A Court of Legends and Myths

Chapter 20 - The Museum

Feyre's POV

"Good morning" A cheery Nesryn said as she took a seat at our table, we were currently eating breakfast.

"Morning" a few people greeted her.

"You look cheery this morning, Nesryn. Did something happen?" Lysandra asked knowingly. Nesryn blushed slightly as she looked at her husband, which made Lysandra smile.

"No, nothing at all. Except that our team won last night." she answered. Lysandra just gave her a look that said she knew Nesryn was lying, and what she really did.

"We were wondering if a few of us could get permission to leave the castle and go check the museum. We were told it is something we should visit while we're here." Mor requested.

"I don't see why not." Rowan replied.

"Thank you. When does it open?" Viviane said.

"It opens in about an hour, and closes at sundown on weekdays." Fenrys answered.

"How many of you will be going?" Rowan asked.

"Three I think, Mor, Viviane and I." I answered

"Actually I was hoping I could join." Azriel said. His request surprised me a little, he wasn't normally interested in this kind of stuff.

"Yea, sure. I don't see why not. Anyone else?" I replied.

"I'll go. I'd like to learn more about this world. See what I can document and add to my libraries." Hellion said.

"So five of you will go. I'll assign seven guards then." Fenrys said. He looked to Rowan for his approval, who simply nodded his head. "You can go down to the barracks when you're ready to leave." Fenrys then added. People then went about conversing in polite conversation. Then Ansel asked.

"Is Aelin still sleeping? For the love of the gods, when will she get up? If she had slept in this much she wouldn't have lasted a day in the Red Desert."

"You aren't much better." Illias teased. She gave him a death glare.

"Aelin and Dorian won't be joining us. They've been researching since dawn." Manon told Ansel. I was just now noticing that neither of them were here. Not noticing Dorian's lack of appearance is understandable, since I have been here he has been quiet and reserved. But Aelin?

Breakfast went smoothly after that, people had started to leave a half hour ago, it was now just those of us who were going to the museum. "Are we all ready?" I asked. Once I received nods from everybody we started walking to the barracks. We had been walking for about five minutes before we had to stop a servant and ask for directions because we were lost. It just so happens we were on the wrong side of the castle. The servant started giving directions but upon seeing our confused faces she just led us there herself. Before I could knock on the double doors, a female opened them up from the inside. "Can we assist you in any way?" She asked nicely.

"Yes, we were told by Fenrys to come here when we were ready to leave for the museum." Viviane answered just as nicely.

"Ah, so you guys are the fae creating such trouble for her majesty. Yes, the captain told us to expect you. If you would give me just a moment I'll inform your escorts you are here." the female said before closing the doors. We waited for a few moments before seven guards came out, two were female fae. Two were male fae, one was a human woman, and the remaining two were human men. 

It piqued my curiosity that this castle was so diverse, humans and fae, females and males, all working together harmoniously. I wish that Prythian could one day be like this, a land with no prejudice, with no misogyny, with equality between all races, genders, and species.

"Follow me" one of them said as he gestured for us to follow.

We walked for about thirty minutes before we stopped in front of a beautiful building. It looked like a small palace with glass... I didn't know how to describe them, but they were truly stunning. In the center of the building were giant arches and pillars with a set of double doors that were just as big. The doors themselves were wide open.

In front of the museum was a large garden, it had grass cut in stunning swirling patterns, small bushes and trees lining the pathway. In the middle of the garden was a small fountain. In the middle of the fountain were statues of people standing in a ring around one female.

"This place is stunning," Viviane said in awe. When we walked in we were greeted by a human man. "Hello, my name is Gabriel, and I'm a guide here at the Royal Terrassen Museum of History. How may I help you" he said cheerily.

"We came to learn about the queen's court and a bit about the events of the last couple of decades. We were told this is the place to go for that." Mor answered. He smiled and said;

"Yes, indeed it is. If you want to learn about the most recent war which took place just sixteen years ago this is the place to come. There isn't a museum better than this one for that. If you want a guide to help you around and answer any questions, I would be more than happy to be one. If not then I can just point you in the right direction." We looked at each other briefly before I said;

"A guide would be much appreciated." The man beamed and said;

"That's great to hear, before we go anywhere, are there any questions people have?"

"Who are the people depicted in the statues outside? I recognised the queen but none of the others." Helion asked.

"Those are former kings and queens of Terrassen. When the museum was first built 11 years ago, a pull was sent out. It asked the people to list who they believed to be the top five best sovereigns of Terrassen. The number one answer was of course Queen Aelin. She is the central figure. Other ones are: the first king of Terrassen Brannon Galathynius himself, as well as king Orlon Galathynius, the current queen's great uncle, and the previous king." Gabriel answered with pride.

"Any other questions?" He asked.

"Why was the museum built?" Viviane inquired.

"Before the invasion 26 years ago, Terrassen was seen as the strongest and most prosperous kingdom in our world. It was the standard that all others wished to achieve. It was known for its art, education, culture and more. When Queen Aelin was crowned she wished to return Terrassen to its former glory. But she didn't want the people to forget what was sacrificed to get to what we have today, so she had this museum built. She had her most trusted court members oversee the project as she could not herself." He told us.

"Is that why the giant domed building in the center of the city looks so new, she had it built to return Terrassen to its former glory?" Mor asked. Gabriel giggled a bit at that.

"No, no. The queen did not have it built. The king did, he built it, he designed it, he did everything. It's the Royal Theatre of Wildfire. It was a mating gift for his mate, the queen." He stated.

"Wildfire?" Hellion queried.

"He built her a theatre?" I said. That's better than what I got from Rhys.

"Yes, the queen loves music, she plays the pianoforte herself. And seeing as Orynth didn't previously have a theatre, the king built one. And wildfire, because it's named after the queen. As a young girl she was known as Aelin of the Wildfire, she still is. They say she has a heart of Wildfire, and is as wild as one." he responded. He waited a few moments presumably for any other questions to be asked before saying; "If there aren't any more questions please follow me." When no one answered he gestured us to follow as he walked off down a hallway.

A/N

My inspiration for the museum was a combination of the Canadian Art Gallery, in Ottawa, Canada, and the Petit Palais, Paris, France. Along with the gardens at the Palais de Versailles, Versailles, France. So if you want to get a better idea of what the museum looks like, you can go check out some photos of what the museum was based upon. 

The next few chapters will be from either Mor, Feyre, or Azriel's POV.