My Wonderful Second Life

Chapter 82- The golden lion and the golden crow

The sun was warm and inviting. Another day it would have led to a delightful tea break outside, under the shade of a large oak. Now it was almost as if the nice weather was mocking them, the warmth deceiving. Bianca felt every ray of heat on her tired body, her cane supporting from one side, while Eli, her brave granddaughter, supported her from the other.

She had tried to send her away, to the safety of their offices, with their men. But she had refused.

A true lady never backed down from what was right. From the truth.

Those were the words Elli used to seal her decision. The same ones Bianca had taught her time and time again. There was no time to fight over it, but also Elli was right.

She needed to know. If she ever would be successful in her support of Lucreatia, she would have to know what was behind the light. No matter how ugly it would come to be.

They walked in a vigorous pace, behind them the heavy steps of their knights, and of Kristoff and his son Joshua. Bianca was surprised by their silence. She had expected them to voice concerns about going against the Empress. To plead for caution. She indeed heard some words coming from Lord Joshua that could have been the start of a caution warning, however, those died with a withering look from his father.

Since then, they remained in silence.

Finally, they arrived at the edge of the back of the Empress palace. A thick formation of trees made sure to cover an inverted tower that was sprouting off from an overgrown grass like a poisonous thorn in an empty field, unseen by any curious onlooker.

Nothing seemed amiss. The place looked empty and discarded by time. However, the silence in the middle of such chaos made Bianca thread carefully. One of her knights opened the rusty door and from it fell two royal guards. They were so still that she had thought them dead. However, her knight confirmed their shallow breaths.

They were sleeping.

The palace was in such a mess and the Empress guards slept as if nothing. This was not normal behaviour, and Bianca knew this could only result from Lucreatia's work with alchemy. She passed them by, watching as her men bounded their legs and hands. Inside, darkness reigned. The light of the Sun behind her made it harder to see. However, there were only two ways. One up and one down.

Slowly, she put her wrinkled hand on the stone wall, leaving the warmth of her granddaughter's arm. In silence, she prayed, and then she listened.

"We will go up." She said, before turning to face Kristoff, who now blocked the sun from clawing its way into the entrance. "Take your men and go down."

His gentle eyes stared at her for a moment. A fleeting moment. "No."

That caught her by surprise. Kristoff was never one to rebel against her words. He always abided by his elders, yet now he was unmoving, like a mountain. "Kristoff, I have my men."

"And my men can handle whatever is down the stairs of this horrid place." He added, moving closer and whispering. "I promised not to leave you and I shall not."

Like a bolt, she felt his words in her bones. The roar of the golden lion. It was a command that glued her to the ground. One she had not expected to come with such strength. The Duke of the North, back in a time when the light shone brighter, was known as the golden lion of the nation. Very few were aware of what that entailed, now that their glorious days were over. Their power forgotten by the lines of time.

They were now referred to, in hushed whispers, as the sleeping lions. Their power was nothing more than a fancy name. And yet Bianca was feeling part of it. The strength of his words, a remnant of the old light.