A Monster Inside - Book of the Amulet - ITV's Jekyll and Hyde

24 - Ashes to Ashes

"As a child/ You would wait/ And watch from far away/ But you always knew that you'd be the one that worked while they all played/ And you, you'd lay awake at night and scheme/ Of all the things that you would change/ But it was just a dream//

-Warriors

:/:

It took the siblings three hours to find Renata, well, what was left of her. Her face was still twisted into a look of almost disappointment, and one that Robert couldn't bear to look at in fear of regret. She was long dead; no ressurection spell would be able to bring her back. Her funeral was two days later, in the church just on the outskirts of London, and paid guest to a few that knew her. The church had a certain air to it, mournful, of course, but also reminiscent. A vicar stood at the front, murmuring something in Latin, but Lottie wasn't listening. She sat calmly at the front, bowing her head.

"Charlotte Jekyll would like to now say a few words", the vicar announced quietly. Standing up, she took a breath and turned towards the back of the church. It was small, and delicate, with looming, stained glass windows depicting various religious events, and dark oak pews each with a leather-backed Bible on the ends. Lottie didn't really know what to say, it had all been rather... sudden. Though she was doleful, she held an almost regal stature, like an angel fallen from grace.

"A great man once said that 'Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace'. And I think no one abides more to this statement then Renata. She was a silent thunderstorm, and a perfect guardian. I suppose today we bury not one, but two. With Renata goes my Hyde, Fedora, who I will miss... dearly. I-", Lottie started, then stopped, unraveling a scrumpled piece of paper that was in her hand. Breathing deeply, she looked over the people sitting in the pews. Robert, Bella, Teken, Garson and Maggie had all attended, but she wondered where Olalla had disappeared. She pulled at the black lace of her dress, and looked down at the scrawled letters of a poem she had found in the Jezequel House. They had been back there just after they had found Renata. "Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush. I am the swift uplifting rush. Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die". Giving a small smile, she sat back down again, catching a glimpse of Olalla standing just outside the church doors, peering in.

"We now commit her body to the ground. Earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life", the vicar exclaimed, nodding slightly towards Lottie.

:/:

The Jezequel Church

The Instruments lay abandoned among the gravestones. Some of the most powerful, world-bending objects now left, broken. But they still had one article to divulge.

A dull glow came from the Amulet, spreading across the ground like a wave crossing a beach. It grew upwards into a portal-like structure, swirling in shades of gold and red, then a hooded figure stepped out. Nodding once, they picked the combined Instruments from the grass, then promptly snapped them across their knee. They dropped them to the floor, the black monocane the Sword was made from spilling across the greenery, and walked away, their cloak sweeping behind them...

:/:

"I'm sorry", Lottie had said to Teken after the funeral, but was met with a disgruntled nod. He had seemed different to when she had last seen him, almost deformed. A long, silver scar ran down his face, and the side of his neck had a purple-ish tinge to it. "Have you been in a fight or something?"