The Indoctrination
Page 28
In Chrissa’s elegant handwriting, Darin read: “By order of the Setian Council, Darin Hoyle, former leader of the earth resistance, is to be executed immediately for crimes against the Empire. Signed this day, the 45th of Apresta, by authorization of Dehartra Kasar, Empress of the Setian Empire.” Her signature stood clearly against the whiteness of the page.
“She was the daughter of the Empire before all else.”
Several heartbeats of silence followed before Darin finally asked, “Why am I still alive?”
Councilor Kavra looked up at the taller man still kneeling on the ground as though considering him for a long time. “Because she was a daughter of the Empire to the end, and my last gift to her was to do what the Empress could not. I loved her too much to kill the last piece of her heart that was human.”
On the third day, Lady Chrissalynn Dehartra Kasar, Empress of the Setian Empire, was carried though a massive crowd of mournful followers. Two torches were lit, one held by Darin and one held by Lord Kasar, now Emperor, with Councilor Kavra standing between them. They lit the fire and stood side by side with tears running from their eyes. As the flames covered her body, a commander stepped forward to inform the new Emperor that the last remaining rebel ship had been captured, and the last prisoners enslaved. The Empress had won the final victory, and would be praised for eternity; but the Empress was now nothing but a pile of ashes that would come to be collected within three different bottles.
One was spread over the waters of the Setian home world; one over the oceans of the Lorid home world, the place of her most famous victory, and the last was placed carefully in the inner pocket of Lord Kasar’s black jacket.
When the ceremony was finished, Lord Kasar boarded his ship and issued orders to travel immediately to Setian colony 428. It took four days for the ship to reach the colony and Lord Kasar took a private ship down to the planet, where a small car was waiting for his arrival. A driver was waiting as he stepped off the ship, but the Emperor dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “This trip is personal,” he told his usual guard. “I must do this alone.” He got behind the wheel of the red mustang convertible and headed down the California coast. The cold bite of the wind on his bare face helped to tie him to reality as his mind wondered down a path all but forgotten, yet his hands seemed to know the way as though he had been there only yesterday.
It was a late fall evening before Lord Kasar finally found the almost forgotten beach that he had been so fond of years before. He stepped out of the car and had to climb over the jagged rocks down a narrow path which few would brave in order to reach his final destination. The sand under his feet seemed smooth and untouched as he walked slowly towards the ocean, the sea whispering in his ears as though welcoming him home from a long days toil. He reached down and put his hand into the clear, cold water allowing his fingertips to brush the white foam of the sea. He then straightened as the ever cooling breeze blew at the edge of his long, black jacket. Taking a deep breath, Lord Kasar reached into the inner left pocket of his coat and withdrew the small bottle of ashes that lay hidden within. He stepped farther into the sea, ignoring the chill of the cold water seeping through his clothes. He opened the thin, gold bottle and tossed her ashes into the sea.
The sun began to set as he watched the water carry her away. Then, finally he reached into yet another pocket and withdrew a black, satin cloth which he unfolded with the utmost care. Within lay a small, jet black shell, still smooth to the touch after all these years. In the center of the shell lay a small splash of red in the shape of a small rose.
“My Princess,” he whispered through his tears as he tossed the shell into the sea, “my daughter.” He stepped back and stood on the dry sand of the beach gazing into the sunset which held the perfection found only in a picture captured on a postcard; the clear cerulean blue slowly changing to an elaborate array of oranges, reds, pinks, and purples before finally fading to utter and complete darkness.
About the Author:
K.L. Bone has a Masters degree in Modern Literary Cultures. She is American, but is currently living in Ireland working towards her PhD with a focus in vampire and children’s literature. She wrote her first short story at the age of 15 and grew up with an equally great love of both classical literature and speculative fiction. She has spent the last few years as a bit of a world traveler, living in California, London and now Dublin in pursuit of her vampire studies.
Follow her at: www.klbone.com
On Twitter: @kl_bone
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Other Works by K.L. Bone
Black Rose – Now available
Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to Kale – Now available
Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to Koloso – Coming soon!
Blood Rose – Coming soon!