Chapter Eighteen: Oakfield Glows
"It's the calm before the storm, Sparrow. Be prepared."
The Queen wakes up startled after having a nightmare. It has been a couple of weeks and Walter has been avoiding her since. The squad initially joked about them having a lover's spat but when they noticed it was serious, the jokes soon subsided. The rain has stopped and Albion is picking up the pieces with the aid of the Queen's Wings. Despite the weather improving, she couldn't shake off those words from Theresa, "the calm before the storm." She couldn't help but be disappointed about Walter's behaviour as well and it doesn't help that Logan would ask where Uncle Walter was.
Since noticing Walter's and The Queen's distance from each other, the squad had taken upon themselves to talk to the two of them.
"Why can't you just apologize to him?" Asked Chris.
"Why should I?" She replied indignantly. "I was only giving him advice!"
"Did he ask for it?" Carl said.
"No."
"Then you should have just dropped it!" Carl chuckled.
"But he looked so upset and I was just trying to help cheer him up. Give him a little optimism." She said, curling her bottom lip. "Why should I apologize for that?"
"Don't you think you're being stubborn?" Sam asked as he almost knocked over a globe he was playing with. "Sorry…"
"Don't you think he's being stubborn?" She retaliated.
The men sigh at her.
"You don't get it, do you?" Asked John as he adjusted his frayed collar.
"Get what?" She asked.
"It doesn't matter." Tim said. "But what you have to understand is, is that Walter had a reason why he reacted that way."
"He doesn't just snap at people just because he's grumpy." Smiled George.
"Usually." Joked Ryan.
"It's just something to think about." Sean said as he got up and patted her leg. The men got up from their seats and left a very confused Queen with her thoughts.
She is playing with Logan in her bed chambers when they hear a small knock on the door.
"Hello?" Walter said as he peeked into the door.
"Uncle Walter!" Logan said happily as he ran to him.
"Hello Logan!" He said as he picked the boy up. "Listen; could you do me a favour? Go find Jasper and play with him while I talk to your mum in private."
"I can do that." Logan said cheerfully as Walter puts him down and scarpers off.
Walter sits opposite The Queen by the window and looks guiltily at her.
"I owe you an apology…" He said awkwardly. "I'm sorry it took so long though. It's just been hard to face you."
"Took you long enough." She said while smiling.
"Well, the men finally got through to me." He laughed. "They told me bluntly that you had the best intentions in mind for me and that I was being 'pig headed'"
She chuckles slightly and Walter looks and smiles at her affectionately.
"I've missed talking to you. I even missed your laughter." He said.
She blushes slightly and they sit in silence for a moment as they pondered on what to say next.
"What is she like?" She asked.
"Who?" Walter said confused.
"The woman you love, what is she like?" She asked with interest.
"Well, her beauty equals her personality. She is so compassionate that she forgets that she can't help everyone. She's so strong that even with the weight of the world, she tries to carry it with her and when she falls, she hides her tears so the world doesn't collapse with her." He looks out into the window and stares down at the garden, smiling fondly. "I've never been happier with anyone. She makes me feel like I want to become a better man and she's taught me so much more about being human."
She smiles warmly at him.
"I hate her already." She said playfully.
"Why?" Walter asked as he laughed loudly.
"She sounds too perfect." She said as she crinkled up her nose. "She's far too good to be true. There's got to be something wrong with her."
"Oh, don't get me wrong." He chuckled. "She's irritably stubborn, she's far too sensitive for her own good and that she has so many masculine qualities that I feel inferior at times."
"That isn't a difficult task." She added in jest.
"Thanks for that." Walter said, smiling.
"Walter, in all seriousness." She said as she leaned forwards towards him. "Whatever 'rule' is keeping you from being with someone you love, I'll do what I can to change it."
"Can you really do that?" He asked curiously.
"I'm the freaking Queen for the love of Avos." She replied.
"I don't think it'll be as simple as that." He said, shaking his head slightly. "This particular rule has been in place longer than the archon's themselves."
She considers this and speaks her thoughts out loud,
"Technically a soldier can be with anyone that's not of a higher status, like the queen…"
Walter gives her a knowing look and the realisation hit's her like Scythe's legendary war hammer.
"Oh Walter…." She sighed.
"I did think that even if that law wasn't in place, you still wouldn't feel the same." Walter said, oblivious to her trying to speak to him. "Why would you love someone like me? I better go before I make a bigger fool of myself…"
"Walter!" She said loudly to get his attention. "I do love you!"
