Silence fell on the entire city of Nuria; no, the nation was still. A week and a half after giving birth, she had passed away from the stress of childbirth combined with an unknown affliction. No matter what was tried and tested on her, no matter who came to aid and lift from death: it was all pointless.

Decay itself had touched her: her skin and hair stained grey. Her eyes had dulled over the time of her illness. Mercilessly, the disease had sucked any semblance of life she contained day-by-day. No matter what anyone tried, Serena's illness slowly siphoned vitality from her.

Her funeral was quiet. Nearly every vassal had come to pay their respects; those who were unable to attend sent solemn apologies for their absence. No heart was left intact. The only feature about the day that felt alive was that the room smelt like flowers and herbs.

Petra stood in silence, unmoving like she had been turned to stone. She didn't stay too long after Serena's corpse was sent into the Royal Mausoleum.

Leodore had broken down into tears before 50 people: he was not alone. There were multiple who wept alongside him.

Cirian tried to conceal his grief for as long as he could before he eventually collapsed into tears.

Ruby didn't seem to understand the weight of the situation, calling out to her mother numerous times much to the dismay of everyone in the room.

"And so," says the priest in red and gold garb says. Celestia couldn't make out his appearance though her tears, she couldn't be bothered to even attempt to wipe them away. "Her Majesty's love remains everpresent with us while her essence unites with the Mother and Father in their paradise upon the sun. Her light will grow our crops and warm our homes among her ancestors, and rest when night rises."

"Rest peacefully," everyone says in unison, causing Celestia to jump slightly.

The little princess shuffled as she stands surrounded by people she's never seen, only few she has seen briefly before now. She couldn't definitively tell. Honestly, it mattered not to her as Celestia only desired to sleep, and sleep, and sleep. This entire week had eaten away at her, and her happiness.

"I want to go back home," she mutters in a low, monotonous, exhausted, empty, soulless voice. Maybe if she were to will herself enough, she'd return into her original body back on Earth... no, that wouldn't work, she tried that years ago.

Celestia falls face down in her bed, lying down in the bedsheets while clutching at the sheets, crying. She despised every passing second of the funeral, from the beginning to end she felt helpless. She felt helpless when the queen was gradually dying from this disease. Never before has she felt more like a passive observer in both of her lives. All she could do is watch from afar, not even being able to touch her mother or be in the same room.

"Why did she have to die?" Celestia's tears stained her bedsheets.

Someone is agonizingly tearing out her guts from her body, it feels awful. Her eyes are red and swollen from her constant sobbing. She stays in the same position until there is a knock on the door. Celestia responds by sitting up and asking for the person behind the door to speak.

"Your father has instructed me to deliver you a meal," the individual answers from the opposite side. They gently go to open the door to Celestia's room but halt upon hearing Celestia clear her throat.

"I am... not hungry presently..." Celestia mumbles, her response barely audible enough for the servant to hear. "Inform... my father of such..."

"Very well, your grace," it grieved the maid to hear the ordinarily cheery little princess possessing such a sorrowful tone of voice. Noiselessly, the woman closes the door, leaving the royal girl alone to mourn.

Celestia moves back to bed, before shifting her gaze to the window. Light trickles on to her face, Celestia almost felt like the sun is beckoning her forth. At an agonizingly slow pace, the world almost seems to move in slow motion as Celestia advanced towards the window. She pokes her head through the curtains and sees the same view as always: stone and wood structures as far as the eye can see.

That is until her vision moves downwards where she locates Leodore isolated by himself in the training yard of the palace where the Valkryie Rider's frequently train. Strangely, he isn't adorning his royal garb; just equipped with modest clothes. Celestia leans in closer before sitting on the ledge to peer at her father.

Leodore suddenly springs from his position with an outrageous burst speed towards the dummy and strikes his it, the collision knocking the equipment to the ground with a thunderous thunk. The abrupt strike and noise from the impact cause Celestia to recoil in shock. His herculean figure radiates a brilliant yellow as he stands there for a few moments, seemingly reflecting on his action as he glares at his sword and the dummy.

"Warrior Magic?" Celestia utters to herself, standing there in pure astonishment and awe. That's the first time she has witnessed that in person.

She flinches again as Leodore mercilessly beats the grounded dummy's skull again and again and again. Eventually, not only snapping the wooden weapon but also reducing the dummy's head to splinters. He takes a few moments to regain his stamina before he just collapses to one knee for seemingly no reason: not from exhaustion or fatigue, but something else.

Celestia is still marvelling at what just happened: the ferocious, furious and raw and primal strikes sending shivers down her spine and shaking her very soul to its core. She hops on the window ledge and goes on her tiptoes to unhitch the window's latch; after a short time of struggling, she is successful. She ties her leg to the bed with the bedsheets as tight as she could, nearly enough to choke her foot's supply of blood.

The princess glances down at the colossal drop for a single instant. Yep, she isn't looking straight down again ever. There are four full floors between her and the ground; she doesn't plan on dropping to her death and reincarnating again or just dying. This precaution is undeniably necessary for her, especially if she faints while looking directly down again.

She wonders why exactly her father is training out there by himself.

Celestia's eyes move up to catch something glistening on Leodore's face, a small mass rolling down his face and disappearing as it makes contact with the ground. Soaking into the palace dirt.

To mourn?

Alone.

He doesn't deserve that.

Celeste takes a deep a breath as she can, cups her hand around her mouth and yells at the top of her lungs, "LEO!"

For a few moments, the king's eyes light up for a moment as he looks around until he turns his vision upwards to see his daughter resting on the windowsill. Said window being wide wide wide open.

With haste and worry in his eyes, Leodore leaps to his feet; appearing as if he is about to scream his lungs out at his reckless daughter.

But he hesitates.

He peers at his child's unsafe harness.

Then smiles, moving closer and laughs, a sad, grief-stricken one, but still a laugh at that.

As he approaches, Celestia notices something behind his eyes. Like the King has experienced something akin to this previously. Nostalgia or Deja vu?

"You are a bold and adventurous girl, Celeste. What in The Father's armpit hair are you doing?" he quizzes, his smile showing his pearly teeth.

"Something wrong?" replies Celeste, much happier now seeing a cheerier Leodore. Sorrow didn't suit his somewhat scary-looking face.

"There is, but I do feel much lighter now. Speaking of now, get down from there, it isn't safe. I thank you for checking up on me, daughter, however; it's much too dangerous for you to remain teetering like that," Leodore crosses his arms and taps his feet against the ground. Directly below Celestia with a mildly annoyed and yet mildly entertained look on his face. Much happier and lighter than it was previously.

Celestia thinks of objecting for a moment before submitting with a roll of her eyes. She's an adult, not a child. Well, not entirely. No sane adult would act like this. That's the thing: he isn't a grown-up nor a male. But what he is free.

'Damn, being overworked to death was the best thing to happen to me, I guess I did always wish I could be a child again when everything was so much simpler. I wish I was a male though, this would make everything so much easier. Oh, damn, I spaced out again. Crap! I should probably get down before I actually fall to my death. Just don't look down...'

"Okay!" Celestia calls, cautiously clambering from her position and making extra sure she doesn't unintentionally notice how high she is from the ground again.

Despite the sad events of the day, Celestia felt happier, and she feels happier that she had managed to pull at least one person from a similar sadness.

Well, took me a bit but I finally got another chapter out on this story. I got a few IRL whacks that sucked a lot of energy from me and prevented me from continuing the story. There probably won't be another release for a bit since I had to scrape time and energy together to actually write this.

Hope you enjoy.