by Drew Wagar
None spoke. There was no sound at all. All faces were upturned to her. She swallowed as a renewed sense of purpose flooded through her.
‘Let us hold fast to their vision and make it real. We have been given this chance, we have learnt of our purpose. Let every one of us consider their lives in light of what we now know. Strive to be the best you can, to serve others before yourselves, that everything under the light of Lacaille might flourish and prosper. This is the legacy our ancestors have given us. Let us not waste it. Let us rebuild and make Esurio a world of which they would have been proud!’
Cheers greeted her words. The inevitable chant arose, growing stronger with every repetition.
‘Hail, Queen Zoella of Scallia!’
* * *
She knew where he would be. Meru was standing where he had stood for spells, before the stone plinth where Kiri’s body lay in state, in one of the antechambers below the palace itself.
The room was dark, lit only by a small hole in the roof, above which a burnished metal plate reflected the light of Lacaille downwards on to the plinth.
Kiri’s body had been cleaned, her black hair brushed and trimmed neatly. She had been dressed in a pure white gown, now tinted a flaming orange in Lacaille’s light. She looked ethereal and serene; at peace. Her hands were clasped across her stomach, the left dressed in an ornate black leather glove secured with a bow at her wrist. Her head was adorned with a tiara from the royal collection of Scallia as befitted a princess. Around her neck she still bore her pendant, the sign of the Obelisk. Beside her lay her kai. Her body was surrounded by white and yellow blossoms.
Meru turned as Zoella approached him. He bowed, lowering himself on one knee.
‘No …’ Zoella said, pulling him up. ‘Not you. You don’t bow to me, not now, not ever.’
‘You’re the queen,’ he said.
‘To you I’m just Zoella,’ she said, smiling. ‘Your friend. That’s what we will always be.’
Meru nodded.
‘What you said,’ he stammered, looking at her with admiration. ‘Those words. They were inspired. You are a queen, truly.’
‘Maybe one day I will feel it,’ Zoella answered.
‘Ioric would be proud,’ Meru said. ‘As would Coran and Mel … Fitch would make some sarcastic aside but … they’d be proud … all of them.’
Tears glistened in Zoella’s eyes again.
‘Thank you.’
‘As would she.’
Both of them turned to look at Kiri. Zoella put her arm around his waist.
‘It was like she was with me,’ Zoella whispered. ‘Standing there before the people … I could see her face, that glare she had, those blue eyes. She was there, pushing me on, making me do what needed to be done.’
Meru clenched his eyes shut.
‘It’s just you and me now,’ she said. ‘The only ones left who know all the truth.’
Meru shuddered, his voice shaking. ‘Our friends … Coran, Mel, Fitch, even Caesar …
‘Ira, Ren …’
‘Daf and Creg …’
‘Ioric and Liana. Myana and Guerrun.’
‘And Kiri …’ Meru finished. ‘So many … Was it worth it?’
He opened his eyes and looked at Zoella.
‘I asked myself that before,’ Zoella said, her voice firm. ‘We will make it worth it. We can manage the flares, the priestesses are no more, we know our history now. We will honour their memory by our success from here on.’
Meru nodded.
‘She was so … alive,’ he said, staring at Kiri’s body upon the plinth. He reached out a hand to stroke her hair, teasing it from her forehead. Kiri’s face was pale, but her expression calm and tranquil.
‘Remember her like that,’ Zoella said, taking his hand again. ‘It’s too easy to dwell on the sadness and the loss. She loved you. The strength of her feelings for you … no one ever reached her like you did. Trust me, I know … I really envied her.’
Meru managed a smile.
‘She’ll never be forgotten in Scallia,’ Zoella continued. ‘Neither who she was or what she did. I will make sure of that.’
Meru’s arm went around her. Both of them were lost in their thoughts as Lacaille’s light streamed in around them.
Meru looked at her.
