Redemption

-Are you sure you want to do it majesty?- asked a voice full of concern from the closest end to that of the man.

It had been some time, an hour perhaps, since Connor and one of his trusted servants had gone into the great forest of the huge castle, a place he had never been, a place where the ruler himself had always been curious to be.

-Yes, I have to do it...- Lord Jones admitted almost nostalgically, holding the strong and heavy rope in his hands, caressing it with his sweaty fingers.

Connor was afraid, he didn't want to admit it but he was tired, exhausted of all that, of all the lies, sometimes he felt to have to put an end on everything that he had done in his life.

The two were alone in the great forest, the scene was silent, no one said anything, nothing that could worsen or hurt Connor's soul more.

He watched the green branches of the trees move with the wind, rustle, that noise was beautiful, it was soothing, it helped him to reflect and think, to get rid of all that was troubling him.

The grey and cloudy sky obscured the normal sky light, it was a shame, Connor thought, a shame he couldn't observe that beautiful colour once again, for the last time.

The wind moved his soft golden hair, it was a pleasant sensation, almost, like an innate memory of his childhood, as if someone caressed his head and face.

It was nice to see it all from that height, wonderful when he could turn a look here and there at the forest, with his blue eyes, at the forest and all that green that spread around him.

The man who was with him was a simple cupbearer of the royal house, a rather close relative of the Hannover, who, however, having no possibility to ascend the throne, served the family in those simple tasks.

-You know, when I was little I loved climbing trees, I know...a little interesting activity for a young lord- Connor smiled slightly but not with joy, it was a smile full of sadness -my mother was always so frightened that I could fell from there and every time she reproached me to be more careful...-.

Yes, it was true, he remembered his childhood with so much affection, he remembered he had a lot of fun, as the only heir of his family, even though he did not have all the great obligations expected of a young lord.

Indeed, it was perhaps precisely for this reason that at that moment he was lying on a tree, on a large and mighty branch about five meters above the ground.

Connor had no more obligations since he had finally given up the crown, the role of sovereign, despite having decided that day to die as a king and not as a bastard.

A lot had changed in his life in those times: a lot in the thirty years since he was born, he was a good climber, he had to admit it and from that tree he would never come down again, or at least he would never have the chance to go down again alive and watching until the distant end of his days as his kingdom developed.

-Are you sure my lord? Are you sure it wont hurt?- asked the cupbearer again, observing with his curious little brown eyes the man's body swinging from that tree branch back and forth, he looked at the void around him.

But Connor was sure, with the rope tight around his neck, he was sure he didn't want to go down there, not now and he was sure, yes, it wouldn't hurt.

It would just be a strong squeeze, he would lose his breath for a few minutes and then that's it, it would have been exactly like fainting, falling asleep once again but definitely.

The sovereign felt the first wet and cold droplets of rain descend from the cloudy sky fall on his pale face, in his soft blond hair, refresh him, it was so beautiful, that even he would never have imagined the last moments of his life like this.

He smiled faintly for the last time. Why was he doing it? Many will have wondered, well, the answer could have seemed as simple as it was obvious: because that young lord was tired of living in a lie.

Connor remembered when he was still a teenager, when he killed murderers and thieves in cold blood, because that was what he had been taught, when he still had someone to protect or a cause to follow.

But now there was nothing left to fight for, for a kingdom that was not his?

In the course of his life Connor Jones had lost many people: his mother, his cousin, his fiancée, his own uncle and together with them he had lost the hope and the will to live in a world where he was alone.

There would always be someone simply "more" than him: smarter than him, more capable than him, more worthy than him, better than him, too many more to even count in his own mind.

His own mind? What mind then? He was lost by now, it was the result of a weak mind manipulated from the beginning of his life by his own uncle, a mind no longer capable of thinking, corrupted by violent thoughts inherited from Georg Hannover, "throw yourself down" he said to himself "do it and you will be free".

-It's starting to rain, sir- pointed out the man at the foot of the tree, he pointed out something that the sovereign himself was already aware of as the strong and violent drops of cold rain bathed the pale and melancholy face, moistening his blue eyes.

It was boring that that man remembered everything he saw and heard, Connor wanted to be alone, in solitude and meditation with himself.

-Let me, please, I had given you only the task of tying the rope but at this moment your help is somewhat inconvenient- admitted the lord lately and wearily pulling a cynical look at his servant making it clear that it was the case of let go, allow destiny to take its course.

Freedom was the only thought the lord thought at that moment, just when the damp wood of the tree was more soaked and slippery from the rain, it was perfect.

The time had come, Connor exhaled slowly, closed his eyes, he was not afraid of death, not anymore, knowing that it was only the barrier of the spirit that separated him from his deceased loved ones and from the truth for which he had always and intensely sought.

The man's feet left the wood, dangled, off the branch, it was as he imagined it, a grip in the neck, very strong, he didn't even have the power to wriggle, he lost his breath, he felt the rope tighten around his throat, his gaze began to blur, he smiled, he was one step away from the truth, just a little...he finished breathing.

The lifeless body of the young ruler dangled down from that branch, down from the tree, whose unsuspecting fronds wet from the rain, made the cold and unpleasant water slide directly onto the corpse of that one.

The one thing that he himself was unaware of, in his brutal death wish was that in that quiet moment, where everything had gone silent, there was still someone looking for the truth apart from him, just a kind of different truth.

Behind a tree not far from there lay the figure of another, completely covered by a precious black cloak of noble workmanship.

The hood covered most of the observer's face, covered his wavy and numerous reddish-brown hair, his large green eyes, his pale face stained with droplets of rain.

During all that mysterious scene Nathaniel had remained to observe, seeing a mysterious and unexpected comings and goings inside the castle, although he had never thought that his death, which symbolized the freedom of peoples left him so traumatised.

-Oh shit!-.