Disclaimer: The characters of Le Chevalier D'Eon do not belong to me. May contain spoilers for the anime.
This is another take on the funeral scene where D'Eon kisses Anna. The souls of those we love are always with us. Hence the audience other than the dauphin and the attendants.
Anna: Fairytale Path
Don't lose your way with each passing day
You've come so far, don't throw it away
Live believing, dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story, faith, hope and glory
Hold to the truth in your heart
"Anna, I am so sorry, child… you must go…" Queen Marie strokes my hair as I weep helplessly. D'Eon has not yet returned. In my dying moments, I fancied I saw his face. Now I know it was all a figment of my own longing. Our mortal remains lay in their respective coffins. Mourners come and go but there is no sign of my beloved among them. I do not know if he is safe. Why? Since I was twelve, I wanted to grow into a fine noble lady worthy of D'Eon's love. We will be wed and I shall be the perfect wife to him and mother to his children. I wanted so badly to…
Anna Rochefort will become Anna de Beaumont, wife to D'Eon de Beaumont, in a lovely ceremony which will be held in the rose gardens before the small church I was baptised in. D'Eon will have a magnificent white charger, and I will ride with him as we start our new life together, like the princes and princesses in those fairytales I read to His Highness at bedtime.
Her Majesty's soul is also in agony, though she bears it with resignation. Her husband of many years had poisoned her. I do not understand how she could be so calm. She casts her eyes towards her young son, surrounded as he is by the other attendants. Poor Auguste is devastated. To add insult to injury, our murderer sits next to the dauphin, accepting the offered condolences of the nobles and ambassadors.
"For all his flaws, I still love him," the queen admits. "I pray he keeps his promise to me." Her eyes scan the crowd. I know she is looking for her page. Robin has vanished from the palace after that night. She fears His Majesty may have broken his promise or Robin has met with mischance. Robin's only a child despite his keen mind. He was horrified when he walked in on our corpses and His Majesty holding the still-bloody sword in his hand.
She had made His Majesty promise to spare D'Eon and young Robin. No one else was to be harmed. Yet even as her still-warm body lay sprawled across the table, I died for walking in at the wrong time. It really hurts having a sword stabbed into your back.
My father had wept earlier when he came to pay his respects. I never saw my father look so old. Weeping, he regretted sending me into Versailles as an attendant. It was my choice, Papa. Please don't blame yourself. Young Auguste, God bless him, took his hand in his small ones and comforted him, reassuring him that the killers will be brought to justice. He does not know our murderer was standing behind him, offering his condolences to my father.
The mourners are filing away now. Tomorrow, we will be buried in our respective crypts after the funeral service. I will be laid to rest beside my mother. Still no sign of D'Eon. The last mourners leave and we are alone, two souls on the brink of stepping into eternity.
Souls in the wind must learn how to bend
Seek out a star, hold on to the end
Valley, mountain, there is a fountain
Washes our tears all away
Words are swaying, someone is praying
Please let us come home to stay
"I don't want to go, not without seeing him one last time…" I blurt out. "Anna, I'm sorry. You cannot tarry too long here, lest your soul gets left behind by the light…" Queen Marie's voice is firmer now. "We will all meet in the end, as the Good Lord calls us home to him…" I shake my head. I can't…
There is a commotion. The doors creak open. "D'Eon!" I cry out in joy. I rush forward to hold him. I only run past him, an insubstantial form. Auguste and his remaining attendants hover nearby, unseeing. I am dead, a lost soul not of the material world.
"Anna?" Lia. I turn. Lia, my dear friend, stands beside D'Eon as he struggles with the lid of my coffin. She had stepped back slightly to offer D'Eon some privacy to his grief. "God, why you too, Anna?" she almost screams. I can see the spiky red aura of rage enveloping her soul.
"Lia, school yourself!" Queen Marie calls out. The sparking of Lia's aura calms a bit. She is a mess. The last time I thought I saw her on the misty day D'Eon bid me farewell, she was dressed as if for a court reception. Now her hair is a tangled mane. Blood stains the clothes she wore, an exact copy of the ones on her brother. I know instinctively D'Eon has been wounded recently. The wounds Lia bears are a reflection of those he suffered. She is always with him. A pang of jealousy flashes through my soul.
"Your Majesty, Lia, let me be with D'Eon…" I beg. The two women exchange sad glances. "Look to him, Anna," the queen says quietly. I watch as D'Eon weeps, cradles me in his arms and finally kisses my cold lifeless lips. Tears run down my cheeks as well as those of Lia and Queen Marie. I reach out to comfort him but my hand only passes through him. I love you, D'Eon… I kiss him on his cheek but he does not notice.
"My brother loves you, Anna," Lia says. "To remain earthbound like me, it is to be denied entry into Heaven. If you remain for his sake, it will hurt him if he knows."
"Lia, will you be coming with us into the light too?" I ask. She looks so tired. Lia lowers her head. "I do not know if Heaven will receive me… perhaps after I have completed what I must do, what D'Eon and I must do…" she leans forward so her hair hides her face. "I do not know if Heaven or Hell awaits me now…" She sounds so lost. "Till then, all I can do is to protect him."
D'Eon is leaving now. He limps slightly. Lia rises to her feet unsteadily. Our paths will part again. She walks alongside him, until her soul overlaps with his. Pity overwhelms me. "Lia, please believe and have faith in God. We will meet in Heaven. Tell D'Eon to live his life, live a good life. Till then, adieu!" I call out. I catch a glimpse of a smile from Lia before they disappear out the door.
If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by, for you and I
I see the glowing path open up to receive us. It is so beautiful. I weep. We are being called home to the Lord. Oh, the music… I know my mother will be waiting in that light, my grandmother too. I will be patient. I believe Lia's soul will find peace. Lia will definitely join us. We shall meet again in Heaven. Live your life to the fullest, D'Eon. I will be there to greet you when your time comes to be called home, though I pray it will not be too soon.
Queen Marie takes my hand in hers. A smile graces her face. Together, we step into the light.
Adieu, my beloved knight. Live your life and live it well, D'Eon.
Author's Notes:
The song is 'If we hold on together.' I was wondering in spite of Lia's growing influence on his actions, there are some times when D'Eon is definitely in control. Their somewhat unusual situation may have affected Lia as well as D'Eon. In the case of Queen Mary and her sister, their souls eventually became as one.
Outtake in the afterlife:
Anna: Welcome home, D'Eon. What did you do with your life since?
D'Eon: Er, erm… (thinking: how do I tell her I spent the last 40 plus years living as a woman and sponging off Queen Mary's charity?)
Ah, the irony…