I stand before the pond Blasius and I had visited multiple times last year. This time, however, there is an addition. In the middle of the pond sits a concrete memorial monument, tall and proud. It had only been erected a few months ago since there was so much to do over the past year, but I'm glad the simplistic design had finally come to fruition.
A plaque adheres to all four sides reading her name. My heart wrenches as I read it. Although I didn't know her for long, her presence in my life will surely be an unforgettable one. I never knew someone could be so infectiously positive, even in the face of fear and uncertainty. It's something I have tried to incorporate in my own life.
Exactly one year has passed since her death, and the battle that overthrew the King. Or, the former King, rather. Referring to Blasius as the King is something I'll never get used to, no matter how fitting the position is for him. The same goes for me being Queen now.
Since we had been crowned, we created a council fit with five representatives from all races that lived in the country. That way, everyone would get a say in matters that pertained to everyone. The non-human races deserved it, after all they had been through during King Taelman's reign.
Blasius and I, despite being present for all council meetings, are more like figureheads. People who were elected in a heat-of-the-moment situation that oversee all law proposals and such, so that everything runs smoothly and everyone is being equally represented and spoken for. It feels good, knowing I could give everyone the justice they had been yearning for for so long. I just hope my actions are doing justice at reconciling for the former King's obscenities.
Blasius runs a hand over my slightly protruding stomach, smiling as he looks down at it. He repeats his gesture multiple times a day, and has been ever since we found out I was pregnant. I'm still not far along, only a few months in, but far enough that I almost can't see my feet.
Marriage ceremonies aren't common in werewolf culture, so I've learned, but Blasius was eager to oblige when I first mentioned a wedding to him on our first slightly-less-busy day after becoming the new King and Queen. Only a few weeks after that conversation was I walking down a long aisle in a long, lacy gown as white as my hair. I'm not the best at math, but I have a growing theory that night had been when I conceived our little baby.
"I know we won't find out until the day comes but," I look at the statue once again, tearing my gaze from Blasius's large hand placed on belly, "I hope it's a girl. So I can name it after an unforgettable person that had been an amazing friend and one of the only sources of light in such a dark time."