He’d barely finished the sentence before I’d punched him hard in the face. The cultist reeled back, and blood immediately began to dribble from his mouth.
Kirra had been right all along …
“We’re done with him,” I said to Chancellor Gerodi. “He’s all yours.”
With that, I turned and walked into the crowd, the others following close behind. As I walked away, I could feel Natish’s amused eyes watching me.
CHAPTER 20
As we left Natish behind, I was sure that the danger was over, at least for the moment. My mind was flooded with the information we had just received from the traitorous Natish. Then Mirabelle dropped a bombshell on me—one that really could potentially mean the end of my life.
“Would you like to meet my parents?”
I froze dead in my tracks. Meeting her parents would be scary enough if I had a normal appearance, but …
Seriously, has she seen me lately?
Derrick was still reeling over Kirra’s death (as we all were), but he still managed a chuckle. “Looks to me like he’d rather face down another troll while walking on his hands.”
Mirabelle knew exactly why I was scared. “I won’t be that bad, Aidan. I promise.”
“My love, I don’t like showing my face to the general public. How are they going to react when they see my face?”
Mirabelle smiled compassionately, then took my hand. “Come on.”
“We’ll go see to … getting Kirra’s body ready,” Derrick said in a low voice, and then he left, the others following him.
As Mirabelle led me through the crowd, I subconsciously pulled my hood over my head. I was seriously more terrified of this moment than any battle I had ever been in.
Finally, we stopped, and with my hood obscuring my vision, I could see the bottom half of Mirabelle as she hugged two people tightly.
“Thank the gods you’re alright, sweetheart,” an elderly woman sobbed. “All that time, we could see you up there, but we couldn’t do anything …”
“It’s okay, Mother,” Mirabelle said reassuringly. “It’s over now.”
“I’m so proud of you,” an older man said, his voice quite gruff. “The admiration the people have for you was clearly on display today.”
There was a pause, then Mirabelle spoke again. “Mother, Father, I want you to meet someone …”
Here it comes. I just stood there petrified, stiff as a wood log, waiting for the groans of repulsion and disgust.
But I tried. Keeping my hood over my face, I bowed to Mirabelle’s parents.
Mirabelle scoffed. “Aidan—for the love of the gods …”
With that, my hood was yanked off. I recoiled from the embarrassment and the impending rejection. I had my eyes closed so I couldn’t see their expressions.
“Aidan, this is my father, Augustus, and my mother, Hazel.”
There was silence as my eyes remained shut. Then I was hit on the shoulder. “Gods above, Aidan—open your eyes.” Mirabelle sounded like what I imagine my mother would have sounded like.
Very reluctantly, I obeyed. Before me stood an older gentleman about the same height as me, with grey, perfectly combed hair. He wore a stern expression, but I could see a spark in his eyes as well. The woman was a bit shorter, with curly grey hair and a cheerful expression.
“Lord Aidan of Delmar … what an honor it is to meet you.” Hazel said, as they both bowed.
“Please, don’t,” I said, grimacing. “Bowing is not necessary. In fact, I should be bowing to you.” They both looked puzzled as I did this.
I straightened myself back up and said, “I apologize—I’m not fond of … showing my face …”
Augustus took a step toward me. “Lord Aidan—”
“Just Aidan, please, sir.” I was nearly stammering through my words. My heart was making a spirited attempt to break free of my ribcage.
“Fair enough, Aidan,” Augustus continued, “we all know your story. We know what happened to you. We have watched as you and your friends saved our people. You need not fear to show your face to us. Anyone who is afraid of your appearance is someone you don’t need to have in your life.”
I deeply appreciated his words. “Thank you, sir.”
Augustus turned to Mirabelle. “Why is he calling me ‘sir’?”
And then it hit me—he has no idea what is going on with Mirabelle and me.
My heart made even stronger attempts to escape its prison.
Hazel took Mirabelle’s hand. “Will you be staying with us, dear, or do you have other business to attend to?”
“Well …” Mirabelle said, then she took a step toward me, put her head on my shoulder and her hand on my chest.
If I had suddenly turned to ice at that moment, I don’t think anyone would have noticed.
“Oh … oh.” Hazel said, as the pieces came together.
Augustus smiled in realization.
“Oh my goodness!” Hazel burst out, then she leapt forward and hugged me with all her might. Still I didn’t move … I could literally have become a statue at that point.
Hazel released me and stepped back. “Gods above, I’m so sorry—that wasn’t very proper.”
“No, no,” I said, finally breaking free of the invisible ice cocoon that had enveloped me. I put my hand up in reassurance. “It’s fine …”
Augustus once again stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder—a move that held me frozen in place once again.
“Let me tell you a secret, Aidan,” he said. “As a father, no man is ever good enough for your daughter.”
Here we go, I thought. Let’s just get this over with.
“But,” he continued, “my daughter found herself a good man, and that’s really all any parent could ask for. I would say things like ‘guard her with your life’, if my daughter weren’t the warrior that she has become. Instead, I’ll say this—” He glanced between both me and Mirabelle—“protect each other.”
