Chapter 71: Words Of Compassion
Later in the day when Ivan knew there would be no one to disturb his moment of quiescence, he decided to pay a visit to his Grandmother’s mausoleum, sensing the urge that he needed someone he could talk to, someone he could share half of his problem with to lessen the heaviness weighing down on his shoulders. The atmosphere that afternoon felt placid, and he didn’t bother to wear his royal fur coat before stepping out of the Palace through the main door.
Approaching the mausoleum, his crimson gaze lingered somberly on the imposing black iron gate that was intricately designed with delicate patterns of intertwining vines and bats, symbolizing both life and the eternal night that envelopes the Palace itself. When he creaked the gates open and quietly stepped in, he was led onto a path of weathered stones, leading him through a well-maintained courtyard with dark hued roses that magically bloomed year round, an everlasting gift from one of the mages to the Queen Mother.
Upon entering the place, he could feel the air was heavy with an almost palpable sense of history and reverence. Marble statues of past monarchs line the walls, each one a regal representation of their time on the throne. If he one day dies after becoming King, his statue will be carved and placed amongst the rest of the monarchs as well.
Ivan’s distant gaze studied the face of those who had ruled before his time, and after he got past his Father’s glorious statue, the part where his Mother’s statue was supposed to be honored was left empty, since it had been deemed that she indeed committed suicide, a disgraceful act for anyone of royalty to indulge in, but he refused to believe she was driven by depression into doing it.
He could still remember it vividly, that cold night when he couldn’t get any ounce of sleep and kept tossing in his bed, feeling undeniably restless. The mourning of his Father was still ongoing in the Palace, and since he battled with insomnia, he decided to check up on his Mother to see if she had fallen asleep, the death of his Father had affected her immensely, and he was concerned about her well-being which prompted him to pay her Chamber a visit that night.
"Mother?"
The way his blue eyes had widened, and how his skin turned pale at the appalling sight. The shivers that went through his spine when guards rushed into the room to get his Mother down from the ceiling where she hanged, with a rope tied around her neck and her eyes, empty of any form of life. When the test was made, it had been informed at the royal court that his Mother committed suicide, but he was the only one asides the Queen Mother who believed she didn’t.
The only problem was proof, and he had none.
Queen Carina, his step-Mother had called his Mother all sorts of derogatory names and destroyed her image in front of the royal court. With his Father gone, it gave her and her son’s the opportunity to downgrade his Mother in front of the court who rashly believed it, all because she was human and not a Vampire like the rest of them. If it wasn’t for his Grandmother who held a hegemon within the Palace, his Mother’s corpse would have been heartlessly fed to the dogs, and he wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about it.