A Winter's Tale

Chapter 23: Final Chapter

Chapter 23:
EMERY'S POV:

It'd been a while since that fateful night. The snow had stopped; it was getting warmer. Winter was over. I didn't come out of my chambers for days. I cried, barely ate, and spent my days staring out my window in the direction of Kane's grave. It was freshly dug, by the power of William against the hard packed snow. It was in the family cemetery, so, fortunately, I couldn't see it every time I looked out my window.

Several things happened after Kane's death. First, Court was thrown into chaos at the obvious absence of a King, and the revealing of King James' hidden duty. A Mrs. Adam Venchard, I believe, released the manuscript; the very one Kane had written. Because of this, Miriam, William, Geoffrey, Alice, and I'd elected to stay at the estate. William became "head" of the house. Geoffrey makes weekly trips to Court for supplies. Lately, Alice has been going with him to see a possible future husband.

       As for me, I'm trying to heal. I'd found the love of my life, and lost him in one winter. My heart was buried out there with Kane's body, with all my hopes and dreams of sunny afternoons lounging with my husband as our children run around us. That dream was gone, replaced by the nightmare of Kane lying there smiling softly at me.

     I wondered if I looked like he did when I first met him. Sad, my eyes holding the secrets of a tragic, dark past. Sometimes, I thought the estate itself recognized the death of its heir. It was a strange atmosphere, a mixture of bittersweet relief, and painful remembrance. Perhaps, that's what everyone felt the moment Kane died. Joy that he was no longer sad, that he'd completed his life goal, but moroseness that he was gone, that he'd been robbed of us, of life.

     King James, he'd been sent back to Court. I'm not sure what happened to his body, but I assume only a handful of people gave him the respected funeral most Kings have. Lucy wrote me back. Apologizes were peppered throughout the letter, with explanations as to why she couldn't write back. She'd been so busy with her husband, they'd traveled to many different villages before settling back at Court, in the house beside her parents'.

I couldn't blame her for being happy. She'd wrote a very short paragraph of condolences for the loss of Kane, but it was back to her and her husband soon. I wanted her to happy even if I wasn't. Yes, I used to think we would marry together, telling each other stories of our wonderful marriages; however, that was before I'd been exposed to life, before I was taken out of my sheltered home at Court.

Miriam, she became the Mother of the estate, more so than she was before. She ushered Alice into her relationship with the man at Court, and she fought for me to leave my chambers. She fed me meat when I would eat it, and soup on those bad days. Those days when the pain was as fresh as the night it happened, and there wasn't enough tears in my body for me to cry out all of my anguish.

       The next thing that happened had slowly become my saving grace. I knew before Alice looked at me with wide eyes. I knew before Miriam told me with a soft smile on her face. I knew before the sickness started, and I knew before I started growing. I was with child. I was carrying Kane's child. The morning William came to visit me, he was smiling in a proud way. This estate would have an heir. Kane's legacy would continue on; the family did not die with my betrothed that night.

William told me that Miriam had kept flowers all around the corridors, opened the drapes, let the warmth of the coming spring fill the entire place. Even the library. They'd all been in there, one night they even ate dinner there, in silence, to commemorate him. Miriam made sure his favorite flowers and mine were always fresh and beautiful in a vase by the large window. He just talked to me, for hours. Told me about his love for Kane, about his life here. He told me stories about a younger Kane, about his marriage to Janine, about his sadness after Janine's murder.

I listened, opting not to speak. I was laying on my bed, arm curled around my stomach, eyes downcast. Even the idea of bringing a life into the world, someone who was half Kane, and half me, a product of our love, could scarcely cheer me up. I wanted Kane to be there, to share in this moment, to help me raise this child, and the many more we would've had. However, that's not the way life panned out.

William leaned closer to me, a heavy sigh erupting from his chest, "look, Emery. I know we weren't the closest from the beginning, but each other, this place, it's all we have now. Kane's gone. And, I'm so sorry for that. You have to understand, though, you weren't the only one here who lost something when Kane died. I lost a great friend, Miriam lost a friend and someone like a son, Alice lost her big brother figure, Geoffrey lost his savior. Yes, you lost your betrothed. But, here we all are, in pain, and all we can do, is help each other. It won't do you any good to just stay in here all day, crying to the gray world around you. You've got to come out. If you don't want to live for Kane, you have a whole new reason to. That child growing inside you. Do you want to bring a life into tragedy and depression? Do you want to bear a son or daughter who grows into the same sadness Kane was? You've got the ability, Emery, to turn the legacy of this estate around, to make it what it once was. You can bring light and joy here. I knew it when I first met you, so did Kane. Healing starts when you step out of this sad world you've put yourself in."

I listened. I didn't say anything. He sighed again, and left, doing all he could to get through to me. He didn't know it then, but he'd made an impact. I laid there, thinking about it. He was right. Kane's final words were pleas for me to not die with him, for me to live in my own right. Yet, here I was, doing exactly what he'd asked me not to.

A few days later, when Alice came to bring me lunch, I asked her if she would accompany me for lunch out in the garden. She was surprised, joyously so. As we passed through the kitchen, Miriam wore a smile so wide I was worried it hurt her face. Geoffrey gave William a surprised look who in turn gave me an appreciative nod. I wore a pretty dress, of bright blue, that showed off my growing stomach. I was proud of Kane's child, and I was determined to give him or her a better life than Kane or I had.

So, Alice and I had lunch in the garden, talking in the warmth. It was definitely spring now. I wasn't entirely happy, not yet. I was getting to a point, though, where happiness didn't seem so far off.

In the coming days, I was outside of my chambers more, exploring the estate. The garden quickly became my favorite place again, and I frequented the library for books. I'd grown larger, and Miriam commented about how glorious it would be to have the estate filled with child's laughter. Alice and her man from Court were coming close to being betrothed, and he was thinking of moving here, to Kane's estate, to run his business away from the chaos that was Court. I was okay. Soon, I would have a child he would never get to meet their father. But, I would never let them forget that they had one, a wonderful one.

It was that thought that made me go into the library, settle down at the desk Kane used to write at, and pick up a pen and paper. With a deep sigh, one more glance out the window, and an arm wrapped protectively around my stomach, I began. I titled it what it was: A Winter's Tale.

Bending my head, I talked to my child aloud as I wrote, "I knew my King had been pondering this for a while....."

THE END.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!
   It's the end of the book!

Wow. Okay, so first off, I just want to say thank you to all of you guys for reading, and for supporting me! It's been such a long journey, and I'm so excited to finally have finished. Please, guys, keep reading and commenting, and voting. I enjoy reading your comments, and I check them almost every day. I am going back to edit earlier chapters, but for now, I just want to enjoy the fact that I've actually finished this book. I love all of you, and thank you all for making this such a fun experience!