The Prophecy Unfolds (#REN3 Blogfest Finale)

Welcome back for the final installment of my Rule of Three Blogfest journey. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to read and comment. It is quite a challenge to wrap things up in only 600 words.  But here it goes, and I hope you enjoy the finale!  Details of blogfest, links to others, and special thanks are below.

The prompts used: 

The misfortune is resolved/accepted.
Relationships mend/ are torn asunder.
The final event becomes another secret for generations to come.

Word Count: 598

Part 1: Godwin's Tale can be found here.
Part 2: King Ansel's Tale can be found here.

Part 3: Cassandra's Tale can be found here.

Part 4: The Prophecy Unfolds:

http://wallpaper-s.org/11_~_Winter_Forest.htm

Three months passed, and with each moon so did King Ansel return as promised to the tiny outpost. Against the urging of his advisor, Sir Willem, the King refused to let go of the witch’s prophecy. He made good on his vow to continue scouring the lands until he found his sister and her bastard prince. They couldn’t hide forever.

Godwin stopped on the edge of the woods and let the meager sun warm him. Winter had a tight grip on the land now and he and Cassandra found comfort in the knowledge that travel was all but impossible over the mountain passes between Renaissance and the Northern Kingdom. Mother Nature had granted them a small reprieve from King Ansel’s visits, at least until Spring.   

Cassandra had settled in to her new life quite happily, and was growing warm to the idea of a life with Godwin.  Now that she was accepted in the town as Cassandra Woods, and Godwin’s exuberance had been tempered by time and his professed desire only to make her happy, she realized that he was indeed a man she could love, in time.

Cassandra had returned from the market where she and her son, Roland, had spent the afternoon shopping for fresh winter vegetables and some of Eleanor Blacksmith’s preserves. She watched as Roland crawled near the table after a wooden top Godwin had whittled for him.

Feet stomping at the door made her curse herself for lingering too long gossiping in town instead of tending to their meal. She felt it was a small kindness to have a hot dish ready for Godwin when he arrived home from his patrol.

“You’re home early,” she said as she opened the door.  Her smile froze on her face as the icy air blew over the threshold.  Two strangers in hooded cloaks stood in the doorway.

“Cassandra?” The smaller man removed his hood. Sir Willem. That meant the hulking man behind him could only be—

“Step aside man, your King is beside himself and wishes to sit down,” King Ansel spoke in a menacing whisper. He sat down heavily near the fire. “I knew Godwin was a better tracker than he led us to believe. Last month I met some men of the Assart. They spoke of Godwin’s performance at the games each year and I said, 'no... not my man, he couldn’t track a dead goose.' But it got me thinking.  Willem didn’t think it was possible. But who, if not a woodsman, would you have ever met in the forest?” King Ansel’s smile was cold. Cassandra picked up Roland.

Willem gasped. “Cassandra, the child—”

“Willem, hush,” Cassandra began to weep.

King Ansel looked at Willem and back at Cassandra and beheld the babe, whose eyes were the exact brown shade of Sir Willem’s. “Willem, all this time I’ve blamed poor Bonacre. Did you drop him on his own sword then? You sly devil.”

The King drew his sword, it seemed enormous in the tiny house. “I’ll cut you down and await Godwin, shall I?”

Roland started to cry. Cassandra gripped him tighter. The child threw his wooden top across the room. It hit the King’s ample belly and rolled onto the floor. King Ansel stepped forward, raising his sword for a mighty blow. He stepped on the child’s toy and found himself reeling, arms thrown sideways, sword forgotten. He fell backward onto the hearth. Godwin’s iron fire poker—a gift from his brother—protruded through the front of King Ansel’s neck.

Willem broke the silence, “The King is dead. Tell no one.”

************************************************************************

BLOGFEST DETAILS - - - LINKS FOR OTHER STORIES

#REN3 is a blogfest and contest being hosted by:

Stuart Nager @ Tale Spinning

J.C. Martin @ Fighter Writer

Lisa Vooght @ Flash Fiction

Damyanti @ Amloki

Thank you to our generous hosts and for all of the authors
who have offered copies of their books to the winners:

1. Michael Hicks, In Her Name: Empire     LINK
2. Marcus Clearspring, Walkabout Gnomes     LINK
3. Alex J Cavanaugh, Cassa Star     LINK
4. S.L. Pierce, The Hate, The Devil’s Game, Secrets     LINK
5. Faith Mortimer, Echoes Of Life and Love     LINK
6. Talli Roland, Watching Willow Watts     LINK

Honorable mentions:

1. Damyanti Biswas, A To Z Stories Of Life and Death     LINK
2. J.C. Martin and Michelle Davidson Argyle, Stories For Sendai     LINK
3. Stuart Nager, Dawn Of Indie Romance     LINK

BLOGFEST DETAILS - - - LINKS FOR OTHER STORIES