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Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his, only to see a small smirk growing at the edge of his lips. She giggled and playfully smacked his shoulder. Embarrassment clouded her vision, but she felt warm and loved. He knew her in ways that no one ever had, and she was growing to love it in ways she couldn’t have imagined. His eyes smiled knowingly and she whined and hid her face in his shoulder.
They cuddled for a little while longer before Eiotan insisted they get out of bed and eat something after her stomach had grumbled loudly enough for them both to hear it. She walked into the kitchen naked and prepared a small platter of fruits and dried meats for them to nibble on. She laid plates and silverware on the table, along with the food. He had thrown on a pair of pants and joined her shortly thereafter. They sat down and ate quietly. Ayala sat on her chair a little gingerly, and Lord Eiotan smiled as he realized she was still feeling the aftereffects of her punishment.
“Oh! I almost forgot! Today is the yearly festival of Toxcatl, our omnipotent power. It’s probably too late to get a seat in the Patio of the Gods, but we should be able to watch some of it from the balcony of the nearby palace. Finish quickly and get dressed. We have to get moving!” Lord Eiotan exclaimed.
Ayala nodded, knowing the importance of this ceremony. It was their duty to honor the gods during the dry season, so that rain might fall on their thirsty crops and fill the riverbeds. She finished her plate and went off to her room to get ready. She dressed quickly and met Eiotan at the door. They left and made their way into the center of the city, neither saying much.
He led her into a nearby palace. She could hear the drums beginning to beat, and people were singing. Excitedly, she followed Eiotan up a few flights of stairs and out onto a balcony that overlooked the Patio of the Gods. She looked down at the man in the center, who had been impersonating the god Toxcatl for a whole year. It was tradition that at the end of the festival, this man would be sacrificed to the gods. Men were beating drums and some were playing flutes, as many others danced around him. Many were wearing ornaments of gold, with elaborate headdresses made of colorful feathers. There was little in the amount of clothing, as the majority were in loincloths. The men who were participating were their best warriors. It was an honor to take part in the festivities.
Singing filled her ears, along with the music of the instruments. She hummed along, moving her hips softly to the beat. She soon began to notice the increasing Spanish presence down below. The hair prickled at the base of her neck as she watched them slowly form a circle around the celebrations, weapons in hand. Her eyes flickered to the gates at a suggestion of movement, watching as more Spanish soldiers entered. She then realized the gates were being closed. The Spanish were the ones that had closed the celebrations in. Her eyes narrowed as a sickening feeling began to curl up from deep within her. She couldn’t say a word, and waited, feeling her heart begin to thump in her throat.
The soldiers lined up, surrounding the dancers, singers, and those playing instruments. Suddenly, without warning, the soldiers rushed one of the men playing the drums. A soldier brandished his sword and cut off one of the drummer’s arms, followed by the other. The man had little time to scream as another soldier quickly cut off his head. Screams suddenly erupted from those trapped with the soldiers.
All at once, the soldiers attacked all the Aztec people at the festival. They stabbed them and speared them with their swords, viciously and without mercy. Ayala felt a wail of fear begin to escape from her throat, which she quickly swallowed down. Eiotan grabbed her and covered her eyes, but the screams of pain and death, the sounds of swords puncturing flesh still made their way to her ears. The horror of it all was a terrifying thing to behold.
Lord Eiotan reacted quickly, forcing Ayala off the balcony and down the stairs from which they had come. They had to move quickly. He knew they would search the nearby houses; they would search everywhere. He moved into the darkness of the stairwell, finally uncovering her eyes. He put his finger to his lips, so that she would understand that she was to remain silent.
He led her to the first floor and paused, listening for any suggestion of movement. Hearing nothing, he slipped out the back door of the palace into the garden, and made his way in and out of strangers’ yards. Eiotan held her hand the whole way. They hid in bushes and behind fences, still able to hear the terrible sounds of people screaming, of soldiers marching the streets and searching houses, and even the sounds of the soldiers killing those they found.
The Aztec people were beginning to realize what was happening. There was shouting for all able-bodied people to come quickly with all arms, spears, and shields. It was rapidly becoming known that the warriors who had taken part in the festival had been murdered in cold blood. They watched as people emerged from their houses with spears, javelins, arrows, and shields in hand. Sounds of battle began to emerge as the Aztec people took their stand.
