#134 The Words
Once this was all over, once again, everything became quiet in the arena.
There was this silence, reigning over the place like a shadow despite the clear sky. It just didnât feel
right. Shareen looked around, at the deserted arena. This place was desert most of the year, and when
it was in use, it was to showcase death, Now, it had served its purpose one too many times. The
Princess let out a long sigh. Maybe all of this was meant to teach them something. That it was time for
a change,
Shareen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wiped off the blood dripping down her chin, and
with a heavy heart, she turned to her brother. Next to him, Krai was still waiting there, his head low, not
moving.
âKairen. We have to go,â she said.
While she was expecting her brother to ignore her, he slowly stood up, still carrying Cassandra against
his chest. Both Dragons turned heads to watch him go, and they followed his steps as he slowly left the
arena. Shareen watched her brother go, but she glanced one last time towards the ashes and the pile
of rocks. She spat on the black dust and went to follow her brother and leave this place.
They walked slowly back towards the Palace. There were corridors to get there from the Imperial
Palace, of course, and anyway, neither of the dragons looked like they had enough strength left to fly.
Krai was following Kairen from up close, and even when he had to climb on the roof instead of the
narrow corridors, his steps were heard heavily above them. Sire actually didnât follow them back inside.
The blue Dragon parted ways with them, aiming for another area of the castle. It was easy to imagine
he had other humans to be more concerned about here.
Shareen didnât dare say a word while they walked. After such a long and violent battle, it was strange
that everything was so quiet inside the Imperial Palace.
âBrother! Weâ¦â
Anour stopped talking, his eyes going down to the body Kairen was carrying. The young Prince opened
his eyes wide, shocked, and soon, they got filled with sorrow.
âNo⦠Sheâ¦â
No one answered him. He gasped and covered his mouth, and didnât dare move when Kairen walked
past him. The youngest prince raised his eyes towards Shareen, as if to ask something, but he didnât
formulate it into words. She just glanced at him briefly, and they both followed the War God.
âThe⦠fight outside is over,â said Anour, almost whispering.
They could hear that. From very far above the Imperial Palaceâs walls, the cheers of soldiers could be
vaguely heard. Shareen wanted to go out and slap them one by one. There was no cheering to be
down now. Not after what had happened, the tragedy that was going on here. She didnât want to hear
those idiots.
ââ¦Where is Mother? And Missandra?â
âThey are with Roun,â said Anour. âMissandra is very badly injured, but Lady Kareen found an Imperial
Healer to look over her, and Phemera, too⦠He said they will both make it. Everything was quiet here,
so I came out to see⦠Lady Kareen had said we should hide and wait, just in⦠Just in caseâ¦â
Shareen nodded. Their mother had probably prioritized Missandra and the babyâs safetyâ¦
âCan you go get them?â She asked.
Anour glanced towards Kairen, a bit worried, before turning back to her.
âAre you sureâ¦?â
âI donâtâ¦â She sighed. âMaybe ⦠Itâs better if they get a chance to say goodbye.â
The youngest prince gulped down, looking like he was repressing some tears himself, and nodded
vividly before leaving. Shareen sighed, and continued following her brother. She didnât know where he
was taking her, she couldnât even tell if he had a destination in mind.
Kairen looked like he was wandering aimlessly in the Palaceâs corridors, carrying her body in silence.
Just after a few more corridors, she recognized the direction they were taking; Towards the lake. (4
She frowned. They had heard some incredible story from their brother while on their way to the arena,
but⦠What was he thinking, going back there? That crazy tale Opheus had said uttered about some
gigantic Dragon hidden the lake couldnât be true⦠was it?
Shareen didnât say a thing, though, and still followed after him. No matter what he tried, said, or did
now, she probably wouldnât have found it in herself to stop him. She had never stood against her
brother, and she wouldnât do it now. Certainly not now. They walked up to the Lake, were Opheus was
seated in the grass, a hand on his . dragon. Both Lys and Glahad looked exhausted, covered in
injuries, yet they all raised heads once they walked in the garden. 3
The Golden Dragon growled softly, but Glahad couldnât move. He was exhausted and lying on its flank.
