A/N: Two chapters in one day? What the hell happened to me? Anyways, finally done following the books – now it's time for flashbacks!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Ruwalk stared down at the document he was supposed to be reading. It had been two weeks and he was still a walking zombie. He just couldn't get over the events of that horrible day. He remembered stumbling upon Alfeegi in that hallway, seeing all that blood, and yet Alfeegi still had had the strength to warn him about Kai-stern. He had ended up letting Alfeegi down twice that day. One, for not getting the doctor soon enough, for letting him die. And two, for not being able to help Kai-stern. Alfeegi had used his last breaths to warn him and ask him to help and he had let him down. He had let them both down. He was an idiot.
He stood up and walked out of the office, leaving his work undone. He headed to the gardens to try to clear his mind a bit. He found himself walking a familiar path, and soon he was in a clearing. He sat down on the rickety bench and began to cry. This had been Kai-stern's favorite spot. He would always come here to think, or to escape Alfeegi, or later on, sit and talk with Rath. He could swear he could almost see Kai-stern sitting next to him, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, laughing as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Ruwalk stood up abruptly and hurriedly walked away, he had to get out of here, he had to forget. He walked further into the gardens, soon finding himself lost. After wandering around aimlessly he found himself staring at yet another familiar sight – the grave that Rath had always visited.
He sat down on the ground and stared at the grave remembering the time when he had followed Lykouleon here. He was worried about Lykouleon, the way he was heading he was afraid he'd lose him too. His whole world was falling apart around him and yet he was still here. He was now expected to fulfill the post of Dragon Emperor while Lykouleon was incapacitated. He drew his knees up to his chest and cried into them. It was too much. How many tears had he shed in the past two weeks? How many times did he just break in the middle of whatever he was doing? He was useless and he was falling apart at the seams.
A hand on his shoulder drew him out of misery. He looked up and saw Tetheus. The dark haired officer sat down beside him, keeping the comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You're not alone, you know," Tetheus said with a gentle look on his face.
He looked down again, the tears slowly sliding down his cheeks, "yeah…"
A small spark of hope began to smolder inside him.
Told you it would be angsty! Oh and its not going to get better that easy, it takes alot more than that to get over the deaths of two best friends. Despite the fact I did two chapters at once, don't expect the next chapter all that soon - I'm still not quite sure what's going to happen next...