There were very few Sirens with them as Yoongi's body was transported out to the back of the palace grounds.

Taehyung had explained that the bodies of Siren's who passed were generally given a ceremony and dropped into the large trench that ran across the bottom of the ocean. Some tribes had different customs that included burial or even a cremation on a special guarded island that female sirens went to give birth (she still had a lot to catch up on).

Royals were only dropped into a certain part of the trench that ran through the back of the palace. She was surprised to see that it was heavily guarded and had a strange cage like grate over the top of the entire stretch of open trench. Over the thinnest parts, the palace outer walls were built, so it was not possible to get inside the palace grounds from outside the walls.

"Why are there so many guards and why do they look so.. different?"

Taehyung glanced at the trench guards. They were all dark-finned Sirens with heavy weaponry and armour, and even heavier looks in their eyes.

"These aren't normal guards," He said quietly, "They only guard the trench. There are certain areas outside the palace that have guards, too. They're the only place you are allowed to hold a ceremony,"

"Why?" Thal asked.

He hesitated, "There are... things down there. Let's just drop it for now, okay? The ceremony will start when we are near,"

At the very front of the little group, Yoongi was laid carefully on a stretcher carried by two males dressed in strange clothing. He looked peaceful, with a light, see-through blanket of some sort wrapped around him from top of tail fins to his chest.

The King and Queen were behind them, with their royal guards and Thal, Taehyung and more guards followed. A few others were at the back, but it seemed to be a family affair, and Thal wasn't surprised.

One of the courtiers had spoken against Yoongi being given a ceremony, but Thal's mother grew extremely angry.

"Yoongi was a prince and is my son! You will show him the respect of his station regardless of your personal opinions!"

"It's starting," Taehyung said quietly, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword. Thal noticed that the trench guards also tensed, but did not reach for their weapons.

Two trench guards moved in front and unlocked and lifted a heavy gate that was built into the cage covering the inky blackness of the trench.

There was complete silence, until the two Sirens carrying Yoongi began to sing in a deep, mournful tune. The language was one Thal didn't recognise but the sound itself immediately brought tears to her eyes.

"That's the ancient language of Sirens," Taehyung whispered, "Only our priests really speak it, but we can all understand most of it,"

"What... Are they...?"

"They're singing of the world of the dead, letting their voices be a path for Prince Yoongi's soul to follow. They're saying that the afterlife is full of peace and tranquillity. No fighting or disease, just a calm state of mind and joy. They promise that he will meet loved ones and be able to watch the loved ones that he left behind,"

The mournful song grew louder and the two priests moved to the edge of the trench.

Taehyung had to clear his throat, "They wish that Siren's will forgive any wrong-doings and let him go so he may follow the path and leave this world behind... They wish for him to forgive himself so he may untie the bonds of his soul to his body and follow the path to the afterlife," He swallowed, "That part is important, in our culture,"

Thal was about to ask why when her mother let out a loud sob and the singing cut off. The priests raised the stretcher above their heads and in unison, said one last thing before gently tipping the stretcher until Yoongi slid off and floated gently down into the darkness.

Seeing that her mother was being comforted by Jimin, Thal looked at Taehyung, "What did they say? And why is that last bit you said important?"

"They said 'May the Gods look fondly upon you, Prince Yoongi, son of the Poseidon Hoseok and Queen Vasilissa, and may our voices lead the way to everlasting peace,'" He looked around, "I don't want to talk about the rest so close to the trench,"

Before she could argue, Thal's mother appeared in front of her.

"Thal," She said, her voice choked up, "I'm sorry that you only knew him as... as you did. I just hope that he can finally be at peace,"

She hugged her mother, "It's okay, Mum. I forgive him, and I'm sure he forgave you, too. None of this was your fault,"

"She's right," Jimin said as they all turned to make their way back inside the palace, "It wasn't your fault,"

He gently guided her back inside and Thal followed with Taehyung, "Please tell me what you meant,"

He sighed and scrubbed at his hair, "Okay. Remember I said that there are things in the trench? Well it's guarded to stop those things from snatching live Sirens during a ceremony or at night," He saw her shocked face, "It's extremely rare, but it has happened. They can't leave the trench due to the pressure of the water and the light but.. some of them have long arms. We believe, that apart from the deep sea creatures that recycle our dead, that some of the bodies with serious unresolved issues... struggle to let their soul free and instead sort of transform into something else,"

"If it's so dangerous, why do you drop the dead down there?" Thal replied, blushing when Taehyung's arm tentatively circled around her shoulder.

"With humans on land," He explained, "Your Gods and afterlife are up in the sky. Our Gods and afterlife are deep down, so to make it easier for the souls, we put them closer to their goal. Also, we need to follow the circle of life down here. We feed from the ocean, therefore when we die we complete the circle and let our bodies feed the ocean," He cleared his throat, "Anyway, we have your friends to collect and a feast to attend. Shall we, Princess Thalassa?"

—-

AN: Was that all too confusing? Lol