Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Fifty Seven

A/N -- One week left on the contest! Got some good entries and full out, entirely new Fearless outline ready for two sets of eyes to read! Sort of unedited here, too. Enjoy! ALSO, for max effect, song really does set the mood. I listened to it quietly while writing the chapter.

Light pink. That was the first hint of the Gwenneth cabin to two sets of eyes. A few paces forward, and for the first time in twenty years, Rhalla locked eyes with the cherry orchard she'd known as a child. The breath was taken from her lungs, and she had to stop walking for a minute. She could almost see it... she could almost see the past.

She could almost see herself as a child again, swinging that wooden sword with her father. If she shut her eyes right now, she'd be there again. The scent of the blossoms brought back so many memories. For a moment, she was a little girl with a happy family. For a moment, all the darkness was gone.

For the first time in twenty years, she was innocent one more time. She was small in her shoes, and that was okay.

Iris whirled to see Hench, whose jaw was clenched as tightly as her eyelids. The rogue could swear she saw the beginning of tears in her sister's eyes when she opened them a few seconds later. After a second, Hench opened her mouth to let out the deep breath she'd been holding. "If you're looking for my thoughts, girl," she began on a breath. "I'm afraid there's no way to explain them to you."

Iris laughed softly and whispered, "Yes there is." She held out her hand for Hench to take. "You're home." Rhalla's lips twitched as she took her sister's hand. At the contact, Iris finished her thought with a smile as warm as a hearth. "Welcome home, Rhalla Gwenneth." Together, they walked through the orchard and towards the house that they'd both began their lives in.

They'd left the rest of their entourage in the marketplace, as this was a moment that Azabela felt would be best left just to the blood-family. Kayde, Dane, and Azabela would come and visit once Iris and Hench were good and settled. It was a decent walk to the porch, and Iris couldn't help but notice on the way that all of her mother's flowers had been tended and weeded. She had to wonder whether or not this was Renna's doing... or Zayn's.

Either way, Iris smiled. Before they could go up to the door and knock, Hench stopped Iris on the path and pointed to a small yellow daisy planted randomly in the ground. It was the only flower in Irila Gwenneth's garden that had no planned placement, it was just there, with no rhyme or reason. "You see that, girl?"

"Of course," Iris chuckled, and led her sister over to it. "My mother's favorite flower. It's been there as long as I can remember."

"Her favorite?"

"Yes." A moment had Iris reminiscing. She squatted to get a better look at the flower. "I never understood why she loved it so much. Why it was the only one she planted right here. There were certainly harder plants to tend, rarer plants to grow. There were even more expensive ones -way more expensive ones. But of all the exotic, vibrant flowers, this simple, stubborn daisy came back her favorite every year. I remember she'd always watch for it to come up -would always make sure to tell us about it when it did. She'd tend it like a newborn babe every season. And when it wilted away every year, she'd wait for the last petal to fall and then sit by the fireplace for a few days, silent unless spoken to. I'd ask my father why it made her so sad, that it was only an ordinary daisy. All he'd ever say was that maybe I'd understand when I got older."

Rhalla laughed quietly. "And do you understand?"

"I've always had theories. One was because it was so stubborn -it always came back, year after year. One was because it was simple -I thought maybe it might be a lesson that the simple things in life were always the most beautiful. One was because it was random. I thought it might have been a lesson that we should be unique, stand out. Or maybe a lesson that things didn't always have to go exactly as planned to be magnificent."