?The Lavender Garden - Crocus?

  Several years passed. I married into a great family that made me feel welcome and equal. I still manage the county and care for my parents. I still keep up with the news about the five women. Well, as much as I could, anyway.

  Dianne eventually mellowed out and stopped harassing people. Aenarra stopped being a part of Dianne's group. However, I would occasionally find just the two of them together. Caecilia married a man outside the Empire. From the letters she would often send me, it seemed like she and her husband saw eye to eye. Ateia remained unmarried. She would host garden parties, but they were not as grand as they used to be. When the first prince was crowned, Ateia rarely left the palace.

  I never got any news about Sylvainne. The Vaelors kept quiet and continued their lives as if nothing had happened. After all these years, I nearly forgot about her, but something always reignited my memory of her.

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  One day, as I strolled through my husband's march, I spotted lavender being sold at a stall. I went to buy some when I heard a voice—a voice so familiar and soft, like one I had heard many times before.

  That was when I saw her. Her hair was now light brown, and her dress was not lavish, but she could never hide her lilac eyes. She stood there smiling, with a child holding her hand. The child had blonde hair and similar lilac eyes. As I tried to approach her, a man came up behind her. The eyes and hair might have been different, but he had the same build as the man from years ago.

  They looked happy, content. I stopped right there. I turned around and headed home.

  Once again, I realized I was not welcome there. However, for the first time, I knew I was content with that.

  High society might have forgotten her. They might have replaced her. But I will always remember. For she was the only lavender in the garden of roses.

  -fin-