Chapter 133: 133
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There was cold in her bones when she opened her eyes, smelling the damp earth and the moss on her. Alexa took the weight off the layers of dead leaves on her, in time to see the dawn entering the clearing, and the ghost knight who made the guard of her resting place turn to her with a serious expression. Romeo chirped happily when the maiden sat on her bed of leaves,
~ Alexa! ~
She felt satisfied too, that nothing bad had happened to her precious body during the night. Looking around, she realized that Magnus was not there. Her hope of the night before was extinguished with sadness. Alexa also did not see Mildred, and was concerned,
"Where is ...?"
The ghostly knight walked slowly away from her, towards the beams of sunlight that were penetrating the treetops.
Before anything else, Alexa needed to free him from his promise and guide him. The princess reached Ulrich's Shade, and stood beside him,
"My friend, you kept your promise. I thank you for the night you spent with me."
Turning his head slightly, Shade nodded acknowledging that he had heard Alexa's words. Then the princess cupped her hands together, concentrating on praying fervently, to create a strong and clear light to guide Ulrich,
"The way is only yours, Ulrich. Walk it well, and wait for your Judgment ..."
Again Shade nodded, his expression firm and contrite conscious of his imperfection, but also humbly accepting the end of his stay as Ulrich on this earth.
Despite the doubts that sometimes permeated her mind, these words cherished the Light Bearer. It was a simple and well-known belief, as old as the act of recording the facts in pieces of stone or clay. A human being had to do his best, so that in his Judgment his actions and intentions were weighed for his corresponding reward. The glow erupted from her hands and the Shade became one with the light, embracing his new destiny without fear.
When Shade left for his journey, Alexa took a deep breath, wishing Ulrich's soul a smooth path ahead, and hugged herself, chilling. The night before the princess had left her coat with Mildred.
"Where's Mildred?" she turned to ask Alexander.
~ Ah, well ... You need to see this, ~ clearly embarrassed and confused, Alexander guided her. Alexa just hoped that her hunch wasn't right.
The princess came to a ravine, just a few meters from where she had spent the night, and looking down, she saw Mildred's body fallen in a strange pose. The interesting part was that Mildred's Shade was trying to get back into the body, as if she wanted to dive into it or put it on.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she whispered,
"What happened tonight, Alexander?" Landing on her shoulder, her husband told her,
~I went, as you asked, on the road, and there I found some men still searching. Some of them entered the forest with torches heading to this direction, and believe me, they reached this clearing.~
"And what happened?" she urged him to continue.
~Ulrich kept them away, in a scary way. I followed them again, and saw when they left, taking the bodies of our friends, back to Tanbury. Magnus did not show up, however. I felt something in my chest... And I felt that I should come back to you. I arrived in time to witness, how Mildred had found a heavy branch and was sweeping and hitting the ground and the trees with it, clearly trying to hit your body! She probably deduced it must be somewhere around here! As much as I tried to convince her, she was upset and said that she didn't want to die in the forest like a pagan! Much less be a slave to demons!~
Alexa swallowed, looking around and seeing many marks on the floor, which matched Alexander's narrative. The Second Prince continued,
~When she got too close to Lord Ulrich, I saw something I hadn't seen before! He threatened her and Mildred's soul left her body! It was like she stepped out of a door, she took a step back and her soul fell to the floor!~
Alexa blinked, astonished, and turned to the little bird on her shoulder,
"A living person shouldn't be dropping her soul around! You know how complicated it was for you to be in the situation you are in. And for me to split between two bodies! How could she just… fall off her body?"
~Alexa, you are the expert here. If you don't know, how am I supposed to know? ~Alexander spoke, without a hint of humor. He sounded worried. ~What I do know is that, at times, she managed to enter her body again, but every time she tried to walk and command him, it was like trying to command a Judas dummy…~
Alexa narrowed her eyes at the mention of the dummy that Christians used to flog and burn on specific dates, in several kingdoms west to Constantinople. But for Alexander, that was just a mention.
