One Crown & Two Thrones: The Prophecy

by Iseult O'Shea

  “I am not certain that you will be able to protect her from these knights Cael, no matter your honourable intentions.”

  “You must have faith in me reverend,” Theodore said with a gentle smile as he opened the door for the minister who placed his hat upon his head.

  “I don’t believe I have any other option, do you?” Matthew replied curtly, turning on his heels without another word and walking down the garden path, stopping for a moment to look up at Eveline’s window. She stood their staring down at him with serious eyes. Matthew blinked before he turned away and opened the gate.

  *

  Eveline lay in silence as darkness shrouded her room, her delicate fingers stroking the jewel that lay upon her heart. Under her pillow lay her new bible, tucked safely beneath her head where she could feel the slight outline of its shape. The window rattled as the rain began to fall like small daggers, cutting at the glass ever so carefully. Restless she rose from her bed and swung her feet over the edge. Searching she found a blanket and wrapped it about her shoulders, placing her feet upon the wooden ground and walking cautiously to the window. She stood looking out into the dark filled night, mist gathering about the hills and rain falling heavily, drenching the newly sown grass and filling the bountiful lake.

  “You’re awake,” a gentle voice called out from behind. Eveline saw her husband’s reflection in the window pane.

  “The night brings with it terrible terrors,” Eveline said without moving. “Such that I dare not to close my eyes least I wake up and find myself prey to one of my many enemies.”

  “You do not have to face those terrors alone,” Theodore said with warmth as he came to stand behind her, placing his hands upon her shoulders. “I am here.”

  “I know,” Eveline whispered, her head falling back against his chest. “You have always been here even when I was not.”

  “I understand that we have changed of late,” Theodore said with a sigh as his fingers sought Eveline’s throat, gently stroking her cold skin. “But we are still the same man and wife that married that day, aren’t we?”

  “Are we? Are we truly?” Eveline replied, her chest rising and falling gently as Theodores fingers traced the outline of her ears.

  “I believe we are, you still love me?”

  “I will always love you Theodore.”

  “Even knowing what you know about me?”

  “You have my best intentions at heart and you are a good man,” Eveline whispered faintly, her eyes stinging. “Can you love me for who I truly am?”

  “I always did,” Theodore smiled into her hair.

  “You would never stand in my way would you?”

  “Why would you think that?” Theodore asked, his fingers freezing.

  “We have never spoken of the future, not properly, not until now,” Eveline said with courage sensing her husband’s stillness. “I have never asked you how you feel about maybe becoming my King if I were to claim my crown and throne.”

  “I would be your equal would I not?” Theodore whispered carefully.

  “In my eyes you would, you always have been…but.”

  “But?” Theodore re iterated darkly.

  “Many may not see you as my equal giving my position,” Eveline said softly, raising a hand and letting it rest upon her husband’s gently. “Many believe in the prophecy, believe that it is another who should stand at my side as my true equal.”

  “He is dead and with him the prophecy too,” Theodore said through gritted teeth. Eveline closed her eyes painfully and turned her head away from him. “Your heart does not belong to him, it belongs to me. You vowed to be my wife remember?”

  “I remember,” Eveline said with feeling. “If I were to decide that I should return to Unas with haste, would you mind?”

  “It is as you said, you are not ready,” Theodore said with sternness. “We can wait a little longer until you are strong enough to make the journey through time and space.”

  “You are right,” Eveline smiled, turning her body around so that she faced him. She knew that she had this one chance to find out if her husband was truly one her side. “I will wait a little longer.”

  “You scared me there for a moment,” Theodore smiled, a hefty sigh leaving his body as Eveline entwined her arms about his neck. She felt his muscles tighten under her and searched his eyes for any glimmer of repulsion. Theodore looked down into her golden gaze, serious and intent. “You should return to bed now, you need your sleep.”

  “Will you stay with me?” Eveline asked quietly, her heart thudding beneath her jewel.

  “It is alright Eveline we don’t need to rush things just yet, you are still recovering,” Theodore said kindly as the moonlight streamed in through the window.

  “Please,” Eveline begged with gentle urgency. “I need you.”

