Ch. 9: Mourning

Two days after the announcement that Lunaris's proud and beloved ruler had passed, the citizens immediately began to mourn. Many were already grieving for the loss and damage they suffered from the attack. Standing inside the grand chapel was a female knight, whose attention was drawn when the same young knight who had guarded Luna during the invasion walked up to her side.

Cries of grief echoed from those who either lost a husband, wife, child, or friend; they grieved in remorse. It was a sad day. Lunaris, known for its beautiful starry skies, was covered with dark gray clouds and a downpour of rain.

"Never before has the royal chapel been filled with this many coffins," said the female knight as the young knight solemnly stared at the sight before him, which saddened his own heart. Clapping both of her hands together, the female knight silently prayed for those whose lives were lost during the invasion.

Inside the grand chapel, one hundred and thirty-five candles, representing the number of lives Lunaris lost during the invasion, were lit. On the same day, the ruler of Lunaris' body was cremated. Due to Lunaris' royal tradition, his body had to be cremated, burned using crystal embers, so his soul could join the stars of his ancestors.

When the third day rolled around, citizens who lived in the capital gave offerings of white lilies to his statue in the Temple of Rulers. The Temple of Rulers was dedicated to the rulers who had served Lunaris. Inside, stationed in a circle formation, stood many massive white statues. When a ruler perished, a statue of themself was constructed and placed in the temple as a sign of honor and gratitude for having given their life to Lunaris.

Meanwhile, standing on top of a hillside that overlooked the quiet ocean were the royal members of Lunaris along with Luna's mother and older brother. Although her father's blood did not run through her brother, Luna's father had proudly thought of him as a son.

Standing before them was the priest, who spoke a long and sincere monologue, praising her father for his worthy deeds. Yet Luna heard none of it as she stood there, dressed in her simple white gown as it was traditional for the royal family to wear white whenever a royal member had passed.

'As I stared up to the sky, a star twinkled bright, and I asked myself, why did everything come to this?'

'Is this life somehow trying to punish me for not being a perfect royal?'

'Why? Why did I have to lose you!? Dad, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you yet! I still haven't grown up and made you proud of me! Why did you keep such a huge secret from me and left like this?!'

'I have so many questions, yet you are not here to answer them for me. I couldn't even say... I love you towards the end.'

The rest of the procession went by in a blur as Luna watched with empty eyes as the priest released her father's ashes into the wind. They drifted off into the stars high above where his soul now joined the ancestors of Lunaris.

After the procession ended, Luna spent the rest of the day curled in a ball on her bed. Luna's mother, the Ruler of Solis, spent most of her time in her daughter's room, trying to lend comfort to her daughter. The latter hadn't spoken a word since the funeral procession, which greatly worried the woman.

After resting a hand over her daughter's head, she bent down, kissed Luna's forehead, and left the room. Not knowing that right after she left, a twinkle of light glittered from Luna's puffball and flew out.

The purple ball of light hovered around Luna's sleeping head. "You suffer now, but I see that great potential rests inside you. Your future is bright, but the road you must walk is dreary. But as long as you have faith, you'll get through any obstacles," said a child-like voice that carried warmth towards the girl sleeping on the bed. The ball of light disappeared back inside Luna's hair.

Walking to take a breath of air, Luna's mother somehow found herself standing inside the grandiose throne room of Lunaris, running her eyes over the milky white walls and the painted glass ceiling which showed a brilliant illustration of a moon. Every inch of the massive hall was radiant and elegant as her eyes came to rest on the magisterial silver throne, encrusted with sapphire and amethyst gems. Yet the glorious throne of Lunaris did nothing but sting her eyes with tears.

"Oh, beloved, though we shared different views and opinions on many things, we shared a common ground. Remember when we were just two young kids with big inspiring dreams? We achieved those dreams, lived grandly, and gave birth to a beautiful daughter who has lost all meaning of joy without you." 

Her soft melancholy voice was gentle. A mournful sigh escaped her lips. She decided to stay on Lunaris to comfort her distraught daughter while her son had left to take care of some urgent business on Solis.

"Life without you here is going to be hard on her. Neither of us was ready to let you go just yet." Voice cracking, the proud and feared ruler of Solis' facade broke.

When she first met Luna's father, he was nothing more than Lunaris' proud heir and mightiest warrior yet to inherit the throne. As the cliche story goes, they met, fell in love, he took in and helped raise her son, who she had before their encounter, got married, and finally had a beautiful daughter.

Their lives were perfect, but sadly, perfect did not last, and the difficulties of them both being rulers caused them to go their separate ways. But despite their disagreements, even though their relationship had lost its love, there was still respect between them.

Despite his flaws, he was still a good man to his family, a great ruler to his citizens, but now he was gone. "How am I supposed to cope with this?" Voice weak and lacking its usual strength, Luna's mother dropped to her knees. Cries echoed throughout the desolated throne room.