Chapter 27: The End
I lose my arm in the war, others have lost far more. But even more could've lost near everything. The dead are counted, and although the numbers are higher than I'd have liked they are not as high as I had feared. The emergency medic tents are set at the base of the disastrous Sibern. The ruins cast longer shadows then they have any business doing. My fellow espada start addressing me as king before any of them get the courage to tell me the news. My father perished when the charges at Hueco Mundo were detonated. The news is heavy, be it due to the death of my father or the crown I now wear I don't know.
From what I can piece together from different renditions, the charges were set. My father in the first selfless act he has ever done stayed behind, let his illusions lure the enemy to the island. Isshin and the Espada flood the path cutting off any point of retreat as my father ignites the fuses. The volcano erupts as planned, killing thousands and reducing the island to the inhabitable prison it was meant to be. Stories of an intense light are also thrown around. Some attribute it to divine intervention, but I know the truth. It is the same light the mohawk soldier spoke of. The one that absorbed the subjects back to feed Yhwach's own insatiable hunger for power.
My coronation ceremony is short and economical, no one willing to spare the time or resources on frivolous parties. I stand at the head of the camp alone. Both Ichigo and Starrk remain unconscious in and have yet to show sins of stirring. Ichigo is hopeful to awake soon I hear, no one shares a similar diagnosis with Uryu. The pale boy remains by his love's bedside. His face is grey and full of despair. You can see the guilt that weights heavily on his soul. Should my dearest friend not awaken I shall hold his reckless actions against him, but as of now he's blaming himself enough for the both of us.
Despite the promises that Ichigo would wake soon it is actually Starrk that comes to first. Uryu who has been crying for days sheds his last tears in utter joy when his eyes flutter open and he asks for assurance that Uryu will still marry him. I wish I could join them in their joy, but I wander back to my husband's cot after making sure Starrk really is going to be alright. Days pass and still Ichigo has yet to awaken. The final dead are counted, and a pyre is lite to honour their sacrifice. Being the newly crowned king I can't be completely selfish and remain by Ichigo's side indefinitely. While paying my respects and leading the ceremony Starrk and Uryu stay behind to keep my beloved company. Ichigo's sisters are absent as well and remain vigil next to his sleeping form.
The temporary camp is deconstructed around us, the medical tent the last to be dismantled. Only Ichigo remains immobilized after the battle. All others have made the long journey to the Seireitei. Ichigo is bundled into the caravan and accompanied by his sisters. Shinji joins him in the back while Isshin and I ride horses alongside. There is very little threat of attack but even so neither Ichigo's father nor I can fully relax. Neither of us completely convinced the threat is over.
Isshin the ever-gracious host allows my people to take up residency in the abandoned city of Memoriam Athenaeum. Soon the city is bustling with life as my people settle into their new home. The weight of an impending war lifted as they dance and host parties of their own again. I smile at my people as I pass they sing their praise and throw petals and rice as we ride past to the keep at the top. I smile and act kingly as I have been taught but my smile falls behind closed doors.
I am taken to a more lavish room than when Ichigo and I had made a home here for a short while. The chamber suited for a king Isshin says sadly clasping my shoulder as he takes up a separate chamber in the royal wing. His family will be remaining here while Ichigo recovers. I have no doubt this is bound to strain the king's advisors back at the Seireitei but he brushes off my concerns. He speaks fondly of his advisors over dinner one night. One quite sickly and another a lazy bastard he claims but he smiles fondly, stating them to be his closest and sometimes only friends.
Our nightly dinners become more and more sombre as Ichigo refuses to awaken. The healers say the issue lays with his soul. Isshin and I don't share dinner that night. The move Ichigo's limp body into my chambers upon my insistence. Should he ever awake I fear for him to be alone. The healers come and go out of the royal wing like they belong there. A few months pass in this limbo. They are the longest months of my life.
My people are thriving. The city impenetrable to any but the largest of forces and nothing of the sort resides any longer in our lands. The first time in decades a midwife is called to a small farming house. The couple there is with child. The older couple is quite shocked and awed by the news. Having wanted children for a while but without the means to leave Huco Mundo and their land like others to grow their family. The city rightly so celebrates the joyous news. The streets fill with people, food and drink flow freely and for the first time in months I feel a genuine smile grace my face watching the fanfare. My people are thriving.
That night when the festivities have grown quiet and the last few wander home to bed I enter the throne room. Despite not being used the place is spotless. The staff keeping it clean for when Ichigo and I eventually take our place. All official affairs have been conducted in smaller chambers as the need to impress potential allies or intimidate foes haven't come to pass. I walk around the room hating how my footsteps echo in the darkness. I meander through till I stand in-front of the entrance to the library. The stone door imperceivable in the low light. I push it open from memory, grab a torch and descend the steps.
The stone ceiling weighs heavy and I am reminded of the architecture of the dismal Sibern palace. The place seems untouched by time. The stream as it has always been and probably always will be. I cross it, enter the library and wonder through the shelves. I know where I wish to go, however find myself in need of courage to venture back to the vexing mural. The floating lights seem warmer and more inviting then when I was last here. I dare say they seem to dance among each other as if in a playful mood.
The Numine Mensam is clear and organized, nothing like the mess I had left it those long months ago. The whole library has a clam order to it now, no longer the oppressive dark cavern it once was. I avoid looking at the mural for as long as I possibly can. Until my morbid curiosity gets the better of me. I take the image in slowly. Looking at the figures and how they have changed. Wine flows heavy from urns and food is plentiful. The gods celebrate like the people in the street above my head. Beyone nearly out of sight I see figures guarding the parameter of the feast. Their backs to their masters as they survey the territory. I recognize a few but one catches my eye. He stands back strait and gaze unwavering to the unknown beyond. A silhouette of a mask I know well, now with a broken horn. I wish a weight was lifted from my soul but I find it as heavy as before. I turn and leave the horrid place.
Ascending the stairs, I take each step slowly, head bowed in contemplation. I close the heavy stone door and pray to never have a reason to open it once again. I walk back to my room in much the same manner. I had briefly entertained the thought of sealing the door to the library forever. It wouldn't be my place to do so and should ever there be a reason to go down there again for me or my future kin I would not wish to disadvantage them from the knowledge the magical place holds.
I pass the last of the healers for the night as they exit the royal wing. Their flat faces tell me no good nor poor developments have arisen of my dear husband's condition. The fire in the shared sitting room is down to embers, the Kurosaki's retiring to bed long before. I enter my room as I have done every night since Ichigo has joined me. With bated breath only to sigh it out when no change has come.
I sit on the edge of the bed and disrobe. Toeing off my boots as I work the fastenings of my jacket. It takes longer but I have finally gotten the hang of it that I no longer require a valet. I strip to my small clothes, and groan as I lay down. Maybe I am the old man Ichigo teased me of. I smile fondly at the memory. I lean over brush a kiss against his cheek and turn the gas lamp down. Sleep like most nights takes a while to come. My mind still plagued by nightmares and regrets. I will sleep fitfully as I have for these past months I am sure.
It is just as the new morning sun starts to peak over the horizon that I am cruelly awakened with my pillow being torn from under my head and a hoarse voice saying
"You didn't use to snore".
Ichigo's gorgeous amber eyes look back at me. I feel tears stream from my face as I curl into his warmth. I know I should call someone. Have a healer look him over but for now he is all mine. I bury my wet face into his chest I feel his hand pet my hair as we simply share each other's warmth. We both just need a moment to feel, to be together.