I was overcome by his words, and I finally relaxed just a bit. “With our lives, to the very end, sir.”
Augustus smiled. “Stop calling me ‘sir’—I was never in the military.”
With that, Mirabelle hugged both her parents. “I’ll see you both again soon.” I bowed to them before Mirabelle led me away again.
As we waded through the crowd, I was still trying to process what had just happened. It was so surreal, like it wasn’t happening.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Mirabelle said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
Finally, I put everything behind me and fully grasped the fact that I had the love of my life back. The joy that swept through my body at that moment was overwhelming. Tightening my grip on her hand, I stopped her in her tracks.
“What?” She asked, puzzled.
I pulled her toward me and gave her the biggest kiss I have ever given her.
I could hear the people around us gawking and admiring, but I didn’t care. All that mattered to me at that moment was that I had her back.
Finally, I released her from the death grasp of my lips. Mirabelle smiled that smile that made my heart stand still. “Did someone miss me?”
“More than you could possibly imagine,” I replied, and I could feel the tears forming in my eyes.
The love in Mirabelle’s eyes was clear. “Oh, love …” And she hugged me tightly. “I really hate sounding like a damsel in distress, but … I knew you would come for me.”
“Always,” I said.
As we held each other, I pondered the reality of what I was feeling at that moment. Of course, I was happy that I had gotten Mirabelle back and alive, but also … she wasn’t mad at me. She didn’t hate me. I remembered everything that had happened before she had been taken from me, the issues that remained unresolved.
I remembered some of Kirra’s final words.
“Come, my love,” I said. “Let’s take a walk.”
***
With Kirra’s blessing in her final moments, I t
old Mirabelle everything Kirra had told me back in Longhaven. I told her about the fire, Kirra’s attempt to save her parents, the church taking care of Kirra after their deaths. I told Mirabelle of what happened in Longhaven, what I saw as I followed her, and what happened when I finally confronted her.
As I told her all of this, I was leading Mirabelle to the universal cathedral in Longchester.
We walked inside and moved slowly down the aisle way, toward the alter. “Kirra didn’t keep a vast majority of the gold she acquired from her thievery. In honor of her parents and the church that helped her—” I pulled out a small pouch of my own gold—“she left it on the alter of cathedrals all over the land, so that they may help others.”
I placed my pouch of gold on the alter.
Mirabelle was silent for a moment, pondering. “Beneath that rough exterior, beneath that annoying personality—she truly had a heart of gold.” She was silent again, looking off to another world. “I hated her. Our personalities—they just didn’t mesh well. Though I would have never said this to her face when she was alive, I respected her fighting abilities and the other ways she contributed to the group.”
With that, Mirabelle pulled out a small pouch of her own gold. “And … she saved my life.”
She placed the gold on the alter. “Thank you, Kirra.”
Mirabelle burst into tears, and I followed suit. We held each other in that cathedral, releasing all of our pent-up emotions, finding comfort in each other’s embrace. But all that pain of losing Kirra did not measure up the pain of what we would have to do next.
We held hands as we walked back into the city. Derrick met us in front of the castle.
“We wrapped Kirra up in a blanket. She’s ready to go.” He was so somber, clearly in a lot of pain—it broke my heart to see my friend like that.
I gave him a hug, and he cried on my shoulder. Never had I seen Derrick like this—I cried along with him. Mirabelle did too.
As our emotions began to subside a little, I released him but kept my hand on his shoulder. “Let’s gather everybody and get ready to go.”
CHAPTER 21
There wasn’t much mystery about where we were heading. There was only one place Kirra could be brought—she had no real home, no allegiance to any country. Even though in my eyes, she died a hero, King Baladir certainly wasn’t going to let her be buried in the Garden of Rememberance. And really, who could blame him? She was the Queen of the Thieves, after all.
And so we took to the road south the bandit city of Knol. It was the one place she could call home, the one place where she had people around her who cared and respected her.
The one place where they would give her a proper sendoff.
We had her body in the back of a wagon filled with hay, pulled by a horse. The journey south was very somber—there wasn’t much in the way of conversation, no comradery. There was just respect and quiet support. Mirabelle and I never left each other’s side.
I kept a close eye on Derrick as well. Obviously, he wasn’t taking the death of his close friend well. He walked with glazed eyes, almost like a zombie. Interestingly enough, Aurora stayed close to him, a quiet and (hopefully) comforting presence.
Finally we arrived at the ruined city of Knol. It looked the same as it always had—rundown. The crumbling walls and buildings looked the same as they always had. Contrary to the mood and the occasion, the sun shined brightly overhead.
As we prepared to enter, I stopped everybody.
“What is the matter?” Timor asked.
“Everyone be prepared to fight,” I replied. “We don’t know how they are going to react to Kirra’s death.”
There were nods all around, and we prepared to enter again. But I stopped everybody again.
“What is it, Aidan?” Derrick asked, exasperated.
Without answering, I went to the back of the wagon and looked at Kirra. Something about this just didn’t seem right.
And then I realized what it was.
