The Immortal | Prequel Story |

Chapter 49 ~ Drowning in Sorrow

I

was sitting on the bed in his room, gazing at a picture of his family. The technology to take pictures via camera had not been available in the land, so they had artists draw portraits of people like they did in the old days. A month before he became the general of the East lands, Iérti had a portrait made of him and his family. That portrait was the only picture he had of his family.

Tears stained the paper as Iérti traced his finger on the image of his wife, running his hand down her hair and resting on his daughter's shoulder. Katlyn was leaning lovingly towards Iérti, red ribbons flowing through her long dark brown hair. Olivia was nestled in between them, holding her parents' hands.

He remembered the day he left the fortress. Katlyn was dressed in an outfit befitting the wife of a general: a cream white long sleeve undershirt with a neat trim underneath a dark olive green bodice with black leather trim and laces, with a dark brown skirt and matching dark brown shoes.

She had a black leather holster at her thigh, hidden underneath her skirt, holding several wooden stakes. She had decorative black lace-up arm guards gleaming with garlic oil. Her long dark brown hair flowed almost to her waist, her husband's red ribbons braided within her hair in a beautiful crisscross pattern. She wore a black choker with a silver garlic knot emblem in the center.

Iérti was in his dark red and black general outfit with a cream white garlic knot emblem. His long black hair was loose, his dark brown eyes searching for her amid the center of the crowd. Olivia had run up to Iérti and he had taken her from the ground and up on the horse, holding her close one last time and kissing her cheek.

Olivia was dressed in a cream white and light brown outfit with red embroidered flowers on them. Her dark hair was long and loose, with red ribbons woven in just like her mother's hair.

Iérti remembered kissing Katlyn for the last time before he had to leave the fortress. He remembered turning his horse towards the gate, glancing back at his wife and daughter just before the gate closed behind him. Iérti remembered meeting up with the other generals of the land, remembered talking together around a campfire, remembered Norwan getting annoyed with Theose's jokes and complaining when Eluro drank all the apple cider. He remembered all the fun and laughter, all the training, all the times he spent with his fellow countrymen, only to see them die the next day.

A quiet sound broke Iérti of his memory reverie. He looked up to see Sable walk into the room. She looked quite lovely in a light blue dress with a high collar and lace details. Iérti quickly dried his tears, gently setting the picture back in the drawer on the bedside table. Sable retreated, saying apologetically, "I do apologize, I didn't mean to disturb you."

"No no, you're fine," said quickly. "Do come in."

Sable cautiously walked in, going over to sit beside Iérti on the bed. Her back was straight and her stance was formal, but her eyes spoke a different story. "Iérti, I heard news of what happened to your kind. I'm sorry you didn't get to become human like you wanted."

"I want to go to Iredescent," said Iérti, his tone decisive. "I want to set course for planet Iredescent as soon as possible. But Mallen took command, forcing everyone to comply with his orders. I can feel he wants to avoid going to Iredescent as much as possible. But we'll have to go there eventually. Just wish it was sooner than later."

"When are you leaving? And where to?" Sable asked.

"Not sure," said Iérti. "Wherever that is, it's definitely not Iredescent. It would be wherever Mallen decides to go."

They both heard somebody's heels down the hallway and looked up to see Romena stepping into the room. Her heels clacked to a stop when she saw Sable in the room with Iérti. Something flashed in her eyes before she abruptly turned and walked back in the same direction she came from, her mood huffy.