"Don't pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living. And above all, those who live without love."
-Albus Dumbledore.

~

The Queen rushed out after Atticus, with Aurellius trailing behind her.

"Rory! What happened?" He called out from behind her, unsure of why his wife was being a little extra moody that particular day.

She had her bad days, when she would just sit and lament over the good old days.

Aurellius did feel a little jealous of that man, having given Rory more memories in two summers than Aurellius had made with her for a hundred summers. But he had no idea how to tell her...

The Queen suddenly turned around and faced the king regent, "Why wasn't he here, Aurellius? Why wasn't he here to see Augustus like the rest of the parents?"

"Maybe he got busy..." Aurellius trailed off. He couldn't tell his wife the truth. She would be broken.

The Queen sighed, "If I know anything about him, he would cut off his own hand if he had to, to see his son before the mission," she gasped, "What if he didn't want to meet me?"

"You're wrong my Queen," came Atticus' voice from behind Aurora. She whirled around to face the large man, her desperation swirling through her mind like a storm.

"WHERE IS HE ATTICUS?!" she shouted, "PLEASE TELL ME!"

Atticus looked down, his face filled with a mix of emotions, mainly shame and grief.

Aurora wondered why Atticus looked so sad, so torn.

Wait...

No.

No no no.

No that didn't happen. She refused to believe that to be an option.

"My Queen I-" Atticus' voice broke.

She could feel the tears swelling in her eyes before Atticus could even finish his sentence.

"I am so sorry," Atticus said and a choked sob escaped her throat.

"D-don't t-tell me what I-I think it is," she stuttered. She instantly felt Aurellius' hand pressed on the small of her back as a gesture of comfort.

"Trystan Wells passed away last summer."

That was all it took for her to crumble down to the floor of the balcony, every fibre of her being working desperately to help her control the will to rip her hair out.

She felt one tear roll down, then two, and within a moment her entire eyes were burning with the enormity of the amount of tears that they had shed. Her face was swollen as well as soaked with tears.

Her body shook with violent sobs as she cried out his name.

He was gone.

"No. I refuse to believe this," she said with a stern voice, looking around to see if this was a deliberate prank planned by him to surprise her.

She waited for him to jump out of a corner and scare her, then laugh at her expression and smile that breathtaking smile of his.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" She said desperately, "I know he's hiding somewhere. YOU CAN COME OUT NOW TRYSTAN!"

"Rory," came Aurelius voice in a soft whisper.

"Relly you wait and see. You'll love Trystan," she said, still looking around for the love of her life.

"Rory...There was a fire in Fillian last summer and he..." Aurellius trailed off.

Aurora shook her head and wiped her tears, "I appreciate you being in on this plan Relly. But I know it's a prank. He should come out now."

"Rory-"

"Oh Relly you'll love him. He has this ability to light up a room with his smile and he is so funny and-" Aurellius cut her off.

"RORY HE IS GONE!"

She flinched at her husband's tone but still shook her head, "No..."

"Yes Rory. I'm so so sorry honey but he is no more..." Aurellius cam towards her, trying to comfort her but she scooted away.

"No he can't be gone!" the tears are coming back.

"I attended his funeral," Aurellius said in a soft tone.

And something in Aurora broke.

She clenched her fists together, "And why was I not told then? Why was I not invited?"

The weight of the situation had finally begun to set in. She felt like she had stepped out of the dark.

But she preferred going back into the darkness. Where she thought he was safe and happy with Augustus.

And now his absence felt real.

All hope of one day seeing Trystan again was drenched in gasoline and burnt to a crisp. All the scenarios her mind had made, of her meeting him one final time to tell him she still loved him, they would never occur in real life. They would always just be a dream now.

The thought of not hearing his voice, seeing his smile, embracing him ever again settled onto her all at once.

All the memories came crashing back to her.

The times they would bail classes and sit by the Seawater Lake and he would watch her sketch. Or when they would sneak into the kitchens at night where he would make her the best hot chocolate in the realms. Their first kiss at the top of the Aviary during sunset. Her graduation cap hitting him square in the nose. Him holding Augustus when he was born. Her waking up the next day without him or Augustus by her side.

She remembered the last time he had smiled at her, when he had been wishing her a good night while putting a crying Augustus to bed. He had been such a pudgy and excited baby, always laughing and kicking around, and that particular night Augustus had kicked a wooden shelf instead and Trystan had tended to his little wound.

The ghost of that smile stuck into the back of her mind, the way his eyes crinkled when he grinned, the laugh lines of his face, the intensity in his blue eyes, the windswept curly hair. The half-broken steel rimmed glasses.

All...gone.

"We couldn't distract you from the rebellions happening in Eredium," Atticus answered.

"Rory I-" Aurellius began.

"I don't want to be Queen," she said, her voice a ghostly whisper.

"W-What?" Aurellius stammered.

"You can't do that Your Majesty," Atticus began, but couldn't finish because the now broken woman lunged at him and grabbed him by his collar.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO ATTICUS! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" she screamed into his face.

"I want to be where he is. I don't want to be here," she cried, letting go of the large man and clutching the sides of her head tightly to stop the pounding headache that spread across her skull.

"Rory-" Aurellius said cautiously.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! We were supposed to die together. Side by side. After having grandchildren. And great grandchildren. I have to join him. He can't be up there alone," she gazed up at the evening sky, at the stars that were beginning to show themselves. He was there somewhere. Waiting for her.

She felt empty, like there was no reason left to live. And then Aurellius gave her one.

"Come on Rory, we'll get through this. For Aiden. For Augustus."

"How long have you been hiding there Lia?" General Atticus says suddenly and Aurelius follows his line of vision towards a pillar.

There is a movement of winds after a moment reveal a small girl with huge yellow wings.

Aurelius felt his eyes widen slightly. The little girl had heard all of it. And she could go tell Augustus.

She blushed and looked down, "Not that long..."

"She heard everything didn't she?" His wife whispered. Of course she did.

The girl just kept her eyes trained on the floor, no answer coming from her.

"Listen up, you are not telling anyone what you just heard, got it?" Atticus spoke up, looking at the girl with a cold glare.

"But doesn't Augustus deserve to know?" She asked in a small voice.

"It will only distract him Lia, it won't help him," Atticus looked over to the Queen who only nodded slightly in agreement.

Aurellius placed a hand on his trembling wife, "How about you write him a letter. And the girl could give him the letter when the time is ripe?"

"B-but how will I know?" The girl asked with wide yellow eyes.

Aurellius smiled at her sadly, "I have a feeling you will know just fine."

~

Ugh I hate this chapter so so much, I'm terrible at writing tragic scenes, I just start finding it funny because I'm a raging psychopath.

But I had to write it to avoid plotholes. So I published it now to get it out of the way.

Anyways, the next chapter, in my opinion, is much much better. But the actual fun starts with chapter 11, aah I'm excited for that one.

Until then, toodles!