Nights of Fire & Ash

Chapter 6

The morning air felt cooler that morning like even though the world knew it was eternally summer here, there was still a meaning behind the Winter Solstice happening today. I half dazed in my bed letting the cool air welcome me out of my slumber, but I jolted awake a second after the warm breeze hit me again. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. After a few moments of stretching and allowing my body to adjust to the change in temperature. I walked towards my vanity that hadn't changed at all during the last few days, but that morning, there was a new paper on top of it. I unfolded a note that had been placed with it that had my name on it.

'Hide this, don't let anyone know you have possession of it. I hope this is the Winter Solstice present you truly wanted.'

The elegant handwriting led me to believe that it was a woman who wrote it, but I couldn't be sure. I'm sure that compared to my sloppy writing everything looked fancy. Probably literal chicken scratch was more eligible than my handwriting. I could write, but since I didn't need to when I left school, it fell by the wayside.

I carefully opened the folded pages and examined it. I gasped a tiny breath. It was a map of the the Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring Courts, the entire Fae realm. I examined it for a few moments. The map showed the different courts, their borders, mountain ranges, and- there it was, the portal, no portals. It looked like there was more than one in the Realm.

My ears perked up as I heard a shuffling at the door. I quickly opened my drawer and shoved the map inside. As soon as the drawer shut, Echa walked inside.

"Merry Winter Solstice, Raeva! Isn't it such a beautiful day?" She gleamed a big smile at me.

"Oh yeah, Merry Winter Solstice to you too. It sounds like it is going to be a very beautiful day indeed. What all do we have to do today?" I felt somewhat overwhelmed by everything.

"Don't stress. Most of the day will be a normal day. You will go down and have breakfast. Spend the morning how you please, and at about 3:00 I will come find you, in the library or out in the gardens, whatever you'd like. We are going to go get ready for the evening which will take a couple of hours, and then, the party will take up most of the night. It is so much fun. The food is to die for, and the wine is just out of this world amazing. I promise that you will enjoy yourself." Echa guided me into my chair at the vanity. She slowly started brushing out my hair and twisting it into a long braid.

"No bath this morning?" I had somewhat started to enjoy our morning ritual of bathing, brushing out my hair, and dressing for the day.

"I will help you bathe tonight before I curl your hair. We are going to make you the most beautiful girl at the party." I doubted that as I imagined what Tatiana was going to look like tonight. Her high cheek bones and beautiful smile almost caught me dead in my tracks every time I looked at her. I couldn't even compare.

"Am I crazy or was there a cool breeze this morning?" I mentioned to her. Echa's eyes shot up towards me. She looked confused.

"No ma'am, I don't think so at all. It was the typical warm summer breeze coming in the window when I awoke this morning." Echa finished tying a braid down my back. She made her way into my closet and brought out a simple green dress with her.

"Do you think there is any way you could find me some pants? Just to wear under the dress if it is such a big deal?" I begged her. "Or, I will wear the dress downstairs for meals, but I could spend my days up here in pants. It would be so much more comfortable." I practically begged her. I knew that I was never going to make it to the portal if I didn't find some real pants around here.

"I will figure something out. I was hoping that you had given up on this whole trousers argument though." Echa quickly undressed me and helped me step into the dress. I still felt way too skinny to be wearing any of these clothes. They practically hung off of me. "Come on, the Summer King will be waiting downstairs for us if we don't hurry. He hasn't been coming to meals lately, so he will expect everyone to be there."