"It hasn’t changed at all, hasn’t it?" said Leo, looking over the distance.

He was right. It hadn’t changed, but he was referring to it from months ago. Back then, it was just a giant tragedy that no one saw coming, but now it was as peaceful as it should be.

We dismounted and brought with us the flowers grown and prepared by Leo. They were special since they were grown for this very day. Mine was one which symbolized her energy, the other something to symbolize a simplistic type of beauty. It felt just like them as I looked at it, and it only made the moment heavier.

The plains were as tranquil as usual, but graves and tombstones decorated them in an orderly fashion. It was the same place with the mountains in the distance, all but plains around it, and a clear, blue sky to top it off. The area of the festival grounds was dedicated to those who were killed during that night. They had made it into a graveyard, placing those who they recognized on proper ones while the others were forgotten or simply in memory.

We walked until we stood in front of the graves with the names, Tricia Isles, Julia Ernest, and Josephine Talst. On their graves were wilted flowers we had placed on them a while back, and somewhere those which we didn't know of, but didn't really mind.

I kneel down and gently lay the flowers upon their graves. It was heavy as if there were someone weighing my shoulders down. I was like an anchor who touched the bottom of the shore as I landed on the grass. I mustered up my courage and spoke.

"Hey, I'm here again. Sorry to have made you wait. I've been preparing for a lot of things, and this one is part of it. You can say I've made my peace, and I hope you're proud of me for that."

I take the silence around me in and breathe deeply in. I exhale, feeling a heavy atmosphere leave my body, letting the words flow out naturally."

"Julia, I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything to save you. I owe you a lot, but I can’t repay that anymore. I’ve been told so many times that my death won’t even satisfy that, so I chose to keep moving. I realized that you’d want that as well, so that’s where everything will come to an end, I swear... You know, I never predicted something like this would happen. One day I was just there, sitting under the shade of that lonely tree, looking at nothing in particular. Then you came along and changed me. I know I haven't fully become the person you want me to be, but I've changed to some degree. Now, I'm here standing in front of you, wearing something I never thought I'd ever wear in my life. I've now become the center of this entire thing. A lot of people's hopes are riding on my back, and it's heavy. It feels like it'll break my shoulders the more their expectations mount up. But, that doesn't matter to me. I know you and Tricia are looking down at me. I feel protected and safe. It makes me feel that things will go right this time and that I can finally put this pain to rest. Watch over me, Julia. I'll see you soon."

As soon as I finished with my words, a strong gust of wind came blowing past me. The fragrance of a certain flower that she had loved tickled my nose, reminding me of her. I knew what this meant. She was really there, and because of that my tears held on for a bit longer.

I turned to Tricia’s grave and simply couldn’t stop the tears from falling as the memories of what had happened to her resurfaced. I had been strong, but when it came to her, I was as weak as could be. She was the only one I had left, and now she's gone as well, in a better place.

I clench my hands and draw out the words once more

"Hey, Tricia, I’m back again. Sorry if I hadn’t been here often. I’ve been busy preparing for something, but now I think I’m ready... This is probably goodbye, in this world at least. I’m not sure how things will turn out, but I’ll avenge you and Julia. Everything they’ve done to make you suffer, I’ll pay back tenfold, no, maybe more than that. It'll never be enough although. I won’t ever forget what they did to you, ever. I’m sorry your brother is so useless. He couldn’t even do anything to save his own sister. I’m sorry..."

The words then started gushing out in rapid succession. "I'll make things right, so when I get there, I'll be sure to cook you something good, something better than a feast! It'll blow everything else out of the water. I'll cook you a meal so great it'll erase every bad memory you have, and then we'll be able to spend time together, forever even. Things will go back to normal, just like back then when we used to joke around all the time. I missed those times, and I'm sure you're missing them, too. So... wait for me, alright? Your brother will be there soon. I’m sorry that it's taking so long. I just have to finish this one last thing, and right before you know it, I'll be by your side again! It- It'll all go back to- to normal, right when things were simple..."

I felt a hand on my shoulders once more. I look to my side and saw Leo, his lips quivering. He gave a nod which helped me steel myself.

That dreadful time when I suffered just by seeing her that way. It all started coming back to me.

Her last smile on her pale face which looked like all her vitality had been sapped from it. Her warm hands, which were filled with blisters and scars, faded prints as they were worked to death. Her very being, transformed, killed off, or even made an example of. No mercy was shown to them. With eyes like that of a dead fish, they looked upon me, I couldn't understand whether it was happiness or sadness on her face, but they left a lasting impression on me, and it was long enough that I wanted it to last that way. With wrists and ankles having their skin torn from the bindings, she tried her best to stand and embrace me. She weighed nearly nothing, like that of a ghost. She was losing her warmth, and I thought that it was it. But I had a bit longer, and it still didn't feel enough.

