In the Darkness That Should Have Been Eternal
I opened my eyes.
“Hermia, are you awake?”
The soft voice belonged to Lysander.
My body felt heavy, unable to move. Groaning softly, I whispered,
“Where… am I?”
“You’re in the royal crypt. This is where they buried you.”
Suddenly, I was lifted. Lysander cradled me, smiling gently.
“We’re escaping, Hermia.”
What?
“The poison you drank induced a state of suspended animation for two days,” he explained. “I created it that way. The three court physicians who declared your death were completely fooled.”
He chuckled like a child who had just pulled off a successful prank.
“I replaced your coffin’s contents with the body of a woman who closely resembled you. I made some modifications, of course. At the Forensic Academy, corpses arrive daily, so pulling off something like this is simple if you’re serious about it.”
With me in his arms, he strode confidently through the crypt. The timid boy I once knew was gone.
“Wait… Lysander. You faked my death?”
“Exactly.”
“Why would you do something so foolish? If you’re found out, you won’t escape punishment.”
“I’m already dead.”
“What?”
“A few hours ago, I disposed of my own body in the royal river—or rather, the body of a man who closely resembled me.”
“But why? You worked so hard to rise to where you are.”
“I was destined to be killed regardless. Princess Consort Helena would have silenced me to cover her tracks. Besides, my sole reason for becoming a court physician was to serve you.”
“A royal court without Hermia has no meaning for me,” he said earnestly.
Lysander left the crypt, carrying me. With only a small pack of belongings, he disappeared into the night.
“We are both dead now. I’ve prepared horses and forged travel documents. Let’s leave this country together. We’ll pose as a married couple of traveling physicians and live as ordinary commoners.”
“Can you really do that?” I asked.
“I can. For you.”
The frail boy I once knew now had a body strong and capable.
0 Comments