Ashlynn slumped to the floor beside the oak sapling in a clatter of armor that felt far too loud in the breathless silence that followed the breaking of the Lothian line and the birth of a brand new sacred tree.

"Ash!" Jocelynn cried as she rushed across the floor. Ollie was only half a step behind her as they raced to Ashlynn’s side.

"I’m fine," Ashlynn said weakly as she looked at the worried faces on either side of her. With Ollie on her right and Jocelynn on her left, she was surrounded by both the fierce protectiveness of the Cypress Knight and the tender loving concern of her younger sister, and for a moment, a small smile formed on her lips as she basked in the feeling of being loved.

Behind her, the manifestation of the Ancient Oak faded away, leaving the hall dark and dimly lit by nothing other than the great hearths crackling to either side. Even those were dimmer now as no one had dared to tend them this evening while the hall was rocked by everything from bloody battles to brilliant miracles.

The sacred sapling lost a bit of its luster as well. There were still traces of emerald green, midnight blue, and deep crimson luster to the underside of its leaves, but only when the light caught them just right, and the flicker of color was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Liam," Ashlynn said, breaking the silence of the hall to address her herald. She wasn’t ready to stand yet, so she spoke from her seat on the floor, but no one found it beneath the dignity of a Saintess. After what they’d just witnessed, none would dare.

"Since you’re Virve’s apprentice," Ashlynn said. "I’m entrusting the sapling to you. Find a wagon for it, fill it with earth, and when the time comes, carry it away from here. Virve will know where it should be planted. And gather up any pieces of the old tree that remain," she added, pointing to Owain’s sword where it lay beside his armor on the floor. "The tree will reclaim them, just as it reclaimed the throne."

"Your will, your Dominion," Liam said, saluting formally by forming a claw with one hand and touching the tips of his fingers to his chest, directly over his heart.

"S-Saintess Ashlynn," a fragile, feminine voice called from among the people in the hall. Lady Tosha barely believed she’d found the courage to speak up, but something in her heart broke at the thought of the sacred tree they’d all watch sprout and grow being taken away to somewhere hidden.

"Will we, will we be allowed to visit the sacred tree?" Tosha asked hesitantly. "To care for it and watch it grow?"

"One day, I hope so," Ashlynn said, smiling at the nervous noblewoman. "But beginnings are a fragile thing. The tree needs time to take root and to grow strong before it can welcome visitors. Virve is the captain of my personal guard," Ashlynn explained. "And she has a special connection to the tree that offered its seed so that we could all break free from the horror of the throne’s curse."

"Once we know that it is safe, and that it can grow healthy and strong," Ashlynn promised. "We’ll find a way to let people visit. But only those who can approach it with love and kindness in their hearts," she said with a pointed look at Valeri Leufroy, Serle Otker, and a few others in the hall.

The Ancient Oak’s light had fallen on nearly everyone in the hall, and it had made its opinions of those who ruled over the march known. Some, the tree had approved of, but others nearly cost the march the second chance that the Ancient Oak was offering them.

In the end, it had accepted that the people of the march weren’t perfect, but only when Ashlynn had conveyed her intention to see justice done for the crimes that had long gone unpunished.

"Help me stand," Ashlynn said softly, tapping Ollie on the arm.

Jocelynn was prepared to help as well. Even though her sister was shorter than she was, she was still wearing a great deal of heavy armor, but surprisingly, Sir Ollie proved more than strong enough to help her exhausted sister to her feet, leaving Jocelynn to do little more than provide another point of contact for Ashlynn to keep herself steady.

"My Lords and Ladies," Ashlynn said, pushing back against the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm her in order to address the people gathered in the Great Hall. "A house has fallen tonight, but the march cannot, and will not, fall to chaos."

"Tonight, there will be no feast, and no celebration," she said solemnly as she looked out over the carnage of overturned tables and fallen figures who would never rise again. Baron Preden Saliou had been the first to succumb to the throne’s dark tendrils, but he hadn’t been the only one, and Ashlynn counted at least three other knights from various baronies who had met similar fates tonight.

"Tonight, return to your chambers," she commanded. "Mourn for those who died tonight and make what peace you can with the things that happened here. Isabell," Ashlynn said, turning her head just enough to address the Hemlock Witch. "I know it won’t be easy, but work with the Master of Kitchens to have food sent to every room tonight. We may not feast, but no one should go hungry in this house."

"Knowing Marcel," Isabell said with a wry smile. "I’m certain that Jean was never planning to serve a feast tonight to begin with. I’ll see it’s done, and the rest of it as well. Go to bed, Ashlynn," she chided gently. "You’ve done your part. Let us carry the rest."

"I will, and soon," Ashlynn promised before she turned back to the lords and ladies in the Great Hall.

"Tomorrow morning," Ashlynn said in a tone that was firm and unwavering despite her obvious fatigue. "Tomorrow morning, the court will assemble here for breakfast and to discuss the future of the march." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Saintess Ashlynn," Aubin said, stepping forward and bowing his head low. "Does that mean that you intend to govern the march directly? The Church has never..."

"I have nothing to do with the Church," Ashlynn said flatly before the High Priest could continue. "But even though my husband is dead, I am still the Marchioness of these lands, and I will not see them fall into bloody battles over a throne that no longer exists."

"Tomorrow, we convene an hour after dawn," Ashlynn declared. "The chains of fate that bound the march have been broken. Tomorrow, we chart a new course ahead."