We leave the dungeon and head towards a cabin, just outside the castle. It was a pretty dark night so some of the guards were afraid that the other witches would arrive to rescue Melissa.
"Sir, are you sure you want to do this." One of the guards asked Queen Bartolomea.
"No, I'm not sure, in fact, I think it's a bad idea. But I decided to make the deal with Prince Ferdinand and the witch, since I want to see my father once again, even if it is his spirit.
"In case the witches come to the rescue. Light the torches to call the rest of the battalion, draw our swords and kill Melissa without any mercy. Cut her throat and leave her lying on the ground as a sign of our power, that no one will interfere with our kingdom of Christ and the Holy Virgin."
Listening to the king, I felt a little afraid of the witches. I even began to doubt Melissa's innocence since her face was too smug, as if she didn't care about the lives of others. Perhaps he is capable of murdering in cold blood someone of the highest rank and very loved by the people of Sorenberg.
We reached the outskirts of the cabin and unchained Melissa, removing those heavy chains from her feet, but not her hands. She, with both her hands held, was still able to draw a circle of dirt on the ground. The guards brought him some candles and placed them on the edges of the circle forming a hexagon. They handed the magic stone to Melissa in the palm of her hand. She, for her part, begins to invoke some words in a strange language.
"Ark used the first arkout."
"The language of the pagans," the bishop said open-mouthed, and subsequently crossed himself by taking the rosary from his neck with his fingers and kissing the tip.
Suddenly, the candles that were on the ground lit up greatly, large flames began to emerge from those small objects, it was as if they had fuel that powered them.
The witch lay sitting in the middle of the circle, eyes half-closed, legs crossed, raising her arms toward the sky. Suddenly, the fire of the candles began to rise higher and higher, until it began to take shape, a human shape.
"It's King Alaric!" the frightened guards exclaimed, some knelt with one leg as a sign of respect, others fled out of fear, getting lost in the undergrowth and darkness of the forest. The bishop crossed himself again and began to break out in a cold sweat, gazing at the fire spectacle open-mouthed.
Like the bishop, I lay standing there with my mouth wide open at the miracle that was happening before my eyes. Truly, it was the spirit of a deceased person.
I took a few steps back and fell to my knees in the sand. Queen Bartolomea began to approach the incandescent flames, raising her arms slightly and saying.
"Father…king Alaric. It's you?!"
"Who has awakened me from my rest…" said the spirit of King Alaric through the flames.
"Your majesty, it is truly you! What a joy!" said the bishop, raising his arms in joy.
At that, I approach the flames and say.
"Your majesty…king Alaric," I said, "I greatly apologize that we have tormented you from your rest. It was not a bad intention to wake him from the dead. We come with the intention of asking you just one question, if you would be so kind as to answer. We will be eternally grateful."
"Tell me, what is that question?"
"Father! "Who was responsible for your murder!" exclaimed Queen Bartolomea, kneeling on the ground, clenching her hands and with tears falling from her cheeks.
"They were emissaries from the kingdom of Walia, they arrived as ambassadors asking to speak with me to make an alliance against the pagans. We had a secret meeting in my chamber. I invited you to a banquet, they brought wine from which I drank, to no one's surprise, it turned out that the wine was poisoned, although as you know, I did not die instantly but three days later, when the poison finally took effect and invaded my veins. "
Then, the queen turned to see King Bartolomea saying the following:
"My daughter, listen loud and clear. Avenge my death, have no mercy against my enemies. Do everything possible to defeat him, do not be afraid of them because they are cowards, they have no honor. "Everyone rest assured that my son will avenge me."
"I will do it father! I will avenge you! I swear to God I will do it no matter what the cost!" exclaimed Bartolomea, lying on the floor, crying uncontrollably, while the bishop consoled him by giving him small pats on the back. Suddenly, the fire began to burn down, slowly until the forest was dark again.
At that, Queen Bartolomea stands up, wiping her cheeks from tears, shaking the dust from her clothes and as she addresses Melissa, she says:
"I am a woman of my word. You are free, witch Melissa. "Soldiers, unchain her, this woman is innocent!"
The soldiers proceeded to remove her chains and she quickly ran to hug Queen Bartolomea.
"You shouldn't be thanking me, Melissa, but him." Bartolomea said, pointing her finger at me.
"I?" I asked scratching my head in confusion.
"Ferdinand, you were the one who convinced me to make the deal with the witch. Thanks to you, we know that she is innocent, and most importantly. We know who murdered my father. "I thank you greatly."
Then, he prostrates himself by kneeling and bowing, along with the rest of the soldiers and the bishop.
For my part, I felt a little uncomfortable, you could say embarrassed, although what I did was not to feel shame but pride. But no one in my life had ever recognized something so noble on my part. It may have been the first noble act
After all this. We left the forest, abandoning the cabin, which we never entered although we did plan to do so, but Queen Bartolomea thought that perhaps it would be possible for the other witches to surround us, lock us inside the cabin, setting it on fire in order to kill us and fight their way. revenge. The good thing was that it never happened but everything turned out well.
On the way back to the castle, Melissa flew away from the scene with her staff, which was returned to her. I kept thinking about what the kingdom would be like if we forgive all the witches, if they are really innocent of what they are blamed for. This Christian society is not very fair to them, they should be treated better. They can even be a great help like Melissa was today. Magic can be useful in this realm rather than a hindrance.
After thinking for a long time, a great idea came to me. I know! Let's bring all the Sorenberg witches and give them work in the kingdom, stop hiding and stop being afraid.
We will use its magic to develop the kingdom, to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants, generate greater wealth and prosperity, defend ourselves from pagan and barbaric invaders and even expand our borders, of course, if the latter is possible. But... how will I convince King Bartholomea and the bishop of this? That was the problem.