Chapter 99 - Light Bearer

Alexa heard Alexander's desperate voice telling her,

~ No! Don't! ~

And the prophetess said, with a smile on her toothless mouth,

"Maiden, you chose to know. And knowing, you must choose."

The Princess felt her muscles tighten in tension, and her voice came out in a rush,

"I'll do it! What is necessary?"

~ Alexa! It's your life! You shouldn't ...! ~

"Alexander," she said out loud, "many people sacrificed themselves for me to live. Even you, who didn't know me, inadvertently tried to help me. My life only exists because other people have also given me pieces of their lives!"

~ Anyway! You can't...! ~

"If you refuse, Alexander, there's no purpose in anything else. This journey or anything we can do for you!" Alexa reacted to her husband's nervousness with a threat.

~ But it's going too far! ~

"Our fates are bound by an oath."

"It is not just an oath that binds them, but there's no reason to delay! And no time for that, either," Sigrid interrupted. Taking the bowl of water carefully, she said to the Princess and the Bird, "To the top. The light from the lighthouse will elude Death at the right time, maiden."

The words of the prophetess Sigrid left Alexa confused for a moment, but she rushed for the door and found Magnus.

The First Prince didn't even disguise that he had heard much of the conversation. Taking the maiden's arm suddenly, he asked, looking her in the eye,

"Are you going to give him part of your life?"

"I'm just following your advice," she said, avoiding his gaze. He had said that she must be happy with Alexander. "For me to live happily with him, he needs to live, don't you think?"

Those were definitely not the words Magnus expected to hear at that moment, and Alexa even saw his Adam's apple move when he swallowed,

"Do you believe what she said? Do you believe is it possible? What if it's just a trap for the son of a man she hates?"

"Magnus… Yes, I believe it can be done. I believe that Death can be deceived. You are proof that it's possible."

"But at what price?"

"Nothing is too expensive if someone is willing to pay," she said, and the witch pushed them up the stairs without delay,

Magnus and Alexa looked at each other, but followed with Sigrid, as did Konrad. Alexa helped the pythoness to climb the steps. Romeo was still on her shoulder, firmly clinging to the fabric of her cloak.

Alexa had never been on top of a lighthouse before. It was a room with no walls, just columns blackened by soot, on seven of the eight sides. The pyre was in the center, surrounded by movable metal plates. The heat was uncomfortable, and it was difficult to see because of the burning the coal particles produced when it came into contact with the eyes. She protected the poor nightingale with the tip of her cloak.

"Turn off the lighthouse now! When the time comes, you must be ready to quickly turn on the lighthouse again. If it doesn't happen, the maiden will really die," said the pythoness, and the Princess didn't quite understand what they should do.

Konrad spoke to Magnus,

"If we are going to do this, we can just close the pyre for a few moments,"

He showed windlasses and pulleys that rose from the lower floor and supported the metal plates. Winches could activate the mechanism, without the keepers of the lighthouse had to come to the pyre.

The air up there was hard to breathe, and the old blind woman started coughing,

"Go, the moon will be back in moments!"

Magnus and Konrad went down to handle the mechanics of the lighthouse, and Alexa looked at the darkness around the lighthouse. She couldn't see anything, and she only knew which way the continent was because of the wall. The crackle of the fire and the noise of the sea were mixing and becoming a single disturbing loud noise in her mind.

Taking the bird carefully in her hands, she lifted Romeo up to her eyes. The nervousness of the soul taking shelter in that little body showed through the rapid breathing and racing heartbeat,

"The most that will happen, Alexander, is that we are going to die together. Then we will meet again."

~ But that's not what we're doing it for. It's for us to live. Don't let go, ~ said Alexander, placing himself on her shoulder again as soon as she allowed it.

The old woman called the maiden to stand beside the bowl of water she put on the floor.

The plates started to move and block the light from the pyre, one by one.

"Look, maiden. Look, Prince. Stare at each other's gaze in the water," said Sigrid. Alexa crouched down and looked into the water. She could see only a girl and a bird.