  “Alright,” Theodore conceded. “I shall join you in a minute when I am dressed.”

  “Okay,” Eveline whispered, her arms falling from her husband’s neck. She watched him leave her room before quickly darting back to her bed and grabbing her bible, placing it in the drawer of her bedside table. Her heart raced with fear and anticipation, she was taking a risk a risk that would truly unmask her husband’s true intentions. She felt wicked and cruel as she lay in her bed shaking. She needed to know if he truly loved her as he once did before the veil of time fell away from him and his true being came back to life, the Cael that had already given his heart to another. If he did not retract from her then she would gladly stay at his side even if Galean lived. If he indeed retracted from her touch then she knew what should follow.

  After several moments of fear Theodore re-entered her room and quietly closed the door behind him. Eveline lay in wait, her golden eyes ablaze in the dark as he quietly entered her bed, his body shuffling against her own. Theodore when comfortable turned to his wife and gazed into her eyes, his heart pounding with a mixture of pleasure and grief as the memory of Jophiel emblazoned his mind. A hand touched his heart and he shivered under the touch.

  “I am truly sorry for all that has befallen you,” Eveline whispered with tear filled eyes. “I am sorry for the loss of Jophiel, I know that you both shared a love before our own.”

  “You knew?” Theodore whispered, his eyes wide with shock.

  “I bare no jealousy, only shame that I have taken her from you so cruelly,” Eveline said with a guilt ridden heart.

  “I married you out of love not duty,” Theodore said clearly, his own hands finding her body and settling upon her waist.

  “I know,” Eveline said with gentleness. “All this drama and attention has been on me and for that too I am sorry.”

  “You cannot help the drama that follows you, it is inevitable.”

  “No matter, I have been so wrapped up in myself I have been neglectful in my duties as your wife.”

  “You are not only to blame Eveline, I too have been monstrous to be around,” Theodore smiled as he carefully lifted the hem of her nightdress, his fingers burning her skin. “Can you forgive me?”

  “There is nothing to forgive, you have not lied nor betrayed me,” Eveline said carefully, feeling his fingers upon her thighs and shaking. “You are my husband and I trust you.”

  “Then let us say no more tonight,” Theodore murmured in her ear as he skilfully raised her nightdress to her waist whilst touching her lips softly. Eveline trembled lightly as the realisation of what would occur suddenly hit her. Theodore too felt something inside him stop as his mind bombarded him with disturbing images of his wife kissing Galean and himself kissing Jophiel.

  “Theodore?” Eveline whispered gently, feeling her husband’s body stiffen, his eyes glazed.

  “Sorry,” Theodore apologised quickly, leaning away from Eveline and turning on his back. Eveline watched Theodore as he battled with his inner self, his bare chest rising and falling quickly.

  “It is too soon,” Eveline muttered, resting her head upon his chest. “Sleep.” Theodore lifted his right arm and wound it
about Eveline’s body, his hand resting upon her chest. For a while they simply lay, their breathes easing and their bodies relaxing. It had been a bad idea from the beginning Eveline realised as she held onto Theodore with shame in her heart. Of course he was pained by the loss of Jophiel, she too was pained with the loss of Galean. It was rationale that he keep the information on Galean a secret from her, he was driven my insecurity and jealousy and she had given him cause to feel both. As she listened to his heart beat she closed her eyes, letting his hand rest over her heart. But as she lay within his hold she felt his fingers clasp at her jewel.

  “What is this?” Theodore asked gently, his fingers stroking the yellow jewel.

  “Only a necklace, it is nothing of consequence,” Eveline lied as her husband unwound his arm from her and brought himself up upon his elbow to get a closer look. Eveline lay under his gaze as he brought the yellow starred diamond forth and held it up in the moonlight.

  “Who gave you this?” Theodore asked quietly, his blue eyes vivid.

  “It was a gift from mother for Christmas,” Eveline lied. Theodore twirled the jewel in his hand, knowing the necklace well. Anger surged through him as he looked down into his wife’s guilty stare. Eveline looked up into his face, her lips trembling.

  “You never were a very good liar Eveline,” Theodore sneered, rolling out of bed with a growl. “I know very well who that jewel belongs too. Why did he give it to you?”

