The tension in him eases at her touch, and at her insistence that he did not need to name the place of his nightmares.
"I am touched, Lady Celebrian. But we have had our memorials. We have grieved him since he fell. Yet in all our observances we have built no vessel great enough for our tears, for we lost not only our king, but so many of our men and women who fought."
He leads her into the garden he was thinking of, and pauses before a particular bed of peculiar, pale wildflowers that have been allowed to take over. He gestures.
"These flowers come from the South, near that place. Our scouts brought them..."
His voice fails him. His eyes close and he swallows hard. Speaking of even the good memories, few as they were, brings back visions of a dead land, a black sky, and a mighty tower. He sits by the flower bed and pries his eyes open, staring at the flowers as he fingers one, bringing himself away from there, back to this forest of life and plenty.
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"I am touched, Lady Celebrian. But we have had our memorials. We have grieved him since he fell. Yet in all our observances we have built no vessel great enough for our tears, for we lost not only our king, but so many of our men and women who fought."
He leads her into the garden he was thinking of, and pauses before a particular bed of peculiar, pale wildflowers that have been allowed to take over. He gestures.
"These flowers come from the South, near that place. Our scouts brought them..."
His voice fails him. His eyes close and he swallows hard. Speaking of even the good memories, few as they were, brings back visions of a dead land, a black sky, and a mighty tower. He sits by the flower bed and pries his eyes open, staring at the flowers as he fingers one, bringing himself away from there, back to this forest of life and plenty.