Dead Men's Bells (gxg)

Chapter 24

Until that point, I'd never seen a dead body. Well, technically that wasn't true since I was pretty sure that Thicket and the others in the back yard were all dead, but they weren't laying right in front of me. And I most certainly hadn't felt for them like I did for Amantha. She had been so welcoming and strong when I came to the house, it was almost like having another mother, and I was crushed knowing that she was gone.

"What do we do now?" I asked Lazuli softly.

She pulled me into her arms, tears on her cheeks after losing her mother. "We send her back to the flowers, and we try to move on as best we can."

I felt horrible, maybe if we'd been faster with the water we could have helped more. Or maybe we could have planned a better defense and saved her! But it didn't matter now. All we could do was pick up the pieces and help everyone move on and feel better. We were all broken up about it. Ada and Elle had been crying together for hours. Amber had been curled up at the end of the couch, her eyes red as she stared into the fire. Rhys and Rowan were sitting silently side by side at the kitchen table, their arms around each other. Lazuli and I still had other fairies working on our legs, though they felt much better now. I wasn't going to run a marathon, but I could walk back and forth to the kitchen now.

"Is there anything else I can get you, my queen?" the fairy who had just checked the wound on her leg asked Lazuli. I sat up in shock, as I remembered that she had been the princess.

"No, thank you Onyx. That will be all." She replied with a soft smile.

I turned to look at her. "You're the queen now!"

She nodded slightly. "Much too soon. I had hoped my mother would be the leader for many more years."

"We have to lead everyone now?"

"Yes. We have a lot of work to do too. Are you prepared to help?" Her eyes looked tired. As much as I was saddened at the loss of Amantha, Lazuli was worse. She had taken a double hit, having lost her mother and had the mantle of responsibility thrust onto her with no warning.

I nodded rapidly. I couldn't let her do this on her own. "I'll help however I can. We'll do it together."

"Excellent!" She leaned forward for a quick kiss, and then leaned back with a sigh. "Rhys, Rowan, Ada. I need your help!" The three quickly gave her attention, and she smiled serenely at them. "Go to the Thundernut clan, see who is left. If there are any women and children that wish to join us, then bring them here. See if they can tell them where their flowers are, so we can place the bodies there and return them to the plants. Ada and Rhys, stay out of sight just in case, Rowan, use your charm."

"Yes, my Queen!" they all chorused, and hurried out the back door.

"Amber, please go get sleep. You used a lot of energy today." Lazuli said softly to her friend.

She raised her red rimmed eyes, and looked over at us, a blank expression on her face. A simple nod was all we got, and then she headed slowly up the stairs. She had taken to sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms, and I was hoping she could get a good nap in. The poor fairy looked completely drained.

"You said something about sending her back to the flowers?" I prompted Lazuli.

"Yes. We'll clear out an area in the snow where the bluebells will grow in the spring and lay here there. The ground will reclaim her to be with the flowers," she explained.

And that is exactly what we did. The fairies cleaned up an area out in the yard, and we carried Amantha's body put to it, laying it gently on the cleared earth. It took almost no time at all. It was as though she was a pat of butter placed on hot toast and just melted right into the ground. It was shocking, sweet, and sad, all at the same time. Knowing that the flowers that bloomed in the spring would contain a little of her essence was a beautiful thought, even knowing that she was gone.