𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿𝘀. . . nishimura riki ✔

𝟬𝟬𝟵; sad little dove

THE LAST TIME GOOD QUEEN MEI LI SAW HER CHILDREN WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE THEIR NAME-DAY. She had whispered sweet nothings into their ears as they were curled up beside her. The little prince on her left, and the princess on her right, just as they had when they were younger. Her bed covers were large enough to cover the three of them.

The hour was late when the bells in the belltower rang for the dead queen.

Jiho was outside by the pyre when he heard the bells toll for his mother. With a solemn face, he watched his men carry her coffin to the fire, where they would free her soul from her body.

His mother was no more.

'What is dead may never die,' he breathed, as flames began to lick his mother's coffin, and rose into the sky from the funeral pyre. It was a chilling sight.

Jiho stood silently behind his siblings as their mother, in her finery, burnt. He did not cry, but he could feel the deep, heavy sadness in his heart. It would take him time to learn how to process this sudden loss, for both his brother and his sister. But he would, he would learn how to live in these circumstances that had so suddenly thrust themselves upon him.

He did not have a choice.

Jiho reached out and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. 'I'm here for you, little dove,' he said solemnly, and although she couldn't see it, he was fighting back his own tears.

He had never realised how much his mother meant to him until, in the midst of his grief, he realised how much she had meant to him. Her presence had been such a constant in his life that he could take it for granted, and it was only in this moment that he finally saw how much of a pillar of his life she had been.

Jieun wrapped her smaller hand around his, giving it a firm squeeze.

Jiho squeezed back, a hint of his typical Yang pride resurfacing, and he forced himself to stay calm and collected in front of his siblings and family, despite the immense pain he was feeling right now. He wanted to provide strength and stability for his siblings, even if he was unable to provide those things for himself in this time of mourning.

Jungwon, who had been slowly trudging towards their father, quickly wrapped his arms around the taller man.

Crown Prince Jiho felt his heart melt slightly as he saw how gently his father placed a hand on his younger brother's head. His father's own eyes were red with tears, and Jiho realised that their father was struggling with his mother's passing just as much as he was. 

Perhaps more.

He and their father were not as close, but he watched intently as his father held his young son. A father and his family, in their grief. And he felt his voice begin to break as he looked over to his right, at his sister. 'Do you need a hug, little dove?' he asked, trying not to sound like he was on the verge of tears as well.

Silently, Jieun nodded, unable to tear her eyes from the pyre.

Jiho reached out and took his little sister into a comforting embrace. 'I'm here for you, sister. We can all mourn together. I promise you that.'

He squeezed her shoulders gently, his heart hurting for her. She was so young. Too young to be without a mother, too young to have to worry about anything beyond being a child.

'Are you also sad?' Jieun asked him, looking up at him.

'I'm. . . I'm very sad, little dove,' Jiho said quietly. He did not want to talk about his pain, but he knew he could not leave his sister with the burden of his sadness. She was too young to be the one comforting her older brother.

She squeezed him tighter, 'It's okay, I am too.'

There would be ample time for them to grieve. Now, they just needed to show strength and stability for each other. They were family.