Justice for the Forest-Beasts

Epilogue

It was the second month of the new year, so being queen was only just beginning to no longer feel new. The weather had been considerably warm for several weeks prior. Wet snow still covered the ground, a perfect consistency for building snowmen and having snowball fights. Estelle had found herself wondering several times whether or not they had snowball fights in Rain's village.

It was early in the morning. The sun was shining brightly from the eastern treeline, casting its warm glow throughout the bustling city. Estelle and Petra were sitting together in the courtyard, watching Aravis and Lucian play jump rope with the city children. It was important for Estelle to maintain a good reputation, and she had to do it in a way that was proper for a queen. Because of that, she could not join the children in jump rope. Lucian and Aravis, though, had far more freedom. In a way, they seemed a bit more united by that fact.

"Excuse me, Queen Estelle and Queen Petra," a voice came from Estelle's right.

She hadn't heard the person walk up to her, so it'd made her jump. When she quickly turned to see who it was, she was greeted by her new court jester, Eglantine. Cecilia had retired as a court jester, seeing as neither of the monarchs she worked for were alive. She had become a regular at the Drunken Bard's Tavern, which Estelle hadn't visited in quite a long time. Eglantine was a hardworking, young faun, who Estelle didn't quite like as much as she'd liked Cecilia. Of course, Estelle felt as though no one could quite replace Cecilia. She'd grown up with Cecilia as her father's court jester, and Eglantine simply did not have such an advantage.

"Yes?" Estelle asked. Petra only acknowledged Eglantine by looking her way.

"I have received a message from Head Gardener Lainie. He asked me to tell you to go to the castle garden as soon as possible, Your Highness," Eglantine reported. She was a lovely fool, but she was unnecessarily serious when it was time to get down to business. Estelle hadn't asked Eglantine to loosen up, seeing as Estelle didn't often find herself in a joking mood those days.

"Thank you. We'll come at once," Estelle said. She stood up, followed immediately by Petra. She waved over Lucian and Aravis, who had to hand off their jump rope to the other kids. When the two came over, Estelle told them, "Lainie's asking me to go to the garden—I just wanted to let you know so you don't think we went missing or something."

"We need to come with you," Lucian quickly signed, "I need to."

Estelle hesitated to say, "Okay, sure. Let's go, then."

The five of them—Estelle, Petra, Lucian, Aravis, and Eglantine—all walked back to the castle's bailey together. When they arrived, Eglantine returned to the castle, while Lucian took the group's lead, bringing Estelle, Petra, and Aravis into the castle garden.

Vibrant flowers peeked out from under the snow, surrounded by the green-gray color of cold, winter leaves. Estelle preferred how the snow looked in the midst of winter, but it was still beautiful, even in the early spring. Benches lined the garden, among countless bushes and flowers. Lainie was sitting on one of them, a smug grin plastered on his face.

In the center of the garden stood a stone statue, about a foot or two taller than Estelle. It was the statue of Rain that she had asked Cecilia for. The statue's wings weren't quite spread fully, but they stuck out past xyr arms and above xyr head. Xyr hands were brought together in front of xyr chest, as if in prayer, although xyr head was held high. Xe stood tall, and a serene look was shown on xyr face. Xe wore xyr old commoner clothes, which included xyr green scarf and satchel. Xyr legs, which normally looked like that of a bird, were a bit thicker on the statue than they were in reality. Alas, it was likely only that way to make sure the statue would stand. It would be terribly unfortunate, if the statue was to collapse.

"Oh my gods," Estelle said in awe, "It's beautiful." She found her hands coming up to cover her mouth, and she almost wanted to cry.

"Isn't it?" Lainie put his hands on his hips and admired the statue himself. "We commissioned an artist to make it. I paid good money for it, I hope you know."

Lucian gestured to get Estelle's attention, then signed to her, "Rain's body is buried beneath the statue."

"That is so cool," Aravis said. He got closer to the statue, so that he could feel the detail on Rain's scaly legs and feathery wings.

"Xe would love it," Estelle said. Tears began to flow, but she kept wiping them away with her sleeve as she looked up at the statue of Rain. Yes. Rain would love it. Without a doubt, xe would look up at it and compliment its stunning beauty. Except, xe wouldn't quite have the words, and xe'd struggle to express the extent of xyr gratitude. No different from how Estelle was feeling at that moment. There were no words to describe how happy she was to have a statue of Rain, watching over the castle garden. It wasn't xyr forest, or xyr village, but it was as close as xe'd get within Castle City.