  “He gave it to me as a parting gift,” Eveline cried out, following her husband from the room, her bare feet running after his own as he carelessly descended the stairs.

  “Along with a kiss too?” Theodore yelled out as Eveline entered the morning room. Theodore placed his white knuckled hands upon the mantle and closed his eyes, the muscles in his back flexing with anger.

  “What do you mean?” Eveline whispered fearfully.

  “I saw the pair of you in the park that night,” Theodore muttered darkly. “I saw you kiss.”

  “Theodore…I…I”

  “Don’t try to calm me with your words Eveline!”

  Eveline ran to her husband and laid her hands upon his back.

  “I was not in my right mind Theodore,” she lied pitifully.

  “I should have killed him, should have dug my blade into his pathetic body deeper,” Theodore cursed aloud. Eveline froze as his words filled the darkened room.

  “What do you mean deeper?” she whispered coldly. Eveline’s hands fell from his back as she stood away from him. Theodore turned on her with angry eyes.

  “I should have finished him myself!”

  “What do you mean?” Eveline shouted venomously, her voice so cold it struck Theodore in the heart. “He had been stabbed with a blade before he was dragged from the abbey, was it you?”

  “Eveline please,” Theodore begged suddenly fearful before his frightening wife, who stood tall and terrifying before him. “I was driven by jealousy, you must believe me I did not mean to harm him only to wound him.”

  “You tried to murder your friend because he kissed me?” Eveline cried out as she edged closer to Theodore.

  “You are my wife Eveline! Mine!” Theodore yelled back with force. “Was it so wrong that I became jealous of your friendship with him? So wrong that I felt hatred towards him when all the universe believes you both bound to one another?”

  “This from a man, a husband who betrayed me too?” Eveline cried as she struck her husband on the chest. “You think because I was possessed and poisoned I did not see the looks between you and Jophiel? That I did not know of the love you both shared?”

  “That was before I married you Eveline,” Theodore begged as he tried to restrain her. Eveline felt herself weaken as she crumbled into Theodore’s arms.

  “What has become of us?” she whispered weakly into his chest.

  “I don’t know,” Theodore cried into her hair as he wrapped his arms about her. “All of it is a mess.”

  “Why would you murder your friend?”

  “It was not my intent,” Theodore lied through gritted teeth. “Can you blame me for feeling insecure?”

  “I could never have forgiven you for killing such a good man,” Eveline said with feeling. “No matter your jealousy or my stupid actions. He left because of his growing feelings for me, left because he respected you, because he would never in his wildest of dreams have seen me stoop so low as to break my oath to you.”

  “But he kissed you,” Theodore whispered into her hair.

  “At my request,” Eveline said in return her eyes shut. “Just as you kissed Jophiel on your way home from Oxford.”

  “But…” Theodore stuttered.

  “She couldn’t keep it to herself for fear of betraying me,” Eveline whispered softly. “And I couldn’t find it within me to be angry with you both, for it was my fault for separating you. I was in no position to judge.”

  “Why did you not say something?” Theodore asked with raised brows as he lifted Eveline up into his arms and settling himself down into one of the leather seats, Eveline upon his knees. Eveline looked down into his face.

  “How could I? It is because of me that all of this has happened, because of me that you have lost Jophiel. I couldn’t feel anger towards you, only myself.”

  “I’m sorry,” Theodore whispered with tear stained eyes.

  “You speak truth when you say you would not have killed Galean?” Eveline studied him closely as he struggled to form words.

  “No, I felt white rage at his arrogance in returning to see you at the abbey,” Theodore said plainly, his eyes honest.

  “I understand,” Eveline said with furrowed brows. “We are both to blame.”

  “Can you ever forgive me?”

  “Can you forgive me for forcing you to feel such hatred and pushing you to such a point in which you would use violence against your own kind?”

  “I am a passionate man,” Theodore said with a sigh. “My flaws are long engrained within me.”

  “You would tell me if Galean lived, wouldn’t you?” Eveline enquired with stern eyes, holding her husband’s face in the palms of her hands.

  “I would,” Theodore lied. Eveline held his gaze before sitting away from him.

