Chapter 516
The Memory Garden was just about complete. Elain stood in roughly the centre of the garden, turning slowly as she took it all in. The place looked pretty much exactly as she had imagined it when the idea had first come to her. There were different sections of the garden, and she knew that they would be effective in serving the different needs of whoever came to this place. There were the tall trees offering shelter from the heat of the day and among them the name plaques of those who had been lost. If one wished to visit one, they need only wander in the shade until they found the name they sought. There were soft garden beds filled with brightly coloured plants and flowers and nearby ivy covering the harsh walls of the palace, providing a gentle escape from the rest of the Court. Nearby was a generous space of soft grass leading from those garden beds to a lovely water feature, and Elain smiled. The soothing sounds of the water only added to the calming atmosphere of the garden, and she knew that this place was not only to visit to remember the dead. This would be a place that would be enjoyed by those who were still very much alive, and who wanted a place to be with one another and enjoy one another's company. She could see little families coming here, sitting on the grass, and spending time together, and that pleased her more than a little.
"It is lovely."
Turning, Elain found Tisia standing not far behind her, and she smiled at her friend as she nodded a little. "It is."
Tisia's green eyes shifted and swept the garden, moving over the tall trees. "Eria would have liked it."
Biting her lip, Elain glanced toward where she knew Eria's name plaque stood. "Would you like to see where she is?"
"Yes."
The gentle tinkle of the bells in the branches sounded as Elain led Tisia through the shade. They came to stand before a small plaque and Elain glanced again at her friend. Those green eyes were focused on the plaque, and Tisia was silent for several minutes. Knowing that the silence was needed, Elain said nothing. She stood beside Tisia, there if needed, but unwilling to be an intrusion on the moment.
"I like the bells." Tisia's voice was soft when she finally broke the silence. "It makes me feel like she's here, like she knows that we've come to see her."
"Maybe she does." Elain said gently.
"I hope so." Tisia looked at Elain. "It wasn't fair."
Nothing about what had happened that day had been fair. None of the innocent members of the Court had deserved the deaths they had been given, and Elain knew that it would take quite a while for the rest of them to move on from it and heal. She hoped this garden would help them with that process. "It wasn't fair." She agreed.
"No." Tisia sighed and ran her hands through her hair, looking around them again at the garden. "This is a nice place to remember them."
"I had hoped it would be."
"I am glad everyone was able to have a hand in helping with it."
"It's nearly complete." Elain said, eyeing the nearby gardens. They just needed edging and the stone path that would lead through that area needed to be laid. "It should be done in the next day or two."
"Just in time for the other High Lords and their Courts to get here."
"Yes." Elain wondered what they would think of this place and its purpose.
"They will, I think," Tisia said, "be surprised by the changes that have taken place here."
"You know what?" Elain replied, "I hope that they are."