Weylyn stood at her balcony in the Kalver estate, staring out over the Dukedom of Kalver,
Though her gaze was blank and dazed and her face was devoid of any expression, her heart was filled with conflicted emotions.
Her pure white robes fluttered ever so slightly in the wind, the mourning outfit the only clothing Weylyn had grown accustomed to wearing over the past months.
The three months mourning period of Sir Ronan Kalver had now elapsed and though the air of mourning and grief still settled heavily over the Dukedom of Kalver,
Weylyn knew the people had begun to move on from her brother's death, and truly she had never expected otherwise,
Though it ached her heart terribly to admit this, with or without Ronan, the Dukedom of Kalver remained in existence and the lives of the people had to go on.
The first change Weylyn had noticed over a month back was the white tapestries draped outside the homes of the citizens in display of their mourning had grown less and less as time passed on,
The streets had grown more and more lively and bustling as normalcy was restored to the Dukedom of Kalver, slowly...but surely.
The funeral bells had long stopped tolling, on orders from the Grand Duke of Kalver, Weylyn's father.
Weylyn understood her father, the grief of Ronan's loss would forever be imprinted in the hearts of the people, the Kalvers more so than others,
But the time for mourning was up and the people needed to shake off their grief and live their lives,
They all had families to cater to, businesses to run, lives to live and it would be unfair to take away all their joy and laughter by letting the funeral bells be a constant reminder of Ronan's death.
It was wrong to ask them to wallow in grief and halt their daily activities for longer than was necessary,
It was wrong to hinder their peace and prosperity on Ronan's account, to ask them to forego all festivities and exist in such a dreary and grief stricken atmosphere.
It was wrong to ask them to bear the pain of Ronan's loss forever along with the Kalvers... this was not what Ronan would have wanted.
Ronan loved this city and the people in it more than he loved his own life, Weylyn knew this better than anyone else,
Ronan had been raised all his life knowing his duty to the people as future duke, he had lived for this duty, it had been his purpose, his determination, his driving force.
If Ronan were still present, if he watched down from above, Weylyn knew his heart would ache terribly to see what the Dukedom of Kalver had become in his absence.
And so Weylyn understood, because she knew Ronan better than she knew her ownself and she loved him more than she loved her ownself, she swallowed down her reluctance and supported all her father's decisions.
For she knew her father knew just as well as she did that this was what Ronan would have wanted.
The orders of the Grand Duke Raego Kalver had been given and Weylyn would obey.
As of today, the funeral bells would no longer be tolled at dawn.
As of today, all festivities within the Dukedom of Kalver would resume and would be held to the maximum extravagance as it should have been.
As of today, by order of her father, she was to shed her mourning attires, never to put them on again and the whole house of Kalver was expected to follow suit.
As of today, she was to resume all duties as the new Knight of Kalver, beginning with heading to the Imperial City where her knighting ceremony would be organized by the Emperor himself.
As of today, she could only hold Ronan in her heart as she placed aside her grief for the time of mourning had run it's course.
As of today, she was to take up her sword once again and accept her destiny as protector of the realm, a duty shouldered by the Kalvers for generations since the founding of the Kinouri Empire.
Weylyn's eyes fluttered closed, her heart constricting painfully as she wondered, if this was how it would all end when she herself died.
She would be mourned for a time truly, but then life would continue and with the passing of time, even those who had sworn to never forget would eventually forget too.
And then all that would be left of her memory was a tombstone and tales written down in history...
This was the fact, this was the reality, but Weylyn felt it was okay, it was all okay.
Ronan had known this, yet to him, it had still been worth it and so Weylyn believed it was worth it.
Even if she would be quickly forgotten, relegated to a mere memory in the blink of an eye, as long as she fulfilled her duty, as long as she protected her people,
As long as she could carry on the legacy of the Kalvers, as long as she could carry on Ronan's legacy, to protect all he wanted to protect and to achieve all he had hoped to achieve...then it was all worth it.
"Lynn, it is time..." The soft voice of Rehan Kalver broke through Weylyn's thoughts and she slowly turned her head around to face him.
Weylyn took note of the fact that Rehan had already changed out of his mourning attire and her brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"The Lord Knight has arrived with the Imperial entourage, you are to be knighted in three days upon our arrival at the Imperial City." Rehan added,
Weylyn turned her gaze back to staring out over the balcony, ignoring her brothers words.
"Lynn..." Rehan Kalver pressed gently, however the very next moment, a domineering voice overshadowed Rehan's gentle coaxing.
"Weylyn Kalver! How long are you going to keep at this?! Did you not hear your brothers words?! You have accepted the Imperial decree, do you dare defy it now?!" Grand Duke Raego Kalver roared as he stormed into Weylyn's quarters.