"What?" Walter said in shock.
"There is no way we could fight beside each other for all this time and not feel this way." She said grinning. "We fought beside each other, we laughed with each other, we cried with each other. I couldn't have asked for a better man to be by my side."
Walter is astounded and joyous that she felt the same way but it is soon replaced with a slight frown as he asked her,
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know." She said, honestly. "The punishment is that we would be stripped from status and you could even be executed." She rubs her head and said sadly "I can't risk your life or my position as queen. I'm sorry, I… I don't want to lose you."
Walter nods his head in understanding.
"I know you wouldn't want to give up your position whilst Albion still needed you. It's one of the reasons's I love you…" He said as he got up. "At least I can take solace that someone like you could feel the same way for someone like me."
He looks to her with a regret in his eyes and tells her, before he leaves,
"If there were any other way…"
The Queen and Walter have dropped the idea being together over the coming weeks and continue to be close friends, however, their feelings are harder to ignore whenever they may accidently touch hands or when they unintentionally get in each other's way whilst walking. Despite their friendship being back on track, the squad could sense an awkward air between the two and has not made a single joke about them being a couple.
One day, as she and the men are having lunch; a guard bursts into the mess hall,
"Oakfield is on fire! The place is burning down!" He cried, his sweat dripping from his face.
They all dash out of the room to try and get to Oakfield as quickly as possible to help evacuate the villagers and lessen the damage.
They use all the available men taking buckets of water to contain the fire but it was too fierce and wild to have any effect.
She was carrying out a farmer from a burning building when Walter runs to her.
"M'lady, you have to use your powers. This fire is too much for the men to handle." He said urgently.
"I can't! They are not what they used to be." She said with disappointment.
"Just try!" He begged.
She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate on building her will powers on an ice storm but could only release a small cloud which fades in a matter of seconds.
"I can't! I can't concentrate!" She said in panic as she heard the commotion of the burning village.
"Look at me!" Walter said as he grabbed her arms and looked into her eyes. "You can do this. I know you can. Just concentrate."
"I can do it, I can do it…" She repeated as she looked into his eyes.
"Calm yourself. Trust that you will do it." Walter said reassuringly. "You're doing this for the sake of the people."
Without noticing, she had built her will up within her and she releases an almighty ice storm above the fire and sustains it long enough to die the fire down. The fire became smaller and manageable enough for the squad, the guards, the soldiers and the townsfolk to extinguish with hurried buckets of water and blankets.
"You did it! I knew you could do it! I-" Walter looked to her and his expression changes as he looked at her pale complexion. "M'lady, are you alright?"
She wasn't used to using such a powerful will power since she fought Lucien and she passes out as her head began to spin.
"Your journey isn't over."
She wakes up startled in a deserted and destroyed Oakfield. A murky fog hung lightly around the area, the fields of grass was replaced by soot and ashes and not one tree had a single leaf.
"Hello?!" She called out. "Is anyone out there?!"
Her voice echoed mockingly into the distance. With no use standing at her position, she decides to explore the wreckage to investigate what has happened. She scarcely finds houses that haven't been burnt to the ground and the few that were still standing, creaked as she searched through them as if threatening to collapse on her. She follows a dirt path and comes across the remains of the Sandgoose pub. She feels a strong force coming from the old building, almost as if it was calling to her.
She sifts through the charcoaled remains and the burnt wood and comes across a porcelain doll with half its face blackened. She feels a sad pang in her heart as she places it gently on the ground. She looks up and notices a tarnished set of drawers hidden underneath a beam of wood. She walks slowly up to it as she feels the sense of foreboding and uses her strength to push off the beam. She opens the top drawer and gasps in horror.
Inside, she found a severed left hand and she sees on the ring finger, a sparkling diamond ring. She looks closely at it and reaches out her shaky hand to look at the ring, as she inched closer to the hand, it suddenly grabs her.
She wakes up under a canopy, breathing heavily and finds a concerned Walter watching over her.
"How long have I been out for?" She asked worriedly.
"One or two hours." Frowned Walter.
She immediately gets up from the table that had been turned into a make shift bed and walks off.
"You should get your rest, M'lady." Walter insisted as he marched to catch up with her.
"How are the people?" She asked. "What's the damage?"
"There are heavy casualties. There are a few missing villagers to be accounted for." He said grimly. "And as for the damage, you should see for yourself…"
He pulled back the curtains of the canopy to reveal the image which she saw in her nightmare but with injured people crying out from pain or loss from their loved ones. The town guards and soldiers are tending to the wounded and the distressed.
