Chapter 315: About our graves
For once, Arabella did not go straight towards the white rose hedges. In fact, for the first time ever, her feet led her right before the gravepines.
After her conversation with Ada had reached its end, she requested some time alone and made her way to the gardens instead of finding Silas in his office.
Much like the white roses, the gravepines had grown so much in such a short lapse of time. Watching them dangle high above her head gave her the oddest of sensations.
The probability that one of those pines would have been planted next to her grave were quite significant.
And although it did not happen, the closeness of that call triggered such a foreign feeling, Arabella couldn’t help but stare at the solid fruit without a plan in mind.
"I thought I’d find you in front of the white roses," Edgar’s deep yet sweet voice was welcome.
The young woman only turned half way to return the bright beam painting her features, "I thought I’d look at something different today,"
At those words, the smile on Edgar dimmed, his eyes still on her, "That was a lie," he started, "I actually thought I’d never get to see you again," he admitted.
"I really am sorry for worrying all of you," she finally fully turned to face him, "What happened just happened... It couldn’t be helped," her demeanor offered the most apologetic of smiles.
A fairly cool breeze blew right between them, tugging at every piece of loose fabric, every free strand of hair...
It filled the void when silence claimed the space around them.
"You...," Edgar cleared his throat to speak again, "You saved Ada’s and Arumina’s lives as well as ours," he slowly nodded, "I can but be grateful," the man appeared to swallow the rest of his words.
"You are allowed to be upset," Arabella had that curious, half smile on her, "I am still upset after what happened,"
Edgar too had a curious look on. One that Arabella wasn’t able to fully cast, "Pardon my attitude, my Lady," he bent forward in a respectful bow which took Arabella a little by surprise.
"Why the sudden formality?" her head tilted to the side.
"I did say you had the stance of a Lady the very first time we ever met, didn’t I?" his words certainly rang a bell.
"You did," she chuckled.
"And here you are, soon to formally carry that title," he smiled warmly.
"I suppose that is true," she nodded.
"You and I did not spend that long of a time together, in hindsight, but I wanted you to know that I would still greatly miss your company should it end,"
He seemed solemn, his features relaxed yet firm in their indication.
"Thank you," her eyes fell to the ground before rising back towards his face, "Your words are truly appreciated. It does mean a lot to know that,"
Silence claimed the space around them once more, leaving it to nature’s melody alone to fill in the comfortable gaps.
Edgar stepped forward and stopped right by Arabella to admire the swaying pines from their trees.
"If things turned out differently...," Arabella started, but trailed off momentarily, "Who would have picked the pine that would have gone to my...," once again, she trailed off without finishing.
Although, it seemed Edgar understood, "I would have," he said simply, his attention also on the pines.
"Which one would you have picked?" she tilted her head for her gemstones to reach him.
"I... I don’t think I can truthfully answer that question at the moment,"
The young woman hummed in response and did not push. Instead, she offered her most honest opinion, "I’d have wanted the fattest pine on my grave,"
"And why is that?" he asked after a small chuckle.
"Because it looks the cutest,"
They discussed the topic with such nonchalance that neither of them seemed to feel its weight.
"If I am buried on the property, I’d want the fattest pine on my grave as well,"
After a short fit of giggles, Arabella composed herself again to speak, "If that is what you want, then I do hope you live your life to the fullest and remain here until your final days,"
"Oh yes!" he responded not a second after her words, his eyes beating with life, "I said it before, and I haven’t changed my mind. It’d be an honor for me to leave this world right where I am,"
"I still don’t know what circumstances led you to where you are, but I am glad our paths crossed, if that makes sense," she held her hands behind her back.
The gardener took a moment, his eyes snapping back onto the trees, his expression dimming again, "I was sent here as a tribute,"
Those words muted even nature to Arabella’s ears. Her lips moved, but no voice came through.
"I don’t know what possessed Lady Persephone to bid on me, but she did... And ever since that day, six years ago, I still live under her roof," he paused for a few again, "There was no hunger in her eyes when she’d raised her hand during the ceremony, there was but warmth and curiosity," his eyes had that distant look that people adopted whenever tales from their past resurfaced through their lips, "The first thing she asked me was; do I know anything about gardening?" a chuckle escaped him.
"Did you?" Arabella practically whispered.
"I had not a single clue about gardening, and I was completely honest," he nodded, "She brushed it off and told me that I didn’t need to worry about it and that I could take all the time I needed to learn. She never asked for anything else of me,"
Arabella took the story in with stars in her eyes until he finally told the last of it, "And when did you realize you’d fallen in love with her?"
"I...," his gaze darted onto her in a sudden manner, his eyebrows furrowed. However, after a few seconds of mutual staring, his features relaxed, "I should have known Master Silas could have never found that out without pointers," he shook his head.