Everything Goes On - Forget Me [Ch.4]

Everything Goes On

Forget Me - Chapter 4

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t.w.

Mentions of death

a.n.

Great inspiration from this song

#SSClub

#Song2SSC

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Word Count: 2130

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The broken ship crossed slowly between the gigantic marble entrance. Nothing to be heard, only for the gentle water allowing the hull’s age through it. The frigid walls echoed fake gleaming noises, extending for what seemed miles ahead. The ceiling was nothing but white brightness, strong enough to blind those who were captured by its hypnotic majesty.

“So this is what lies beyond the horizon,” the Queen spoke, her voice reverberating throughout the entire water corridor.

“This is it,” Ulrikke said. “The Monument.”

Everyone looked at Ulrikke, awaiting further details.

“Very few books speak of this place, yet they all tell the same tales. It is told that the first King descended from the skies as a punishment. The Gods revoked him of his powers and immortality, and condemned him to live as a mere mortal. The first King however did not demoralize. He planned on ascending back to the Heavens, even if it meant brute forcing his way through the doors to the sky. The Gods had foreseen this resolve, so they raised the Monument as a final destination. Every night, northern lights would converge here, drawing a path to where the King should follow. But alas, fate turned rather disappointing.”

Ulrikke went silent, leaving tension in the air. The Queen seemed confused while Alf, despite his feuds, was thoroughly involved in her words. She continued her narrative.

“The first King died a tragic death, as you may know, and his son did not share the same courage or will to find the Monument. Several generations grew far from this myth, until…”

She turned to the Queen, looking directly at her eyes.

“Until Your Father, King Henrik, inherited the crown. The courage in his eyes was noticed as soon as he appeared in public for the first time, still as an heir. The Sky Folk were entering a new dynasty, a dynasty that would change the threads of destiny as we knew them. And when King Henrik disappeared, I saw it all.”

When Ulrikke delivered these last words, everyone’s attention peaked. Alf’s brain started to work at an alarming pace, but this time the Queen knew the answer immediately.

“I knew I recognized you! You were in my Father’s crew!”

Surely there was an outcome to what Ulrikke had said, but Agnar, Leif and Alf were seriously not expecting that one. Their surprise was palpable.

“You know what happened to my Father? You know what happened to Odd?” the Queen asked in a stressful tone.

“My Queen…” Ulrikke’s voice diminished.

“What happened? Where did they die? Answer me, dammit!”

Ulrikke took a step back, pushed by the Queen’s strong and enraged aura. Her icy eyes were melting in the fire of her anger. From a frost queen to a fire hazard, it almost looked like her personality had shifted to a polar opposite, leaving her somewhat unrecognizable. Alf noted this behavior, and decided to approach her. Without a warning, a punch just flew right into his face, knocking him back violently.

“DO NOT dare to approach me!” the Queen shouted, turning back to Ulrikke. “I want you to tell me what happened, RIGHT NOW!”

Her “now” shook the entire structure. The blinding light from the ceiling flickered, the walls trembled in fear. A few seconds after, the ship started to feel unstable, like it was navigating somewhere it shouldn’t. It started to slow down until it ceased to move. Leif looked over the prow.

“Woah.”

In front of them was a path of stone slabs over the shallow waters, leading to an open beacon. The light irradiating from the room was dividing the unknown from them, and from where they were standing nothing was meant to be seen.

The crew decided to leave the ship. Alf was still unconscious from the hit he took, so Agnar decided to carry him on his back. They walked through the path, forcing themselves through the daunting light, entering a wide chamber with colossal statues all around the circular shape. In the middle, there was another stone giant covered with a veil made of unfamiliar fabric. At first, each statue seemed to resemble an entity, a God. But as their eyes adjusted to the luminosity of the area, something different was spotted.

“Is that…”

Leif was pointing to the statue located the farthest from them. The Queen and the rest of the folk turned their heads and paid attention to where Leif was pointing. Ulrikke knew very well what they were looking at, deciding to avoid the sight.

The Queen fell to her knees, as she recognized the strong jaw, the perfectly engraved scars and the piercing stone eyes from her Father.

“Are these… all the Kings?” Agnar looked around, filling miniscule in the middle of such grandeur.

“How did someone build all these?” Leif asked, iring the details of every figure.

“This is the gateway to the sky,” Ulrikke spoke. “This is where the first King had to reach to ascend and return to his godly status. All these statues are a reminder of the attempts failed by our kind.”

Ulrikke was looking around at all the unfamiliar faces, locking eyes with her last King. She then looked at the Queen, still on her knees, beaten by the truth.

“If the first King had managed to arrive at the Monument, we would have never come to be. The Gods knew what they were doing. His mission was impossible from the start. But they trembled once King Henrik was born, and now,” she approached her Queen. “They have trembled with your voice.”

The Queen slowly turned her head to Ulrikke, who had nurture present in her curved lips. Seeing her sailor like this made her overwhelming thoughts fade in heartwarming steam. She felt an epiphany surging through her.

“My entire life… I was fated to find this place.”

“And I was fated to guide you,” Ulrikke responded. “I tried to trample over destiny once, but I soon learned that you can’t.”

She glanced once again at King Henrik’s statue. The Queen followed her movement. Leif and Agnar were trying to awake Alf from his slumber.

“Should we give him the Queen treatment?” Agnar whispered.

