THE LAST RITES
Soren felt very sad and heartbroken, at the same time he had some bliss in his heart.
Soren was back in his own bedroom which he had not seen in a very long while, nothing much had changed and it had been kept well and indeed very tidy.
He sat facing his dressing mirror and all he could simply recall was the time that he had had with his father.
"My dear, you are very fair and to be honest you really look very much like an angel." The king said.
"Father, you know I am not that good looking." Soren replied sarcastically.
"Very funny my dear, when you grow up, who knows, you might be the fairest in the land." The King had replied and pulled the eleven year old boy into a hug.
Such a sweet memory, lost in it, before Soren realised, he was shedding tears.
"May I come in my dear." A voice called and Soren immediately fidgeted to wipe away his tears before he turned around to face someone he knew very well and cherished.
"Yes mother." Soren said as he stood up from the table and walked towards his bedroom window.
The Queen dowager walked in appearing to have found her composure as she studied the situation and was trying to come up with words to speak.
"Is everything fine?" The Queen dowager asked.
"No mother, father's death it was so..." Soren replied before he was interrupted.
"Sudden, I know but I mean your family, your marriage." The Queen dowager fidgeted to say.
"Everything is fine mother." Soren lied.
"That is a lie." Another voice said and Soren along with his mother were forced to turn around and face the direction in which the voice had emerged from.
It was none other than the young King himself who had been accompanied with Sabrina who bowed down her head.
"I mean it, everything is fine." Soren said as he faked the look of confidence on his face.
"Everything is certainly not fine and I demand an answer now brother, why do you no longer leave in the Imperial residence with your husband?" Sian asked.
"I told you already Sian, this is not the time for you to be arguing about this." The Queen dowager said.
"I am certainly not ready to have this talk brother." Soren said.
"And why is that, my brother in law has fallen short of his responsibilities towards you." Sian said.
"Sian please stop." Sabrina spoke up.
"No I simply cannot, he was the one who asked for Soren's hand in marriage in the very first place.
I am well aware they are surely mistreating you that side and do not be keen in defending them as well, we all know what sort of people they really are." Sian said.
"My marriage life and my in laws are my business brother, please stay out of it." Soren said.
"I cannot if my brother is suffering. It is unacceptable for me to watch, them not turning up for your father's funeral is one thing but dismissing you from your residence is another I simply can't tolerate." Soren said.
"Who is it I am speaking to, my brother or my king?" Soren asked.
"I am both, You should listen Soren, it is necessary that you help me to help you brother." Sian said.
"All of you please stop." The Queen dowager said.
"Not now mother, isn't Soren allowed to at least have some freedom of his own, must he not decide for himself what to do.
We have been humiliated and insulted if all our in laws cannot be present at this funeral and it is self explanatory that he is not enjoying this situation." Sian said.
"I have two people to bury brother and I must bury them both." Soren said.
"Then I suggest that you bury your relationship with those people." Sian said.
"Certainly not at all brother, yoi understand the terms upon which my marriage was built, we must stay loyal to our end of the agreement no matter the cost." Soren said.
"Father might have been afraid of those people but I certainly am not and I cannot hesitate to go to war against them, as your King it is my duty to protect the imperial family and lead it." Sian said.
"It is also your duty to put the interests of your people first before your very own." Soren said.
"And you are one of my people." Sian said.
"And the masses, are you not worried how the war will affect them, our borders and our activities will be on the brink of destruction.
Peace is what father would have wanted and this is my marriage and my life so whatever the cost is, I will simply be the one to decide on that." Soren said.
"Both of you stop." The Queen dowager said.
"I am tired of listening to the both of you argue, you are all a disgrace to your father at this very moment you are disrespecting his peace.
I am still the Queen mother and now I ask that you listen to what I am going to tell you now and let it be clear, I want this madness to stop at least until we can bury your father.
I cannot decide for you because you think you are all grown and you live separate lives so I will not listen to another word about this until I leave." The Queen dowager said and furiously marched out.
Sian who looked angry simply followed and Sabrina who had remained with Soren shot him a glare of pity before she walked out of the bedroom.
Soren simply sighed, his returnnhad been only very devastating and now he was simply not in the mood to quarel so he walked straight into his bathroom.
The next day dawned a very misty and cold morning, Soren who looked frozen simply watched as Gerald helped him dress up.
"We are ready your highness." Gerald said but Soren did not reply and he instantly stood up and walked out of his bedroom.
The bereaved members of the Inperial family stood at the entrance of the palace waiting until Soren appeared and they descended down the staircase into a carriage that had been prepared for them.
The procession of the carriages began as they followed the corpse of the King which had been rested onto a horse drawn carriage with cannons.
The Coffin was draped in the royal standard and riding along with it were the Royal regalia and many brightly coloured flowers.
The streets had been cleared and people watched and simply mourned as the coffin moved on top of the flower crowded streets towards the Kingsway Cathedral.
There, he would receivr his final rites and he would be turned to heaven and lowered in the tomb within the Cathedral's catacombs where most of his ancestors had been laid to rest.
There was total silence in the carriage where the four family members rode until they approached their final destination.
Once the carriages came to a halt, the carriage doors were flung open and the members of the royal family walked out.
The Queen dowager held a black hankerchief and was seen clearing tears from beneath her eyes as they all walked into the building up front.
This was the Central Cathedral of Northhelm, where the six Sovereign deities of their Faith were centrally worshipped as beings of life, balance and power.
The Cathedral had been filled yo the brim, mourners were simply ten thousands inside,nobles and their families, royals from across the continent and the world and primarily the members of the parliament.
The sooner the royal family was stationed up ahead, there was singing and then down the aisle came the priests of the last ritual, draped in plain white clothing leading the way to the altar.
Followed by them was the grand coffin in its flower filled sarcophagus being carried arround by sixteen guards.
The glass that loomed on top granted the masses a sight of the king one last time before it was rested on a stand that was surrounded with six masts.
"We are all gathered here today, to send off our beloved King to the world of his ancestors and to the gods who made him.
Through this time of tranquil, we certainly remember that he made a legacy, he was good and he was the best gift in these twenty years in which he reigned.
Even as it always was, for now and forever, he is crowned in the heavenly wrelm a king eternal and he sits with his ancestors noble of his blood and likeness." The Chief Priest said.
"At last to take his place, may his son live long as Sovereign and continue in his father's footsteps." The Chief Priest said.
The trumpets were sounded and as everyone watched, the Empress dowager sadly mourned and freed her tears as Soren followed her action shortly afterwards.
The Priests of the last rites then held a white linen fabric and moved it over the coffin and there striking the ground with their staffs, the guards followed putting a lid over the sarcophagus.
"Long may he reign." The Chief Priest shouted.
"Long may he reign." The masses yelled as the lid was finally settled and everyone inside and out wherever they were they bowed the head all except for Sian who stepped forward towards the sarcophagus.
Upon reaching it, Sian placed a soft kiss at the lower end of the sarcophagus in the position of the dead king's feet before he placed his forehead on it.
Everyone eventually looked up again and the Chief Priest held the Imperial stand of the salt and sprinkled it on the coffin.
Sian was handed the salt as well and he did the same before he faced the crowd that stared at him.
He bowed his head as their new king and as a symbol of allegiance and loyalty, the whole house bowed down to him.
"For our New King, may the gods commission, for he who is past may they forever keep." The Chief Priest loudly said.