|[ THE FAERI'S KEEPER ]|

Chapter 19: Justice

The morning dawned cold and crisp, with the smell of smoke and pine cones. The ceremony had begun an hour before dawn, the fire had been lit and the small boat holding the King's body had been pushed out into the centre of the lake, smoke spiralling up into the sky gently. Cedric had shed only a few tears, refusing to appear weak before the men around him who would come to call him king. It was true he wasn't young — by winter he would have reached his third decade, and he had enough experience from his father's tutoring to run the kingdom. But he wasn't ready.

Without his father there to guide him, to help him if he got into trouble, the prospect of being king was suddenly far more daunting then it had been previously. Should he make a mistake, make the wrong choice... there would be no one to smooth it over for him — the fates of the people were now nestled in his hands.  Cedric clasped his hands before him, the leather gloves tight around his fingers. He wore full armour, the chain mail and polished steel plates gleaming under his black cloak. Behind him five Knights stood on duty, as well as to pay respects for their deceased king. They wore the same armour and dress, but lacked the gold crown he had put on that morning for the first time in weeks. The trees of the forest stood silently around the edges of the lake, like a gathering of a million soldiers, watching as the king was sent off to the next world.

Many people of Trinstone had arrived to see the king off, but most had only stayed long enough to whisper a prayer or to offer their respects before they made their way back to the castle, starting their days work. But Cedric stayed by the lake until the sun was well above the trees, its sharp light warming his skin. He had expected his men to leave him alone, but they stayed by his side through the hours, though through respect for his father, or because their duty had now fallen to him, he wasn't sure.

"Was my father always accompanied everywhere?" Cedric asked no one in particular, sighing in exhaustion, "Did he really never go anywhere without a guard watching him."

"Not so much as you will, sir," one guard replied stiffly, "Ever since his death security had been tightened. It is feared that it was not a sickness that killed the previous king, but a poison."

"I know who it was," Cedric said without thinking. He wished he hadn't said anything; now he would have to answer awkward questions likely ending in him being named a mad-man.

"You know who the murderer is?" the guard asked, astonished, "But how could you possibly know that? You only arrived two days ago from Thalandor." Two days? Cedric thought vaguely, I had thought it had only been one.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Cedric breathed, refusing to move his gaze from the water. There was an awkward silence in which no one replied. As a wind shifted through Cedric looked down, "I know this is going to sound bizarre, but... before my father left for Sylktäs, he told me. He came to me while I was sleeping and spoke to Me." the guards gaped at him, and he half expected them to burst into laughter and mock him. But they stayed dead silent for over a minute, the sound of the forest the only noise.  He wondered if it was only his status as royalty that stopped them from ridiculing him. Eventually one guard spoke quietly, as if afraid Cedric would hear him.

"My mother visited me before she passed on. I saw her in my room for a moment after I woke up. For a while I thought it was just a dream... but then news arrived from Škeri that she had passed on. My brother told me a similar thing had happened to him."

"Who did he say was the murderer? How did he know?" another guard asked, "We can easily establish whether this killer is real." He sounded sceptical, but at least he wasn't dismissing the possibility outright.

"She whispered it all to him right before he died." Cedric said softly, turning to look at them. None moved to humiliate him, for which he was thankful. "And he only gave me a name. Tanara, Tanara Miswol."