Chapter XX: The New Friends and New Enemies

Theodore stood bewildered in the midst of the strange scene which now surrounded him, his thoughts all hurried and confused from the fierce strife and imminent peril into which he had been so suddenly hurried. At first, when he had turned to follow the cry of the dogs, he had forgotten--in the eagerness of the noble sport, the primeval pastime of earth's giant sons--that his own attendants were now unaccompanied by the hounds with which he had been accustomed to hunt in the forest near Bleda's dwelling; and, from the moment he had first seen that noble-looking boy, to that in which he rose from the prostrate carcass of the ferocious beast that had so nearly destroyed him, there had been no time for any other thoughts but those connected with the fierce combat in which he was engaged.

Now, however, as he looked round, he divined the whole, well knowing the custom of those barbarian chiefs to pursue the chase as eagerly while marching along with hostile armies as when it served to solace the vacant hours of peace. That he had fallen in with the hunt of Attila he clearly perceived; but who the boy was that he had saved, he could only gather from the fond embrace with which the dark monarch held him in his powerful arms. Fond and tender, no one who saw it could doubt what that embrace really was; and yet scarce any sign of emotion could be discovered on the iron countenance which so often led the slaughter in the fiercest fields of barbarian war.

The boy was talking eagerly and rapidly, and pointing to Theodore as he rose; and the moment after, while the young Roman drew forth his sword from the side of the mighty beast that lay cumbering the earth like a huge gray mound, the king set his son down, and, after resting his broad hand on his head for a moment, strode across the open space and stood by the side of the boy's deliverer.

For an instant his eyes ran over the tremendous limbs of the urus, the broad square head, the tangled mane, from amid the thick coarse hair of which the dark blood was pouring out in streams, and upon the sharp-pointed horns, one of which had burrowed in the earth as he had rolled over in the agonies of death--and then he turned his look upon his boy. The next instant he held out his hand to Theodore, saying, "Thou hast saved my child! Well and truly did yon holy man declare that the safety of myself and of my race depended upon him whom I should first meet as I marched against the Romans; and that the first act of forbearance and mercy which I showed should be followed by benefits that I could never repay. Nor was that all. When you met me on the mountain, young Roman, scarce a week since, that same old man, gazing from the brink of the everlasting, and beholding the future like a valley at his feet, traced out the after life of this my youngest son. He should escape from mighty perils, the prophet said, and be the last who should survive to carry on my race. Has he not now escaped from mighty peril by thine aid? and though it was foredoomed, deep and heartfelt is the gratitude which I owe thee for saving the life of this my boy at the immediate hazard of thine own. Attila thanks thee, and will keep the memory of this deed in his heart. I have called thee my son, oh Theodore, and shalt thou not be unto me a son indeed? Ay, and a well-beloved son too, only next in place to him whom thou hast rescued from untimely death."

"I am still thy debtor, oh Attila," replied Theodore: "once hast thou spared me when I intruded on thy territories; twice hast thou saved my life, knowing me to be a Roman and an enemy; and I have only rescued this fair boy, whom I would have saved as unhesitatingly if he had been the son of the poorest warrior in the Hunnish ranks;" and, as he spoke, he held out his hand towards the youth, who had advanced nearly to his father's side, and who seized it eagerly, and clasped it with a grateful gesture to his heart.

"Let mutual benefits bind us to each other, my son," said Attila. "I loved thee from the moment my eyes lighted upon thee. Whether it was a feeling sent by the gods to tell me that I should owe thee much, I know not; but I loved thee then, and how much more do I love thee now? Thou shalt find that though those, who unjustly oppose the will of Attila, injure his friends, or insult his people, die by the death they merit, yet those who risk their lives in the defence of him or his are not forgotten in the time of gratitude--but come thou with me. We march by slow journeys, that the host may diminish as we cross the land; to-morrow, however, I shall sit once more in mine own seat. Come, then, with me, and spend this night in our camp; to-morrow we will find another place of repose."

Thus saying, the monarch dismounted; a fresh horse was soon found for the boy Ernac; and Theodore followed by the side of the youth, who, talking to him eagerly in the Hunnish tongue, thanked him over and over again with simple sincerity for the service which had been rendered to him. There was something noble and frank in the manners of the boy; and, as they went, he told his deliverer how the whole of that day's adventure had come about; how he had gone forth from the palace four or five days before to meet his father on his march homeward; and how, in that day's hunting, he had been stationed near the river's brink to watch for the smaller game as it was driven down to the water; and then, when the urus appeared, how he had fancied he would please Attila by killing such a gigantic beast as that. He dwelt, too, on all he felt when he found his horse slain and himself at the mercy of the enraged monster, and Theodore experienced a double pride and pleasure in having saved so promising a child.

