Chapter Text
The sound of raindrops pattered on the frosted glass windows of the main hall of Chalk Castle, there were many rows of chairs set up in lines and there wasn’t an empty seat in the whole room. At the front there was an open casket on a slightly raised platform, inside it lay the White King Shiro, Sakuto’s father. Dee stole a glance at Sakuto as they stood for another prayer to see how he was holding up.
Sakuto’s eyes were red rimmed but he was keeping his composure. He had Bill on one side and Noir on the other, giving him their silent support. Even though King Shiro had been ill for a long time, it didn’t make his passing any less painful for Sakuto, the castle staff and all the citizens of Gardenia. He was a much loved leader and the people packed into this hall were only a small fraction of those who wanted to pay their respects to him.
Despite the weather, the streets between the castle and the mausoleum were already lined with mourners. After the ceremony, the coffin would be taken by carriage in a procession and laid to rest alongside previous monarchs. Dee hoped that after all this, Sakuto would finally allow himself to rest and grieve. He had barely slept in the days before his father’s passing and then had thrown himself into making arrangements for the funeral to stay distracted.
All of Sakuto’s friends had been staying in the castle with him, and it wasn’t just Sakuto they were looking after. The maids, butlers, gardeners and other staff were all struck with their own bereavement too. Mad and Dee had been helping in the kitchens, making sure everyone stayed fed. Noir and Ruber had been dealing with the day to day issues of keeping Gardenia ticking over during this sad time, with Cardia helping them. Bill had glued himself to Sakuto’s side and bullied him into eating and sleeping whenever he could.
Ash and Joker had been doing a lot of the running around, making sure everyone knew what the arrangements were and handling any enquiries from the citizens. A lot of people from the other nations had offered to help in any way they could. Dee had met and spoke with the White King on a number of occasions but she wouldn’t have called their relationship close so she’d managed to keep her composure right up until a choir of children from Santorina sang a beautiful song of gratitude in tribute to the kindness the Crown of Gardenia had shown them.
As her tears traced her face and fell, Dee felt someone take her hand and give it a comforting squeeze. She glanced to her right and saw Ash was looking at her, his own amber eyes were shining with emotion. Dee gave her boyfriend’s hand a squeeze back and took out a packet of tissues from her pocket, offering him one before taking her own and drying her eyes. Then it was time for Sakuto to deliver his eulogy, he got up from his seat and stood at the lectern.
“I truly thank you all, for coming here today and for all the kind words that have been sang and spoken. I wasn’t sure what I could add to the tributes already given, then I realised I should talk about my father, the man, rather than my father, the king.” Sakuto’s voice had the unmistakable crackle of someone who was holding back tears but he was still able to project his voice clearly.
“My father tutored me personally, he could have hired any number of teachers in all the subjects a young prince needed to be well-versed in, but he didn’t. He told me once that education didn’t just mean learning facts, figures, laws and past events. That’s just information and knowledge, he said, education is that… and much more. It’s about the values, morals and ethics to interpret that information, to know why that event was wrong and why this law is necessary. Things he knew I’d need as I got older, not because I was the heir to the throne, but because I was his son and he wanted me to grow up to be the best person I could be.” Sakuto had managed a small smile as he thought back fondly to those days, those lessons he learnt from him.
“That education was the greatest gift he could have given me; it included the knowledge that learning doesn’t just stop when we hit adulthood. We keep going, keep improving our minds and our hearts all throughout our lives. That’s the legacy he left for us all. There’s knowledge, education and then wisdom. You need both of the former if you’re ever going to obtain the latter and even then, there’ll still be room for more.” Sakuto spoke with passion as he articulated his ideals before he turned and addressed the man lying in the coffin. “Father, I’ll never forget a word of what you taught me. I hope to make you proud.” Sakuto bowed deeply to the former White King. Noir spontaneously stood up and followed suit, soon the entire congregation had got to their feet and bowed in his honour.
That brought the poignant ceremony to an end, the casket was closed and carried out slowly and reverently to the waiting carriage. It had a canopy but open sides so the coffin was visible but kept dry for the most part. There was a similar carriage that followed behind the first that contained Sakuto, Ruber and Noir. The rest of the assembly were to walk behind in procession.
Dee shivered as a cold breeze blew through, she was walking with Ash who was holding a large umbrella for them so they didn’t get soaked. Dee looked at the mourners that lined the streets of Chalk Town.
