Her

Three months ago, the seed of a love that would bring about a conflict amongst friends was planted, unbeknownst to its planter. Stanillo could not have possibly anticipated falling for a woman at his age, despite him only being twelve years younger than Illya. At the age of twenty-seven, he had experienced many things in life. However, he had little to no experience of love, and when the feeling came to him, he was uncertain of what to do.

On that fateful day, Stanillo came across the young lady, Coria, who was in tears because of what the Younger Illya had said to her. Stanillo recalled asking the young lady what was wrong, but she refused to confide her truth to him. After all, she considered him to be one of the Younger Illya’s confidants, and he must also have been involved in this foul joke being played on her. She screamed at him, telling him to get away from her. She grabbed onto his coat, pushing him back and forth, trying to make sense of what had occurred to her.

Coria began to cry hysterically, as she eventually weakened her grip of his coat. Stanillo pleaded with her, saying to not treat him like this. He told her that he had come to her aid, after seeing her fall and crying on her knees, and the Younger Illya, who walked past her, made no attempt to comfort her. He could not ever imagine the Younger Illya leaving her in such a state, so he took it upon himself to learn of what had occurred between them.

“If you require my help, young lady, ask away,” the Younger Stanillo said, “Tell me, young lady, what has occurred between you and the boy? Trust me, I will help you.” When she heard his words of comfort, she embraced the Younger Stanillo tightly. “The truth is,” Coria sniveled, “that he used me for his passions. He never had the intention of marrying me, but what hurts me the most is that he did not acknowledge our child. How could he not acknowledge that child? It is our child, the child we both conceived with so much love…”

“I cannot justify his actions,” Stanillo said, “but I find it hard to believe.”

“It is only natural you to take his word over mine,” Coria said, “After all, he is your friend.”

“Do not misinterpret me, young lady,” Stanillo said, “I am not diminishing your credibility, it is just that I find it hard to believe that he would say that. To me, he appeared to be infatuated with you, and for him to come out and say this to you, it is just unbelievable.”

“Believable or not,” Coria said, “It happened.”

“I do not intend to defend him, but I do not wish to leave you behind,” Stanillo said, “Especially when I have learned of you carrying a child. The child of the Younger Illya and grandson of the Elder Illya nonetheless, despite them not acknowledging the child’s status in their household. I will acknowledge this child of yours, and it is for this reason that I ask you to take my hand and come with me.”

For a moment, Coria thought about it, thinking if she could trust him or not. She quit weeping, looking up at Stanillo. His blue eyes were glamorous. When she looked into those eyes, she saw the calm sky on a clear sunny day, knowing everything would be okay. At that moment, he took away her fears. Eventually, she came to a decision, saying, “I accept your help, but I can only hope you are true to your word. What is your name?”

“My name,” Stanillo said, “is Stanillo. You have no reason to worry, young lady, I am a man of my word.” Coria took the man’s hand, she asked him to guide her out of the village. She wished to not be seen or murmured about amongst the villagers. The Younger Stanillo understood, and told her that he would have her live on his estate in the countryside, where she would find nobody to hassle her.

The pair began to set out for the estate on horseback, since the Younger Stanillo had the obligation of attending the banquet. On the way to the estate, Coria began to tell the Younger Stanillo of her origins. To begin, Coria admitted to being the illegitimate daughter of the former chieftain of Nori, Abbula. She and her sister were one of the many illegitimate children of Abbula, who desired to have many children to carry on his will. Her mother was a courtesan, a well-educated one at that.

Her mother was one of the many women involved with Abbula, who had a habit of seeking out women with great intellectual capability. The name of this woman was, Uesuca, a woman who was descended from the initial settlers of the Nori. Uesuca had a taste for the fine arts, and to her, Abbula, was a means to satisfy her curiosity about the world. In Abbula, she found wealth and power.