  “There is nothing to forgive,” she said quietly getting to her feet.

  “We can start anew?” Theodore asked with hopeful eyes. Eveline turned from the stairs and faced him.

  “Are you willing to start anew? To follow me to Unas?”

  “I am,” Theodore whispered.

  “Then yes, we can start anew,” Eveline said sombrely, turning on her heels and ascending the stairs, keeping her eyes forward.

  XXI

  The Choice

  7th April 1941

  You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away towards darkness…

  Henry B. Eyring.

  “Mrs Berrywaithe received news that her son has been lost in action,” Mary exclaimed to Eveline as she handed her a cup of tea.

  “Thomas?”

  “Indeed, such a tragic loss,” Mary sighed as she returned to the sink to wash out some dishes. “That’s twenty four of our fine young boys taken from us.”

  “She has a daughter yes?” Eveline asked, her eyes upon the swirling hot water within her china tea cup.

  “Yes, Ethel is her name,” Mary returned with a smile as she looked out of the kitchen window and into the blooming garden. “She works up on farmer’s Jacks fields with the rest of the young women.”

  “I always remember Ethel as being the shyest of the lot, is she still as shy now?”

  “Oh yes,” Mary retorted with a wave of her hand. “I am certain she shall always be of such a nature.”

  “She has keen eyes for nature,” Eveline murmured as her husband entered the kitchen, stopping for a brief moment. “Morning Theo.”

  “Morning Evie,” he muttered, taking a seat opposite his wife and filling his plate with toast. The room had turned i
n on itself with icy awkwardness as the two sat opposite one another, keeping their gazes averted.

  “Are you busy today?” Eveline enquired warmly.

  “Not especially, you?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary,” Eveline lied. “I thought I would start to go through mothers clothes.”

  “What will you do with them?”

  “I shall give them to charity as she would have wanted,” Eveline smiled, draining her cup of the china tea. “If that is alright with you?”

  “Yes, I have no problem with you sorting through her stuff,” Theodore smiled weakly, lifting up the Times paper and opening it. Eveline set down her cup and rose from the table.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” she whispered, bringing her cup and saucer over to Mary. Theodore merely hummed as she turned and exited the kitchen. Eveline for the first time in three months put on her coat and hat. She stood before small mirror that hung near to the door and looked at her reflection. With one last stare she turned and quietly opened the door. She moved with caution until she came to the garden gate. Opening the gate she fastened her hat to her head and made her way down the country lane towards the graveyard which lay near to the town of Keswick. It was a fine spring’s day and all about her were the joys of nature, the gentle swaying of the newly blooming trees and the poetic singing of the morning birds. She had not recovered so much as to find joy in what was once her greatest of loves. And as she quietly made her way down into Keswick, spying some of the ministers friends close by she kept her eyes upon the ground, unable to let her gaze run over the newly enriched lands that surrounded the beautiful lake. The struggles deep within still clawed away at Eveline, despite her cleaner image and her strengthening social activities. A heavy mass of grey cloud still hung over her at all times, still she was struck by night terrors and still she awoke to find Lagar watching over her with venomous eyes. But the news of Galean’s survival had in turn revived her a little, sweeping away some of the mists of grief and in turn giving her clarity.

  Theodore had withheld the information of Galean’s survival at bay on purpose and for this on top of his violent act of jealousy she could not forgive, no matter her lies to him the previous evening. When she had returned to her room shaking with anger and disorientation she began to pack a leather suitcase, filling it with all the necessities she would need for the journey ahead. During the morning hours she had written a lengthy letter to her husband explaining why it was that she was leaving him. The letter had been dashed with small dots of salt water as she wept over her words. She knew her leaving would anger him and knew that he would try to come after her, but if she was cleaver and she needed to be, now that she being hunted down by these four knights, then she would keep herself hidden and out of sight, with the added help of the reverend. Eveline stopped on the outskirts of the town and took in a deep breathe, her eyes on the nearby graveyard. With her hat lowered over her eyes she made her way through the busy town until she came to the local church and graveyard. Quietly and sombrely she found Estelle’s grave and came to stand before it with saddened eyes.