Profusely sweating, huffing, and out of breath Iris dragged the last corpse to where Evin had built the pyre. The heap of corpses was more considerable than she'd thought. Iris slumped on the ground to catch her breath and watched Evin tie the last few posts to complete the pyre.
" Done" Evin exclaimed all arms in the air, pleased with his work, up until he turned around, facing the heap of rotting corpses. His cheery mood dwindled and plunged quicker than a bird diving for its prey.
Iris huffed, and pushed herself off the ground, more than ready to burn everything to the ground. The smell was getting unbearable, things were taking a turn for the worse and burying was out of the question.
Breathing was becoming a struggle " Light it up" she took another gulp of her water while, Evin did what he was told without nitpicking, for once.
The fire quickly began blazing, spreading, burning everything in its path. Evin had built an impressive pyre, big enough to hold all those people. She and Evin watched everything burn, grimacing at the smell of burning flesh, while Evin mumbled prayers for those who had passed. Her faith in the gods had been shaken, and in no mood to show reverence to the bloody gods. Where were they when they needed them? Iris frowned and turned on her heels, dismal with the deed she'd just done. It was no easy thing to watch all those people being charred. It weighed heavily on her heart. She was responsible for their deaths. So much death and all of it was pointless.
Iris walked inside the first house she'd come across, and looked around. She needed to wash off the stench of death, and maybe with some luck the thoughts that gnawed, and nagged, incessantly.
Iris pulled, what seemed a peasants dress out of the drawer and looked around for something that she'd could use to wash.
" Finally " she exclaimed when she'd found a washing bowl, water and soap.
Shedding her tattered, sticky clothes, she scrubbed herself with a cloth, thoroughly, trying to scrub away not just her grubby skin but her sins as well.
Feeling refreshed, she donned the new attire and picked her old clothes off the floor and walked out of the house, to the pyre. Only to find Evin still standing there watching the fire, praying for the unfortunate souls. The fumes of his drunken daze had finally, faded and reality seemed to have hit him, hard. Teary, he turned his head to look at her when she threw her old clothes into the fire.
" You should go wash. It helps" Iris patted his shoulder, trying to soothe the boy. He nodded and moved his feet, leaving her instead to watch the entire population of the citadel burn to a crisp.
Iris puffed her cheeks and turned around trying to get a hold of herself. Mourning those who had lost their lives to achieve someone's aim was the epitome of cruelty.
Now, she needed to breathe life back into the citadel. Evin had a point people thought it was cursed. Not many were aware that Sadhya was a witch. Iris inwardly scoffed, far from it but all had come to pass. No point dwelling on it.
Hessia stretched far and wide, Mythria was void of any life like it had always been. It would take time to sway the people, and a lot of hard work, but not impossible.
" What now?" Evin sobered her up, looking more alive.
" We need to rebuild, but before we do any of that. We need to spread the word that the citadel is not cursed. Lie, if we have to. I will take the seat for now, until we find a suitable contender to the throne. In the meantime, re-establish trade routes, and gather men, boys and whoever wishes to enter knighthood. The promise of coins would be a good incentive, for many of them." Iris glanced at Evin, hopeful that her thoughts would be well received. Evin frowned, a little doubtful of her plan.
" If we leave it like this, everything will turn to chaos. Horses? How many are there left?" Iris asked as she moved her feet towards the stables.
" The ones that the royal family used, are the only ones left." Evin pointed at the four horses, that scrapped the ground with their hooves, itching to get out of their enclosure.
" They need to stretch their legs. I'll take two you take the other two and go to the nearest village." Iris suggested hoping that Evin would go along with her plan.
" What do I say? I'm just a herdsman. I know nothing of politics." Evin frowned worried that her plan might not work.
" Announce the death of the royal family and that the seat has been claimed by the Mithryian Queen. A new dawn has come. And that I pledge my loyalty, and will be in the service of the people which I rule. Remember to mention that there will be a new calvary, and we need men and women if they would like to join. Everyone is welcome into the citadel. Place the death of the royal family on the head of the monsters, not Sadhya. Otherwise, they will be more fearful. There will be questions, try your best to answer them. But if you are struggling, invite them to the citadel and I will answer them." Iris huffed and opened the gate to the stables, followed by Evin.
" The Mythrian Queen? I have never heard of her. Who is she? " Evin frowned " More importantly, where is she? Are you an envoy?" Evin asked, a little confused at her words.
Iris sighed " The elders will know whom you speak of. If there aren't any just say that I'm an envoy for the gods and have been placed in this realm to bring peace and prosperity." Iris was running out of ideas on what to say to the people. There were white lies to help stitch the kingdom back together. Evin frowned, twitching his nose at her, incredulous.
" I want nothing more than to help heal, a very broken place. Now stop, frowning and get on your horse. Stop burning daylight. I wish no harm to anyone. I have no interest in power or riches." Iris said her final words and mounted the horse.
Evin was still at odds and probably had a lot of questions to ask but it wasn't a good time to sit around and discuss it. She had made a promise to the North and to herself, to mend what she had broken, through no fault of her own. However, it all began with her and it will end with her sitting on top, achieving what she'd set out to do. Failure was not an option.