Eventually, Abbula began to favor Uescua over his wife, to the point he began to arrange a divorce with his wife to marry Uescua, who by now had provided him with a daughter. Manta, the wife of Abbula, would not accept such an outcome, and so she ordered the assassination of Uesuca. For three years and a half, her plots to assassinate the courtesan failed miserably.

In this time, Uesuca gave birth to another daughter, and this began to alarm Manta. Uesuca was proving to not only be her rival in love, but also in youth. Uesuca was ten years younger than Manta, who was unable to have more children after the birth of her third son. Eventually, Manta was able to gain the support of her sons by plotting to assassinate the young Uesuca, who they considered a threat to their own power.

If she were to birth a son, Uescua’s children would prove to be a threat to them. On a fateful night, Uescua was putting her lovely daughters to sleep, like any other normal day. She had dismissed the men who Abbula had assigned to defend her throughout the day. The men were hesitant to do so, but Uescua was so kind and beautiful, it was difficult to resist her commands. The sons of Manta got word of this, and they took the opportunity to make their move against their father’s mistress.

As soon as it reached midnight, the sons of Abbula made their way to Uescua’s home. When they confirmed nobody was around, they broke into the home. The eldest brother had his younger brother take the valuables within the household. The second eldest was to kill the daughters, and the elder brother was to kill Uescua to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Luckily, the second eldest of the sons of Abbula, had a conscious, and he could not bring himself to kill his own flesh and blood, for the sake of his mother and brothers.

He awoke the girls, telling them to run away as far as they could. Coria recognized him to be, Argiotalus, her brother. Argiotalus had no time to talk, and so he quickly grabbed his sisters, throwing Boudiaca out the window first. Before he could throw Coria out of the window, he pleaded for her, to forgive him for what was about to happen. He wished to prevent the madness that was to take place, and hopefully, one day she would be able to forgive him.

He gave her a kiss, saying to her, that he could never hate them. Soon after, the shrieks of Uescua were heard, as the elder brother of Argiotalus began to slaughter her, like a pig. Immediately, Argiotalus pushed his sister out of the window, yelling at her, to take Boudiaca and run away to the town hall. The girls did as they were told, but just as he had finished saving his sisters, he was met with the gaze of his younger brother.

The younger brother attempted to go after the girls, but Argiotalus tackled him onto the ground before he could get closer. Bannus, the elder brother, noticed the commotion, and he quickly finished cleaning the blood out of his blade. To his surprise, he found his younger brothers fighting one another. Argiotalus, noticing Bannus’ presence, quickly broke away from his younger brother, declaring that they would have to kill him if they wanted to lay a hand against their sisters.

Bannus found this laughable, saying to his younger brother, if Argiotalus had lost his mind. However, Argiotalus was serious, and he challenged his brothers to fight him, if they were willing to kill one of their own. Bannus chuckled, saying it would not be hard, considering Argiotalus was a traitor to him now! Corius, the younger brother, alas spoke up, saying that he would not allow them to kill each other. Bannus dared him to stop him, but Corius insisted that it was not the time for this, and it was best to leave before their father’s guards return. Begrudgingly, Bannus accepted his younger brother’s request, saying he was right.

The three men left the house of Uescua, having finished what they had come to do. The daughters of Uescua quickly tried to make their way to the town hall, but Boudiaca twisted her ankle on the way to it, forcing them to find a hiding spot instead. It did not take long for the bloody corpse of Uescua to be found, and when word got out to the chieftain, he was furious and demanded an investigation on the murder of his lover, and a thorough search for his daughters, who were not found neither alive nor dead at the scene.

Eventually, Abbula found his two daughters at the town hall. He could not help, but cry at the sight of them, believing he had failed them as a father by not being there for their mother. The girls did not take the news of their mother’s death well, and so Abbula embraced his daughters for a hug, trying to comfort them. He promised to keep them safe and to give their mother a funeral deserving of her character.

