The Death Pageant: A Worthy Sacrifice: The Death Pageant, #1

By Sheilane Nadia

At birth, Magdiel Andalf's striking beauty marks as a contestant in her country's annual Death Pageant, where the winner receives the coveted title of 'Worthy Sacrament' and is burned alive as a sacrifice to the revered Rain God, Harun.

At 17 years old, Magdiel struggles to overcome self-will for the greater good.

It is story of a love worth fighting for and a deathly plan worth executing

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sheilane Nadia
• Release date: Sep 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524264383

Book preview

BOOK 1

An intriguing story of a love worth fighting for, and a deathly plan worth executing.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Text copyright© 2016 Sheilane Nadia

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Sheilane Nadia.

Chapter 1

The Baby

A few hours ago, Leo and Agatha Andalf gave birth to their first child. A girl. The midwife declared the baby perfectly healthy and had just left the young couple’s small, log cottage.

They were both sitting on their bed, staring at the tiny new-born who was sound asleep between them in a woven basket.  Already, one could tell that this little baby was going to be a beauty; not necessarily because of any particularly favorable feature, but for how well all of her features merged together. Her thick head of loosely coiled, jet-black hair, bright green eyes, and scarlet lips, created a very lovely array of hues upon the canvas of her peachy-cream colored, heart-shaped face. Added to this remarkable mix were: heavy, dark brows and long, full lashes that curled up ever so slightly; all of which gave her an intriguingly exotic appearance and the look of utmost femininity. 

Agatha finally lifted her gaze from the baby to look, anxiously, at her husband. What do you think? she said softly.

Leo looked over at his wife, equally as anxious, then swallowed deeply before he answered. She’s beautiful... Too beautiful.

B-but all parents think that their children are beautiful. Agatha said quickly, tears welling up in her eyes. M-maybe she’s just average... or maybe she’ll grow out of it.

We can’t take that risk, Ags. Leo said firmly. That’s why I didn’t want to have children in the first place! He added, clenching his fists.

Nooo! sobbed Agatha, throwing herself over the basket as if to shield the baby.

Leo’s demeanor softened up immediately, at the sight of his wife’s grief. It’ll only hurt her a little, I promise he said, patting her bent head with a trembling hand.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. 

Leo got up and quickly crossed the tiny bedroom to the door, leaving Agatha still sobbing over the basket. He was too tall for the cottage’s low doorways, and had to bend a little as he stepped over the threshold. He walked softly through the even smaller but very comfortable-looking living room, to the front door. Through the peep hole, Leo saw that it was Jude and Fulvia Fabian, with their one-year-old son, Raj.

Mr. and Mrs. Fabian were the Andalf’s best friends and next door neighbors. They were also fellow ‘non-believers’. He could trust them. Leo opened the door and the couple’s smiles faded instantly when they saw the troubled look on his face.

Come in quickly Leo whispered to them. He ushered them through the door, then poked his head outside to make sure that no one else was coming.

What’s the matter, Leo? Jude asked, in his husky voice, as soon as Leo had closed and locked the door. This voice seemed too strong for Jude’s short, stout physique and round, dimpled face.

Is something wrong with the baby? said Fulvia, looking scared and squeezing the chubby Raj tighter in her arms; which made him squirm uncomfortably. She was much taller and slimmer than her husband, but shared his exact shade of white-blond hair; so that Leo and Agatha always jokingly referred to them as brother and sister.

Leo sighed and ran his fingers through the short curls of his bright-red hair. Come see for yourself he said.

He led the way back to the bedroom, where Agatha was now cuddling the baby in her arms and crying softly.

Fulvia quickly handed Raj over to Jude and rushed to Agatha’s side. Being twelve years older than Agatha, Fulvia tended to behave maternally towards her; especially since both of Agatha’s parents had disowned her just a few years ago.  

Oh Ags, she cried, throwing her arms around Agatha’s slim neck. Is it dead?

Agatha shook her head. Fulvia released her and looked down at the baby. A slight frown came upon her face as she tentatively unwrapped the white, woolen blanket to get a better view. She then looked up wide-eyed at Agatha, then towards the door at Leo. 

You don’t think- do you? Fulvia asked.

It’s likely said Leo, heavily. 

Fulvia gasped. 

I agree said Jude, who had by now gone over to the bed and examined the baby for himself. She could definitely be chosen.

What are you going to do? asked Fulvia, her eyes still fixed upon Leo, who remained standing rigidly in the doorway.  

We’ve got to maim her Leo said, dismally.

And you’ve got to do it soon, before anyone else sees her Jude said intensely. It must look as if she was born that way, or else.

