Solstice sisters

Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Ivy's POV

My parent's final resting place was marked by a large, modest slab of white marble. Gold, bronze and silver veins ran through it, disrupting it's pure colour. A sea of flowers raged around their shrine, candles flickered around the base, illuminating the passionate colours of the flora. My cold skin couldn't feel their warmth as I placed my own flower down at the base of their grave. A single white rose. Ice crystals glittered on its surface, a tell tale sign that I'd touched it. Everything I touched these days ended up coated in a thin layer of ice.

Engraved upon the polished surface of the shrine were my parents full names;
"King Aramis Dmitri Ravenswood and Queen Aliya Catania Raveswood"
The graves were dated "1970-2000"
They were only thirty when they'd had their lives stolen from them. Beneath the date, a message had been inscribed
"The day which we fear as our last, is but the birthday of eternity"
I placed my icy cold hand against the words and stroked them softly. I pretended as though I was drawing heat from my parents as they comforted me. I could almost feel my mother stroking my raven hair, my father wrapping his muscled arms around my small, sharp frame. I stayed there, slumped with my arms wrapped around the cold, marble memorial, until I heard the clock strike eleven somewhere deep in the palace.

The palace was a buzz of conversation as people milled around the corridors dressed in their finest clothes. My dress was navy blue, sequins sewn into every inch of its gauzy material, it pooled around my feet and sparkled as I moved. I was aware of its plunging v-neck neckline that led into two long sleeved. My hair was left loose and flowing, held in place by my silver circlet. My locket sat in pride of place around my neck, on show to everyone. The scar was more than obvious in this dress, the skin was paler than my normal skin tone, completely white, it was slightly puckered and raised. I ran my finger over it as I made my way to the throne room. People still bowed to me even after all I'd done. I could tell that they were still wary of me. I could tell why, every gory detail of the battle was ingrained in my mind forever. Most nights when I was in the infirmary I would wake up screaming and sweating. They gave me sleeping pills to help with it and over the week the nightmares began to subside. I took down my shield and let Summer in, but it took me days to be able to face her, or any of them, again. Sometimes I could still feel the ghost of the sword in my chest.

When I woke up I was more than confused. I thought I was in heaven at first, the snow had painted the landscape white. My hair had returned to its dark brown colour. Grasped in my hands were a sword and a charm. Damon took the charm and sword from me. Bellator took the sword and Damon pocketed the charm. Zack and Jace came forward and healed me, halfway through the healing I lost consciousness. I woke up back at the palace in the infirmary and that's where I'd been since.

My heels clicked against the marble floor, the palace was warm from the many fires that had been lit inside its many rooms. The residents of Eremay and the palace were still recovering from the battle. I didn't know how many we'd lost, I wasn't sure I wanted to know either. I hadn't had many visitors in the infirmary. After a couple of days I let Summer in, but I wouldn't let Zack in. I just couldn't face him after what I'd done. He'd been right all along and I'd ignored him and gone off to join the enemy. I wasn't fit to be a queen. Summer had reassured me that everyone understood why I'd done it and how I'd been manipulated. I pretended that that made me feel better, but it was no consolation.

My heart was in my throat as I approached the throne room. The doors loomed infront of me. I gripped the handles and took a deep breath. Forcing away all my doubts and fears I pushed the doors open. Immediately all eyes were on me. There weren't that many people in the throne room, but it was enough to make me shift uncomfortably. I smiled at my subjects as I walked through the room, my heels echoing through the silence. In front of me I could see the twin thrones. Stood in front of them were three figures. Two blonde boys dressed in smart suits and a girl in a long flowing nude and gold sparkly dress. One of the boys broke away from the group the second he saw me and began running in my direction. Ignoring the fact I was in a long dress and heels I broke into a run as well. I held my dress away from my feet as I closed the distance between me and the boy. Zack pulled me into his arms, my feet lifting off the floor as he held me tightly. He buried his face into my hair. Neither of us spoke, instead we just held each other. We he finally put me down he didn't even hold me at arms length, he held me close to his chest as he looked down at me.
'I'm sorry' I whispered, fighting back the tears. I hadn't cried over the battle in days but the guilt was eating me up.
'Its not your fault' he said.
'I missed you' I admitted.
'I missed you too' he smiled.
'I'm sorry I didn't let you visit me-' I started.
'I understand completely, it's fine' his smile softened when he saw my torn expression 'come here'
He pulled me into a deep kiss. All around me I could hear everyone cheering and clapping as we deepened the kiss. It felt like it lasted for minutes when in reality it was only seconds. His hands were gentle on my back and cheek. When we pulled away I tucked my head under his chin and he rested his head on the top of mine. He placed a kiss on the top of my head and pulled away.
'Come one let's go see the others'

