Marin sat on her bed, fingers tracing the rim of her dead brother's ring. It was all she had left of him now. All she had left. She hadn't been with him as his life had drained away from him- as he writhed in pain from the cruel lash. She hadn't gone back for him. Heartland was right. It was all her fault.

Iris, as well as the Arclights, had no clue on how to help the grieving invalid. She hadn't been out of her room since being carried there by Dr. McNeil. Quattro wished there was something he could do. He and Iris had explained about Rio's twin brother, and how Quattro had known about him for several years, because Rio had slipped up and mentioned him. He had informed his father and brothers how Rio had told him that her brother had been sold to someone else and they hadn't heard from him since. Iris had given him an odd look at that, but she assumed she was just surprised that Rio had gone into such detail about an obviously painful subject.

Apart from that, however, there was nothing to do but wait. And Quattro hated waiting. In fact, he didn't intend to- beyond a couple of days- which was why he was heading to her room at this very moment. It had been almost a week, and he was determined to help Rio somehow, even if all she did was release her pain by yelling at him in a language he couldn't understand.

Rio barely stirred at the first knock on her door, but it soon became loud and insistent enough to pull her out of her stupor. "Who is it?" she asked hoarsely.

"It's Quattro. Can I come in?"

"I…" Rio didn't know what to say, and she honestly didn't care. After a moment of silence, the door opened and he came in anyway, being careful to shut the door behind him.

"Oh, Rio!" He cried when he saw the state she was in. Her face was drawn and pale, and her eyes were rimmed with red. There were dark circles under her eyes as well. Quattro dragged a chair over to the best and sat down next to her. "Rio, please, let me help. I can't stand seeing you like this. None of us can," he added for good measure.

"There's nothing you can do, Quattro."

"Just let me try! Please, Rio, let me try." She didn't respond to his plea, continuing to trace the ring she held in her hand.

"Rio, I can't begin to imagine what you're going through. When I lost my mother, it hurt. It hurt for a long time. I'm sorry about your brother. I'm sorry I never got to meet him. Surely…" He was suddenly struck with inspiration. "Surely there must be something we can do to honor his memory. If he had died in your home country, how would you have conducted the funeral?"

At first, Rio didn't answer, and Quattro began to wonder if she'd heard him at all. Then, so softly he almost missed it, she whispered, "Flowers."

"Flowers?"

"White funeral flowers. We'd start at…at my home, and we'd carry him to the sea from there. He'd be dressed in his best clothes, carried on a litter draped in black. Everyone in the village would come out to watch his final passing, and they would drop white funeral flowers on him, until only his face showed. People would join us on our march, and sing a mournful, wordless song to break the silence. Nothing is worse than a silent funeral." She paused, as if trying hard to remember what would happen next. It had been many years, after all, since she'd been in Baria, and funerals hadn't exactly been a daily occurrence.

"When we'd reach the sea," she continued, "He would be put in a boat, covered in black, and filled with more funeral flowers for a soft bed. Only when he was about to be pushed off would Iris and I put our flowers in. It would be our right as his closest relatives. There's be a small hole in the boat, covered by the black drapery, to allow water in. My brother's body would sink beneath the waves, at dawn, and that would be the greatest final honor we could give to him."

For the first time, she stopped tracing the ring she held and closed her fist over it. She looked up, her rose-colored eyes meeting his magenta ones. "But I can't even give him that. I don't even have his body. Who knows what they…what they…" Her voice broke, and she couldn't go on.

"Rio," Quattro had no words to ease his friend's pain, so he simply held her and allowed her to cry into his chest. They sat like that for a long time. All thoughts of what was or was not proper for the Crown Prince of Arclight had left Quattro when he had first started to fall for Rio, and if anyone saw him holding her, on her bed in her room, he wouldn't have cared.

"They can't take all of your brother away from you, Rio," he said when her sobbing at finally subsided. "You still have your memories of him. You'll always remember him, and how deeply he cared for you…and how deeply you still care for him. Let's give him the best funeral we can, if not to honor him, than to honor his memory."

King Byron had grown fond of Rio and Iris Kastle, so when his son presented the idea to him, he agreed almost immediately. "Though I must add," he said thoughtfully, "I've never heard of such proceedings in honoring the dead." Quattro himself thought it was a little strange, and so did everyone else who decided to join in, but they were all fond of Rio, and so were willing to do something a little odd for her.

Two weeks after the news of Nash's death had reached her ears, Princess Marin rose early, before sunrise, and dressed all in black, including a shawl to cover her hair. It would not do to let your hair blow free on a day of mourning. Iris donned similar attire, and together, they went down to the palace gates. The litter had been prepared and was waiting there, bearing only a simple plaque with two words on it: Nash and Deartháir, or brother. Slowly, the palace courtyard filled up with the royal family and the servants, each of them coming to pay their respects and drop flowers on the funeral litter of a boy they'd never known. They couldn't wake up the entire city at this hour, King Byron had said, so they'd simply cover the litter with flowers first instead of along the way. The flowers were white lilies, the closet thing Marin had been able to find to Barian funeral flowers.

When everyone was present, the solemn march began. Four men carried Nash's litter, and Marin and Iris walked on either side of it. About halfway through the march, Iris began to sing, a hollow, empty melody of sorrow and longing. Iris had asked to do this, for the brother she had barely known. Marin joined in with her after a while, but her tune was more of a mournful wail. The combined sounds were haunting and sent shivers down the spines of all who heard. Trey was sure the temperature had dropped and pulled his cloak tighter around him.

They reached a small dock near the beach where Quattro and Rio had spent so many happy afternoons, where a small rowboat was waiting, its oars missing. It was draped in black and covered with white lilies, just as Marin had described. The plaque was lowered slowly into the vessel, and everyone stood back at a respectful distance as the deceased's sisters came forward for their final farewells.

"Goodbye, brother," Iris whispered in Salkie. "I wish I could know more about you, but I'll never forget what I do remember- and that you gave up everything to protect me." She laid her lily gently down among the others and withdrew, leaving Marin alone.

The Barian Princess sank to her knees, salty tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Nash. I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you. I hope you'll be able to forgive me someday. I know I'll never be able to forgive myself." She laid her flower- the last one- next to her brother's plaque, and slowly began untying the knot that kept the boat secured to the dock. Once free, the current slowly pulled the boat out to sea. At first, the water leaked in slowly, but soon it was pouring in, and the boa rapidly sank from sight, leaving only a pool of floating lilies to show that it had ever been there. The sun was just coming over the horizon.

The people on the dock stood morbidly still for another few minutes, unable to tear themselves away. None of them would have guessed that the boy whose death they had just mourned was on a ship in those very same waters, caught in a whirlpool of suffering.

Next time on A Tale of Two Slaves: Chironex is a bitter man with a deep hatred inside him, and he's started taking it out on one slave in particular.