1 Year Later
"Blessing of the great Father descend and guide your body's return to the Earth. Great Father, guide your spirit's return to the Mother of all, there you shall find peace. Faram"
As the words was spoken, the woman, kneeling over the body of her dead husband, felt like someone had thrust another knife into her heart, twisting it repeatedly with increasing force. The marriage that had been considered the only hope was now the ultimate failure.
She stared at the body of the man she had forced herself to care for and felt an overwhelming sense of pity. This innocent man had died as unhappy as the woman he was married too, but at least now he was free. She still remained.
After the ceremony had ended, people left the somber atmosphere to find comfort in food and drink. A man stood off to the side, watching some people put a hand of reassurance on the young woman's shoulders, before departing. She remained a stone figurine; not even caring to acknowledge the little compassion some cared to show.
As soon as they were alone he approached her. His familiar shade of blond hair shone, even in the shimmering lights of the candles that burned around the cathedral. It felt like an eternity as he stood there watching her, before she stood, bowed, then began to walk down the same aisle she had walked up only a year before.
He stepped out of the shadows to talk her when suddenly she stopped, taking a step back as if she had been hit in the chest. Her attempts at centering herself were unsuccessful.
The next thing she knew were strong arms coming in and catching her in a warm protective embrace.
The two sat there, he kneeling while she lay in his arms, both looking into each other's eyes.
"Basch" she choked out in a whisper, lifting a hand to his face. To her surprise he took it in his own and held it there. There seemed to be a moment in time where they could just taste the energy and emotion and reveal their feelings without saying a word. But it was broken suddenly when Basch cleared his throat and lifted her into his arms.
"Let's get you to your room your highness"
When Basch left her with her maids she went straight to her bed and cried true tears of sorrow, while he returned to his own quarters and lay awake with nothing but his aching heart to comfort him.
Almost a week later, her heart shattered when news of the king's assassination was proclaimed to be carried out none other than Basch Von Rosenburg himself.