"Then…I wouldn't have died."
What she said made no sense. "What do you mean? Are you sick?"
She smiled softly as the sun slowly hid beneath the horizon and darkness started to take over. "I would have preferred if it was a disease, Jack. But, I'm already dead…a walking corpse with limited time."
Sylvester touched her shoulder, "But I sense your beating heart, Princess."
"I'm no undead, Jack. What am I, even if I don't know... But, I know that once this Empire finally breaks apart, this heart will also cease to beat, freeing me from this prison of my body." Fernis replied rather emotionally. She looked at his face and chuckled. "You don't believe me?"
"It's hard to believe you. You've lived normally, you've eaten normally, and…you feel things normally. You can be anything but dying, Princess. Why do you even desire the destruction of Masan? It's your homeland." Sylvester directly confronted her since nothing she was saying made any sense.
She let go of Sylvester's hand and laid back on the grass. "Because I hate what it stands for. So many concubines, so many princes, and so much infighting. When I was small, not a single day went by without someone trying to assassinate me. My elder brothers had suffered the same fate, as did my father…their debauchery is the cause of the Empire's downfall.
"Why do you think the war with the Warsong Kingdom began? It was my grandfather who wanted to bed the Queen of Warsong at that time. To do it, he evoked the Eternal Bull Ritual in the name of Solis. A wild bull was released free with an army following it. Wherever the Bull went was proclaimed as the Empire's land. Eventually, it entered the Warsong Kingdom and was slain by its King. But my grandfather's lust knew no limits, and he declared war…which we never won. My elder brother was the same…I must be the worst sister for feeling peace on his death instead of sorrow."
Sylvester was hearing all that for the first time. The tale of an Empire that grew so strong that its Emperor couldn't accept someone rejecting his wishes.
"You still haven't answered me. Why do you hate the Empire?" Sylvester asked her once again.
"Because it killed me…" She blurted instantly. "I just wanted to live a normal life…fall in love, get married, and live happily till my death. But their scheming hearts could not accept my happiness. Jack, our meeting on that farm wasn't a coincidence. Accepting you as a personal guard was not a coincidence…It happened because not only you, I also wanted it too."
'That's impossible unless she had seen the future. If she had, she would have known my real name as well.'
"You are circling around the answer, Princess. Why do you think you're not alive?"
"Because I'm not! My own family…my cousins! They killed me the night before we met for the first time!" She burst aloud with the answer. "I bled to my death in that room…in that inn. Then, when we arrived at your farm the next day, they saw me still alive, and attacked me, only for you to save me."
'What the hell is she saying? She died and still reached the farm the next day? What is she? Not a Zombie or a Lich, that's for sure.' Sylvester was confused and frustrated beyond words.
"How?" He asked one word.
"Because of you…" Fernis answered.
"I was full of rage, pain, and vengeance, and knew what caused my death. I had a little sister once, whom I loved dearly—she was also murdered. I had so many friends among my cousins, and they all disappeared one after another, leaving me to wait for my eventual end as well. My elder brother Zedd also killed our real eldest brother with poison. Murders among concubines and their children are as common as dogs dying in the streets.
"And what did my father have to say? 'Good job, you are the true blood of Mirmasan'. He encouraged it—So, I wanted an end, and the only way was the end of the Mirmasan family."
"Then how ar—"
She interrupted Sylvester's words and continued. "As I lay in that room, bleeding to death, I heard a voice calling my name. At first, I felt relieved that it was my brother…But then the golden shining orb appeared before my eyes. The voice became clear, so majestic that it made me fear. 'You can't die yet!' the voice said."
Sylvester could already see where it was all going and couldn't help but clench his teeth. He hated the meddling hand as it was too unpredictable.
"Let me guess. It was Solis?" He questioned.
"Yes! Solis ordered me to meet a slave named Jack. Revealed to me that the slave would fulfill my last wish before dying—the destruction of the Empire and the Mirmasan family. I was doubtful, but not anymore…you've already fulfilled my wish."
'Is this the end then? But it still doesn't answer one last question.'
"If you were merely using me for your vengeance, why were you so obsessed with me? Why did you try to sleep with me? I barely knew you."
To his question, Fernis only smiled and closed her eyes. She took a long breath and abruptly began to sing something, starting with a long hum.
?The love of Solis knows no bounds,
For he nourishes you with everything around.
The water, the air, and nature's melodious sounds.
Lord has his ways to expound.?
Sylvester's jaw went slightly agape as he quickly recognized the lyrics. Following that, a short smile grew on his face as well, and he sang the second part of the hymn.
