Walking up the stairs, she knows he walked these at one point, too. The idea almost makes her choke.
She burns.
She ignores the lump in her throat, as usual. She'd learned long before that crying didn't bring him back. The only thing that came with crying was anxiety.
Nobody tries to tell her it's okay anymore. That he'll come back. Now she receives sad smiles. She isn't sure if there is any hope left. It feels a little like being numb, she muses.
And she burns.
Every day, every hour, every minute. She feels like time is stripping little pieces of herself away. But for her kingdom, she's going to hold her head high.
Beatrix and Steiner comfort her occasionally, when they notice that she's holding herself feebly on the edge. When they know she can't handle it alone.
Sometimes, she feels that she is overreacting. But she can't deny it: during the short time that she'd known him, she'd fallen for him. And then he was gone. Just like everyone else.
And so, she continues to burn.