Deliverance (42 page)

“You know, at first I thought that staying
alone in that castle would be too hard after what happened to
Althea, but the first night I was there, she visited me in a
dream,” Gavril stated.

“Really?” Amelia asked surprisingly. Blaze
straightened up to listen.

“Yes.” Gavril replied, “She told me how
proud she was of the man I’ve become and she knew that I would turn
Daldussa into a great kingdom. And of course, she told me she still
loved me, and before she disappeared, I told her that I would never
stop loving her.”

Amelia nearly cried after hearing Gavril’s
words and Blaze just smiled. Alene then beamed ear to ear and
leaned away from her father and reached her tiny arms out for
Gavril. The three adults laughed as Gavril accepted the little
girl’s gesture.

“And this little one is definitely the
spitting image of Althea,” Gavril stated while holding onto his
granddaughter.

Alene brushed the side of Gavril’s face with
her tiny hands, and he couldn’t help but smile and hold her onto
his shoulder. It was indeed a heartwarming sight and Blaze and
Amelia stood side by side and watched with light hearts as their
daughter rested her head on her grandfather’s shoulder.

The festival continued throughout the day,
and by sunset, a large group of children gathered around the king
and queen as they once again told the story of Cierith’s
liberation. Gareth and Lorn sat in front of the crowd and Alene sat
on her mother’s lap.

Blaze began the story by saying, “Ten years
ago, Queen Amelia fought valiantly against a man who once ruled
Daldussa with cruelty and greed. He took her life away when she was
only a child, but with the love of everyone around her, she was
able to lead her people to defeat him. We hold this festival every
year to celebrate the day she won our freedom.”

Amelia smiled and added, “But if King Blaze
had not protected me and kept me going, I would not have been able
to gain all the courage I had, nor would I have even been alive
without King Gavril’s help. He was and still is worthy of
succeeding the Daldussan throne.”

“Mom, who is going to rule Daldussa after
Grandpa?” Gareth asked.

“Yeah, Gareth is going to be the king after
you guys, right?” Lorn added, “So who will take Grandpa’s
place?”

Gavril, sitting next to Blaze, answered,
“You will, Lorn.”

“I’m going to be a king too?” Lorn asked
with an excited smile.

“That’s right, Lorn.” Blaze replied, “You
and your brother will rule each a kingdom. I want you both to
always keep an alliance between the Cierith and Daldussa when you
are both kings and if another kingdom threatens one of you, I want
you to promise that you will come to the other’s aid and defend
them.”

“Okay, I promise,” Lorn said with a
smile.

“Me too!” Gareth added with a silly
grin.

“What about Alene, though?” Lorn asked,
“What will she do?”

“Alene will be able to be whoever she wants
to be,” Amelia answered. She then looked down at her daughter, who
was fast asleep against her breast, and said, “And she will never
be put down or prevented from doing so.”

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

Brittany Comeaux lives with her husband and
daughter in Eunice, LA. When she isn't writing, she is spending
time with her family, drawing, or checking out the latest
games.

Like her on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/brittanycomeauxauthor