A Court of Fire and Sun

chapter five

TW - there is a mention of rape in this chapter!!

*Esther*

When I woke up that morning I was relieved I made it to the bed. The last thing I remembered was dozing off in the bay window. I sat up and stretched my legs. The smell of sunshine and cinnamon tickled my nose. A glimmer of gold caught my eye and I turned my head to see a shiny gold parchment sitting on top of some clothes that were folded neatly.

This is for our trip today. Join me for breakfast please.

His handwriting was so neat. Every line was defined, I was embarrassed of my scratchy work I had handed him yesterday on the white paper. Pushing those thoughts away I picked up the soft fabric and held it up in front of me. It was a long white gown with small golden suns embroidered on the front of the bust. It was simple yet so elegant that I was actually excited to wear it.

After I finished my bath and changed into the dress, I braided one strand of hair in the front on each side and pinned it back. I turned in the mirror and looked at the rest of my hair trailed all the way down my back. Maybe I would cut it soon. It would be nice to try something new.

I ran my fingers along the wall in the hallway outside of my room, admiring how carefully everything, including the walls, had been crafted here. This was my new home. "Morning," Helion's voice greeted me as I approached the dining room, pulling me from my admiration of his home.

"Hi," as soon as I took the seat next to him my glass filled with juice and my plate was full. "I like this dress. Thank you."

"It looks stunning on you," he offered after taking a drink from his cup.

I knew my cheeks had turned pink and I cut into the potatoes on my plate. "What's the town like?"

"Beautiful. Full of Sun."

"Everywhere you go is full of Sun. You bring it with you."

A smile twitched at his lips and he took another drink from his cup. "The town is nice. Everyone there is kind. I have a few people I need discuss some requests with today. They're waiting on my approval and I'd rather talk to them in person."

The eggs were scrambled and so fluffy it made my mouth water. I took a bite then a bite of the sausage on the plate. The food here was incomparable to anything I had ever had. I raised my eyebrow at Helion, "Approval?"

"People always ask before changing anything to do with the land. Even though they own the land. I think maybe it's a respect thing? I don't ever mind though. So long as it doesn't bother the creatures and animals that dwell on the skirts of the Day Court."

I wondered what kind of creatures dwelled in the Day Court. Were they different from the ones every where else? Some of the few I had encountered on my trip to refuge had been terrifying enough I wasn't sure I wanted to see much more. But, I respected that Helion cared enough to now allow people to make decisions that affected them.

The walk to town was a few miles; I didn't mind, though. Helion offered to winnow us closer in but I wanted to see the Day Court. Aside from the bit of land around the castle I hadn't really seen much of Helion's home. The walk was nice. It felt like I was bathing in the sunlight. The trees were tall and one of the prettiest greens I had ever seen. I could see blue birds perched in the middle of the trees, they sang to Helion when we passed. A gray bird even flew down and hovered beside us offering us a song. "You're like a Snow White."

Helion snickered, "Snow white? You compare to me a fairytale?"

"Faerietale," I corrected.

My poor joke coaxed a snicker from the tall male. He lifted his hand to his head and pushed a strand of fallen hair behind his ear. I could see the muscle in his arms flex. Everything about was gorgeous, cosmic. "The animals love me."