The End to a New Beginning

It was not long before Aeron uncurls himself from the floor of his home, nor was it long when his glazed eyes finally focus upon the dead man laying in front of him. How long had it been since the ending of the war? Since he had brought his brother home with him? Minutes? Hours? His sense of time was lost as he sat in shock.

It was not supposed to end the way it did. Damien was not supposed to die before Lucedio. He was supposed to kill Lucedio, end the war, then leave Aeron the impossible but promised task of killing his brother. A small part of Aeron was relieved that he did not have to kill Damien. He could only imagine how his nieces and nephews would react should they ever find out their father was dead by the hand of their uncle - nevermind it was the wish of their father. Damien dying before Aeron thought he would may have relieved the younger brother of any pressure, but he was still left with a task he wished he did not have to do.

Although he never felt truly welcome or accepted when it came to his brothers, he could not deny he began to grow fond of both of them. They were family, two pieces of a puzzle unfit for the whole picture. If the world was not a cruel place, and things had turned out differently, the twins were actual twins and not having shared a body, could their lives have been different? The Thornes were a bad, cursed line, but could they have potentially been the family Aeron always yearned for? Thoughts and wishes soon coat his mind, but they were gone as soon as they appeared. Thinking of what if's never did him good before, and now they could never mean anything.

The male flinches as he stands up, his left side pulling. A vivid reminder of why he had to prepare to bury his brother.

There was no doubt in Aeron's mind that his brother already prepared a plot for himself. Damien knew he would be laying in that ground no matter the outcome. Ruefully, the male leaves his brother's body for a moment, into another room, only to return with fabric long enough to cover the dead man's body with. Memory tells Aeron that Chava was buried in Ottery nearly six years ago, back when Damien first came to Aeron, to beg him to be prepared to kill him should he have killed Lucedio first. So he could once more be with his beloved.

The youngest Thorne had to take a deep breath, to keep his mind from remembering the few times he spent with Damien - the very few good times. Gently - although it wouldn't matter regardless - Aeron picks his brother's body up off of the ground. Blood coated the ground. This home now carried the blood of every Thorne, even Lucedio’s. Aeron was sure of that, as the Manor had seen its fair share of battles. It was the Manor that began them, and would end with them, only to begin a new legacy with Aeron involved. The male takes a slow, steady breath.

"Are you ready to meet Chava, Damien?" Aeron whispers, smiling, as if it hurt. He does not apparate, unsure of what the laws where with a dead body, and he could not afford anything happening to the body on the journey to Ottery. The best he did was cloak the body should anyone be around as he walked the distance. Aeron could not find the energy to run, to disrupt the peace of the body in his arms. Again, he lost track of time as he traveled, his body on the one track as his mind wandered.

Aeron Thorne would always regret the day Chava came to him begging for death. He regretted he did not sit her down and attempt to talk, regretted letting his anger get the best of him. Regretted hitting the woman even more. It was against every moral in his body. He would always carry that regret with him, that guilt. There was nothing he could do, yet he felt like he could have done everything. His feet stop and the wizard focuses on his surroundings.

There it was. An empty plot next to a ground painted with wilted flowers. Chava's plot. Unmarked. The wizard frowns. He would have to fix that later. There was not a chance in hell that either of the plots would go unmarked or uncared for. Biting his lip, the young Thorne eases himself into the dirt plot, only to gently place Damien's body on the ground. It suddenly hit him that he should have at least attempted to clean the body, to make him look more human. Less... deathly. The best Aeron could do were a few spells that cleared away the majority of the blood and closed the gaping wound around his neck. Not heal, just close it, so it looked nearly like a neck crease. "I hope you look better in the afterlife." Comes the murmur, swallowing. He could only imagine what Chava would say. Or maybe, knowing them, they'd make the best out of Damien's ruined state.

They were free.

Aeron wouldn't be surprised if the couple made a hobby out of scaring people in the afterlife. They couldn't take hearts, so they would stop them. The thought almost makes him smile. Would Chava still want him dead? Or alive, now that he can no longer bother them? Never knowing the answer, and content with his future guesses at them, the young wizard makes his way out of the plot, his murky eyes catching sight of the plain of dirt and shovel next to the grave. The man grabs the handle, wraps one hand around the wooden shaft and digs at the dirt, picking up piles only to drop them inside Damien's plot. He does this on auto pilot, not thinking, hardly watching, as the plot eventually fills back up. Damien was buried right next to his wife.

He may have been the kinder Thorne, but he wasn't exactly sentimental. Yet, he could not help closing his eyes. Could not fight the emotions welling on the inside of his eyelids. Aeron had promised not to be involved with his nieces, nor his nephew's life. He would later introduce himself, give them the letter, and leave.

With Damien's death, that was the last of his family. He could no longer look forward to their next visit to his home, he did not have to look over his shoulder, wondering if and when Lucedio would make an appearance that almost always led to the destruction of his home in some form. He could not expect Chava to come banging on his door in hopes to finally kill him. Damien could no longer bribe Aeron into helping him with troubling events, not could he ask for any more favours. This was truly the last of his family. Aeron was... alone. Again.

He clenches his jaw, eyes sliding open to glance over the two plots. "Just a moment."

He leaves, this time apparating so he could get around quicker. When he appears at the graves again, he carries two bold rocks. Huge. For now, these would mark the plots of Chava and Damien Thorne. Later in time, Aeron would invest in grander headstones. For now, he places one on each plot, at the head. They were blank. The wizard ponders for a moment, knowing in his gut he could not leave until something marked what these two plots carried, but he did not feel just their names would suffice.

Aeron points his wand at Damien's rock, carving his name into it, but then adding the only other thing he could think to add: The only Thorne worth stealing hearts for. Somewhere inside of him, he could only hope that would ease the hate Chava had for him, as that saying was for her. He turns the rock so the words face Damien's feet. He then faces Chava's rock. Chava Roku-Thorne: The only woman who gave me life. He could see it. As much as Aeron could have denied it, he saw the way Damien looked at Chava. Even when his face was twisted with anger, there was always that glint of worry, or even the smallest hint of love.

These two people may just have been the most wicked pair he would ever meet, but at least they had a sense of humanity to them. For each other. And their children.

Aeron turns the rock so it, too, faces Chava's feet. He steps around the graves, standing at the feet of them. He could see their markers, what they said. Who they were for. Who knew if anyone ever came this way, who knew if anyone would ever see these plots. What mattered was that Aeron planned to give this location to the children, within time. He wouldn't interfere, but maybe that would also be the times he was able to see the children longer than if he was keeping an eye on them, as promised. Those children were his last family. He would make sure they would not meet a fate like their parents, or any other Thorne in the past.

"I'm so sorry," the wizard whispers, biting his lip, fisting his hands in his pocket. "I'm sorry this was the end of your story. But I intend to keep my promise to you, Damien. Your kids will take care of themselves, but should they be in severe danger, I will make sure they live." Aeron bows in respect, then glances over Chava's grave.

"I'm more sorry than you will ever know that our paths crossed as they did. I'm so sorry for hurting you. I will do everything in my power to make sure neither of your deaths were in vain." Aeron's final words were whispers, his murky gaze seaweed coloured, red rimming the outer whites of his eyes.

This was his only sense of love and loyalty. He made many mistakes in the past, many in the presence of the couple, but now in their legacy, he would make a new path, guide a new trail. The ruthless cycle of the Thornes would end here, only to begin again with their children and Aeron's own beginning. With a final flick of his wrist, the last remaining adult Thorne conjures flowers to bed the plots.

A last look and he was gone.

This was the era of a new beginning.