Chapter 423

Elain was comfortable and she was tired. She leaned against Lucien's side, in front of the fire, and they had watched the rest of the room after Eris had departed. The conversations had continued, and the faeries of the court had seemed somewhat unwilling and reluctant to take their leave of one another. They wanted to stay together, take comfort in the company of friends. Slowly, however, they had begun to trickle away until only a handful remained.

Helion approached them, having left the final group, and he sank down onto the couch beside his son. He looked weary, as they all did, but his amber eyes burned with a golden light and Elain recognised the expression on the High Lord's face. Lucien often wore the same expression when he was deep in thought, and it was clear that his father's mind was elsewhere. The two of them had the same look, as Elain glanced between them, and then she looked to Ashk to see that the older female appeared to have noticed the same thing. Russet eyes met Elain's brown and Elain raised an eyebrow in question. Ashk smiled brilliantly.

"What are we thinking about?" Ashk asked, her eyes shifting to Helion and then to her son.

"They're planning something…" Elain said softly, her own eyes returning to both of the males, flicking again from one to the other and back again. "What are you planning?"

"Why, nothing…" Helion blinked, coming back to himself, and he turned those golden eyes on Ashk. The light in them did not dim, but rather the brilliance of his smile almost distracted one's own gaze from them. "Nothing yet."

"And you?" Elain tilted her chin, looking up at Lucien. His arm was still around her, holding her to his side, and she really was quite comfortable. "I see that look on your face."

Lucien smiled down at her. "I was just thinking about what I heard, taking to the others…"

"Tales of horror…" she murmured, not sure she wanted to know the details of what many had gone though today.

"Not all." He said, "And those were not what I was dwelling upon."

"No?"

"I was asking them about tomorrow." He told her, his hand moving up and down her arm in a way Elain found extremely relaxing, "Tomorrow and the day after…" Elain resisted a sigh of contentment as her mate's hand moved over her skin, "I wanted to know what they are looking forward to…" he paused, "If they needed something to look forward to; something to focus on…"

Helion's eyes were on his son again, and the High Lord's lips quirked in a smile. "They need something to help them think brightly of the future." He said, nodding slowly, "It will not make them forget, but it will give them something to hold to…"

"Yes…" Lucien bit his lip, "Many of them are aware of this; they're quite reflective." He gave a small laugh, "That is something I am not used to…" Something like pride crossed Helion's features then, and Elain had no doubt that it was the High Lord himself who had developed that ability among his Court. "What is it they need? What can they look forward to? An event? A celebration seems in poor taste…"

"They will not be receptive to anything until after we have properly dealt with many things yet to be closed…" Helion closed his eyes, "They need to farewell those they have lost."

"What about a memory garden?" Elain had spoken up before the idea had properly taken root in her mind. Helion lifted a black eyebrow, amber eyes on her.

"A memory garden?" he asked, and Elain nodded.

"A place they can grow themselves," She said, "Where they can pay tribute to those who died. A tree can be planted for each lost…a representation of each. It can be a place they go to remember those who are no longer here… a place to hold that memory." She looked up at Lucien, "They can tend for it, care for it, nurture it like memories…" She blinked, suddenly unsure, "Would that be something they can look forward to?"

"Yes…" Lucien was nodding, his hand still stroking her arm. "Yes, that could be…" he looked to Helion who was also nodding.

"A lovely suggestion." The High Lord said, "We have the space for it… One of the gardens I had intended to have Sheera design could be given to this purpose."

Laying her head against Lucien's shoulder, Elain let the warmth of pride move through her. She hadn't given herself a moment to consider the idea, speaking the words it had occurred to her, but she was pleased that both Helion and Lucien seemed to appreciate the thought. She listened to them discussing and making plans to set it in place, and she wondered if they might get help in getting the thing to grow. They would need to hire assistance to get everything planted quickly. Perhaps there would be more faeries from the city to source the plants, she was sure that Sheera could with her store.

"Will you oversee it, Elain?"

She looked up, hearing Helion speak her name, and she blinked, trying to make herself process the words. "Oh, yes." She breathed, "Of course." She would certainly need Sheera's help for that.

"Thank you." Helion inclined his head slightly, "It will, no doubt, flourish under your guidance."

Trying not to blush, Elain just gave a small smile, still leaning into Lucien. "Of course it will." Her mate said, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "But now, if you will excuse us, I believe we should all put an end to this day."

"Absolutely." Helion agreed, and Lucien got immediately to his feet, taking Elain with him. She allowed him to lift her, setting her gently on her feet and sliding his hand down her arm to her hand. She held his hand, not willing to let him go, not willing to lose that connection to her mate. Lucien bid both of his parents goodnight, and then swept Elain swiftly from the room.