He Left Me - KotLC fic (after Unlocked)

Chapter 7

The promised part 2! I just made a new chapter, because eh. idk. enjoyyyy.

The long sleeves of the pine-green gown I chose were loose and flowing, capped with tight hems that wrapped around my wrists like vices. The bodice was simple and tight, with a relatively modest neckline and a cut that showed off my waist in ways that would have made me blush. If it was a different color, that is.

Vertina was solemn today, making no comment on the shadows under my eyes. I took her advice on my hair again, braiding it into an up-do similar to the one from yesterday.

On top of the cape that matched my dress, I fastened Keefe's dark grey cape over my shoulders, choosing a pair of boots with a slight heel to keep it from dragging. It was heavier than mine, thick and warm. I wondered if he took a similar one to wherever he's hiding. It clashed with the green of the dress, my way of rebelling against the inevitable. 

After dressing, I sat on the foot of my bed, cradling the Wanderling seed in my palm. I had wrapped the blond hair from Candleshade around it twice, the fine strand twisting around the smooth surface of the seed. 

I tried to picture what Keefe's tree would look like. Ice-blue blossoms, golden bark? Or leaves the color of his hair, flowers the same blue as his eyes?

A few tears leaked out and I ignored them, letting them drop onto my horrible dress. I chose for the planting to be in the evening, when the fireflies were appearing and the Wanderlings were just beginning to be lit by lanterns. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was painted with shades of red and purple.

Keefe would've liked that, I think. He could have painted it. 

A knock echoed on my bedroom door, and Grady poked his head in. "Hey kiddo." His smiled seemed forced, and he dropped it after a few seconds of my blank staring. "You ready for this?"

I shook my head but stood anyway, tucking the seed into a pocket. Sandor, Flori, and Edaline joined us at the Leapmaster, and Grady's voice was quiet as he said, "The Wanderling Woods."

Oralie and Bronte were waiting at the entrance of the forest, along with Lord Cassius Sencen. Keefe's dad looked surprisingly unkempt. His hair wasn't quite gelled to his normal perfection, a few strands falling into his face, and his olive green tunic, while finely tailored, was wrinkled. He nodded at me in greeting, his eyes on the stone walkway.

I swallowed and led the way to the hill with Dex's and my Wanderlings. Mine had finally grown, stretching overhead to nearly the height of Dex's. The slim branches with bark the shade of my hair held normal-looking leaves, with an enormous amount of dark brown seeds peppering the foliage. Upon closer inspection, golden leaves were scattered throughout, like the flecks in my eyes. Dex's tree was more or less the same, if a bit taller. The periwinkle blossoms had multiplied, showering the ground with petals.

After a moment, I knelt a few feet away from my Wanderling, on the opposite side from where Dex's tree grew. I brushed away a few stray blue leaves. 

I glanced up at Bronte. "Is here okay?"

The Councilor nodded. "You have to wait until the ceremony to plant it, though." He knelt beside me, pine needles and dirt clinging to his trousers, and laid a hand on my shoulder.

I fixed my gaze on the ground. It was surreal, to be kneeling next to my grave, about to plant one for Keefe. 

There, sitting in the forest with one of the most powerful people in the world sitting next to me, I tried desperately to remember any moments with Keefe, any ones that had mattered at the time. 

Riding Silveny together over the ocean, the starlight illuminating the waves beneath us. That was the first time he showed me the serious, thoughtful boy under the humor.