I know, I know said Leo, clasping his hands over his face in frustration. But how?

Jude’s expression changed to a mixture of discomfort and guilt. Well...you could break her nose, so that it would be a little crooked; or twist her legs so that they form funny; or maybe even clip off her little toe.

Agatha began to whimper again. 

I can’t clip off her toe Leo said, pacing the room; his face pale. The mid-wife has already counted them-

I think that we should wait until after our next meeting! Fulvia cut in loudly. They all looked at her. She was referring to their weekly non-believers' meeting. The NB meetings, they were called. That way, we can ask for the others’ opinions.

I think so too! Agatha chimed in quickly, looking up at Leo, pleadingly.

That’s five days from now! Leo said to Agatha. Hun, if we’re going to do this, we have to do it now.

I am not going to let you mutilate my baby! Agatha said angrily, raising herself up on the bed.

So you prefer that she go through what you did! Leo retorted.

At that, Agatha’s demeanor weakened once more; and she flopped back against the pillow with her eyes closed, and tears silently streaming down her face.

Agatha too was beautiful. The baby was almost the splitting image of her, except for the eyes. She had gotten Leo’s eyes, while Agatha’s were clear hazel. Agatha remembered all too well the price that she was forced to pay for her beauty. The price that she was still paying. She did not want the same for her daughter. In fact, she had vowed never to have children; so that she would not risk passing on her curse to another girl.

Even so, the thought of hurting this innocent and fragile little baby was too painful. What if it killed her?

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, where the only sounds were Raj’s cooing, Leo finally said Alright... We’ll wait.

Chapter 2

Harun and the Death Pageant System

Above all of their many other Gods, the people in the vast hill country of Acus served and revered the powerful Rain God, Harun.

According to the priests and other noblemen, over one hundred years ago, Harun’s patience had worn thin with the people’s mediocre sacrifices of crops and animals; and so he punished them by refusing to water the land. For several years, Acus suffered devastating periods of famine and drought, which caused hundreds of thousands- men, women and children- to die. It was said to be a harrowing existence. Men hunted and feasted on each other. They knew neither kin nor foe, for even mothers cooked their own suckling babies.

Just when all hope seemed lost, and the Acusans’ numbers had dwindled almost to naught, a sacrifice was made that appeased Harun so tremendously that he immediately sent a great and extended downpour of rain, which replenished the streams and revived the land in a miraculously short period of time. This sacrifice was none other than the life of the most beautiful maiden in the country. The people had taken the most beautiful girl that they could find (in light of the unfavorable circumstances) and presented her to the priests, who then ceremoniously burned her alive in the holy temple of the gods. Harun apparently had a great love for beautiful women and their souls became his eternal wives. Hence, it became an annual sacrifice, evolving into what was known as the ‘Death Pageant’.

For three days in the month of July, fifty of the most beautiful young maidens in Acus, ages seventeen to twenty, participated in rigorous competition; where their physical beauty was meticulously inspected, their talents critically observed, and their loyalty to Harun severely tested.

The Acusans called these death pageant contestants ‘poppies’- because of the small encircled letter p, with which they were branded, on the right foot, just below the big toe. In reality, the p stood for pageant, but people thought that poppy fit better because, just like the flower, the contestants were very beautiful but their lives were extremely short- not only if they won the pageant, but from the day that they were marked for it. 

Most contestants were marked for the death pageant long before they competed. Thousands of kings guards and eunuchs constantly travelled throughout the country, looking for girls that met strict physical standards- slender and of average height, with: thick hair of at least waist length, straight white teeth, symmetrical facial features and smooth, unblemished skin.  There were no exceptions.

When a suitable girl was found, even as young as ten, the guards would brand her with a hot iron, bearing the pageant symbol p. Then, until the appointed time, the parents were responsible for preserving the girl’s physical beauty. This normally meant that she would not partake in routine chores, such as: farming, gardening or even cooking; nor was she likely to engage in rough outdoor activities, such as: swimming, fishing, hiking or cliff diving, as was popular among the younger people.

The risk of tainting the girl’s beauty, and rendering her ‘damaged’, just could not be taken; for the parents were severely punished if they failed at their task and robbed Harun of a potential bride. They were normally forced to pay a hefty tax to the royal treasury, in: crops, gold and/or household items- enough to put them in poverty; otherwise, they were savagely whipped, sometimes until death. 

So, as one can imagine, the poppies were seen as untouchable beings. People were very uncomfortable being around them, for fear of causing any sort of casualties to their person. For this reason, poppies tended to live very secluded lives, locked away in their homes.  Even their own family members often found it difficult to be close and affectionate towards them. It was almost as if they were not considered human; just some magnificent creatures living to die.

