A duty to yourself - The BFG fan fiction

Chapter Four - The two gardens

It was getting very dark - and since it was summertime, Elizabeth knew it must be getting late. The crowd was beginning to thin. Children were leaning against their parents, a sure sign that it was time for many of the young families to head home. Many of the younger adults were taking out their phones with talk of ride shares and train times. Older people were taking each other by the hand and heading home.

But she wasn't tired at all, Elizabeth thought. The night sky was clear now and so was her mind. She was happy to be in the centre of the city again. With her newfound energy and weightlessness, she felt like a child. So she called Sophie over and whispered in her ear. Sophie giggled and nodded.

Again, hand in hand, they rose into the air. They skirted over the iron gates, almost grazing their toes on the sharp spores. They then glided over the pebbled driveway, and around a tower. Soon the noise of the crowd began to dim, until it was barely audible at all. Sophie led them along the edge of the palace until a large balcony came into view. With a sweeping staircase that led down to a grassy area, Sophie veered towards it. Heading towards the bottom of the staircase, Sophie and Elizabeth once again straightened up and gently touched down on the grass below. Here they were - in the private gardens of the palace.

Elizabeth smiled. The garden was bathed in the heavenly glow of moonlight. The grass of the wide lawns titillated in the wind, the branches of the willow trees along the banks caressed the lake water causing a disbursement of ripple. The tall shrubs and bushes swayed in time with the breeze. The faint hum of crickets met their ears.

"I always did like this garden, even as a child. A huge city and all this greenery. It was magical then, and it still feels magical now."

Elizabeth then looked around in silence. Sensing what she was about to ask, Sophie interjected with a suggestion.

"Let's go for a walk".

There really was no feeling like walking through a big empty garden on a warm night barefoot in pajamas. Elizabeth felt like she was sneaking out with her sister again when everyone else had gone to bed, dodging nannies and security to feel free in the night.

As they reached the banks of the lake, Elizabeth reached out to touch one of the willow trees. She ran her fingers through the supple branches of the willow tree, tracing the undulating surface of every passing leaf.

"When I was a girl, my sister and I had such fun here. We sang songs, played with the family dogs, ran along the banks, rode bikes and played hide and seek."

She sighed. "But that was a long time ago - a simpler time. A time before responsibilities and duties".

She looked back up at the palace. It felt like it had been so long since she had been down here in the garden looking up at the rooms, instead of being in the rooms looking down into the garden.

She smiled. "Let's head this way" Elizabeth beckoned to Sophie.

As Elizabeth walked towards the part of the garden she wanted to show Sophie, Sophie ran ahead.

The little girl was skipping and twirling, her nightie catching on the wind and turning like a parasol. It really did remind Elizabeth of being a child once again, finding more beauty and magic in the garden than she could as an adult.

Soon, they reached the small clearing surrounded by long stem yellow roses. Bright and bold even in the moonlight, the yellow roses surrendered to the gentle wind, bobbing back and forth, back and forth.

And in the centre of the roses, a ginormous white statue three times the height of Elizabeth came into view.

"This is the Waterloo vase" said Elizabeth. "My grandfather installed it here. It was originally destined for a museum - but, as you can see Sophie, it's rather heavy. And there were concerns the vase would crash through the floorboards!"