From time to time, as they rode on, the young Roman cast his eyes around, and listened somewhat anxiously for the coming of his own attendants, fearing that they might seek for him long in those dark woods. Cremera, however, he had seen among those who stood around when he rose from his contest with the wild bull; and he doubted not that the others would soon gain some knowledge of the path he had taken from those who had been left to bring away the body of his huge antagonist, as a trophy of the sylvan war.

He mentioned that he had missed his attendants, however, to his young companion Ernac, who laughed with boyish glee at his apprehensions, adding, "Oh, they will find you ere an hour be over. We Huns have ways of tracing our way through the thickest forests that you Romans do not understand;" and the proud emphasis which a mere boy laid upon "We Huns," showed Theodore how strong had become the national pride of the people under the victorious reign of Attila, though he could not but feel painfully, at the same time, the deep contempt which had fallen upon the once tremendous name of Rome. Ernac's anticipations, however, in regard to the attendants, did not prove false; for as the hunting train of the dark monarch rode through on the wilds, every now and then Theodore perceived the person of one of his own followers appearing between the trees, and taking their place among the rest. Attila proceeded slowly, and, as he rode on, spoke to no one, except when he turned, and with an unwonted smile of fond, paternal love, addressed a few words to his rescued boy.

At length, towards evening, they emerged from the forest; and entering one of the plains which here and there diversified the country, they approached once more the wild and extraordinary scene presented by a Hunnish camp. At a considerable distance Theodore could see it as it lay upon the slope of one of the uplands, with the dusky millions moving about in their various occupations, with a bustling, whirling activity, like ants in one of the large ant-hills of that very land. As they approached nearer the different masses seemed to separate; and the camp assumed the same appearance--with its fires and circles of wagons--that it had presented when Theodore before beheld it in the Roman territory.

Approaching the central circle which formed the abode of Attila, the monarch turned towards the young Roman, saying, "You follow me!" and passing on, he led the way within the boundary.

The space enclosed for the monarch's own dwelling was large, and filled with a number of Huns, busy in various preparations. A change, however, seemed to have come over the tastes of Attila since his successful invasion of the Roman territory, for many more of the external marks of dignity of station surrounded his abode. In the midst of the circle, too, stood a magnificent tent, which had evidently once belonged to one of the luxurious generals of the Eastern empire, but which was now surmounted by the same black eagle that ornamented the standards of the Huns. Thither Attila himself proceeded, while all made way for his footsteps with looks of awe and respect, not servile, not timid, but seeming only the expression of heartfelt reverence for the daring courage, the powerful genius, the mighty mind, which nature had implanted in the breast of him whom the accident of birth had made a king.

Theodore paused, and looked to the boy Ernac, who seemed to understand his doubts at once, and replied to them by saying, "Yes, stay you here, and make your people get you provisions! I will go in to my father, and see what is his will with regard to you; but I must wait till he speaks to me, for I dare not address him first."

The young Roman was by this time sufficiently accustomed to the Huns to make himself at home among them without uneasiness or restraint; and proceeding nearly to the verge of the circle, he lay down upon the ground, while the Huns who accompanied him, and who had by this time separated themselves from the followers of the monarch, lighted a fire, and sought for provisions in the camp.

He gave himself up to a fit of musing, regarding the events of the day and the difference of his own feelings now, compared with what they had been but a few months before. At that time, when he at first met Attila--though he had experienced on beholding him, even before he was aware of his name and station, sensations which he could not define--he had regarded the monarch of the Huns but as the talented chief of numerous barbarian hordes. Now he felt hourly creeping over him more and more of that same kind of awe with which the various nations under his command seemed uniformly to regard their chief; and Theodore tried to investigate in what consisted that peculiar power which was producing such an impression, gaining such an ascendency over a mind not unconscious of vigour, activity, and brightness. He revolved the words, the conduct of Attila in every respect, and he could attribute this effect to nothing, were it not to the combination of many great and powerful qualities, seldom united in one man, but, as it were, all cemented together in the mind of Attila by a certain calm, deliberate sternness, which never left him except in the fiercest fury of the sanguinary strife. His every thought seemed stern; and the unshaken and extraordinary calmness which he displayed on all occasions appeared to give him instant and perfect command over all the powerful talents which he inherited. There could be no such thing as doubt or hesitation in his nature; and to that godlike certainty of purpose Theodore attributed the power over the minds of others which he so singularly possessed.

