Arista's POV:
I was asleep, with Draye by my side when I heard noises outside the window. My eyes jerked open when I recognized those screams and I jumped out of bed. I looked through the window to see soldiers moving around, weapons in hands.
What was happening?
At the same moment, Draye began stirring and I moved toward him and cradled him in my arms. My child looked distressed and I began singing whatever lullaby I knew. But he burst into wailing when a loud shout rang across the room.
My mind was unraveling and I did what I could do: take my child and step out. I didn't know what danger was out there. What I could do was do everything to protect my child.
When I did walk out, I saw the servants scrambling in the halls. But they weren't...running away? I moved forward and stopped one of them for an explanation.
"Lady Sunster..."
"What are those shouts?" I asked, trying to calm down Draye.
"They are fighting outside," she said frantically. "Your brother's men are trying to defeat this new army."
My shoulders slumped as I looked at the hallways. New army? It was obvious that the other party wasn't enemies. Could it be?...
"Arista!"
My feet took me forward and I tried to find the person. After a quick turn, I saw Shayne at the further end. When he saw me, he paused for a moment. As if he was wondering if I was real or an illusion.
I felt relieved that he came back. That he was alive.
"Shayne..."
He sprinted across the room in a flash before pulling me into his arms. I moved away to show him that I had Draye in my arms. He looked at him before breaking into a teary smile.
"You're fine," he breathed. "Both of you."
"And you're alright..." I replied, barely able to control my emotions. I wanted to hug him like I never could before. "You came back for me."
"I did promise, didn't I, my lady?" he dared as much as holding my arm.
I realized that I barely paid any attention to the atmosphere. I saw people moving across us quietly in crowds. When Shayne noticed that, he placed his hand over my shoulder.
"Come with me. You'll find the answer."
I did want to know what he did all these months ago. To know what he experienced. But that could wait. First, I needed to know what was going on.
When we walked through the halls, I discovered several doors and places I had never seen before in this part of the castle. To walk here when I had been forbidden to all these months...it felt new.
We reached large open doors. I readjusted Draye in my arms before peeking at the large hall. All the servants and workers and a few soldiers were gathered inside. Something different that I noticed was the large black banners with blue roses hung on the walls. Were they always here?
Shayne led me inside and I followed him blindly until I reached the front. And when I did, I froze.
There stood a man, with dark red hair. For a moment, I thought he was Martin. He was talking to people who seemed to be soldiers but stopped to look at me.
His eyes were much warmer than Martin's. This couldn't be him.
When I neared me, I moved back. He noticed that and stopped. "I won't harm you, Lady Cyvern."
Shayne came closer, as a reassurance. "It's true. This man is Marwin Sunster---"
"Why is he here?"
"Let me make that clear first," the man said and cleared his throat. "I require all of your attention!"
The whispers died and the people's attention turned to him. The Sunster walked toward them with calmness. Some of them seem to find him familiar because he resembles Martin. And they knew how cruel he had been.
"The oppressor and false king, Elest Simion, has been killed in the battle by his nephew and the rightful King of Anthreal," He paused before taking a step forward. "I know names don't matter to anyone here. But what matters is that from now on, you all are free. All of the tyrant's men are dead. You don't need to fear him. All of you are free to return to your homes. Your lands are safe and no one shall attack them again."
The speech brought forward silence for a long time. I stared at his back, all the weight throwing off my heart. All of his men were dead.
"Can we go home?" a girl's trembling voice asked. I spotted her in the crowd, young and scared.
"Yes."
A pause was instilled before the girl began sobbing. And then followed the rest of them. The hall echoed with their cries and the sounds evoked the need to let go of my tears. It had been a long time since I'd been given the freedom to cry.
Draye moved his arms and pulled on my hair, causing me to look at him. His brown eyes were filled with light and he had a smile on his face as if saying that we were fine.
I felt Shayne's arm around mine and just as I let my tears flow, I heard familiar shouts from the doorway. Looking up, I found my brother being dragged into the room. He was dumped on his knees in the center of the room and restrained. His hair was rumpled and blood dripped down the side of his face.
