Author's Note: A big thank you to Jimli and Paradox Predator who were very quick in reviewing chapter 14 yesterday.
Here is the final chapter of ...
THE WIZARD'S PRICE
CHAPTER 15
With the help of the fairies it took them only two days to reach the castle of King Xavier and Queen Henrietta. The King and Queen were overjoyed to see their daughter again, healthy and more beautiful than ever. Julietta introduced Carl as her fiancée. Seeing their daughter's happiness the King and Queen accepted him wholeheartedly, even before they knew his ancestry.
When Athera introduced Artus to them, they agreed with the plan to make his entry into his country a real occasion. A special courier was sent to inform the regent of the day of King Artus' return. The man came back with the request to postpone the return for a month so it could coincide with Peratha Day.
The people of Peratha all knew the story of the Lost King who would come back one day. It was part of their education. It was part of the celebrations of Peratha Day. Every year on this special holiday, at ten o'clock in the morning the regent would go to King Ludovick's statue where the King's sword was stuck up to its hilt in the stone.
There he would say, "People of Peratha, I am your regent, most recent in a line of regents going all the way back to the day that Queen Kalanta appointed the wizard to reign in the absence of your true king, her son Artus, who is suffering a terrible fate. We will not forget King Artus."
And the people would repeat, "We will not forget King Artus."
For most people it was a bit of folklore, something their forefathers had done. Most only came if the weather was nice, but at least the Lost King lived on in their minds. If this king came back to his people on Peratha Day, they would accept him immediately. That was the regent's opinion and King Xavier agreed.
A few more messages went back and forth between Eburon and Peratha to make sure everything was organised to perfection.
When the time had come a stately procession left the castle. They journeyed leisurely to the capital of Artus' country. King Xavier and Queen Henrietta with Julietta and Zita sat in an open coach richly furnished with silk cushions and covers. Artus and Carl rode either side of the coach and looked admiringly at the girls. They had never seen Zita and Julietta dressed up for a special occasion. The admiring looks went both ways. Carl and Artus looked more like kings than ever before.
In Peratha the wizard, in his guise of regent, had gone to the main square where King Ludovick's statue stood as usual. Instead of giving his speech though, he had stood next to the King's sword, waiting. The people present didn't know what was happening.
Someone whispered to his neighbour, "Do you think he's waiting for the Lost King? Is he perhaps coming back today?"
The question became a rumour that started spreading like a wildfire. More and more people arrived to see the mysterious King. When the regent's wife and the courtiers, as well as Orelia and her sisters arrived rumours became certainty. The square filled up with people. All around every balcony had as many people on it as it could hold and every upper window in every house was open with more people looking out.
At exactly eleven o'clock on Peratha Day, the coach from Eburon, preceded by Artus and Carl arrived in the Main Square of the capital. Artus and Carl dismounted; the royal family descended from the coach, which was sent on to the palace together with the horses.
The regent went to Prince Artus and welcomed him and his company to the kingdom. Then he addressed the assembled crowd.
"People of Peratha, for many years I have been your regent as have others before me, all the way back to the day that Queen Kalanta appointed the wizard to reign in the absence of your true king, her son Artus, who was suffering a terrible fate. From that distant past he has come back, delivered from the dreadful curse that was put on him, to claim his father's sword and with it his throne and country. King Artus, take what is yours."
At this Artus grabbed the sword and not a sound was heard despite all the people who were there. They were primed to see the Lost King return, ready to accept him without question, if indeed he could claim King Ludovick's sword as his. It was as if the whole country held its breath.
Then slowly Artus pulled the sword out of the stone as easy as if it had been in his scabbard. He held it up high to show it to the people standing in the square and looking out of the houses around it. The silence held for a few more seconds then the square erupted in cheers, "Hooray for King Artus! Hooray for our King! Our true King is back! Hooray, Hooray!"
While the cheering went on and on, Artus grabbed Zita's hand and side by side they walked to the palace, followed by the rest of the company. In the large audience room were his advisors and a few courtiers. In some Artus saw family resemblances to the counsellors of his mother. He realised with a shock that the distant ancestors of these people had known him personally and had been there when he had been changed into a beast. He felt a kind of tension in the atmosphere of the room. What did they think? Would they accept him like the people had done? He ignored the knot in his stomach. He was king now. This was what he was raised to do.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, I bring you my father's sword as token of my identity. With this I claim my kingdom and my throne. I know that you and your forefathers before you have been faithful to Peratha and its regents all this time. I count on it that you will show the same loyalty to me, your lawful king."
The ladies curtseyed and the men, including the Regent, bowed. Artus expected them to rise quickly as had been custom but they didn't.
"I remember our court was never stuck in a straightjacket of rules and regulations. So let's not start now," he said. "Please, rise. It must be uncomfortable to stand like that for so long."
At these words the tension left the room. Everyone stood up and started hailing the new king. When the cheering had subsided Artus took Zita by the hand and said, "This is my bride, Zita, your future queen."
Everyone in the room congratulated the King and his bride. Queen Henrietta was moved to tears that her daughter's best friend, her foster child, had made such a good match and shared her joy with her husband. One of the courtiers – second only to the regent – heard the words of the Queen.
"Your Majesty, you have introduced the young lady by your side as your bride," he said addressing Artus, "but is she of suitable birth to be our queen? I have heard an exchange between our guests, King Xavier and Queen Henrietta, that leads me to believe she is not their daughter. It is of the utmost importance that we know her parentage."
