Blood Supermoon

29. They Are Not People

News spread like wildfire about the death of the prince, the invasion of the palace and the grand appearance of Rose Lue Anders, rising back from the dead. It spread all across Mara, from villages to wealthy towns, cities to seas, everyone was talking. No one could believe that Prince Bain would murder the late King Anders. His father, King Bain didn't even have a trial. The palace committee thought it best to arrest him and then exile him from the country. This left an empty throne. Naturally, most people believed Lue would be crowned Queen after clearing her father's name.

With no one sitting on the throne, within days Mara went into further shambles. Crime increased, several mom and pop shops had to shut down due to safety and loss of merchandise. Many small towns and villages were invaded by individual gangs, burned to a crisp and left with nothing.

Lue's mind was burning incense, the wind blew her smoking thoughts all over the place. There was so much to do, but after all that had happened she wanted to rest for a 100 days.

One week had passed since the palace incident. It was the middle of the afternoon, late October. Clouds decorated the sky and made it darker than normal. She was sitting in a forest, on the outskirts of Cedar with a small group of people. The tree leaves were a dark, rich green; they were having a funeral for Jackson. Josandra was sitting next to her, and Zaria was on her other side. There were several other soldiers from Cedar that came to pay their respects.

She didn't know he was from Sycamore and that it was close to Ingrich. Didn't know that he thought about dying and if it ever did happen, he wanted to be buried on Cedar soil. Josandra and Zaria knew these things about him and it made her feel guilty for not knowing him as much as them. Josandra cried throughout the gathering so Lue held her hand and wiped her tears. For days after his death, she looked so sullen and often wanted to be alone. Zaria was a different story. He was quick to outbursts whenever anyone got around him, but for the first time today, she saw him crying to.

Was there something wrong with her for not crying? She felt sadness and anger, just like the both of them, but she also felt so numb. Why was she able to bring justice for her father, but Jackson was no longer with them?

After the funeral was over, she joined Josandra who was sitting on a log overlooking the Cedar dorms down below. Most of them were vacant with boarded up doors and windows. Many of the soldiers, trainees and nurses, had been given new assignments elsewhere. It was either that or they were dead or injured. Lue pressed her bicep against Josandra's.

"It still doesn't feel real," Josandra whispered.

"Yeah," Lue said.

"Why am I crying so much when it still doesn't feel real?"

"I wish I knew," Lue said and Josandra sniffled. "You should take a nap once we get back to the palace. I'll make you stew and then you should sleep."

Since Lue's name was cleared and the Cedar base was turned inside out, she didn't have anywhere else to go so she was living in the palace, in her old room, with Josandra.

"What about you?" Josandra asked.

"I can't sleep," Lue admitted.

"Still? You should see someone about this—"

"It's okay. I promise," Lue said.

Zaria passed them without a word. His hands were in his pockets and he looked agitated.

"Zaria," Lue spoke and he stopped.

He turned and bowed to her, but his brows were still creased.

"You going back to the palace?" she asked and he nodded.