Alinea

She was… sleeping beauty.

Her pale, alabaster skin, in spite the length of time she'd been gone still glowed. Her rose petal lips pink, her cheeks, and her nose – she looked perfect.

If one didn't know better, he'd think she was just sleeping.

But she was not.

She's gone.

She'd long been gone.

The ethereal glow on her was the result of healing magic cast on her multiple times out of desperation. The anguished older brother had demanded, and pleaded every single healer on site to try and revive the fallen princess, but no one was able to wake her up.

They were too late.

Her soul had already disconnected with her severely injured body a long time ago. Even the soul catchers were not able to call her soul back. They could only offer prayers so that her spirit would find her way to the Elysium Field.

Now, her body lay on a raft filled with flowers. All of them, royals, peasants, and soldiers gathered at the great lake where the living would send her off to the other world.

"Alistair…"

The Ritz emperor snapped out of his reverie, his amethyst gaze transferred from his sister to Ivan who stood next to him. However, there was no fire in his eyes anymore. The usually perfectly groomed king looked unkempt, haggard, and totally defeated.

He was here, and yet he was not. It was as if his soul had left that night as well when they found Alinea lifeless in the cave. Since they took her back in the castle, Alistair had barely rested, always stayed by her side, staring at her sleeping visage as he held her hand.

Remorse, it was an understatement of what he felt. The blame he directed at himself was much too great; it was a huge black hole, s.u.c.k.i.n.g everything within.

If he had established his powers earlier, he wouldn't have had a rebellion in his hands.

If he didn't insist on keeping her in the dark, he didn't have to send her away.

If he didn't send her to that errand, she wouldn't have died.

It was all his fault. Alinea, his only sister was gone.

"It's time," Ivan told him, and he slowly nodded. The Ritz king totally looked hesitant, but he had to let her go.

Leaning towards Alinea's ear, Alistair spoke to her for the last time.

"Alinea, forgive your brother for his stubbornness. I swear to find out who set you up."

Lifting her slender hand, he gave it a kiss. "Go and take your eternal rest in the Elysium Field little one."

Alistair then stood up and the soldiers respectfully lifted the raft, placed it on the water and pushed it away. They watched as the waves took the beautiful raft in the middle of the lake.

"Ivan, please…"Alistair murmured, and with a flick of his hand, the Flame emperor summoned two vermilion birds who shot up to the sky with their fiery bodies.

The birds flew towards Alinea, and they circled the space above her, as if in a dance.

The Kresnik emperor's glassy jade eyes stared at his fiancée one last time, with his jaw clenched in grief. But after the birds had finished their ceremonial dance, Ivan had to gather himself to give the order.

"Burn…" he said, and the vermilion birds' flames burst, becoming bigger as they plunged towards Alinea's body, scorching, burning – leaving nothing but ashes that sunk into the depths of the lake.

Alinea, the princess of Ritz, amidst broken hearts and tears was laid to rest.

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"Ah!"

Suzuki Ara yelped in pain. She had just finished her bath and was toweling herself dry when she felt a burning sensation behind her hip. With a frown, she shifted in front of the mirror to inspect what caused the pain and was surprised to see her lightning seal there.

Eh? She didn't know what happened. She just meditated a bit under the hot shower earlier, but it wasn't enough to be able to have her seal back.

She was scratching her mark, when her gaze caught her eyes in the mirror and she stopped. Staring back at her was a pair of silver-grey eyes and she was stunned. Then she looked at herself carefully.

Oh…

Without warning, tears suddenly fell from her eyes as an image of Alistair's anguished face flashed in her mind.

"Why?" She couldn't understand, but she suddenly felt very, very sad – like when she'd lost her trusted soldiers back in the Devil's Cavern.

It was unreasonable for she should be very resentful towards Alistair. Why was thinking about him now made her so depressed? She had no idea, but a dam of feelings broke inside of her, and she slumped onto the floor and wept like she hadn't wept in a long time.

Half an hour passed, and she finally stood up. But when she looked at the mirror again, she was still surprised.

"How…"

She completely looked like she did in Ritz now, except for the shorter hair.

Ara was at a loss, but she didn't dwell on it. Regardless of her old or new body, it didn't change anything. Just…

"I need to un-beautify myself before going back to school or not," she murmured as she picked up her clothes and started putting it on. It was a yellow once piece dress that Aki brought her this morning.

She planned to do some reading today to refresh her memory of Ara's school lessons. If she were to stay here, she needed to adapt. After all, she still had debts to pay to Suzuki Ara.

She was thinking of which one to study first as she strode out of the bathroom, but then she caught movement at the periphery of her eye and she turned towards the couch, startled.

"Oh hello there," a friendly voice chirped as a tall, lanky man with c.h.e.s.tnut hair and sparkling hazel eyes smiled at her from his seat. He was wearing a dark blue suit, a flamboyant looking piece of cloth dangled on his c.h.e.s.t, and a pair of stud earrings glittered on his ears.

Ara stared at him in shock.

"What's wrong Ojou-chan? Am I too handsome you forgot to speak?" he asked as he shifted on his feet, showcasing his figure before winking flirtatiously at her.

Ara finally snapped back to reality. "A-Alistair?"