LIGHTS OF THE OTHER WORLD

Chapter 31 : Coronation Day

We hear running footsteps coming towards us. "Father? Father, where are you?" Tellusida calls out for Alaric and Christella not so far behind her.
They see us and are shocked. "What happened it all the snow? The darkness?" Tellusida asks.

"Who are these people?" Christella joins.
Fleur smirks at them. "Get used to it, cause your dear father won't come back to change anything."
"What? Where is father?" Christella asks.
"He's dead for good." Luke replies.
"You killed my father? How dare you!" Christella exclaims and the sisters run towards us in fury.

"Guards! Catch them at once and throw them in the dungeons." Evanthia commands.
The guards do as they're told and take them away.
A few hours pass by and we all get ready for the coronation ceremony.
I meet Evanthia by the staircase. She looks very beautiful in her navy blue gown, her hair pulled back into a clean bun and strands of short hair touching both the sides of her ears.

"Looking pretty Eva." I tell her.
"If I pretty, you look gorgeous!" She compliments me back. She sees me wearing a yellow gown, my hair, too pulled up in a clean bun. I feel I few of the small strands brushing softly past my ears.
"Thanks!" I reply. It's been so long since I've had a proper conversation with Evanthia.
"I need to discuss something really important with you, before the conversation."
"Okay, let's talk!" She says and leads me to her newfound bedroom.

* * *

At noon, we arrive at the meeting hall in which we had seen the beautiful twilight of Bellendis and where our coronation ceremony is supposed to take place. I see Fleur, dressed in white, her hair set loose. She's taking care of the flower decorations.

"Shall we help?" Evanthia asks her.
Fleur looks at us and replies with a little hesitation, "Not at all, your highness. It's supposed to be my job."
"Fleur, are you seriously going to become that formal with us?" Eva asks.
"I've got to get used to it. Plus, I won't be able to show my face to you everyday. After all, I'm just a normal Bellendian, not a princess who'll stay here. I'll head back to the Councillium and start teaching there." Fleur says, fiddling with a red rose, her eyes fixed on it.

"But you are our friend. You must stay here. We won't let you go anywhere." I say.
Rhiannon approaches us at that very moment. "Why haven't you finished the arrangements Fleur? It's such a big day for the princesses. Stop yapping and finish your work quickly! We don't have time!"

Fleur quickly runs away, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
"It's alright Master Rhiannon. We'll handle this in seconds." Eva says and waves her hands all around the room. In minutes, I see a line of white and red roses surrounding the walls of the hall. Colorful lilies surround the throne and lavenders and jasmines are arranged in the balcony. A lot of Bellendians have already assembled down and are eagerly waiting to see us.

Soon the rituals start. I see Fleur and Luke standing in the corner of the room, smiling at us. Rhiannon asks us to stand in the balcony, facing sideways so that all the Bellendians can see the ceremony from down. She gets a garland of flowers and puts it around my neck and then another one around Evanthia's neck. The Bellendians clap.
Then Rhiannon gives a sword to me and I accept it with both my hands. "This is the magical sword of King Hal. It is made of both, the constituents of a wand and the constituents of a sword. He would have truly been proud of you had he been able to see how you have served his people." She says.
"Thank you." I reply.

She hands out another sword to Evanthia and says "This is the magical sword of Queen Clarissa. This also is made of the constituents of a wand and that of a sword. She would have been proud of your service towards her people."

"Thank you." Evanthia replies as she accepts the sword with both her hands.
Rhiannon then crowns Evanthia and I. The crown feels a little heavy on my head, due to the weight of the pure diamonds.
The soldiers and the Bellendians shout "All hail queen Callidora and queen Evanthia!" And then we hear the loud noises of the trumpets and bugles.
Evanthia and I give a soft bow. After the Bellendians settle down and everyone is quiet, Evanthia addresses the gathering. "Thank you for the honour you all have given us, fellow Bellendians. We are proud of being a part of this wonderful place and will always cherish every part of it. There is one important thing that my sister and I wish to inform you about." She signs me to take over.

I smile and start. "Our victory could not be possible without the contribution of our teammates. But mostly without one single person who brought me back from my home in the other dimension and made me aware of my true responsibilities towards my kingdom. She has always been a part of Bellendis and seen all the different versions of it. She possesses all the qualities of a true leader. We, the former queens of Bellendis or should I say, princesses of Bellendis take the at most honour in presenting the true queen of Bellendis...

"Queen Fleur!" Evanthia announces. She holds her hand and gets Fleur in front of everyone. Fleur draws back her hand. "What are you doing guys? This isn't a joke! Do you even know the responsibilities of a queen? And you think I can handle them?", she whispers to us and runs past us.

I run after her, "Fleur, wait! Fleur!"

I hear Rhiannon telling the Bellendians that the ritual will commence after a short break.
I follow Fleur towards her room. "I shouldn't have spoken the way I did to you, Your highness. But please leave me alone for a while." She shuts the door behind her preventing me from getting in.

"Fleur? Can you hear me?" I ask. I hear her sobbing. "Fleur, I thought you'd be happy with our decision." I say.
"Well, you...should...have...asked me...before you took...such an...important decision." I hear a muffled voice reply.

"We're sorry Fleur. Eva and I had discussed it before the coronation ceremony and we thought of giving you a surprise." I say.

"But...why me? I couldn't even handle the responsibility of protecting a..young...child, how do you expect me to...handle such a huge responsibility of...ruling a kingdom?" She says, still sobbing.

I've never seen Fleur sobbing this way before. It's like she's lost all her self confidence.
"Fleur, everyone makes mistakes. I did too, Evanthia did too. Does that mean that we don't have the capabilities to become good queens? You did a mistake too, but the most important thing you gotta remember is that you did this small mistake because you were focused on a bigger goal. Protecting the Councillium was your goal. And that was a huge thing, you showed a true quality of a good leader. Not many people had the courage to even face Alaric. But you did. You saved the lives of so many Bellendians. So don't cry over one death. We can't bring him back even if we do. What's done is done. We have to move on. You are strong, beautiful, intelligent and we have faith in you. What else do you want?"

The sobbing ceases. "But why can't you both rule Bellendis? After all you both are the heirs to the throne."