The ancient latin carried by the angelic voices of the choir echoed through the cathedral, breaking the silence. The hearts of many in the assembly welcomed the music, beautiful but sad, crying for mercy. Dies Irae.
Dies irae, dies illa,
solvet saeculum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando iudex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!
Iiren was with Leo in the front pew of the church. Both were wearing black, and as the hymn gently caressed her soul she knew she would never change out of it. Black was to be a reminder and sign.
She looked back behind her. The cathedral was filled with nearly all the palace staff and many of the guards.
Rex tremendae maiestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me, fons pietatis.
Iiren watched as Varian, Eugene, her grandpa the Captain, Lance, and Stan and Pete carried the casket of their loved one and friend down the aisle. All wore combinations of black with a little bit of white and all were sad, but none more so than Eugene, the Captain, and Varian. Only 9 years ago Cassandra had gone down that same aisle, on a day of joy.
Pie Iesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.
The song softly ended, and a lingering echo hung in the air for a brief moment. The men placed the casket on a wooden frame to hold it up, then they went to their seats. Varian sat between Leo and Iiren, and even though Mass was starting, he hugged them both. Leo was sobbing. He hadn't stopped since he returned home the night before.
Iiren did not cry when she heard the news that day. Even when she heard her mother had been killed by someone. She was too shocked. Later she was allowed to see her mother one last time. Cassandra looked lovely, brave, and at peace. Her wounds had been cleaned and stitched up and she was wearing one of her dresses. Iiren took her hand, pale and cold as ice, and that is when it hit her that her mother was dead. She cried then, falling to her knees at her mother's bedside. She placed her head on the edge, her head touching her side. But there were no soft breaths that comforted her when she was sad. There was no steady heartbeat that reassured her that all was ok. And that hurt most of all.
"Why couldn't I save you?"
"It's not your fault."
Iiren was brought back to reality, and she saw Varian looking down at her.
"I can fight! If I had been there, I could have...done something." Iiren whispered. Varian wrapped an arm around her as they sat down for the readings.
"I wish I could have been there too. But...we weren't." Varian took a deep breath. "She isn't mad at you, she wanted you to be safe. Now we gotta live a good life and she'll be happy."
Iiren nodded. But "safe" resounded in her mind. Safe...from the person that killed her mother. Whoever it was had done it deliberately. Probably watched with glee as she took her last breaths.
Iiren's fist clenched. How dare the person raise his weapon against her mother. How dare the creature traumatize her little brother. How dare the murderer rip Iiren's last parent away from her. How dare the monster kill her mother.
Iiren grew angrier at every thought. Her pain fueled it to a blazing passion. That monster had messed with the wrong mother. There, gazing at the casket where Cassandra was enclosed, Iiren vowed that they would pay.
YOU ARE READING
The Way of the Warrior
FanfictionThe daughter of Cassandra inherited her mother's fire. She wants to become a warrior like her, but her journey is not one that anyone would expect. It is a mission through lands for a single purpose... As this is a fanfiction, the only things that...