‘Turn your face to the sun,’ he said. ‘And the shadows will fall …’
His voice broke and he looked down, his eyes clenched shut, fresh tears upon his face.
Zoella stretched up and give him a light kiss upon his cheek, before tightening her embrace and resting her head on his shoulder.
‘They will,’ she said. ‘In time, they will.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
Aftermath
Round 2358, Fifth pass
She looked very much as she had before, one of those lucky women to whom ageing seemed to be a problem that belonged to someone else. Yet he could see streaks of grey in her hair and lines across her face that had not been present the last time he visited.
It has been rounds. Too many rounds. I should have come back sooner.
Age hadn’t left him alone either. The unruly mischievous dark hair that had once been his was long gone in favour of thinning wispy grey, but his eyes still sparkled with the same burning curiosity as they had always done.
He hadn’t been to Viresia in a long time, his journeys across Esurio had been extensive and involved. He had learnt much, but there were still more questions. Questions he hoped would soon be answered. There was only one more place left to go.
The guards had seen him coming and pulled back the doors. He had been expected. The burnished metal of their structure reflected the light of Lacaille, dazzling him. It had been many rounds since he had first stood here.
Few of the people of Viresia recognised him, none of the children playing in the bright city streets. A few of the older ones gave a nod and a wave, but there were no greetings. The city was bustling, supporting a far bigger population than it had in the time of his youth. It was clear it had prospered since.
Under her reign.
He was leaning on a staff now. A fall, some rounds before, had left him lame, but he managed. Where he was planning to go, a poor leg would be little handicap. Shortness of breath was another curse he had to bear; he could feel his heart racing just with the effort of walking. Perched on his head was a tatty old hat, its wide brim threadbare in places. He stepped within the palace of Viresia, his staff and shoes clicking on the polished furler-wood panelling.
The hall within was little changed from before, the ancient heraldic symbols still marking out Scallian history. The paintings remained too, though there were some new ones. This was where he had first met Zoella, all those rounds ago. He smiled, he had been a foolish and callow youth back then when King Ioric had sat upon the throne.
Here too, in this very room, he had lost what was most precious to him. The smile faded, the memories still painful even after all the rounds that had passed.
Long ago.
The throne was still there, now she sat upon it.
Queen Zoella turned to look at him.
‘Meru?’
‘My queen.’
He smiled, took off his hat and bowed. She rose from her throne and hurried to him.
‘None of that, I’ve told you before,’ she said, pulling him upright and hugging him close.
He embraced her back. She let him go and looked at him.
‘Queen not just of Scallia,’ he said. ‘Or so I hear. Is it true that Drem, Taloon and Drayden now pay homage to you?’
‘It is,’ Zoella replied. ‘Vandare made the suggestion a long time ago, I wish he could have seen it. We now have a commonwealth of nations.’
‘Queen of Esurio then,’ Meru said.
‘With all the problems that go with it,’ Zoella answered. She looked him over from head to foot, her eyes taking in his tired and somewhat bedraggled appearance.
‘The beard really isn’t you,’ she said, laughing. ‘Ho
w are you?’
‘Well enough,’ he said. ‘Stiff and sore, but nothing that I haven’t had to put up with for rounds already.’
‘If you will insist on traipsing the face of the planet,’ she scolded, affectionately. ‘Can there be any secrets left that you have not unlocked?’
‘The scribes will have plenty to write down for rounds now,’ Meru replied. ‘Assuming they can read my scribbles. But tell me of you, are you well?’
‘Well enough,’ Zoella replied. ‘The usual problems, ice shortages in Drem, trade disputes, shadewood taxes from Drayden, fisher-folk from Amar, the list of tedium goes on and on.’
‘I’m sure you’re more than up to the challenge,’ he replied. ‘You were always good at organising things. Not my gift at all.’
‘After all these rounds I just summon them all and then glare,’ she said. ‘Works most of the time.’
