Exercise 13: Post Here!

[Prince Cobra]

Torri drove out through the red light without looking back

Torri was horrified; he pushed the gas pedal and his car shot through the sunlight of the setting sun.

Torri did not look back – he knew what had happened; he drove at the setting sun that was as red as the drops of blood on his car bonnet.

In the dusk the villain drove left and his car disappeared from the eyes of the man who tried to help the dead girl.

Torri’s sharp mind refused to work, his instincts took over his paralysed body: he did not realise when his car left the place of the murder he had committed.

Torri paid no attention to the noise behind himself and in few seconds his car disappeared in the red light of the setting sun.

Torri never saw the terrified face behind him and his car and his car dashed at the direction of the setting sun.

----

Even their clothes were different: Nicephorus wore his dark tunics with a cowl as ever, but Manuel was clad in flaxen white tunics that were relatively cheap but definitely suited him.

Nicephorus Doukas and his son Manuel were also different in their dress.

Manuel Doukas confronted his father even with his clothes: his white tunics contrasted his father’s dark clothes.


The dress of Manuel Doukas perfectly revealed his intentions: he had not chosen the expensive clothes that could anger his thrifty father but his white dress still opposed his father’s dark tunics and showed their conflict was far from its end.

In his white tunics Manuel looked in excellent form whilst the leprous Nicephorus Doukas was true embodiment of the death with his dark dress and the hood on his head.

Nicephorus Doukas and Manuel Doukas clashed before they started to speak: the black of Nicephorus tunics and the white of Manuel’s dress clearly demonstrated the relations of the father and his son.

The dress was telling its own story : there was no hope for peace between the black of the mortally sick politician and the white of his reckless son.
----
Theophil Branas left the basement and passed along the silent corridors of the Palace.

Theophil Branas went out of the cold basement and walked through the maze of empty corridors that led to the sunny yard of the Palace.

Theophil Branas reached the yard of the Palace soon after he had left the basement.

Theophil Branas went at fast pace and he quickly crossed the long and empty corridors that connected the basement with the large yard of the Palace.

As Theophil Branas was walking away the basement wit the corpse of Nicephorus Doukas, his determince to solve the case grew even more.

The only sound Theophil Branas could hear as he was passing along the corrdiors of the Palace was the echo of his steps.

The few servants he met were silent, the guards were mute and while walking the way between to the yard of the Palace, Theophil Branas could not divest himself from the ghostly atmosphere of the basement.

----

Point of view of Nicephorus Doukas

Nicephorus touched his swollen lip with his tongue. One day his father would pass and he would face his judgement. What he had to do was to wait patiently. Just like now. He did not know what made him change his mind. Maybe he feared Constantine could make anything stupid without him. At least he was there to prevent it. Maybe he went with his friends since he was hurt again by his father and wanted to cause pain to the others as well. He knew it was probably the both of them. This was a mistake. He had to show more will and to stop it. Thus any accidents would have been avoided and nobody would have suffered because of his inferiority complex. In such moments Nicephorus hated himself.

He was not sure if the others caught the irony of the present situation. This was both funny and tragic. Nicephorus spent much of his time with the peacocks in the garden. They distracted him with their beauty and helped him to forget his humiliation. They also could not hurt him in the way the human beings could. The husband of this wife resembled them: he had forgotten the good feather was not enough in the world of the humans. He faced the consequences. It was tragic because this story could end very badly for the participants and because even in a ‘good end ‘ nothing would be the same again. Nicephorus was not sure that anybody of his fellows realized that. None of them was a fool but they were still behaved slightly immaturely. He knew the wife would never be again after these meeting. Thanks to the skills of Constantine she had stepped that line she would probably continue with her adulteries. Nicephorus had also learned she was separated by the man she loved and sent far away from him. He wondered if this would be his own fate when he married Anna Angelina, his fiancee. Finally, he could not hide his irritation

“ He must hurry on, if he wants to get out of this place “

He met the eys of Dyogenus for a while and then looked at the street. He saw riders. He recognized their leader: the fat and ugly husband. He knew what was going to happen if he did not interfere. Dyogenus Branas would go to call Constantine but he would be short of time and who knew what would happen. In addition the poor woman could suffer even more.