She walks through the awful scene and feels the hurt and sorrow for the town's people. An orderly man in uniform walks up to her and salutes.
"I am Captain Swift, you're majesty." He said as he introduced himself. "General Turner had sent for me and my men for extra support."
"Ah yes, General Turner…" She said acknowledging the name. "I wish we could have met in better circumstances though, Captain Swift."
"I agree." Swift nodded. "We're treating the injured at the moment but we have to discuss matters about what to do about the dead…"
Swift continues to talk to her but he is merely a blur of noise as she notices the Sandgoose in the distance. Without another word, she runs towards the ruined building and Walter and Swift quickly follow.
She sifts through the wreckage and discovers the same doll she had seen in her nightmare and dashes to the beam that was crushing the set of drawers. She moves it with difficulty as Swift tells her that the incident is being treated as an unfortunate accident.
She opens the top drawer and her face hardens as she finds a carving,
"I'm watching you."
"This was no accident." She said out loud.
During the evening, The Queen had gathered Walter, General Turner and Captain Swift to the war room and placed in the middle of the room was the piece of wood with the inscription in it. She talks about the previous disasters leading up to Oakfield's fire and the discussion leads to the mysterious man.
She concludes the meeting and alerts the town guards to keep watch of any suspicious behaviour and have a small station of soldiers in each region. As Walter goes to leave she asks him to stay behind. The room is empty and she holds him tightly.
"Please be careful, Walter." She whispered as she pulled away from him. "This man is dangerous, he could be anyone and he'll hurt the ones closest to me."
"I'll watch my back." He said. "But if I am to protect Albion and most importantly, you, I will lay down my life to do so."
His face hardens a little and he salutes her before leaving the room.
"Be safe, Walter." She begged under her breath.
Albion has become heavily guarded, the castle was constantly being watched over by guards and soldiers and The Queen has had Logan moved outside of Albion with a small army and a handful of carers.
The people are curious about the heavy protection but are unaware of any dangers since she had told them in a public speech that the Oakfield's fire was an accident. She felt guilty for the deceit but felt it necessary for the sake of the people.
Since Oakfield's arson assault, she has been plagued by nightmares but they're often blurred.
A week after the fire, there was a public funeral held in Bowerstone to honour the lost lives of the victims. The funeral was a big event with over a dozen or more coffins lined up, side by side. Each coffin had a flower and a wreath on top of them and there is a soldier standing in between each one.
The crowd is made up of families and friends of those who have lost their lives, survivors of the fire and all those who wanted to pay their respect with each person held a candle in their hands.
There had been a podium set up for The Queen to deliver a speech to honour the lost lives.
"It is a sad day for Albion. Oakfield has not only lost its once proud surroundings but it has suffered a loss that can never be replaced. The people we have lost will always be missed and loved by their friends and family. Their lives have been cruelly taken away too soon by this terrible tragedy. We will never forget them and we will never forget the accident that took their lives…"
She was cut short as an arrow flew past her from behind and lodges in one of the coffins in front of her. People started running away in fear and panic as she notices a note attached to the arrow. She dislodges the arrow from the coffin and unravels the note which is written in large letters,
"Liar."
She orders the guards and her squad to sweep the area but as she did so, wisps enter the coffins and hollow men sprang out of them and balverines leap from the surrounding buildings. A battle ensues and in the midst of it, The Queen notices a hooded figure dart from the alley ways and rapidly made their way to the archway leading out of Bowerstone. She quickly runs to catch the culprit but they see her following behind them and begin to cast will powers to deter her. She swiftly dodges and leaps the oncoming barrage of spells before lunging herself at the figure. She keeps a tight grip on the person as she pulls down the hood and gasps as she reveals the culprit's identity.
Reaver sneered as he looked at the astonishment on her face.
Author's Notes
Dun, dun, duuuun!
Hello readers!
Are you enjoying the second part of Albion's Lost Years? I do hope so. If not, hopefully, you'll keep reading anyway until the story picks up for you again :P I've tried editing the chapters as I go, unfortunately, I'm rubbish at it so as always, please excuse my awful grammar. Thank you all for taking the time to read the fanfic as always, I appreciate every view I have for this fic. I love you guys :'D
Characters (with the exception of the members of the Queen's Wings who belong to me) and locations belong to Lionhead Studio.