Chapter 44
“Yes, I do remember you…” I whisper.
The voices turn into mist, and the mist rises slowly, shedding an eerie glow in the night. I observe it, mesmerized.
“Uhuhuhuh” the earth resonates, almost inaudibly at first and then louder and louder.
“What is happening?” I ask nobody in particular, a moment before the mist breaks into a flash of light and the humming sound spoken by the earth goes quiet.
And the army appears.
Each man mounts a horse and each carries a torch, breaching the darkness with a cone of light.
“We are here, at your service,” the army voice in unison, and goes silent.
“And this is your horse,” says Arthur against the sudden wall of silence, standing in the front row, sided by Matt and Wilhelm.
I step forward and jump on the horse, nodding my gratefulness.
“Thank you, soldiers,” I begin, my voice propagating in the night, suddenly powerful and crisp.
“God bless our future queen,” they echo.
“Soldiers, friends, together we will open the door to the eternal life of the kingdom. Let me lead you there,” I announce.
Was I the one who just spoke? Was I ever meant to be a leader of men? I thought I’d never cared to be one.
I have just convinced myself that I can play the role, when Arthur approaches me.
“Iris, have a look around you, what do you see?” he asks me, shaking me out of the glorious moment.
“The cemetery,” I reply, looking around and suddenly remembering.
“And do you recollect the time when we were here?” he continues.
I do. We had found our way to the library where the book was, and the entry to the library was one of the tombs. I observe them, trying to recall which grave lead us there.
“You’ll sense which one is right, just focus,” Arthur tells me, reading my unspoken question.
“Don’t you think we can at least try to open the door without the book? Let’s go there and see how it looks like, just to get an idea of what we need to open it,” I propose, although I have no faith in my own words.
“What do we need to do with the book Iris? Tell me, why do we need it?” Arthur asks, his eyes locked onto mine.
“We need the book to understand how to open the door,” I reply, as if reciting obediently.
“Yes. But to use the book you have to remember how to read the information it contains,” Arthur continues.
I nod, without taking my eyes off his, before dismounting my horse.
“Of course I will remember,” I answer, my tone challenging.
I scan the graves, till a tomb attracts my attention. It seems odd, although I cannot ascertain the origin of my perception.
As I look at this tomb the eyes of my army stare at me in unison.
I move towards it, and the lid slides away seamlessly.
Each soldier dismounts, without the need of my command. Then they stand and wait.
I stand and wait too, embracing my army with a long gaze. The soldiers nod at me, and in that nod I feel warmth and faith.
“Let’s go,” I decide, meaning to add some words of encouragement, but not having the time to. Before I can utter another syllable we are all drawn in dark meanders, swallowed by the grave.