Beech - Legend of the Dryads, Book 2

Epilogue

"Happy birthday, Jaynie!" sang Sue's chirpy voice from the other side of her bedroom door. "Rise and shine! We have guests here in twenty minutes!"

But Jayne was already up. Her outfit today was a beautiful blue, strappy sundress and even her blonde hair had been curled into ringlets. She opened the door with a big smile on her face.

"Morning Sue!" she said. Sue gave her a disbelieving look.

"My, you're up early!" she stated in surprise.

Jayne pointed at the clock above her bed. "It's only eight o'clock!" she informed her grandmother.

"Still." Sue looked pensive for a moment, but soon shook it off. "You're mother's downstairs. She's got a surprise in stall for you! I'll see you in about ten minutes?"

Jayne grinned. "Make that five," she said.

"Okay," Sue said, still eyeing her with suspicion, "I'll see you in five." And with that, she headed away.

Downstairs, Fabien was the only one to have yet arrived.

"You came on time this time," Jayne grinned at him once she was closer. Fabien grinned back and pulled her close for a peck on the lips.

"Happy birthday, Jayne," he greeted. "You look gorgeous."

Jayne regarded him in his smart shirt and trousers. "You don't look too shabby, either," she teased, blushing from his complement.

Fabien lifted Jayne's hand and placed in it a tiny, black box, very similar to the silver one he'd offered her for her sixteenth birthday a year ago.

Jayne grinned once again. "You want me to open it now or..."

"Later," he requested, using his hand to close her fingers around the gift.

Before long, the other guests began to arrive, including all her friends from school and even Brenda who, since being told that she'd been on holiday before she'd fallen and had gained a nasty concussion, and since Jayne had started volunteering at the island's hospital, had become friendly with the two girls, though she couldn't quite fathom exactly why they had both been on holiday with her...

Helen's big surprise was a meal out at the new Chinese restaurant that had opened in the village. Jayne really was able to relish the moment of complete contentment – a feeling that she had not taken for granted since the dramatics of the year before. Now everything had fallen into place, and she could breathe again, she could really focus on the important matters.

Fabien was already there waiting for her when she came to meet him in the forest. He was sitting on the ground against the trunk of a tree, intently twiddling with his fingers. When he saw her approach, he jumped up and smiled at her, but it was not the same full-fledged smile that she had seen on him earlier that day. Something was up.

"Are you okay?" she asked him with concern. He smiled, but it looked forced, like he was trying to hide how he felt internally.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Did you have a good day?"

Jayne nodded and stepped up beside him, slipping her hand into his. They walked a familiar route through the trees, almost without realising they were doing so, all the while speaking nothing to one another. But their silence said far more than what any words would have said; it spoke of how far they had both come in the last two years and all the changes that had taken place in that time. It said that they were both happy – that neither of them felt bad or disheartened by the events that had played with the paths of their lives.

Eventually, they came to a rest in a place that Jayne knew very well – the beech stump. It made her think back to the young ghost she had met here a year ago.

"Do you miss her?" Fabien asked her, in reference to Beech. Jayne nodded. She really did miss that voice of wisdom and reassurance. Jayne had helped Beech. But ultimately, she had helped Jayne.

"I do, too, in a strange way," smiled Fabien, watching the stump.

Jayne turned to him. "Why strange?"

"When I was fearing for your life, and missing you beyond belief, it was kind of great to see your face in those dire moments, even if it had to be on someone else."

Jayne and Fabien both stood for a moment in silent reverence, but Fabien was getting more and more antsy. Finally, he just could keep it in any longer.

"Have you opened the present yet?" he asked her.

"Not yet," Jayne said, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans. "But I have it here with me."

"Are you going to open it?" Fabien urged, getting both nervous and excited.

Jayne smirked. "Are you giving me a choice?"

"Not really," Fabien grinned.

Jayne held the black box up in front of her and eyed the lid. It reminded her of last year, and the necklace Fabien had given her. He thought it was a great gift; a symbol of what they had shared together. Despite all the evil that it had represented, Jayne really did miss that little pendant that got lost in the fire of the Lumber Lodge.

Gingerly, Jayne lifted the lid of the box, and gasped at what she saw inside. This was far better than any necklace!

"Before you get too scared," Fabien was quick to say before Jayne could really react, "this is just a promise ring." He plucked the little silver circle from its cushion. "It's to say that what happened has happened, and we survived it. And surely, if we can survive a bunch of jealous Dryads, a greedy old woman and Tiffany in a bad mood, then we can survive anything." He slipped the ring onto Jayne's finger, the smooth, cold metal feeling just right against her skin. She lifted her finger up to her face and could see the finely engraved leaf on the ring's face.

"Thank you," she beamed, pools of water blurring her vision. "It's perfect."

Fabien grabbed her hand with his, and then the other one. He gazed into her sparkling brown eyes, and his heart swelled.

"Jayne?" his word was all but a whisper.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Jayne looked into his glittering emerald eyes, and her soul melted.

"I love you too."