"Not bad for a hunter's son ..." she mumbled, as she carefully descended the bank to get to where Mildred's body was.
~What are you mumbling about?~ the Prince asked, not understanding her grumbling, and flying ahead of her, but Alexa did not answer. Mildred, or rather, Mildred's Shade, cringed and froze with the Princess' arrival, lying next to her body.
The peasant's body looked hard and purplish, much more than it should have considering the timing of the events.
That was all a mystery to Alexa, but she couldn't say it was impossible faced with everything that was going on and everything she had already witnessed. Unless…
"...!"
The princess crouched down beside Shade, "Mildred, it's no use anymore. This body can no longer receive you."
"No!" the Shade whined weakly, "it was just a tumble. I've been through worse things. God is with me ..." the girl continued to murmur confused formulas of her belief. Alexa shook her head, as it shouldn't work like that,
"Sorry, Mildred. I don't know how it happened, but you are dead and you should know that ... right?"
"No, I told you to get off! Get away! You both want to steal my soul!"
"Your soul isn't blind, Mildred. Look at me! You've seen us and keep pretending to yourself you didn't! Stop fooling yourself!" losing her cool, Alexa got up, touching the body and removing the blindfold from the dead girl.
Shade screamed in desperation.
~ Mildred, it's true. But we are at your side. Alexa will show you the way. Trust- you can rest… ~
" No !!! No!!! NO!!!" enraged, the Shade stood up, advancing towards Alexa, but the maiden just extended her palm. Her hand always bled when she was close to unruly and restless shades, and she felt her palms sting.
"Listen carefully, Mildred. Every soul that refuses to leave the world of the living and is in your current situation, has horrible destinies. You will wander lost, and feel tormented and lonely, until it fills you with grudge ... You have plenty of reasons to hold a grudge, but believe me, it's not up to the dead to avenge the living, but the opposite. You have little time for a choice ... I may not have realized that you had possessed your already dead body, because you were very persistent and your ... injuries ... deceived me. But I will not allow you to be wandering around. Not in that body, not as a soul. Do you understand well?"
~ So, when I found her passed out in the forest, she was already dead! ~ Alexander exclaimed. The princess didn't want to evaluate all the possibilities at that moment, and turned to Mildred, speaking in a firm voice,
"I forgive you for trying to kill me. I don't hold a grudge, you suffered and were persecuted, and not even your father protected you. You needed to be heard, your story needed to be told. Now, Mildred, leave this land that is no longer for you, and go beyond and to your fresh life."
The Shade sat on the floor and cried. Alexa sensed that this would take a long time. She didn't want to resort on violence toward the girl. The princess wished she could convince her to go peacefully. Perhaps being called a demon was the reason. Perhaps knowing that she and Alexander were cheating death and could not really judge Mildred, was another reason.
So she went to Mildred's body and, with some work, started preparing it for the trip.
~ What are you doing, Alexa?~ asked the Prince.
"Magnus may be in town, looking for us. We must go there. And we will take this girl and deliver her to the convent, where I will tell her story. Magnus said that I should trust him, and so did you. So I suppose we should be where he is looking for us. Besides, we will be much safer in Duncaster than in the middle of the forest or near Tanbury ..." she stopped to fumble with her pouch and grab the last piece of bread, and made a little ball for Alexander, Now come and have some food. Helga is worried about you eating well."
~ It's probably our best strategy, Alexa, ~ Alexander said, before pecking the food. He looked sad however, Alexa knew he felt guilty for not realizing Mildred's 'peculiarity'.
"So let's not waste any time," she whistled, calling to the horse that grazed near them. As about Mildred, the stubborn Shade could decide at any time between the way to Duncaster until they arrived at the convent of St Ewe. But Alexa could not stay there any longer.
As the horse did not come after a few minutes, and Alexander, as usual, took too long to eat, the princess looked up and looked around to see why.
She saw the animal being held by the reins by a short, dark-haired man in loose, dark clothing.
And out of the corner of her eye, the princess saw other figures coming closer.