‘You always were able to convince people,’ Meru replied. ‘And how is the family?’
‘I am grandparent for a fifth time,’ Zoella said. ‘A girl.’
Meru smiled, though he could see the twist of sadness in Zoella’s expression. She had married not long after becoming queen. A celebration of happiness and new found love that had done much to repair the damage caused to all who witnessed the events before. Ten rounds that marriage had lasted, until her consort had been struck down by an unexpected and devastating plague out of the shaderight. Meru had liked Joachim; he had been a good man. Zoella had not remarried; it seemed both of them had only ever had one true love.
Such a long time ago now.
Zoella’s two children, Ioric and Liana, were long since grown up with families of their own.
‘She has blue eyes and black hair,’ Zoella said, softly. ‘They’ve called her Kiri.’
Meru nodded, his expression clouded by his own sadness, before a smile crept across his face. He had never married, always claiming that his work, charting the unknowns of the planet, had kept him too busy to settle down. Zoella was one of the few left who knew the truth.
‘A good name,’ he said, swallowing. ‘You’d better keep an eye on that one.’
‘I’m sure they would love to show her to you …’
He couldn’t help the pained expression he knew had crossed his face. Zoella stopped.
‘Some other time perhaps,’ Meru answered. He changed the subject. ‘I heard a song about the flares in one of the taverns en route. Catchy tune.’
‘One of my ideas,’ Zoella said. ‘The flares are gone now, and it won’t be long before people forget what happened. As the generations go, people will wonder if the records we leave behind are true. I thought putting the warnings into songs and folklore might help people remember. In four hundred rounds the flares will come back again …’
Meru nodded, but his eyes narrowed.
He could see Zoella was watching him carefully. She would never invade his privacy with her mental powers, but her sense of him was acute. She knew him better than any other.
‘What is it?’ she asked, her voice a whisper.
He looked away for a moment, before stepping closer and looking into her eyes.
‘I’ve come to say goodbye,’ Meru said.
Now it was Zoella’s turn to swallow. Her mouth was dry.
‘It’s fixed,’ Meru said. ‘The Obelisk … Ira … says it’s ready to launch. One final mystery to be unravelled.’
‘You’re going up there?’ Zoella asked, her voice a whisper. ‘Meru …’
‘You know I’ve wanted to see it ever since I figured out what it was, do you remember that?’ he asked.
Zoella nodded. ‘As if it were just last stretch,’ she said. ‘I had to help you with Caesar.’
Meru smiled. ‘Yes, that’s right, you did. Anyway, it’s ready. I can go. The life support on the Du Maurier is working again, the dropship ready to depart. One last flying machine for me.’
‘Your record with flying machines isn’t good you know,’ she said, trying to lighten the mood. ‘How many have you crashed? Three?’
Meru smiled. ‘Four. Don’t worry. It will all be under Ira’s control.’
‘The Du Maurier,’ Zoella whispered. ‘The ship that brought our people here from far away.’
Meru nodded. ‘Our origins. The full truth about where we came from, and why.’
‘Are you sure you want to know?’ Zoella asked.
‘I’m sure.’
She nodded.
‘I … ’ Meru began. ‘There’s not much time left. I’m … we’re old.’
‘Don’t tell me,’ Zoella scolded. ‘I’ve given up memorising which bits of me ache, it’s easier to list the bits that don’t.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Do say hello to Ira for me.’
‘I will,’ Meru replied. ‘Listen, I’ve trained everyone I can. They know everything I know. Just this one thing remains.’
Zoella’s eyes were full of tears now. A long silence fell between them.
‘I’m not going to see you again,’ she said at last, as the tears began to flow. ‘Am I? Oh, Meru …’
Meru pulled her into an embrace, closing his eyes and cradling her head against his shoulder in age-spotted hands.
* * *
There was one more thing he had to do before leaving the ancient city of Viresia.
