Flames

Chapter Forty-Six

Just as the decoy body had been placed, Cassandra was put in an opened casket in the middle of the throne room for viewing. She had been dressed in the finest gown she owned, a delicate white dress that David swore was one of her favorites while she had been alive. The servants had done an excellent job of preparing her body for the viewing, decorating her clothes and casket with little pieces of silver jewels. They had taken her hair out of the braid, cleaning out the blood that had been caught in it, and had laid it delicately along her shoulders. They placed her hands carefully across her waist, an old necklace of David's tangled around her fingers.

The throne room was decorated with flowers of every kind. The people of Luxtene had been left in shock once David had made a speech about what had transpired. Their views on Cassandra changed drastically as they realized what she had sacrificed. They brought her gifts of every kind, no matter how many David tried to refuse.

For three days, Cassandra's body remained in the throne room for the viewing. It was only supposed to go on for one day but the amount of visitors that wanted to pay their respects to their honorable princess had been too grand for only one day of visiting. They all wanted to see her face one last time before she'd be gone forever.

Nix had spent those days sitting on the steps of the throne chairs, his knees almost at his chest as he sat and watched the people say goodbye to their princess. The shock had settled in mere hours after her body had been taken from him by the servants. No matter how much they asked, he couldn't change his clothes. Nix didn't want to wash her blood off of him. He couldn't bear the thought, despite so many protesting against it. He couldn't even change his shirt.

He only left the throne room when it was needed, which was rare. There was much he needed to think over and he felt more comfortable being in the throne room with her body, especially when there were no visitors and it was just the two of them. Nix had become like a statue, sitting there in silence with his eyes completely locked upon her casket. From where he sat, he could barely see her hands.

Regret and guilt filled the spaces between his thoughts. The people he had killed before meeting Cassandra had all had families; all had loved ones. He had never given it much thought before, never thinking of it as anything but a job that needed to be done. Roman had convinced him that in times of war, all people knew their lives were on the line. They knew the risks. He swallowed, knowing he had given this awful miserable feeling to hundreds of people over the years. The world was finally getting its revenge and justice for all those that now suddenly tormented him.

When the third day came to an end and the last few visitors left, Nix forced his legs to carry him towards Cassandra's casket. He leaned over it, his eyes still puffy and dry from all the crying he had done. There were no more tears left within him. He hesitated, but took Cassandra's stiff hand tenderly into his own.

All the anger within him had long disappeared. It had been replaced by numbness, pain, guilt, and an overwhelming sadness that he couldn't contain. Nix couldn't rid himself of the heavy emotions that took hold of him. He felt defeated. All he wanted to do was sit alone in an empty room with nothing to look at while he barely existed.

He shut his eyes, lowering his head towards her hands. He could remember his father always being tough on him, a drink often in his hands. He didn't understand why he had done those things when he was a child, thinking his father was just an awful man. Now, he understood. When you loved a person more than your own self and they vanished from the world, life itself came to an abrupt stop. It was a pain worse than any injury he had ever experienced. If he could have gone back and been taken instead, he wouldn't have hesitated to do it.

A gentle knock sounded from the main door of the throne room.

Nix lifted his head, glancing over his shoulder to see David making his way across the glossy marble floor towards him.