She was surrounded.
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There was cold in her bones when she opened her eyes, smelling the damp earth and the moss on her. Alexa took the weight off the layers of dead leaves on her, in time to see the dawn entering the clearing, and the ghost knight who made the guard of her resting place turn to her with a serious expression. Romeo chirped happily when the maiden sat on her bed of leaves,
~ Alexa! ~
She felt satisfied too, that nothing bad had happened to her precious body during the night. Looking around, she realized that Magnus was not there. Her hope of the night before was extinguished with sadness. Alexa also did not see Mildred, and was concerned,
"Where is ...?"
The ghostly knight walked slowly away from her, towards the beams of sunlight that were penetrating the treetops.
Before anything else, Alexa needed to free him from his promise and guide him. The princess reached Ulrich's Shade, and stood beside him,
"My friend, you kept your promise. I thank you for the night you spent with me."
Turning his head slightly, Shade nodded acknowledging that he had heard Alexa's words. Then the princess cupped her hands together, concentrating on praying fervently, to create a strong and clear light to guide Ulrich,
"The way is only yours, Ulrich. Walk it well, and wait for your Judgment ..."
Again Shade nodded, his expression firm and contrite conscious of his imperfection, but also humbly accepting the end of his stay as Ulrich on this earth.
Despite the doubts that sometimes permeated her mind, these words cherished the Light Bearer. It was a simple and well-known belief, as old as the act of recording the facts in pieces of stone or clay. A human being had to do his best, so that in his Judgment his actions and intentions were weighed for his corresponding reward. The glow erupted from her hands and the Shade became one with the light, embracing his new destiny without fear.
When Shade left for his journey, Alexa took a deep breath, wishing Ulrich's soul a smooth path ahead, and hugged herself, chilling. The night before the princess had left her coat with Mildred.
"Where's Mildred?" she turned to ask Alexander.
~ Ah, well ... You need to see this, ~ clearly embarrassed and confused, Alexander guided her. Alexa just hoped that her hunch wasn't right.
The princess came to a ravine, just a few meters from where she had spent the night, and looking down, she saw Mildred's body fallen in a strange pose. The interesting part was that Mildred's Shade was trying to get back into the body, as if she wanted to dive into it or put it on.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she whispered,
"What happened tonight, Alexander?" Landing on her shoulder, her husband told her,
~I went, as you asked, on the road, and there I found some men still searching. Some of them entered the forest with torches heading to this direction, and believe me, they reached this clearing.~
"And what happened?" she urged him to continue.
~Ulrich kept them away, in a scary way. I followed them again, and saw when they left, taking the bodies of our friends, back to Tanbury. Magnus did not show up, however. I felt something in my chest... And I felt that I should come back to you. I arrived in time to witness, how Mildred had found a heavy branch and was sweeping and hitting the ground and the trees with it, clearly trying to hit your body! She probably deduced it must be somewhere around here! As much as I tried to convince her, she was upset and said that she didn't want to die in the forest like a pagan! Much less be a slave to demons!~
Alexa swallowed, looking around and seeing many marks on the floor, which matched Alexander's narrative. The Second Prince continued,
~When she got too close to Lord Ulrich, I saw something I hadn't seen before! He threatened her and Mildred's soul left her body! It was like she stepped out of a door, she took a step back and her soul fell to the floor!~
Alexa blinked, astonished, and turned to the little bird on her shoulder,
"A living person shouldn't be dropping her soul around! You know how complicated it was for you to be in the situation you are in. And for me to split between two bodies! How could she just… fall off her body?"
~Alexa, you are the expert here. If you don't know, how am I supposed to know? ~Alexander spoke, without a hint of humor. He sounded worried. ~What I do know is that, at times, she managed to enter her body again, but every time she tried to walk and command him, it was like trying to command a Judas dummy…~
Alexa narrowed her eyes at the mention of the dummy that Christians used to flog and burn on specific dates, in several kingdoms west to Constantinople. But for Alexander, that was just a mention.