?So pray with me in the name of the Lord.
Your voices shall be kept in the blessed record.
From his grace, none is ignored.
Your land has been blessed again, wholly restored.?
She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I was three years old when big brother Jinn began to tell me stories about a blessed boy in the distant lands of the East. Who sings like a cuckoo and shines like Solis himself…Years went by, and the stories only grew numerous and grander.
"Defeating demons, Bloodlings, unearthing secret plots, punishing evil nobles, and blessing the innocent—the tales of Lord Bard were something I looked forward to every day. The merchants became my greatest friends, bringing me stories from the East. Then they brought the peculiar instrument to play music…Unfortunately, I couldn't master them." She laughed at herself.
"I yearned to meet the blessed, famed man one day, wondering maybe…just maybe…he could be my knight in shining armor."
'She knew all along.' Sylvester silently listened to her.
"I…I tried to run away to the East to find you in the Holy Land. All of my fifty or so attempts failed. I tried to pray to Solis for help, but nothing happened. I longed for you, as my heart felt wronged—before I knew it, the adoration wasn't a simple desire to meet anymore, but something more."
She stopped speaking and took a long breath. "Then the grave news came six years ago…the man I longed for was no more. Unable to even see him, I was devastated and shattered to the core. I reread the stories, the hymns, until I remembered them all…I prayed to Solis, asking what was my fault.
"Time went by, but my heart never healed. I often asked my mother why Solis never replied when I pleaded. Even she, the mighty shade, had no answer—I could only sulk over the unfortunate disaster."
Sylvester moved slightly closer to her and caressed her face. It looked thinner than a minute ago, much more frail. "You could have written to me."
"I did…But father never allowed them to reach you. I…Just once, can I hear the song?" She asked weakly, welcoming the touch of his hand on her face.
'Here I was suspecting her of being evil or conspiring against me. People are too complicated, and even their love is the same.'
He made his palm warmer and touched her forehead. "Such a foolish little girl…Who falls in love like that?"
"Hehe…" She smiled, showing her teeth. "It's your fault."
"How?"
"Fairytale heroes are supposed to be fictional…not like you…real."
Sylvester almost felt his heart sink as he felt bad for her. During the days he spent with her, even after being dead all along, she remained so cheerful and happy. Her personality was so fierce and adventurous…She didn't deserve to die like that.
"I'll sing now." He told her.
"Hold me, please."
Sylvester obeyed her wish and pulled her onto his arms so she'd sit between his legs while her back rested on his left arm. She held his right hand, a face full of smiles and eyes revealing a strange glimmering shine.
"Finally, I always wanted this…Sylvester!"
Sylvester started, allowing the halo to appear behind his head, and his body spread the warm radiance all around. It engulfed her as well, letting her feel the warmth.
?In a distant land lived a princess.
Short and pretty but a little bit dense.
She waited for her prince, losing all sense.
Her heart was pure, and her love was immense.?
"Heh…True…" She breathed out near his ear weakly.
?Pure in her body, the kindest soul she held.
To take her back in the embrace, God felt compelled.
When the time finally came and a wish was fulfilled.
The kind soul was betrayed—her body was killed.?
?O' Lord of Light, why gift her innocence such plight?
Why only now, when she finally reached that light?
Crestfallen, I am, holding her in my arms tight.
I wager my shine—let her last breath be filled with delight.?
Her body began to feel heavier in his arms. Sylvester glanced at her thinning face. The radiant shine in her eyes had almost diminished. But the smile remained the same, big and cheerful.
He caressed her head with the hand behind her, hoping for a reaction—which never came.
?May you find an easy road to salvation.
May you find warmth in your next incarnation.
Be blessed, Fernis, have faith in God's creation.
Goodbye—short it was, but I cherished our relation.?
The hymn ended, but the halo never left. Fernis' body, as if it had lost the divine blessing, began to become thinner and slowly vanish with tiny sparkles of shining ashes. Starting from her hands and feet, gradually flowing into the sky.
"Fernis Hu'ul Mirmasan…Only if a little earlier, I could have saved you…Yet again, I'm cursed to hold the dying body of the one who loved me…I hope you find all you desire in the next life."
Under the moonlit cloudy sky and the intense summer breeze, the shining ashes slowly assimilated with the air itself. Finally, Sylvester put his palm on her still-open eyes—and prayed for her soul to effortlessly rise.
'Revealing the identity of the Shadow of Masan to me…I will not forget this debt—Farewell, Fernis."
At last, nothing of her remained—and as if the heavens wept for taking yet another kind soul—it rained.
Thank you for reading. GT votes are much appreciated.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om