The Open Sky: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 3

Chapter 13

 After Dewdrop left that morning, Sparrow's day was as routine as it always was. She patrolled the wilds with her squad. She trained. She mixed poisons. The mechanics of her day were indistinguishable from any other. The one thing that stuck out was her squadmates constantly asking why she was so happy. They could detect the extra bounce in her step. They could see the beaming smile that never left her face. She was happy; far happier than they'd ever seen her. For most of these inquiries, she said it was just excitement on the eve of Shimmer-sehr. But there was no fooling Mantis and her friends.

"She's in love," Mantis would say whenever he was in earshot of one of these conversations. It made her blush and turn away, but there was no denying it. She was in love, and her heart belonged to the one faerie in all the Lady's forest who shouldn't have it.

That reality was made all the more apparent when she and Mantis had to deliver their midday report to the Rose. The meeting had been hours ago, but Sparrow's hands were still shaking from it. They entered, and there sat Dewdrop in all the makeup and costuming expected of the faerie ruler. The meeting went as they always did, and it made Sparrow all the more baffled. Mantis gave his reports, having no idea he'd caught this same woman in her bed just hours before.

It made her take stock of all the ways she truly did look completely different. Besides the makeup and the dress, her hair was pinned up and under an ornate hood. Her wings were lowered and covered by a long cape. The dress was far too heavy to fly in, so leaving the Rose's wings exposed was unnecessary. But there was another layer to it. The wings of female faeries always had a unique color scheme and pattern; no two ever really looked the same. It was a distinguishing feature, and every effort had clearly been made to scrub her of anything that could tie her to a unique individual.
When the meeting adjourned, the Rose made up an excuse to need the Thorn Captain for a few moments alone. With Mantis away and no other faeries around, the two women dropped the act. They smiled, talked freely, and moved closer together. There was an aching need to hold one another, to kiss, to enjoy each other's touch. But they both knew any such act would disturb the exquisitely detailed makeup on her face and hands.

"There's nothing on the royal docket for the whole evening," Dewdrop said with a smile. "I could come to you again."

"I've already made commitments," Sparrow said. "Mantis and the squad are expecting me at the Moonflower for drinks."

Dewdrop took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was as though she were stepping into a dream. "Ah, I remember the Moonflower. I used to love the smell of the scented oils burning; the pillows you could just sink into and let go of all worries. I used to write my best stories in that place.

Sparrow carefully put her hands on Dewdrop's arms. They were covered by the sleeves of her dress, but she longed for some kind of connection during their short time together. "If only I'd noticed you there before. We've been going there since we were just cadets."

"Lost chances for a life that could have been," Dewdrop said, her tone burdened with sorrow. "I'll meet you there."

"What?" Sparrow questioned.

"I'll be there, tonight at the Moonflower."

"Dewdrop, you can't..."

"You saw it yourself. Your own second in command doesn't recognize me. No one else there will have ever even been this close to the Rose before."

Sparrow gave no response, for no words could adequately convey the combination of sympathy and fear that pulled her mind and heart in two directions. She wanted the same things Dewdrop did, but she also knew you could only act recklessly so many times before you paid a price for it.