Wow, the kingdom has certainly fallen into some serious superstition, confusion, and disarray. o.o But, such certainly makes sense after an event as major and shocking as the murder of the rulers, after all, and so the state of the kingdom following those events was quite well portrayed. ^^

At least Layla managed to avoid getting her wings chopped off due to their being black… o.o I wonder if the people would have dared try it?

I also liked the funeral scene—I always like to read funeral scenes, and I thought that this one was nicely done. ^^

Following are my favorite excerpts from the chapter, parts which I thought were especially lovely and/or well-written:

Like a large black cloud the funeral brigade moved slowly in a precession. Only, the rain fell above the instead of below them.
The Kingdom’s previous rulers were now just a swell in the ground, with stone tablets to distinguish them from any other hill.
If anyone cried, the weather masked their tears. If anyone mourned, the thunder over rid them. And if anyone was shrouded with madness, then the damp air cloaked that too.