Forbidden Love - Fragments of Forgotten Love

Chapter 11

The shelter shuddered violently, and cracks spread across the walls like spider webs. The echowisps streamed ahead of us, their golden light illuminating the path to safety. Behind us, the memorial chamber's glow was fading as the power systems overloaded.

We emerged into the pre-dawn darkness to find the landscape transformed. Where once there had been silver grass and twisted formations, now there were people—thousands of them, stretching across the plains like a living sea. They carried lights of their own, not the cold illumination of Council technology but warm fires and handmade lanterns.

"The awakening," Queen Lyanna breathed. "It's happening everywhere."

In the distance, the spires of New Avalon flickered and dimmed as power grids failed. Emergency lights painted the sky in harsh reds and blues, but even those were beginning to fade.

"Six hundred years of control," Elena said softly, "ending in a single night."

Costa's arm tightened around my waist as we watched the city's death throes. "What happens now?"

"Now," I said, feeling the anchor stone pulse one final time before crumbling to dust in my palm, "we go home. To a world where people can choose their own stories."

The echowisps began to fade with the approaching dawn, their whispers becoming softer, more peaceful. The voices of the past were finally quiet, their purpose fulfilled.

For the first time in six centuries, we were truly free to write our own ending. I leant my head on to his shoulder and closed my eyes, knowing that now it no longer mattered whether we were royalty or not; we were just us, just as it was meant to be 600 years ago.

The early morning sun crept over the horizon, its light different from anything I remembered—warmer, more golden, as if the world itself had been reborn. Costa's arm remained steady around my waist as we watched the people streaming across the plains, their faces alight with the same wonder I felt.

"I still can't believe any of this is real," I whispered. "Six hundred years... everyone I knew..."

"Not everyone," Costa reminded me gently, nodding toward Elena and his parents. "Some legacies survived."

Queen Lyanna approached, her silver hair catching the dawn light. Despite her obvious physical frailty, she moved with the grace of someone who had never stopped being royal, even in exile.

"The Council's communications network has collapsed completely," she reported. "Reports are coming in from the other city-states—the preservation chambers are opening everywhere, and the control systems are failing."

"And the Void Walkers?" Costa asked.

"Returning to normal," King Aldric replied, joining us. "Without the psychic tethers to manipulate them, they're just people again—confused, traumatised, but people nonetheless."

A shimmering blue echowisp drifted between us, its whisper barely audible as it began to fade in the strengthening daylight: "Free... finally free..."

Marcus approached, his expression a mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration. "The Eastern Sanctuaries have sent transport. They'll be here within the hour to evacuate everyone."

I watched the crowds gathering across the plains—preservation subjects awakening to a world they never agreed to see, resistance fighters emerging from hiding, and ordinary citizens of New Avalon fleeing the collapsing city—all of them looking toward us with expressions ranging from hope to uncertainty.

"They're waiting for something," I said quietly.

Costa nodded, understanding. "They need direction and structure. Even in revolution, people look for leadership."

"Not from us," I insisted. "We've been asleep for six centuries. What do we know about this world?"

Elena smiled, and the family resemblance between us suddenly struck. "You know what it means to choose your own path. After generations of having choices made for them, that's exactly what these people need to see."

King Aldric straightened his shoulders, the weight of centuries evident in his bearing. "My son, for what it's worth, I think the monarchy died with the old world—as it should have. Whatever comes next should be built on different foundations."

Costa looked at his father for a long moment, then nodded. "I agree. No more bloodlines determining destiny."

The ground trembled beneath our feet as another section of New Avalon's infrastructure collapsed. In the distance, I could see massive structures toppling, clouds of dust rising into the amber sky.

"So much destruction," I murmured.

"Necessary destruction," Queen Lyanna corrected. "You cannot build something new while clinging to the ruins of the old."

As we watched on, more and more people streamed towards us. One thing was for sure: We needed to build something new. Not a new kingdom or a dictator council, but something I wasn’t sure of. One thing was for sure: We had time as a people.

Costa kissed the top of my head, making me look up at him into his beautiful green eyes. “600 years ago, I became the luckiest man alive finding you. If only I could thank the future teller that told me to go there to hide from my protection detail, as it would help me to find the one that my heart sought. You know what she was right.”

I smiled up at him, memories of that fateful night at Le Glow Club becoming clearer with each passing moment. "And I never believed in fortune tellers until that moment. Funny how the universe works—we were both running from arranged marriages and found each other instead."

The transports from the Eastern Sanctuaries appeared on the horizon, sleek vessels that seemed to hover just above the silver grass. As they approached, I could see they bore no insignias, no symbols of authority—just simple geometric patterns that caught the morning light.

"What do you think it's like there?" I asked Costa, watching the vessels' approach.

"Different," he replied simply. "And that's enough for now."

Elena stepped forward, addressing the growing crowd with a natural authority that reminded me of my brother in the fragments I could recall.

"Today marks the end of the Council's rule," she announced, her voice carrying across the plains. "But more importantly, it marks the beginning of your choice. Each of you has the right to decide your own future—whether that's in the Sanctuaries or elsewhere."

The crowd murmured, the concept of choice clearly foreign to many who had lived their entire lives under Council rule.

"There will be no more preservation chambers," King Aldric added, standing tall despite his years. "No more genetic matching. No more lives suspended for the convenience of others."