Even with all those hardships, she had the energy to smile at me. The worst of them all was when she said her first words the day I found her. Her weak, trembling words filled with so much pain and agony, the sorrow of it all was just wrenching to the heart that I could nearly vomit in place.

"I always knew that you’d come."

I had wished that I was taken that day instead, but she made me not regret anything. Instead, she smiled and slept peacefully as she lay on a bed. I recognized it, the smile. It made me weak, it made me feel what she had felt during those times she was held captive even with their hopes of survival continuously being snuffed out... she was stronger than I was. And she will always be.

"You’ll always be my brother, no matter what. I love you, Johann. Thank you, for everything."

She spoke with the last of her energy and closed her eyes for the last time. I swore that moment that I’d see things through no matter what.

It should have broken me, oddly enough, but it only strengthened my resolve. Should I have been happy about it? I don’t understand anymore.

I stand and wipe the tears from my eyes. I etched the scene of their graves into my mind and finally turned away. Leo had also tears falling from his eyes as he walked away from his mother’s grave, but that was a given seeing how much he loved her, and how much she cared for him.

As we remembered them fondly, the sound of footsteps on the grass alerted us. We turn to find an old man carrying a basket of flowers. He had a long, white beard, wrinkles on his face, and wore a beige robe that went with his wise hermit look.

"Here to pay your respects as well, aren't you? How kind. I'm here for the same thing. It was a terrible thing, what happened to them that night. I wasn't there, but I heard of the stories." He passed us and started placing a single flower on each of the gravestones, bowing his head in silence for a few seconds each time.

"Are you tending to all these graves? Are you the one who placed those flowers on the graves of our loved ones as well?" Leo asked.

"Yes, I am. Though I don't want to take credit for it. And I have been tending to these graves myself. I don't see a lot of other visitors other than you two, so they might have been forgotten, sadly. But, the least I can do is keep them clean until their loved ones come back. And you know, it made me quite happy that you shed tears here for those you loved. Sometimes people simply need to let out their sorrows. It doesn't mean that they let go of those memories they've grown fond of. It only means that they're reminiscing it, enjoying it. That's why I found myself smiling when I saw you two. I felt how much you both loved and cared for those you're mourning."

"Thank you, not just for that, but for taking care of everyone here," said Leo.

"Oh, no need to thank me. It's only natural. My condolences for the ones you've lost. You two seem so young, yet you're both dressed for something serious. I assume it's that rumor I've heard around frequently. That one about the attack on the Kaiser's home city."

"I'm afraid we don't know anything about that. Excuse us, but we have to go now." I placed a hand on Leo's shoulder and gestured to him to return to our horses. He understood why and followed, nodding off his respects to the old man once more.

"I see. Take care now, young ones. I'm sure that a lot of people are waiting for you. I wish you great success. Avenge my daughter and her family for this tragedy." He nodded and started going back to work.

"I wonder how those rumors are floating around without us knowing the source. This'll mean bad tidings for us if it spreads further, Johann."

"Not like we can do anything about it now. The Kaiser and his lackeys have been prepared for an opposition since day one. A rumor like that won't make a difference, maybe it would, but it'll be insignificant enough to not mess up our plans. It'll be the same either way. The plan's been ridiculous ever since it's been thought up, but everyone's up for it, so there's no backing out anymore. We'll all be hunted down if we give up on this. Our last chance to stop that and any other atrocity from happening is to fight and finish this.."

"As if there was ever an option to back out," I said confidently.

"Exactly. You can't back out from this, Leo. You're one of the generals of the operation. You'd be charged with treason and probably executed for it."

"And so would you. You're one of the heroes in charge of taking the Kaiser down. I can't even think of what they'd do to you if that ever happened, but then again I can't really see you deserting."

"Never thought of it."

"Well, if there was an off chance that it'd happen, the world would probably end the next day. It's weird, I just can't see it happening," said Leo, scratching his head.

"That just means that you don't have to worry about it."

"Then I won't. It’s fortress Icyne next, right?" asked Leo.

"Yeah. We’ll meet up with everyone there. That’s the place where it’ll all begin. The greatest effort of unified people to overthrow a tyrant. We’re going to bring him down, no matter the cost."

"Yeah. Let’s go get them, Johann."