by Jacey Sturch
“You just do not understand, Leora.”
Geron walks away, pausing at the foot of the stairs. He glances back at me over his shoulder, before straightening up. “I did what I had to. Regardless, I am sorry this happened to you, Leora.” With that said, he leaves the dungeon, leaving me alone once more.
The time passes slowly, and I am alone with my thoughts.” I failed. I failed everyone. What now?” I keep trying to think of a way out, some way to salvage Geron’s fiasco and still help everyone. But no matter how much I think about it, I am unable to come up with a way to fix this.
Thoughts of my failure almost consume me. All the worries that I have dealt with all my life have come true. I always feared this might happen, that I would not be able to overthrow Aetheria. And now all of those fears are overwhelming me by coming true.
I lay down on the moldy hay on the floor of the cell, resigned to the fact I won’t get out of this and wishing that I could have at least said goodbye to my family and the friends I had made. As thoughts of my failure continue to assail me, I fall into a restless sleep.
I am startled awake by loud noises coming from outside the dungeons. Loud crashes and yelling. I rush to the bars, trying to crane my neck to see up the stairs. But I am unable to see what is happening.
As suddenly as the noise began, it becomes quiet again. Rapid footsteps approach, rushing down the stairs. A wave of relief crashes over me when I see who has come into the dungeon. “Raina!”
Raina sees me and calls out behind her. “Everyone, I have found her.” Xavier, Clarina, Willem, and Isabelle come down the stairs. Xavier comes to the door and quickly picks open the lock. The door swings open and I am glad to see my friends.
Raina hands me a spare sword and some armor while filling me in on what is happening. “We heard about you being captured, the guards were telling everyone about the execution. As soon as we heard, we gathered our forces and stormed the castle. The Telun are distracting the guards in the courtyard. We snuck into the castle in the confusion. What happened, Leora?”
I look away from everyone. “It was Geron.” They are all shocked, to say the least. Xavier is the first to recover from the shock. “What do you mean?”
“Geron has been giving Aetheria information about our plan. She knew about everything all along.” Raina grips her sword tighter, her knuckles almost white. “He betrayed us? He seemed more nervous than usual, but I wouldn’t have expected this.”
Xavier shakes his head. “It would explain why he hasn’t been at the base very often lately.”
Silence fills the dungeon, as they try to come to grips with the reality of Geron’s actions. Willem is the one to break the silence. “We can worry about Geron later. Right now, we have a limited opportunity to defeat the queen. After tonight, we will be unable to try again for some time, she will have her guard up.”
That makes everyone focus on the task at hand. By now, I have finished donning my armor. “I will not let this opportunity pass me by,” I say to myself. “Time to end this, everyone.”
We make our way toward the throne room, sure that Aetheria will be there. Thankfully, the distraction the Telun is causing helps greatly. There are only a handful of guards left in the castle, as most are outside fighting off the Telun warriors. We overpower the guards that we find as we make our way closer to the throne room.
As we approach the throne room doors, we are greeted by a squad of guards, left behind to guard Aetheria. They draw their swords, ready to fight. We ready our weapons and charge into the melee. The clashing of steel rings in my ears, as chaos surrounds us. While the guards are clearly skilled, their hearts are not in this fight. They fear Aetheria and want to see her gone just as much as any other citizen of Asinia.
Soon the guards have fallen and now nothing stands between us and the throne room. After securing the guards to ensure they do not have a change of heart and follow us into the throne room, we throw open the doors and enter the darkened throne room.
All the candles have been snuffed out, the only light coming from the moonlight streaming in from the window. The sounds of battle in the courtyard below can be faintly heard. And there on the throne, sits Aetheria. I draw my sword and approach the dais. “It’s over, Aetheria! You will no longer torment the people of this kingdom.”
Gone is the intimidating woman from my last encounter, and in her place sits the frail old woman that I met on my first day in the castle. Aetheria rises from the throne and descends the dais. “I know that it is over. There is nowhere left for me to hide.”
I hear a scoff from behind me and hear Clarina’s voice. “You never hid! You made your presence known by killing hundreds of people!”
Aetheria raises her head to stare into my eyes, with a hint of madness tinting her expression. “I had to! They would have all come for me. A widowed woman has no place in society. She gets no respect. I had to do what I could to keep the throne. I couldn’t lose what I had left of Reynaud!”
I can tell from Raina’s voice without even looking at her, that she is furious. “You being a widow does not justify the murder and imprisonment of countless innocents.”
The madness and fear in Aetheria’s eyes become more pronounced, and I see her for who she really is; a scared and grieving old woman. That still doesn’t excuse what she has done.
“I had no choice. If I had done nothing, I would have ended up like my mother. Alone, powerless, and used. When my father died, everyone turned against us. People we thought were our friends, suddenly treated us like we were nothing. I would not go through that again.”
Willem starts to approach, but seemingly thinks better of it. “That would never have happened. If you had just ruled with kindness, the people of Asinia would have been loyal to you.”
Aetheria lets out a scoff, rolling her eyes. “Kindness is the fool’s way to lead. Ruling through fear is the only reliable means to maintain control.”
She turns away to face the stained-glass window, staring out at the night sky. “So? What will you do with me now? Have me publicly executed? Or just do away with me here and now? Whatever you decide, I will go along with it. You have beaten me. You are the rightful queen.”
