Chapter Text
The wildflowers had reclaimed the gardens of the Spring Court. Elain noticed this first as she stepped through the trees that bordered the over grown lawns. Nature asserting itself where careful cultivation had been abandoned. Weeds pushed through cobblestone paths. Roses climbed haphazardly over trellises designed for more delicate blooms.
Elain walked carefully, her shoes crunching on fallen leaves that no one had bothered to sweep away. The grand manor stood before her, its once white stone now covered with patches of green moss and weather stains. Ivy climbed unchecked up the walls, tendrils pushing between stones and curling around forgotten window frames.
The windows themselves were dark and shuttered, several missing glass panes that now lay in fragments among the weeds below. A stone cherub that had once graced the fountain stood headless, water no longer flowing but replaced by a small pool of rainwater where insects skimmed the surface. The wide oak doors hung slightly ajar, one off its hinges and leaning precariously against the frame. She had expected neglect, but not this complete surrender to time and elements.
It suits me better this way, she thought.
Her argument with Feyre echoed in her mind, sharp words that had sliced through years of careful, polite silence.
"You can't just leave," Feyre had insisted, power rippling beneath her words. "The Night Court is your home now. Your family is here."
"My family." Elain had repeated the words softly. "And will you keep me here against my will? Lock me away for my own protection?" She had watched her sister's face pale at the comparison. "Isn't that what Tamlin did to you?"
The memory made Elain's throat tighten. She hadn't wanted to hurt Feyre, but the walls of the Night Court had been closing in for months. The expectations. The sideways glances. The careful conversations that stopped when she entered rooms.
A bird called somewhere in the overgrown garden, bringing Elain back to the present. She approached the manor steps, noting how wildflowers had sprouted between the cracks in the marble. She touched a small purple bloom with her fingertip.
Lucien's face appeared unbidden in her thoughts. The mating bond stretched between them, thin but unbreakable. He would find her eventually. Would he understand why she had come here, to this broken place? To the court of the male who had once been his friend and lord?
Elain sat on the steps, surrounded by the sweet chaos of untended growth. Here, at least, no one expected her to be more than she was. No one waited for her to embrace powers she never asked for. No one watched her with wary eyes, wondering when she would break or transform or fulfill some prophecy written in stars she couldn't read. And hopefully no one would think to look for her here.
Here, she could simply be Elain.
A low growl rumbled from the shadows of the manor's entrance. Elain turned slowly, unsurprised. The beast emerged, massive and terrible, horns curving toward the sky, claws leaving marks in the stone. Green eyes regarded her with unreadable emotion.
"Hello, Tamlin," she said quietly.