My fingers slip through Alvaryn's dark hair in soft smooth strokes. He had finally fallen asleep. Eyes red rimmed, body and mind thoroughly exhausted. He had held on for as long as he could, crying in my arms while I held him, not knowing what else I could do or say.

What could I say? His parents are dead, murdered in their bed. It had happened while he slept. Being woken in the middle of the night to find your parents dead was not something anyone should ever experience.

And so I had held him, his sobs turning quiet, his breathing becoming slower, his body giving out until he had passed out.

Now he lies in my bed and I don't want to leave him, don't want to risk him waking alone but I know Aeris is out there somewhere.

I don't want to imagine what he is doing or who he is with.

I kiss Alvaryn's cheek before easing off the bed and out of the room.

I didn't know where to look, my only thoughts were either his rooms or the kennels.

I start making my way towards his rooms, it is almost sunrise and servants are moving around the corridors.

The King and Queen may be dead but the palace continues to move around them.

"Daylight?" I hear Aeris' voice calling out from down the corridor and quickly move towards it.

"Have you seen my Daylight?" He calls out but no one answers.

"Aeris!" I call out quietly, turning a corner to find him looking around, a bottle in his hand and barefoot. He spins, seeing me and grins.

"There you are Daylight, I have been looking for you." He smiles, taking a long pull from the bottle in his hand.

"Here I am, now how about we both go back to my room." I say, putting my arm around his back and guiding him towards the chosen's wing.

"Aren't you cold dearest? You're not dressed appropriately for so early in the morning." He says, one arm around my shoulder as he looks down at me.

"It is a little cold but I wanted to come and find you so I didn't have time to get dressed." I answer quietly, nodding as another servant passes us, their eyes lingering on Aeris as he takes another drink and wavers against me.

I struggle to keep him upright and walking in a straight line.

"All out." He says looking at the bottle before tossing it behind him. It shatters on the ground behind us and I pause looking over my shoulder at the broken glass.

A servant rushes over.

"I'm so sorry." I say quietly.

"It's alright Miss." She says shaking her head and looking at Aeris.

"It's alright Dearest, I know where there is some more wine." Aeris says leaning into me.

I push back against him, helping him to stand upright as we keep walking.

"How about we go back to my room and have a lie down."

"Will there be wine there?"

"I'm sure we can have some bought to the room." I answer, knowing there was no way I would give him anything else to drink.

We reach my room and I manage to get him inside and close the door behind us, he steps away from me, looking around the room he stops at my bed.

"Alvy!" He calls out with his arms spread out wide.

"Shhh!" I shush him. "Don't wake him up, he's sleeping." I stand in front of Aeris, taking his face in my hands to get his attention.

He nods slowly, holding his finger over his lips.

"Yes, let him sleep." He nods with a serious expression before turning around and sitting on the edge of the bed. I sit beside him one arm behind his back, smoothing my hand up and down.

"Aeris, are you alright?" I ask, watching him closely.

He turns, looking down at me he places a hand on my cheek smiling happily.

"You are so beautiful, did you know that? I swear I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you." He says, thumb grazing my cheekbone.

"Thank you." I smile back at him.

He stares down at me, smile fading and eyes turning glassy.

"I couldn't help them." He says softly. "I couldn't stop it from happening."

"That isn't your fault." I tell him, touching his face so he looks at me instead of staring off into the void.

"All this power, this constant, burning fire inside of me and it's useless." He clutches at his chest, gripping his shirt with enough force to tear it. Tears well in his eyes as he looks away dropping his hand to his lap, staring at nothing, seeing something that haunted him.

"It isn't useless Aeris, you are strong and powerful and you keep us safe."

He shakes his head. "I couldn't keep them safe."

"No one could have stopped it from happening, you cannot blame yourself, none of you are to blame. Prince Arden and King Callin are to blame, no one else." I tell him, willing him to hear me, to believe me.

His expression turns dark as a tear falls, trailing down his cheek in a single line. His hands pull into fists on his knees as he stares at his nightmares.

"They will suffer. They will scream and cry and beg for mercy. I will make sure of it." His words are dark as he makes his promise.

I sit helpless and terrified he is going into a dark place I won't be able to pull him out of. Another tear slides down his cheek and I wipe it away. He blinks turning to look down at me.

Dark eyes full of pain and anger.

"They won't be able to hurt anyone else, I promise, they won't ever hurt you again." He reaches for me, taking my face in his hands and leaning his forehead against mine.

"It's alright Aeris, it's going to be alright." I tell him softly.

"There will be a funeral tomorrow...or I suppose today." He whispers, looking towards the window as the light starts to grow with the rising sun. "And then, Demwyn will be crowned the day after and he will be in charge of our futures."

"You still have your brothers Aeris, you still have family." I remind him and he blinks, looking down at me.

"And I still have you." He kisses my forehead.

