Warmth ~<GreenWind>~

❄️{Twenty

Dareth and a few other staff members planned out the funeral arrangements. Normally, Lloyd would have been included but he couldn't bring himself to. He couldn't believe yet that Morro was gone.

It wasn't just a funeral. It was Morro's funeral. His best friend. His partner. His shoulder to cry on. His heat when he was cold. His happiness. His boyfriend. It was all gone.

The day of the funeral and other services had come along and all were gathered in the large, gorgeous ice chapel. They wore dark colors to represent the sadness as they mourned together.

At the request of Lloyd, it was said everyone needed at least one accessory or item that contained the color green. He knew Morro would want that to represent him rather than black representing only his death.

Of course there was no body. So there was no casket. There were no ashes. There was but a picture and a few personal belongings on a table in the front. There were flowers and there was a gathering of musicians playing sad toned symphonies.

Lloyd sat in the front row along with others who were close to Morro. Certain staff members. Certain ambassadors and other important table members. Dareth. He didn't have many friends.

Up front was the speaker. He spoke from a wise book Morro once loved. It was almost like solemn poetry. From the pages he was reading it spoke of the flight of birds to their fall and regrowth into the soft grass children stepped on and the flowers girls picked for their mothers.

Aside from the sounds of sniffling, crying, even sobbing and blowing noses. It was mostly silent. No one dared speak. A change of subject seemed unruly at the time. What would have been time to bury the body never came and was instead replaced with the making of kites and floating lanterns to release into the sky.

After this, no one seemed to be the same. They had released their kites and lanterns into the sky, as if almost letting Morro go. But the memories never left. For Lloyd, the sadness never did, either.

Some days he found himself not being able to get up from bed. Some days he couldn't stop crying. Others he refused to eat. Other days he felt strong and was able to accomplish things for the kingdom.

One of his greatest accomplishments along the years was joining all the kingdoms. Instead of individual lands, they all worked together to create it as one. They were all able to travel and mingle amongst each other. Truly, seasons were created. It was a certain cycle.

People were looking at brighter days. There was more variety of people every day Lloyd met and saw. Children were happy and spoke of adventures to places they never knew existed until now. New animals were introduced. Some people were just as amazed as Lloyd was when they first saw an owl.

And the cat. Lloyd never forgot him. He named him Miracle. He considered him to be a very close companion and Miracle always proved faithful and caring towards Lloyd. In fact, everyone loved Miracle. But his magic was his and Lloyd's little secret.

Lloyd was able to get stronger. He was able to collect his spirits again. Never once did he forget Morro. But he had reached the point where he was able to leave the dark place and go days without feeling lost and not being able to stop crying.

He felt Morro would be proud. He'd come a long way. He'd become successful and he made good out of a bad situation. Morro may never have thought of an alliance. Some days Lloyd felt like Morro was right there, smiling over Lloyd's shoulder, proud.

~~~~~~~~~~
10 years later

Three children hopped along the rocks, laughing when they slipped or lost their balance. They had their arms out, helping center them. One suddenly yelped.

He stepped right through a hole in the rocky hill they were all standing upon. He cried out and instantly the other two had him by the arms. They were trying to pull him up.

But they weren't strong enough. He wiggled around frantically. This caused more to collapse. Finally, he stopped and calmed down.

"Uh oh..." he gripped the ground.

"Oh no!" The girl cried.

The boy was slipping in. He kept slipping until they heard him fall to the bottom.

"Are you okay?" The other boy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" He yelled back. "Guys...Come down here! It's a secret cave!"

The other two exchanged excited looks. They girl was first to slide into the hole. The other boy waited until he heard her shoes hit the ground. Then he dropped himself into the hole.

They all looked around. It wasn't dark. All along the walls were lit torches. As if someone else was there.

"This is kind of creepy..." the girl stated.

"Can we explore just a little?" The boys asked.

"Okay, okay." The girl sighed skeptically.

And so the three started venturing deeper into the cave. The lights started flickering and dimming. Then they noticed the cave coming to a stop.

On the ground in front of them, were bones. They looked closer and gasped.

"Is this...?"

"It is! The hair! Mom told me!"

"We found him!"

The children were quick to run from the cave. They had one stay at the hole as they ran to get help. They needed to get ahold of the king.

They found the body of Morro.

~ The end ~