In Her Element
Chapter 38

When Frederick and Almyra entered the citadel, they were shocked at the change it had gone through, even though their last memory of the place was as it was being burned down. The large castle was now a skeleton, all its former and ancient splendor lost to the fire. The closest trees had also been destroyed, disintegrated by the flames.

They wandered around the building in wonder until they found the spot they were looking for—the place where Almyra’s joining with the Powers in the amethyst has caused the explosion. It looked nothing like they remembered.

The cavern wall had been completely blown apart and there was a crater where the pedestal had stood. The whole area looked like hellhounds were let loose, which in a way, might be an apt description for what had gone on. Just thinking about what had occurred caused Almyra to shiver, and to distract herself, she bent down to shift aside some earth to see if anything important had been buried. She gagged when some bones with a bit of flesh and plenty of worms on them were revealed; perhaps the magic in the earth had preserved them a little longer than usual. A foul stench filled the air, and Almyra and Frederick quickly moved on, holding their breaths until they were no longer close enough to smell it.

Almyra wanted to go inside the actual castle, but Frederick would not let. He would not let her do anything that might cause her to regress back to her grief. She still woke up sometimes in middle of the night, screaming his name, as well as Matthew’s and a few others, like Rupert’s, although this occurred less often as time passed. Even the birthmark on her neck looked different than she remembered.

They circled the place again, this time putting up wards. Neither of them knew exactly what they were saying, only that they had been instructed to do this by the King through one of Almyra’s frequent “revealing dreams” as she called them.

When they went back to their carriage after they finished, they stood there for a few minutes, surveying the ruined place. Almyra leaned back against Frederick’s chest and he wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed the curls on her head.

“We should let it go, Almyra. We have a new life, children.”

Anita felt the corners of her mouth lift up as she thought about their three daughters at home, being kept occupied by their grandmother. She patted her slightly swollen stomach and added, “And one more to come.”

Frederick chuckled gently, then spun his wife around, kissed her soundly on the lips, and then lifted her into the carriage. He patted the front of the coach (the self-maintained, horseless stagecoach was a wedding gift from the King), and took one step up to follow Almyra inside. He stopped and looked back for what he hoped was one last time. He shook his head sadly and then moved to join Almyra inside as the carriage lurched forward and they left all but their memories behind. When they were but about a mile away, they heard and somewhat felt the explosion that destroyed whatever had remained.

Looking down on the contented couple as they left the devastated scene of past horrors was the King and his Lady. She was leaning back into his strong arms, very much mimicking the pose of the ones they were watching.

The Lady looked up into the dark eyes that she so loved to get lost in. “Do you think it will all work out as it should, after all these years?”

Those dark eyes deepen as they stared back into hers with love and devotion, and just a hint of hesitation in them. “Only time can tell that, dear, and you know that. There are still some pieces that need to fall into place but they are fighting back.”

He reached around her to caress the globe that sat in her lap. In it, almost too small for the human eye to see, were two boys walking along a lonely road along the edge of the forest. One was tall and fit, with enough facial hair to show that he had not had the chance to shave in weeks. The other was younger, smaller, and his face was interestingly asymmetrical. One might call it deformed.

The King leaned back again and sighed, setting his chin in the Lady’s hair as she settled back into his embrace. “But for now, I think we shall be fine.”

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