“There’s definitely a lot more than just Gardenian citizens here.” Dee murmured, some people were openly crying, others were holding flowers as they tried to see the casket as it passed them.
“Yes, King Shiro held a position of the utmost respect all over Wonderland.” Mad answered from Dee’s other side. “He was known for his philanthropy even outside his own borders. Today isn’t just a loss for Gardenia, it’s a loss for the whole realm.” Mad couldn’t resist using his cane to conjure up some umbrellas for the drenched citizens who had been standing outside for so long.
It wasn’t far to the city’s cemetery and they got there within a few minutes, even at their slow pace. The coffin was removed from the carriage to be taken to the mausoleum. Sakuto turned to address the crowds before he followed them.
“It warms my heart to see so many people out in force to say farewell to my father. I apologise that there isn’t enough room for everyone inside the grounds as I know a lot of you have flowers and presents you want to give him.” Sakuto looked up at the unrelenting rain. “I don’t want anyone to be out in this terrible weather any longer than necessary, so if you have anything you’d like to give, then hand it over to Miss Dee and Mad. They’ll arrange everything nicely and collect the cards for me to read later. Then please head home and warm yourselves up.”
Once he’d said his piece, Sakuto turned to resume following his father with Noir, Ruber and Bill. Dee turned to her task as people started to approach her. Joker and Cardia worked on keeping the citizens in an orderly queue to keep everyone safe, Ash was stood between Dee and Mad to keep the pair dry with his umbrella. His best friend and girlfriend were taking the bouquets of flowers and other tributes and either attaching them to the fencing or arranging them nicely on the ground.
They were trying to make sure that no gift got completely covered by any others. It took some time but eventually they’d received everything. The sight was truly breath-taking, there wasn’t a spare space anywhere on the metal grating on either side of the gates, matched with a deep line of gifts on the path below. The rain had finally stopped as Dee took a step back and looked at the physical manifestation of devotion the White King had inspired.
“A person’s contribution to the world can be measured by those moved enough to come and say goodbye when they’re gone.” Dee spoke aloud to herself, that was something her father had told her at her grandmother’s funeral when she had passed away. It was something that was engraved into her heart. “You obviously left the world a much better place than how you found it. Rest well, Your Majesty.”
“What a lovely sentiment…” Sakuto’s voice spoke from where he’d emerged through the gates, having overheard her. Dee could see tearstains on his face, probably the finality of laying his father to rest had broken through his front of strength. “Come on, I’m sure there’s a lot of cleaning up to do at the castle.” Bill shook his head from behind Sakuto.
“I swear if I find you carrying a broom later instead of getting some rest, I’m going to beat you with it.” Bill steamrolled over his friend, Sakuto was going to take care of himself for once whether he liked it or not.
A few hours later and Dee was carrying a mug of hot chocolate as she walked through the palace halls, she knocked on the door to Sakuto’s room and opened it when he called to her. Sakuto was sitting at his desk going through the cards that Dee and Mad had collected from the well-wishers. Dee walked over and put the mug down.
“Here, I brought you something sweet and decadent.” She told him. Sakuto smiled and picked up the mug, taking a deep inhale. Dee nodded to the stack of cards. “Those can wait till tomorrow, you know, they aren’t going anywhere.” She was hoping to convince Sakuto to have a lie down.
“I know, I guess part of me is worried that if I don’t read them now, I might not be able to bring myself to do so at a later date.” He took a sip of the hot chocolate and rubbed his eyes tiredly; it had been a long, hard day on top of what had already been a long, hard week.
“We both know you wouldn’t do that, you’ll read every single one because someone took the time to write it to you and your father.” Dee told him with a knowing smile before she looked around. “Where’s your shadow?” She asked, referring to Bill.
“He went to help them take down the platform in the hall, he is the best person for those sorts of jobs after all.” Sakuto went quiet as he stared into his mug, losing himself in his thoughts until he felt Dee stroking his hair soothingly.
“I know you’re much happier thinking about others than thinking about yourself, but I want you to know you can let go in front of me.” She smiled when he looked up at her. “Slightly mangling your own words, I’m here for Sakuto, the man, as well as Sakuto, the prince.” Sakuto’s ice blue eyes filled up as if she was giving him permission to cry. Dee wrapped her arms around Sakuto and sat down on the arm of the chair as Sakuto finally allowed himself to cry properly for his much beloved father.