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Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Her funeral was the day after she had passed. Due to her illness and continued decline most all of the preparations had been made. A funeral pyre had been built in the churchyard. The earth within the stone boundary of the churchyard was scorched to oblivion. Too many funerals had been held in the outskirts of Auchendale as of late.

Friends gathered in the yard surrounding the pyre. The priests stood at one end my father and sister at his side. Next to them were people I did not expect to see, my maternal grandparents. They held onto Myla their faces somber. I had not seen them since my tenth birthday and that had been many years ago. I was not sure why I did not immediately join my family. I felt as if I would grieve better without feeling the need to take care of others.

I remained in the far corner. My hood pulled over my face. I wore a borrowed black dress that barely fit and my mother's cloak. I pulled it tighter around myself as the wind picked up. A storm was brewing that would bring the winter's first snow. Many people beside me wept. I had sworn to myself I would cry no more. I had no more tears to spend.

Silence fell over the gathered crowd as my mother's corpse was brought from the church. Four pallbearers carried her on a flat board covered in blue velvet. She wore a dress I did not recognize. It was a pale blue silk with tiny pink flowers embroidered on the hem; it must have been from her youth. She no longer looked like the sick woman I watched die. She looked like a ghost of her former self.

A hand slipped into mine clutching it gently. Looking up a cloaked figure stood next to me. They turned to me and gave me a soft smile, Tristan.

"Your Highness." I was surprised to see him here.

"Sh, I am not here as a prince. I am here as just Tristan." He squeezed my hand. A small smile came to my lips. I did not expect this level of kindness from him. I had thought his assistance in helping find me a proper husband had just been out of pity I now realized that I was wrong.

"Thank you." I squeezed his hand back and watched. In the beginning I had hated the prince for what he had done to Emera but something had changed. I no longer held the anger towards him that once did. I appreciated his presence and his support even if I did not understand why he was giving it.

In the weeks following my mother's passing, friends stopped by delivering their condolences and whatever foods families could spare this hard winter. I was growing weary of the apologies; grief hung thick in the air. People always told me what a great woman my mother was. I knew she was a great woman and an even greater mother. Their words only brought a deeper sorrow into my heart and further caused me pain.

I had not been out to the woods since my mother had died; I remained in the city with Myla tending to household duties. Tomorrow Myla and I were to head to the castle along with our father. Tristan had sent word that he had found Myla a job as a maid. He also said he had found a few men interested in taking a wife, even a low born girl like myself. I laid in bed that night playing out any possible scenarios. I was petrified of saying or doing the wrong thing, too much relied on tomorrow.

The next morning I woke early to get ready for the long day that lay ahead. After my mother's funeral my grandparents must have felt bad about their abandonment for they took a great interest in my soon to be engagement. They insisted that I Myla and I spend the night with them so we could ready the next morning. Myla had been visiting them every few days since the funeral; she had grown close to our grandmother, Charlotte.

Their house was by far nicer than my own. Myla and I did not even share a room. My grandparents were not the wealthiest of people but they lived comfortably. When I woke the next morning I was unsure of what to do. The fire was still burning slowly in the hearth, which kept the room comfortably warm. Everything about their home felt strange to me. The night before we all sat down and had dinner a maid served. It felt unnatural to me.