There are no clouds in the sky, not a single one, it is bright and blue and the sun shines down on all those who stand in the gardens.

It isn't right. The sky should be dark, clouds should be hanging overhead black and thunderous. The sky should be mourning the loss of the King and Queen and rain should be pouring from the sky like tears being shed.

Instead there is black all around me, fae in dresses and suits all standing still and silent. Black lace veils cover the faces of the females paying their respects. I don't know why we wore veils, it isn't a human tradition. I didn't want to cover my face and if it were me lying in the coffin waiting to be buried I wouldn't want their faces hidden either.

Is it to hide their faces so we wouldn't know if they were truly sad? Was it so we wouldn't know whether they were here to mourn or just because it is required? How many were truly saddened by the loss?

I look at the Princes, they stand together, staring at the coffins lying side by side.

Aeris looks as though he is barely hanging on and my heart breaks for him. He had wanted me to be there with him, standing by his side, but instead I am here, with the other chosen. His pale face is drawn tight, eyes dark and hollow looking and I can still feel the way he had held me this morning before he left, digging his fingers into me like he was terrified to let go.

Alvaryn stands beside him, he had been quiet this morning, mind unfocussed, eyes distant. It was unnerving to see him that way, like he was in another place. Even now he stands staring at the coffins but I wonder if he actually sees them or if he is staring at nothing at all and his mind is sinking further into a dark place and I am helpless to do anything about it.

Demwyn stands like he always did, wearing black came naturally to him, but his face, his face was not the usual stoic expression, no, it is murderous. His brow furrowed and mouth tight. He looks like he was planning his revenge and I didn't doubt he was counting the days before his army would leave and the war would begin.

He deserved his revenge, they all did. I would want the same thing if it were me. I would want to know those who killed my parents suffered the same fate.

I only hoped that it would be enough, that getting their revenge would be enough to bring them out of the darkness and help them move on, not drag them further down into it.

Just behind Demwyn is Varis, his eyes focussed on Demwyn like they had once been on King Harwyn. I wonder if it has started already, the whispering, the so called advice. Would Demwyn listen as his father had? Would he be susceptible to Varis as King Harwyn had been? And what will happen to the Kingdom if he is?

There is a loud angry scuffling sound outside my bedroom door and I stand up from my chair near the fireplace as the door opens and Alvaryn shoves Aeris inside. Aeris stumbles in looking dishevelled as he holds a bottle in his hand, his eyes red rimmed and bloodshot.

"What is going on?" I ask, looking at both of them.

"Tell him to stop, tell him to stop drinking, he has had enough!" Alvaryn snaps, panting like he has been fighting, his clothes ruffled and eyes wild.

"He thinks he knows best!" Aeris snaps back taking a long pull from the bottle and holding it high in the air like he is proving a point.

"No, I know what you are doing, you are drowning yourself, you are trying to drown everything out just like you used to!" Alvaryn tells him, shoving his hand into his hair angrily. "Dae, you need to talk to him, tell him to stop, that it won't help anything, it will only make things worse. He won't listen to me but he will listen to you." He says turning to me while keeping an eye on Aeris.

"Maybe, maybe if it helps him sleep it's alright." I shrug turning to Aeris who grips the bottle tightly in his hand like he is worried someone is going to try and snatch it from him.

"He doesn't want to sleep, he wants to pass out into oblivion, and then when he wakes he will do it again and again and it will only get worse until he is drowning and can no longer tell reality from fantasy." He tells me and I believe him.

"Aeris," I say gently moving towards him slowly. "Aeris, maybe Alvaryn is right, maybe you have had enough to drink and we should put the bottle down." I stand in front of him and he looks down at me, eyes glassy and full of pain, struggling to focus.

"Aeris," I say softly, touching his cheek so he looks into my eyes, eyes so dark it's difficult to tell where his pupil ends and iris begins. "This won't help, it won't make you feel better, it will only make things worse."

His brow furrows and his eyes squeeze closed as if he is struggling with his own thoughts and then he steps back suddenly, growling loudly as he throws the bottle into the fireplace and it explodes in a flash of fire and broken glass. I feel Alvaryn's arms around me pulling me back away from the flames and shards of glass.

Aeris collapses onto his knees in front of the fireplace holding his hand out into the flames. I move closer slowly, watching as the flames surround his hand, licking at his fingers as they dance and weave.

I sit down beside him carefully, I place one hand on his back as Alvaryn comes to sit by my side and we all stare at the bright orange flames.

A single butterfly made of flame flutters out from the logs of wood and hovers in front of us.

"Do you remember the solstice?" Aeris asks quietly, his voice worn out like he has been screaming for hours on end. "I had thought the worst of our troubles was Varis, when I learnt he had threatened you I didn't think I could feel the same kind of anger and rage and need for revenge as I had in that moment." The butterfly floats around his hand, its translucent wings bright orange and beautiful. "I had been wrong."

"Varis is still an issue, did you see him today, the way he wouldn't let Demwyn out of his sight." Alvaryn says, the fire light making shadows and shapes against his drawn expression.

"Do you think Demwyn will listen to him?" I ask, not knowing their brother enough to try and guess.

"I'm not sure." Alvaryn answers, turning to me. "Varis served our father for years, he was by his side before we were even born. Demwyn would be a fool not to listen to him and heed his advice. But in saying that, I don't know if he is strong enough to only listen and not follow."

"Varis will sink in his claws like he did with father." Aeris says as the butterfly falls apart and the sparks flutter back into the fire.

"But father was strong enough to still stand on his own two feet and make decisions that best served the Kingdom." Alvaryn replies. "He was ready to be King, it wasn't shoved on him so unexpectedly like it is with Demwyn."

"Well, we need to make sure that doesn't happen." I say softly, they both look down at me as I sit between them. "You are his brothers, you should be standing with him, helping him, guiding him, he trusts both of you. You need to make sure that the decisions he makes are the right ones."

"Dae's right, we can't keep fighting with Demwyn, not now, we need to stand together." Alvaryn says running his hand down my back.

"How am I meant to stand with him when he refuses to accept us?" Aeris asks still staring into the flames.

"We need to find a way, we can't leave him to stand alone and fall into Varis' clutches. He might have been born to be King but we were born to stand by his side." Alvaryn replies looking at his brother, then down at me. "And if we are to live here together, to have this Kingdom be our home then we need to make sure it is safe, from everyone." He kisses the top of my head and I lean my head against his shoulder as my hand finds Aeris'. He threads our fingers together as our hands rest on his leg.

"Tomorrow everything will change. We will have a new King." Aeris says quietly, hand still stretched out into the flames and I sit watching, transfixed by the way the flames wrap and weave themselves around him.

"You're right, we will have a new King, but not everything has to change." Alvaryn replies.

"It's too late for that." Aeris says.

"We will still be here, the way I feel about both of you will not change." I tell Aeris, looking up at him. He blinks, turning to look down at me. He kisses my forehead softly then pulls back and I rest my head against his shoulder as he turns back to the fire, finding comfort in the flames.

I would sit and stare into the flames for as long as he needed. I would hold Alvaryn and sit in silence with him until he fell asleep. Whatever they needed I would give. They both gave up a piece of themselves to save me with barely a thought, I would give all of myself to save them if that was what if needed.