Rising from Dust (Light from Aphelion Book 1)

by Carlsson, Martine

  “You are the only reason I want to live.” Louis’s face came close to his. His friend touched Selen’s opening lips with his in tiny sips. Selen tasted the salt on his friend’s plump lips. Louis’s touch was so soft that Selen thought he was kissed by an angel when he remembered it had been his wings. Selen would have taken a thousand of his kisses and a hundred more.

  Someone knocked on the door. Louis dried his tears abruptly and composed himself. Selen made a sign that his friend looked neutral again. Louis got up and opened the door.

  “You open your door yourself?” Selen heard Pembroke ask.

  “Yes. I’m still not used to the etiquette,” Louis answered. “Come in.”

  Pembroke stepped inside the solar. He was clad in black robes as usual. He noticed Selen in the bed.

  “Oh! I… Oh,” His face looked surprised and ill-at-ease. “So the rumours were true.”

  “It depends on how you present it,” Louis said. “If I care about Selen, yes. But if I hear one more filthy word like the ones I heard yesterday, I will put their heads on spikes.”

  “Well. It’s…unusual. Yet, I know your worth as men, and I won’t judge. How do you plan to present it to the population? Or will you deny the whole thing?”

  “I have not thought about it yet. I would like to focus on the prisoners first,” Louis suggested. The two men took a seat.

  “As they have been caught in the act of rebellion against their king in a time of peace, I think we could easily skip a trial,” Louis said. “All the men present yesterday on the esplanade and their leaders will be executed. How many men did you arrest?”

  “Over a hundred, Your Majesty,” Pembroke replied. “Nobles, henchmen, religious fanatics. But also two of your ministers, the high priest, and members of the most prestigious families of Nysa Serin.”

  Selen thought that this would be a good cleansing. Should Louis put them to death, and he had no doubts of his friend’s intentions, this would make sure that no one would ever be tempted to rebel again. It would be a fatal blow at their enemies.

  “I will make no exception. Yet, for reasons of practicality and hygiene, you will hang half of them, the henchmen and the religious fanatics. We will behead only the nobles. Not that I want to do them a favour, but I know what a hundred heads in one day do to the pavement,” Louis said. “I want a public execution. I will assist with it with the rest of the court. That should teach them.”

  “When do you want to have the execution organized, Your Majesty?”

  “As soon as possible. Tomorrow, if Selen has the strength to stand up. I don’t want to postpone these things. The blow must fall sharp and inflexible,” Louis answered. “Now, there is another point I would like to approach. It’s their wealth and goods. They have to pay, but we have to show justice and fairness. You will seize their wealth and properties for the Treasure, but—and I insist—you will leave enough for their widows and children to live decently. They have the right to keep one house and their personal belongings. I want no pillaging, no violence. I don’t want to hear of raped women, and there won’t be orphans and widows begging in the streets. Have I been clear?”

  “I will see to that, Your Majesty,” Pembroke said with approval in his voice. “Is there something else I can do?”

  “We have lost three of our ministers. We need to replace them. I think that, considering the importance of the nobles in this false insurrection, the time is ripe to open the high council to commoners. I will send you a list of the guild masters who gave me the best impression. You and Mauger will introduce them to the functions. Maybe we can finally work together on the constitution. I want everyone in this city to feel concerned about their rights.”

  Selen was pleased to see that the shattered dreams of his friend were coming back to life again.

  “I have a little question, Your Majesty,” Pembroke said. “Can we know more about your…you know, feathers?”

  Louis smiled. “I think you should ask God about that. It was his will.”

  The men rose. Pembroke took his leave and left the solar.

  “Do you think you can endure standing up?” Louis asked.

  Selen tried to sit in the bed. He felt as if he had been trampled by a horse. He groaned with pain.

  “I did not mean now,” Louis said, holding him back down. “Now, you must rest. I want you by my side during the execution. Not for the sight, of course, but to show we are united.”

