Angelic birth

Chapter 31: Annoyingly so

Amelia stood stock still in the street, reading the letter over and over again. She proved the authenticity of the letter as well, over and over again. It was her mother's handwriting. It had the wax seal of the kingdom of Ljustträ. It was also signed at the bottom by several advisers of the crown. Try as she might, she simply did not believe what she read. But there was no flaw with the letter. It was authentic.

"This can't be happening," she mumbled to herself as she shook her head clear.

She packed the letter away, heading back to the Gravetree home. Amelia went inside and collected the various items and clothes the group had left scattered in the house before mounting the wagon. Tempest and Torrent, the horses that drew the wagon were a little upset that their break was cut short even if only by a day. But they soon realized the mood that Amelia was in and went on their way with no complaint. Amelia might not take the wagon's reins often, but she knows how to drive it. She took a little bit of a detour before leaving Gravetree, driving up the main road and slowing down in the town center.

Gravetree was built around an enormous tree, bearing the same name as the town. As the name suggested, the tree held a meaning for the burial of corpses, with a large graveyard around the tree. While it would have seemed odd for Theresa to have a graveyard as the town center, it was perfectly normal and even common in Thrae.

While beliefs differ around the world, the general consensus is that the passing of a person is a joyful, even if somber experience. Like finishing a good book, the passing of a person was celebrated with a look back on how they affected the ones around them, while also mourning the closing of their story. The graveyard around the Gravetree was a prime example of that idea with a sprawling park standing as the graveyard.

Amelia drove the wagon around the road that circled the park, taking deep breaths as she paid her respect to her now-dead father. Being an elve, Amelia had a different way of honoring the dead. Elves did not believe in only mourning a dead person around their grave, instead treating everyone who died equally. Their beliefs argued that every grave is a window to the afterlife, and any message can be delivered inside of it.

Amelia focused on one grave in particular as she wondered about her future, sighing deeply as she shook her head, "Ah hell no," she told herself, "I'm no queen."

She chuckled shortly in a perfect mix of self-assurance and worry, before she picked up the pace, leaving Gravetree behind her. She made good pace into the countryside, eventually reaching the forest in which the rest of her team was waiting. She drove up to the tree house village, alerting her team of her arrival with the expected grace.

"Oi!" she yelled from the top of her lungs, "Come on down!"

A few minutes later, she spotted Milia, Sarvo, and Javen walk down a couple of planks that lead from the tree house village to the ground level. The first thing Amelia noticed was a clear annoyance written all over Milia's face.

"Something wrong?" Amelia asked as Milia boarded the wagon without a word, but Javen answered for her.

"She's annoyed," he said as he lay down in the wagon.

"I got that much, alright," Amelia said, still looking at Milia, who at this point was sulking in the back of the wagon.

Sarvo sat down next to Amelia, who handed over the reins immediately. He looked calm as always, taking the reigns.

"You see," He said as the wagon started moving again, "She was ordered back to the academy."

"She forgot to send in work again?" Amelia chuckled, to which Milia reacted almost immediately.