Xene took a slow breath, swallowing sharply as she pushed the door to Zach's room open. For a moment, she just stood in the doorway. Everything was familiar, and yet untouched by hands that would one day pack its contents away. Delicate fingers pressed against the door frame, finding silent purchase to keep herself standing. A soft strength she wasn't sure could have been felt before today. Her brother's loss... her father's loss... it all felt too heavy in her chest.



And she would continue to bury it. Like a mason laying bricks or a carpenter building a strong stable to tie up an unruly stallion. It would remain buried. For how long, Xene wasn't sure. Grief was an unstable, unfounded emotion that rolled over everything in its path like an ocean slamming into jagged cliffs.



The princess was entirely aware that something, someday, would shatter those stone cliffs like glass. Sand or magma, she didn't know, would come spilling out in response. All of her careful composure, the steel, and blades she'd set around her heart would snap. It was unavoidable.



But she was going to run from it for as long as she could. There were others who needed her more. People who needed her to be strong in the wake of tragedy.



Composing herself, Xene pushed away from the door frame, closing the door softly behind her. Stephanos had been in here at least once, she knew. How else would he have found the letters between Zach and their father? Padding to the center of the room, the princess turned slowly in a circle, taking in Zach's possessions, layered with a thin veil of dust after being untouched for so long. She would have to send a few servants in here to clean up what they had neglected. Zach was gone, but his memory would live on in this room for as long as Xene could hold it there.



The sharp chill that drifted through the room from an open window was unwelcome. This place had always been a warm haven. A place to escape to whenever Zach had a moment to spare. At that moment, Xene felt a twinge of anger that this place had been so ill-kept. Storming over to the window, she pulled it shut, breathing out yet another slow breath. Leaning there with her forehead against the glass, she closed her eyes, taking a moment to ease the tension out of her shoulders. Little by little until she was able to lift her head and turn to face the room once more.



Her gaze settled on her brother's bed, slightly ruffled from someone sitting on the edge. Xene found herself at the edge of the bed in only a few second, trembling fingers smoothing the fabric draped across it. As if preparing it for his return. Moving along the edge of the bed, she almost yelped when her sandal caught on something made of metal and wood. Hidden in the shadows where few would venture.



Bending a little, Xene found herself sinking onto her knees as she pulled the box from beneath her brother's bed. Brushing a layer of dust off the top, she frowned at the ornateness of the item. It had been well taken care of, and inset with what appeared to be Colchian gold and silver. Decorative yet functional.



If Zach were still alive, Xene wouldn't have bothered.



But her brother wasn't here anymore. There would be no one to yell at her for being nosy or rummaging through his things. And while a little voice in the back of her mind told her this was not proper behavior for a princess, Xene pushed the thoughts back as she slowly unlatched the small trunk and pushed the lid open.