After what seems like hours, Amelia finally joins us. Her eyes are puffy and red. Luckily my brother’s and my face have cleared up for the most part. It is disrespectful to cry for someone’s death in the royal family if none of the royal family is crying with you. I was relieved when Hemmonet didn’t say anything when my brothers and I formed our circle.

Amelia talks quietly to Hemmonet and hands him one of the Glints that are sheathed on her chest. Hemmonet responds quietly and bows. He turns to bow to my brothers and me and then walks off.

“I understand you want to see my sweet Asher. I can walk you to him if you like,” Amelia says. She sounds tired like every ounce of energy she had left has drained out of her.

“You should go rest. We can get a servant to show us where the grave is. Go, get some rest, and mourn for the loss of your husband and son,” Strider responds.

“I am so sorry that you are going through this. Your family was so loving and I am sorry that it ended up this way. I promise you I will get revenge for both Engeldeo and Asher. Darkness will die if that is the only way to stop him. I will end this. I promise,” I pull back from the whisper and give her a supportive smile.

She smiles and nods, “Thank you. I will be in my chambers for now. Please, stay for dinner, I have been so lonely for the past week. It would mean a lot to me if you stayed.”

“Very well,” I agree.

We all head up the stairs that we came down from. When we get to the top, Amelia commands one of her ladies-in-waiting to show us where Asher is buried. The lady-in-waiting nods and gestures for us to follow her. Amelia walks the other way toward her bed chamber.

We walk down another marbled floor hallway but this one has a deep purple carpet along the middle of it. The paintings of past kings and queens on the wall show no color, only black, white, and gray. The windows have thick purple curtains blocking the light from shining into the hall. The only way we can see in the hallway is the occasional torch scattered throughout the hallway. Even those torches don’t give us enough light for us to see where we are going exactly.

At the end of the hall, we walk up to a three-pointed arch door. It has foggy glass in the shape of little diamonds over the whole door. When it opens, my eyes hurt with all the color and brightness, a sudden change from the dark halls we were in.

I shade my eyes and take in the beauty of my surroundings. This side of the castle has no civilians on it. We are at the top of a hill with a flower meadow beneath us. The different shades of blue, pink, purple, and white contrast the hallway we came out of.

We follow the servant down the hill and through the meadow. We are directly in the back of the castle. The royal graves are the only graves inside the castle walls. At the edge of the meadow, there is a forest of blue leafless trees. The smaller trees are brighter blue and the taller trees are almost navy blue.

We walk through the forest on a dirt path and get to an opening where there are graves everywhere. The gate that surrounds them glows with magic. We don’t have that in our kingdom but of course, my brothers and I are the first mortal rulers.

“Only The Magnificent have access. I will wait out here for you, Your Majesties,” the lady-in-waiting says.

Strider, Theon, and I walk past the white specks of magic falling out on the ground. There are about 200 gravestones in this graveyard. Each one has its own relic, each symbolizing the era the dead were alive.

The beast that looks like a snake with a lion head was the first beast that represented the before-doom era. The era when everything was still balanced and peaceful. The huge bird with a long tail and horns on top of its head represented the after-doom era. This era is all the years after Darkness had his temper tantrum and decided to destroy the whole world.

We walk up to Asher’s stone. The scorpion body with the gorilla’s head represents the dark days. This era shows that people are turning to Darkness more and more every day. I felt a sense of familiarity when I looked at the drool and foam coming out of the beast’s mouth. The beast looks like it is full of disease and it’s growing rapidly. It is a very close representation of what Darkness and his effects are doing to this world.

I knelt in the dirt where Asher is buried. I start to chant the ritual of the dead. Giving him the peace he needs to be satisfied in the afterlife. I hear the ground rustle around me as Strider and Theon join me.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

____

Thirty minutes later the lady-in-waiting leads us back into the castle where Amelia awaits us. Her puffy eyes showed she had been crying the entire time.

