Hiding Royalty

15

They pair remained like that on the shore until the sun began to rise, and Liam finally felt like he wanted to move. Lyra held his hand as he stood up after what felt like years, and he looked out into the sea which was calmer than he had ever seen it. He did not want to think that it was his best friend's grave, that it had taken a person who was so monumental in his life.

"Let's find my father's house on this island," Lyra whispered with a hoarse voice, her eyes still gleaming with tears.

The pair walked side by side into the dense forest, not talking but simply walking in a robotic way. Liam was in denial, Lyra was in shock, neither was willing to talk about what had just happened.

The forest was silent, almost as if it was in mourning as well, and they made their way through it without a sound. Occasionally Liam would breathe heavily, a cry caught in his throat, and Lyra would look over at him with concern written on her face.

They came to a clearing, and without speaking both sat down in the centre. Liam placed his head in his heads and tried to arrange his thoughts; if he wasn't so distraught, he would have celebrated the fact that they had managed to make it to island despite all the things they had faced before.

"It should have been me," he whispered, and Lyra looked up surprised at the sound of his voice, "I should have been the one to die."

"Liam don't say that..."

"It's my fault that she's gone. She'll never come back! I've lost her for all eternity, oh why did I agree to take on this mission? Why didn't I wait till morning to row across this sea? Oh why didn't I save her?"

Tears streamed down his face, his whole body shaking and Lyra went over to hold him but he refused her. All she could do was watch as he broke down in front of her, and she watched as he went through the stages of grief at an accelerated pace. At first he was in denial, then he was hit by a wave of immense sadness, then guilt, and finally acceptance.

He knew he could never get her back. No matter how hard he tried.

"She lived a great life. All because of you. The memories you made with her meant that her life wasn't wasted. And she was taken from you in a way that fitted her character. She died bravely," Lyra knew little of what to say next, and her voice trailed off and Liam looked at her intensely.

Lyra had never sounded so genuine to him in all the time he had known her, had never sounded so profound and full of meaning. He knew that Emma's death had affected her in a different way to him, and he took her words seriously. At least Emma's end reflected upon her character, and she was brave until her last second.

"And now it is just me and you," he whispered to her, wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"You have done your duty. You can leave me Liam, you can go and live your life as you did before. I have only inflicted pain onto you. If you wish to stay for a few days I would be more than happy, but I cannot strip you of your life. That would be selfish of me," her eyes cast down to the ground, and she felt deeply upset that she was almost saying goodbye to Liam.

"May I stay with you a while? I cannot bear to cross that sea again."

She nodded knowingly, and took his hand in hers, kissing his knuckles as a sign of respect. She wanted him to know that he had done all he could, she wanted him to know that he couldn't have saved her. Smiling at her action, Liam wiped the final remaining tears from his eyes and looked back the way they had come. He could never forget Emma. That would have been impossible. But he would celebrate the memory of life, rather than mourn her death.

It was what she would have wanted. Emma was not the type of girl to want the pity of others, nor was she the type of girl who wanted to be forgotten. She was the type of girl who wanted the memory of her to burn strongly in the minds of those she knew, and the memory of her being strong.

Liam and Lyra walked on, trying to find the house of the King. Liam felt more settled, and even smiled at the sound of a bird nearby. Life goes on, he told himself, and Emma wished my life to go on after her.