Daughter of Death -Chapter 26 (Patreon)

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CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The dwarves were all crying in anguish. Princess Reina; their beloved mistress and friend was lying dead in the water of the stream surrounded by her own blood.

She’d been found by a woman who called herself ‘Eleonora’; a woman from the local village come out on her way to visit their cottage. The poor thing had been given such a shock to find the young woman pale and motionless from loss of her blood to the stream. Something or someone had attacked Reina and left her body to bleed out in the shallows of the water. Eleonora had even found a knife nearby obviously used to commit the crime!

After all taking their turns cradling the body of their beloved mistress, the dwarves along with Eleonora’s help brought Reina back to Brickwall Cottage in the cart.

On their way there, Eleonora explained her connection to the place. She had been all but betrothed to their dear Errol and having not seen or heard from him came to pay a visit to enquire after him. Ulrich did the difficult task of informing the woman that Errol had died some days ago; his body found already savagely destroyed by wild beasts.

Eleonora went into a faint. She had endured too much today.

Despite having now two women to concern themselves with caring for, the dwarves of Brickwall Cottage managed to take care of the frayed Eleonora and lay their princess in some respectful manner inside the cottage until they could plan proper arrangements for a funeral.

With a bit of something to drink, Eleonora’s temperament changed. “Oh but the girl is so very beautiful! I cannot believe it that she is the beloved Princess of Bayern! All this time hiding here in fear!”

“I’m afraid tis true,” Hulbard lamented.

“And now she...she is gone from us truly!” Oskar proclaimed before bursting into fresh sobs.

“She deserves a funeral befitting of her station,” Eleonora declared some time later when they were all out of tears for the time being as they stared upon the motionless body of Reina lying so peacefully on the makeshift bed in the middle of the sitting room.

“She looks like she could just be sleeping,” Wendall had whispered earlier.

“Ah that she does deserve a proper funeral!” Rutger agreed with Errol’s betrothed. “But how can we folk as simple as we are do such an honour to her?”

“We must bring her back to court!” Eleonora urged, “The people of Bayern must pay their homage to their lost anointed future queen. And then The Court Council can make the funeral arrangements such as she deserves!”

“Ah that is so sensible!” Wilhelm muttered through the wiping of his eyes.

“I shall go back into the village and make the announcement and request an audience with The Dowager Queen so as they can expect you!”

“No! Remember The Queen is the one who set the assassin upon The Princess the first occasion! She must not know!”

“I am sorry I had forgotten! I suppose I am in shock and cannot believe that she would be so evil and deceptive!” Eleonora lamented.

“We shall build beloved Reina a casket and fill it with silks and lay her within it in her best dress—” Wendall spoke eagerly.

“I shall sew her a new garment immediately!” Oskar announced through a fresh sob.

“And then we can place no lid atop it that the people of Bayern may look in and see the beauty of our beloved lady now lost!”

“Let us also allow for windows woven into the branches of the casket that they may behold her face from the sides as we pass by also!” Ulrich added on.

The dwarves and their new acquaintance discussed plans of all sorts for how they would honour dear Reina and bring her back to her palace where her body could be properly laid to rest by its people.

After they were satisfied and comforted with these thoughts, they bid farewell to Eleonora telling her that they would also allow her to return someday to Brickwall that she may have a proper memorial ceremony with them for beloved Errol when such a time of mourning for Reina was passed in respect. The woman was all too gracious and cried tears at this promise.

Though the dwarves insisted, their guest refused an escort with her in her cart back to the village that early evening. She made arrangements to return the next afternoon with an update on her progress in informing the Bayern Council about what she’d uncovered. The dwarves promised The Princess would be ready by then to be taken back home in their funeral procession through the streets.

Before she left, kind Eleonora placed hawthorn berries into the mouth of The Princess –a funeral custom of her family’s she said.

Touched by the gesture, the dwarves thanked her and bid her farewell.

Then they each took turns staying up with the body through the night while Oskar sewed by lamplight a funeral garment for their much adored charge who lay motionless and peaceful until the morning light revealed that her death had in fact not been a nightmare but a very real result from the day before. 

“T’was no dream,” Gus whispered with regret and thus took up a vow of fasting until their princess was laid safely to rest.

He could not foresee that he would have longer to wait than the two days he anticipated...