Red Snow (The Shadows bk.3)

Chapter 22: The Mausoleum

~ Irrelia ~

Having seen to it that the townspeople had been given sufficient food for the remainder of the week, Einarr left the palace kitchens and wandered out into the snow. Cold wind turned his cheeks pink within seconds. Snow had begun to fall again; it was now almost knee-deep. Pulling his cloak tighter around himself, Einarr mentally berated himself for going outside in such weather. Slowly making his way through the snow, he became too focused on staying warm that he did not notice that he was going away from the palace, rather than staying close to it.

Stopping to catch his breath, Einarr looked around and saw that he was almost at the edge of the palace grounds. Turning around in a full circle, Einarr noticed the shape of a tall building only a little distance from where he stood. Curious, he trudged towards it and saw that, up close, it was really quite elaborate and looked almost like a miniature of the palace. Snow covered the steps that led up to main entrance. Walking up to one of the three gates, Einarr found, to his relief, that they had no lock, only a latch which could easily be opened.

Lifting the latch, Einarr pushed the gate open and stepped through. Making sure to close the gate behind him, he made his way up the short flights of steps that led to the main doors. Pausing briefly before opening the doors, Einarr looked up and let his eyes wander across the small vaulted ceiling and wandered what this elaborate building was for. Finding the doors to be without lock, he pulled one open and looked inside. It did not take him long to realise what the building housed. There, in front of him, stood three statues and behind each was a large stone tomb. Each stood on a marble dias with the respective statue standing on the first step.

Looking up, Einarr noticed that aside from the lamps that hung at intervals, the only light came from the windows that were situated high above the tombs. The stone ceiling was high and steepled. Turning his attention back to the statues, Einarr went to the closest one; the statue was so well carved it looked as though the man had been suddenly frozen into marble. Thanks to the lamps, Einarr noticed that on the tomb behind the statue, there was a plaque of some kind. Upon closer inspection his jaw hit the floor:

Here lies King Nikolas the First,
Beloved King, Husband and Father.

The dates of his birth and death were so faded that Einarr could not make them out. Blinking, he stepped back and moved onto the second one. This statue was of a young woman who had a striking resemblance to the Queen. Upon reading the plaque, Einarr learnt that the tomb and statue were of the late Queen, Sairene's mother. Curious as to who the third one belonged to, he approached the statue and had to look twice, this one looked exactly like the Queen! Confused as to what this could mean, he made his way over to where the plaque glinted in the lamp light. Not entirely sure as to what to expect, Einarr crouched down and looked at the inscription and had to read it a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things:

Here lies Sairene,
Beloved Daughter and Queen

~ Taken from this world before her time ~

Stumbling back, Einarr took numerous deep breaths, none of which seemed to help. His mind struggled to make sense of what he had just seen and read. Moving to stand in front of the statue, his eyes traveled over the marble features that perfectly captured the young monarch. Her marble features smiled down at him in a way that seemed alien to him; he had never seen the Queen smile like that at anyone. It was too warm, too friendly to be associated with her.

Backing away from the tombs, Einarr stumbled outside and breathed in the cold air. Closing the doors behind him, he leant against them and closed his eyes.

"..I am not even human. So do not expect me to act and feel like one."

Snapping his eyes open, Einarr jumped away from the door and looked around, the Queen's words echoed around him. Trying to convince himself that he had imagined it all, Einarr hurried down the steps.

"..am not even human."

All but tearing the gate open, Einarr forgot to close the latch in his hurry to leave the mausoleum behind.

"What are you?"

"That is for me to know and for you to find out.."

Running as fast as he could in the deep snow, Einarr tried to escape the voices that had come out of nowhere. If the Queen wasn't human as she had claimed, then what was she? Did the tomb he had just seen have anything to do with it?
Stopping his futile attempt to run, Einarr caught his breath and turned to look at the mausoleum behind him. Sighing in defeat, he made his slow way back to the elegant building that housed the remains of the Royal family.

Trudging up the steps, he pulled the doors open and stepped inside for the second time. Immediately going to the young Queen's tomb, he noticed something that his eyes had glazed over before, the stone slap that served as the tomb's lid was pushed forward, creating an opening. Hesitant yet curious, Einarr climbed the four steps that led up to the tomb and looked inside.

It was empty.