“Amelia, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing your son to a murder and losing your husband to Darkness is very hard,” Strider says. “But we have come here for a reason. Is there any information you can give us as we go into your kingdom?”

Amelia opens her mouth and closes it just as fast. “You will need to disguise yourself. My people are very angry with The Magnificent but especially you three. They blame you for what Darkness is doing.”

“Why would they be angry with us? We aren’t the one that is filling the people’s hearts with hate,” Theon snaps.

“They blame you for angering Darkness. If you would have listened to his requests then none of this would have happened. I tried calming the kingdom down and telling them that their claims were not a bit true. It was no use though since thousands of people were convincing others that the three of you are true Darkness spawns and don’t have a bit of Light in you.”

“So, your people think that because we didn’t do the evil requests that Darkness asked us to do, we are still the most evil beings that have existed,” Strider stated.

“Unfortunately yes. Did you three bring your disguise cloaks?” Amelia asks.

Disguise cloaks are only for The Magnificent. Cut only by Glints, they can be made out of any material for any environment. When you put the cloak on, you snap your fingers twice and the cloak will be invisible along with you.

Civilians are not supposed to have the cloaks for the safety of the kingdom and the Magnificent. One year, a guard caught a civilian trying to steal a disguise cloak. That civilian has turned into the same creature King Engeldeo had turned into. We, unfortunately, had to kill that civilian as well.

“No one knows what we look like or if we even exist. I didn’t think we would need to bring them,” I respond.

“Your Glints are too bulky to hide. My people will not care. If anyone wears anything that represents royalty, my people will try their best to hurt you. If they see anyone that might look like a Magnificent, they will try to hurt or even kill them. Hammonet can show you to the royal closet and get you ours. For the last couple of weeks Engeldeo, Asher, and I had to wear them. The people are angry with us for being allies with you.”

“Why didn’t you stay in the castle? Surely, you have servants and guards who could get the things you need,” Theon says.

“Engeldeo wanted to see the riots for himself. He was so surprised about it that he didn’t believe his guards when they told him. Asher and I were curious so we decided to tag along. Our royal tailors got in contact with yours to mimic your disguise cloaks. It’s where I started seeing the strange signs my sweet Engeldeo was showing.”

“What were those signs?”

“He would glare at our son in a way I have never seen him glare before. A glare that was filled with pure hate. I didn’t think anything of it because I thought he was overstressed with all the chaos that was going on in our kingdom.”

“So you saw him glare at your son. How soon after did the murder happen?” Strider asks.

“That very night,” Amelia croaks.

I see Strider opening his mouth up to ask another question but I put my hand up to stop him. Amelia looks like she had enough for today. I don’t want my brothers or me to make the wounds deeper than they already are.

I thank Amelia for all the help she has given us. Hammonet guides us to the closet where the disguise cloaks are located.

“Your Highness, may I speak about something?” Hammonet asks.

I give a fake smile, hesitating to agree. Whenever people are vague on the topic they want to speak about, I get nervous about what the topic could be. Could it lead to an awkward fight? Is it a compliment that I need to accept even if I don’t believe it? Is there some other vital information that could help us on this mission?

In case it is the last option, I permit Hammonet.

“I just wanted to thank you for coming to Chopver. My sweet angel of a daughter would not have had a future if you decided you didn’t want to come,” he lets out a small chuckle. “She speaks very highly of The Magnificent. I am forever thankful for your willingness to fight this awful war.”

His joy does not bring a true smile to my face, but the same mask stays on. We haven’t won, and I have no idea where to start. The weight of this battle is already heavy.

To stop overthinking, I ask, “And what is your daughter’s name?”

“Her name is June Chaffer, Your Highness. She knows I am on a special mission right now but she doesn’t know the details. I know secrecy is something you want.”

“Yes, you have sworn to secrecy for a reason. Otherwise, this world could get very dangerous.”

Hammonet stops in front of a big arched doorway. The brown carved forest animals go with the emerald green painted background.

“Hammonet?” I say.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“I will make sure June has a future.”