Chapter 181 Dignity
The news of the execution of the former Queen shocked the entire Kingdom of Eldinor.
In its history, there had indeed been many occasions where those in high positions had been executed in this way for high treason.
Yet, this was the first time in anyone's living memory that a former ruler would be burnt alive in front of everyone for the crimes she had committed.
All day, there were multiple news reports about the commitment and decisiveness of the new Queen which had led her to take such a decision immediately after taking the throne. Many even commended her for not being someone who would try to dally or dither especially when the law was so clear about the matter.
As the news spread to the rest of Central Angaria, the rulers and heads of the factions who heard about it couldn't help but take a deep breath seeing the stance of Eldinor against elf slavery.
Indeed, this was the way that Eldra had chosen to spin the story. By showing that not even someone who ruled Eldinor for 20 years was exempt from the law, the new Queen set a strong statement regarding her capability.
As for the meeting she had with her mother before giving the order, it was only Ohera who knew that it even happened.
For all intents and purposes, the public believed that Eldra had taken the throne and given the order as her first order of business.
Back in Lanthanor, even Daneel was a little surprised to see Eldra taking this decision. He had decided to leave this matter for her to handle, as he wanted to test how capable she was of autonomy.
Although her decisiveness impressed him too, he also found himself becoming more cautious in his attitude towards Eldra.
....
On the morning of the execution, Eldara woke up at the crack of dawn like she always had since the days she spent in her family clan. Washing her face in the tiny bathroom in the cell, she proceeded to take a hot shower before donning one of her favorite dresses: a green gown with leaves made of gold embroidered expertly on its surface.
Checking herself in the mirror to make sure that she was looking her best, she sat down at the table in the center on which a Kingly breakfast had been served.
All this time, her thoughts were only on the past. Reminiscing about the power and vitality of her life, she smiled as she let go of all the regrets she had.
Of course, this was only possible because there weren't many to begin with. Eldara was someone who would lead her life in the way she wished even if it meant death.
Thus, except for wishing that she had found out the existence of the person behind her daughter who had helped her plan everything, Eldara found that she was happy with her life.
She had wanted power, and she obtained it through her own efforts. She enjoyed it when it lasted, and now that it was gone with no way of getting it back, there was no more meaning to her life.
It was this exact single-mindedness that had allowed her to be as ruthless as she had been to do anything and everything to stay on the throne.
And it was this single-mindedness which made her not care at all about things such as her 'legacy'.
If she wasn't around, what did it matter?
The only matter she did care about was getting back at the person who had orchestrated everything to cause her fall.
Although she had given one last ditch attempt when she spoke to her daughter the previous night, she had no idea whether it would work or not. Her daughter had changed in ways she couldn't comprehend, and Eldara found that she was no longer confident about what she would or wouldn't do like she had been before.
Thus, with all her affairs settled, she was ready for death.
As she marched out onto the stage that had been set up in front of Elfaven, she smiled slightly seeing all the families she had stepped on to pursue her goal.
She didn't care about their tears and anguish before, and there was no way she would care about them now.
Shutting herself off from all the shouts of hate, Eldara closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of air after she was positioned in the center of the stage.
She had lived on her terms for all her life, and she would also die on her terms.
Waving away Ohera who had walked forward to carry out the execution, Eldara put both of her arms behind her back.
Opening her eyes to take one last look at the people whom she had stood above for so long, she cast the spell.
A green, closed lotus came into existence above her head, shining beautifully in the sunlight as if it were made of pure, solid jade.
Meanwhile, the crowd had already gone silent seeing this apparition.
One by one, the petals of the lotus opened while the people of Eldinor watched on with bated breath.
As the last petal unfolded, the entire lotus dissolved into a stream of liquid that ate away at the former Queen's body from the top of her hair to bottom of her soles.
Even though the fire consumed her, her face still had the expression of calm, as if she were in full control of everything.
This was the last image that the people of Eldinor had of the woman who had ruled them for two decades.
A head held high.
A face that showed no regrets.
And the dignity of one contented with their life.
This replaced the previous visage of lunacy that the public had seen during the first Grand Debate, and it would be the way she would be remembered whenever someone spoke about her in the future.
As the ashes floated away into the air, Eldinor entered a new age.
...
Back in Lanthanor, Daneel was viewing everything that was happening through the communication eye he had left with Olfax.
As the large panel showed the final moments of the smartest and most ruthless female he had ever met, he shook his head wishing that she hadn't chosen to lead her life in her way.
With time, Daneel had come to realize that the ability to command was rare.
He knew that with the coming conflict with the Church of Rectitude, Angaria would need all the talent it had to even hope to survive.
Distracting himself from this stream of thoughts, the King of Lanthanor shut off the panel before turning towards his circle of advisors who had apparently been working hard in his absence.
After coming back, Daneel had decided that the information of his dealings with Eldinor had to be kept as secret as possible. Thus, except for the people in front of him, no one else knew that the Kingdom of the Elves was now secretly under the control of Lanthanor.
In fact, Daneel wished that he could keep it completely to himself. After all, a secret's ability to remain secret depended on how many people knew of it.
Yet, he knew that he couldn't do everything alone.
This was actually one of the lessons he had learned from the now-deceased former Queen of Eldinor.
If she had someone trustworthy who could have held the trigger, maybe she wouldn't have found herself in such dire circumstances where her guilt was proven beyond doubt.
Thus, for a ruler, people to trust could be something that decided life or death.
Luther, Faxul, Cassandra, Aran and Robert had simply become speechless hearing the King's exploits in the foreign Kingdom.
All this while, they had been thinking that their King was only someone who could command things from behind the scenes.
Now, they realized that he was so much more.
"Back to business. How far have you all progressed so far in the tasks I assigned you?"
With all the matters put to bed and the addition of a Kingdom that he could direct at his will, Daneel decided that it was time to wholeheartedly put his attention on the Kingdom Management Statistics which had stayed stagnant for so long.
Thus, as his circle of advisors cleared their minds and began to speak, Daneel put everything aside in his mind and listened with full focus.