CHAPTERXIII
THEKISSOFQUILLA
HerwomenboreQuillaswooningfromthatill—fatedfield,andsickandsadsheremaineduntiloncemorewesawtheCityoftheChancas。Yetallthiswhilestrengthandsightwerereturningtohereyes,sothatintheendshecouldseeaswellasevershehaddone,forwhichI
thankedHeaven。
Messengershadgonebeforeus,sothatwhenwedrewnearallthepeopleoftheChancascameouttomeetus,amightymultitude,whospreadflowersbeforeusandsangsongsofjoy。OnthesameeveningI
wassummonedbyHuarachaandfoundhimdying。ThereinthepresenceofhischiefcaptainsQuillaandItoldhimallourstory,towhichhelistened,answeringnothing。Whenitwasfinishedhesaid:
\"Ithankyou,Lord—from—the—Sea,whothroughgreatperilshavesavedmydaughterandbroughtherhometobidfarewelltome,untarnishedasshewent。IunderstandnowthatitwasanevilpolicywhichledmetopromiseherinmarriagetotheprinceUrco。ThroughyourvalourithascometonaughtandIamglad。Greatdangersstilllieaheadofyouandofmypeople。Dealwiththemasyouwillandcan,forhenceforward,Lord—from—the—Sea,theyareyourpeople,yoursandmydaughter\'stogether,sinceitismydesireandcommandthatyoutwoshouldwedsosoonasIamlaidwithmyfathers。PerchanceithadbeenbetterifyouhadslaintheIncawhenhewasinyourhand,butmangoeswherehisspiritleadshim。Myblessingandtheblessingofmygodsbeonyoubothandonyourchildren。Leaveme,forIcansaynomore。\"
ThatnightKingHuarachadied。
ThreedayslaterhewasburiedwithgreatpompbeneaththeflooroftheTempleoftheMoon,notbeingpreservedandkeptabovegroundafterthefashionoftheIncas。
Onthelastdayofthemourningacouncilwassummonedofallthegreatonesinthecountrytothenumberofseveralhundreds,towhichIwasbidden。ThiswasdoneinthenameofQuilla,whowasnownamedbyatitlewhichmeant,\"HighLady,\"or\"Queen。\"Iwenttoiteagerlyenoughwhohadseennothingofhersincethatnightofherfather\'sdeath,for,accordingtothecustomofthispeople,shehadspentthetimeofmourningalonewithherwomen。
TomysurpriseIwasledbyanofficer,notintothegreathallwhereIknewthenotableswereassembling,buttothatsamelittlechamberwherefirstIhadtalkedwithHuaracha,Quilla\'sfather。Heretheofficerleftmewondering。PresentlyIheardasoundandlookingup,sawQuillaherselfstandingbetweenthecurtains,liketoapictureinitsframe。Shewasroyallyarrayedandworeuponherbrowandbreasttheemblemofthemoon,sothatsheseemedtoglitterinthatduskyplace,thoughnothingabouthershonewithsuchalightasdidherlargeanddoe—likeeyes。
\"Greeting,myLord,\"shesaidinhersoftvoice,curtseyingtomeasshespoke。\"HasmyLordaughttosaytome？Ifso,itmustbequick,sincetheGreatCouncilwaits。\"
NowIgrewfoolishandtongue—tied,butatlengthstammeredout:
\"Nothing,exceptwhatIhavesaidbefore——thatIloveyou。\"
Shesmiledalittleinherslowfashion,thenasked:
\"Istherenaughttoadd？\"
\"Whatcantherebetoaddtolove,Quilla？\"
\"Iknownot,\"sheanswered,stillsmiling。\"Yetinwhatdoestheloveofmanandwomanend？\"
Ishookmyheadandanswered:
\"Inmanythings,allofthemdifferent。Inhellsometimes,andmorerarelyinheaven。\"
\"Andonearthwhichliesbetweenthetwo,shouldthosewholoveescapedeathandseparation？\"
\"Well,onearth——inmarriage。\"
ShelookedatmeagainandthistimeanewlightshoneinhereyeswhichIcouldnotmisinterpret。
\"Doyoumeanthatyouwillmarryme,Quilla？\"Imuttered。
\"Suchwasmyfather\'swish,Lord,butwhatisyours？Oh！havedone,\"
shewentoninachangedvoice。\"Forwhathavewesufferedallthesethingsandgonethroughsuchlongpartingsanddangerssodreadful？