While he thus lay musing, forgetful of the scene around him, a sudden step woke him from his revery; and the next moment his former antagonist, Ardaric, king of the Gepid[ae], cast his huge bulk down upon the ground beside him. "Well, my friend," he said, looking upon the countenance of Theodore, and running his eye over the limbs of the youth, manly and strong as they were, but still infinitely inferior in muscular strength to his own, "well, my friend, when last we met it was in deadly strife; and now, in calm friendship, after our contest is over. I love the brave, whether they be enemies or not: and when the boy Ernac, who is not unlike thee in face and manners, told me thou wert here, I resolved to come and see thee, that I might discover, if I could, how one who seemed to me but a stripling could give me more trouble in the combat than a whole cohort of his countrymen. I cannot understand it even now, for thou art very young, and certainly not yet in strength mine equal. Thou art more active, perhaps; but that will not do everything. However, let us not talk of strife! I come to eat and drink with thee, that the bond of hospitable union may be strong between us."

"Gladly will I make it so, noble Ardaric," replied Theodore. "The generous and noble soon become friends whenever they cease to be enemies. You spared my life when you might have taken it, and I will love you not a bit the less because you vanquished me."

"I spared you not, good youth, for your own sake," replied Ardaric, frankly; "I spared you for the sake of Attila, my friend. I would have slain you at the next blow had it not been for him; for at that moment my blood was heated. You had, with your own hand, killed three of my people, and I had not time nor coolness to think, just then, that you were a brave youth, and a noble spirit, and that it were a pity to cut you off so soon. I may have thought so since; and from my heart I forgive you for thinning our ranks of two or three of those startled foxes, who fled before you when you burst among them as if they thought you must be some evil demon, to dare, with but two comrades, to attack a whole tribe."

"You held as prisoners, noble Ardaric," replied Theodore, "those whom I valued far more than life itself; and my only calculation was how long I could bar the way against your warriors, while those I sought to save effected their escape."

"I thought so," rejoined the King of the Gepid[ae], "I thought so: and now I hear that your mother and that fair girl--who is not your sister--are among your kinsmen of the Alani. Why go you not to see them?"

"Because," replied Theodore, "I have promised to stay with Attila for full seven years."

"Oh, he will give you leave to go," replied Ardaric. "Use him but nobly, and Attila is ever kind and generous. He will give you leave to go. When first he speaks to you, lead you the conversation to your wishes; and besides," added the chief, with a grave and warning look, "I think it may be better for you to be absent from this land for a brief space. Bleda, the brother of the monarch, loves you not. He is ambitious; and men scruple not to say, among the leaders of nations who obey and accompany the great king, that his hatred towards you proceeds from some idle prophecy which combines the safety of Attila with thine. I say not that he would slay his brother; but he would little scruple, men affirm, to take away the life of one whose existence was important to the monarch's safety. I believe not in such prophecies," added Ardaric, after a pause of thought--"I believe not in such prophecies, but Attila, and Bleda, and many others do. They think that a man's destiny is fixed and known long before his birth; that every little act which he performs is but one part of a great necessity; and that, such being the case, the gods give intimation of what they have already determined to certain men peculiarly chosen for that purpose. I believe, on the contrary, that everything takes place by accident; and that, if the gods interfere at all with what we do, it is but to drive us on again upon our way, as a herd does to a stray bull that wanders from the drove. I put no faith in such prophecies; and I see that even those who do strive as much to have their own way against destiny as those who think that there is no such thing. Now Bleda would take your head to-morrow, in order to put his brother's fate out of joint; and Ellac, they say, has no great love for you, though he be Attila's son. But his hatred proceeds merely from overbearing pride. He loves his father, and would not injure him; but he likes not that Attila should favour or promote any one but himself."

"I will take care to give him no offence," replied Theodore. "I seek no promotion at Attila's hands, because, as a Roman, I can receive none. His love, I believe, I already possess; but Ellac will not envy me that, when he finds that it is followed by no benefits demanded or conferred."

"It is therefore, I say," answered Ardaric, "that it would be well for you to be absent from this land for a short space. Bleda's ambition will not let him rest, though Attila thinks that he has sated him with honours and with spoil. But the grave, and ambition, and avarice are insatiable. Bleda's ambition will not let him rest, I say; and these things will come to an end ere many months be over! But here come thine attendants and mine, loaded with food far more than we need, yet let us partake."

There was something so frank and noble in the bearing of Ardaric, that Theodore was not unwilling to possess his friendship; but scarcely had they tasted the meal placed before them, when a messenger from Attila called the young Roman to his presence. Without delay, he followed the Hun to the tent of the monarch, whom he found with Ernac, his youngest son, alone.

Attila was seated on a rude bench, and clothed in the simplest garments of his race; but yet there was still that indescribable calm dignity, which, perhaps, had greater and more extraordinary effect from the harshness of his features and the want of accurate proportion in his limbs. He greeted Theodore kindly, and made him sit down beside him; and once more touching upon the events of the morning, he spoke of the skill and dexterity, as well as strength and courage, which were required in hunting the wild bull, saying that few but the most powerful and the most daring of their own practised hunters were at all competent to meet that ferocious beast when brought to bay. He asked where Theodore had learned his skill in the chase; and the youth's answer, informing him how long he had remained with the family of his brother Bleda, threw the monarch into a fit of musing.

