Broken Remedy |L. Odinson|

Chapter Nineteen

The waters hit the shore gently, rocking the numerous boats on the surface of the water gently, the body inside each boat following the movement of the means that would soon become its tomb. Outside in the shore a crowd had gathered, children, women and men of all ages, there to honour the dead that had died trying to protect them. Families were grieving, children were crying, the older ones tried to appear strong, keeping their feelings buried inside as if that would help take them away.

In the front of the crowd, the King stood, his Queen right beside him, their two sons a few steps behind them, overlooking the ritual. On the Queen's side, a few steps behind, was Ingrid, her eyes swollen and appearing scarlet around the edges. Cuyler stood a few steps behind her with a bow and an arrow at hand along with a few more archers. To his side, stood Eir.

Her face was an expressionless mask as the boats started, moving further away from the shore, to the edge of Asgard, where they'd fall, taking her loved ones away forever. There was no going back now. No chance for things to become right again.

Brandt had been stabbed, as had her father, but his eyes had been closed when they had taken her to him. She had weeped upon seeing him, kneeled by his side and pleaded for anyone that could hear they brought him back. But no one could bring back the dead. And so, her brother, young and still having a lot of time in front of him to experience new things, had been killed, on the day he had been appointed guard of the palace, a dream that had come true only for a few minutes before everything was destroyed.

The archers around Eir moved, and she glanced to the side to see Cuyler doing the same. His arms shook but he instantly applied pressure and steadied his bow. He hid his emotions, just like she did. And along with every other archer, he let go of his own flaming arrow. The bodies, one by one, caught fire. And then they fell down the edge.

Slowly, the crowd dispersed. The grieving families stayed for a while longer, and so did the royal family. Eir heard a small sniff and turned to see Cuyler raise a hand to his eyes, trying to hide all evidence of his tears. She noticed Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, Sif, Thor and Loki coming closer, and Cuyler walked towards them. He rested his forehead on Thor's chest, and she noticed then it seemed like he had been crying as well. As Eir looked away, she noticed the way Loki and Fandral were looking at her. Without a word, she turned around and stormed back to the city.

No one spoke to her on her way to her home. She noticed a few looking at her, but they didn't dare speak. She supposed that decision of theirs had something to do with her expression. Either way, she was grateful. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

She got in her house and headed to her room. But at the last minute, she took another route. A while later, she was standing in front of Brandt's room. She paused behind his closed door, her throat suddenly feeling shut. She raised a trembling hand to the handle of the door. Softly, she opened it. But she didn't take a step closer inside.

Eir took in his room. Everything was neat, just like her brother had been, none of his possessions out of order. She took a tiny step forward but stopped before she could step inside. She just stood in the doorframe of his room, taking in the sight she had seen hundreds of times. She couldn't get in. With a disappointed shake of her head, she closed the door once more and resumed her way to her own room.

She felt hollow the entire way to her bedroom, and as she opened the door, the feeling didn't lessen. She closed the door softly behind her and locked, not wishing to be disturbed. She headed to her bed and sat down on the edge, lips turning into a small frown. She didn't know how to move on. She couldn't think of anything she could do. She didn't feel like she had the energy to do anything other than stare at an area of the floor. She felt empty. As if there was nothing more for her to experience. Nothing beautiful left to grab her attention. Her companion and protector was gone. She'd never see him again.