Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 5. The broken King (1)

Saoirse

In a world dark

the light of hope

we hold onto

The queen dancing

to a song unheard

in a world dark

The light of day

never seen

yet, still hold onto

We hope relentlessly

peace comes swiftly

We hold onto

The light of peace

and the hope of morning

I am between love. My heart was burning, yearning to go home. It had been so long and it would be longer still. The foundations of this world had been turned upside down, revelations yet to be revealed. They were still here, among us walking in the shadows. I could still see the grey eyes, burned inside my skull.

I knew.

I knew it all along.

I had failed beyond belief.

If only I had kept searching, if only…

It was right there, written in her eyes. The pain and loss and hopelessness all buried deep inside.

Did she know?

Did she know her name?

The waves were crashing onto the rocks underneath the cliff. The salt spray reaching all the way to the top. The grey, murky waters swirled around the undertow and every sea creature was holding on for dear life. Dark clouds were hanging low above the ocean and the waves were reaching up. Cobbles were rolling over the shallow seafloor, yet darkness prevailed beyond the drop. I could hear seals hunting in the ocean deep, without a care in the world. My body was floating, weightless inside the black, cold depths.

Darkness prevails.

King Domhnall couldn’t know, these matters needed to be dealt with after the war. Or after peace persisted. But this was not the time for life changing revelations. Indigo most likely never planned on telling anyone, her secrets were buried so deep. And she could keep her secrets, until time would reveal all.

And until I knew exactly what had happened that night, it might be best to keep this from the world. I knew I needed to talk to her, I knew that I needed to figure all this out. Though I also knew that if I would confront her with the truth she would just run. There was a reason why she didn’t tell anyone and I needed to respect this reason. This girl wasn’t stupid, she was not here to unravel our world. She was just here to find herself.

Time would unravel.

The truth would come out.

The world would change.

But not yet, not right now.

Deep inside my mind something silently grew. A feeling of unease finding itself more powerful every day. My nights became longer, my days shorter. The dark thoughts inside my head gaining traction. I knew what it was, oh I knew exactly what it was. It was getting stronger. The pull of war. A world falling out of balance.

It made me weaker, it could kill me. It nearly did during the Fearful Nine. Failure was not an option, the world would fall to ruin. Though even I could not resist the pull of eternal sleep. I was tired.

So tired.

Yet there was something else also. The pull of war was not the only thing that was tearing at me. While I didn’t know what, I could tell it was powerful. I’d known it for some time now. I couldn’t deal with it, not with the war so close. Just as the revealing of Indigo’s secrets, this too had to wait.

Time passed, I didn’t know how much. The storm was raging, the world turned into an impenetrable curtain of white. Waves the size of houses crashed onto the shore. I was slowly walking towards the castle with the wind whipping at my face. The snow was gathering in my hair and my wet t-shirt was beginning to freeze. My feet left childish footprints in the powdery white layer. I breathed in the icy air and felt some of the tension slowly slide of me.

That’s when I heard the array of cars approach the main entrance of the castle. From afar I could see the Ghaelach rush in and out of the castle, while shouting orders. Sir Macintosh was standing in the doorway with apprehension, the tension in his shoulders clear even through the curtain of snow falling between us. The cars were expensive and seemed heavily fortified. The emblem of a waxing moon stood proudly on the doors. I couldn’t see it from where I was standing, but I knew the moon was made out of four segments. Standing for the four regions that had united and created Caledonia. Alba, Pictia, Hibernia and Breton. The first ever union was a marriage between the chief of Alba and the queen of Pictia. I was the product of that peace, I took over the throne from my father when I was twenty years old and at the age of forty-five I gave up the throne to my brothers. I left Keltia and didn’t return until they had both reached the age of seventy-one. They started the matriarchal line of queens that followed and made me the High-queen of Keltia so that I would always have a home to return to. Hibernia was a small kingdom that lay at our southern border, the friendship between our two countries was long-lasting and after the last king fell ill and had no next of kin to take over the throne, Keltia ruled Hibernia before a suitable replacement was found. Though the people of Hibernia and Keltia connected deeply during that time and voted for a union. In honour of the shared heritage the name of Keltia was maintained and it persisted for over 800 years, until Keltia united with Breton and Caledonia was born. Queen Rhiannon was the last queen to rule my land until her untimely passing sixteen years ago, her husband became a king and ruled now.

And it was him, king Domhnall, who stepped out of the middle car, right behind Lady Macintosh and Lady McCulloch. His face regal yet with a profound look of confusion and hidden anger. I knew instantly that Lady McCulloch had told him who was residing in this castle.

King Domhnall knew about me.