He had fought a lot today. They all did. Krai too, walked heavily on the grass, walking to Kairenâs side.
The Black Dragon had never looked so sad when it laid down there, itâs head turned towards them.
Opheus struggled to get up, but his eyes were riveted on Kairen and Cassandra. He didnât say a thing,
but his expression was beyond words. That sight had rendered him speechless, choked up, at a loss
for words. He watched his older brother get to the lake, and get down on his knees on the strand. He
was holding Cassandra as if she was simply sleeping, her head against his neck, his large hands
holding her as tenderly as a man could hold a woman.
âPleaseâ¦. 4
His voice was so low, Opheus thought he had dreamt it. Yet, Kairen was staring at the Lake, his eyes
searching for something he couldnât see. He didnât know what to call, how to do this. It was
Cassandraâs world, not his. He knew nothing. The War God took a deep breath, and after a hesitation,
he uttered the one word he knew.
LIE
W
â¦Almien.â 14
He looked at the lake, but as nothing moved, he took a deep breath and repeated it. Again and again,
like a prayer; He hugged Cassandra, and begged for her God to come and save her.
Shareen was staying behind arms crossed, looking like she believed nothing of what he was trying to
do. Opheus glanced at the surface, unsure. Would that creature answer to their call? After what they
had done? He looked at Cassandra. After they had done this to her? To her people? He exchanged a
glance with Shareen. The Princess didnât believe it, but she wouldnât stop him from trying. She knew
there was nothing else heâd do but try. 2
âOh, by the Gods⦠Cassieâ¦â
They turned around.
Lady Kareen had arrived, carrying baby Kassian and followed by Anour. Somehow, Kian had found his
way to the concubine and was walking at her feet, looking just fine, unaware of what was going on.
They had come without Missandra, which meant the younger sister was probably in no state to move.
In a way, perhaps it was better, Shareen thought. Sheâd be spared of that vision of her older sister, lying
lifeless in the War Godâs armsâ¦
In his grandmotherâs arms, Kassian began crying. Kian, too, retreated, no longer looking all joyful and
excited. The young dragon was almost hiding behind Kareen, sending little glances towards the lake,
and making little distressed sounds. This scene was just unbearable. Kareen didnât even try to soothe
the baby, the Imperial Concubine had her eyes riveted on her son, looking completely devastated. She
sighed, and held Kassian a bit more closely, caressing his back and whispering gently to him. She kept
shaking her head, not adding anything.
Suddenly, something on the surface of the lake began moving. They all turned their eyes towards the
shapes that
appeared in the water. The ripples started spreading through the whole lake, and somehow, the
atmosphere around got a lot fresher too, which never happened in the dry, hot Dragon Empire.
Shareen and her mother exchanged a glance, completely stunned. They had lived years in this Palace,
known every end of it and even every secret of the Emperor. Yet, its biggest secret didnât belong to the
human realm. It came into the shape of a magnificent Creature that surfaced out of the lake for a girl.
The Water God let the top of its body out of the water, itâs head coming to Kairen. It was like a snake
slowly swimming, chunks of its body appearing randomly on the surface, and disappearing again. One
could only imagine the actual length and size of that creature. Opheus glanced towards the dragons,
but none of them looked cautious or surprised. They were all lowering their heads. As if the one water
dragon in front of them was a very venerable creature, a being they were intimidated by naturally. They
hadnât done that earlier, in the midst of a battle, but now, there was a clear line drawn between the
Imperial Dragons, and this Water God.
Kairen raised his eyes as the Creature stood tall above him. For once, the War God was the one
looked down upon, and he didnât care the slightest about that.
His dark eyes were red with grief. He just didnât want it, he didnât want to admit that reality. Yet, as the
Water God stood tall in front of him, he remained quiet. There was a very strange feeling between the
two.
