Chapter 5: Kara Davis

[POV: Kara Davis]

“What is it? Is something wrong?” She asked the messenger with a concerned look.

“Well, Um... Ahh... the... Umm...”

Kara Frowned. The messenger was staring at the table and kept shifting his legs. But most of all he was trembling visibly. What could have made the other man so terrified? This can’t be good news.

“Well? Spit it out already.”

Guard stepped back, nearly jumping on his tiptoes. He shifted his eyes to his feet. “Forgive me, my lady, to be the bearer of such sad news, but his imperial majesty is dead and your husband along with him. I was told that both of them were poisoned to death.” His mouth worked and quivered as he passed the horrid news.

For a second, her mind went blank. What was the messenger saying? He must have mistaken. Yes, he was probably too nervous and said the wrong words.  But one look at the messenger and realisation hit her like a blow to the head. That wasn’t the look of someone who had just lied about something like this. Kara gasped and sank to the ground. She crawled into a ball, her hand firmly squeezing her shoulder, trying to stop her shaking body. She rocked back and forth. Her heart ran harder and faster, and the light in her eyes became dark as pearly tears rolled down her cheeks.

Why? Not again! Not again! All, everyone!! Why does everyone leave me? Merlin, I don’t know what to do. First, a disease took her firstborn. Then her second-born was murdered. Now, her husband too. Why does this keep happening to people I love? I must be cursed. Her soul screamed a howl that could shame the loudest of sounds. 

“My lady, please pull yourself together, I can’t see you like this.” 

Kara looked up, her eyes swollen with tears and her dishevelled hair stuck to her cheeks.

The messenger is right. What am I doing? I’m so weak; it’s pathetic. You’ve got a village to run. Get yourself together! She tried to breathe in, again and again, trying to calm herself. It wasn’t time for her to mourn. It would come letter. Right now, she had work to do.

Kara took her time, but at least she settled down and removed her hand from her shoulder while she took a deep breath a few times. And she stood up, wiping her tears out of her cheeks. She swayed for a second, but she managed to compose herself. 

“Who gave you this news?”

“It was Sir Jones.”

“Sir Jones? He’s here? Not the king councillors.” Why would Sir Jones and not the king councillors to relay this message?

“Yes, my lady, he is here with an army of two thousand, carrying your husband’s coffin. And he wishes to see you at the village gate.”

An army? Why would Sir Jones bring an army today of all days? She was much more puzzled now. No, that’s not it. It was a suspicion. Today was the summer solstice, not only the longest day of the year but also the darkest day of the Water Village. For it was the day of the sun when the villagers lost their access to grace.

It was the day when villagers were at their weakest. Why would he have brought an army on a day like this? 

“Yes, we must see him. I want to know everything.”

Kara cleaned herself before visiting the gate. Her husband may be dead, but she was still a lady. She had to maintain that etiquette.

After walking quite a distance, Kara arrived at the gate. There she met Sir Thomas Davis, who had been waiting for her, standing near to the gate.

“I heard the news, my lady. And I truly am sorry for your loss.” Sir Thomas shared his condolences. His voice, though, was hollow and unreadable. He never really cared for Armin. In fact, he hated him. Armin and Kara were the only ones to have more authority than Thomas. Forget the condolences. He must be screaming with joy in his mind.

“Are you now, Sir Thomas?” She replied. She knew how he felt about her and Armin, and he knew that she knew. How long was she going to play this game? As long as I need to, she thought.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Open the gate,” she ordered the gatekeepers who were at the top of the wall.

“As you command, my lady,” they shouted.

Seconds letter, the gate slid up. Sir Jones and Sir Vlad stood at the front of the army. Among them were four men carrying a red coffin. There were about 50 troops on each of the coffin, and an army of at least two thousand behind them. Each one of them was holding a flower.

“Sir Jones. Sir Vlad,” she greeted both of them.

“My Lady,” both of them replied at the same time, bowing their heads.

Sir Jones looked at lady Kara in the eye. “I am sorry to be the bearer of such news, my lady. Please do forgive me and accept my condolences.” He bowed.

“Sir Jones, what is the meaning of this? What is the meaning of bringing such a large army to my village gate? Especially today of all days. It’s making me feel... Let us say, uneasy.” Her suspicion was to be expected. After all, it was the summer solstice.

“Forgive me, my lady, for my incompetence, but these are not my men. They are all lord Armin’s men and they begged me to bring them with me. They wanted to bid their last farewell at his funeral,” Sir Jones responded with uncanny respect. It was almost unnerving. It was a tradition among the people of Sizen to have the funeral in their home village.

Kara sighed inwardly after hearing those words, and her suspicions left her. “There is nothing to forgive, Sir Jones. So, these are all my husband’s men. I am very pleased to see their loyalty,” tears rolled down her eyes. “May I see my husband, please?”

“I beg your pardon, my lady. But I advise you not to see your husband’s body. You may not be able to handle yourself to see the state he is in,” Sir Vlad said.

“I want to see his body,” she ordered furiously. “Drop the barrier.” She shouted at gatekeepers.

So the golden-coloured barrier that surrounded the village disintegrated into glittering dust and vanished. Firestone was a magic item offered to the Sizen by an alchemist many years ago when the nation was first created. So that it might protect them during the summer solstice. It could produce an impregnable barrier of the element; fire. They could activate it by throwing it into the fire. And they could deactivate it by extracting it from the flames.

“Yes, my lady. But please don’t touch his body. The poison spreads like a plague, even with touch. Three of our men died because of it. Luckily, we stopped it before it spread further. It was all thanks to your husband. He managed to write the formula for antidote just before he died,” he warned her, and then told his men to bring the coffin to her and open it.

Those men cautiously approached Kara and opened the casket. There he was with his eyes open. His skin had melted and turned black. There was a smell of rotting rats mixed with rotting cabbages. He was almost unrecognisable and yet she knew it was truly him. There was a black star-shaped birthmark above his left eye.

Kara gasped at the sight of her husband. She almost collapsed to the ground and broke into tears. But she pulled herself together. She was a lady, and she had to be strong. Kara didn’t want to show her vulnerability to them. She had no choice but to conceal her emotions.

“My love, what have they done to you?” she asked, gazing into his eyes. “Who did this to him? Tell me you have found the culprit?” She asked. No matter how hard she tried to conceal her emotions, her stubborn tears just wouldn’t stop.

“I’m sorry, my lady, but we haven’t,” Sir Vlad said, staring at his knees.

“W-what do you mean you haven’t found them yet? For Undine’s shake, they killed both my husband and the King.” Her voice shook like a rumbling thunderstorm.

“We don’t know who the culprit is yet. But we are following the leads. We will find them sooner rather than later.”

“When you find them, I don’t want them dead. I want that luxury for myself,” Kara said, her eyes hollow and hateful.

“We beg your pardon, My Lady. Death is far too easy for what they have done to our King. I have far too worse in store for them than death. You may do as you please after we are done with them.”

“Fair enough,” she replied.