Silver Rose

Locked Away

Kyrin hid herself away in a locked room. She didn’t eat or sleep. She only wept. Then her tears were spent and she sat staring at her Bracelet night and day.

She had felt an axe plunge into Serio’s breast the day he died because it plunged into her own breast. Their bond was so strong she had felt every pang of pain, every tear, every cry. She heard him calling her; calling her to come to him in his hour of death. But she had been in such agonizing pain; and her mind was so confused, she couldn’t move.

She lay on the floor of their home, while a terrified
Mara stared at her. She gasped and passed out when he died.

She awoke in a bed. Mara sat on the bed. Her
parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and
great-great grandparents all stood around her. She could tell that they knew something was terribly wrong. Kyrin touched her Bracelet. The warmth of living love was gone from it. The coldness meant death.

“Oh, my dear daughter,” her great grandmother Rafzen said, grabbing her hand, “we hurt
in our hearts for your grief. But we have little words
of comfort for none in this room know your
pain.”

Rafzen pushed her reddish-brown hair from
her face and kissed her forehead. All her parents took a turn to kiss her and say an encouraging word. Mara buried her face in her breast and began to cry. Kyrin looked around at the youthful faces of her parents. Their eyes were filled with sadness, but none of them could comprehend exactly how she felt.

“Is there
anything you want?” Her mother asked, sitting on the bed.

“Yes.” Kyrin said.

“What is it, daughter?” She asked.

“I want you to leave. I want all of you
to leave.” Kyrin said. “Leave me alone.”

“Of course my dear,” her father said.
They all began to go.

“You too.” She said looking down at Mara.

Mara looked up.

“I want you to go.” Kyrin said.

“But Mother I want to stay with you!” Mara cried.

Kyrin shook her head.
“No.”

“Please! Please let me stay!”

“Leave me, Mara. Leave me now!” She yelled.

Mara stared at her for a moment. Then she got up, jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.

“Mara!” All her parents called after the girl.

“Kyrin, you should not have yelled and sent
the girl away like that.” Her three “greats”
grandmother, Lanoya, said.

“What do you know?!” Kyrin yelled.

“I know that it was my mother who
brought me comfort when my father died.”
Grandmother Lanoya said.

“And who brought you comfort when your
mother died?” Kyrin asked. “Grandfather Pash, your husband? You want me to comfort her? Who will comfort me?!”

“Oh Kyrin.” Grandmother Rafzen said.
“Get out!” Kyrin screamed. “All of you! Get out! Get
out!”

Silently, they left.




Kyrin sat alone in that room for months. She
thought of when she first met Sario and how she
thought he was beneath her because of his family and low magic skills. She thought of how his goodness and love had finally won her heart. She remembered their wedding day, their lives together, the birth of their child, and how happy they were for so many years. But these thoughts always gave way to the memory of the last day she saw him. How he’d gathered his papers and
essentials and put them in a bag. Then he said goodbye to Mara and her. The kiss he’d given her hadn’t been one of goodbye, but one of a journey with a sure return.

She remembered the way the sunlight shone off his blond hair as he headed toward the realm of men with the rest of his group. Again she watched in her mind his back as he disappeared. If she had known it would be forever…

Then she relived the pain of his death.

After awhile all she could remember was how he died. She held the cold Bracelet in her hand. She began to wonder where the other one was. She thought of him dying all alone in the cursed man’s world. Where was the Bracelet? Only a man or men had been there with him. The Bracelet. They watched him die. The Bracelet was all that was left of their love. They let him die.

He cried out for her. They didn’t let him live long
enough for her to come. Love was dead. They wanted him to die. They didn’t know who he was. They wanted him dead. They had the Bracelet. They didn’t care who he was. They killed him. They had the Bracelet. They took away love. They murdered the only one she loved. They had the Bracelet. They did it… They did it…

“I hate them.”

Kyrin finally emerged from the room. She walked silently through the familiar halls. Entering a
room, she picked out dark clothes, a simple staff, and a gold wreath circlet. She covered herself with a huge black cloak. Then she left home and went into the mountains. There she called to an old friend. The bird, a Handini, who could change its size, swooped down. She talked to him and he agreed to her plan.