  “Are you sure?” Selen inquired. This could only reinforce the rumours.

  “If they don’t accept us after that, nothing will ever change their minds, and I can’t hold you in a cage. I would like, for once, not to limit my relationship to a single room. If you are ready.”

  “I’m ready,” Selen said. “Louis, considering I nearly died, I want to know. Is your name Antoine?”

  Louis’s smile faded. His eyes lost their glow as if his friend had aged a hundred years. “My name is Louis Antoine Saint-Just. But please, don’t use it. It is…loaded with memories. I was Antoine…” Louis paused, overwhelmed with feelings. He shifted his tearful eyes before looking at him again. “For you, I want to be Louis, only Louis. If you understand.”

  “I understand,” Selen said. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right. Rest now,” Louis said, laying a hand on him. “I’m here if you need anything.”

  Selen slipped under the covers again, looked at the sky through the window, and closed his eyes. The singing of the birds put him to sleep.

  Even with his bruises on fire, Selen had managed the whole way from the palace to his chair on the dais without stumbling. Thousands of people were packed in the square. They looked pacific and attentive, as if they were attending an exceptional show of high intensity. They had come with their families, and many ate snacks. The gallows had been raised to the left of the dais. There were only three of them. Considering that it was the middle of summer, the bodies had been removed progressively to avoid the horrible stench of the excrement falling from the corpses. The last thirty condemned, clad in a plain, grey frocks, still hung from their ropes, swinging lightly with the wind. Some had their tongues drying out in the sun. These thirty had been left for the crowd to gaze upon. They would be cut down by the end of the day. Though it was still faint, the scent already reached Selen’s nose. The scaffold for the beheadings and the dais were one single, huge platform. Louis wanted to have the sight so close that the rest of the nobles would feel the coldness of the blade grazing their frail necks. On the right, the forty condemned, packed by ten and also clad in the same frock, stood in a line. The herald stepped forward and shouted.

  “In the name of his Majesty Louis Domgeornan, King of Trevalden and Protector of the People, the condemned men here have been found guilty of fomenting an insurrection against the king. Considering their status in the public service, their action is considered by law as criminal. They have been judged outlaws and usurpers of the king and the people’s sovereignty and are thus condemned to death.”

  Selen could not help but notice that the status of high priest was now included in the public service.

  The first man was pushed forward to the block. He was a middle-aged man with an aquiline nose and a large chin. His brow was covered with sweat. The man trembled and squeaked with a little voice that did not match his stature. When the guards pushed him down, the man soiled himself. The executioner’s axe fell. Selen could not see the blow, but he saw the head roll and the blood squirt in long jets. The guards bore the body and threw it in the cart down the scaffold. One man picked up the head by the hair and cast it with the rest. The guards fetched the next condemned.

  The process was long. The pain in Selen’s back and broken ribs grew more severe. He twitched in his seat and stifled a groan.

  “Are you all right?” Louis whispered with concern without turning his head.

  “It hurts but I can hold,” Selen answered. He looked sideways at his friend. Louis was calm and grim with determination. He sat cross
-legged on his throne, with his head on his joined hands. His eyes narrowed. Only three prisoners were left, the high priest, Honfroi, and Evrardin. Louis had kept them for the end. His friend raised his hand.

  “Hold on,” Louis said.

  The executioner stopped. Louis rose and approached the block. His black boots tramped on the blood-soaked boards. He held a hand towards the executioner. The man did not react at first, but then he handed his axe. Louis took it.

  “It is time for the king to dispense justice himself,” Louis exclaimed.

  The guards pushed the high priest forward. Selen felt a bit frustrated that he could not see Louis’s face from where he sat, but he saw the emotions on the priest’s face. It was a mix of hatred, fear, and incomprehension. Though Louis did not have the dexterity of the executioner, it only took one blow to take the man’s life. The head of the high priest fell on the boards. Louis pushed the body from the block with his foot and raised his hand towards Honfroi, announcing the fat man’s turn. The execution was cleaner. The head fell heavily. Finally, it was Evrardin’s turn. The minister knelt on the side of the block.

