Two years.
Two long years has passed since you left this world.
The wind rolled gently across the grassy hill, causing the sea of wildflowers surrounding his grave to sway beneath the evening sky. The sun had begun its slow descent beyond the horizon, painting the heavens in shades of gold, crimson, and violet. It should have been beautiful.
Instead, it only reminded Siera of him.
She sat beside the simple stone marker with her knees pulled against her chest, her dress stirring softly in the breeze. The countless visits over the years had worn a faint path through the grass leading to the grave. She no longer needed to think about the route. Her feet found it on their own.
A small smile touched her lips.
"Wherever you are..."
Her voice trembled.
"I hope you're not tired of listening to me yet."
Her fingers brushed against the weathered stone.
The surface was cool beneath her touch.
"I miss you, Alex."
The words escaped her before she could stop them.
They always did.
No matter how many times she visited, no matter how much time passed, those words never became easier to say.
A bitter laugh escaped.
"I tried, you know."
Her gaze lowered.
"I really did."
"I went to the church."
Her fingers tightened.
"I went to the king."
"I told anyone who would listen what happened to you."
Her voice cracked.
"And nobody cared."
When I reported your death to the Church, they acted quickly. Oh, they made quite the spectacle of it.
I remember standing outside the castle gates, watching their procession arrive.
High priests descended from ornate carriages dressed in immaculate white robes threaded with gold. Their staffs glimmered beneath the morning sun, gemstones embedded in their heads casting gentle halos around them. Behind them marched ranks of Holy Templars in armor so brilliant that commoners shielded their eyes from the reflection. White cloaks danced behind them, golden engravings upon their breastplates depicting the symbols of the gods.
To everyone around me, they looked magnificent.
Holy.
Righteous.
Children waved excitedly.
Mothers held their infants toward them, hoping for blessings.
People knelt.
Some even cried.
And I…
I believed.
I believed that justice had come.
How stupid I was.
The High Priest himself oversaw the investigation.
The library where you died was sealed.
They Blessed and Purified the blood on the floor…
Your blood…
They scrubbed it away.
Incense filled the air while priests chanted scriptures and traced holy circles across the floor and shelves. Sacred relics were brought forth. Every book was cataloged. Every inch of the room was examined.
And all the while, they smiled at me.
Sympathetic smiles.
Gentle smiles.
Promises that they would uncover the truth.
Three days later, they announced their findings.
The cathedral was packed.
Candles illuminated marble walls.
Choirs sang hymns.
And standing beneath the statue of the gods, the High Priest declared with practiced sorrow that your death had been an "essential incident."
Essential.
Can you believe that?
As though your life could be reduced to two words.
They claimed you had discovered a forbidden tome hidden within the archives.
An ancient text containing an enslavement charm.
According to them, its influence had corrupted your mind and driven you mad.
The Hero had no choice.
It had been a tragic necessity.
An unfortunate sacrifice.
Case closed.
They sealed your name away in their archives.
Wax.
Parchment.
Records.
...
Lies.
All LIES!!
I refused to accept it.
I somehow managed to secure an audience with the king himself.
Do you remember how nervous I used to become whenever nobles were involved?
Yet there I stood before the throne.
The grand hall stretched endlessly around me, lined with marble pillars and banners bearing the royal crest. Knights stood like statues in polished armor while nobles whispered behind jeweled fans.
And seated above them all…
The king.
He listened patiently.
Or perhaps he merely pretended to.
I told him everything.
That you were murdered.
That you would never willingly harm another soul.
That the Hero had betrayed you...betrayed us.
And do you know what he said?
"The Hero is pure."
Those words.
Those cursed words.
He told me your death was unfortunate but necessary. That the Hero's ascension was the will of the gods. That your sacrifice had paved the path toward his divine title.
As though your life existed merely to elevate another.
I was furious.
For the first time in my life, I raised my voice before a king.
I revoked his title in the name of the Goddess who allow me to wield this power.
The nobles gasped.
The priests turned pale.
Even the king rose from his throne.
The gods themselves had acknowledged my authority.
But my defiance came with consequences.
The church excommunicated me.
They stripped away my robes.
Took my relic.
Declared me a heretic.
And by sunset, I had become an exile.
My family wanted to leave with me.
Mother cried.
Father argued.
But I begged them to stay.
There was no reason for all of us to suffer.
So here I am now…
At our hill.
Our place.
My favorite place.