I grabbed the blanket she was wrapped in and gently pulled her to me. I don’t know why, but it just didn’t seem right to drag her in there on a wagon.
As I was about to pick her up, a massive hand laid gently on my arm.
“Let me,” Derrick said.
Everyone ready, we passed through the gate and entered the city, Derrick carrying Kirra. I watched all around as head poked out of windows, from behind corners, seemingly everywhere. As they saw who it was and who Derrick was carrying, I began to hear whispers of disbelief all around me.
We walked slowly toward the center of the city. As we got closer, I began to realize we were being followed by the city’s inhabitants, and as I looked around, I saw that they were coming from everywhere. When they saw that Kirra was dead, the bandits and thieves of Knol filled the streets to pay their respects to Kirra.
We reached the center of the city, and Derrick laid Kirra gently on the ground. By that point, we were surrounded, and under normal circumstances, it would be very disheartening. But when I looked at them all, I could clearly see that they had not come to fight—they were here for Kirra.
I moved to stand over Kirra and speak to them. At first I really didn’t know what to say—so I just said what came to mind.
“We didn’t always get along. We were just … two different people. She could be antagonistic, and I could be a jerk sometimes—but one thing I cannot deny is that she was there for me. When our backs were against the wall, she was always by my side, along with everyone else. She didn’t have to be—she could have left and come back here, left all of us behind. But she didn’t.”
I paused for a moment. I could hear scattered sobs from the crowd, and some right behind me. I regained my composure and continued.
“I want everyone who can hear my voice to know that Kirra died a hero. She died saving the life of one of the most important people in my life—and for that, I will never forget her, and I will always respect her memory.”
I paused again as I had to once again contain myself.
“She has no place she calls home except for here. I thought it was appropriate that we brought here back to the one place where she was truly loved and respected.”
There was silence for what seemed like forever. Everyone stood frozen in place, and for a moment, I wondered if somehow a spell had been cast that made time stand still.
Finally, a big man stepped forward. He was wearing old and ratty clothes, and had a head full of messy hair and a full beard. He also had a grayish tint to him—it appeared he might have been half-ogre.
“Who killed her?” He asked in a very deep voice.
“Norvin of Delmar,” I answered. “But he’s been taken care of.”
The big man nodded, and stepped closer to Kirra’s body. “Thank you, Lord Aidan of Delmar. We will take care of her.”
I nodded in response.
“Do not fear leaving this place,” the giant continued. “No one will harm you.”
I had my doubts about that, but we turned to leave, the brigands of the city separated and formed a path to the north gate, where we had entered from. It was clear that the big man held some sway in this city, and I was certainly grateful for that.
As we left, I stopped and turned back to Kirra one final time, to see the crowd slowly converging on her. I hadn’t had any doubts before, but now I knew she would be well taken care of. I whispered a prayer of thanks before leaving for good.
***
The journey back to Delmar was long and quiet. I went around to everyone at different times and tried to make sure everyone was alright, but I mostly got half-reassuring responses. Iskandor and Timor were their usual quiet selves, but you could see the pain in their body language. I paid close attention to Derrick, and when I approached him and told him I was here for him if he needed to talk, he simply half-smiled and patted me on the shoulder. Ceiridwen was sympathetic, and was always close by to him, sometimes sitting on his shoulder. Derrick didn’t seem to mind.
Anoth
er obvious person to pay attention to was Aurora. The child was truly an enigma—I could not get a read on her at all, even after all of this. I knew she wouldn’t respond verbally to me if I were to ask her if she was okay, so when I approached her, I simply put my hand gently on the side of her face and smiled. She responded with wide eyes and a half smile, playing with the magical necklace we had taken from King Marion. The brownies just sat in her pouch, uncharacteristically quiet. Mirabelle was also with her constantly.
To this day, I was still dealing with the death of Garridan, but Kirra was the first person we all had lost. It was a major blow to the group, and it showed in their moral. Time would heal the wounds partially, but never fully.
We arrived in Delmar with little fanfare, not that we were expecting or wanted any. None of us were in the mood for anything except finding the time to heal our pain as best as we could. As usual, when we headed toward the White Castle, the people of Delmar gave us a wide berth. They took the time to smile, gawk, or scowl as we passed.
King Baladir met us outside the castle as we approached. He saw Mirabelle and I together, and he smiled. “I’m glad you have her back, Aidan. She a great person and a great soldier.”
My first instinct was to rebuff him completely. But in that split second, my mind was flooded with all of my emotions and thoughts. I thought about what he had done to me, and that thought immediately brought anger. But then I thought about what happened to Mirabelle … what happened to Kirra. All the pain and anguish … the fear and trepidation. I thought about what we had lost, and as I glanced at Mirabelle—what had just barely been regained.
Then I brought my thoughts back to Baladir. After all of this … does it really matter anymore?
My gaze met Baladir’s again, and he looked puzzled. “Are you okay, Aidan?”
It was time. I knew it was time.
I bowed to him. I got down on one knee and bowed my head low, in reverence and respect. And I meant it. It was time to at least do my best to put this behind me.
The Treachery Of A Weasel Page 21