Chapter 235

Sitting in front of the mirror in her old room, Elain pulled a brush through her hair. She had gotten changed after lunch into something more appropriate for the garden, and she had been intending to head out into the garden for the afternoon. Her hair, she had decided, needed to be braided up and out of her way. Before she had had the chance to begin, however, there was a knock at her door and then Feyre bounded into the room.

"You've learned to knock." Elain said, setting her brush aside, "Although, it is customary to wait until the person inside can respond."

"Still my house." Feyre said, "I am the High Lady, you know?"

"I know." Elain smiled at her sister in the mirror.

"What did you intend to do?" Feyre's blue-grey eyes moved over Elain in the mirror as she approached from behind. "You've changed your dress…"

"I wanted to get out into the garden." Elain told her, "It's been a while since I saw it."

"Oh, of course."

"Do you think you could braid my hair up for me?" Smiling widely, Elain picked up her brush once more and passed it to her sister who nodded and set about brushing her hair gently. She watched her sister begin to section her hair out and then carefully and neatly braid it. There had been a time where they would all do this for one another. It had been Feyre's hair on which Nesta had taught Elain to braid as a child.

"Do you miss this?" Feyre asked, seemingly having read her.

"I do." Elain replied, "Sometimes…"

"We shall have to make sure it is something we do more often…" Feyre's quick fingers worked quickly, cleverly, to pull Elain's honey hair up into a pretty braid around the crown of her head. Elain smiled in agreement, thinking about it. At least the Day Court shared a border with the Night Court. They really wouldn't be too far away, especially when Lucien could winnow her whenever she wanted to visit. "If we set a standing time where we have a dinner or something of that sort, then we will have something to look forward to and you might feel less … alone… when you're away from us."

"I won't feel alone." Elain said, her eyes on Feyre's face in the mirror, "I'll have Lucien."

"Yes…" Feyre's voice was gentle, "Being your mate, I'm sure he will provide a sense of home."

"He does."

"Good." Feyre secured the braid and then moved to sit on the bed, and Elain spun around in her chair to properly look at her sister. "How are you feeling about Lucien being declared Helion's Heir and one day being High Lord of the Day Court?"

"Well, it's good." Elain said, "He wanted a family, and now he has that. He has a place he belongs… and with Ashk there too…" She couldn't help a bright smile. "He deserves it."

"Is it what you want?"

"I want him to be happy… and I … I do like it there."

"I am glad."

Elain got to her feet and walked across the room to sit on the bed beside her sister. "How long did it take for you to feel at home here?"

"OH…" Feyre appeared to think for a moment, "A while… I… my situation was different, though. I didn't show up here happily mated…"

"True…" Elain thought about the Day Court and how amazed she had been when she and Lucien had first arrived. Helion had done a lot to make them feel welcome, giving them free reign of the Court and encouraging her to look through the libraries. The Court had been mostly welcoming too, apart from Sorcha. They appeared to have accepted Lucien, and he fit in well there. She knew, when the time came, that her mate would make a wonderful High Lord.

If she were being honest with herself, Elain liked that she accepted the mating bond there. It was an important part of her life with Lucien, and she liked that she had done it in the Court that he would one day rule. Memories could help build a home, and their bond and frenzy was already working well to be wonderful memories in that place.

"Are you still going out to the garden?" Feyre asked, getting to her feet.

"Absolutely." Smoothing her top down, Elain followed her sister to the door and out into the hallway. Feyre gave her a smile before heading off to her own room and Elain headed for the stairs and down.

Outside, she drew a slow breath, savouring the familiar light floral scent that hit her as soon as she had stepped out into the garden. She could tell instantly that while the garden had been tended, nobody had spent the amount of time she spent out here. Within a few moments, she had made a mental list of what needed to be done in order to get things back to the way she had had them before she and Lucien had taken off across Prythian.

Rolling her sleeves up, Elain headed for the first flowerbed, ready to get to work. She settled into her rhythm as she had used to do, listening to the sweet birdsong, and enjoying the shadows that danced overhead as the large tree above her moved in the evening breeze. She had missed this garden, as she had grown quite fond of it over the months she had spent working on it and getting it the way she had wanted. It would be a shame to give it up, knowing that it wouldn't be hers any longer and that someone else would predominantly working on it.

As she knelt on the grass, weeding the flowerbed, Elain wondered what everyone else was doing. They had spoken about dinner at the House of Wind, but Rhys, Azriel and Cassian had all disappeared after Lunch, and had not yet returned. She had time, she knew, before she would need to go and bathe to get ready for dinner. She figured that she could get through at least three garden beds before she had to give up for the night. Elain was so caught up in her work and her thoughts that she didn't so much as notice the door to the house opening, or Lucien coming outside and walking toward her.