The Lesser Evil - 16. Epilogue

The whole neighborhood in the small rural town in the western part of Ahrabet was alerted that morning. Loud cries and shouts could be heard coming from a small farm house on the corner, leaving many to wonder what was happening.

As old Mrs Browne slowly hobbled along the dirt path, on her way to one of her friends, she had to stop for a moment, curiously eyeing the Kinsleye farm. What on earth could be happening inside to cause such a commotion, and so early in the morning?

Just as she contemplated whether to give in to her curiosity and come up with an excuse to go inside, the door burst open and a young girl ran out, smiling and laughing, her curly black hair bouncing as she hopped across the yard. The girl’s mother quickly came out, rushing after her.

“Marcella, slow down! Be careful, you could hurt yourself!”

“Mom, I’m telling you, I’m fine,” the girl didn’t even look back, proceeding to run toward the family dog that began excitedly barking and jumping at her.

Mrs Browne had to hold onto the fence to keep herself from falling as she watched the scene in shock and confusion. She had barely seen the girl outside ever since that accident, but now there she was running about, the smile on her face brighter than the sun.

“Irvette, what is happening?”

“Oh, Mrs Browne, it’s a miracle!” the woman replied, running fingers through her messy hair. Her eyes were red from crying. “Kenelm and I are just… we have no idea how it happened. She woke us up at the break of dawn, shouting. When we opened our eyes, she was standing at the door. Oh, I nearly fainted!”

“That is a miracle indeed,” the old woman whispered in awe, looking up at the sky. “Heavens be praised!”

“It was an angel!” Marcella said as she ran over, the dog still jumping around her, as happy as she was.

“She had a crazy dream,” the mother shook her head as she hugged her daughter, patting her on the head.

“It wasn’t a dream,” the girl insisted. “It was a… a vision. An angel came from the heavens and healed me. Dad, you believe me, don’t you?” she asked, turning to look at her father as he came out of the house.

“Of course, honey,” the man approached her, hugging her from the other side. There was no doubt that he had been crying too, but the wide grin on his face showed that they were tears of joy. “And we will pray to him every day to thank him for this miracle.”

“That’s right. We’ll…” Irvette sobbed, stopping to wipe her nose with her sleeve. Even now she could barely keep it together, still on the verge of bursting into tears. “We’ll thank him every day for bringing such joy to this family.”

“I have to go tell grandma and grandpa!” the girl suddenly decided, extricating herself from her parents’ hug and opening the wooden gate, running out with the dog following close by. “Come on, Ed! Let’s go!”

The three adults remained standing at the fence, looking in wonder at the girl as she ran down the street with renewed enthusiasm. She could finally go outside whenever she pleased, make friends, play with the farm animals and help her parents instead of feeling like a burden. She could feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin. Full of life and joy, she scampered through the town with a beaming smile, silently thanking her guardian angel.

~~

Summer was slowly fading into autumn when renovations on the Temple of Dawn were finally completed. Traces of the great fire that almost destroyed it remained only in the memory of Ossvale residents. As people passed it by, they could witness the same grandiose temple they knew, with strong white walls and golden arches, but with some changes as well. One of them was a large memorial plaque for its former high priestess Helga, placed in a prominent spot outside the temple entrance. It was built by Reiff himself, in honor and memory of his wife. It was the first thing he had made in years, though it would not be the last, as he was heavily involved in the renovations, working full time at his reopened shop.

The biggest changes, however, were not so obvious from the outside. As the high priestess, Giselle became the new leader of the temple, working hard to improve the church’s reputation tainted by Agilmar.

“As if I needed another reason to avoid going there,” Isolde grumbled as she and Ida passed the building on their way to the cemetery. “She must be on top of the world now that she’s in charge.”

Ida let out a chuckle, amused by her sister’s annoyance. “Say what you want about Giselle, but she’s a good priestess. Certainly better than… him.”

“Yeah,” Isolde frowned at the mention of their father. “Not exactly a high bar to reach.”

