Title: Farewell
Fandom: Forever Knight
Rating: G
Author: Endaewen
Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to their owners and
creators. The information on medieval floral codes comes from the
book Paint Your Own Illuminated Letters.
Summary: Post Last-Knight. Natalie's Funeral.
Notes: Challenge response to the Medieval Floral Codes challenge.

	The crowd was large, for Natalie Lambert, the deceased had been
well liked, both at work and outside it. That fact had been made
clear by the stories and memories told by her friends, family and co-
workers during the service. The funeral had been held at night, in
hopes that Nick, who had gone missing at the same time that Natalie
had been attacked, would be able to attend.

	While, as far as anyone could tell, there had been no sign of the
Detective at the funeral, the late hour had made it possible for
several others to be present, including one tall dignified man with
an almost military bearing.

	He remained at the back of the crowd, unrecognized, listening to
snatches of the many conversations going on. Some of which were
discussing the absence of Detective Knight, though most focussed on
the life and achievements of Natalie.

	"...Always so cold. He never had any friends with that strange
allergy of his... I wouldn't be surprised if he killed her and ran to
avoid capture..." he heard one man saying.

	"...I never understood what she saw in him." This was said by a
rather handsome man on the other side of the crowd.

	However, it was apparent that his conversational partner didn't
agree. "Just because she turned you down several times. They were
meant to be together. Anyone could see that. I don't know what
happened, but I've heard that there were signs of a third,
unidentified, presence in the loft."

	Other conversations were in a similar vein, though the listening
man also heard some speculation that the missing detective might have
committed suicide somewhere. They're more right than they know, He
thought on hearing that suggestion.

	There was one subject that came up every so often which he found
surprising. The 'anonymously' donated flower arrangement standing to
one side of the grave. Then he remembered; to the modern eye, it was
an unconventional arrangement, to say the least. It included such
specimens as marigolds, oak branches and forget-me-nots, as well as
others.

	Watching the crowd slowly disperse, the man went up to the grave
with two or three others of his kind to pay his last respects.

	There he allowed himself to fall into memories. He saw again the
first time he had met his son-to-be, Nicholas de Brabrant, then a
thirteenth-century crusader. Following the memories forward, Lacroix
remembered watching his Nicholas fall into depression over his view
of his vampiric state.

	In his mind's eye, the ancient vampire saw the changes that had
come over the younger vampire after he had met the coroner. There had
been an air of hope and excitement surrounding him for the first time
in centuries.

	One of the vampires standing with Lacroix spoke. "She saved us,
finding the cure before the fever spread to other cities." His voice
was quiet, to prevent the other mourners from overhearing the
conversation. Still, he was heard clearly by the other vampires, who
nodded agreement. He continued, "I will make sure she is not
forgotten for as long as I live."

Part Two:
	They left, leaving Lacroix alone with his thoughts, which turned
this time to the woman lying just in front of him. He had never liked
the Good Doctor, as he had called her, but he had respected her in a
way, considering her to be an opponent for the life of his son, but a
worthy opponent.

	Still, when she died, and Nicholas had asked him to help him follow
her, the old vampire understood the depth of the former crusader's
love for her. "They were meant to be together. Anyone could see
that." He heard again in his head the words of the woman earlier that
evening. I saw it, but I denied it, pretended not to, and fought to
keep them apart. Perhaps though, if I had done otherwise, this would 
have happened earlier.

	Seeing at the end the depth of his son's love for the now-dead
woman, Lacroix had personally placed his ashes in the coffin with her
the night before the funeral. Together in death as they had wished to
be in life.

	Now he looked at the flowers beside the grave. He had arranged for
the display to be made up of flowers used in the medieval symbolic
codes as a way of expressing his feelings for his son and their
feelings for each other.

	Forget-me-nots. True love. Appropriate for the two of them. As the
meanings came to mind, sod did observations on their place in the
relationships in question.

	Marigold, symbolizing pain and grief. The latter is certainly true
for both how Nicholas felt at the end, and how I feel now.

	Rosemary, for remembrance. It's hard to see, but it's there, and I
will remember them both just as the other vampires said they would.
This one's a promise.

	Yellow tulips, meaning hopeless love. What else can love between a
mortal and a vampire be? Eventually, what happened between them will
happen and the mortal will die.

	Lacroix also made note of the pansies in the arrangement. They
meant "Think of me always", and he'd included them as another
promise. Also the ivy for "lasting friendship" and oak: "endurance
and faith". That certainly described Nicholas's quest to regain his
humanity.

	The final plant in the arrangement was one from the church in which
Nicholas had believed so strongly. Acacia, said to represent the
immortal soul.

	"Whatever afterlife you are in now, I hope you are together and
happy," he whispered to the grave, a bloody tear slipping down his
cheek. A moment later, the ancient vampire disappeared silently into
the darkness.



Pansies: Think of me always
Marigolds: Grief and pain
Forget-me-nots: True Love
Yellow Tulips: Hopeless love
Rosemary: Rememberance
Acacia: The immortal soul
Ivy: Friendshp
Oak: Faith and endurance

The challenge:

To write a story in which the medieval symbolic language of flowers
is used in some way. At least three of the characters on the show are
old enough to have used the language when it was first popular. It
might be between two or more of the characters, or perhaps a crime
scene. The options are many.

Please include the meanings of the flowers used.