Chapter 15 - The Unending Dawn
The great hall was packed to the stone rafters. There were no empty seats, no suspicious nobles whispering in dark corners, and no guarded goblets of wine.
At the center of the high table sat Queen Clara Rowanvale, the silver-haired sovereign of Edrin, flanked by her mother, Queen Celestine, and her brother, Tomas.
As Clara stood to address the assembly, the room fell into a reverent, absolute silence. The ancient crown upon her brow caught the bright afternoon sunlight streaming through the new crystal windows, casting a warm, golden halo across the entire hall.
"For twelve years, I washed the floors of this palace and tasted the poison of tyrants," Clara’s voice rang out, clear and steady, carrying effortlessly to every corner of the vast room. "I learned that a crown is not made of gold or glass, and a kingdom is not measured by the walls it builds to keep people out."
She raised her cup—filled not with poisoned wine, but with pure, clear spring water.
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"To the hands that work, to the hearts that survive, and to the dawn that belongs to all of us. Long live Edrin."
"Long live Queen Clara!" shouted the crowd in unison, a roar of pure joy and loyalty that shook the ancient stones of Blackstone Palace and echoed out across the green valleys of a healed and triumphant land.