Zack led me to where Summer and Jace were stood.
'You look beautiful' Summer said as she pulled me into a tight hug.
'Good to see you're recovering' Jace said when it was his turn. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed.
'So this is the infamous New Years Eve at the palace you've been telling me about' I said to Zack.
'I promised you'd get to see it didn't I?' He replied
'I usually spend my New Year's Eve drinking and partying with Kelly and the others, I did always wonder why you guys never came to the parties, we figured your parents just took you away for New Years Eve' Summer explained.
'They sort of did' Jace replied as he gestured to the palace. Music pulsed through the palace, people danced with one another like they had at the Harvest Ball, except these dances were faster. There were even some group dances that everyone seemed to know.
'Do you want you dance?' Zack offered me his hand.
'Of course I do' I said and took it happily.
Zack led me onto the dance floor, closely followed my Summer and Jace. People made room for us and we caught onto the dance pretty quickly. It was one of the few Laurel had taught us. Zack spun, dipped and lifted me around the dance floor. My dress flowed around my legs as I moved my feet in time to the music.

We danced the night away, never stopping. I savoured every moment. We swapped partners and learnt new traditional Eremayan dances. As it neared midnight I felt Zack take my hand. The four of us left the buzz of the ballroom and escaped into the cool night air of the balcony. The balcony stretched all the way around the throne room with multiple doors to access it. We looked out over our land, our home. The moon hung low in the sky, stars dotting the inky blue canvas, winking at me. Beautiful mountains, large verdant forests and lakes and rivers that reflected the moonlight. The villages were alive with dancing and music. All the lights were on, illuminating Tavina with a yellow glow. I could make out figures dancing merrily in the town square. I smiled at their happiness, they deserved it after all they'd been through.
'This is my favourite part' I heard Zack say.
'Which part?' Summer asked.
'The fireworks' I answered for him.
Zack smiled at me and pulled me closer to him, with his arms around my waist and my head tucked under his we watched as the first fireworks were set off. They shot into the night sky, screeching the whole way, then they went silent for a few seconds. Just as you began to relax they exploded in a mass of vibrant colours. They went off one after the other, banging, popping and cackling as they went. The sky was painted with sparkling silvers, glittering golds, electrifying greens, violent reds, burning oranges, vibrant purples, passionate pinks, you name it, that colour donned the sky of Eremay at one point. The sparks floated through the air like falling stars. I stopped flinching at the loud bangs and relaxed into Zack, I could feel his strong heart beat against my back. He turned me around to face him. He cupped my cheek with one hand and said three words.
'I love you' his face was all shadows and colours as the fireworks cascaded beautiful lights onto his angular face.
'I love you too' I whispered back kissing him hard in the lips. Through my eyelids I could see the colours zipping across the night sky. We pulled away and stood in a line with Summer and Jace, our arms were around each other, interlocking us, making us one. All thoughts of Blight and the battle were gone. I was well and truly happy. Standing there watching the best fireworks show of my life in a magical country that I was the ruler of, with my wicken sister and her Eleven boyfriend, having just proclaimed my love for my own Elven boyfriend. It was surreal. It was magical.

A few miles away...
He watched them have their fun, let them have it. It wasn't going to last long anyway, not if he succeeded.
'Watch out Solstice Sisters' he said 'I'm coming'

THE END