To see your son...

Try as he might, Gwendal could not heal the slowly dying man.

"You can't die now," he kept repeating, wishing he had more medical lessons; his palm still glowing from the amount of maryoku he was using, "You have to see Conrart! You have to..." he gulped, "see your son!"

Memories replayed in his mind: the day his own father died. His father's cold hand in his own small ones. The very day Gwendal vowed he would never love a man as a father again. It had hurt too much. This was among the reasons why he had hated Dan Hiri, the human who had tried to father him. Hated the man for still living when Wolfram's father died without saying good bye to his own son. Conrart should not have to suffer like that!

The boy may be half human but he was still his brother!

"You saw your father just before he died," Dan Hiri said slowly. Gwendal did not bother to hide his tears as he lowered his hand, aware there was nothing he could do. Dan Hiri weakly reached up and touched Gwendal's cheek, wiping away his tears slightly, "Be strong for them..." His brown eyes remained locked into Gwendal's deep blue ones as his hand dropped down to the soft grass.

Dan Hiri's funeral was done. After promising the village he would return to help, Gwendal rode back to the castle.

Lady Celi was still awake. She stood and ran into his arms. Gwendal allowed his mother to cry against him for a while before asking about his brothers. "They're both asleep," she murmured. From the tone of her voice, Gwendal could only guess what had occurred.

Conrart...

After his mother went to sleep, Gwendal checked on Wolfram. There were no problems in there. He paused for a moment before checking on Conrart, pushed open the door just enough to see his sleeping brother. He hesitated to close it again when he heard a whimper. Opening the door a little wider, he saw two details within the room he hoped he would not see this night.

Young Conrart was in bed, crying in his sleep... the toy he had made for Wolfram was on his desk.

It was then Gwendal saw that Conrart not only lost a father... but a younger brother as well. Swallowing the pang in his heart Gwendal silently walked over to the sleeping boy and gathered him in his arms. Conrart, half awake by the embrace, clung to Gwendal and cried the amount of tears he had within his shattered heart. "I'm sorry, Conrart," he murmured again and again, "I'm so, so sorry."

It was the last time he saw Conrart cry.