Skarenmoor: A Fantasy of Falkenland

Chapter Twenty Five: The Healing ~ Alexandria

Raven shivered in her rose gown and clutched my hand even tighter as an expression of fear crossed her face. Her naturally caramel brown hair no longer lay straight and lifeless, but instead naturally waved, giving her more beauty than any makeup or jewelry ever could. I could feel her body trembling with every step, following every part of my direction. Lyra looked worse in appearance with her yellow ball gown askew and torn in several places and her usually well-kept hair wild and tousled. There were bruises and cuts on her face, but despite this, she was beaming. Out past the broken statues and decimated halls of Orimoris, we set forth to meet the king. As we came out into the courtyard, I saw him. The king was in a deep conversation with three bearded men wearing the crest of the Barons of Sakatola, though when he saw us, he gestured for them to leave. He gave us a bow, a rather unstable one, but still kingly. Raven and I curtsied in return and bowed low on bended knee. I looked up and saw the sort of person he was—a very young man, not much older than me, with a scanty brown beard on the tip of his chin, and curly tousled brown hair. His eyes looked rather shy, yet there was wisdom within them. Then I realized with a jolt that the King was Dastan! He spoke in his usual endearingly unsure tone, and greeted us.

"Greetings Princess Alexandria, a pleasure indeed...Oh I'm a nervous wreck, this isn't right at all! Look Allie, I need to say something right now. I'm sorry I've been such a coward. I left you when you needed me, just to prove myself to you. And I really was ashamed of myself for thinking about having a chance to tell you...to tell you..."

"Tell me what Dastan?" I implored, silently smiling at his adorable stammer. Raven and Lyra stepped back to give us more intimacy.

"...To tell you that I love you! There, I said it." Dastan blushed a bright red. "I always have, ever since you crashed into my field. But I kept telling myself that I'd never be good enough, so when I saw the quest as an opportunity to win your respect I..."

"Oh stop before you fall to pieces, you beautiful idiot!" I laughed.

"W-what?"

"I love you Dastan, and if I ever had to spend the rest of my life with someone, I'd spend it all with you; king or no king."

"But you're a princess; I know I wasn't always royalty. What if I wasn't the king? Would I still mean this much to you?"

I paused before answering. "That was what I asked myself at first; it's why I didn't tell you sooner. At the time, I'd always clung to my high society like a shield. When it was taken away, I was how do you say it? I freaked out, but you were there to help me out of my sufferings and your kindness and bravery showed me that it's not what's out here," I said, gesturing to my royal clothes, "but what's in here that matters," I finished, pointing to my heart. "Now that's taken care of, I want you to meet my sister Raven." Raven shyly stepped forward and looked hopefully up at Dastan. Dastan seemed shocked and stepped back a pace, Raven bowed her head sadly.

"Isn't she the..."

"It wasn't her!" I explained. I tried to tell him the story of Barkler, Noir, and Sheik as quickly as I could, but he asked so many questions that it seemed to take near over an hour before I had finished the tale. After hearing of my death and Raven's profession of love to me, he seemed to understand and bowed to Raven.

"Your servant, madam." Raven blushed, but I could have sworn that I saw the hints of a smile on her face.

"But what of your father?" Dastan asked. Raven's expression grew frantic.

"Father! Oh no, we must go to wake him at once!" Raven led all four of us down through the passages of the castle, down eight flights of the stone stairways, and into the very heart of the castle, to a room with a bed in it. Upon the bed lay Abron. His eyes brightened when he saw us, but I could see my father's body had grown frail and weak. Father smiled and beckoned us forward.