The place where we made that ridiculous promise beneath the stars that no matter how difficult things became, we'd survive this madness together.
Gods…
We were so young.
Do you remember how terrified I was when they chose me to become a priestess?
I remember sitting right here on this very hill, knees drawn to my chest, convinced they had made some horrible mistake.
I doubted myself.
I doubted my worth.
I doubted whether someone like me deserved the blessings the gods had bestowed upon me.
I remember asking you why they would choose someone so weak.
And you…
Idiot.
You laughed.
Not to mock me.
Never that.
You simply looked up at the stars with that stupid smile of yours and said,
"You having those doubts is exactly why you were chosen, Siera."
"You have a heart like no other."
"And when you fall…"
"Just look up."
"My hand will always be there to pull you back up."
A tear rolled down my cheek, and I couldn't help but laugh softly.
Even now…
Even after two years…
I can still hear your voice.
And do you know something embarrassing?
While you were admiring the stars…
I wasn't.
No…
I was watching you.
Gods, I was hopeless.
I remember wondering how someone could smile so brightly.
How someone could be so kind.
So unbearably good.
And before I knew it…
I had fallen in love with you.
I never said anything.
Never.
Because I knew your heart belonged to Tina.
You loved her.
Madly.
Completely.
And I accepted that.
Or at least…
I told myself I did.
Her smile slowly faded.
Her fingers tightened against the cold stone beneath them.
"...That bitch took you from me entirely."
Silence settled over the hill.
The wind whispered through the grass.
And after a few moments, Siera sighed heavily and shook her head.
...
I visited your parents.
I think you already know how that went.
They didn't ask how you died.
Didn't ask if you suffered.
Didn't ask if your final moments were painful.
No.
The first thing they asked me was whether the king intended to compensate them financially.
I nearly struck your father.
I truly did.
But your sister…
Oh, Alex.
Your little sister…
She opened the door to her dorm suite with that bright smile of hers.
She had been so excited.
She thought you had sent me with another letter.
She talked endlessly while preparing tea, rambling about her grades and some boy in her class she hated.
And then she noticed.
She noticed I wasn't smiling.
She noticed I was crying.
The moment I spoke your name, her smile disappeared.
I still remember how her cup slipped from her hands.
It shattered against the floor.
"Where's my brother?"
Such a simple question.
Such a cruel one.
When I told her…
She froze.
Not a sound.
Not a breath.
Nothing.
Then she laughed.
Gods, Alex…
She laughed.
She laughed because she thought I was joking.
And when she realized I wasn't…
She broke.
She grabbed my robes.
Begged me to tell her it wasn't true.
Begged me to heal you.
Begged me to bring you back.
She cried so hard she couldn't breathe.
Her little body trembled in my arms while she screamed your name over and over again.
And then…
Nothing..She fainted.
Her heart simply couldn't bear it.
I held her all night.
Even after she woke up.
Even after her tears had dried.
She kept asking me the same question.
"Why?"
And I never had an answer.
She's still studying.
Top of her class, by the way.
Smart, just like you.
She wanted to become an adventurer.
I nearly slapped the idea out of her.
I begged her not to follow that path.
Before I left, I paid for her books.
Her tuition.
Her meals.
Everything.
And despite being surrounded by nobles who mock her for being born a commoner…
She endures.
Just like you.
I'm telling you all this because…
This might be the last time I visit.
I don’t know where I’m going anymore.
There’s something pulling at my chest quiet, steady, insistent. Like my heart has stopped belonging to me and is now pointing somewhere beyond what I can see.
Maybe that’s what they mean when they say follow your heart.
I let out a slow breath and press a hand against my chest, as if that might steady it.
So… that’s what I’ll do.
Funny, isn't it?
After everything…
Part of me is relieved to leave.
Because without you…
This world feels empty.
She stretches out her hand, tracing the letters engraved into the stone.
Cold.
Unmoving.
Silent.
Just like you've been these past two years.
A weak smile forms on her lips.
"You were the real hero, Alex."
"Not the one they worship."
"Not the one history will remember."
"You."
"Always you."
As she turns away, her feet feel heavy.
Reluctant.
One last time, she looks back toward the hill.
A single tear falls down her cheek, catching the light of the setting sun.
And with one final lingering look…
She walks away.
One step.
Then another.
Never knowing that if she had turned around just once more…
She would have seen him.
Standing beside his own grave.
Watching her leave.