"Who is he?" Sunster turned around to the man beside me.
"The Kinslayer," Shayne spat with disgust lacing his voice.
That was enough for the Sunster to understand. He walked towards my brother and forced him to look up.
"Give up fighting," he said. "You weren't meant for that."
He used the words that surely affected my brother. Drue tried to lunge forward but the men holding him prevented that.
"The Cyvern tribe were given two choices," Sunster spoke. "Either continue to stay loyal to the man who killed their previous leader or turn to seek a new leader. Most of them were dragged into a war they didn't need to partake in. The ones who are alive decided to give up on their leader, who killed his very own father and brother."
Drue, for the first time, looked perturbed. For the first time, he looked clueless about what he wanted to say next.
"You don't get to tell them what to do, Sunster," my brother was clever enough to make a note. He didn't sound as confident as he always did before. "You don't have any authority over my future."
"And neither do you," the man replied before turning his attention to me. "But when it comes to your future, I rather give her the choice."
All eyes were on me and so were my brother's. I didn't find any emotions in them. With a take breath, I held Draye close and approached my brother. After such a long time, I had some form of power. A chance to make a choice. I wiped the unshed tears from my eyes before standing in front of my brother.
"She has no guts to do it," He said, looking at Sunster.
"She survived my wretched brother," the man replied calmly. "And you might be surprised at what angry women could do if they were allowed to release that anger."
I looked at the man, finally meeting him with the eyes. He returned the glance before taking a step back. "You are free from your marriage vows to my brother. He is gone and I saw to that."
I relished the relief I felt in my soul. I was...free. Those words were something I never even dared imagine. I looked at both the men in front of me. One of them had killed his brother because he was a vicious monster. But the other?
"Why did you kill father and brother?" my voice came trembling.
Drue's eyebrows creased before sighing. "You won't understand-"
"Stop using that excuse all that time!" I screamed, startling him. "I've seen worse than whatever your stupid reasons are! Don't worry as nothing you say will shock me."
I was surprised at the rage I felt. Sunster was right; I felt different because I was given the choice to handle the fate of this cruel brother of mine. I was free now. No one would ever harm me or my boy.
"Fine," he grunted. "Our father wanted to make Daryn heir to our tribe. If I need to take what's mine, I need to be strong enough to take it. So, I colluded with your dead husband to do it."
I stood by what I said earlier and wasn't shocked. It sounded so selfish...it showed who Drue had always been. A jealous, scheming...killer.
"You think you're so clever," I breathed, looking into his eyes. "You knew there were other ways to convince father. But you were never interested in leading either, Drue. Why covet for something you did want?"
"It was mine by laws and rights!" he shouted, causing me to step back. "He was giving all that to our hot-headed brother! He would've ruined everything!"
He was mad. I could see his eyes going red with impatient and anger at being subdued. I found the last bits of sympathy I had for him evaporated.
"Daryn would've made a better leader than you," I said, my voice filled with rage. "You're a coward, a traitor, a kinslayer, and a bastard!"
I could see him trying to remove himself from the grasp of the soldiers. "Don't act like I had everything to do with it. You are the reason we are here. If you hadn't whored around with that Sunster, you wouldn't have been stuck in a marriage with him. You're the reason our tribe was led here. Father decided to fight because of your marriage---"
Before he could finish, someone punched him across the face. Drue began coughing up blood while Shayne stood beside me.
"You don't talk to her like that."
"Shayne," I turned and stopped him with a look. Because he looked like he wanted to go for another punch.
"She did make a wrong choice," Sunster's voice calmly. "She was an innocent girl manipulated by my brother and thought she had the world as long as he was with her. It isn't her fault for thinking that way. Don't blame your mistakes on your sister as it only gave you a chance to fulfill your ambitions."