He limped down into the catacombs below the palace. It was dark there, the individual chambers lit only by a small hole above where a burnished piece of metal reflected Lacaille’s light downwards.
The chamber was swept clean, a metallic casket set in the very centre, surrounded by a pool of light. On top was a plaque, the words on it ones that he had written long ago, etched into the very metal itself.
Meru ran his hands over it and then placed a single white flower alongside.
Fifty one rounds ago, and I can still see your face, smell your scent, feel the softness of your skin. What would our lives have been? Would we have had a family? Somehow I think not, you were never very fond of children. And you would have been just as feisty and argumentative in old age as you were when …
He paused.
She wouldn’t recognise him now, old, bearded and broken down as he was. She was forever the lithe, dark-haired and blue-eyed young woman he had loved more than anything else. Kiri would never grow old; not for her the slow decay into decrepitude. In his mind she remained the warrior, the fighter, the fierce and determined lover. Not like him now, his frame bent, his hair almost gone, his body slow and his heart aching for a rest that would not be long delayed.
From the time they had met until the time she had been taken from him not even a whole round had elapsed. She had burnt so bright in his life, like the flares they had battled; a searing burning blast of life and energy, all too soon expended, gone … nothing more than a memory.
He stroked his fingers across the casket, feeling the cold metal leaching the heat from his fingertips.
Goodbye, Kiri. Goodbye, my love.
* * *
The dropship had taken dozens of rounds to repair. It seemed that the original colonists had never expected to use it again and many of its systems had been cannibalised for other uses. Long before, Meru had issued instructions to the Obelisk … to Ira … to prepare it for flight once more.
Automated systems had begun that work and now, after many rounds of labour, they were complete.
The dropship was ready.
It was the only vessel on the planet capable of reaching orbit, of reaching the colony vessel Du Maurier that remained in orbit high above their world.
Meru had insisted on going alone. Things could go wrong, and it was foolish to risk other lives. He wouldn’t be piloting it anyway, he understood the complexities of flying such a machine in theory, but it was automated and would return on its own, with or without him.
He had made his way through the central control complex at the Obelisk site, walking down into the biotech area where Ira had given her life to save the planet.
‘Hello Ira,’ he sa
id.
Her body was still there and, as far as Meru could tell, unchanged, still a young girl early in her teenage rounds. She was suspended in the gelatinous substance that had subsumed her all those rounds before, a myriad of cables connected to her skin. She floated there, watching over everything.
‘Greetings Meru,’ she replied. ‘It has been many rounds since our last communication.’
‘It has indeed,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d recognise me.’
‘Your biological signature is distinct and not affected by age,’ Ira replied.
Meru chuckled. ‘Well, my biological signature is very lucky then, as the rest of me is definitely feeling my age. Zoella sends her regards.’
‘Is she well?’
Meru nodded. ‘She is. Queen of all Esurio now.’
‘She is a wise leader,’ Ira replied. ‘Other than minor skirmishes, her reign has been characterised by considerable peace and prosperity. She has done well.’
Meru smiled. ‘She has indeed. How have you been?’
‘All systems are operating within normal parameters. Obelisk’s status is optimal now that flare activity has ceased. Flares are predicted to return in round 2796.’
‘I don’t suppose I’ll be around for that one,’ Meru said, with a faint smile.
‘You still intend to use the dropship?’
‘Last place to go,’ Meru said.
‘Your physical condition is marginal given the stresses and strains that will be placed upon your physiology during the ascent to orbit,’ Ira said. ‘Such a trip is not recommended.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ Meru said, straightening his back against the ache growing there. ‘There’s still life in this old herg.’
‘Acknowledged,’ Ira replied. ‘Do you have any other requests?’
‘Just that you keep doing what you’re doing,’ he said. ‘Looking after everything.’
‘Obelisk defensive systems will be quiescent until the flares return in 2796,’ Ira said. ‘No further actions are anticipated. This includes AMS functions.’