But despite all of this, most people in Acus believed in and remained deathly loyal to Harun and the Death Pageant system; and were quick to hand over anyone to the authorities whom they merely suspected as being against them - even their own flesh and blood.

Disloyalty or non-belief was the ultimate crime and punishable by ‘rapid execution’.  ‘Rapid’ only referred to the space of time between the discovery of the crime and the execution of the punishment; because the process itself was designed to be very slow and excruciatingly painful.

A popular method was to hang the criminal upside down from a tree, then saw them in half, starting from the crotch. Since, in an upturned position, significant amounts of blood will be flowing to the brain, the person was sure to remain alive and conscious until the saw reached the major arteries in the abdomen (this could last for hours in extreme cases). Or, to prolong the agony, the executioners stopped at the abdomen and just let the victim bleed out. Other methods included: boiling, gradual delimbing, and impalement.

Thus, as can be expected, the non-believers lived in great fear. Some kept their non-belief only to themselves and did nothing that was different from the believing members of society. There were others, however, who were a little more active, and met regularly in very secluded places, such as: clearings deep in the woods, caves high in the mountains, in the middle of deserted fields and in abandoned houses.  These meetings served to encourage one another, but most importantly to come up with ways to undermine the Death Pageant system.

Their main strategy was to reduce the number of available poppies by slightly deforming their beautiful daughters at birth, so as to make them ineligible for the pageant.

Unfortunately for the non-believers, their numbers were just too small for their lack of contributing off springs to cause any real harm to the death pageant system. And so, they were desperate for a new plan.

Chapter 3

The New Plan 

In the small fishing village of Galden, the non-believers met every Wednesday at midnight. To throw off suspicion, the location of these NB meetings rotated weekly, between: the basement of the main village bakery (the owner, Mr. Caldwell, was the leader of the group), the old abandoned windmill on Buggy Hill, and in the center of the village’s main corn field.

If there was an emergency change to the meeting’s schedule or location- maybe a party or other gathering was being held too close in proximity- all fifteen members were informed via mail, in secret codes.

This week’s meeting was to be held, as per normal schedule, in the Browney basement. 

Leo and Agatha were scurrying up the moonlit dirt road with their new-born baby in tow, nestled in her basket. This was the commercial street of the village, and was lined with: two bakery, a meat shop, a blacksmith shop, a food grocer, a fruit parlor, a tavern and a dress shop; all of which were contained in quaint, wooden structures.

The nearby sea blew a strong, salty breeze in their direction. Agatha had to use one hand to hold the scarf covering her head, while the other clutched the handle of the baby basket. They were running late. 

Their only other neighbor, an elderly couple- Mr. and Mrs. Bernard- had had an unusually late night. At a quarter past eleven, Leo and Agatha could see them, through their candle-lit living room window, drinking tea and chatting merrily. The Bernards tended to be very nosey people, who poked their heads outside at the slightest sound. Thus, Leo and Agatha had no choice but to wait until twenty minutes to twelve, when they saw the lights in the Bernards’ cottage finally go out, then another ten minutes for them to get settled in bed, before they set out. It normally took about twenty minutes for them to walk from their small hill, on the outskirts of the village, to the Caldwells’ Browney. But tonight, they only had ten. 

Keeping the baby hidden for these past five days had been both draining and nerve-raking. Of course the Bernards knew that the baby had been born, for they had seen the midwife come and go (from their regular peeps through their kitchen window) and had heard its crying. So naturally, the news had spread throughout the entire village.

From the very next day, groups of people had shown up at Leo and Agatha’s doorstep to see the new baby and to bring gifts- as was custom whenever a baby was born into the village. Leo was forced to lie that Agatha was battling a serious case of the flu, and so it was best that she be left alone to rest.

Most people understood and left; but others had been determined to offer their help in some way, and tried to force their way through the door. They insisted on coming inside to cook Agatha soup, make her special herbal teas or rub her down with homemade ointments. Once, Leo had to physically pick a woman up, who had managed to get past him, and place her back on the doorstep. He even ended up barring their bedroom window, with wood, because some overly curious persons had gone around to the back of the cottage and tried to peer inside.

Thus, Leo and Agatha were more than relived when the day of the NB meeting had finally arrived.

At last, they reached the end of the street, in front of the bakery, panting heavily. They looked up nervously at the large clock on the wall of the Blacksmith’s shop, opposite the Browney. It was five minutes past twelve.

Oh no! said Agatha, between breaths.

