Fireflies - Short Story Part 2

Hey friends! I'm posting early this week because I'll be at a youth rally! Today's part of the story is a bit longer but I hope y'all like the ending.

When Isla awoke, the sunlight was gone, the forest bathed in shadows. She shivered, wondering just how long she had slept, leaning against the steady oak tree. Her heart had ceased racing, and her looming marriage to a foreign prince seemed now only a long ago dream, a distant memory from her past.

A light flickered in the distance. Isla bit her lip and squinted. There was another flicker, and then another. She watched, surprised and spellbound. Fireflies. They had remained hidden before, only coming to show their light when the darkness covered everything, and they no longer rivaled the light of the sun.

Another light blinked, then another, and another, until the fireflies enveloped Isla with their tiny, flickering lights. It was as if she was inside a galaxy, each star offering its own tiny glow.

Isla rose slowly and turned in a circle, watching the insects’ movements as if it was all a symphony being performed just for her. And what a glorious symphony it was, more beautiful than any music she had ever heard. A smile spread across her lips, and if she hadn’t been afraid of frightening the beautiful insects away, she would have been half-tempted to join in their intricate dance.

It felt like hours that she stood there, but it could have been only minutes. A crash in the bushes disturbed her reverie. Isla gasped and the fireflies scattered. Had a guard come for her, sent by her father? She whirled around, expecting to see an escort of knights.

But it was the King himself who sat atop his majestic steed. The light of the fireflies reflected from his eyes, and a red cape blanketed his shoulders. Isla stiffened. “What do you want?” She demanded, her voice sounding horribly bitter.

Her father said nothing, but dismounted, and walked towards his daughter. She stared at him. Why did he come after me himself, instead of making one of his knights do it? She wondered.

“Isla.” His voice was powerful and quiet, like the sound of the ocean in a shell.

His daughter said nothing, only listened to the sound of his footsteps as he walked toward her, treading over pine needles and fallen leaves. Her pulse slowed with her breathing, but something deep inside of her still ached.

“I made a mistake, and I am sorry. I wish it wasn’t necessary. But we must form an alliance, for our own security…” He met her gaze as his voice trailed off, and something in his usually determined eyes struck her as almost… regretful.

Something hot welled up in her throat, and she fought back tears. She couldn’t cry, not now. Then he would see her weakness, see how broken she truly was. How dare he mess with my future, and my life, and expect me to go along with it! Isla bit her tongue, fighting back both the sobs and unspoken words which threated to burst from her lips. But she could hold the storm back no longer.

“How could you?” She yelled, her voice ringing out through the thicket. “How dare you, my father, who was supposed to love me, and care for me, and raise me, ignore me my entire life and then use me as a chess piece in your stupid scheme? I hate it, I hate all of it, and I hate you.” These last words she whispered from trembling lips, too afraid to let them resonate through the trees.

There. She had said it. The words which had festered in her heart like an open wound and she hadn’t ever dared even to think. Now the King could lock her up for impudence- and perhaps he would.

The tightness in her throat morphed into a terrible monster before dissolving into silent sobs. How she longed to be held in this moment of pain, to be told that she was loved and that one day it would all be alright.

The King cleared his throat, and if Isla didn’t know better, she might have thought he was fighting back tears himself. Would he, with his next breath, condemn her for treason? Or correct her blatant disrespect?

“When your mother died,” He began slowly, as if the very words pained him to speak. “I- I broke myself away from everything I loved, not wanting to ever hurt so deeply again. I made a mistake. A horrible, terrible mistake.

Isla bit her lip and bowed her head, wondering if he would continue.

“I missed out on knowing you, and loving you, and…” He seemed to lose his words, and when Isla looked at his face, he looked haunted, the lines deep within his noble face adding years to his age. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and his eyes locked with his daughter’s, his eyes mirroring her pain.

Isla’s father dropped slowly to one knee, looking for the first time that Isla had ever seen, defeated. “I am deeply sorry, and I know I don’t deserve to be forgiven. I don’t deserve to have the privilege of knowing my own brave, strong, beautiful daughter. I missed my chance long ago.” His voice cracked, and he bowed his head, his broad shoulders shaking like a tree in the wind.

The Princess stepped gently toward the King. Hot tears streaked her cheeks, but she thought that maybe, like the very first firefly to light up in the night, this time there was a possibility of healing.

“I forgive you,” she said softly. He lifted his eyes, and Isla saw something new in the depths of them. Hope. She breathed shakily as her father stood, before throwing her arms around him in an embrace. The gesture felt completely unfamiliar and yet wonderfully right.

The King wrapped his arms around Isla, holding her tight. The father and daughter stood like that for a long time, listening to the sounds of the forest and each other’s heartbeats, which gradually slowed until the rhythms intertwined in a gentle song.

And after a moment, the fireflies returned. They danced through the trees, flickering even more brightly than before. Isla’s eyes shone with the beautiful light. But this time, she was not alone.

The end