Pandora's Box

Chapter 6: Part II

A nation's worth of people dressed in their finest attire gathered on the well-manicured rolling green steppes flanking the road to the House of Sunsets. The venerable mausoleum was a marvel of tall arches and sweeping spires that spanned two-hundred meters at each side. A mural of stained glass depicting the kingdom's first sundown after Ahriman the Fallen's exile to the Gloom, presided over the temple's face. Four towering colonnades guarded the front, casting long, stabbing shadows in the setting sun.

Within one such shadow, Pandora stood at her mother's side. Despite the midsummer's eve, a cocoon of cool air wrapped around the princess, drawing power from the lengthening shadow, caressing the nape of her neck with a fine chill. The day had passed in earnest, a never ending procession of flower-tossing, weeping, blurry-eyed peasants stopping before their queen and princess to express their condolences. Pandora sighed and shifted her weight.

"Be still, my daughter," Adella uttered softly. The sunset is nearly upon us."

Pandora studied her the soft features of her mother's face. Even now, even faced with the daunting reality of a mourning kingdom, Adella's natural grace seemed unphased. She's like iron wrapped in silk, Pandora thought. A gnawing sentiment began festering. How can she stand there and act as though this were some parade? Does she think this is some sort of street theatre? Does she not understand that he's never coming back?

How can she not care?

A gentle chorus of murmurs rolled over the sea of grieving people. Countless heads turned in unison to the distant sound of clip-clopping hooves. Pandora's heart seized. The moment she'd been dreading for the past three days approached.

Cresting the hill on the cobblestone road came a team of seven magnificent chargers, each festooned with dazzling regalia of cerulean blue bearing the royal insignia. They pulled an open wagon of stark white oak. Thin wisps of white silk fluttered from the posts at the wagon's corners. Pandora stepped onto her tiptoes, straining to see him...

King Drake rested comfortably beneath a case of glass on a pillowed bed, hands interlocked at his chest. A sapphire rose was clutched beneath them. Adella had personally selected the dazzling roses whose petals now covered the eternally sleeping king from chest to toe. Pandora swallowed a stubborn lump. He's only sleeping... He's only sleeping... Clusters of sobs emerged as the drawn wagon passed by on the way to House of Sunsets.

In front of the mausoleum, the wagon's driver finally halted the team of chargers. A quartet of smartly dressed soldiers stepped down from the wagon's rear. The king's honor guard reverently withdrew Drake's casket. They hoisted it upon their shoulders and the dying light of the setting sun warmed the polished crystal enclosure to a soft amber glow. With a subtle nod from Adella, the honor guard began the slow, final march to the king's final resting place.

The arcade covered the entrance to the House of Sunsets with a blanket of dusky shadow. A portcullis of linked wrought iron ivy hung heavily over the entrance. Pandora shivered. She saw the ingress for what it was: the maw of a horrible beast that was moments away from consuming her father forever.

The honor guard gently set the casket down on a dais of hand-carved stone. Ancient sigils and wards worn down by the wind and the passage of time marked the cold stone's sides. Queen Adella somberly stepped to her husband. She placed a slender hand on the crystal.

"A heavy heart beats within us all today. My husband, your king, was ever so much more than those simple titles. He was a relentless defender of our kingdom, feared by the shadows that lurk beyond the light, and revered by his men as a consummate brother in arms who would risk everything to bring them to safety. Half of his heart was rightfully claimed by the good people of the realm the moment he earned the crown."

Adella turned slightly, gesturing for Pandora. "The other half, was claimed by his angel the night he first cradled the swaddled babe in his arms. Drake was a loving father whose strong sense of family and loyalty and kindness have been a beacon for our household during our most darkest hours." Adella gently cupped Pandora's shoulders with her hands.

"And like all fathers, he would have willingly laid his very soul upon Fate's altar if his child had need."

A rumble of choked sobs passed through the sprawling crowd. Pandora was suddenly, painfully aware that each pair of eyes was focused on her. Adella's eulogy pressed on and Pandora wished she could disappear behind the veil concealing her tears.

The grief mounted faster than Pandora could shove it away. Her lips quivered until she bit the lower one in place. She tasted a faint hint of blood. A soft whisper came from behind.

"Everything will be ok, Pandi."

She turned.

Donovan...

The cadet had sidled as close to the front of his section group as he could without drawing unwanted attention. He wore a bristling white tabard, with his formal baldric carrying his sword. The familiar warmth of Donovan's presence curled a wisp of a smile on Pandora's face.

But it wasn't enough.

Pandora suddenly gathered up a clutch of her dress, turned, and ran. She did not hear the murmuring confusion of the crowd or Queen Adella's calls. She ran as fast and as far from the mausoleum as she could.