The Kingdom of Night (Book 3)

Departure

Last, but certainly not least: Emma, the matriarch. I thought it was only appropriate that since this entire thing began with her, it should end with her as well. This is the last of the short stories. This one begins probably sometime in the late 70s or so, because I'd like to think that Emma lived to be over 100. But then the rest takes place in a timeless afterlife. Who knows what happens when we die? Nobody, but I think that if it gives you the chance to again meet the people you lost in your lifetime, then that's all the closure I need. Edit: I do have a prequel written, but it won't be uploaded until sometime next year. I hope to have some of these editing projects done by then.

Above: The lovely Eleanor Tomlinson as Emma (pictured here as Demelza in Poldark)

Sometime in the future

Emma

I see them all gathered around me, my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. My son, now in his twilight years, holds my hand the way his father used to. On my other side is my daughter. She is alone now that her husband is gone, lost to her many years ago. Behind her stand her daughters. The eldest, bearing my grandmother's name and the burden of the Order, keeps a steady hand on her shoulder. I feel my own hands, thin-skinned and fragile, in theirs.

     'Mother, you cannot leave us yet,' says my son. His hands shake, and his eyes squint from behind his large spectacles. He will be joining me very soon, I know. 'There is still so much to see.'

     'I have seen much, Petey,' I say, my voice sounding pinched and weak. 'It is time for me to go.'

     'Mama...' My daughter gently squeezes my hand between both of hers, kissing my fingers. Her hair is grey, and her deep green eyes, like my husband's, are sad. 'What will I do without you?'

     'Take comfort in the little things, my dear Lottie.' With one crooked finger, I wipe a tear away. We were always close, even as she grew up and had a family of her own. 'Henry would want you to, as I do.'

     'Grandmama,' my grandson says, kneeling down next to me. He resembles Cath so closely sometimes I have a hard time looking at him. 'You have given us the life we live now. I owe you a great debt. We all do.'

     'You owe me nothing, Georgie.' I smile, at least I believe I do. It is very hard to know when my body has betrayed me. 'I only ask that you do something worthwhile with it.'

     'You have given us everything the Elementals have now, Grandmama.' Alice moves to kneel as well, her green and gold eyes serious, determined. She has led the Order through good and bad times, a monarch and a diplomat in her own right. 'We thank you, and we always will.'

     'As long as you never let the story die, my dears,' I say, trying my hardest to see their faces, one last time. Without my spectacles, I cannot see anything. My vision has deteriorated rapidly in my final years. 'I will live on. All of us will, as long as we have those alive who remember us.'

     The last thing I feel are hands in both of mine, and a soft pair of lips, most likely Petey's, touch my forehead. But the end is coming, quickly now. I take one last breath in, and then out. Finally, I am free.

|| 

First I saw sunlight, turning the inside of my eyelids a bright golden-red. Then I felt the warmth, the softness of the grass, and the quiet lapping of water. I opened my eyes, seeing green leaves above me and the sun shining through the spaces between them. When I stretched out my arms as I sat up, I noticed my skin was no longer speckled with age spots, and my fingers were no longer bent with arthritis. There was a tickle at my neck, and I reached back, pulling forward a strand of hair that was once again bright red as it had been in my youth. As I stood, I found I had no aches or pains anywhere. In fact, nothing hurt. It was a wonderful feeling. I took a deep breath of the fresh clean air, the best air I had breathed in a long time.