And I'll Tell You What You Are

Will's Pain is Worse Than it Ever Was, Then Phileas Comes to Wake Him Up

The line of men and women stand silently with the Baron as the others file in one by one, before stopping and bowing. 

Will can’t deny it, he shakes some as he lowers his head, but when he rises again, his eyes immediately go to Phileas, who is already looking back at him, with a look Will hopes matches the one on his own face. 

“Dear Brother.” Alice announces. “It is my honor to present Captain William Charity.”, and with a flourish, gestures to the man next to him. 

The Baron only greets, “Captain.”, so Will boldly takes the flower from his pocket, and offers it to the man, “Sire.” 

The Baron gives it a once over, then asks, “Is that a Gold of Kinabalu?” 

Will chuckles in relief, “Indeed it is, sire. For the most famous gardener in all of England.” 

There’s almost a hint of a smile on the Baron’s face, before Alice approaches again, stating, “Please, I insist.”, then taking the flower from Will and offering it to the Baron herself. 

The Baron takes it, stopping to sniff it as he declares, “Wonderful scent. Knows exactly what it wants to be. And so it is.” 

Then he notes, “Some of the others appear to be wilting.”, before handing the flower away. 

“But is that not what awaits all flowers, sire?” Will asks boldly, and it’s clear neither the Baron nor anyone else was expecting that, stunned silent. 

But the Baron breaks the silence first, saying, “I’m listening.” 

“They can only grow in nature, which means exposure to the elements, sire.” Will obliges. “They pop out of the soil, grow out of their seeds, bloom, and eventually wilt.” 

“Is that what you think, Captain?” The Baron asks. 

“Flowers grow up oblivious, going from one phase of their life to another, and though the elements may be unkind, they continue on blissfully unaware and keep living right down to their inevitable end, with no thought of being judged for their beauty.” 

There’s no response to that, so Will feels confident enough to keep going, “But even one such as me can see that does not apply to the women before us.” 

Now the Baron speaks, “If flowers could speak, Captain, what do you suppose they would tell us?” 

“’We are here.’” Will replies confidently, like he’d been waiting to be asked that very question. “’We gave everything we were able to give, with thanks to our Mother Nature. And our children will follow, and make new flowers we can only dream of. Tell us, is there no ending more beautiful, or more fitting, for ones such as us?’” 

“These flowers speak from experience.” The Baron states.  “Tell me, what protection can a gardener offer these flowers from the elements?” 

“Time.” Will says simply. “Attention. And the comfort of the sun. That’s all any of us can really hope for, sire.” 

The Baron looks towards Alexandra, then at Alice, then back to Will before he replies, “Thank you, Mr. Charity, for reminding me.” 

There’s a murmur in the crowd right as the Baron asks, “Walk with me? I wish to know of the progress on the garden.” 

Will walks over to him slowly, as the others behind him bow, with Phileas watching them go. 

Will gets ambushed by Phileas as he walks up the stairs to his room. 

Phileas speaks first, “That took a lot of courage, what you did tonight.” 

Will tries to excuse, “I was hoping he’d listen.”