husband years earlier.

Bograca also sensed Agnes' nervousness, but blamed it on something else entirely.

"I promise I won't doze off during the day," she swore, wringing her hands, "I'm only out for an hour because..."

"It's really not about that," Agnes said, trying to reassure her, "I just... I needed someone to talk to... Before, if I had something on my mind, I'd go to Irene or Aunt Jursa, but since After they died..."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Bograka understood, "I'll listen to you well."

"Thank you for being so kind," Agnes touched her arm, "you know, maybe it sounds stupid, but..."

"Come on, tell me, ma'am! You don't have to be ashamed in front of me." Bograka said with a smile after a little relief.

"I had a dark dream."

"We all have nightmares from time to time, ma'am..."

"No, it's not like that, you don't understand what I mean," Agnes shook her head, then paused, her tone suddenly becoming terribly serious, "Please don't tell anyone about this! Maybe... ...I shouldn't even say it..."

"Ma'am," Bograka looked into her eyes, "you can tell me anything, and I will keep it secret, please believe me!"

"Well," agreed Agnes, "actually, I rarely dream. But when I do dream, it always has some meaning, whether it's a good dream or a bad dream, there's a cause and an effect.

The last time I had a dream was two years ago, and then..." Her voice trailed off, "and then I lost my last fetus. "

Bograka said nothing, but his heart was pounding.

"I don't know if telling you this would be helpful," Agnes continued. "I just know that if I don't share it with someone, it's going to haunt me forever, are you listening?"

"I'm here," Captain Varos' wife replied softly, "tell me your concerns, ma'am!"

Agnes sighed deeply, and her voice was softer than before, for fear of being heard by others.

"In the dream, I saw my husband first," she said bitterly, "and he walked through a thick cloud of black smoke with blood all over his face, clothes and hands.

He was suffering in the smoke, and I felt his pain, so close to my own heart!He has been tortured, but he still can't find his way home. "

"Are you afraid...Are you afraid that Master Antal will never come back? He will be left in the war?"

"I don't know," cried Agnes, "I don't know what it means, I don't want to know! But... the dream was not over. Then I saw my son, lost in the trees.

Yi Lei was wandering in a dense forest, and every time he tried to escape, he would sink deeper and deeper, until finally... I couldn't see him! "

Not knowing what to say, Bograca hugged Agnes quietly and let her cry on her shoulder.

"Come, my lady," she said softly, "it's getting late, I'll take you back to your room. We're on the way to see your son, believe me, he's all right! Come, we go in."

Eli was really fine, he was sleeping soundly, breathing peacefully on the bed.Agnes kissed him lightly on the forehead and walked back to her bedroom.

After she went to bed, Bograka stayed with her for a while, and the young maid sat down in an armchair and began to hum softly.

"Summer is lovely when the birds in the woods are singing their songs.

Under the tree there is a brook, and its voice roars;
Oh blue flower, oh beautiful world, that's all the notes;

Girl and boy on the lap of the valley,
Dancing their brisk dance.

I like winter and summer, cold and warm,

I like snow, and I also like flowers;
A dead warrior is better than a living wretch,
So youth and love make me happy,

Like I fell in love with a softer, kinder woman,
It's like seeing roses on ice and sunshine in dark skies..."

She hummed one song after another, getting quieter until they both drifted off to sleep.

　It ends with a 13th-century song called Ce fut en mai, an Old French chanson (secular song)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)