  “Any last words?” Louis said low to the man.

  “They hated me, but they will never love you.” Evrardin smirked. “The people like heroes, but they despise goodness. They envy our money, because they share our flaws. Give them bits of what we have, and they will gladly bear a yoke.” Louis cleft Evrardin’s head.

  “I said words, not a speech,” Louis told the severed head.

  Selen watched Louis put the axe against the block and walk forward to the edge of the scaffold. His friend gazed at the crowd. His long hair floated in the wind. The sides of his blue brocade tunic flapped against his legs. He shouted. His voice was clear and powerful.

  “People of Trevalden! My people! Yesterday, men broke my heart. And I will only confide in you. As my function of king makes me the servant of the people, I owe you the truth, and I hope I will still be honored with your trust.”

  At the mention of truth, Selen leaned forward, as did the nobles around him. The truth was rarely something everyone wanted to hear.

  “Those men have tried to divide our government. They wanted to spread chaos. Their jealousy and pettiness have pushed them to increase their influence and to concentrate the power in their hands only, leaving no right to live for anyone who did not fit in their schemes. They have corrupted the watch and the tribunals. They wanted to overthrow good people to make their domination unstoppable. Those men thought that they had made me king, that I owed them. And thus that I would follow their scheme. But I am not a traitor to my people. I serve my country. I speak in your name. My lips will always be sincere. Therefore, I present you the facts, as they are, though some would want them to be settled in the offices of the palace.”

  At the promise of spicy revelations, the atmosphere tensed. Selen felt worry grow in him and hoped his friend was not digging his grave.

  “It is true that some of the nobles took the glory for the deeds of the Rebellion. That they felt offended by the new laws. They also wanted to corrupt the minds, thus, they spilled obscene words and thoughts among you. To force you to commit crimes that were against your interests. Selfishness ruled their hearts, and therefore, unfortunately, as they stood in the way of your happiness, they had to be tamed.” Louis pointed at the bloody block behind him. “As long as I will reign, there won’t be factions in the government. There will be no calumny, no lies, and no injustice. The force won’t be law. The institutions we are working on will fix the guarantees of your rights and your freedom. Only justice and rightful laws will protect you. The power belongs to the people. It can never be in the hands of one single man. No one wants a tyrant. No one wishes another Agroln! I will fight for justice until the end. Yet, some of you may want to take me down. I leave you your own free will. I warn you, though, that factions mean destruction, death. As for me, I would prefer death than to be the accomplice of such criminals. A king must reign fairly—or die!”

  Though the words had moved Selen’s heart, he was not sure that the people had caught the meaning of his friend’s words. Fighting the pain in his body and his fear of the crowd’s reaction towards him, Selen rose from his seat and stepped forward. He passed near Evrardin’s corpse. Droplets of blood stained the bottom of his white tunic as the wind swirled it against the block. He stopped at Louis’s side. He looked at the people, ready to hear insults as lewd as the ones he had heard in the slums. Still, what he heard was different.

  “Is it the man who kills rapists?” a woman asked.

  A scarred man pointed at him. “I remember him! I fought under his command at the battle of the dam!” the man said with pride.

  “He is the one working at the school,” another voice said.

  Selen smiled. As clearly and audibly as his friend had talked, he shouted.

  “People of Trevalden! The days of glory are not over. But their future depends on you! Will you put down a government that has such high designs for your future? Whose king is so wise that he refuses the absolute power of his function? A king who wants to speak in your name? Who loves you?”

  Their eyes on him, the people listened to his words carefully. Selen gave them time to ponder on them, yet not long enough to let his fears take over him.

  “And this is not any king. It is your hero of the Rebellion. The victor of the Eryas Lowlands. The man who defeated Rylarth the dragon. A man so noble that he refuses to take the glory for his own victory, but instead, salutes the bravery of his soldiers.”

