"Is that Lythias?!" Elliana held the frail man in her arms tenderly "yes…and no. He is as I am. It seems Shirayuki fused him to one of these trees…but they are all dead…Lythias, Lythias' fate can not be changed now" Zen watched as Elliana held him to her with large sobs. Izana stepped forward with a deeply embedded frown "can you not perform the spell again? Can you not fuse him to the acorn this time? Can nothing be done?"
Shirayuki's mother shook her head slowly "no. Once he was fused to the deadened tree his life force was also fused…souls have the strength to linger without a shell but only for a short while, ultimately they cannot survive without a shell and as the shell Lythias has been fused to is dead…he is now also dying. No spell can save him because his soul does not have the strength any more to relocate…not to mention he fought so hard against Shirayuki and so he was already in a weakened state…we can not save him"
The man who lay before them was Lythias…the same Lythias who had caused them all pain, the same Lythias who had killed people for his own motives. The same Lythias who had destroyed Clarines, yet as they all gazed on the pitiful man in Elliana's arms, they could not help but feel sorrow for Elliana and be weighed down by his looming death. Zen looked at his brother "I don't get it Izana, why I feel such sadness by this- ought we not to be happy that we will finally be free from his tyranny?"
Izana smiled proudly and placed his hand on Zen's shoulder "be grateful for this sorrow Zen- it shows you are human. Any death is tragic- any loss of life should be mourned. The fact that you feel this despite his sins; means you are capable of love and forgiveness. We should not live our life with grudges- each of us has darkness within and some act on it more than others, but holding grudges means giving in to the darkness…do not forget; death is not justice- how can the sinners atone if they are dead? Lythias was meant to live so that one day he could see the error of his ways and do his best to make it up to the people he hurt"
The frail man coughed weakly "you…you are right Izana- I have sinned and sinned and yet my wife still clings on to me with such love and affection. Isn't it funny how I was so sure of my path until now- death has a funny way of making you see both the light and darkness in yourself" he coughed again in-between his wheezy gasps of breath "allow me to do one good deed before I die…give this to Shirayuki- my apology means nothing but this might ease some of the pain I have inflicted upon her" he held his hand up shakily towards Zen who looked at him in uncertainty "what is it?"
Lythias held out a small bottle "tell her to give this to Zura- it should speed up his recovery…it will do no good for me now without a live shell, it is a potion of my own invention and there is none other in existence" he looked at his aged hands and laughed bitterly "I wanted to live forever and for me to be suddenly thrust into an ancient form such as this- what irony!"
Elliana had not spoken through her tears but she stroked his face and regained composure in his final moments "Lythias, I have watched and waited for years and years for you to see the light within you once more. Grief has a masterful way of awakening such darkness within us all and I have never lost hope that you would conquer it one day. I am sorry that you will not have a chance to show everyone the light that is capable of shining inside you"
A single tear fell from Lythias' face as he gazed upon his great grandsons "I can not apologise to my son because he is not here- he was a better man than I could ever be and despite having a fiend of a father like myself he still managed to achieve such greatness- I hope if anything can be taken from this; a lesson can be learned, do not let grief conquer you…Do not be overwhelmed by jealousy and do not fear death- unless you have lived a wretched life such as I have, without a chance to confront your own treachery. Elliana- I should have accepted your death, you deserved to sleep in peace instead I forced you into a cursed form and then rejected what you had become- you have lived several lifetimes of misery because of me"
She shook her head and smiled despite the overflowing tears "you are wrong, I have had the pleasure of watching over our family as it thrived and flourished- the light you have hidden from us for so long was always present- in our children and their children. I have lived a full life now and now that you have returned to me I will go with you to the other side- our children no longer need me nor does my adopted daughter Shirayuki. I shall give the last of my strength to her so that she can recover and then I will follow you in death"
Lythias nodded once and closed his eyes sleepily "if that is what you wish…my last words are for you my darling wife…thank you. Thank you for never losing faith in me- I love you" his words were barely audible as his life faded away. Elliana watched with a blank face as his body turned to dust in her hands; having come to terms with the fate of her husband and for the fate she had decided for herself, she stood wordlessly refusing to give in to her grief.
