#I know according to Tal'Dorei Reborn Vex asked the park to be built. But what if it was gifted to her by Percy instead?

[ravendruid]

Trinket

This work is part of the @percahliaweek event. Day 3 - Trinket [Read on AO3]

It’s springtime in Whitestone, and the trees and gardens bloom with colors and scents that the wind carries for miles. As luck would have it, it is the first clear, sunny day of the season, and Vex’ahlia does not fancy spending it indoors after weeks trapped within the white walls of the castle. Yes, she has matters to attend to. Letters to read and write, accounting of the treasury to do, and a myriad of other boring paperwork she does not want to think about. But it is sunny and warm, the flowers look so beautiful from the tall windows, and the Sun Tree is all dressed in gold. Even Trinket sighs hopefully at her feet, dreaming of chasing squirrels and other critters in the woods or dipping his paws in the shallow stream and hunting the few fish that swim in the cold waters of the mountain.

“Trinket, we’re going out,” Vex’ahlia has made up her mind. She looks for Cassandra first, hoping to spend quality time with her sister-in-law and maybe get to know the girl a bit better. However, a server quickly informs Vex that Cassandra is away for the day and has left no word of her return, so Vex turns to the other remaining de Rolo. 

It’s not hard to find Percival these days. He’s either locked in his office, pouring over paperwork of his own, or down in his workshop working on some grand design that he is determined to keep a secret, even from his wife. Vex’ahlia has tried countless times to ask him about it, but her husband’s mouth is a tomb that not even her brother could pilfer. She has tried tricks—some influenced by their prankster friend, Grog—and even using her best assets to seduce Percival into revealing information, but all she got from it was a night of luxurious lovemaking—a decoy to make her forget about the subject, no doubt.

“Percival, darling?” Vex’ahlia opens the door to Percy’s office. As soon as Percy’s deep blue eyes find her, he knows his wife wants something. 

“Hello, dear. How can I help you?” He asks, setting aside the quill and straightening the papers he has been working on. He won’t get any more work done the rest of the day if Vex’ahlia has her way—which she always does.

“It’s such a beautiful day outside. Why won’t we go for a walk?”

“Of course, dear. Do you have anywhere in particular in mind?” Vex shakes her head at his question, which makes Percy smile. Good. This might be a good chance, then.

The descent from the hill where Castle Whitestone sits is made in silence but for the sound of the couple’s footsteps echoing against the gravel and the huffs and puffs of the bear that tracks behind them. The town is bustling with life as traders and commerce owners share their products, and construction noises are muffled by screams of children playing in the streets. It is a sight to behold. The town that was once filled with such darkness and death is now full of light and happiness. Alive against all odds, like Percival and Vex’ahlia.

Percy leads Vex by the arm to the northwestern part of town, passing by old houses that still need to be worked on and into a section of the Parchwood Timberlands that has recently been cleared off for further development. In the distance are the first signs of a new wall that will protect the new section of the city, an expansion that Percy can’t look at without feeling some sense of pride.

“Do you see this section, dear?” Percival points at the vast leveled-up grounds ahead of them. Vex’ahlia nods and looks at him, waiting patiently. Only in the bright, sunny light does she notice her husband’s scruffy beard starting to come out, as white as his hair.

“This is where the houses for the refugees will be built, correct?” She remembers reading something in some paperwork that passed through her hands a few months ago.

“It was,” Percy’s smile falls.

“Was, darling?”

“The recent numbers haven’t been as promising as we imagined. It seems that more Emonians are keen to return to their homes, or what’s left of them, than we thought, so we do not have a need for new houses at the moment.”

“Oh,” Vex’s sadness mirrors her husband’s. She is happy for those families that get to return home. Some might have to rebuild their lives from the ash like Vex and her brother did, but at least they will be home. 

“Instead, I have decided to do something else with it. Such a great plot of land cannot go to waste, right?” It’s a rhetorical question. Percy knows Vex does not allow anything to go to waste if she has a say about it. 

“What will it be, then?”

Percy doesn’t answer her. Instead, he grabs her arm again and leads her to a large covered square on the ground. He unveils the cover of a stone that reads Lord Trinket’s Public Park. 

“Percival,” Vex’ahlia takes a step back, stunned at the gesture. 

“There will be a statue as well,” He turns to his wife, preening at her reaction. “Do not worry, Trinket and I will make sure they do a wonderful job on it. Right, buddy?” Percy rubs the thick fur atop the bear’s large head, who groans in agreement. 

“Darling, you didn’t have to.” Vex’s eyes fill with tears. She lunges into her husband, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him longingly. “Do you see this, buddy?” She then turns to the bear as she wipes the tears with the cuff of her sleeve. “This park is for you. So we can come play every day, buddy.”

With a loud, happy growl, Trinket turns his back on the couple and starts running around the large plot, quickly finding a muddy pit to roll around in. What is bare today will soon be full of large trees, bear, bee, and butterfly-friendly flowers, plenty of shaded benches, and maybe even a few tables where families can come and enjoy nature. Whitestone is alive indeed.