Chapter 5: Grief and Sorrow
"Lir!" Ariana called out from the turret. A moment later, his Majesty walked out onto the turret from the adjoining room.
"What's wrong dearest?" he asked as he slid an arm around her waist.
"What's that down there?" she questioned and pointed to the blaze of lights amongst the trees. "They were really bright a minute ago but now they're fading away. What could it be?"
"It's just Schmendrick," he replied with a smile, "He's probably just showing off. There's nothing to worry about." Lir pulled Ariana tighter to him to shield her from the biting wind.
"Come on darling," he said after giving her a comforting kiss, "Let's get everything ready for our guests."
Molly held the Lady Amalthea through the night until her tears subsided.
"Oh, Molly," she said, "How could I have done that to Lir?"
Molly gently ran her hand over Amalthea's back. "He understood milady. He knew what you had to do,"
Amalthea was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm sorry I have been such a bother. For eight years I've wanted nothing more than to be able to cry, hoping that hot tears would purge the grief and sorrow from my soul. When I became a mortal again, all of the regret I've been feeling suddenly magnified and I couldn't bear the pain any longer,"
Molly nodded her head, pretending to understand, but she couldn't quite fathom how one body could harbor that much pain without going mad.
"Thank you for your comfort," Amalthea said, "Go and tend to Schmendrick now. I had no idea how much effort was involved in what he had to do. I am truly sorry for that."
"Oh, he'll be fine in the morning," Molly told her, "he just needs to rest. Besides, if I baby him now, it will only spoil him."
Amalthea laughed a mirthless chuckle and slid beneath her blankets, craving sleep as she had never done before.
"Tomorrow I'll see Lir again. He'll forgive me and everything will be okay," Amalthea thought to herself and then faded into a dreamless slumber.
"Tomorrow I'll see Schmendrick and Molly again, and then Ariana and I can finally be married," Lir thought and he blew out the candle at his bedside. He then pulled Ariana next to him and fell into his eager dreams of happy endings with his bride.