27. Back to the Present

Narrator Sasha watched heartbroken as her father’s younger version mourned the sudden loss of his father. Her mother’s younger self had tried her best to console him. When they got out of the secret chamber, a gruesome sight welcomed them. The entire place, the floor, walls and the furniture were painted red. From soldiers to workers, dead bodies were everywhere. Young prince Devlin and his wife-to-be Alena made their way to the throne room and saw the mutilated bodies of their fallen warriors.  “Hey, Dev.” A soft, surprised voice greeted them. Sasha looked at the young man who greeted them and realised that this was Killian’s father and her father’s best friend.  “What are we going to do?”  “What else? We must rebuild this kingdom. I will not let my father’s sacrifice go in vain.”  “I am with you Dev.” Killian’s father reassured.  “Me too.” Lady Alena whispered as she placed her hand softly on the prince’s shoulder.  He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He was visibly shaken. Despite that, he was trying hard to stay strong.  “I.... I need you guys.” His voice quivered as he muttered a hushed whisper. Slowly, one by one, whoever managed to save themselves from the vicious attack gathered around the young leaders and bowed down in humble submission.  “Lord Tristan had sacrificed himself to protect what is left of this realm,” Devlin announced and an eerie silence followed. The news of the sacrifice of their respected leader would spread among them like wildfire and it would break their hearts into tiny bits. However, none of them would back off. “Let us start over. We will not let anything make us cease existing. We shall rise and we shall be strong. We will face whatever hurdles come our way. We must not let lord Tristan’s sacrifice be in vain. We will rise again, just as a phoenix rises from its ashes.”  Young prince Devlin’s resolution strengthened as he addressed what remained of his army. His voice seemed to increase in volume while his eyes reflected the fire of revenge.  “First we will give our fallen comrades a fitting funeral. And then we will rebuild this prestigious kingdom. We must make our Lord Tristan proud of us.” He continued. “Now. Carry all the bodies and prepare for a funeral befitting for our heroes.” Prince Devlin carried out his first order as the new ruler.  When the knights scattered away, Alena faced the two men in front of her.  “What do you think about what your father had said?” Sasha watched her mother ask. She felt her heart pinch painfully when she saw her mother’s pain-stricken face.  “We will wait. I hope I meet this chosen one. It would be a huge honour to meet such an important person. I must prepare for him, no matter how long it takes.” He replied.  Sasha felt her father tap her on the shoulder.  “That is enough. Let’s go.” His voice was solemn. Witnessing the past events had affected him even though he had lived through it in the past. It most probably reminded him of the pain that they had gone through all those years ago. “Yes. Let’s go.” Sasha agreed. She had a lot of questions she wanted to ask and she wanted to relax before that. Her head was hurting with all the things she had just seen.  One thing was for sure. The respect she had for her parents had increased tenfold. They had actively taken part in the great war and perhaps in several wars that came after. She felt her parents hold her hands on either side and murmur the magic words so that they could go back to the present time.   “Levartè soiucaps!” This time their chant was soft and more emotional. Sasha saw her surroundings fade away. She knew she was going back to her time. She looked around one last time. Pausing her lips, she studied the bloodied hall and the tired warriors. She smiled at the heartbroken younger self of her parents.  Just then, the scenery in front of her faded away and she saw herself travel through a labyrinth that seemed to move on its own. The entire place was completely white and the entire place looked as if it was nothing but a complicated network of passages.  Sasha made sure that this time, she kept her eyes wide open. She had been anxious and kept her eyes closed the first time, causing her to miss all of this. But this was an experience that one doesn’t have very often.  She saw that they were on a specific pathway. There were several pathways which she was certain would lead to different places. It didn’t last for more than a few minutes, she found herself and her parents where they had begun their journey. Sasha took a moment to take everything in. They were back. That was certain.  “Wow.” She gasped and slumped onto the sofa behind her.  “Is that what time travelling looks like?” she asked, making her parents chuckle. “Yes. In fact. That was the labyrinth of time. The passages you saw will lead to different timelines. It entirely depends on the decisions people make. Different decisions will take you to different timelines.” Her father explained.  Sasha blinked. Frowning, she faced her parents who were listening attentively, fully aware of the numerous questions she might want to ask.  “But then, why can’t we go back in time and change it. I mean...we can go to when that Vamir guy prepared that beast. We can make that a failure, right?” she asked. “Oh no, we can’t do that dear. If we meddle with the past, it can result in a huge catastrophe. We must learn from the past and correct ourselves.” Her mother explained.  “And besides, if we do anything, we might end up in another timeline. We never know what can happen.” Her father added.  