Miko: I didn't want to post it too soon after, but I didn't mean the delay to be this long. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.

Burial Ceremony

"I was hoping to find you here, Sonea." It had been a few days since Sonea had read the book, but she still refused to read the last chapter, though it was never far from her mind. She had just begun trying to think of all the ways you could restart a human's heart when Rothen came into the library.

"Hello, Rothen." Sonea said, smiling. "I haven't seen you in ages." Truth was, she still felt guilty for betraying Rothen's trust. Though the Alchemist had assured her he understood her reasoning, she couldn't look at him without remembering the shame and disappointment that had been in his eyes at her hearing.

"I think we both know that you were ignoring me, Sonea." He said. She flushed slightly but didn't deny it. "I'd love if you could join me for dinner this coming Freeday after the…ceremony." He said. "I miss your company."

"I miss you too, Rothen." She said. "But right now I'm really busy with a joint healing project Lady Vinara has set for me and Dorrien." Rothen frowned at her and she resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze.

"I'll see you on Freeday, then." He said. "And no excuses or I'll have to get Dorrien and Regin to help me convince you." Sonea knew that her friendship with Regin still upset Rothen, but she had given up trying to explain to anyone.

"Of course." She said. "I'll see you then."

***

Sonea stood apart from the rest of the Guild as the names were read and the respective bodies were placed in the ground. Fifty-two magicians had lost their life that day, just over two weeks ago. The ceremony was led by Lord Balkan and Lady Vinara, who had seemed to grow closer during the past two weeks. Sonea stood near the end of the row of bodies, eyes never leaving Balkan's face to glance at the ones beside her. As there was no tradition for burying a magician, they had set up their own ceremony. Each body was accompanied by the magician's closest friend or family member. No one had come to claim Akkarin or Lorlen, both of their families still away while their residences in the city were being repaired. Sonea had agreed to stand in for both of them.

She watched Lord Yarrin standing beside the body of Gennyl, one of the novices from her first class who had been killed in the invasion. His titles were read out as Lord Yarrin lifted the body and set it gently in its grave. He shifted the dirt to cover the body and carved the boy's name, family and house on the rock that was used as a headstone. Several magicians had added decorations or epithets, but Lord Yarrin left his blank. The ceremony progressed and soon they were almost to Lorlen. Sonea chocked back a sob as Lady Vinara turned to face her.

"Sonea, do you claim the body of Administrator Lorlen?" She spoke the words loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I do." Sonea was surprised that she spoke so clearly.

"Then set him to rest for all time. Give him his place in history." Lord Balkan said. "And you may speak any words you feel he is due."

"Lorlen always looked out for me." Sonea said. "He never looked at me different because of where I was from. He was a kind, trusting person who does not deserve the fate he was dealt." Through her speech she had set him in his tomb and covered him. She knelt in the dirt and placed her hand on the rock. Under her fingers it twisted until it was smooth and white. In elegant script she wrote his name, family and house. Under that she drew a picture of a flower. "May he rest in peace."

Next came the part she was dreading the most. Though she had used excessive energy for Lorlen's grave, she was not even beginning to tire. Akkarin's body lay still, almost as if he could wake and smile at her for believing his bluff. But under the robes she knew his heart was pierced. He would never watch her with a smile when he thought she didn't notice. She let a single tear roll down her cheek before turning back to face Lady Vinara and Lord Balkan.

"Sonea, do you claim the body of the former High Lord Akkarin?" Lady Vinara asked for the second time.

"I do." She said. Balkan repeated his part of the ceremony again, but this time Sonea said nothing as she lifted the body. Instead of covering it with dirt, she shifted it so it was pure sand that covered his grave. She heated a layer of it and set it on the top of the grave. Under the heat and pressure of her magic, it turned to clear glass. Before she had lowered the body, she had laid a spell to preserve his body. The spell would draw strength from her own body, but so little it was of no consequence. She shaped the rock into an arch at the head of the grave and wrote his name, house and family. Under that, she added her own epithet; He gave everything for those he loved most. When she was finished she let the stream of healing break and she fell to the ground and cried. No one stepped forward to stop her and she wasn't sure how long she lay on top of the grave she had just made. Finally, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Rothen looking at her sadly, tears in his eyes.

