Soul of a Human

Saphine and Tiara dealt with Mor's passing in their own way. They spent the time together, talking and remembering. But with the target of their infatuation out of the picture, no more rivalry was left, meaning they shared in their grief as friends. Both had to acknowledge that they had behaved very childishly in not wanting to lose against each other, ignoring Mor's feelings in the matter.

Both of them had to come to terms with the fact that they had crushed on the boy not because of him but because of his achievements and the fact that he had saved them, respectively. Still, the girls agreed that something more would have been possible from that crush. So, they didn't regret getting close to Mor.

What made things harder for Tiara was her brother Dino's absence. After he had talked with their father, he locked himself into his office for days on end, and the few times they would eat together, Dino would only say he was working on something. Of course, she wanted to know what and if she could help, but Dino would say it was not ready, and he would tell her when it was time.

She felt lost without the rock in her life, her big brother. Now, she had to find her path because she didn't want her life dictated by her birth. Tiara had talked with Clare and Saphine about this, but Saphine slowly fell back into the safety of Soul-kin traditions and was not helpful. Clare also was not much help, with her recommendation being "do what you want."With the obvious options depleted, Tiara went to get help from the only other place she could think of.

The commoner places of Diamond Isle were shocked as the actual princess was walking through the streets. Because of that, it was no wonder that the Isle-guard quickly and quietly escorted her back to the palace, where she had to endure a lecture about her stupidity by her mother.

Despite all the lecturing and punishment, she still felt like she needed to go. Tiara remembered that Dino often visited his commoner friend, so it was only a question of how he did it. The solution to her problem was her brother's new personal maid, and after questioning her about how Dino kept unrecognized, the red-head maid helped her.

Her second excursion attempt was far more successful, with simpler clothing and a hood. Also, for good measure, the maid had dyed Tiara's silver hair into a reddish color. The only problem is the eyes, but a good lie would suffice.

For example, Dino often used a Selenite-sounding name because the color of their eyes was close enough to the bright diamond color of the royals. With every other aspect different, it got him out of questioning from a nosy guard. It was also important to hide the royal charisma and blend in with the other commoners.

Tiara, her disguise perfectly in place, stood before a house her brother had visited more than once after they had returned. She took a deep breath and knocked.

In no time at all, the door opened a slit, and a tired-looking man looked out. Tiara could see the similarities to Mor, but this man hadn't taken care of himself for a time. He looked down on the girl, and his face went to a questioning frown.

"Who are you?" Morokhan asked, almost overwhelming Tiara with the smell of alcohol.

"I went to school with Mor. We were friends." Tiara answered, and she could almost see the gears churning in the man's head, trying to make sense of her.

"Mor didn't tell me about a red-haired friend," he said and began to close the door.

"Please, I need to talk to you." Tiara pleaded, and Morokhan let out a sigh.

"Go home. My son is gone."

With that statement, the door closed, but Tiara needed advice. She could feel tears well up and forced them back down. Trying to control her emotions, she knocked again.

"Leave." The Morokhan's voice came back through the closed door.

"Please, let me talk to you." She asked again.

This time, it took longer until the door opened, and Morokhan let Tiara in. She stepped through the door and noticed how dirty it was, just like her brother had before her, and after that, the woman further in.

"What do you want?" Sophie asked.

"I want to talk and don't know who to turn to. Dino is holed up in something, and my friends are no help, so I thought you could help me." Tiara explained.

"Dino?" Morokhan asked, "Then you're the princess your boy was ordered to protect?"

Tiara nodded and looked down on the ground.

"I see," Morokhan said, but Sophie shouted before he could say anything else.

"Get out. I don't have anything to tell you!"

"I'm sorry for what happened," Tiara said.

"If you're really sorry, bring him back." Sophie hissed.

"Sophie," Morokhan said calmly. "She's not at fault."

"I don't care," she replied, then left towards the back.

"You must understand, she misses her boy. Just like me." Morokhan said.

"I do, too. I don't know if Mor had told you, but I have… had… a huge crush on him." Tiara stated, and this was the first time she saw a sad smile on the man's face.

"He told me about it. Though Sophie doesn't know, she's far too protective of him." Morokhan let out a sigh. "What do you help with?"

"I don't know what to do now. Meeting Mor was like a new life would be possible for me, one where I could decide for myself and not be bound by my royal birth," Tiara said.

"And how's that changed?" Morokhan asked.

"Mor is no longer here," Tiara said.

"Yes, only his memory remains. But you're still young. You can do what you want with your life. Even if it will be harder without someone to look up to," Morokhan said. "I can't tell you which path is right for you. But Mor would follow through on his decisions without any regrets... Even until death."

Tiara thought about this wisdom and let her gaze wander through the dirty space. Her look did not escape Morokhan's attention, and for the first time in a while, he felt ashamed at how awful everything, including him, looked. Giving the girl advice made him remember that Mor also wouldn't have wanted his parents to end up like that. But the thought got drowned out in a new wave of grief and the cloudy comfort of the cheap booze.

Morokhan let out a sigh. "Go live your life how you want to, and don't look back." He led the girl out the front door and closed it behind her.

The same night, Tiara thought about Mor and what his father had said to her and made her own decision. That decision brought her back to Mor's former home, much to the confusion of Morokhan. However, Sophie still ignored the girl when she did not give her furious glances.

"Why are you back?" Morokhan sighed, though this time without the harsh smell of alcohol.

"Because I want to. You haven't said anything, but you clearly need help." Tiara stated.

"We don't. Think about your own life, and leave us alone." Morokhan refused.

"No. I'm doing what I want." Tiara said. "And for everything Mor had been worth to me. I can't leave his parents like this."

Even with Morokhan and Sophie's protests, Tiara came by every day. Dino soon caught her, but he didn't say anything. Her first order of business was to clean the home, but just as with dressing herself, she never did something like that.

It still didn't discourage her, even if, after the first few tries, the house was thrown increasingly into chaos. However, when she tried to extend her efforts to cooking, Sophie had to stop a fire from ruining the home. Instead of throwing the inapt girl out, Sophie gave annoyed pointers and slowly taught Tiara how to handle the daily tasks.

However, every time Sophie recognized what she was doing, she retreated to a room forbidden to Tiara and would only emerge once the girl had left.

Morokhan was also grateful for the fresh wind the girl brought into their lives. With Tiara around, all furniture was in constant danger of getting damaged. This means Morokhan often had to leave the house and get supplies to fix Tiara's latest mistake.

Now, after a while of not caring how he looked, he started to clean up, and meeting old friends on the street helped to brighten his mood slowly. However, whenever somebody mentioned his son, he clamped up, went straight home, and was only seen again after Tiara broke something again. It was baffling how the girl could break so much stuff and be that clumsy in everything she tried, but she did try.

Also, after a while, Dino called her, Orth, and Sophie for a talk. After which Tiara relayed the plan to Mor's parents, who listened to her concerns but didn't offer to help.

The plan, roughly drawn out and in motion, made Dino tell Tiara to stop spending most of her time at Morokhan's place. A request she firmly denied, and nothing would sway her. Doing those chores was the first meaningful thing she had decided for herself, and she would only stop once she finished it.