Beginning of the End

In a century filled with bloodshed, on a planet torn apart, could this be the place of peace? Here, in this place, the Dónal put everything on the line in order to get the one thing worth dying for – peace. King Éinrí of the Ailill had enough of the bloodshed, the death, and he hoped that they would finally reach a lasting peace, without one more life being lost. But if anyone did have to die, one phrase stuck in his mind, “Let it be me.”

*****

Day One – The Beginning of the End?



“For freedom.” King Éinrí of the Séafran people stood looking outside his Palace window, a stoic look on his face. He allowed himself a slight smile as he watched the other Leaders of their planet Ailell all arriving, all dressed in their Sunday best. As they walked inside, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. It had taken so long, and he had worked so hard to get them here, that he had started to think it would never happen. And now that the Peace Treaty was about to be signed, he actually allowed himself to have hope for the future. Yes, right now he actually had hope that they would finally reap the peace that would save them all.

One Leader in particular could stand in the way of that peace. And it was that one leader that he could not take his eyes off. It wasn’t because of enmity for them either – it was something else entirely. And as he watched, entranced as he always was with her, he just hoped that his wife, ruler of the neighbouring and warring people Queen Ailis, would finally see that it was time for the war to end. “I am watching you Ailis...” he said softly. “Please aid me in reaching peace... for our peoples.”




















He was so entranced by the Queen, that he barely noticed his son Prince Cadfael as he walked into the room.

Cadfael took one look out the window and could see what his father was looking at. He smiled, knowing that his father loved his mother, whether he would admit it or not. “Beautiful isn’t she?”
















“Breath-taking.” Éinrí admitted as he only just realized he was not alone. “Is there something you need Cadfael, my son?”

“It’s time to start the party.” Cadfael replied. “It’s been a long time coming. Who knows, maybe after this peace is reached, you and mother can actually spend time together as man and wife.”

Typical son, Éinrí thought to himself with a chuckle, thinking it was only natural for children to want to unite their parents. “From your mouth to God’s ear.” he said, as besides peace, there was nothing he wanted more. But peace had to come first... “Let there be peace.”

*****

Éinrí walked onto the stage and smiled as the crowd erupted in applause. “Save your applause until after I speak.” he joked. “Or you may just wish you hadn’t clapped at all.” Someone whistled and he chuckled again. Then he quickly wiped the smile off his face, and once again his face became stoic. This was a serious subject – the end of the war. It had been a war no one wanted, and had brought back to Éinrí too many bad memories of all the time, the blood sweat and years fought between the descendants of the Scots who were his people, and the descendants of the English who were Ailis's. Unlike the English and the Scottish people, he was going to bring an equitable peace between these two peoples, if it was the last thing he would do.

"My people!" He had to yell to be heard above the crowd. "Welcome to the first day of the rest of our lives as a United Planet." He smiled over at Ailis and acknowledged her presence. "Welcome to Your Majesty, Ailis... Welcome to everyone. Shall we begin with some music to celebrate this momentous day?"

Éinrí walked off the stage and smiled as he watched his daughter Niamh woo the crowd with her amazing voice. He watched her with pride, and kept stealing looks over at his only true love, Queen Ailis, wondering if she was as proud of their daughter as he was.

Ailis smiled warmly and winked at Éinrí. She could tell what he was thinking and yes, she was indeed proud of her daughter. She was pleased that Niamh also got the beautiful singing voice that was a trademark of her side of the family, although it was a gift she would rarely show in public. ‘Beautiful... simply beautiful Éinrí.’ she thought to herself, knowing that Éinrí could hear her thoughts.

Éinrí had been innocently telepathically scanning the crowd to make sure there were no assassins amongst them. Needless to say he did not intend to hear Ailis's thought. But he did, and he returned Ailis’s wink, ‘Couldn’t agree more.’ He saw her communicating with him as an invitation, so he went to take a seat next to her.

Ailis took Éinrí’s hand and squeezed it. "Forgive me for being silly but... where did all these people come from?" Ailis whispered. "I didn't realize you sent out that many invites to this... this is one angel's breath from becoming a mob."














Éinrí looked out at all the people and smiled. He thought the crowd size was just right. "There are a lot of people who have a stake in our peace, my Lady. This is the first chance our peoples have had to celebrate, in a long long time. Let them enjoy this while they can, and let this be one of the many happy times to come."

"And you do intend to save the first dance for me right?" Ailis winked. "I had a tutor in your people's popular dances." She sighed happily and said, "Peace is a wonderful thing to declare. We should have done this long ago."

He never thought he would hear her say that, and now that she had, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. "Believe me I wanted to do just that." He thought of how hard it was to come this far, and he sighed. "But it wasn't time then. The time is now. Now it is time for another song. This was my dream, this is why we are all here... because I believed there was somewhere where our people could live together in peace... and finally, we are here... this is our somewhere."

On stage Niamh and her fellow female singing sang the song Somewhere.