Remember Me

Chapter 25

 Chapter 25 / Epilogue

            I remember that day.

            Twenty thousand warriors stormed inside the castle in the middle of the night. May, Charlotte’s mother, was celebrating her brother’s tenth birthday, tenth year on this cruel land. Fire swallowed ramparts, burning alive the guards standing in the wooden galleries and towers. Tortured screams pierced her ears, cries of souls who could not bear the pain. In minutes, pools of blood stained the ground.

            Rain couldn’t wash away the shame, thunder unable to scare them. Charlotte had stayed hidden for hours, covering Tristan’s ears and hoping he’d forget it soon. He cried in her arms, his ears sensitive. The moment everything stopped and silence fell down upon the castle, she gathered the courage to peek. Nothing was left but empty walls and bodies. Countless bodies covered the ground, towers, river and chapel. The priest’s eyes were open, horrified, his throat slit.

            May was face planted on the ground, blond hair turned into red. Her husband Brayden laid still, his body twisted in awkward angles on the marble floor. Coldness wrapped itself around her body and she hugged Tristan harder, placing her head on the door to listen the other side. Her heart thumped against her chest, threatening to jump out of her skin.

            Candle flames died out, wax melted across marble floor. Her feet slipped on the blood mixed with sweat and dirt. She pried open the heavy doors, wood creaking under her fragile fingertips. She stood for a moment, frozen in time. No path was clear, disheveled bodies half buried under mud. Few drops of rain fell, as if the sky was sad for the loss. Tristan cried, his skin covered in dust. She hushed him and wrapped her plaid around him, carrying him with effort. Her balance was off, he weighed a lot for a very small child. She looked at her shaking arms, shocked and afraid.

            She ran with him as far as she could without stopping in the woods, away from the ruins. Washing him in the river, her tears fell down on his head. Smell of smoke filled the air, the robbers left nothing behind. She wondered where they came from, they couldn’t have been rouges since they left as soon as they destroyed the Kingdom. Heartless creatures existed, after all. It wasn't just a bedtime story meant to scare you away.

            ‘’Mother? Why are we looking at stars?’’

            Charlotte turned her head to Tristan, smiling. She felt nostalgic, strange and horrifying cries still ringing in her ears. They sat on the rooftop, her arm protectively coiled around his small body.

            ‘’Those are not only stars, child. Those are your ancestors, watching out for you.’’

            ‘’But, who?’’

            Amber eyes stared at her, baffled. She squeezed his shoulder and kissed Tristan’s shaggy red hair tickling her face, letting him rest his head on her neck as they lay. Tall dark trees surrounded them, no light as far as they could see. Even darkness was sometimes needed. She lost her husband in a battle, promising to take care of their children. Tristan had little two brothers and sister he loved to tease. He was the only one who had a chance to meet his grandmother.

            May was proud of him just like her husband Lukas, never left him alone. The day they died protecting their Kingdom, they hid Charlotte and Tristan in a secret hollow stone wall in the Great Hall. Fire couldn’t pass through, neither could warriors.

            They were the only survivors.

            ‘’Do you want to hear a story? Story behind the stars?’’