Mr. Caldwell normally locked the bakery door at exactly twelve o’clock, before retreating to the basement with the other members. He would peer through a small gap in the door from half past eleven until twelve, to see when members were coming; for they were not allowed to knock or call at the door, as that may make too much noise. If the door was locked when they arrived, members were to return home immediately so as not to be caught lingering outside. 

Let us check still. Leo said, grabbing Agatha’s free hand and leading her up the bakery brick walkway.

When they got to the door, Leo turned the knob, and their hearts sank. It was locked. They had no choice now but to go home and disfigure the baby tonight, on their own. They could not delay any longer; unless they were prepared to go through another painstaking ordeal of hiding the baby, for an additional seven days, until the next NB meeting. 

Just as Leo and Agatha turned to leave, with Agatha already beginning to whimper, they heard the Browney door open slowly. The couple spun around and looked disbelievingly at Mr. Caldwell’s large outline in the doorway.

Well hurry up then! he said, coarsely.

Mr. Caldwell was a no-nonsense kind of man when it came to the operations of the NB group. He required the utmost order. On any given day, Mr. Caldwell appeared to be a very carefree and jolly old man. He was always sharing jokes with the villagers that entered his Browney, and could regularly be seen crab hunting with some of the younger men. However, during these weekly meetings, he transformed into a completely different person. His demeanor was always sullen, he spoke very crisply, and he was quick to snap at any member who stepped out of line.

Owing to the serious nature of the NB meetings- undoubtedly, the members were all risking their lives to be there- and the fact that he was their leader and largely responsible for their safety, Mr. Caldwell’s attitude shift seemed to have an obvious explanation. Nonetheless, there was a rumor amongst the group that Mr. Caldwell had lost his only brother to the cause many years ago; and that this tragedy had not only fuelled his passion, but had also made him determined never to make the same mistake of being discovered. 

Leo and Agatha hustled through the door and stood aside, waiting to be told off for being late. But to their surprise, after locking the door, Mr. Caldwell simply turned and headed straight towards the back of the Browney, without a word.

He must have been waiting for us Leo whispered to Agatha as they hustled behind of him.

Although inside of the Browney was pitch black, all three of them knew its structure well enough to maneuver comfortably. They walked swiftly across the spacious and bare entrance area, through an opening within the wall to wall selling counter, then through a door behind the counter, which led into a large kitchen. There, several rows of shelves covered the two side walls- for holding the baked goods- and a large stone oven ran deep into the center of the adjoining wall. In the middle of the kitchen stood a long and high wooden table, where the mixtures and dough were prepared. Mr. Caldwell bent under this table and used a long, flat metal object to pry open a small trap door, neatly concealed within the wooden floor.

The first time that Leo and Agatha had seen this trap door open, they were amazed at how indistinguishable it was from the rest of the floor. No one but the NB members knew that this door or basement existed. Mr. Caldwell had dug it out himself when he was much younger.

The trio scrambled through the opening and descended a long row of narrow, wooden, rickety steps- until they landed in a room that was about half the size of the kitchen above. This room was always a little dusty and stuffy, with a moldy odor, owing to the lack of windows.

All of the other members were already there, seated close together on wooden benches. From the light being emitted from several candle-filled lamps, set high on ledges, Leo and Agatha could see the great curiosity that was etched into everyone’s faces as they turned to watch the two of them walk across the room and take their regular seats at the end of the front row.

Mr. Caldwell went directly to the front and faced the group.

Motto please.  He grumbled.

They always began each meeting by reciting the group’s motto. Everyone stood up immediately and placed their right hands over their hearts, and said in unison:

"We stand for: freedom, truth and love,

Not: murder, deceit and hate.

And though we are few in number,

United we can be great.

We promise never to betray our brothers

Nor reveal our secret place.

We’ll do our best to eradicate Harun’s mess

For this whole country’s sake".

Now, said Mr. Caldwell, before anyone had even had a chance to regain their seat. Let me see the baby.

Everyone turned to look at Leo and Agatha once more. Agatha slowly walked forward and gingerly placed the basket at Mr. Caldwell’s feet.

Someone hurried to take a lamp from off of a ledge and placed it on the floor next to the basket, so that the sleeping baby’s face was illuminated. Mr. Caldwell knelt down and bent his greying head over the basket. After what seemed like a long time, he rose back up, with his face expressionless, and beckoned the others to come and have a look as well.

Everyone dashed forward immediately, as if catapulted, and formed somewhat of a circle around the baby. Some mumbled things like definitely poppy material and poor thing, while others just gazed in silence.

When they had all had a good look and returned to their seats, including Leo and Agatha with the baby, Mr. Caldwell cleared his throat loudly and spoke again. This time his tone was uncharacteristically less harsh and somewhat apologetic.

"I’ve been meaning to discuss something with