“ You should not worry. I am sure everything will be fine, “ heard the answer of Dyogenus who obviously did not see them.

“ It won’t. “ Nicephorus said and went out of the small forest. He climbed on his horse and ride it towards the other horsemen. He had no other choice.

“Nicephorus what are you doing? “


“ Look who is coming and then we will speak “ Nicephorus whispered. Finally, Dyogenus had seen the threat and disappeared. He had gone to warn Constantine.

Nicephorus was alone. He knew what he had to do. He knew he was son of his father. He also wore grain of that evil, which obsessed his father. Nicephorus knew he could influence the people when he needed. However, unlike his father he used it without that devilish pleasure and he did only when there was no other way to help his friends. Constantine was in trouble. He had to put the mask of the monster once again. He had to make the nobleman listen to him and to give some time to Constantine to leave the house. He knew he would do it. This was not a trap. The men looked calm and were not many. He always won unlike his father. His father would lose one day and he would be there to watch his downfall.

When the distance became short enough, Nicephorus spoke with determined voice,

“ Good evening, Kir Tarchaniottes. I waited for you. “

Nicephorus touched his swollen lip with his tongue. One day his father would pass away and he would face his judgement. What he had to do was to wait patiently. Just like now. He did not know what made him change his mind. Maybe he feared Constantine could do anything stupid without him. He could have wanted to be there and to prevent any complications. This was the first possible explanation . However, he could have come with his friends since he was hurt again by his father. Maybe he wanted make the others feel the pain he felt. He knew it was probably the both of them. He had made a mistake. He had to show more will and to stop this madness. Any accidents would be avoided and nobody would have suffered because of his inferiority complex. In such moments Nicephorus hated himself.

He was not sure if the others caught the irony of the present situation. It was both funny and tragic. Nicephorus spent much of his time with the peacocks in the garden. They distracted him with their beauty and helped him to forget his humiliation. They also could not hurt him in the way the human beings could. The husband of this wife resembled them: he had forgotten the good feather was not enough in the world of humans. He faced the consequences. It was tragic because this story could end very badly for the participants and because even in a ‘good end ‘ nothing would be the same again. Nicephorus was sure nobody of his fellows realised that. None of them was a fool but they still behaved slightly immaturely. He knew the wife would never be the same after these meeting. Thanks to the skills of Constantine she had stepped out the line and she would probably continue with her adulteries. Nicephorus had also learned she was separated by the man she loved and sent far away from him before her marriage. He wondered if this would be his own fate when he married Anna Angelina, his fiancee. He could not hide his irritation and said,

“ He must hurry on, if he wants to get out of this place “

He met the eyes of Dyogenus for a while and then looked at the street. He saw riders. He recognized their leader -the fat and ugly husband. He knew what was going to happen if he did not interfere. Dyogenus Branas would go to call Constantine but he would be short of time and who knew what would happen. In addition the poor woman could suffer even more.



“ You should not worry. I am sure everything will be fine, “he heard the answer of Dyogenus who obviously did not see them.

“ It won’t. “ Nicephorus said and went out of the small forest. He climbed on his horse with the clear idea to meet the other horsemen. He had no other choice.

“Nicephorus what are you doing? “


“ Look who is coming and then we will speak “ Nicephorus whispered. Finally, Dyogenus saw the threat and disappeared. He had gone to warn Constantine.

Nicephorus was alone. He knew what he had to do. He knew he was son of his father. He also wore grain of that evil, which obsessed his father. Nicephorus knew he could influence the people when he needed them. However, unlike his father he used it without that devilish pleasure and he did it only when there was no other way to help his friends. Constantine was in trouble. Nicephorus had to put the mask of the monster again. He had to make the nobleman listen to him and to give some time to Constantine to leave the house.. This was not a trap. The men looked calm and were not many. Nicephorus was almost sure he would do his task well. He always won, unlike his father. His father would lose one day and he would be there to watch his downfall.

When the distance between himself and the riders became short enough, Nicephorus spoke with determined voice,

“ Good evening, Kir Tarchaniottes. I was waiting for you. “