Fairest of All

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—Quert sings a Celtic melody of loss as Gus is laid out on a funeral pyre. All around him, the bright colors of the enchanted forest have faded and there are no animals or fairies to be seen. It's as if Ravenna's shadow has passed here too. The tough, battle hardened dwarves shed tears like children. Harry looks heartbroken as Beith lights the pyre. The flames rise and Quert's song continues as the group makes their way across the barren hills and into the mountains.

Liam walks alongside Harry, glancing at him tentatively. He waits until the others are out of earshot.

"I'm sorry I left you." Liam said.

Harry looks over and sees the remorse in his eyes. Now this, this was the Liam he knows.

Harry shook his head, "You didn't."

"If I'd known you were alive I would have come sooner."

"We were children, Liam." he replied, "You're here now, and that's what matters."

That was the best thing about Harry: he was always so understanding.

Liam smiles, "I see you haven't changed a bit, little Hazza."

Harry smiles at the nickname— it was what Niall and Liam called him as kids. It brought back memories of before, when everything was good and beautiful. He missed those times and wished he could have those moments again.

"And I've seen the hostility between you and Niall, Lima." Harry fired back, curiously, "What has happened between you two since I was gone? You two are not the bubbly adventurous boys I once knew."

Liam stiffened. He didn't know what to say to the younger boy. He, himself, didn't really understand what happened. All he knew was that he hurt Niall. Bad.

He sighed, "Everyone thought you were killed that day. Niall and I had hope that you were okay, but hope can only take you so far. For the first few years, everything was okay between us. Until it wasn't..." Harry listened as Liam explained, trying to find what caused the rift in their friendship. "Once I hit fourteen, it was time to study to follow my father's footsteps. Every day, my father was training me, but I still made time to see Niall. While I was on training, Niall was alone, fending for himself, doing everything he could just to get by: stealing food, helping around the castle. I always brought him things when I saw him, until my father told me to forget about Niall and focus on my studies. I didn't listen. Late in the night, I would sneak out to see him and we got closer. Too close. One day—Niall's fifteenth birthday—I was going to the spot we usually met. I didn't know my father followed me. Everything was good, until I kissed him." Harry's eyebrows raised. He knew they had a crush on each other but he didn't think they'd actually do anything about it. He was happy for his friends, nonetheless. "We had kissed before, many times. But that kiss was the one that changed everything. My father had caught us in the act and was furious. He ripped us apart and dragged me back to the castle. He forbade me from ever seeing him again or else he'd hurt him. I didn't want that. And that was the last time we ever spoke."