Since the day she had said 'yes' to Artus, Zita had been dreading this moment. Her dream was over; they would never accept her.
Artus held Zita closer. Nobody was going to take her away from him. He would resign his throne first. Queen Henrietta leapt to the defence of her foster daughter, "Whatever her background may be, she is worthy of any man, even a king."
"Would you accept a man of doubtful heritage as husband for your daughter, Ma'am?" the man asked. Queen Henrietta had to admit to herself she probably wouldn't and remembered her own reservations about Zita's descent when she first became Julietta's friend.
"Zita saved your king," Carl said angrily. "Queen Kalanta would have accepted her gladly for what she did for Artus. Why is her parentage so important now, when it wouldn't have mattered then?"
"Because times have changed, Sir," the courtier answered simply.
"Clearly not for the better," Carl muttered.
Then Orelia stepped in. "Her ancestry is as good as any here," she said. "Her full name is Felìcita du Montagne. She is the daughter of your regent Bernard du Montagne and his wife Lady Danella, who is my daughter. That makes Zita my granddaughter. She lived with Lady Danella's half-sister for a couple of years, during which time she was tutored by my sister Athera. After that she became the foster child of the King and Queen of Eburon; friend and sister to Princess Julietta. Do you still question her suitability?
"Of course not, Madam, but please understand, I must protect our country from slander. With this small matter cleared up I can only congratulate King Artus and his bride."
Orelia's words had left the people concerned stunned, totally speechless. Finally the truth sank in. Danella was the first to react.
"My daughter? Zita is Felìcita?"
"Mother? You … you're my mother?"
Zita and Danella fell into each other's arms. The wizard Quirinius, known to everyone as Bernard, embraced his wife and daughter together.
A weight had fallen off Artus' shoulders. He had been willing to fight for Zita, even to give up his kingdom but he was relieved he didn't have to.
Everybody wanted to congratulate, kiss, embrace, ask questions, hear answers, but they had to wait. The courtier who'd been worried about the unknown bride of his king, had gone out onto the balcony to announce the happy news to the public below.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," he shouted out with a happy voice, "it is with immense pleasure that I can announce to you the engagement of our King, Artus I with the Lady Felìcita du Montagne, daughter of our beloved regent and his wife. I give you your King and Queen."
Artus and Zita were quickly ushered onto the balcony, followed by Zita's parents. More cheers rang across the square.
"Hooray for our King! Hooray for our Queen! Hooray for King Artus and Queen Felìcita! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!"
When they were finally allowed to leave the balcony they joined their friends and family for an impromptu festive meal that had been arranged for them.
Before the celebration could begin Lady Danella had an important question that needed answering first.
"Why did you leave father and me?" she asked Orelia. "Kalanta married King Ludovick. Couldn't you have married my father?"
"I wanted to, very much, but I had a duty to fulfil," Orelia answered. "When Kalanta left we were weakened and she had no female descendant to take her place. If I had left as well there would have been consequences, floods, avalanches, rockslides. So much pain and suffering for others that I could prevent."
There was bitterness in Danella's voice when she said, "And therefore father and I had to suffer. And then you took my child as well."
Orelia shook her head. "Don't think it was easy to leave you. I fled because I couldn't say goodbye. But it would have been selfish to stay with you and your father. And I didn't take Felìcita from you on a whim. Her friendship with Julietta was essential for the future of Peratha and Eburon."
"They could have become friends anyway. We visited Eburon regularly."
Orelia shook her head.
"Athera saw that future as well, and saw it fail. Due to Julietta's illness they would not have become such close friends. That is providing they ever met. Did you ever see the girls in your many visits to Eburon?"
"No, we didn't," Danella had to acknowledge.
"We worked to get this future where people celebrate the return of their king and Peratha and Eburon are safe from invasion." Orelia sighed. "I sincerely wish it could have been done without causing pain to my daughter and granddaughter, but that was impossible."
"If this was the result you planned for," Zita said quietly, "then it was worth all the pain."
Danella looked at her daughter, the girl she hadn't seen growing up and realised Felìcita was right. Their suffering had resulted in happiness for their people, and also for themselves in the end.
"I'm sorry, mother," Danella said to Orelia. "Quirinius didn't mean to hurt King Ludovick, Queen Kalanta and Artus; you didn't mean to hurt Quirinius, Felìcita, or me. Let's hope the hurting is over now. I just wish I had seen my daughter grow up," she added with a sigh.
"That wish will be granted," Athera said absentmindedly.
She was scolded by Orelia and her sisters for disclosing the future and apologised for the slipup. Zita thought she didn't look too upset about her indiscretion.
Of course there were many more questions asked about the curse, the garden, and the breaking of the curse. It was well past midnight before all questions had finally been answered to everyone's satisfaction.
Four months later the first of two royal weddings was celebrated. Within two weeks the second one took place. The friendship between Artus, Zita, Carl and Julietta continued. They worked hard together to make the life of their people free of worries.
They did have some time for themselves as well. Every year the two couples seemed to disappear from the earth for three weeks. It was their yearly holiday in the garden that had kept its magic for them.
Artus and Zita had several children. Their youngest daughter was named Kalanta, after her grandmother. Kalanta did not like life at the court. She loved to roam the forests and wildernesses of the country. When she was no longer a child but a young woman, she met the fairies and was given the chance to become one of them. She accepted and took the place of her grandmother in their midst and then …
but that is another story.
THE END
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