Return of the Crown (33 page)

The room hushed immediately, all eyes drawn
to King Bryant. “Now that our bellies are full and before we dance,
I’d like to say a few words.” He beamed down at his daughter.

‘Not now, father,’ Ravyn inwardly
groaned.

“What I have to say brings great delight to
me, for as you all well know the Light truly blessed us when it
bestowed our wonderful daughter Ravyn to us. The entire kingdom
knows of her struggles to bring us all to freedom.” Throwing his
arms wide he encompassed all the audience in honoring his brave
daughter.

Cheers rang across the great hall, echoing
off the walls and ceiling, and Bryant waited till it died down. It
seemed to take hours. “The Light has chosen to bless us again; we
are expecting another child!”

“Blessings to the Light,” the crowd erupted,
cheers ringing, glasses clinking. Bryant’s laugh boomed across the
hall. He bowed to his wife, the Queen, and placed a gentle kiss on
her hand. Ravyn cheered along with everyone else, giving her mother
a kiss on her cheek. The urgency to depart to the gardens with
Blade abated some.

Bryant held up a hand, waiting for quiet. The
crowd hushed. “This celebration, however, is not for the Queen and
me, though we welcome your glad tidings. It is to celebrate a
renewal in Aigerach, to celebrate all the good things to come. The
land has suffered grievously these past years. I would go back in
time and erase the harms that came to be, if I could. But, that’s
not possible.” He paused, “All we can do from this day forth is
honor those who have fallen by rebuilding our lives, glorying in
our rebirth, and standing firm against the Darkness in the world.
Blessings of the Light upon you all.”

Tears of sadness and joy mixed as people
remembered loves lost over the past nine years. Silence reigned for
a minute or so, only broken by the sounds of soft sobbing.

Bryant cleared his throat, gathering
everyone’s attention, and then turned to Blade. “Sir, are you
prepared to take up your future?”

Blade paled as the entire hall looked at him.
He scooted back his chair, dropping to bended knee before Ravyn.
Pulling the wooden box from his jacket, he opened it, turning it to
face Ravyn. Looking up into her eyes, he found himself lost for
words.

Bryant cleared his throat. In the silence
that followed, you could have heard a pin drop.

Taking a deep steadying breath, Blade found
his voice, “Ravyn, my love, I pledged to you long ago I would be
there for you until my dying breath. My heart belongs to you, from
this day forth, for better or worse. I cannot imagine anything
worse than the perils we’ve already been through together. Please,
love, say you’ll take my heart and cherish it as I cherish you. Say
you’ll be my wife.” He opened the antique wooden box and turned it
to face her.

“Till my dying breath,” she gasped. Her arms
flew about his shoulders, momentum carrying her forward. She
knocked him over backwards, falling to the floor with him, lips
pressed against his.

Cheers blasted out across the hall, spoons
chiming against goblets. During the uproar Blade managed to slip
the ring on Ravyn’s finger. Struggling up from the floor, they
flushed with embarrassment at the spectacle they had created. But
the roaring of the cheerful crowd was infectious, and they began
laughing and hugging within moments.

The musicians struck up a lively tune, and
couples whirled across the floor. Blade and Ravyn stood side by
side watching the revelry, exhilarating in the first celebration
that the people of Aigerach had experienced in years.

“Freedom isn’t free,” Ravyn smiled sadly,
seeing the faces of those who would never join them again flash
across her mind. Then brightening she added, “But it’s worth the
cost.”

Blade kissed her cheek and then turned to his
King and Queen. “If you’ll excuse us, I’d like to find a little
peace and quiet. You’ll find us in the garden if you should need
us.”

King Bryant nodded, giving Blade a
conspiratorial wink. He then took his beautiful wife by the hand,
leading her to the dance floor. They floated about the room as if
they were dancing on air. Rainbows of Light swirled around the
ceiling, pulsing in time to the music.

Ravyn sighed and turned her back on her
enchanting parents, still so much in love. She was happy to escape
to the cool quiet outdoors. Beneath the glowing moon and sparkling
stars, Ravyn and Blade walked hand in hand, a new chapter beginning
in their lives.

Whoosh, thud, whoosh, thud. Zelera opened a
gritty eye to find herself consumed in complete and utter
blackness. Her stomach lurched into her throat as the world she
found herself in rolled and lurched beneath her. Fighting the
confusion, she grasped for the Darkness that welled within her,
finding nothing, nothing but a gaping hole where the awesome
terrible power had teemed within her. She felt worn and used, a
hollow shell. She opened her mouth to scream but then snapped her
lips tight together to battle the bile that burned in the back of
her throat. She groped about the walls caging her in, her hands
scraping along rough timber, sharp splinters dug into her palms.
Fury rose like a fire consuming her from the inside out, her pale
cheeks warmed in blotchy splotches. Lurching with the rocking
beneath her feet, she fell into a door, catching the handle as she
slammed into it. It swung open, vomiting her out onto a ship’s
deck.

The ship sailed without crew. No man tended
the sails or tiller. An angry red streak burned across the sky, a
new day breaking. On the horizon, she spied land. The ship closed
the gap, the shore looming nearer with each ragged breath she
took.

Exiled.

Zelera eyed the desolate shore.

“Rasport,” she spit. She heaved herself
forward to clutch the rail, supporting her weight on legs that
meant to give.

“You should have killed me when you had the
chance,” she screamed shaking her bony fist at the sky. “This isn’t
over. I know you’re watching. I will return one day, stronger than
before. You know nothing of the power of the Darkness. I will
return. And you will regret the day you were born!”