Look Beyond What You See

Magic Eyes

Dear Sister Kyla,

Thank you for your warnings of what was to come. Indeed Grandmother and Grandfather did arrange a marriage for me, and I write you now from my new chambers in a new house. I do not know where this mansion is situated; I shall rely on my fiancé, Dmitri, to put a return address on this letter and mail it to you. He is nice enough, though I am not entirely certain I am pleased to be wed within a year.

My new home has its charms and faults. There is an entire roof garden to which Dmitri and I have access through ladders in our suites, which are across the hall from each other at present. I wish you could see the garden. You would love it. The mansion also boasts plenty of secret passageways, the majority of which I have yet to explore, and the most wonderful library I have ever seen. The books all seem as though they were specially made and printed for royalty, such is the artwork on their covers and the gold leaf on their pages.

But my rooms in particular are too fancy, like they think I'm a princess or something. I was chastised this morning for opening my windows to air them out. They had a fire burning on the hearth! In June! Can you imagine? I was appalled. And then they will not let me wear anything less formal than what we wore for birthday dinners at Grandmother's chateau, and I am not expected to ask any questions about how this marriage was arranged or why it is happening or how they know my parents or even where I'm living. It's irritating, to say the least, but I cannot complain. My situation is better than yours, at least.

I wish you could visit, or that I could visit you. No one is willing to discuss that, either. Oh well. Know that I miss you desperately and love you with all the strength of a sister's heart, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Your Loving Sister,

Aerys

By the time I've put the finishing touches on the letter, my chambers are oppressively stuffy. The maids closed the windows and lit a fire again, despite my wishes. Grumbling under my breath, I address the letter to Kyla and tuck it into the wide sleeve of my gown, then snatch a shawl from my armoire before furtively scaling the ladder to the roof. Dmitri and I more or less agreed to meet in that garden tonight after sunset, through a few brief whispers at the dinner table exchanged while passing dishes of food. I'm hoping he can help me get this letter to my sister, but more important at present is getting out of those chambers and into a space where I can pretend I'm free.

The cool air of the night is like ice water on a hot day to my soul. I breathe deeply as I climb silently out of the mansion and re-immerse myself in the magical world of the roof garden. Fireflies flash between the plants and compete with the stars to illuminate the night. It's beautiful and mystical and makes me feel at home. Stress melts away from me and I spread my shawl on the ground and then lie on it, looking up at the stars. This is where I'm meant to be.

"Sooner than I expected to see you, Aerys. Did you miss me so much?" Dmitri teases, emerging from some other corner of the garden and nearly scaring me out of my skin.

"Not at all," I reply stiffly, displeased by the interruption. He ignores that and lies down on my shawl next to me without so much as a 'by-your-leave.'

"How did your test go? Madame Alouette seemed quite flustered," he remarks, no doubt trying to start a conversation. I suppose I'll indulge him.

"I knew the material better than she did," I snort. "It was hardly even a test."

"I expected as much," he chuckled. "Madame Alouette was one of my first tutors. Judging by the reports we were sent, it's a marvel to me that my mother saw fit to put her in charge of your testing at all."