Sasha listened carefully and sighed deeply. Leaning against the seat, she rested her head on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. A lot of emotions have now disrupted the peace of her mind. Seeing how brutally their people were massacred was traumatizing. She felt her eyes sting and then flood with unshed tears, which she fought hard against.  “What happened after that?” she asked in a soft voice.  “After the funeral, I was crowned officially asking. We had a lot of work to do. We did get married, because I needed her support, I needed my queen.” Her father narrated.  “However, our first decade as king and queen was hard. There was a lot of work we had to do. Vamir and his army had destroyed the entire kingdom. We had to rebuild the whole place. Of course, with magic, it was done at a fast pace. However, to get over the mental trauma and to train new knights was hard work. But we managed to re-build what your grandfather had built in the past within ten years.” He smiled sadly as he studied his daughter’s face. “Grandfather.....” she murmured. “You never told me......” she trailed off as her eyes met her father’s dark ones. She saw how emotional he was. She felt as if his eyes told her a lot of things that his tongue couldn’t. She stood up, walked towards her father and wrapped her thin arms around his large frame. Resting her head against his chest, she sighed. She took some time to listen to his heartbeat, which seemed to be beating evenly.  “I love you father.” She whispered.  She heard a sniffle and a humourless chuckle.  “I love you too princess.” He replied.  “So what about this chosen one?” she asked, not bothering to remove herself from his hold.  “After I was crowned, and after we did most of the repair work, I went to look for your grandfather’s treasure, which was supposed to be locked in the hidden chamber that can only be accessed through his room. I had no desire to use it, but I was eager to see it. You know, I missed my father. And I kind of wanted to hold something dear to him. And if I had to, I could use it to rebuild the kingdom. But when I went inside, I was shocked to see it empty.”  Sasha moved away from her father and looked deeply into his face as he continued to explain. “At first I blamed Vamir and his people. But then later I realized that the treasure too disappeared the day your grandfather sacrificed himself. Not only that. The door that led to the underground chamber where the stone was kept, was blocked. I don’t know why or how. When I tried to open it, it didn’t work. The wall had sealed itself and it is as if it never existed.” He further explained and took the sword that was kept on the table.  “Remember this Sasha?” he asked as he kept his eyes focused on the weapon in his hand. He seemed to study the exquisite carvings on its handle.  Sasha glanced at it once and then at her father who was deeply interested in the sword.  “This is the sword Draco found in the garden.” She answered, making her father’s lips curve in a small smile.  “Draco?” he questioned with one eyebrow raised.  “uh.....” Sasha blushed a little. “Yes. I mean the human servant.” She quickly added.  “Exactly. This is a special sword, Sasha.” He told her. Sasha looked at her mother and then at her father, trying to look for hints, but both of them just smiled. “What?” she shrugged.  “Didn’t you notice? This sword belongs to my father, Lord Tristan.” He told her and Sasha gasped.  She scrambled towards it to take a closer look at it. It indeed was a fine piece of art.  “Wow.” “Remember the sword he held in the underground chamber? This is it. It was lost along with the stone and the treasure. I am shocked that all these years, none of us found it. Neither the sword nor the treasure and had been buried in the garden the whole time. But a powerless human was able to locate it.” Her father chuckled.  Sasha sat silently for some time trying to analyse everything that she had learnt.  “What if.....what if it is surfacing now because something big is about to happen?” she suggested and her parents nodded.  “Exactly. We too have been having this feeling. It was said that they would come back. Perhaps they would awaken the beast. I honestly don’t know what to expect. We must be prepared.”  “But then, where is this chosen one? We need that person, whoever it is.” Sasha worriedly replied.  “Yes. My child. Perhaps we will meet him soon.” Came the reply. Sighing, Sasha stood up. She was about to leave when she remembered what her father had said during dinner. “Uhh. Father? Are you seriously going to test the human and send him to the forbidden forest?” Sasha questioned “Yes. If he was able to find the lost treasure of lord Tristan, I’m sure he would find the other gems and treasures scattered in the forest. Who knows, maybe he will find the stone of power too.” He answered. Sasha ran her tongue over her dry lips.  “But, what if he gets hurt father?” she asked, visibly concerned.  “You sure seem to be very fond of that human lad.” Her mother started making Sasha shudder.  “Huh...? Uh yeah. He is really good, unlike other slaves we’ve had. Obedient and respectful.” She was quick to reply hoping that it would cover up the awkwardness.  “Don’t worry. I am sure he will be fine my dear.” Her father reassured her.  Pausing her lips, Sasha turned around to go back to her room. It was way past her bedtime and she was tired.  “Father, mother, I will leave. Hope you sleep well.” She told them and walked away. As she took quick steps towards her room, she thought about how confident her father was about sending him off on the quest.  “I sure hope you will be fine Draco.” She whispered under her breath and disappeared behind the door to her room.