Leif didn’t even ask what he meant. He disappeared for a few seconds, and quickly returned with a small wooden tin with water.

“Time to wake up, son,” Leif dumped the liquid right on top of Alf’s mouth and nose.

In no time, Alf started to cough abruptly, gasping for air. Agnar and Leif lifted him up, kicking him on the back to help him cough out the water that had gotten into the wrong places.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Agnar chuckled.

Alf placed his right hand over his face, shaking it and his wet hair at the same time. Ulrikke and the Queen looked back at them.

“As for them,” Ulrikke started. “Leif and Agnar’s role was fulfilled: they kept the ruler safe, and marched alongside them to the end of their journey.”

“And what about him?” the Queen looked at Alf.

“Where even are we?” Alf questioned in pain, adjusting his eyes to his surroundings.

His reaction to all the stone golems was not different from a mortal.

“What is all this? And why is that one covered?”

Everyone turned to the covered statue in the middle. The mystery began to mix with uncertainty, and that uncertainty started to breed feelings of a bad omen. Added to that, Ulrikke’s expression of hopelessness was not ensuring a good outcome.

“My Queen, I am sorry.”

She approached the statue and touched the veil with her knife. Like a sandcastle collapsing on itself, the veil started to crumble in what looked like ashes. When the face of the statue was revealed, all noise ruptured, including heartbeats and respiration.

“No…” the Queen was unable to move.

Alf had skepticism in his eyes. His heart and his mind were battling between denial and acceptance. His eyes started to crystallize his sorrow.

Alexander was petrified right in front of them. With such elegance and majesty, with such young and defined features. He looked exactly like the day they met, happier than the day he was left behind.

“The wheels of fate cannot be stopped. Alexander was unfortunately a victim to the uncontrollable. Nothing was possible to be done-”

“If we had never embarked on this I would still be by his side. He would not be alone. He would have someone. Either me or his foolish sister. Uncontrollable, you say? Our actions are not dictated by a thread, we are not puppets of the Gods!”

Alf walked aggressively towards the Queen with his fists closed. Agnar and Leif predicted a very unfortunate event succeeding, so they quickly launched at him and arm locked him.

“LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE! YOU’RE DERANGED! YOU’RE HEARTLESS! YOU KILLED YOUR OWN BROTHER!”

Alf was showing a great demonstration of power. Even with two people locking him in place, he was able to move forward every second and to free himself a bit more with every step. His infernal cries were of an intensity never before known, even scarier and way more painful than the ones poured through the entire crew that disappeared with King Henrik.

Responding to these cries, the Monument started to rumble. The water started forming ripples, the lights started to flicker. Pieces of rock started tumbling down. Coming from the sky, a column of a white light appeared in front of Alexander’s statue.

“The gateway… it has opened,” Ulrikke announced.

Behind her, Alf was still trying to reach the Queen. His fatigue was null, but his strength was increasing by the minute. His stygian might painted a whole different side of the cunning and generally happy tailor the Queen had known.

“Alf, stop this nonsense!” Ulrikke requested firmly. “She was drawn here, she did not choose her destiny.”

Alf didn’t listen, and kept pushing through.

“This was all the Gods work. This is what they wanted. You would’ve never been able to save Alexander from his destiny.”

Upon hearing these words, Alf held in place. His face dropped in defeat, his cries vanished. A long period of silence flooded the chamber. The beacon of light, the door to the sky, was open, emitting continuous

“Ulrikke… Who are you? All this talk about fate and destiny makes me think you praise the idiots from above.”

“Alf, you’re in a sanctuary built by the Gods. You should respect your makers.”

“My makers? My makers have died long ago. They were my father and my mother. They were the only ones who loved me, until I met the most wonderful man, who is now dead as well. If the Gods are so benevolent, why are they preying on innocent lives?”

The lit doorway seemed to be calling for the Queen. She heard it, and so did Ulrikke.

“My Queen, I insist you through the gateway to the sky. The Gods are waiting for you.”

The Queen saw Ulrikke extend her arm. Her hand was offered to guide the Queen through the portal.

“There’s nothing for me left to do. I shall die here, and become a story to be told. Don’t let the next generations look for me,” the Queen asked with her back turned to Leif and Agnar, who were still holding Alf in place.

Alf’s face was still down, his hair hiding his features.The Queen grabbed Ulrikke’s hand and placed herself in front of the light. It shined brighter, like it had recognized someone knocking at its door.

“I’ll tell you fate.”

Alf suddenly elbowed Agnar on the chin and punched Leif right between the eyes with his now freed arm. He started running towards the Queen, pushing her to the side and falling through the portal. Ulrikke tried to tackle him down , but the beacon was already accepting him, pulling him like a magnet.

“Now that I’m gone, let’s see how everything goes on.”

The light collapsed in a thunderous sound. The walls of the Monument started to fall apart. The light from the ceiling ceased to exist and the water started to grow and flood the space. Huge boulders fell on top of the folk, burying them and vanquishing them from sight. The statues began wrecking as well, tumbling violently on the ground. The Monument, along with all the wreckage, started to sink down the Tetrico sea.

In the sky, signs of a catastrophic war were clear. Extremely dark clouds wiped out the sunlight. Potent winds brough agitation to the sea, creating destructive tides. Thunder began striking with all its might, like swords bashing against each other in a life and death battle. It was a battle of the Gods.

Destruction was imminent, and once all the world is gone, everything will go on.