The assassination of Uescua did not halt the divorce between Abbula and Manta. On the contrary, he was much more eager to divorce her, finding himself unavailable romantically, for any women. The funeral for Uescua was the most luxurious and spectacular anybody of the Nori had seen, and Abbula did not hide his love and admiration for the deceased women. The only son of Manta that attended the funeral was Agriotalus, who felt remorseful for what had occurred.

Eventually, Abbula learned the truth from Agriotalus, who could not help but feel guilty of his participation in Uescua’s assassination. Abbula could not be angry at Agriotalus. However, he stripped his brothers of their status and their wealth. Furthermore, Abbula had the priests fasten the divorce process. In the end, he confiscated all of Manta’s possessions and exiled her to the outskirts of the village, forbidding anybody to accompany or speak to her.

Abbula may not have been the perfect father, but he was a great man that made time to spend with his children. He never remarried again, and he remained single until his death at the hands of Illya Muromets. In his later years, he grew to be an unpleasant and resentful man. Abbula became infatuated with the war against Belomas, finding the battlefield to be the only place that he could find peace in. In a way, Abbula’s grief led to his demise at the hands of Belomas, who Coria had to admit that she had no hatred for.

Having finished her story, the Younger Stanillo slightly teared up. He pitied the girl, who had a tragic childhood. Learning the truth of Abbula, the Younger Stanillo began to grow respect for his former enemy. “Did my story make you tear up,” Coria asked. Biting onto his lips, trying to hold back his tears, Stanillo said, “No, it is just raining. That is all.” In response, Coria chuckled, saying, “Raining, you say? Perhaps, it is.”

The first few weeks of living together, the Younger Stanillo did not have the time to be around the young Coria, who tended to pass the time feeding the horses and chickens at the estate. Oftentimes, the Younger Stanillo spent most of his time shut in at the Furia, where he handled the ongoing foreign and domestic affairs. The Furia was a building at Belomas used for political meetings between the village chief and their close confidants. Currently, the Younger Stanillo serves as the temporary chief for Belomas, due to the current chief of the village being on campaign. The Younger Illya was nowhere to be found. Therefore, it made him the only one capable of holding the position until the chief returned from Ugrica.

The close confidants of the Younger Stanillo were Mirad, Bay, Malko, and Mirofa. Mirad served as his right-hand man, helping him to manage Belomas and enforce the laws within the village. Bay was an experienced warrior that had the qualifications to be given command of an army, and so the Younger Stanillo ultimately named him commander of the forces at Rostov. Stanillo was well aware of the fact that he was not fit to lead an army, considering that was not the role he played at Belomas.

The Younger Stanillo was the richest man in Belomas, and he was the primary patron for the campaigns of the Elder Illya. Initially, he provided the funding for the campaigns, because he saw it as an opportunity to expand the village. In turn, he viewed this as an opportunity for economic prosperity for Belomas that would double his wealth. Oftentimes, the Younger Stanillo served as a diplomat and advisor for the Elder Illya. He hardly took part in battles, due to his value being in his speech, versus his ability with the sword.

He had only taken part in the expedition with Yarik and the Younger Illya to serve as Yarik’s advisor. Yarik was the one tasked with the command of the forces at the camp by the Elder Illya, but when he died against the Nori in their first encounter that night, his command was given to the Younger Stanillo, because he was the only one capable of picking up the responsibility from his predecessor.

Mirofa served as his advisor, in regard to handling judicial matters with private citizens, who made petitions against their fellow citizens for one thing or another. In addition to this, she helped in keeping track of not only Belomas’ finances, but also the economic production of the territories abroad. Malko the Coward, was tasked with the defense of the village, but also tasked with the recruitment and training of new warriors, to provide the commanders at Ugrica and Rostov with. Recruits whose training was complete were brought to Mirofa, who in turn informed the Younger Stanillo. Oftentimes, the Younger Stanillo kept them guarding the village, until the need arose for their presence abroad.