"He's no brother of mine," I said and looked at my brother. Maybe this Sunster was trustworthy. But I wasn't going to tell anyone that. "You may do whatever you want with him," and then I remembered all the lives lost because of Drue.
Even if it was my fault for leading my people here, it was Drue who had always schemed to ruin our family. It was little revenge I could take for all the people who gave their lives. The ones who stayed loyal to their father. The ones who sacrificed their lives to allow the spies to leave.
"But I have a request."
Sunster looked at me.
"Hang his head on a spike outside for all my tribe to see."
The man looked at me calmly and saw my determination. With a sigh, he nodded and looked at his men. "Take him."
It wasn't a nice sound to listen to. My brother, throwing his dignity into the fire, begged me to spare him. Just like I begged once for my father's life. When he was finally dragged away, I looked at my child and found him asleep.
"Lady Arista," I heard Sunster speak. "May I talk with you? We can have Shayne to accompany us."
Since he allowed Shayne to be with me, I accepted the request. After the rest of the people began understanding that they were free to go, we walked out of the hall and into an empty room.
"I need to apologize for what my brother had caused..." he said, his voice soft. "He would have never claimed responsibility for the pain he had caused you and your family."
"Why do you want to talk about this?"
He sighed and looked at my son. "What is my nephew's name?"
I hesitated. Would he try to take my child from me, because he is his blood? "Draye."
"Draye," he smiled. "I see the mistrust in your eyes. But I'm not like my brother, Lady Cyvern."
"I don't care about that," I said, my voice calm. "I don't want any troubles from your family anymore."
"I understand," he replied quickly. "I don't know what your plans for the future are. But if you ever want to or need to, please don't hesitate to visit Anthreal. We would love to welcome you and Draye to our family."
"We?"
"My sister and I."
I looked away from Shayne. Never did I consider what I would do if I ever escaped this hell. Would Draye blame me if I kept him away from his father's family? I looked at his sleepy face and my face grew stern.
"Now that all the males of my family are dead, Draye is the heir," I told Sunster. "I would like to...take the remnants of my tribe and go back home."
Home.
Shayne smiled and nodded. Marwin, if that was his name, looked sad but nodded at the end.
"If Draye ever asks...we might visit your family," I told him and conjured the smallest of the smiles.
The man looked stunned before nodding. "We would love to have you."
I could see him eying Draye and taking a risky leap. "Would you like to hold him?"
He nodded and I quietly approached him before resting my child in his arms. Draye woke up and looked startled but didn't cry out. When he looked up at Sunster, he smiled and moved his arms.
"He is beautiful," the man said, grinning softly. "I'm sure you would make a good man out of him."
I would. Draye shall be a better man than his father ever was.
.................................................................
The next morning, Shayne helped me into the wheelhouse. After months of suffering, I was finally going back to the fields. I could see the rest of our people on their horses.
"Careful, Arista," Shayne closed the door. "It might take us a few weeks to go back. We will send a pigeon if we can to your mother."
I nodded and settled Draye's cradle properly with a few pillows. When I turned, I saw that he was still there.
"What is it?"
He shook his head. "I should've been braver to ask for your hand first."
I took a deep breath before allowing him to hold my hand. "I'm not ready for..."
"I know," he leaned closer. "It's just...I always admired you. If I just...said something, none of this would've happened."
Nothing could change the past now. I retrieved my and away from his and smiled. "It's not your fault, Shayne. But...I do have to thank you."
"For what?"
"For being hope," My cheeks warmed before I closed the curtains.
I leaned back and sighed, closing my eyes. Home. I was going back home. Back to where I was born, where I had a childhood with my mother and father. I never should've left. But it was all over now.
Martin would never bother me again. I inched closer to Draye and kissed his tiny hand.
"My sweet little love," I whispered, a small tear forming in my eye. "Let's go and never look back."
I was looking forward to a new beginning.
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Author's note:
This is a send-off to this plot line and I love it! Only a few more chapters y'all and I feel like crying because of the end.
But the end is an opening to new beginnings.
See you in the next chapter ✋