  He pointed at the man in the crowd who had fought at his side. The soldier nodded with approval and pride. Selen looked at the crowd again.

  “Would you choose mayhem, violence, hunger, and death instead of him? Do you miss Agroln so much? A tyrant who tortured you in his chambers and killed your own children? The man standing in front of you today will give your children an education, work, and a good life in peace. Yes, he has spilled blood, and I know he will—but for the greater good only, and never without reason, never outside the law. He will never be like Agroln. Will you thank him with your hate? Will you kill a hero and give the power to a coward? Will you jeopardize your future when you can have the security of happiness? I believe in you, good people of Trevalden. I believe that freedom and love lie in your hearts. Therefore, we raise our hands for an era of justice, an era of peace, a golden era. For a new dawn. With your hero, your herald, your king!”

  Selen grabbed Louis’s hand and raised it in the air. The crowd acclaimed them with thundering roars of joy and applause. Selen smiled with relief. The people had made their choice. They were safe.

  CHAPTER 74

  There were songs and dances, colors and laughs. The air smelled of flowers and melons. Roasted pork, exotic fruits, cakes, and wine had been distributed to the city’s people. This time, the Crown had paid for the festivities. Musicians had been generously encouraged, and bards could be seen at every corner. The doors of the temples had been opened wide. Candles had been lit and incense burned to remember the fallen brothers. The days of darkness were over, but no one would forget.

  They had dug a large hole in the main square. Selen stood on his knees in the earth, unlacing a small pouch. He poured the contents into the palm of his hand. Two small, green beans fell from the bag. He had cried with joy when Lissandro had given him this gift. His friend had had no idea of how precious these seeds were. They were more than trees; they were life itself. The sacred tree of the gods. It would bring prosperity and protection to the whole kingdom. Selen buried them in the center of the circle.

  “Put your hand next to mine,” Selen told Louis.

  Louis knelt at his side and placed a hand on the earth, where the seeds lay.

  “If there is one last spark of divine energy in us, and if it’s the will of the gods, then it should be the accomplishment of our quest,” Selen said.

  Selen was right. A faint white light left their bodies and spread over the earth.

 
“It is over,” Selen whispered solemnly. They rose and watched the soil. Two green sprouts grew from the earth. As they developed, they entwined. The saplings rose, always higher, turning into trees. Their knotty trunks grew strong, and their boughs expanded wide. Leaves budded and enfolded, green as emeralds. Orange flowers speckled the luxuriant foliage. Around them, people gazed and sighed with amazement.

  “One day, when the people will be ready, it will talk to them,” Selen said with awe.

  “Why did you plant such a magical tree in the middle of the city?” Louis asked.

  “For the Children of the Forest, for their sacrificed children, for their lost realm. So that the people of this city never forget that nature lies at the heart of all things,” Selen answered with melancholy.

  “Society is not the work of men. As violence and savagery is not in nature. Animals do not fight their own species. Like this tree, they only require affection and fulfilled natural needs. Like this tree, every living organism needs roots, a trunk, and branches. It needs unity within itself and with its environment to survive. What men need is to look closer at nature. It is a good choice of place indeed.”

  Louis smiled.

  “Should we head back to the palace?” Selen asked. It would be the first court session after the dramatic events. They would need to face the court again. Louis wanted peace with the nobles. He would show them that unity was possible without the use of the force. It would take time for the wounds to heal, but Selen had faith in their dreams.

  Selen and Louis met Folc in the main gallery. His armour of king’s guard shone brightly. He was proud and radiant. “Are you ready to begin, Your Majesty?” the boy, no, the man, asked.

  “I am ready, Captain Folc,” Louis said with a smile.

  “Then, I will inform the herald,” Folc said. He looked at them with affection. “Good luck.” Folc entered the great hall and closed the door behind him. Selen and Louis leaned against the wall near the door, waiting.