All of this work was draining for the Younger Stanillo. Eventually, he found himself taking refuge at his estate throughout the day. In a way, he needed to find a way to relieve himself from the workload. Unexpectedly, the young Coria was always there to greet him, inviting him for lunch and dinner. The woman was quite chatty, not how he remembered her back at the camp. Although, he had to admit that he interacted little with the young dame, back at the camp.

For the first time, he got to see what the young Coria was like. Truly, I say to you, she was a caring, beautiful young lady. Every meal that he had the opportunity to share with the young lady helped make his days easier. After all, it had been years since the Younger Stanillo had shared a meal with another person at his estate, since the death of his father. At a young age, the Younger Stanillo inherited his father’s wealth and power. The Elder Stanillo had perished fifteen years prior against the Nori.

The Elder Stanillo was a different kind of man. He was a true warrior, who once held the chiefdom of Belomas. If it had not been for his father’s untimely death, the successor to the Elder Stanillo would have been his son, the Younger Stanillo. The Elder Stanillo had one son and four daughters, who were born to the same women. The wife of the Elder Stanillo, Alasa the Younger, died during the childbirth of her fourth daughter.

Albeit, the household of Stanillo owed their wealth to their ancestors, who were one of the founders of Belomas. It was tradition in Belomas, to give the first male child the name of their father, whether he was the biological parent or not. Oftentimes, men marry widowed women with children, who they were by law obligated to adopt the child of the widowed woman and grant them their name, if they did not have a son of their own at the time. By law, the adopted children were equals to the biological children of their fathers or mothers, meaning they had the right to contest for inheritance claims and uphold their social standing as legitimate.

Belomas was not ruled through bloodlines; instead, village chiefs adopted the practice of adopting promising young men as their sons, if they were unable to provide a suitable heir to Belomas. The village chief at the end of his life had the obligation to set up a suitable successor, especially if his biological children were not suitable for the role. Reasons varied from mental incompetence, disability, terminal illness, or immaturity. The chiefdom was an important position at Belomas, because the chiefdom possessed de facto and de jure powers within Belomas. A capable successor was necessary, considering that the powers of chief were far too great to be put in the hands of an incompetent man. 

Overtime, the young Coria began to reawaken the possibility of settling down for the Younger Stanillo. In his early years, he had success with the women of his day, but not once did he view any of them suitable to be his wife. Each woman he had come across prior, lacked the necessary qualities needed to be his wife. They either lacked the understanding of his duties to Belomas, or they never awakened a strong desire within him. In addition to this, his duties had long made him dismiss the idea of marriage. To him, love was not in the cards, for him. He found himself trying to advance his public life, along with furthering the power of his friend, the Elder Illya.

The young Coria became the first woman to keep his mind away from work, finding himself infatuated with her. She reawakened the possibility of love for him, and perhaps the possibility of providing an heir, to continue the legacy of the Household of Stanillo. For the first time in his life, he engaged a woman in conversation with the intention of winning her heart over. To him, there was something hypnotizing about Coria. Every movement she made captivated him. Each word she spoke was fascinating, finding himself entertained in every conversation the two had together. In other words, he was under her spell and unable to look away.

Eventually, he began to call her his ‘love’ out of habit. Coria was unbothered by this, believing her relationship with the Younger Stanillo to be platonic. At that moment, her heart was preoccupied with another in mind. The Younger Stanillo did not fail to notice this, but it did not stop him from winning her over. He was truly in love with her. The best part of his days were to come home and share his day with her. At one point, he came close to kissing her, when he could not hold his feelings back no longer.

She pulled away from him, but not once did she show disdain towards him. Coria valued the Younger Stanillo’s company and his friendship deeply, and she desired to maintain the connection between themselves. The young lady found it only natural for him to feel that way, but she did not find herself ready to be involved with another person romantically. It troubled him, knowing he was not good enough for her. Knowing she did not want him nor valued him enough to be her partner, hurt the Younger Stanillo, a bit.