He was holding Cassandra, so light in his arms. The girl from the Rain Tribe. The slave his Empire had
taken from her people, from the life she should have had. They should have never met. They were born
in different worlds, worlds that werenât suited for each other. The moment she had been brought to this
Empire, she wasnât meant to survive. She was brought to this Empire to suffer and die. To become a
slave.
Yet, of all people, the War God had fallen for that woman. There had been a bit of light for her, in the
darkness. They hadnât spent a year together, but she had become everything. She had become what
she could be, like a flower struggling to bloom in the dirt. The water lily. The Lady of The Mountain.
Wherever she had been taken, she had done her best to survive and grow. She hadnât complained, she
had stood brave against everything his people had thrown at her. She had never become resentful
towards their people. Cassandra had stayed the same girl from the Rain Tribe, and she had changed
the people around her instead.
Kairen was sitting there, looking at the Water God and lost.
What had he come to do? Beg for a second chance? For Cassandra to be returned to her? He was
sitting in front of her God, with her body in his hands. What would he dare beg for? The Water God had
heard the Requiem of one of his last daughters. No one could tell what linked them, but he was
presenting her body to that God, and begging for a second chance? To take her again, back into this
terrible world? How could he ask for a miracle, when nothing had been brought but Chaos?
The Water God was standing there, waiting. No one could tell how much time really passed, with those
two Gods staring at each other. It was like some silent negotiation was going on between them, yet no
word was exchanged.
In Kareenâs eyes, her son was paying a heavy price for many, many peopleâs wrongs.
He was the one carrying his loverâs body. The mother of his son was lying in his arms, and he had to
live with the fact that not only had he been too late to save her, but he was also partially guilty for it.
Because he had fallen in love with her, so many things had happened. No one could tell how and why
the Black Dragon had tied their destinies together. Maybe the War God needed to learn about love.
Maybe it was just about giving Cassandra more time to do all the good she could still do. There was
something both beautiful and tragic about this pairâs fate.
After a long while, the War God closed his eyes. One tear slowly went down his cheek, and with a deep
breath, he held Cassandra in his arms one last time. He hugged her tight, burying his face into her hair,
his hands wrapped around her body. From behind him, they could feel the heavy weight on his
shoulders, the mountain of pain and grief that overcame him. Only his sonâs cries could be heard, the
man himself was beyond tears.
Then, very slowly, he laid Cassandraâs body down in the water. Even from afar, one could tell how
unwilling he was to let go. When his hands finally left her body, he took a couple of steps back, his eyes
still on her. Never the
obsidian eyes had been so dark, without a spark of light in it.
He raised his dead eyes to the Water God, and then, he bowed very lowly.
Kairen had never bowed to anyone, but now, that man was thrown so low, his face almost touching the
water.
âIâm sorry.â
Those three words were uttered so low, no one else heard it.
The Water God let out a long, low-pitched sound that resonated within the gardens and beyond. It was
as if he had been waiting for this. Then, he went down to Cassandra, his head right next to her, and the
creature took a deep breath in.
When it opened its mouth, it exhaled some very thin, white dust. As they were confused at first, they
realized that white smoke slowly covered Cassandra. The air chilled down again, and the ice got
thicker. Soon, her skin turned whiter than it had ever been. It was like seeing a ghost disappear in the
snow. Her lips became purple, then blue.
Kairen couldnât take her eyes off her until the Water God stopped his ice breathe. Then, with another,
angrier loud growi, it suddenly came closer and wrapped his body around Cassandra. One of its paws
grabbed her arm to keep her in place, but the Creatureâs eyes were on Kairen all of the time. The War
God didnât even seem to notice, and he didnât even retreat from the Creature so close. He just watched
it take her.
With another long growling, the Water God slowly went back into the lake, taking Cassandra with him.
It disappeared just like this, and after a while, the surface of the water didnât move at all, going back to
being a quiet, peaceful lake.