“Do you know what Edwin used to call her? Broomstick-up-her-ass,” the younger sister said, drawing out a snicker from Isolde. “She’s very serious about her work, I’ll give her that, but she should learn to relax once in a while.”

“She needs to get laid,” the older sister replied bluntly.

Ida burst into laughter, drawing looks from a few passersby on the street, but she paid them no mind. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed. Lately, it didn’t seem like there was much reason for that. Still, she had her sister and that was enough. Even if they had no one else, they had each other.

“How do you think Sigrid and Reiff convinced father to turn himself in?” she suddenly asked. Isolde didn’t like talking about Agilmar, but Ida was curious enough to try. All she knew was that the two had escorted the former high priest to the royal guards, where he admitted to abducting Helga and Ida, as well as killing Mildburg. Since Helga’s body was never found, and Agilmar could not explain where it was, he was convicted of murdering her as well.

“I don’t have a clue. They wouldn’t tell me,” Isolde shrugged. “But whatever they threatened him with must’ve been worse than spending your life in jail. He deserves nothing less.”

“At least something good came out of this,” Ida said, glancing at the house by the temple where she and Isolde used to live, and which now served as a shelter for the homeless.

“Yeah, it’s good what they did with it,” the other sister agreed. “Do you miss it? You lived there longer than I have.”

“No… Yes. Sometimes, I suppose. I miss what the house used to be. Back when mother was alive, when we were all together. But I couldn’t live there any longer. I’m fine living at Edwin’s place. I don’t know, I feel like I’m keeping him alive by being there.”

The rest of the walk to the cemetery passed in silence, each sister lost in their own thoughts. When they finally passed through the old iron gates, they turned right, heading toward the spot they had visited many times over the past few months.

With a heavy heart, Ida knelt next to Edwin’s grave, a simple stone with the words ‘Edwin Kinsleye’ carved in large letters. She held her breath, placing a small bouquet over it – an assortment of wildflowers gathered with love. Like every other time, the familiar wetness of tears rolling down her cheeks was accompanied by a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. Isolde stood behind her, hiding her own tears from her sister.

“It feels strange coming here,” the older sister spoke first after a while. “His body is buried here, but we know he’s still out there. He’s not really dead.”

“I know. That’s something I have to keep telling myself. Even though we can’t be with him anymore, at least he’s out there somewhere. An angel.”

“At least that’s what the demon said.”

“I believe him,” Ida said confidently. “It sounds exactly like something Edwin would do, and I don’t blame him for it. He had to try and help his sister. I’d do the same for you. And Lothar… I’m sure he didn’t want things to end this way either. He cares about him, you know. Perhaps even more than us.”

The sisters walked back home together until they reached the trinket shop. Although she had no skills, Ida was training hard to be able to craft and repair jewelry. It was her way of keeping the memory of Edwin alive and staying connected to him even if he was no longer there. Besides, she was beginning to enjoy the work and the little chats with customers who came to the shop. Each of them had something nice to say about Edwin. It always brought a tear to the girl’s eye, but it also made her happy.

“Will you come by later?” she asked Isolde before the older sister went to her own house.

“Of course. I’ve got some axes to finish first. Can you imagine, the royal guards asked me to make some weapons for them.”

“That is great!” Ida’s eyes lit up. “Next thing, you’ll be making weapons and shields for the king himself!”

“I hope not. I can’t do that fancy design he loves so much,” Isolde shook her head as she turned to leave, but not before Ida observed a small smile appearing on her lips. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“I’ll have the ale ready,” Ida replied before unlocking the door and entering her new home. Aside from the owner, not much had changed about it. It was still the same familiar place people visited when they needed to buy a crystal or a nice necklace for a loved one, only now there was a brand new wooden sign above the door, reading: ‘Edwin’s Trinket Shop’.

~~

THE END

And so we reach the end of the story. Thank you to all who have read it, I hope you enjoyed it!