Iraella and Baeddan: Chapter the Twenty-Eighth

Submitted by E on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 18:45

*The final chapter. There will be an epilogue, too.

 

Chapter the Twenty-Eighth                 Iraella stared down at Efazah’s limp, dead form. The strength she had been feeling was quickly leaking out of her. She felt dizzy. She turned clumsily around and stumbled towards the huge doors. She grasped the surprisingly warm bronze handles. Her arms trembling, she pulled them apart. Sun hit her face, making her squint. She heard cries of joy (including WE KILLED THE ZERHZE!!! From Barden), and soon she was being tackled over every part of her body.             She smiled weakly and let Silera to kiss her multiple times on her cheeks, let Barden ruffle her hair and Baeddan embrace her. Baeddan…..Barden…..Where was……? Suddenly, Iraella felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped onto her.             “Where’s Mabon?” she said loudly. The cheering stopped, and Iraella felt her heart stop with it. Baeddan released her, and Iraella looked up at his face.             It was grave.             Baeddan grasped her hand and squeezed it, leading her forward. Barden walked beside them, and Iraella heard Silera sniff behind her. Fairies stood aside, and Iraella saw a line of the dead. There were about six fairies, and one human.             Mabon.             Each step she had dreaded, and even though she had known what was to come, the shock was still overwhelming. She walked slower, and Baeddan slowed down with her. She shook with silent sobs. They were almost to his body.             He looked as though he could have been sleeping. His eyes were shut, his lips still….Iraella had the bizarre urge to laugh as she thought of how his lips were almost never still in life. Another sob escaped.             They stood still. She knelt beside Mabon. She didn’t want to touch him—it would be too much. The other nameless fairies lay just as peacefully on the other sides of him, but Iraella didn’t have eyes for them. She looked up at Baeddan, and gave him a watery smile.             “I was horrible to him,” she said, half sobbing. Baeddan smiled back.                         She felt so sad. He knew she would. He knew how her face looked. He felt the tears on her eyelashes through the ground. It was horrible to see the dead. Kaethe was among them—the fairy who had returned a form of sight to him.             Iraella leaned on his shoulder, and Baeddan patted her on the back. He had been quite fond of Mabon; he would’ve liked to have known him better.             Barden and Silera stood away. Baeddan had a feeling that Barden felt awkward and Silera couldn’t stand to see people die so young.             “Baeddan…..” Iraella said in a teary voice, looking up at him.             “Uhm-hm,” said Baeddan.             “You’re a king.”             Baeddan looked at her. He felt that she wasn’t joking, but she must be…..No, she had never been good at keeping a straight face during jokes…..Plus, she would never joke at a time like this.             “And I’m a queen,” Iraella said.             “Wha…..What do you mean?” Baeddan asked, his arms falling to his sides. Iraella stepped back. “I’ll tell you once we’re away from here, I hate it,” she said.                         There was a burial in Bellord the next day. It was horrible to see Mabon’s family weeping over his body. Iraella cried more. She had more of a desire to get away from there than to get away from Efazah’s castle.             Iraella wiped away her tears and stood, walking backwards away from Mabon’s grave. She accidentally bumped into someone along the way. Iraella whipped around, murmuring apologies, until she realized it was Baeddan. With an understanding smile, he took her hand, and they walked past the grassy yard and down to the beach. Baeddan and the salty air were calming.             Baeddan didn’t ask for information, and Iraella was grateful. They walked all the way down the beach. Iraella watched him. She had never quite noticed that his hair was the color of gingerbread, or just how tan his arms were…..             “Baeddan….” She began.             “Yes?”             “Er, about the thing I said before….At the castle….” They stopped, facing each other, and Iraella explained everything that had happened in the castle. It was tumbling out of her, and it felt good to let it all go.             “……And—and—I killed her,” said Iraella, feeling nauseous at the thought of it.             “I’m glad she’s gone.”             “I should’ve asked her more. I could have been more prepared,” said Iraella regretfully.             “It’s okay, Ira. We aren’t sixteen yet, are we? We should still be able to rule, and rule well,” said Baeddan certainly. Iraella smiled slightly, looking up at him. There was a strange look on Baeddan’s face….She didn’t know what it was….
Author's age when written
12
Genre
Fiction

Comments

Annabel

Fri, 08/28/2009 - 20:10

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Well, it's certainly an interesting ending. I'm not sure that it flows well with the rest of the chapters, but that's understandable--after all, your vision for the story must have changed quite a bit since the first chapter. And I'm sorry that Mabon died--I had been hoping against hope that he would do something grand, marry Iraella, and live happily ever after.

E

Fri, 08/28/2009 - 23:59

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I didn't think it flowed super well with the other chapters either, and yet it's my favorite. Hopefully when I edit the first draft it will be better. Everyone seems to have thought that Mabon and Iraella would marry.......He's much older than her-I suppose I should have made that clear....See, she just turned fourteen and he was almost twenty....

"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond

Bridget

Sat, 08/29/2009 - 05:13

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You did NOT do what I think you just did.  You did, didn't you?  YOU KILLED MABON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, I could tear my hair out!  (if it weren't for the fact that I like my hair.)  I'm coming to your place with torches and kerosene!!!!!!!!!!!

"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question." - Harun Yahya

Annabel

Mon, 08/31/2009 - 00:20

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I didn't mean to say that it was necessarily a bad thing that it didn't flow very well...it's almost impossible for that not to happen with a serial book...I hope you're not offended? And by the way, are we going to find out what Dai's power is? I'm curious...I liked that char...

Ariel

Sun, 08/30/2009 - 16:39

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I will take this moment to say...WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!?!? It's bad enough that I have this cold, but then you had to make it worse by (1) ending the story, (2) making Irealla and Baeddan so young (I can't believe I've gone through the whole thing not really knowing their true ages) and (3) KILLING MABON!!!! How could you do that? I'll be right there next to Bridget!!!

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"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it." -- Herman Melville

Clare Marie

Sat, 09/05/2009 - 01:58

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Mabon... :(  I liked him alot. :( 

Anyways, this was an interesting ending...congratulations on finishing!! :D

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"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." -Bilbo Baggins [The Lord of the Rings]