WasitnotthatifFateshouldspareuswemightcometogetheratlast？AndhasnotFatesparedus——forawhile？WhatsaidtheprophecyofmeintheTempleofRimac？WasitnotthattheSunshouldbemyrefugeand——Iforgettherest。\"
\"Irememberit,\"Isaid。\"Thatinthebelovedarmsyoushouldsleepatlast。\"
\"Yes,\"shewenton,thebloodmountingtohercheeks,\"thatinthebelovedarmsIshouldsleepatlast。So,thefirstpartoftheprophecyhascometrue。\"
\"Astherestshallcometrue,\"Ibrokein,awaking,andswepthertomybreast。
\"Areyousure,\"shemurmuredpresently,\"thatyouloveme,awomanwhomyouthinksavage,wellenoughtowedme？\"
\"Aye,morethansure,\"Ianswered。
\"Hearken,Lord。Iknewitalways,butbeingwomanIdesiredtohearitfromyourownlips。Ofthisbecertain:thatthoughIambutwhatI
am,amaiden,wild—heartedanduntaught,nomanshalleverhaveatruerandmorelovingwife。Itismyhope,eventhatmylovewillbesuchthatinitatlastyoumaylearntoforgetthatotherladyfarawaywhooncewasyours,ifonlyforanhour。\"
NowIshrankasfromaswordprick,sincefirstloves,whateverthetaleofthem,asQuillaguessedorNaturetaughther,arenoteasilyforgot,andevenwhentheyaredeadtheirghostswillriseandhauntus。
\"Andmyhope,mostdear,isthatyouwillbemine,notforanhourbutforallourlife\'sdays,\"Ianswered。
\"Aye,\"shesaid,sighing,\"butwhoknowshowmanythesewillbe？
Thereforeletusplucktheflowersbeforetheywither。Ihearsteps。
Thelordscometosummonus。BepleasedtoentertheCouncilatmysideandholdingmebythehand。ThereIhavesomewhattosaytothepeople。TheshadowoftheIncaKari,whomyouspared,stillliescolduponusandthem。\"
BeforeIcouldaskhermeaningthelordsentered,threeofthem,andglancingatuscuriously,saidthatallweregathered。Thentheyturnedandwentbeforeustothegreathallwhereeveryplacewasfilled。Handinhandwemountedthedais,andaswecamealltheaudienceroseandgreeteduswitharoarofwelcome。
Quillaseatedherselfuponathroneandmotionedtometotakemyplaceuponanotherthroneatherside,whichInotedstoodalittlehigherthanthatonwhichshesat,andthis,asIlearnedafterwards,notbychance。Itwasplannedsototellthepeople,oftheChancasthathenceforthIwastheirkingwhileshewasbutmywife。
WhentheshoutinghaddiedawayQuillarosefromherthroneandbegantospeak,whichlikemanyofthehigherclassofthispeopleshecoulddowellenough。
\"LordsandCaptainsoftheChancanation,\"shesaid,\"myfather,thekingHuaracha,beingdead,leavingnolawfulson,Ihavesucceededtohisdignities,andsummonedyouheretotakecounselwithme。
\"First,learnthis,thatI,yourQueenandLady,havebeenchosenaswifebyhimwhositsatmyside。\"
Herethecompanyshoutedagain,thusannouncingthatthistidingspleasedthem。Forthoughbynowonlythecommonpeoplestillbelievedmetobeagodrisenfromthesea,allheldthatIwasagreatgeneralandagreatman,onewhoknewmuchthattheydidnotknow,andwhocouldbothleadandfightbetterthanthebestofthem。Indeed,sinceIhadslainUrcowithmyhandsandovercomeKari,whoasIncawasbelievedtobeclothedwiththestrengthoftheSunandthereforeunconquerable,IwasheldtobeunmatchedthroughoutTavantinsuyu。
Moreover,thearmythathadfoughtundermycommandlovedmeasthoughIweretheirfatheraswellastheirgeneral。Thereforeallgreetedthistidingswellenoughwithoutastonishment,fortheyknewitwastheirdeadking\'swishthatIshouldwedhisdaughterandthattowinherIhadgonethroughmuch。
InanswertotheirshoutingsI,too,rosefrommyseat,anddrawingtheswordWave—Flame,whichIworegirtaboutmydintedarmour,withitIsalutedfirstQuillaandthenthegatherednobles,saying:
\"LordsoftheChancas,whenonanislandinthesea,myeyesfelluponthisladywhoto—dayisyourqueen,IlovedherandsworethatIwouldwedherifImight。Betweenthatdayandthismuchhasbefallen。ShewassnatchedawaytobemadethewifeofUrco,heirtotheIncathrone,andafterwards,toescapehimwhomshehated,shetookrefugeintheHouseoftheIncagod。Then,peopleoftheChancas,camethegreatwarwhichwesharedtogether,andintheendIrescuedherfromthathouseofbondage,andslewUrcowhilehestrovetostealorstabher。Thisdone,IconqueredKaritheInca,whowasasmybrother,yetbecauseIsavedyourladyfromhisgodtheSun,becamemyenemy,andtogethersheandIreturnedtothis,herland。Nowitisherwilltowedme,asithasalwaysbeenminetowedher,andhereinfrontofallofyouItakehertowife,asshetakesmetohusband,hopingthatformanyyearsitmaybegiventoustoruleoveryou,andtoourchildrenafterus。YetIwarnyouthatalthoughinthegreatwarthathasbeen,ifwithmuchloss,wehaveheldourownagainstallthehostsofCuzcoandwonanhonourablepeace,bythismarriageofours,whichrobstheIncagodofoneofathousandbrides,thatpeaceisbroken。Thereforeinthefuture,asinthepast,therewillbewarbetweentheQuichuaandtheChancapeoples。\"
\"Weknowit,\"shoutedthenobles。\"Warisdecreed,letwarcome！\"
\"Whatwouldyouhavehadmedo？\"Iwenton。\"LeaveyourqueentolanguishintheHouseoftheSun,wedtonothingness,orsufferhertobedraggedawaytobeoneofUrco\'swomen,orhandherbacktoKaritobeslainasasacrificetoagodwhomyoudonotaccept？\"
\"Nay！\"theycried。\"Wewouldhaveherwedyou,WhiteLord—from—the—
Sea,thatshemaybecomeamotherofkings。\"
\"SoIthought,Chancas。YetIwarnyouthatthereistroublenear。Thestormgathersandsoonitwillburst,sinceKariisnotonewhobreakshisoaths。\"
\"Whydidyounotkillhimwhenhewasinyourhand,andtakehisthrone？\"askedone。
\"BecauseIcouldnot。BecauseitwouldnothavebeenpleasingtoHeaventhatIshouldslayamanwhoforyearshadbeenasmybrother。
Becauseinthiswayorinthatthedeedwouldhavefallenbackuponmyhead,upontheheadoftheladyQuilla,anduponyourheadsalso,O
peopleoftheChancas,because————\"
Atthismomenttherewasdisturbanceattheendofthehall,andaheraldcried:
\"Anembassy！AnembassyfromKari,theInca。\"
\"Letitbeadmitted,\"saidQuilla。
Presentlyupthecentralpassagemarchedtheembassywithpomp,greatlordsand\"earmen,\"everymanofthem,andbowedbeforeus。
\"Yourwords？\"saidQuillaquietly。
\"Theyarethese,Lady,\"answeredthespokesmanoftheparty。\"ForthelasttimetheIncademandsthatyoushouldsurrenderyourselftobesacrificedasonewhohasbetrayedtheSun。HeasksitofyousincehehaslearnedthatyourfatherHuarachaisnomore。\"
\"AndifIrefusetosurrendermyself,whatthen,OAmbassador？\"
\"TheninthenameoftheEmpireandinhisownnametheIncadeclareswaruponyou,wartotheend,untilnotoneofChancabloodisleftlivingbeneaththesunandnotonestonemarkswhereyourcitystood。
Itmaybethatawhilewillpassbeforethisswordofwarfallsuponyourhead,sincetheIncamustgatherhisarmiesandgiveabreathingspacetohispeoplesafterallthetroublesthathavebeen。Yetifnotthisyear,thennextyear,andifnotnextyear,thentheyearafter,thatswordshallfall。\"
Quillalistenedandturnedpale,thoughmore,Ithink,withwraththanfear。Thenshesaid:
\"Youhaveheard,Chancas,andknowhowstandsthiscase。IfI
surrendermyselftobesacrificed,theIncainhismercywillspareyou;ifIdonotsurrendermyself,soonorlatehewilldestroyyou——
ifhecan。Say,then,shallIsurrendermyself？\"
Noweverymaninthatgreathallleaptupandfromeverythroattherearoseashoutof\"Never！\"
Whenithaddiedawayanagedchiefandcouncillor,anuncleofHuaracha,thedeadKing,cameforwardandstaredattheenvoyswithhishornyeyes。