"Yes, you have me." I place my hands over his as they hold my face.

"Your ears are cold." He says softly, fingers touching my ear lobes gently.

"A little." I nod.

"You must be freezing." He says looking down at me as if he has just realised what I am wearing, a thin nightgown that is useless against the frigid morning temperature.

"I'm alright, you're keeping me warm." I smile up at him.

"Come on." He says standing and taking my hand, I stand beside him as he pulls back the covers and holds it back for me. "In you get." He says nodding at the bed.

I slide in behind Alvaryn and Aeris gets in behind me lying on his back he stares up at the canopy not blinking. I move closer to him and he shifts, wrapping an arm around my shoulders I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling the heat radiating from his skin.

"Will you be there tomorrow?" He asks quietly and I look up at him. "At the funeral."

"Of course."

"But you won't be able to stand with me."

I don't answer. I didn't know what to say. Of course I wanted to, I wanted to be there for him and Alvaryn, to stand beside them, to give them whatever they needed from me, to be with them while they said their goodbyes.

"I'm tired of keeping this a secret." He says looking down at me. "I'm tired of pretending you are just another chosen. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I don't care if there are rumours, let them whisper, let them tell stories. None of it matters. I know who I am, and I know who you are. I know that I love you and want to be with you and nothing will change my mind."

"I want that too. But we should wait, until after...until after the funeral, and the coronation. So much has happened, and a few days won't change anything." I tell him wishing I could give him what he wanted. Even now the parts we played when we were around the court were exhausting, so many of the staff knew the princes were here in my rooms, that they took turns sleeping in my bed.

I knew there would be rumours. I didn't give myself time to think about them.

But this was different. The King and Queen are dead and Demwyn would become the new King. We could wait a few days before we made any more changes.

"Let us get through these days together, and then, then we can decide what we will do."

He turns back to staring at the canopy.

"You should get some sleep." His voice quiet, distant, like his mind is drifting to a faraway place and I'm scared to let him go.

"You need sleep as well." I reply, my fingers absentmindedly playing with his hair over his shoulder.

"I don't want to sleep right now, not unless you have wine hiding in your room somewhere."

"I don't sorry." I answer. "Maybe we could try something else." I say rolling onto my back. "Here, come rest your head here." I say, guiding his head to my chest. He lies on his side, shifting until he is settled beside me.

I start running my fingers through his hair, the long white blonde strands slipping through my fingers softly.

"If I close my eyes it's only because you're very comfortable, not because I'm tired." He somewhat mumbles as his arm tightens over my stomach, wrapping around me and pulling me closer to him.

"Okay, that's alright, as long as you're comfortable." I reply softly, my fingertips grazing his scalp before sliding through his hair over and over again.

I don't know what made me think of doing this for Alvaryn earlier, the only thing that came to mind was remembering what it was like when my brothers and sisters were sick and tired but couldn't sleep. I would lie up with them, trying to help them, rubbing their back and playing with their hair. Eventually they would fall asleep.

I didn't know if it would even work when I had started playing with Alvaryn's hair, but soon enough he had started to relax, his arm growing heavy as he held onto me. Even now I can feel Aeris beside me become still and his breathing turn soft and even.

They would need their sleep. I didn't want to think about what the day would be like for them, as they had to stare back at countless faces all mourning the death of their parents.

I try to remember the last funeral I had been to, an older woman in the village had passed away. Her children and grandchildren had all gathered close around the grave. We hadn't been particularly close to her, but she was known in the village and so everyone went to pay their respects and say their goodbyes.

This was not the same.

The King and Queen were not old and grey and ready for death.

They did not pass easily off in their dreams.

They were murdered.

Neither Alvaryn or Aeris had told me what they had seen, of what their parents looked like, but even the thoughts were enough to send a bolt of dread through me. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like to find my parents dead in their bed. Then having to go on the very next morning and carry on with my life.

The Kingdom would not stop because of the dead, the people would mourn their loss, they would pay their respects, and then they would move on.

It didn't feel right. The idea that everything would just go on as normal so quickly. And it would only get worse. Soon they would go off to war.

I didn't want them to leave, but I knew they couldn't stay. All their anger and pain and need for revenge would devour them if they did not go out and fight.

And now, after everything they have done there is no doubt that Nievenyth should not be allowed to rule a kingdom.

I didn't want to imagine what it would be like for them on the battlefield, or how long they would be gone for, or what my days would be like without them here with me. So instead I just lie, my fingers combing Aeris' hair while he held on to me tightly, his head heavy on my chest.

I listen to their quiet breathing as I lie in between them. I wished they didn't have to wake up, that they could just sleep and forget what has happened. I wished there was a way I could make it go away, to stop them from having to say goodbye to their parents, to stop it from being real.

I know it is impossible.

But I wished I had the power to make it possible.