The Last of the Summer Sun

Summer starts on the day the flower opens; the enchanted Marigold, left to our kingdom the day the Queen passed, it was her favourite of all the flowers in the gardens. She was such a warm and loving person. The sun shone for her every day of the year, we had no other seasons than summer, no rain unless she called upon it for our crops, no snow and ice, no thunder, no gales. Flowers bloomed before her feet, the grass grew thick and softly around her gardens like her own personal, green carpet and the birds rejoiced every single morning and continued to sing their sweet songs until dusk. Life was good; food was bountiful, the animals were bold and carefree, living among us without fear. It was calm and peaceful. Every day was the greatest here. We loved it; we were the most respected, most loved kingdom this side of the hemisphere. We did not refuse trade, even if they could not afford it, the Queen would let payments slide in exchange for a smile, or a flower. We never hunted or killed, we farmed what we needed and took nothing more, we used up everything we farmed so that nothing was wasted, we did not starve or suffer, and we made sure anyone who needed it would receive help in any way we could… we didn’t ever hate or scream until our lungs were fit to burst. We never feared the creatures that lurked, never feared the dark or the rains, the cold. We never wanted more. Until now.

We were in our sixth year with her gracing our kingdom when the lord of the autumn isles came, charming her with his leaf flurries, fire-coloured flowers, and yet more new things she had never laid her eyes upon, things she had never experienced before. She loved our kingdom like it was a child, always loving and nurturing, we could never have dreamed of having such a Queen but there she was. When she noticed the tendrils of decay clutching the edges of her borders, squeezing at the life she loved so dearly, she took it to him directly. He denied everything, said it wasn’t anything that he had done, yet the trees grew bare, what leaves they did have left were turned from a rich emerald green to a muddy brown colour, the smell of rot and damp overpowering the sweet aroma of nectar and honey that used to flow through our lands, we had never been assaulted by such a stench, it revolted us. Eventually the animals drew in closer, their hunger fuelling aggression so we had to protect ourselves instilling fear into them, they no longer lived among us but against us… the balance began to tip.

Soon the edges of our lands were barren, cold and looked more like wastelands, whole fields were rendered infertile, weeds strangling our crops from the roots to the fruits, and the animals were turning to our crops for food when everything else had perished, they could not eat if there was no natural food. The Queen tried with all her power to restore what was lost, but the more she gave the land, the higher the toll became on her. She was literally giving her life to us, to her kingdom. She grew tired, no longer a picture of health and bright smiles, she looked like an empty husk. Her hair grew white, her golden locks almost bleached. Her face shrunk in, paper thin skin clinging to her bones leaving her all angles and hard lines, she was not the beautiful, full lipped, round cheeked Queen we knew. We still loved her, but now we feared for her. If she died, then surely, we would too, there was no other like her. The four rulers in this kingdom held the balance, but now the autumn isles wanted our lands, he continued to deny everything, but we all knew better, including the Queen, but she had no fight left in her to oppose him, four rulers would soon become three.

When she was too weak to refuse him, the autumn lord took her hand in marriage, he wanted the lands. His own priest authenticated and witnessed their union. Our Queen knew she didn’t have long, she held a council with her most trusted advisors, the ones loyal only to her and not the autumn lord, she instructed them to take her to the lake with us all, or what was left of it, it was more like a thick, stagnant, leafy sludge now. She asked for the autumn lord to be kept away for as long as possible but try as they might, the guards could not keep him at bay for long. They took her down to the waters edge, laying her down on a blanket woven with the last of the summer leaves and flowers, made especially for her, her final comfort. Most of the kingdom showed up that day, all those who had not surrendered to the autumn lord, it wasn’t a secret that she was going to go to the lake, we just weren’t told why… that was for her advisors to know until whatever she had planned had happened, they wouldn’t keep it a secret after it was done though. This kingdom never used to keep secrets; the summer kingdom never had to hide anything.

As the Queen lay there, she gazed up at the fading sky, the blue skies turned grey, the purest cotton ball clouds turned dark, heavy with the coming rains, the delicate birds with their cheerful songs now squawking crows which pushed out everything smaller than themselves. This was not our home; this was not her legacy. A tear rolled down her cheek as she outstretched her arm, her hand hovering over the water momentarily before she took a rattling breath and begun making lazy circles in the water with her finger. For a moment, nothing happened, then ripples spread, golden ripples moving away from her finger, growing bigger, coming faster as she gave the heart of our land the last life of hers.

The autumn lord screamed in fury, rushing to get to her, to stop her, but our guards held him back. The lake turned a brilliant shade of azure whilst it rose, the waterline filled to the top of the banks once more. With one last breath, a pulse raced across the surface, our Queen sinking into the ground, vines wrapping her up gently so she could lay in rest surrounded by the plants she loved so much, whilst at the same time, a singular flower, a golden marigold rose from the water in what looked like a glass bubble but with a flat base. Its petals each perfect and glowing with life. The Queen had gone, but her power had remained. The lake would always be bountiful for those who remained loyal and kind, we would never be without fresh clean water to drink or to use for crops, but the feeling was bittersweet, all too soon the flower closed, and the rest of the kingdom turned grey and cold. The leaves in the trees either falling to the ground or becoming brown and putrid.

Her gift to us though, for one month of every year, the lands revitalised to what they once were, when the flower bloomed, so did the life in the kingdom, when her power needed to rest and recover, the flower closed, pulling the summer with it. It was the last thing she did to help our kingdom, the last of her power. The one condition… that the next true King or Queen with a pure heart to rule this kingdom will inherit the gifts held within the flower, once more we will have golden skies and green lands, once more we will know what life and love is. Until then, we survive, we survive until one day, we can live again.