\"GobacktotheInca,\"hesaid,\"andtellhimthatthethreatsofthemouthareonethingandthedeedsofthehandareanother。Inthelatewarthathasbeenhehaslearnedsomethingofourquality,bothasfoesandfriends,andperchancemoreremainsforhimtolearn。Yonderisone\"——andhepointedtomyself——\"whoisabouttobecomeourKingandthehusbandofourQueen。BythehelpofthatoneandofsomeofustheIncawonhisthrone。Fromthemercyofthatone,also,butalittlewhileagotheIncawonhislife。Lethimbecarefullestthroughthemightofthatone,behindwhomstandseveryChancathatbreathes,theIncaKariUpanquishouldyetloseboththroneandlife,andwiththemtheancientempireoftheSun。Thussayweall。\"
\"Thussayweall！\"repeatedthegreatcompanywitharoarthatshookthewalls。
InthesilencethatfollowedQuillaasked:
\"Haveyouaughttoadd,OAmbassadors？\"
\"Ay,this,\"saidthefirstofthem。
\"TheChancatreeisabouttobecutdown,buttheIncastilloffersarefugetotheLionthathidesamongitsbranchesbecausehehaslovedthatLionfromofold。LettheWhiteLord—from—the—Seaoverwhomyouhavecastthenetofyourwitcheriesreturnwithusandheshallbesavedandgivenplaceandpower,andwiththemabrother\'slove。\"
NowQuillalookedatme,andIrosetospeakbutcouldnot,sinceallthatcamefrommylipswaslaughter。AtlengthIsaid:
\"ButtheotherdaywhenIgavehimhislife,theIncanamedmenoble。
WhatwouldhethinkofmeifIsaidyestothisoffer？WouldhecallmenoblethenandtheLionthatdwellsintheChancatree？Or,whateverhislipsmightspeak,wouldnothisheartnamemethebasestofslavesandnolionofthetree,butratherasnakethatcreepsatitsroots？Getyougone,mylords,andsaythathereIbidehappywithherwhomIhavewon,andthattheancientswordWave—Flame,onwhichKarihaslookedoflate,isstillsharpandthearmthatwieldsitisstillstrong,andthathewilldowellnowthatithasservedhisturn,tolookonitnomore,\"andagainIdrewthegreatbladeandflasheditbeforetheireyesthereinthatduskyhall。
Then,bowingcourteously,foreverymanofthemknewmeandsomeofthemlovedmewell,theyturnedandwent。ThatwasthelastthateverI,HubertofHastings,sawofnoblesoftheIncablood,thoughperchance,erelong,Ishallmeetthemagaininwar。
\"Letthembeescortedsafelyfromthecity,\"commandedQuilla,andsoldierswenttodoherbidding。
Whentheyhadgonesheissuedanotherorder,thatthedoorshouldbeclosedandwatchmensetaboutthehall,sothatnonecouldapproachitunseen。Thenafterapausesheroseandspoke:
\"MyLord,\"shesaid,\"whosoon,asItrust,willbemyhusbandandmyking,andyou,thechosenofmypeople,hearkentomeforIhaveamattertolaybeforeyou。YouhaveheardtheInca\'smessageandyouknowthathiswordsarenotvain。Hewhoisgreatinmanyways,inoneissmallandnarrow。Hesetshisgodbeforehishonour,andtosatisfyhisgod,whomhethinksthatIhaveoutraged,ispreparedtosacrificehishonour,andeventokillonetowhomheowesall,\"andshetouchedmewithherhand。\"Moreover,thesethingshecando,notatoncebutintimetocome,becauseforeverymanofoursheisabletogatherten。Thereforewestandthus;deathanddestructionstareusintheface。\"
Shepaused,andthatoldchiefofwhomIhavespoken,askedinthemidstofasilence,asIthinkwasplannedthatheshouldask:
\"Youhavesetourteethinthebitterrindoftruth。Istherenosweetfruitwithin？Canyounotshowusawayofescape,OQuilla,DaughteroftheMoon,whoseheartisfedwiththewisdomoftheMoon？\"
\"IbelievethatIcanshowyousuchaway,\"sheanswered。\"Youknowthelegendofourpeople——thatintheolddays,athousandyearsago——
wecametothiscountryoutoftheforests。