Zen stepped towards her in frustration "Elliana! I have already had to sit beside Shirayuki as she lost you once- do you really mean to make her go through that again!" Elliana smiled faintly "she is strong, she has her true family beside her now and without my strength she will remain asleep for a long time- the energy she spent fighting Lythias has all but killed her- had she fought any longer she would have died. You can use that bottle in your hand to revive her; but would she thank you when it can be used to bring Zura back? I am ready to rest with my husband now and if the end of my life means that she can live…well, you already know my decision"
Zen sighed in defeat, Elliana's mind was made up and there was no way he could change it. The thought that Shirayuki could remain asleep for an unforeseeable time also swayed his decision to accept her fate himself. Elliana began her last walk upon the earth with a peaceful smile on her face- she had not received the end she envisioned for her and her love, but she was satisfied with the outcome, fate worked in funny ways and she trusted that all was as it should be. Would Lythias really have seen the light if he had been given a different shell? It was death that ultimately saved him from his darkness.
Once they returned, Elliana turned to Zen "I must go and return to the earth, when I have spread my roots once more bring Shirayuki to me" Zen nodded and grabbed her hand warmly "you do not need to walk to your death alone…great grandmother, allow me the honour of escorting you if it shall ease any fear" Elliana smiled in amusement "I have experienced death before my dear grandson, it is not to be feared by one so pure as yourself- I do not fear it because the fear of death is really just the fear of the unknown- I already know what awaits me" she squeezed his hand gently in gratitude "once again Zen I must ask you to look after Shirayuki- though I know she is no longer alone, she never has been"
He grinned confidently "I swear to you I will make her happy" they entered the acorn garden and Elliana returned to the spot where she dwelled. Everyone else entered the garden and watched with deep respect for Elliana as her roots embedded themselves into the ground once more. Zen blinked against hot tears as Izana entered the Garden with Shirayuki asleep in his arms; he passed her to Zen who kissed her forehead before setting her down before Elliana.
The earth below them rumbled slightly as a great tree root emerged; it reached over and wrapped itself around Shirayuki. Everyone watched in awe as a bright light radiated from the roots as Elliana transferred all of her remaining strength into Shirayuki. Izana placed a consoling arm around Zen as mixed emotions surged through them.
A time of great pain was now past them and a time of healing was to follow…but healing processes are not always painless, Shirayuki was yet to wake and hear of the fate of Elliana. People were still grieving the loss of their loved ones and they had yet to return to Clarines- the home they fled as it burned. Zen knew that before he could run off into the sunset with his love and become King of Tanbarun he needed to help his brother rebuild their destroyed home and help his people in their healing process.
Before dwelling too much on the vast amount of work ahead of them Zen allowed himself a moment of contentment as he watched Shirayuki open her eyes. Zen knelt beside her and pulled her close, knowing he could hold her like this without any fear of the consequences filled him with more joy than he could ever express with words. He kissed her softly and stroked her hair as she blinked in confusion "Zen? What happened?" she sat up and turned to face the large tree behind her, she placed a hand on it gently and sniffled "Elliana…her soul is gone…why?"
Zen opened his hand and presented Lythias' departing gift "You need only know that she gave her life so that you could live yours, Elliana and Lythias are resting together now and Lythias sent this to you so that you can restore Zura" her head lowered "I…I failed, Zen where did I send Lythias? Did…did I kill him?" he wrapped his arms around her protectively "no! No of course you didn't! You were exhausted Shiri, you lost control at the last second and fused him to a nearby tree but he was alive"
She wiped her eyes and shook her head "you and I both know those trees were all dead, he wouldn't have died straight away but his fate was sealed…Elliana, I am so sorry! I was meant to bring him back to you!" she leaned on the tree as she sobbed. Zen watched powerlessly as she once again fell into a pain he could not erase.
Shirayuki's eyes widened suddenly and she fell silent. She could sense the tree's soul reaching out to her, this soul had shared the tree's shell with Elliana- it knew her and it wanted Shirayuki to know; all was well. Shirayuki could almost hear Elliana's words 'do not mourn me, I am at peace'. Slowly Shirayuki smiled and straightened up. She turned around and looked into the faces of those who had also greatly suffered "come on everyone; lets go home!"
Ok so I found this a strangely emotional chapter to write haha, possibly because I'm approaching the end in the next few chapters- so rest assured I'm not done yet. I hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it and as always I greatly appreciate the support and comments and follows etc bye for now