"Not bad for a hunter's son ..." she mumbled, as she carefully descended the bank to get to where Mildred's body was.
~What are you mumbling about?~ the Prince asked, not understanding her grumbling, and flying ahead of her, but Alexa did not answer. Mildred, or rather, Mildred's Shade, cringed and froze with the Princess' arrival, lying next to her body.
The peasant's body looked hard and purplish, much more than it should have considering the timing of the events.
That was all a mystery to Alexa, but she couldn't say it was impossible faced with everything that was going on and everything she had already witnessed. Unless…
"...!"
The princess crouched down beside Shade, "Mildred, it's no use anymore. This body can no longer receive you."
"No!" the Shade whined weakly, "it was just a tumble. I've been through worse things. God is with me ..." the girl continued to murmur confused formulas of her belief. Alexa shook her head, as it shouldn't work like that,
"Sorry, Mildred. I don't know how it happened, but you are dead and you should know that ... right?"
"No, I told you to get off! Get away! You both want to steal my soul!"
"Your soul isn't blind, Mildred. Look at me! You've seen us and keep pretending to yourself you didn't! Stop fooling yourself!" losing her cool, Alexa got up, touching the body and removing the blindfold from the dead girl.
Shade screamed in desperation.
~ Mildred, it's true. But we are at your side. Alexa will show you the way. Trust- you can rest… ~
" No !!! No!!! NO!!!" enraged, the Shade stood up, advancing towards Alexa, but the maiden just extended her palm. Her hand always bled when she was close to unruly and restless shades, and she felt her palms sting.
"Listen carefully, Mildred. Every soul that refuses to leave the world of the living and is in your current situation, has horrible destinies. You will wander lost, and feel tormented and lonely, until it fills you with grudge ... You have plenty of reasons to hold a grudge, but believe me, it's not up to the dead to avenge the living, but the opposite. You have little time for a choice ... I may not have realized that you had possessed your already dead body, because you were very persistent and your ... injuries ... deceived me. But I will not allow you to be wandering around. Not in that body, not as a soul. Do you understand well?"
~ So, when I found her passed out in the forest, she was already dead! ~ Alexander exclaimed. The princess didn't want to evaluate all the possibilities at that moment, and turned to Mildred, speaking in a firm voice,
"I forgive you for trying to kill me. I don't hold a grudge, you suffered and were persecuted, and not even your father protected you. You needed to be heard, your story needed to be told. Now, Mildred, leave this land that is no longer for you, and go beyond and to your fresh life."
The Shade sat on the floor and cried. Alexa sensed that this would take a long time. She didn't want to resort on violence toward the girl. The princess wished she could convince her to go peacefully. Perhaps being called a demon was the reason. Perhaps knowing that she and Alexander were cheating death and could not really judge Mildred, was another reason.
So she went to Mildred's body and, with some work, started preparing it for the trip.
~ What are you doing, Alexa?~ asked the Prince.
"Magnus may be in town, looking for us. We must go there. And we will take this girl and deliver her to the convent, where I will tell her story. Magnus said that I should trust him, and so did you. So I suppose we should be where he is looking for us. Besides, we will be much safer in Duncaster than in the middle of the forest or near Tanbury ..." she stopped to fumble with her pouch and grab the last piece of bread, and made a little ball for Alexander, Now come and have some food. Helga is worried about you eating well."
~ It's probably our best strategy, Alexa, ~ Alexander said, before pecking the food. He looked sad however, Alexa knew he felt guilty for not realizing Mildred's 'peculiarity'.
"So let's not waste any time," she whistled, calling to the horse that grazed near them. As about Mildred, the stubborn Shade could decide at any time between the way to Duncaster until they arrived at the convent of St Ewe. But Alexa could not stay there any longer.
As the horse did not come after a few minutes, and Alexander, as usual, took too long to eat, the princess looked up and looked around to see why.
She saw the animal being held by the reins by a short, dark-haired man in loose, dark clothing.
