Chapter 17
"Funeral for a Hero"
Ariel was still thinking of her conversation with Villeneuve as they left France and headed for England to remember the life of Admiral Nelson, who had been lying in state in London during the time that they were in Paris. The funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral was only just another piece of sorrow that Ariel and her family had to endure, which was something that they didn't need right now.
However, for all of the British Empire, it was a chance to bid farewell to probably one of the greatest admirals to ever serve in the Royal Navy. Villeneuve was also in attendance, but in chains, because he was a prisoner of war. After all, Villeneuve had a tremendous amount of respect for his equal, despite their duel at Trafalgar.
"Heavenly father," said the Archbishop of Canterbury as he stood over the casket. "We ask you to watch over our beloved son, Horatio, as he dwells in your house now and forever. We ask you to bless his family and our beloved king and his people in the days to come. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who lives within you in the community of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen."
At that moment, the cathedral was filled with powerful organ music as one of England's greatest hymns was performed by the church choir.
O love of God, how strong and true!
Eternal, and yet ever new;
Uncomprehended and unbought,
Beyond all knowledge and all thought.
O love of God, how deep and great!
Far deeper than man's deepest hate;
Self fed, self kindled, like the light,
Changeless, eternal, infinite.
O heavenly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill,
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless!
O wide embracing, wondrous love!
We read thee in the sky above,
We read thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell, and streams that flow.
We read thee best in Him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame;
Sent by the Father from on high,
Our life to live, our death to die.
We read thy power to bless and save,
E'en in the darkness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light,
We read the fullness of thy might.
O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way!
Eternal love, in thee we rest
Forever safe, forever blest.
During the hymn, Melody continually held on to John's hand as he struggled to hold back his emotions. Finally, as the hymn reached its climax, he bowed his head and sobbed quietly as he buried himself into Melody's chest.
"It's all right, John," she whispered. "You can cry, it's all right. Your father would approve of it."
This took notice from Ariel and Eric, who noticed that John was finally releasing his pent up emotions that he had been harboring since the battle of Trafalgar. In fact, Ariel was also getting emotional a little bit herself, thinking back to when her mother was laid to rest in Atlantica.
Finally, after several more readings and the distribution of communion, the time had come for Admiral Nelson to be laid to rest in a sarcophagus in the spot where his funeral was. Only John and his family were presented while the Danish royal family were invited to Buckingham Palace for a reception hosted by his highness, King George III.
"That was a beautiful service, wasn't it?" remarked Ariel as she and Eric stood on the balcony overlooking the city of London. "It kind of reminds me of when my mother was laid to rest."
"I know how you feel, Ariel," replied Eric. "My parents' funerals didn't have this much pageantry when you think about it. I can only imagine how John must feel."
The two monarchs then looked over to a black carriage that was pulling into the courtyard by two white stallions. Once it came to a complete stop, John and Melody were the first to emerge followed by the rest of John's family. This brought great comfort to Ariel and Eric when they saw their only child standing by John's side.
"Well, I can say one thing," said Eric. "It's very nice that Melody is being supportive of him. It's another reminder of how far we have come, Ariel."
"Indeed so, Eric," remarked Ariel, as a light rain began to fall once again. "Indeed so."
Not wanting to get her purple gown wet, Ariel went back inside with her husband as the Nelson family walked into the reception hall.
As she walked back inside, Ariel began to think of what her father was going through at that moment and sure enough, Triton and his mersoldiers had returned to Atlantica and now the king of the undersea kingdom was floating over the grave of Queen Athena.
"Oh, my dear Athena," sighed Triton. "I have finally sought my revenge against the humans who took you away from me. It has never been easy for me to not have you by my side after all these years. I just wish you could be here by my side to see how your children have grown up into beautiful young mermaids."
Triton then bent down to place an undersea flower at his wife's grave and quietly said a silent prayer while Sebastian and the rest of his entourage watched from a short distance.
"Your majesty," said Sebastian, sadly and out of respect for his king. "If only we could take away the pain dat you hold inside."
Triton continued to stand in front of his wife's grave for a moment and as he stood, he thought of everything that had happened up until that moment including the moment when he destroyed Ariel's grotto out of anger that she had fallen in love with Eric.
To this day, he still regretted that moment greatly and even though he had apologized to Ariel long ago, Triton wished he would go back and fix everything, but he couldn't. Like Ariel dealing with the aftermath of her assault by Admiral Pelley, he had to move on with his life, even if it wasn't easy.
Still, on the bright side, there were moments that were yet to be cherished to help get the minds off of the recent events that had transpired…