My head is spinning as I realize that I will now be queen of Asinia. It is such an overwhelming thought. The kingdom is safe now. The people of Asinia will no longer have to live in fear for their lives.
I think about what I wish to do with Aetheria. The desire for vengeance for all whom she killed courses through me. She has hurt so many people. But looking at her defeated posture, it does not seem to be the right thing to do.
“I will do neither. What you did is unforgivable, but I do not want to start my reign with more bloodshed. I will show you the mercy and kindness you should have ruled with. Until we can decide the appropriate action for you, you will be kept in the dungeon.”
I see Aetheria freeze for a moment. She turns to me, approaching me cautiously. “That is very kind of you. Thank you!” Aetheria is now standing in front of me, holding my hands and thanking me.
My skin crawls at her touch, and I want to pull away. Aetheria’s head is bowed, as she continues to thank me profusely for sparing her.
Then I see her smirk. Her grip on my hands tightens, as a deranged look enters her eyes and a feral smile forms on her face. She pulls a hidden dagger from her sleeve and raises it above her head. “Foolish girl! You will never have what it takes to rule! I-” Aetheria is cut off by the sound of a dull thud and she gasps, a look of shock on her face.
In Aetheria’s frenzy, she hadn’t noticed Xavier move behind her. An arrow is embedded in her back, from Xavier’s bow. Aetheria drops the dagger, and staggers away from me before collapsing to the ground. She gives one final gasp, before falling silent.
The throne room is silent, as we all realize that it is over. Aetheria is gone and her reign is over. Xavier retrieves the crown from Aetheria and places it on my head. He gives me a smile before turning back to face everyone. “All hai
l Queen Leora of Asinia!” Everyone bows to me, calling out, “All hail Queen Leora!”
Chapter 16
The weeks after the defeat of Aetheria pass so quickly. My coronation is met with celebrations all across the kingdom. The darkness of Aetheria’s reign is beginning to disappear.
The kingdom’s celebrations last for several days, Asinians are ecstatic to finally be free of Aetheria’s cruelty. Families come back together. Loved ones reunite. It is a time of jubilation for all.
Willem’s wife and son, along with the other imprisoned noble families are released immediately from their imprisonment. Willem is elated to be reunited with his family for the first time in years. He and his family are now living happily in their estate once more, and he continues to offer me counsel on matters of the royal court.
Raina now serves as captain of the guard for Asinia. She lives her life continuing to protect the people of Asinia from all dangers. She still mourns the loss of her family, but helping to defeat Aetheria has helped her with the pain of the loss. “I kept my promise to them. I avenged Zayne’s demise. I feel like they can finally rest in peace.”
Xavier spends the weeks after the coronation searching for his family. As promised, I help him any way I can. I send guards to scour the kingdom, looking for them. While we have been unable to find them yet, we have found a few promising leads.
Finally, in his search of the kingdom, Xavier finds a group of people living in caves. They have yet to receive word that Aetheria is defeated. Among this group, Xavier found his family living in the cave and they are now happily reunited.
Isabelle has happily reclaimed her store and has started making beautiful clothes for anyone who asks. She even supplies me with several of the most beautiful gowns I have ever seen.
Clarina is back with her family in her home village. She had not seen them in several years and is very happy to be back with them again. She is now using her cooking skills and cooking for the local inn in her village.
Geron has disappeared after the defeat of Aetheria. He wasn’t in the castle afterwards and he could not be found anywhere in Embergrove. The evidence we find seems to show that Geron has left Asinia, but we have lost all leads on his whereabouts.
I decide to discontinue the search for Geron after a week. I officially banish him from Asinia for his role in Aetheria’s reign and his betrayal. But I know he did it out of fear and not out of malicious intent. He can never return to Asinia, but I have no intention to hunt him down anymore.
I have also reopened relations with the neighboring kingdoms. Haelind and Asinia are close trade partners and allies again. Ural Gunnald has come to visit on diplomatic trips several times. I have also made trips to Maudan several times as well.
Prosperity has begun to return to Asinia. The people of Asinia are living comfortably for the first time in years. The capital city is livelier than ever, people talking and having fun all throughout the city.
There is still a lot of work to do to fix the damage that Aetheria has done to the kingdom. And the scars from the terror of her reign will likely last for years to come. Families were destroyed. Entire villages burned. The amount of loss felt by the whole of Asinia is immeasurable. But for the first time in a long time, the people of Asinia have hope.
While there is still a lot to do, the process of rebuilding the kingdom is moving forward. The treasury, that was full of ill-gotten taxes, is being emptied and given back to the people who filled it. All of the people who had worked in the castle against their will all these years were paid for their service and allowed to go home to their families.
Asinians no longer have to worry about their villages being burned or their loved ones being taken from them to work in the castle. Happiness has spread throughout the kingdom once again, not seen since King Reynaud’s rule. The shadow of Aetheria’s reign, which had long since loomed over the land, has been banished from the kingdom and the minds of its citizens.
The light from the First Tree all those years ago foretold of a new day for Asinia, a new leader. That new day is finally dawning and is bringing with it an era of peace and hope. And I will ensure that same peace and hope will be enjoyed by all Asinians for many years to come.