And out of the corner of her eye, the princess saw other figures coming closer.
She was surrounded.
There was cold in her bones when she opened her eyes, smelling the damp earth and the moss on her. Alexa took the weight off the layers of dead leaves on her, in time to see the dawn entering the clearing, and the ghost knight who made the guard of her resting place turn to her with a serious expression. Romeo chirped happily when the maiden sat on her bed of leaves, ~ Alexa! ~ She felt satisfied too, that nothing bad had happened to her precious body during the night. Looking around, she realized that Magnus was not there. Her hope of the night before was extinguished with sadness. Alexa also did not see Mildred, and was concerned, "Where is ...?" The ghostly knight walked slowly away from her, towards the beams of sunlight that were penetrating the treetops. Before anything else, Alexa needed to free him from his promise and guide him. The princess reached Ulrich's Shade, and stood beside him, "My friend, you kept your promise. I thank you for the night you spent with me." Turning his head slightly, Shade nodded acknowledging that he had heard Alexa's words. Then the princess cupped her hands together, concentrating on praying fervently, to create a strong and clear light to guide Ulrich, "The way is only yours, Ulrich. Walk it well, and wait for your Judgment ..." Again Shade nodded, his expression firm and contrite conscious of his imperfection, but also humbly accepting the end of his stay as Ulrich on this earth. Despite the doubts that sometimes permeated her mind, these words cherished the Light Bearer. It was a simple and well-known belief, as old as the act of recording the facts in pieces of stone or clay. A human being had to do his best, so that in his Judgment his actions and intentions were weighed for his corresponding reward. The glow erupted from her hands and the Shade became one with the light, embracing his new destiny without fear. When Shade left for his journey, Alexa took a deep breath, wishing Ulrich's soul a smooth path ahead, and hugged herself, chilling. The night before the princess had left her coat with Mildred. "Where's Mildred?" she turned to ask Alexander. ~ Ah, well ... You need to see this, ~ clearly embarrassed and confused, Alexander guided her. Alexa just hoped that her hunch wasn't right. The princess came to a ravine, just a few meters from where she had spent the night, and looking down, she saw Mildred's body fallen in a strange pose. The interesting part was that Mildred's Shade was trying to get back into the body, as if she wanted to dive into it or put it on. Her heart skipped a beat, and she whispered, "What happened tonight, Alexander?" Landing on her shoulder, her husband told her, ~I went, as you asked, on the road, and there I found some men still searching. Some of them entered the forest with torches heading to this direction, and believe me, they reached this clearing.~ "And what happened?" she urged him to continue. ~Ulrich kept them away, in a scary way. I followed them again, and saw when they left, taking the bodies of our friends, back to Tanbury. Magnus did not show up, however. I felt something in my chest... And I felt that I should come back to you. I arrived in time to witness, how Mildred had found a heavy branch and was sweeping and hitting the ground and the trees with it, clearly trying to hit your body! She probably deduced it must be somewhere around here! As much as I tried to convince her, she was upset and said that she didn't want to die in the forest like a pagan! Much less be a slave to demons!~ Alexa swallowed, looking around and seeing many marks on the floor, which matched Alexander's narrative. The Second Prince continued, ~When she got too close to Lord Ulrich, I saw something I hadn't seen before! He threatened her and Mildred's soul left her body! It was like she stepped out of a door, she took a step back and her soul fell to the floor!~ Alexa blinked, astonished, and turned to the little bird on her shoulder, "A living person shouldn't be dropping her soul around! You know how complicated it was for you to be in the situation you are in. And for me to split between two bodies! How could she just fall off her body?" ~Alexa, you are the expert here. If you don't know, how am I supposed to know? ~Alexander spoke, without a hint of humor. He sounded worried. ~What I do know is that, at times, she managed to enter her body again, but every time she tried to walk and command him, it was like trying to command a Judas dummy~ Alexa narrowed her eyes at the mention of the dummy that Christians used to flog and burn on specific dates, in several kingdoms west to Constantinople. But for Alexander, that was just a mention. "Not bad for a hunter's son ..." she mumbled, as she carefully descended the bank to get to where Mildred's body was. ~What are you mumbling about?