Saudade (Published under Indie Pop)

Chapter 47: A Deeper Grave

Chapter 47: A Deeper Grave

It was one of the darkest days in the East Castle. I could smell the sorrow in the air and hear the sadness in the hallways. I didn't know how they handled the times when I was captured by the pirates. But this day was definitely one of the saddest.

My mother refused to leave her room. She wouldn't talk to anyone, not even me. She just cried in her bed and slept without touching her food. She was a complete mess and I wished I could do just that. Wallowing was easier than braving the day and seeing my father in his coffin, looking so peaceful while being surrounded with fresh flowers and scented candles. My chest tightened as I remembered the times I spent with him – when I was under his protection and he would do anything to keep me safe. I regretted the times when we had misunderstandings and I had to be hard-headed just to get what I wanted. I felt sorry for the times that we weren't together.

Tarnus never left my side the day we received the news. He just stayed with me continuously asking if I was alright which I would assure that I was just fine. But we both knew that we couldn't stay that way for a longer time. My heart was mourning; filled with pain and regrets but I couldn't cry. Not yet. The East Castle needed supervision and Tarnus handled the security of the East Land. Later that day, I wore the long, black dress that was immediately prepared for me by the servants and received the visitors by the entrance. I also made sure that guest rooms were arranged for the council members of the East Land and relatives who would be staying in the castle to help us manage the funeral wake.

General Amir Kaveera and his family arrived and expressed their condolences. I remembered him as one of those people who welcomed me back to the Mainland when the marines of the West Land saved me from the pirates.

"I would make sure that the South Land would help in finding the men behind the assassination of your father," he promised.

I thanked him politely. We probably didn't have a good first meeting but I knew that he's capable of what he was promising. After all, we needed all the help we could get at the moment.

One of the council members saw him and they immediately engaged in a conversation I was not interested in. I continued receiving the visitors until I had to take a break and drink a cup of tea in one of the empty rooms. It was one of those places where I used to study painting; where my father would find me and criticize my works. He would suggest weird stuff and that I should get a better subject. And then we would laugh together as he sat on a stool and pretend that he was a still model. That was when I was fourteen. If I had known that I would lose him six years later, I would have stayed longer by his side. I would have painted him on hundreds of canvasses and hanged them on the walls of the castle so that I wouldn't forget him – so I wouldn't feel that he wasn't there anymore.

I looked around the room taking in the paints, brushes and canvasses that were placed neatly in their corners waiting to be touched again. It was once full of burning passion, conversation, and laughter. But now, it felt so sad and empty. It was like the whole castle had its own soul and was mourning over the death of its owner.

Soft knocks on the door caught my attention and I turned to see a servant bringing my tea and setting it on a table near the window.

"My lady, the Frost Family from the North Land has arrived," the servant announced.

"I'll see them in a moment," I answered.

"Would you mind if you see me now?" a familiar voice said from the door. I glanced towards it and saw Lord Boris Frost standing in his immaculate beauty by the door way. He certainly looked like a prince of snow because of the white coat he was wearing and the platinum blonde hair that seemed to glow from the light of the room.