Following at the back of the group, Antonio rode his horse through the last of the trees, and emerged into the clearing where they could finally see what lay before them, a sight he had not seen so closely in seven years.
The Royal Palace of Stulikya.
The party had left their encampment at the crack of dawn, with the plan to reach Tark at least an hour or so before the wedding took place at noon. Naktakė had already flown ahead to scope the venue, accompanied by Lilli in her swan form. The rest of them had rode their horses through the last stretch of forest, with Lenka now riding with Basch and planning to stick with him as much as possible.
Their plan at the moment was as straightforward as possible. They would ride into Tark, regroup with Gilbert and Kiku, then figure out what needs to happen from there. If any strategic maneuvers needed to happen, or if Natalya and her band of dwarfs suddenly showed up, Lilli and Naktakė would report to Tolys as soon as possible.
As they rode through the clearing, the first section they passed was an enclosed area for Tark's cemetery. Antonio's gaze fixed itself on the monumental chapel of stone in the centre, marking the entrance to the crypt where members of the Royal Family were buried. He remembered that Katerina would be in there now, and that he had promised to visit her grave and pay his respects the moment he returned to Tark after the war.
"Antonio?"
Antonio suddenly snapped from his thoughts and looked around, realizing he and his horse had stopped right at the entrance of the cemetery. He turned to look ahead, seeing that everyone was waiting for him at the far edge of the cemetery, grouped together and watching him.
"Antonio, what are you doing?" Arthur called out again, "Castle's this way, come on!"
Antonio took a deep breath, before looking over at the stone chapel again. He knew he should carry on to the palace, where there was a wedding to possibly intervene on. And yet, he had this soul-wrenching gut feeling that he needed to visit her grave immediately, that it could not wait until later.
"I have to see her, it can't wait," Antonio shouted back at the others as he dismounted his horse, "You all ride ahead, I can catch up and find my way through the palace."
"Antonio, now's not the time for this!" Alfred yelled, "You can come back later, it's not like she's going anywhere!"
Antonio ignored his cousin's shouting as he ran through the cemetery up to the stone chapel. The monument enclosed a set of stairs that went deep into the ground, which Antonio hastily climbed down into the royal crypt. At the bottom, he grabbed one of the torches off the wall, which were always kept lit by the graveyard attendant for those who wished to look upon the royal dead. He marched through the crypt towards the far end with the newest tombs, stopping in the last room as his eyes fixed on what lay before him.
On the right side of the room stood a glass coffin, a bit weathered with time but recently cleared of dust, in which she rested.
"Katya," Antonio muttered.
He slowly approached the coffin, raising the torch above to illuminate the dead Stulikyan princess. She still looked just as beautiful as he last remembered, no trace of her death deteriorating her appearance over the long years. Her platinum blonde hair had been braided, and lay across the right shoulder of her pure white gown, which was simple in design and minimally adorned.
"He's down at the end!"
Hearing the familiar voice and approaching footsteps, Antonio stepped back to look down the hallway. Lovino was coming in with the other torch in his hands, followed by Madeline, Arthur and Tolys.
"Did you really have to do this now, Antonio?" Lovino chided, "You could've come back after the wedding, you know."
"Gut instinct, it had to be now," Antonio justified, "Why did you all come?"
"I also wish to pay my respects," Madeline explained as Lovino put his torch in one of the holders on the wall, "It was because of me that the two of you were separated seven years ago."
"I want to confirm that she was indeed Ukraine," Arthur supported as they all piled into the room, "Another possible connection to my world, after all."
"The others have gone ahead to enter the palace," Tolys reported as Madeline and Arthur both approached to look at the casket, "We decided to split into the two groups and reassemble in time for the wedding. I chose to stick with Madeline and Arthur, while Lovino wanted to criticize you for being a fool."
"Fuck off," Lovino rebuked, "I can show sympathy, you know."
"Would you both please manage your tones?" Madeline reprimanded, "We're in the presence of the royal dead, please show a little respect."
"Princess Katerina was indeed Ukraine," Arthur identified, "It's a pity that she died six years before my arrival here, perhaps I could've helped prevent her assassination, or figure out who did it. Antonio, you said it was a gut instinct to come down here right away, rather than wait for later?"