The further the two traveled, the quieter the sounds became until they came upon Lord Eiotan’s property at the edge of the city.
By the time they made it back to his house, it had been a while since they saw or heard a soldier, or anyone for that matter. Eiotan led her into the barn to hide. The two hid for hours in an empty stall next to the horses, waiting for the battle to reach them, but it never did. By nightfall, they emerged from the barn and went back to the house. Lord Eiotan found a wandering servant and ordered him to find Dario and bring him to him.
Dario knocked quietly after some time, and Lord Eiotan swiftly let him in.
“What do you know of what’s happening in the city, Dario? Do the servants have any news?”
Dario nodded quickly.
“I do, sir. Talk has been plentiful. Our people have overtaken the Spanish soldiers in the city in retribution for their attack on our best warriors. It took many of our deaths in order to conquer them, but the Spanish have run back to their camp, and we plan to lay siege to their compound. It’s whispered that Cortés wasn’t even in the city today when the attack happened. No one has heard anything of his whereabouts. But it’s safe for now; the Aztecs have won this battle, sir,” Dario explained proudly.
Ayala breathed a sigh of relief and saw the same look come over Eiotan’s face as well.
“Dario, be a good lad and fetch the lady and me a bottle of our best sweet red wine. We were attending the festival today and managed to escape, but we saw some of the awful start to the Spanish attack.”
Dario nodded and walked to the corner of the kitchen. He opened the latch in the floor and ventured down the ladder. A few minutes later he emerged, two bottles held in one hand. Dario presented the bottles to Lord Eiotan with a bow.
“Just in case the lady might want a refill or two of her glass.”
“Thank you,” Lord Eiotan said. “You are now dismissed. Please inform your fellow servants that they are not to leave and get caught up in this mess. Please let them know there will be consequences if my orders are not followed.”
“Yes, sir, of course,” Dario responded, bowing and quietly making his way out of the house. Lord Eiotan grabbed two goblets and poured them both a rather large portion of wine. He presented her the cup and they both drank deeply. They drank and chatted deep into the night before they both went off and cuddled in each other’s arms in his bed. Sleep overcame them as the exhaustion of the day finally took its toll.
In the days that followed, the Aztecs continued to lay siege to the Spanish compound, where they were still holding Moctezuma captive. The Spanish had lost control of the city, of Tenochtitlan and its people.
When Cortés finally appeared again, he ordered Moctezuma to address his people. Lord Eiotan forbade Ayala from going, so she later learned the story from Dario. Moctezuma had come out on his terrace where the Spanish had been holding him. He tried to persuade his people to stop fighting and allow the Spaniards to leave the city in peace. The Aztec people did not take heed to this feeble attempt at negotiations and pelted the king with darts and stones. The king had quickly hidden, and later that day, the people were informed that he had died. The Aztec people suspected foul play at the hands of the enemy, but no one was sure of the actuality of what really happened. Rumors spread like wildfire and Ayala didn’t know what to believe. A new ruler had been appointed: Cuitahuac, Moctezuma’s younger brother.
For the next few weeks, the Spanish began to experience a shortage of gunpowder and food. It was nighttime in mid-July when Cortés finally made his next move, desperate to get out from under the thumb of the Aztec people.
He had sent messengers, asking for a one-week ceasefire, at the end of which he and his men would give back any and all treasure and loot that they possessed, and then in return would be able to leave the city in peace.
That night, under the cover of nightfall and a heavy rain, his large army attempted to make their way out of the compound unnoticed. A servant woman had been drawing water from the canal at the time and ran to raise the alarm. A priest from a nearby temple had seen them escaping as well, and rose the alarm within the confines of the city.
The Aztec army had been fierce and swift. The Spanish army had loaded themselves up with even more gold to steal, making them easy targets. The Aztecs attacked from the water in canoes and from land as well. The Spanish had fired their crossbows, but could see little in the dead of night. Many of the Spanish army drowned from the weight of their armor and treasure bounty. Ayala and Lord Eiotan had spent the night hidden away in their barn, awoken by the battle cries and screams in the distance.
Dario had told her that Cortés had
