Chapter 48: Healing and Forgiveness

Ava

I stand outside with my back to the compound, letting the crisp morning air wake me. The pond is in front of me, the wind creating small ripples in its otherwise still surface.

The bodies have all been buried and placed to rest properly where they belong, even Nathan and Nicolas, though they weren’t given lengthy memorials. The rain had washed away any remaining blood, but there are still a few remnants of the battle.

Patches of disturbed grass or footprints in the mud are the only testament to the bloodshed caused by one man’s passion. You could argue that it was both men who had caused this. But Nicolas was the true mastermind behind these deaths. He was the true villain in this story.

He let his soul turn to rot because of a past he couldn’t forget. He couldn’t get passed the throne his daughter had taken from him, despite the fact that she saved her people in the process. Nicolas had been a cruel ruler, and his death was no better than he deserved.