~ the Prince asked, not understanding her grumbling, and flying ahead of her, but Alexa did not answer. Mildred, or rather, Mildred's Shade, cringed and froze with the Princess' arrival, lying next to her body. The peasant's body looked hard and purplish, much more than it should have considering the timing of the events. That was all a mystery to Alexa, but she couldn't say it was impossible faced with everything that was going on and everything she had already witnessed. Unless "...!" The princess crouched down beside Shade, "Mildred, it's no use anymore. This body can no longer receive you." "No!" the Shade whined weakly, "it was just a tumble. I've been through worse things. God is with me ..." the girl continued to murmur confused formulas of her belief. Alexa shook her head, as it shouldn't work like that, "Sorry, Mildred. I don't know how it happened, but you are dead and you should know that ... right?" "No, I told you to get off! Get away! You both want to steal my soul!" "Your soul isn't blind, Mildred. Look at me! You've seen us and keep pretending to yourself you didn't! Stop fooling yourself!" losing her cool, Alexa got up, touching the body and removing the blindfold from the dead girl. Shade screamed in desperation. ~ Mildred, it's true. But we are at your side. Alexa will show you the way. Trust- you can rest ~ " No !!! No!!! NO!!!" enraged, the Shade stood up, advancing towards Alexa, but the maiden just extended her palm. Her hand always bled when she was close to unruly and restless shades, and she felt her palms sting. "Listen carefully, Mildred. Every soul that refuses to leave the world of the living and is in your current situation, has horrible destinies. You will wander lost, and feel tormented and lonely, until it fills you with grudge ... You have plenty of reasons to hold a grudge, but believe me, it's not up to the dead to avenge the living, but the opposite. You have little time for a choice ... I may not have realized that you had possessed your already dead body, because you were very persistent and your ... injuries ... deceived me. But I will not allow you to be wandering around. Not in that body, not as a soul. Do you understand well?" ~ So, when I found her passed out in the forest, she was already dead! ~ Alexander exclaimed. The princess didn't want to evaluate all the possibilities at that moment, and turned to Mildred, speaking in a firm voice, "I forgive you for trying to kill me. I don't hold a grudge, you suffered and were persecuted, and not even your father protected you. You needed to be heard, your story needed to be told. Now, Mildred, leave this land that is no longer for you, and go beyond and to your fresh life." The Shade sat on the floor and cried. Alexa sensed that this would take a long time. She didn't want to resort on violence toward the girl. The princess wished she could convince her to go peacefully. Perhaps being called a demon was the reason. Perhaps knowing that she and Alexander were cheating death and could not really judge Mildred, was another reason. So she went to Mildred's body and, with some work, started preparing it for the trip. ~ What are you doing, Alexa?~ asked the Prince. "Magnus may be in town, looking for us. We must go there. And we will take this girl and deliver her to the convent, where I will tell her story. Magnus said that I should trust him, and so did you. So I suppose we should be where he is looking for us. Besides, we will be much safer in Duncaster than in the middle of the forest or near Tanbury ..." she stopped to fumble with her pouch and grab the last piece of bread, and made a little ball for Alexander, Now come and have some food. Helga is worried about you eating well." ~ It's probably our best strategy, Alexa, ~ Alexander said, before pecking the food. He looked sad however, Alexa knew he felt guilty for not realizing Mildred's 'peculiarity'. "So let's not waste any time," she whistled, calling to the horse that grazed near them. As about Mildred, the stubborn Shade could decide at any time between the way to Duncaster until they arrived at the convent of St Ewe. But Alexa could not stay there any longer. As the horse did not come after a few minutes, and Alexander, as usual, took too long to eat, the princess looked up and looked around to see why. She saw the animal being held by the reins by a short, dark-haired man in loose, dark clothing. And out of the corner of her eye, the princess saw other figures coming closer. She was surrounded.
