{HIKARI'S POV}
"The enemy has fallen! We've done it! We've won!" Someone shouts, and thousands of voices echo it.

It's quite the sight to behold. I'm on top of a wagon, so my head is just above the crowd. A wave of people jump and the combined scream is deafening. People hug and jump and cry and shout.

Some people fall over, others raise their arms in the air. Many people kiss their loved ones, and the truly daring ones kiss strangers.

We've done it. One side surrendered and the other fell. And yet, the East Gate and West Wall remain standing. We held out. We survived.

The war is over!

We won! We actually won!

I'm swallowed up by a crowd of people. I can't think, I can't move, I can't see, I can't breathe.

My body is pushed in one direction, then shoved in the opposite direction. No one cares for anyone's personal space. I'm hugged and slapped on the back and congratulated. I smell sweat, blood, and body odor. It's claustrophobic and wonderful.

Screw decorum. I jump and clap and scream myself hoarse with everyone else.

Minutes seem to stretch into hours, yet hours seem condensed into a few minutes. Time is irrelevant. Music and dancing breaks out everywhere. I'm spun this way and that.

Knights begin to filter from the gate. There are several tearful reunions, and even more tears as some don't return. I look around for Jun excitedly.

Lord Kirigawa forms a protective ring around the medical tents so the workers aren't swarmed by the loved ones of the injured.

I frown, noticing that he looks rough. His skin is too pale and there are tear marks down his cheeks. Nevertheless, the lord of Tai performs his duty with admirable poise.

I find a lull in the crowd to slip over and pull him away. "What's wrong?"

"Don't worry about me, Princess. Go back and join the celebration. I can handle this task." He tries to wave me away nonchalantly.

I narrow my eyes. There's a sinking feeling in my gut. "What's wrong? Tell me."

He sets his jaw, his eyes watery. "Jun."

He doesn't need to say any more. My body feels cold and my mood plummets. No. Not Jun. He wasn't there with the rest of the soldiers.

Surely he stayed behind to guard the wall in case anyone was left. Not Jun. It can't be Jun.

Jun is my best friend, the one I've grown closest to during my months in Tai. We were going to celebrate the end of the war together.

I stumble back, shaking my head. Lord Kirigawa catches and steadies me. I look into his eyes, pleading silently: Not Jun. Say something. Anything! Lord Kirigawa remains quiet, which speaks volumes. His hands tremble slightly.

The world is spinning. Solid ground is falling away beneath my feet.

Tears well up in my eyes. "How...? What...?"

Lord Kirigawa swallows hard. "He fell off the wall. There was a breach. He sacrificed himself to take the ladder and an enemy leader down. He... probably saved the entire gate."

I reach out to Lord Kirigawa for support, wanting to bury my face into his coat so I can sob. Instead, someone calls him about a disturbance at the medical tent. Something about a rowdy patient who was getting violent because of poor pain control.

Lord Kirigawa pats me gently on the back before he leaves to deal with the situation. I'm left alone in a terrible state of mind.

I can't go back. I don't want to drag anyone's happiness down with my sadness. If the princess is upset, people may feel guilty about partying. They deserve this party. They deserve to be happy.

How can so much happiness and so much sadness coexist inside one person? I don't know. I can't think.

I go to the only place I want to be right now: the East Gate. To my surprise, the gate is open and the draw bridge is down. It's rather jarring. For obvious reasons, the gate hasn't been opened during my stay.

General Isamu is nearby, chatting with some soldiers. Maybe a search team. I scurry past them, out of the gate before anyone can think to stop me.

I freeze in horror.

The moat is full of bodies. They're piled on the ground, three high in some spaces. They looked so small from up on the gate. They didn't look real.

Well, now they look very real. And bloody, and rotten. I keel over and vomit.

The smell is rancid, like meat that's gone bad after being improperly stored.

I spin in a slow circle, taking in the horrid sight with all of my senses. Bodies. Bodies. More bodies. I go up to one that looks rather fresh and feel for a pulse. Nothing. Glassy eyes stare into the setting sun. There's an arrow in his heart. "Dead."

I go up to another man. "Dead."

I examine a pile of bodies. I'm looking for Jun. I don't see him. "Dead. Dead! They're all dead!"

My breathing is erratic and my heart is trying to escape my chest. I can't focus. I can't concentrate. I can't think. My breaths are short and shallow. I'm not getting enough air. My lungs seize.

"Why did it have to be like this? Why?! Was it worth it?! All this pain and suffering?!" I shout at a dead man. Tears stream down my face. I cough.

"Hikari-sama!" General Isamu plucks me up off the ground. I shriek and immediately begin hacking my lungs out. Not mollified, I kick at his legs and chest.

General Isamu holds me out with straight arms. Regardless, his grip is iron. No matter how much I wiggle and twist, I cannot escape his grasp.

"Dead! They're all dead!" I repeat, crying. "I c-couldn't save a-anybody!"

General Isamu hugs me, wrapping me up in his giant arms that are wide around as tree trunks. His voice is low and comforting. He sounds a little like my dad. "Shhh. Shhh. You saved us all."

"Jun is d-dead!" I sob, wrapping my arms around him. "I c-can't even f-find him!"

"We'll find him." He says firmly, then goes back to being soft and gentle. "Shhh. Shhh."

"I—" I gasp for air. "I want my d-dad."

"I know."

"I want my m-mom."

"I know." General Isamu pats my back soothingly. I probably look like a toddler being held on one hip. Screw decorum. I cling tightly. "Shhh. Shhh."

"I just want Jun back." I whimper.

"I... I do too. We'll find him." He promises.

General Isamu covers my ears before shouting orders to the search crew. He points over to a ladder on the ground, indicating that Jun will be around there. They get to work around the ladder, shouting for survivors and sifting through corpses.

"I've got him!" Someone shouts. "I've got Jun!"

I jerk my head upright. What am I doing? Jun would make fun of me if he saw me now. He'd jokingly call me a big baby. I pull away from General Isamu, brushing out the wrinkles in my clothes and rolling my shoulders back, straightening my posture.

That was a moment of weakness. I must be calm and collected, like a proud princess.

I raise my chin and set my jaw. I'm determined to bring Jun home. I walk towards the member of the search party who spoke.

"Oh my gods." I hear her say. Then she shouts. "He's got a pulse! Jun's alive!"

He's... alive?

Relief floods my entire system. The world spins beneath me and I hear General Isamu shout in alarm as my vision fades to black.