Episode 90: Funeral (Cheyenna)

Cheyenna knew she had been cruel to her son and daughter-in-law. Her cruelty had cost her being in attendance at their wedding, watching them flourish in their trial, and throwing them into a harsh few days of ruling.

She had been cruel out of necessity. She had never experienced such a feeling as that one, and she spent months mulling it over as it built in urgency.

She was still cruel, and she saw the pain she had imposed as she watched Bentley speak of her life.

The funeral was important. There were eyes everywhere – eyes seeking instability, eyes seeking this confirmation that she was gone.  

She stood in line, the feeling that all was right building with each step.closer to her last heir. She could feel the life of her next child, a child she was denying heir status not because he wasn’t good but because Bentley needed to be king – Bentley would push it off again, and pass the throne, otherwise.

Faking her death had been a bit dramatic, but as long as she lived Bentley would have always found a way to divert his attention from the throne.

He would be free to pass it on in a few dozen years. His children were the true heirs to the throne. She had ensured they would exist with her little stunt, she could sense it.

Oh how she loved to see Bentley with his beautiful bride. Shea had given her sixteen years of pride, and she promised many more. Today she glowed in a dark brown dress that made her a stunning match for her prized horse, Whisper.

Bentley wore white beside her, a symbol of light tumbling across the wave of sadness her death had caused, just as the white peaks tipped the waves that crashed down on their shores. He looked terrible in white, with his custard skin and blonde locks.

It was her turn.

Shea shook her hand, then Bentley.

Cheyenna wrapped her other hand around Bentley’s. “Your mother would have been so proud Benny.”

She leaned in to hug him, and he let her though his body was a touch more stiff and uncertain. During the hug she let her glamour slip, so that Shea might recognize her first.

Shea did; she gasped.

Cruel as it was, it was a bit fun too.

She pulled away from the hug, “How are you?”

“Me?” Bentley asked, his jaw half dropped. His eyebrows set into angry arrows pointing inward, and he tossed his floppy hair back. “You…”

“You never would have ascended or rushed into heirs,” she stated. His luck would see the truth in her statement, in time. “I’m sorry.”

Jiacomo, her love, came up beside her and wrapped his arm around her.

“Did anyone know?” Bentley asked, suspicious.

“No,” she replied. It had been important, she sorted out as she let her luck explore each pathway, to keep Jiacomo in the dark.

It had been a painful decision, but her grandson would bring about a revolution someday. She could have fought through the current issues (though with more casualties than Bentley), but the revolution came from her grandson’s heart.

“Okay,” Bentley said.

“After the funeral, I’ll explain everything in more detail,” she added. She let her arm slide around Jiacomo’s back, their first public announcement of unity.

She knew she wouldn’t explain it that day, and she waited for why.

“Oh well, we have to go to Noc Thui after this,” he lied.

It was the most important lie of his life.

“To run away from me?” she asked.

“Run away? I’m not the one who faked my own death,” he replied, his tone sharp and rising. He cling to his wife. They were such a strong match. She had been worth the seven hundred years of waiting.

“It was necessary for our kingdom,” she said. Jiacomo pulled her closer.

“Are you sure?” Bentley challenged.

In the short run, it wasn’t necessary. He was sensing that. He hadn’t gone through the next generation.

“Do you trust our magic?” Cheyenna asked.

“So what are you going to do now?” Bentley asked.

“Advise you through the next year. it’s going to be difficult.”

“Good time for a transition, then.”

“Yes. it is. You would have failed your trial if I had told you. You need to be in charge for the coming months. Your heart needed to be in it, when you rose to power.

“We really should go to Noc Thui though… Gemstone Dreams is going to be bred,” Shea said, pulling Bentley away.

Bentley nodded his head, “And then we’ll be home.”

She knew he wouldn’t give up on the throne now, but it amused her nonetheless that he made a point to iterate it.

He had never not wanted to be king, once his sister had died and passed the role on, he had just grown anxious with time.

“Take your time,” Cheyenna said.

The crowd was growing thicker as more eyes found her, and Bentley grinned as Shea led him back to the speaker and left her and Jiacomo to fend for themselves.  

It was terrible being surrounded by a kingdom of people that loved her, she mused.

Bentley spoke, quickly, “It seems that our former queen, Cheyenna, was not dead after all. She transported away from the oncoming tornado in Gean Hwels and only managed to return home today. She has graciously taken the opportunity of Queen Shea’s and my successful ascension as an opportunity to end her tenure as ruler of our land.”

She laughed at his wording, and watched as he left the podium and the space with Shea. His attire was perfect – he would stick out. He would set into motion the end of a thousand years of suffering.

She was proud of him, despite the growing crowd he had left her with.

She had been cruel, abandoning him like that.

He wasn’t her child at all, except in every way.

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