The princess stood morning over the loss of her only friend. Octus had stayed on earth and her and Lance returned home. Just as things had began to calm down a bit a horrible twist of fate changed her life. If only she had listened... he would still be alive... If only she listened. the cruel words still raced in her mind.

A mutradii had killed him. It was the last survivor of the war, who stayed hidden among the rubble, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment had been when the two teens had decided to take a walk around the rapidly regrowing land. It waited for them to get close enough, a poisoned spike was in it's hands. As Ilana passed, it jumped and readied itself to attack, about to stab and kill the princess. He hadn't counted on her bodyguard jumping in the way.

"ILANA! No!." Those were the last words ever spoken by the corporal.

The day of his funeral, the princess stood alone at the foot of the coffin, being the only family he had there who would dare approach. Her eyes burned as tears leaked from her eyes. Her father kept a firm hand on her shoulder. A man stood a few paces away from them. She didn't know who it was, but she had a feeling it had been the father of Lance. He had his head bowed, tears slid down his face, staying only a few moments before taking his leave. Some nights she wondered if she had just imagined him.

Her throat burned, but she swallowed down another round of tears as she saw a red haired male walk over and place a hand on the lid of the coffin. She knew that boy since she was a little girl...Arthur was his name. It looked as though he had been crying as well, but less than she had. Arthur pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and laided it on the coffin for everyone to see. It was a simple statement. A simple and yet powerful one.

'You were my only friend, thank you.'

Her breath hitched and her words died in her throat as they lowered the coffin into the ground then cover it with dirt. Keeping a thick wall between her and her beloved older brother figure. A gentle rain began to fall and the small crowd left, all except the princess. She walked over to the grave and unpinned her flowered broach and layed it down. She soon found that she could not hold in her tears any longer and openly sobbed in loss of her best friend. Her protector, and her brother for that matter. The only person she ever felt who ever understood her and her pain during their time on earth. The rain mixed in with her tears. She heard footsteps approaching but didn't care.

"You must have been good friends." A low voice said.

Illana looked up and saw a man with white hair, he held an umbrella over both her and the tombstone.

"He was my best friend." She cried softly, slowly wiping her eyes as she looked up at the man.

"Did you know him?" She asked, curiously, her voice was horse.

The man sighed and looked down slowly at the muddy earth beneath his feet.

"I guess you could say that, we went to school together." He said shaking his head and placing his hand on the headstone. "I just wanted to say good bye... and that I'm sorry for everything..."

The man wiped his eyes own eyes and was about to walk away when he was stopped by the princess.

"What is your name?" Ilanna asked.

"Baron." He turned and left, leaving behind the princess and a simply marked tombstone.

Here lies Lance Lunis

1994-2019

Illana woke up in a cold sweat. She buried her face in her hands and cried.

"Nightmare?" A voice asked.

She turned to see Lance, who sat in a chair next to her bed.

"Yes..." she sighed as she wiped her damp eyes.

"Don't worry. It was just a dream." Lance said with a gentle smile. "I'll still keep a close eye on you though."

Ilana smiled and settled back into bed. She fell asleep but Lance stood there staring... As if he would never see her again. He then leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek.

"Goodbye..." he said as he slowly got up and then disappeared into the night.