Chapter Twenty Two- That of Poison and Roses

Death.

Death.

Death.

It fills the air with it’s ominous hold, chills my bones with a sense of numbness I didn’t think possible before.

All the royals woke up early to process to the burial site- located in a small pavilion area in the palace gardens. We didn’t eat breakfast, nor would we be eating all day, due to the period of mourning.

Everything has been a blur since I awoke. It feels like a different person is wearing this dress, this makeup, this hair. This is how I’ve found myself to most things since my father’s death: numb. But today, that numbness has shown a new prominence.

The graves are all the same, rectangular boxes sitting atop the mossy ground, appearing to be formed from golden bricks. The brick-like construction on a person’s grave is determined by their social status: the most lowly peasants have brick graves, though some can afford stone, or maybe even metal. Only royals have golden graves, as though their wealth makes their death more important than the death of a peasant.

I don’t know if I believe that to be true or not.

No matter your status, a glass sheet forms the top wall, revealing a body inside, wrapped head to toe in silver fabric.

I remember Miriam’s burial, the way the fabric was simply draped across the floor of the grave. It was traditional, seeing as her body was never found, but somehow it hurt more.

And yet it hurts just as much now, to see the silhouette of my father’s body, unmoving in silver cloth. King Soren Aldridge’s grave is right next to my father’s, though I don’t bother looking behind the glass.

One by one, each person kisses the grave’s glass, and whispers a single word down to their loved one. The line to say goodbye to my father is much shorter than to say goodbye to King Aldridge, seeing as the only people of Briarwood are me, my mother, and a few loyal soldiers.

I hardly register the tears reddening my face as I stand in line. When my turn finally comes, I get down on both knees before my father’s grave. My tears hit the glass in tiny droplets as I lower my voice to a whisper to say my single word.

“Please.”