"I miss him, Rothen." She said. "I miss him so much it hurts. Doesn't it ever get better?" She knew she was a mess, covered in dirt and muck and tears.

"In time." He said. "In time you will be able to move on. But it never goes away. You just need to come to accept it, but no one can help you with that." They stayed in silence for several more minutes before Sonea stood with a sigh. The light had gone from the sky and most of the other magicians were in their quarters.

"I owe you a meal now, don't I?" Sonea asked, walking away from the gravesite. Rothen chuckled and followed her.

"I believe you do." He said. They walked together to his quarters where Tania had already set up a small dinner. Rothen smiled at his former servant.

"Ah, Tania." He said. "It's nice to see you again. I swear it hasn't been the same since you left." Tania smiled at him fondly.

"I tidied your rooms, Lord Rothen." She said. "I don't know how you could ever get anything done with the mess you'd collected in there." With those words for parting, she chuckled and left the room.

"Thank you for letting her come with me." Sonea said. "It is nice to have a friendly face every day." The thought of facing each morning was hard enough. At least with Tania there she was forced to pretend she was alive.

"I thought they let Takan stay with you." He said, sitting down at starting to eat.

"Yes." She said, sitting opposite him. "But we were never close. And he is more distant now. He just cooks. But it's more then that. He treats me as if…" As if I were Akkarin. She didn't need to speak the words. Takan had adopted that servile role once Akkarin died and while she was grateful to the Sachakan man, it was irritating at times.

"So how are your lessons with Lady Vinara going so far? Dorrien tells me you are progressing quickly." Sonea scoffed at that. She had spent the past week trying in vain to memorize the names and uses of herbs. So far she could only remember a handful of the more common ones. Lady Vinara's lessons were slightly easier, as they dealt more with magic and less with memorization, but she was still having a difficult time channeling the energy gently through the tubes they were using as practice veins.

"I believe she muttered something about an avalanche being gentler then I am." Sonea said. Rothen burst out laughing and Sonea frowned. "It's not as easy as you make it seem."

"I'm sorry." Rothen said. "Things have come so easy for you that it seems you don't realize how difficult it is for the rest of us." Sonea scowled at him but said nothing. "There has been talk of you rejoining your novice class." He said.

"Ha." She said. "They don't trust me, Rothen. I see them looking at me like I'm a wild animal who will attack at any moment." She spoke the words as a joke, but she couldn't keep the bitterness from her tone.

"Give it time, Sonea. They let you stay, thank the gods. They just don't know you well enough to know you would never hurt anyone. Akkarin's betrayal came as a shock to everyone." Sonea bit her lip and played with the food on her plate for a moment. She knew it was childish after all she had been through, but she still wished everything could go back to normal.

"I know you're right." She said. "But it doesn't make it any easier. There are only three people in this entire city who don't look at me like I'm a monster. You, Dorrien, and Regin." She didn't miss Rothen's frown at Regin's name.

"I know you don't like Regin still, but he's different." Ever since the invasion, he had totally changed. When he had found her with the Thieves, he had seemed to understand that she wasn't the same person anymore. Coming so close to death had changed him, too. She had to admit that she could see why her fellow novices had rallied around the boy. He had a way of deferring to others as if they were equals. Only she still recognized when he was actually leading them to his view on a subject.

"It just seems like your entire time here you spent avoiding him and now I hardly see you two apart." He sniffed uncomfortably.

"We're apart plenty." She said. "We may have become friends, but that doesn't mean I can bear being around him for long. He's still unbearably stuck-up." That made Rothen laugh and Sonea couldn't help but join in.

"And what about Cery?" Rothen prompted. Sonea frowned. Ever since Cery had found out just how powerful she was, he looked at her differently. She had always known their friendship would be hard once she was a magician, but before the Black Magic incident Cery hadn't acted any differently. Now, though, he seemed uncomfortable to be around her. All she could hope was that in time he would come to accept her again.

"I'm not sure." She admitted. "We're not the same people we were a month ago. We're growing apart, I think." From there the conversation turned to lighter conversation; the food, the latest building projects. Sonea was almost sad when she left his rooms a few hours later. For the first time in two weeks she had felt as if everything could be normal again. Upon stepping out, she was once again the center of attention. Now more then ever she wished she could become invisible.