As they walked through the garden, the neat gravel path turned more rugged. It wound about a small hill in the eastern part of the grounds atop which stood a cherry blossom so splendid and bright Ruby could not look anywhere else. When she remembered where she had seen it before she cried with surprise.

“That’s the tree from Market Square!” She clapped.

Lilith stopped at its base; her brow beaded with sweat from the climb. She rested a palm against it and bowed her head.

“Given I was raised in Scara Brae, it was only right that the first envoy to receive a summons was from Valeena’s court. In return for opening trade lanes between our nations I asked for one, simple favour.” She pulled bac her hand and gestured to the tree.

“Is it a seed, or the tree itself?”

“He was surprised when I asked. It is just a tree to him, of course. Nobody in Scara Brae would have missed it.”

“I sure as hell missed it!” Ruby approached and gave it a long, warm hug. “How ever did they bring it here?”

“Like all these plants, it came by boat. They dug it up and potted it in a great trough and somehow it survived the voyage. Funny, really…if I had known what was going to happen, I would have brought more than just this fucking tree.”

“I don’t think anyone could have saw what happened coming.”

Whatever foul hell had been unleashed with the fall of Lornius had ricocheted through the leylines of the world. The deserts of Fallien boiled, the jungles of Dheathain had come alive, and Scara Brae had crumbled beneath the waves. That was over two decades ago, and only ash remained to tell its history.

“That was the last time I saw you, Ruby.”

It had been a bitter reunion for the troupe. They came on wings and through portals to save as many of their kin as they could. The speed at which the ruin descended upon them was unrivalled; less than a thousand survivors lived to tell the history of Scara Brae. In two generations, there would be no one alive save the troupe who laid eyes upon its shores.

“Has it really been so long?” Ruby looked hurt but did not try and excuse herself.

“I’m not angry. Not anymore. Our lives diverged just as Scara Brae broke apart.” Lilith held out her hand and gestured for Ruby to approach. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Ruby walked closer but lingered at arm’s length.

“I’m so sorry, Lilith. I do not even know why we lost touch. We had such big dreams. When we tried to reignite the passions of our youth and they failed to spark I fell into the darkest sadness.” Ruby remembered their laughter in the playhouse but soon remembered what followed.

“If I’m being honest sister, I never thought it would work.”

“Our revival?”

“I wanted it to. The more effort we put in, though, the hollower it felt. When Duffy disappeared that summer, I was glad. I was no longer torn between my family and my home.”