The Past Lies Ahead (A Throne Of Glass Fanfic)

Chapter 48

The Florine River. The river where she had almost drowned nine years ago...

The small ship plowed through the thin crust of ice that coated the river, making constant crushing noises. She hadn't realized how much time had passed, and winter was now nearing it's end here in the north.

The armada had stayed behind outside of Ilium with Captain Rolfe and the cadre in charge, while she, Rowan, Aedion and Galan made their way to yet another meeting. In Orynth, where Ren hopefully had been able gather enough of the surviving nobles.

Aedion came to stand next to her, he said nothing, just stood there. Soon Rowan and Galan stood with her at the prow of the ship as well. She didn't look at any if them, just kept her eyes on the high rocky walls. Her chest tightened slightly when the broken and now rotten footbridge came into sight, hanging limply on one side of the valley.

She hadn't realized how far the fall had been, how long she had been in the air before hitting the freezing water. She felt Rowan's hand on her lower back, she took a deep breath.

«I...» she swallowed the lump in her throat. «I'd like to visit their graves, before the meeting with Lord Darrow and the others.» she said, while watching the broken bridge as they passed it. Just one more day on the boat and she would be home, a place she once had thought she would never see again.

«Of course.» Rowan said, and she leaned into his side.

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One day later they were all walking down the once beautiful streets of Orynth, but not towards the mountain castle with the tall opal tower. Galan and Rowan's guards walked on all sides, with the Wendlynite guards at the front and the fae guards at the sides and back. She had tried to protest at the amount of security, but Rowan would not budge with the safety measures, even here.

Rowan kept to her side, and her cousins brought up the rear. Together they walked in silence until she could see the gate leading into the royal cemetery, where the guards halted and opened it. Aelin grabbed Rowan's hand and looked up at him, he met her gaze and gave a nod. She squeezed his hand before releasing it, and stepped through the open gate alone.

The cemetery was silent and beautiful. A gravel path lead into a grove of oak trees, and between the trees stood monoliths marking the graves of her ancestors. At the far end of the path stood a statue, she knew it well as she had visited this place many times before. The statue was of Brannon, the first King of Terrasen, the founder of their family.

Aelin veered off into the trees, stepping around patches of snow, and made her way to the nearest monolith. She knew it was one of the newer ones, because she had never seen it before. It was placed in the middle of two towering oaks, she slid her hand across the surface.

King Orlon Galathynius

A date was listed, as well a a short inscription about her Great Uncle. She knelt down before it and brought out the handful of stones she had kept in her pocket. There was already a pile of pebbles in front of the grave from other visitors, and placed hers a bit to the side against the smooth stone of her uncles' monolith.

She slowly rose to her feet, then scanned the trees for the next one. She found a bit further in, and this time her tears fell to the earth before her knees did.

Prince Rhoe Galathynius
and his wife
Princess Evalin Ashryver

She clutched the stones in her hand when her lips began to wobble, and a sob began to build up in her throat. She stared at her parent's names on the smooth stone, and took a shaky breath that released her sobs.

Her hand shook as she sifted through the stones until she found the perfect ones, and placed them at the base of the monolith. She breathed in the cool air, and looked at their names.

«Hello mother, hello father. I made it, I'm home.» her voice cracked. «I don't know if you have been watching, or what you think of... of the things that I've done.» her throat tightened. «It took me a long time to get the courage to face it, to face what happened that day. But with a lot of help from my friends I was finally able to do it.» she released  a shaky laugh. «Yes, you heard that correctly, I have more than one friend now. Sam, even though we only became friends less than a year ago, has always had my back for as long as I've known him. I didn't even know that until last summer, actually, when he told me he loved me in the least romantic place he could find.» she chuckled, and sniffed before she went on. «Then he and I moved to Antica, and there I met this lovely old woman, Frey, who owned a dog care. I still hadn't told Sam my real name at that point, and it began to weigh very heavily on me. But Frey helped, her advice helped to me make that final leap. So much has happened since then... and Sam and I aren't a couple anymore because I found my mate, or rather, Rowan found me. Sam was so kind about it, he was practically pushing me towards Rowan when he learned that we were mates.»

She fell silent for a moment, and she raked her fingers through a patch of wet snow. «We killed Maeve, Rowan and I did it together. So you don't have to worry about her anymore, mother, she can't get her hands on me now.» she sniffed again. «But there's a war coming, and I'm afraid of what could happen to everyone I care about. I don't want to lose my friends, my family.» she clutched a fistful of wet snow. «Nevertheless, there's no avoiding it, we have to fight. I will not let the Valg Demons take these lands, this world, even if I have to fight until my last breath. I will not give up, I will not run away, and I will not be afraid.»

She rested her head against the monolith, let the cold from the stone seep into her forehead. «I love you, may your souls rest easy.»

Aelin rose to her feet, and began to walk back to her mate and cousins. She dried off her tears with her sleeve, and took a moment to compose herself before leaving the confines of the oak trees.

The guards saw her approach and opened the gate for her, she thanked them as she walked through. Aedion and Galan was watching her, but they seemed to not be able to find any words. Which was fine bye her, she didn't want to start crying again. She looked at Rowan, and she smiled up at him. Her soul felt lighter than before, it had been good to finally be able to say her final goodbyes to her parents.

«Alright... let's get ready for this meeting.» she said, rolled her shoulders back, raised her head and began walking towards the limestone castle that had once been her home.