"Yes, I couldn't resist it," Antonio verified, "The feeling was overwhelming."
"Why don't we all go back into the other room," Madeline directed, "We'll give Antonio a few moments to grieve, before we head out to the palace."
Antonio couldn't help but notice the strange look on Arthur's face as he left the side of the coffin, as if he were thinking heavily on something. After waving Arthur past to follow Tolys and Lovino out of the room, Madeline pointed at the wall just above Antonio's head. He turned to see the torch holder on the wall, and realized that's where he could put the torch he was still holding. He reached over and did so, then turned back to see Madeline leaving the room last.
Now that he was alone with Katerina again, Antonio approached her coffin, leaning on the edge of the glass just above her face. Her eyelids were closed, hiding those purple irises that were filled with love and kindness in every glance, and her pink lips were slightly parted. Her hands were draped in front of her, holding below her chest a bouquet of flowers that had long ago withered away before her.
As Antonio observed her, droplets of water fell onto the casket, and it took him a minute to realize he was crying.
"I should've returned sooner," Antonio weeped, "I tried, Katya, but I could not escape the war. I wanted to see you again, I would've married you already if you were still alive. I failed you, Katya, I'm so sorry."
Antonio propped his arm onto the glass, before laying his head on it as he sobbed heavily for a moment. If only he had returned in a few months rather than several years, they could've been together. Even if his birth spell had been meant for her, there's no way it could still work after all this time.
As his sobbing calmed down a bit, Antonio heard the others whispering from the other room, and did his best to ignore it while he focused on his grief.
"Arthur, that's absurd," Tolys suddenly hissed loudly, "You're talking about desecrating a royal grave!"
"You just said you've seen it happen on the battlefield," Arthur quietly insisted as Antonio raised his head to look at them, "Even in a nice casket like this, there should be some effect after six years."
"What are you talking about?" Antonio demanded, getting the attention of the whisperers, "Why are you discussing the desecration of graves?"
"I believe something's not quite right here, Antonio," Arthur elaborated as he returned into the room, "Tolys and Lovino just confirmed for me, based on their experiences in the war, that corpses decompose in this world the same way they do in mine. You say that Katerina has been dead for more than six years, which means her body would have started decomposing by now, even in a cold and enclosed place like this. And yet, she looks as if she were freshly dead, if she even is dead at all."
"What exactly are you implying?" Antonio pressed as he rose to stand straight, "Are you claiming she might not be dead?"
"There's only one way to be sure," Arthur answered, "We need to open her casket and check for vital signs."
Arthur immediately stepped forward, undid the front hinge and opened the lid of the glass casket. Antonio backed out of the way as he did so, and helped prop the lid open while Arthur reached inside to grab Katerina's arm and pull it out. Antonio watched closely as Arthur pressed his fingers against her wrist and waited a few moments.
"It's hard to feel a pulse, but her body is unusually warm," Arthur observed, "Lovino, I think I need your help with this."
Lovino stepped forward between Arthur and Antonio, and placed his hand on Katerina's arm. Antonio noted that Madeline and Tolys had also entered the room to observe, then turned just in time to watch Lovino's face as his eyes bulged and jaw dropped in shock.
"Her birth spell is active," Lovino announced, "Arthur's right, she's alive!"
"How could she possibly be alive?" Antonio asked, "She's been lying dead here for six years!"
"It's her birth spell that's doing this," Lovino illustrated, "Her fate was that she would be killed as a young woman, but her birth spell makes this only a death-like sleep. She will be woken from her death-like sleep when some undetermined event occurs."
"Her birth spell kept that assassination from permanently killing her?" Madeline figured out, "She can be brought back to life?"
"It's just like those stories Arthur told us," Tolys recalled, "The ones about Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. They are both in death-like sleeps, and are awoken by true love's first kiss. Could something like that be happening here?"
"You might be onto something there, Tolys," Madeline validated, "Antonio's birth spell is that, once in his life, he can bring someone back to life with a kiss."
