A Solstice Surprise

Chapter Twenty-One

Elain was standing in The Fox’s Field, slowly getting more nervous. It was the same restaurant Lucien had asked her to meet at, to speak with, one year prior, to the day.

Elain had booked the entire restaurant, wanting the privacy. She was trying to make the restaurant have the feel of what the two had been through the past year. She left the entrance dark and cold, because, truly, the horrifying time they had both been through was the beginning of their new start. She needed to incorporate it, in a way, so the two of them could finally put it in their past. She hoped after this evening, the two of them could finally put that dark, dark time in their past.

Elain hadn’t realized her hand reaching up to feel the harsh, jagged scar on the right side of her neck, that travelled down to above her heart, until she had felt the harsh edges of said scar. They wouldn’t be able to put everything of that time in the past. There would always be physical reminders.

Putting that time from her mind, she had turned her gaze onto the next moment, to the still dark, but much warmer part of the entrance, signifying when Elain had asked Lucien to stay. To not give up. It was the first night they had truly started to come close. She had explained that she would still need some patience from him as she got used to the idea of the new dynamics, but that she wanted to try. Wanted to get to know them.

There were memories in the restaurant of the first time they had fought, Lucien feeling as though Elain was just putting him through the same thing again, after two months of no movement, and Elain had to inform him that she was doing her research. She needed distance, and patience as she did research, so she knew what she was dealing with. She knew why things were feeling different. The fight had ended then, with Lucien appearing shocked, as if he wasn’t expecting that at all. As if he were honestly expecting Elain to tell him that it was true, that she hadn’t wanted him and that Titus was right. She just couldn’t tell him to his face. The look had hurt Elain, and she had found herself walking towards Lucien, and pulling him in a hug.

Elain then noticed the spot signifying all the walked the two would take. The had taken hundreds. Through gardens, by rivers, near shops. Any time Lucien visited the Night Court, which was far more than he had before, they would walk. They would go for walks, nearly every day when he would visit. Elain found herself shocked at how often she would laugh when they would be out walking. She hadn’t originally thought Lucien to be humorous, but he was.

There were hundreds of memories in the past year, both good and bad, she simply could not hope to signify them all here in the restaurant. Elain hoped to have many more. Tonight would determine if they would or not.

Suddenly, Elain heard the door open behind her, and turned around, to see Lucien walk in, only to feel fluttering within her stomach. She offered a small smile, even though Lucien had not looked at Elain long, shocked at how transformed the restaurant had become. He still hadn’t gotten a replacement eye yet. Apparently when Lucien had told his friend in the Dawn Court about what had happened with his previous eye, she was quite upset that her eye had broken so easily, and was taking extra time to make sure the next one wouldn’t break so easily. So Lucien still had just an eye patch covering his left eye for now, to keep any dirt from entering the empty socket.

“Elain, did- did you do this?” Lucien had asked, barely above a whisper.

Elain found herself nodding, with a soft smile, suddenly finding herself highly nervous. What if she was making a huge mistake? What if this didn’t go as planned? What if-

Suddenly she felt Lucien gently rest his hands on her arms. “It’s amazing.” He reassured, before gently placing a kiss on the side of her forehead. Elain couldn’t stop her heart from skipping a beat, or the flutter in her stomach, just as she couldn’t stop the small smile that had formed.