CHAPTER XX #9
I immediately glance at Troy and notice he’s watching Jesse walk around the tables.
My heart skips a beat at the realization that he could have been listening to our conversation, so I stand up swiftly and let Holis know I’m taking a walk, then head towards the boy with Stormfall still sleeping on my shoulder.
“Jesse!” I call through the crowd.
He turns with a questioning smile.
“Can you take me to Chef?” I grin and tilt my head down the road to Castle Bardot, “I need to give him something.”
It’s a lie, but I want to speak with him again.
“He’s in the kitchens, Lady. You want to walk all the way back to the castle?”
“Yes,” I smile, “just need a quick chat with him.”
Jesse nods with a shrug, turning back to the table to pick up the last of the empty plates. I reach out and take a few mugs from his hands and help with the load.
“You don’t have to, Lady,” he shakes his head.
I give the boy my own shrug, “we’re walking to the same place. It would be rude of me to let you carry this on your own.”
Jesse beams and balances two more glasses within the mugs I’m already holding. The gesture makes me laugh because it’s the same balance Chef taught me to do when I was his age.
“Let’s make this quick,” I nod to the boy, urging him to the Great Road, “then we can both come back and continue the celebration.”
“Sounds good to me,” he grins.
We move between the crowd before finding the main road, leaving the boisterous voices and music behind us.
“I truly do plan on traveling to Woodlands one day,” I smile at his side, “can you tell me more about the Court? Anything you can remember. I would be extremely grateful.”
“My apologies, Lady, but I can’t. It has to be almost six or seven years since I’ve been there. I don’t remember much before being brought to the capitol.”
I smile back at him, my mind racing, “I guess I’ll have to fill you in after my visit.”
“I’ve heard it’s beautiful there, Lady.”
“As have I.”
We pass through the rose gardens in silence.
“What of your time here in Bardot? You said you remember when you first came to the capitol?”
“I do,” the boy’s eyes alight, “the King and Queen and Prince all greeted me. They welcomed me to the castle before introducing me to Chef. It was an honor.”
“I can envision,” I nod, “not many have the chance to meet the King and the King to be…”
“Oh no, Lady,” Jesse shakes his head as I hold my breath, “I did not meet with Prince Keane but with Prince Troy.”
“Oh!” I exclaim softly, feigning a smile, “that’s still such an honor, Jesse.”
“Yes, Lady Alexis,” Jesse replies with a true smile, “he was nice and friendly.”
“He is…” I nod with a frown.
Definitely not a coincidence.
Sunset hits the lands of Bardot and skims across Death’s Bonfire, greeting the night sky with rays of red and orange that create a stark contrast to the multitude of green and grey surrounding us.
Our table is properly tipsy, already half a day in on our drinking and thoroughly feeling the effects.
Mana is the first to propose a round of waters for the table and is greeted with a resounding chorus of boos.
Cal slaps his shoulder with a tsk, but eventually we all heed his advice and take two rounds of waters before settling into our dinner and the long night still ahead of us.
Once the sun finally sets on the horizon and dinner is finished, a small group of Discerni soldiers make their way from the castle to the deep sound of drums. Their echoes vibrate across the land, the full company flanked by a large open carriage that’s being pulled by two royal horses.
The carriage is draped in gold and silver gems that glitter under the moonslight, with King Zander laying gently in the middle, his body wrapped in a rich grey sheet with hundreds of white roses around him.
The full of the crowd goes quiet as we watch the carriage and soldiers approach, everyone standing from their seats in both silence and respect.
The arrival of the deceased is yet another part of the ceremony for Death’s Bonfire.
King Zander’s body will be placed at the top of the fire where a scaffold and resting plank now stand above the flames.
The fire will claim him, turning his body and bones to the signifying ash of the Ancient, where his soul will then move forward to greet Hirovale so that the Ancient can guide him to his next exploration of life.
Stormfall is now awake on my shoulder and watching the procession as quietly as the rest of us.
I slowly step away from our friends and walk to the back of the crowd, not wishing for anyone to make the connection between Storm and the ceremony about to take place.
While there’s truly no hiding the presence of the Bird of Ash any more, there’s also no need to flaunt exactly who or what he is.