\"Youknow,too,thelegendtellsthatoncefaraway,beyondtheforest,therewasamightyempireofwhichthekingsatinaCityofGoldhiddenwithinaringofmountains。Thatking,itissaid,hadtwosons,andwhenhediedthesesonsmadewaruponeachother,andoneofthem,myforefather,wasdefeatedanddrivenawayintotheforestsbythosewhoclungtohim。Byboatshedescendedtheriverthatrunsthroughtheforest,andatlengthwiththosewhoremainedtohimcametothislandandthereoncemoregrewtobeaking。Isitnotso？\"
\"Itisso,\"answeredtheagedchief。\"Thetalehascomedowntomethroughtengenerations,andwithittheprophecythatinadaytocometheChancaswouldreturntothatCityofGoldwhencetheycameandbewelcomedofitspeople。\"
\"Ihaveheardthatprophecy,\"saidQuilla。\"Moreover,ofitIhavesomethingtotellyou。WhileIsatindespairandblindnessintheConventoftheSunatCuzcoitcameintomymindandIbroodeduponitmuch,whowasalwayssurethatthewarbetweentheChancasandthearmiesoftheIncaswasbutbegun。InmydarknessIprayedtomyMother,theMoon,forlightandhelp。LongandoftenIprayed,andatlengthananswercame。OnenighttheSpiritoftheMoonappearedtomysoulasabeautifulandshininggoddess,andspoketome。
\"\'Bebrave,Daughter,\'shesaid,\'forallthatseemstobelostshallyetbefoundagain,andthelightofacertainflashingswordshallpiercetheblacknessandgivebackvisiontoyoureyes。\'This,indeed,happened,mypeople,sinceitwaswhentheswordofmyLordsavedmefromdeathatthehandsofUrcothatthefirstgleamoflightreturnedtomydarkenedeyes。
\"\'Benotafraid,moreover,fortheChildrenoftheChancaswhobowtome,\'wentontheshiningSpiritoftheMoon,\'sinceinthedayoftheirdangerIwillshowthemapathtowardsmyplaceofrestinginthewest。Yea,Iwillleadthemfarfromwarsandtyranniesbacktothatancientcitywhencetheycame,andtheretheyshallsleepinpeacetillallthingsareaccomplished。Moreover,youshallbetheirrulerduringyourappointeddays,youandanotherwhomIledtoyououtofthedeepsoftheseaandshowedtoyousleepinginmybeams。\'
\"ThusthatSpiritspoketome,Councillors,thoughatthetimeIdidnotknowwhetherthevisionweremorethanahappydream。ButnowIdoknowthatitwasnodream,butthetruth。
\"FordidnotmysightbegintoreturntomeintheflashingoftheswordthatisnamedFlame—of—the—Wave？Andifthisweretrue,whyshouldnottherestbetruealso？PeopleoftheChancas,IamyourQueento—dayandmycounseltoyouisthatwefleefromthislandbeforetheInca\'snetclosesroundusandtheInca\'sspearspierceourheart,toseekourancienthomefarinthedepthsofthewesternforestwhere,asItrust,hisarmiescannotcome。Isthatyourwill,O
myPeople？Ifso,bythetonguesofyourLordsandCaptainsdeclareithereandnowbeforeitbetoolate。\"
Backthunderedtheanswer:
\"Itisourwill,ODaughteroftheMoon！\"
WhenitsechoeshaddiedawayQuillaturnedtome,lovelytolookonastheeveningstarandwitheyesthatshonelikestars,andasked:
\"Isityourwillalso,OLord—from—the—Sea？\"
\"Yourwillismywill,Quilla,\"Ianswered,\"andyourheartismyhome。Leadon;whereyougoIfollow,eventotheedgeoftheworldandbeyondtheworld。\"
\"Sobeit！\"shecriedinatriumphantvoice。\"Nowtheevilpastisfinishedwithitsfearsandbattlesandbeforeourfeet,litbymoonbeams,stretchestheFuture\'sshiningroadleadingustothemysteryinwhichallroadsbeginandforanhourarelostagain。Now,too,ourseparationsendinaperfectunitythatperchancewehaveknownbeforeandshallknowagaininagestobebornandlandsrevisited。Now,Lord—from—the—Sea,atwhosecomingmysleepingheartawoketoloveandwhoseswordsavedmefromshameanddeath,givingmebacktolifeandlight,here,beforethiscompanyofourpeople,I,theDaughteroftheMoon,defyingtheSunwhoheldmecaptive,andallhisservants,takeyoutohusbandwiththiskiss,\"andleaningforwardQuillapressedherlipsuponmyown……
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Editor。