The igneous reflection of the pyre in the basin was fading, and then the Princess saw. Two young faces. Twins. She and Alexander, side by side, peering at the water with curiosity.

"When darkness envelops you, look into his eyes and look for his body, maiden. Into the water, in the darkness. Only you can find the body," whispered the witch in her ear. For a moment, Alexa was disgusted by Sigrid and her bad breath. Was she having fun at their expense? Why so much excitement?

Darkness fell over the reflection in the water. She saw nothing else. Her hands burst into fire in an unexpected and unprecedented way. It had never happened like this before. So strong and so bright!

The bird shrunk and stuck the small claws on his shoulder, and Alexa heard screams and neighs. What is happening? She wondered, looking at her hands and seeing the flames increase in size.

"Now!"

The maiden brought her hands forward, illuminating the water basin. She saw in the waters multitudes of spirits lost in the sea coming towards her, slowly.

She was the lighthouse they were looking for. She was the Light Bearer.

But that wasn't what she had to do. She had to find Alexander's body. He couldn't see the way back, as he was in the bird's body.

Then, focusing once more, she saw Alexander's soul, different from a Shade. Illuminated by her own light. And the face of the old pythoness looming behind her ...

Then she felt a horrible, penetrating pain in her back, and urged to cough.

The nightingale struggled and flew, while Alexa turned the body defensively. Blood rising up her throat. As a corner of her eye, the maiden noticed Sigrid holding the bloody dagger, with crazy eyes, as the bird tried futilely to attack the pythoness.

'When did she get that dagger?' Alexa wondered, surprised. It would not have been difficult for a rogue to free one of the Princes from a dagger when they're climbing the stairs, but it was quite an achievement for an almost blind woman. But that wasn't important now.

Death. Death was important.

The feeling was the same as the petites morts she practiced, but this time Alexa felt it would be much more difficult to return. Her soul seemed to detach from her body as she was losing consciousness.

"Bring the light back!"

Death was coming for her, while Alexa kept her teeth clenched keeping her breath as long as she could. But it was dizzying, she was being pulled away, into the darkness, to the bottom and into the arms of Death. Her eyelids fluttered when she saw the glow of the lighthouse enveloping her.

And her life's sob got stuck in her throat. Death was no longer waiting for her. Only the emptiness and the darkness that surrounded the Princess.

The light was warding off the darkness, but that was where she had to be.

Alexa's soul threw itself into the darkness, feeling itself dragging a long thread, which stretched and stretched. The light followed her like a comet's tail, clearing her passage.

Then she saw a thread dancing in the darkness. Her light illuminated it enough for Alexa to find it. Her breath was running out, but she needed to catch up.

Stretching and lowering, she tried to touch it with the tip of her finger ...

Then she couldn't take it anymore, and her breath ran out. The Princess's lips parted, letting out the air and a gush of blood.

"I'm dead?" the absurd question floated through her mind in the chaos of disconnected information.

With her eyes half-closed, the maiden saw the pythoness throw herself on the pyre. In her mind, it looked like the crazy and wise old woman danced insanely while her body burned and blackened, before she bent and disappeared into the flames.

She saw Alexander, not the bird, but the soul, bend over her and try futilely to help her stop bleeding. However, the pain was passing and Alexa felt strangely numb.

Magnus bent over her, lifting her in his arms as if she weighed no more than a leaf.

'Is he carrying my body or my soul?' Alexa watched the world spun and go by as he quickly went down the winding stairs. 'Am I light because I died?'

The gust of sea air entered her nostrils like a balm. No, she wasn't dead. At least not yet. She looked into Magnus' golden eyes, trying to fight to stay conscious, 'You look so distressed!'

"What's going on here?" Alexa heard the voice of Prince Gutard, inquisitive and imperious. It mattered little, in the back of her mind.

The maiden's eyes wandered to the horizon, with little control. The feeling of being engulfed by death, this time, took her by surprise. Alexa sucked in the air, trying to fight against it,

"Ahh!"

The moon was in the sky again, as were the stars.