"Then thou hast never quitted the territory of the Huns since thou didst first enter it?" demanded Attila.

"Never, oh king," replied the young Roman. "I plighted my word to thee that I would not."

"Not in a direct manner," answered Attila; "and I thought that strong temptation might have led thee to the land of the Alani. I would not inquire: it sufficed me that thou hadst returned."

"My word, oh king," answered Theodore, "whether directly or indirectly given, is never violated. That which I have knowingly implied, that will I execute, as willingly and punctually as if I had sworn to perform it. Many a time did I inquire for tidings from the land of the Alani; but though I gained none, I never dreamed of going. I would not even write, though I thought once of doing so, and sending it by one of those who followed me."

"And why not write?" demanded Attila.

"Because," replied Theodore, "coming as I did, a stranger to thy land, and seeing, as I did see, that it was left without defence, that there were few but old men, or women, or children remaining in the country--for I had not yet come on hither. Seeing all this, I would not, even by sending a messenger from thy territories to a nation which has daily communication with the Gauls, give thee just cause to say that thou hadst trusted me, and I had betrayed thy undefended country to [AE]tius and his legions."

"Thou art wise and honest," rejoined Attila; "and thine honesty shall win full reliance. Hast thou never longed to see those once more whom thou didst part from so sadly between the Margus and the Danube?"

"Have I longed?" exclaimed Theodore. "Oh king! many and many has been the night that, after the hardest day's hunting, I have passed without the soft finger of sleep touching mine eyelids, thinking deeply of those dear friends of mine early youth, and thirsting to behold them again, as the weary traveller in the desert thirsts for a draught of water from the well-remembered fountain in his own domestic hall. It has been my dream by night, when slumber has shut out the world's realities. It has been my dream by day, when thought has wandered on from objects present to a world of her own, with hope and imagination for her guides. Oh, how I have longed to see them once again!" and, clasping his hands together, the youth fixed his eyes upon the ground, and seemed to plunge into the visions of happiness which his words called up.

"Thou shalt go," said Attila, "and taste the joy for which thou hast pined. Yet rest with me two days, in order that my brother Bleda may betake himself to his own abode, and leave the path open to thee without danger. Not that I think he would hurt thee now: he is sated with plunder and with conquest. Nevertheless, it were as well for thee to wait; for though he left the camp this morning to bend his steps homeward, yet he goes but slowly, and his followers are not safe. Still thou shalt go after two days are at an end. Go, Ernac, my son, and learn from Onegisus if any of the followers of thine uncle Bleda are still in the camp."

The boy departed without a word, and Theodore remained with Attila, who proceeded to fix the time within which he bound Theodore to limit his absence. "The full moon will see thy departure," he said, "and she shall once fill up her crescent during thine absence; but ere the second time of her fulness thou shalt return, or thou art false to Attila. Wert thou to stay longer, the snows would impede thy return; and in the long evenings of the winter I would have thee here, for I might seek to hold discourse with thee upon the state and changes of thy native land. Thou art one who, having guarded his honesty in dishonest times and amid dishonest people, deserve that thy words should find attention."

Almost as he spoke, his son Ernac returned, saying, "Bleda is gone, my father, and all his followers, except his household slaves, who follow by daybreak in the morning, with Zercon his black jester. I saw the foul slave myself; and he said his master had gone away so quickly, because, having taken so much plunder from those who were weaker than himself, he feared to be left with those who were stronger, lest they should begin the game again."

"Thou saidst nothing of this youth's journey, I trust," said Attila.

"Nothing," replied the boy. "But when Zercon asked me if the Roman youth were still here, I answered yes, but that he would not be here long."

"Unwisely answered, my son," said Attila; "but it matters not; I will send those with him who can protect him. Thou shalt lead back a troop of the Alani to their own land," he continued, turning to Theodore; "and in the meanwhile keep near my person. Take thy place beside Edicon as we march to-morrow, and now sleep you well. Ernac, where is thine eldest brother? Has he left the camp already, after having so lately joined it?"

Theodore was departing as the monarch spoke; but, ere he had left the tent, he had heard the boy's reply. "No, my father," answered Ernac; "he has gone a short way on the road with my uncle Bleda."

A slight shade came over Attila's brow; but Theodore was not sorry to hear that two men, who were certainly his enemies, were absent for a time from the camp; and rejoining his own followers, he lay down to sleep in peace, followed by the happy hope of soon seeing again those whom he loved best on earth.