Tales of Merlia: The Tale of Holly Day

Part 11

Even though Solaria had been told to, the sky was darker than ink. It was so dark that you couldn't see the usual outlines of clouds in the sky. There was no moon nor stars. And just like the darkness, it was chilling to the bone.

Redbeard's teeth clacked and chattered as he trudged through the raining flecks of ice and snow. Even though he tried to pull his cloak tightly over his body, it did not take long before he could not feel his face or limbs as he crunched through the snowbanks lined with bare frozen trees that stretched ever upward into the vast nothingness.

With a twitch of his ears, the old king could hear mutterings. Soft mutterings of a child and a woman that could have been nothing, but a soft breeze carried through the branches above him.

When he reached the open clearing surrounded by oak trees, he could see Solaria and Luna standing before a mound of frozen dirt. Atop it a horn crown of holly leaves, flowers, letters, drawn pictures, bottles filled with some liquid, and candles that Solaria had lit.

Redbeard's hands grazed the wound of one of the oak trees, where an arrow had stabbed it so cleanly that sap had to have leaked from it at some point.

He could see his son knelt in the snow, sobbing over his regrets. Had he cried? Had he felt pity? It seemed that he didn't when he was killed, but Red-Tail was always one for hiding how he truly felt.

"Hey Holly!" Luna chirped through a lavender wool scarf, the cold winter wind bouncing off her blue fleece coat, "I made another picture for you! It's all of us playing in the snow! I know you never really liked the snow all that much, but you're with Solaria here! See?"

Solaria smiled, "She's getting better at drawing us every day, soon enough she'll create her own world."

Luna giggled, setting the picture down with the other piles of pictures, "I'd like to one day. I hope you'll be there to see it Holly. I hope you come back, you've been gone a long time. It's really cold now, I don't think you'd like it."

Solaria frowned and crossed her arms, her eyes averting the headstone.

Luna turned to Solaria, "Do you wanna make a snowman?"

Solaria snapped her gaze to the child, "Oh. Yes...yes that would be nice."

Luna seemed to beam, "I'll go find the best snow!"

Solaria watched as Luna bounded in the snowbanks and into the trees. Past Redbead, who Luna didn't even notice.

Solaria's gaze returned to the headstone, becoming hazed with sadness as a swift cold breeze combed through her hair.

"I'm sorry I haven't visited in...awhile..." she muttered softly, "Things have been so...s-so..."

Solaria sniffed and wiped the forming tears from her eyes, "They've been so dreadful Holly...Things have been so unbearable since the snow began to fall."

Redbeard stood frozen, not even daring to breathe, lest he disturb Solaria.

Solaria let out a shaky breath, "Do you remember when we traveled to find Merlot. How we got lost in that awful forest and we went around in circles trying to find a way out. And I kept saying it would be a miracle for us to find our way out of that nightmare? And you kept telling me that there is always a way out of things, so long as we kept going, we'd find our fate?"

Redbeard could feel his heart ache for the goddess. Oh how softly Solaria spoke. Her tone was so warm and gentle that anyone could be soothed by her voice.

"Well...I could really use a morale boost right now..." Solaria croaked, "'Cause it's getting so hard to keep trying."

The branches of the trees began to sway and creak in the wind, as though the wind was speaking back.