I sigh to the Bird of Ash, hoping he understands my departure as I bring my hand up to his chest in small apology. Stormfall purrs against me and gives a small caw, the two of us watching the large crowd that is now circling around the bonfire.
We watch as four Discerni Lords hold King Zander’s cloaked body between them.
They walk up the scaffold to the drums still beating strong, the royal family and Golem all standing in the middle of the crowd and closest to the fire.
Each of them is watching the procession with stoic features as Zander’s body is laid down on the platform, the flames licking up gently to greet him.
The full crowd watches as the fire roars once the Discerni Lords move away from the scaffold.
The flames immediately consume Zander’s body, prompting many to bow their heads at the sight and let the weight of the ceremony wash over them.
I, with everyone else, remain quiet and solemn, grieving for the man who is now being taken to the Ancient.
Something shimmering in the sky behind the massive fire catches my gaze.
I look past Castle Bardot and up the Greenstone Mountain to the lighted Palisades above, curious as to the light.
Something is falling from their skies, something golden with a tint of red.
One by one, more glowing gold begins to light up the night sky, the small specks falling down the mountain in gentle waves, almost like falling stars.
My eyes widen as ten sparkles quickly turn into a couple hundred, then thousands.
The mountain is ablaze in falling gold, and that gold is all moving from the top of the Palisades down to the castle and lands below.
I hold my breath as a woman near the rose gardens lifts her hand up to the sky, her eyes widening in disbelief as she catches a falling gold mass between her fingers.
She clasps what looks to be the edge of a folded piece of thick parchment, the end of it alight with the flame of an undying fire.
More people notice the woman and turn to the Palisades above, watching in awe as thousands of golden parchments fall from the sky.
The crowd goes eerily silent, and almost instantly the full of the mountaintop turns a solid black, the city removing the lights from their roads and buildings so that their golden sparks rain steadily down the sky, uninhibited.
The sight is breathtaking. Beautiful.
It’s genuine in its honor and leaves a trail of shivers down my spine.
It’s a gesture from the residents of the Palisades, the full of the city telling everyone below that although they are unable to attend Death’s Bonfire, they are watching, participating. The King remains in their hearts.
I can’t and don’t stop the large tremble that takes over my whole body as I watch the display from above, the sight unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The flames fall like gentle stars in the sky and move deliberately with a purpose, every single piece angling towards a King that was beloved by all.
I have to turn away from the sight, have to turn away from the Queen who openly begins crying as Keane reaches an arm around her shoulder. I take a step back and into the small woods of the Bell Grove, letting my feet pull me away as Stormfall remains quiet at my side.
My walk is my own, not one that is taken with a desire to confront the Ancient.
I move into the grove to escape the intensity of everything from the Bonfire, to escape everything from the past few days so that I can try to enjoy a brief moment of calm that isn’t racked by my heavy sobs.
It’s a walk that’s desperately needed, and when I step into the grove, Stormfall pushes off my shoulder and bounds into the night as my guide, the two of us moving idly and enjoying the serene darkness around us.
I kick at a small stone in the grass and watch it leap forward. It hits a tree trunk, one that looks sturdy enough for me to take a seat at its trunk and watch the crowd not far away. I do that and take a deep breath, my gaze staring at the bonfire through the trees as the realization hits again.
King Zander is gone.
His body and soul are now officially claimed by the Ancient.
I wish him well on his next adventure and find myself praying for the second time in my life to Hirovale, asking that the Ancient guide him peacefully to the tranquility and happiness that the being of Zander so rightly deserves.
“I will, Alexis…”
I gasp against the trunk.
“Though this wasn’t supposed to happen so soon.”
I stand up swiftly and pull my smaller dagger from my boot, pushing my want and need at Keane through my abdomen and hoping he feels the tug.
“Show yourself, Hirovale.”
I take a step forward and then glance up the tree at Stormfall, my mind becoming conflicted when his yellow eyes instantly greet mine.
He’s watching to see what I’ll do, to see how I’ll react, and as I truly don’t want any more animosity to come between us, I sheathe my blade back inside my boot and give the Bird of Ash a gentle nod.