A Solstice Surprise

Chapter Twelve

Elain walked to the door to the townhouse. A small part of her not fully believing she was about to do this. After years of avoiding, and refusing to even acknowledge what connected her and Lucien, to even herself? No, there was a part of herself that didn’t believe that she was even meeting with Lucien at all.

She almost had decided not to, she had spent most of the morning debating with herself if she should go. But any time she had contemplated not going, it was as if her very soul would freeze. But not only her soul. The air around her would drop a few degrees, and the light would dim.

Elain could choose to stay, and not go, but something, something beyond the mating bond that went untouched, unacknowledged, and was streched thin between them, was making her feel she had to go to this meeting.

Elain had a vague knowledge of where the restaurant Lucien wanted to meet at was, and the Townhouse wasn’t too far a walk away, and Elain had waited as long as she possibly could before she left. If she had left any later, she wouldn’t have made it in time.

Just as Elain opened the door ready to head out, she saw her sister, just walking up the entrance.

“Elain! Good, you’re home. Are you free to talk for a bit?” Feyre had asked her. And if this were another day, at another time, Elain would have been more than happy to speak with her sister. But right now, she was in a hurry, and with each passing second, Elain thought she could feel feel the air around her slowly dropping in temperature.

“Actually, I don’t,” Elain had started speaking, though her voice dropped and got weaker towards the end of her sentence, as Feyee walked into the house. “Have time right now.”

She couldn’t exactly tell Feyre no, don’t come in. It was her sisters house. But Elain was starting to run late. She needed to leave so she could meet with Lucien.

“It won’t take long, I promise.” Feyre said, turning to look at her sister. “It’s just, so there isn’t a repeat of the other night, I wanted to let you know that Rhys and I will be having a dinner this evening where Lucien will be there, just so you-”

“Feyre, stop.” Elain found herself saying, more harsh than she intended to. “Just stop with your High Lady crap with me.”

Elain could see the shock on her younger sisters face at not only the fact that she harshly interrupted her, but that she was also using language that was very unladylike.

“First, you don’t tell me about Lucien coming early to begin with at all, second when you tell me you will come explain, you don’t. Then I walk over to your house, half blind, in the middle of the night, and once things calm down from that, rather than see how I’m doing from that, you disappear for days. Now your back, and you’re doing what you should have done from the beginning.” Elain pulled her cloak tighter around her, trying to keep in more warmth, trying not to allow herself to see the emotion in her sisters eyes.

“If you insist on being the High Lady, before a Sister, then just, stay away. I don’t like the impersonal, distant attitude of the High Lady. If you thought I’d be upset that you brought Lucien here early, you’re wrong. I don’t care that you did. It would have been nice if you told me before he got here. As my sister, I would have hoped you’d have at least seen how I was doing, after learning I was almost attacked that night.” Elain said.

“How did you…..?” Feyre asked, unable to finish the question.

“I couldn’t see. I could hear just fine.” Elain said, pulling her cloak even tighter around herself.

She grabbed the door handle, beforensaying one more thing to her younger sister.

“Now, I need to go. I’m already late. I just hope I’m not too late. I’d say make yourself at home, but this already is your home. Do whatever you want, just don’t go in my room. Your birthday gift is in there, and I haven’t wrapped it yet.”

And with that, Elain had left.

*** ***

Elain was too late to the Restaurant, she knew it before she had touched the door to enter. But still, she walked to the host, hopeful.

“I’m looking for Lucien Vanserra?” She asked, hoping that he was still here. “Red hair, he has a metal eye-”

“I know Mr. Vanserra well.” The responded. “Whenever he is in town, he stops by for a meal.”

“Is he still here?” Elain found herself asking, rubbing her hands together underneath her cloak to keep them warm.

“Unfortunately you just missed him. He left about ten minutes ago.

Feeling something in her break, she realised that he had waited longer than just an hour for her. He must have waited an extra thirty minutes.

"Are you, the High Lady’s sister? Lady Elain?” The host had asked, and then continued when Elain had nodded her answer. “Mr Vanserra had this with him, when he arrived. He said, that should you not show up to meet him, to make sure you get it. Seeing as how I don’t have to mail it out now, please, take it.” The host held out another letter, with her name written on it.

The second Elains hand touched the letter, the slightly dropping temperature, had dropped drastically. Immediately she was without any warmth. Elain was freezing, as if she would never feel warm again.

She knew it was just her, because the host didn’t notice a difference at all. So forcing a small smile, she looked at the host, and thanked him, before turning to leave the restaurant.

She was freezing. Something wasn’t right. So with hands that were shaking from uncontrollable shivers, she opened the letter to read.

Elain,

The fact that I am writing this letter, after the one this morning, is painful on so many different levels.

Years ago, when your sister and I had first run away from the Spring Court, and things were tense between her and I, she had asked why I had wanted to come, why I had wanted to meet you, when I was unsure of you and this mating bond myself. She asked this, because she knew my past.

She knew that I had loved a female so fiercely that we believed to be mates, just waiting for the bond to snap into place, only for her to die before we learned it never would.

My answer, to your sisters question, was to see if you were worth fighting for. And you were. I found you were worth fighting for. You weren’t my Jesminda, but you were something new, something different. I wanted to get to know you.

Something changed though, after the war, and after your father’s passing, after you stabbed the King of Hybern, and I won’t begin to understand what that is.

I became a symbol of something in your eyes. Something you can barely look at. As much as this pains me, I can not make you do something you do not want to do.

You have shown that you are not someone who wants to be fought for. At least by me.

Coming to the Night Court, coming to Velaris, brings the very innermost part of my soul some joy, because it’s close to you, even when I do not see you. But it also brings on what I feel is the beginnings of madness. I cannot continue this way.

I can no longer keep waiting. I can no longer find a reason to fight. Not that I have fought in a long time.

I will always be available for you to speak to, but you will need to put in the effort. This evening will be my final evening in the Night Court. I will not be back.

It is too much for the both of us. I wish it were different, just as much as you.

I hope one day to speak with you. But it is, just as it has always been, your choice.

Lucien.

Elain finished the letter, shocked, hurt, still freezing, but she couldn’t focus on her reactions to the letter, because seconds after she had finished it, the world around her went dark. So dark, she couldn’t see a thing.