Just as Madeline mentioned his birth spell, it also dawned on Antonio that it might still work. As he stood there in shock, he hardly noticed his own arm being grabbed by Lovino's right hand. Lovino glanced between the two arms he was holding, Antonio's and Katerina's, before dropping them both in frustration.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Antonio," Lovino groaned, "Your birth spell will break hers! Kiss her already, you fucking fool!"
"I wasn't sure if it would still work," Antonio explained, "If you all think it's still good after six years, then I'll do it."
"Give him some space, Lovino," Arthur suggested, pulling Lovino back from the coffin.
Doing his best to forget about the spectators, Antonio leaned over the coffin and lowered his head towards Katerina's face. He did his best to focus on how beautiful she was, even in whatever death-like sleep she has been subjected to. They still hadn't kissed each other, even all those years ago, so Antonio could only hope that this first kiss would break the spell.
He took a nervous breath, just before his lips brushed against hers and gave a gentle kiss.
Once he released the kiss, Antonio rose his head again, his eyes fixed on her for any trace of the magic working. For the first few moments, there was no reaction, so Antonio took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw Katerina's eyes flicker open and look straight at him.
"Antonio?" she croaked, "Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me," Antonio replied, nearly breaking down into tears again, "My birth spell woke you up."
"My own birth spell kicked in, didn't it?" Katerina immediately moaned as she rolled her eyes, "How long have I been dead?"
"Six and a half years," Antonio answered, "Much has happened in that time, there is lots to tell you about."
As Antonio spoke, Katerina reached her hand up to touch his face, and Antonio felt her thumb brushing a tear away. She then leaned up towards him, and Antonio leaned in to let her kiss him gently this time. All these years, he could only dream of a kiss that would never happen, but now here they were, and it was better than he had hoped for.
After the brief kiss, Katerina finally looked past him, bringing her arms in close and propping herself up on her elbows. Realizing she might be trying to sit up, Antonio moved back and helped support her as she struggled to raise her body.
"Take it slowly, Your Highness," Arthur advised as he approached to help her sit upright, "Your body might need to regain its strength."
"Thank you, sir," Katerina said.
After a moment, with Antonio supporting her back and Arthur gently pulling her arms, she was finally sitting upright in her coffin, and had the chance to look around.
"Hello everyone," Katerina greeted, "I don't believe I've met any of you before, unless I've forgotten you over the years."
"Everyone, this is Princess Katerina of Stulikya," Antonio introduced, "Katya, this is Arthur, there's a lot to explain about him. Behind him are Lovino and Tolys, two Prathagean rangers who have been serving me and Alfred. Last but not least is my cousin, Princess Madeline."
"Princess Madeline," Katerina recognized, "I heard much about you before my death, and about the murder."
"I've heard a lot about you as well, your Highness," Madeline acknowledged, "Prathage is just resolving seven years of civil war, which is why Antonio hasn't been able to return to Tark and visit you until now. There are many things to catch you up on, many tales that all culminate in the wedding that's taking place in just a short while."
"A wedding?" Katerina asked, "Who's getting married?"
"Queen Erzsébet," Tolys answered, "She somehow convinced Prince Ludwig of Ixaidel to marry her."
"Queen Erzsébet?" Katerina tested, her face suddenly turning very serious, "What did she do to my family?"
"It's a long story with many unconfirmed details," Arthur elaborated, "Ivan went missing in the Bueswood five years ago. It was believed that he was killed by a horrid beast, but we've recently uncovered that he might still be alive. As for Natalya, she has joined a band of thieving dwarfs in the forest and has been trying to incite rebellion against the Queen."
"Erzsébet is one of two powerful magic users wreaking havoc on Stulikya, Prathage and Ixaidel," Madeline added, "All three of the Royal Families have been dragged into this mess of connected spells and tangled fates, and all our paths have led us to today's wedding here in Tark."
"We need to stop the wedding, then," Katerina determined, "Erzsébet needs to answer for what she's done to my siblings."
"That's the plan," Antonio confirmed, "Will you join us?"
"Of course I will," Katerina answered, a smirk forming on her face, "I need to have a few words with my wicked sister-in-law."