by Sumida, Amy
“We will also be your attendants, if you permit,” Muirenn of the purple hair added.
“That would be most helpful,” I sighed in relief and they giggled, taking in my lonely shoe. “Let me just get out of this, my dress is right over there.”
“We'll prepare it for you, my lady,” Muirenn went over to it and immediately started oohing and ahhing.
Damhnait followed me and helped me remove my travel clothes without being asked. I just went with it, why not? She sat me at the vanity and began to brush my long hair, humming a sweet little melody as she did. I smiled, lulled by her gentle hands and pretty voice. My eyes drooped and then flashed open, seeing myself, for just a second, in another white dress, dripping in diamonds. I blinked and it was gone but my heart was beating rapidly.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep a calm face so the ladies didn't catch onto how crazy I was. I just had to hold it together for a little while longer and not embarrass Arach. I could do that.
Damhnait helped me up and the both of them draped the dress over my head. It floated down around me, the skirts lifting and falling as if they were alive. The fey sighed and brought forward the belt with the attached train. It was buckled over my waist, the narrow line of red silk setting off the expanse of white beautifully. Then the veil fluttered down over my face, the opalescent colors shifting like an oil spill, creating a barrier that made me feel oddly cut off from the world. They placed the crown over it snugly and stepped back.
“So beautiful,” Muirenn said and Damhnait nodded her agreement. “The humans think they started this tradition but the white dress and veil were taken from us. White represents Spirit, the element that unifies us all, as you and your husband shall come together in unity. It has nothing to do with the bride's virginity.”
“And the veil,” Damhnait continued, “is the last thing that shall ever separate you from your husband.”
“Are you ready, Lady Vervain?” Muirenn smiled gently at my blank expression.
“Yes,” I smiled back, even though a part of me was screaming inside.
The ladies opened the door and then fell back, allowing the red cap to offer me his hand and escort me downstairs. They took up the rear, carrying the bottom of my train so it wouldn't catch on anything. I placed my hand on the wide forearm beside me and let the rugged creature lead me to my doom, er wedding. What the hell was wrong with me?
“I just been wantin' to tell you, me lady,” Fearghal said gruffly. “There's no bad blood between us.”
“Oh?” I looked over at him, he looked almost gentle from beneath my veil of shifting colors. “Why would there be bad blood?”
“For the killing,” he shot me a dismayed look.
“Who was killed?” I frowned. This was a strange conversation to be having on the way to my wedding.
“The goblin, Aodh,” he looked really confused, “and the red cap Patraicc, them that you killed when we was here last.”
“I'm sorry, what?” I stopped to look at him and the ladies behind us muttered in dismay.
“The killins, me lady,” he turned to face me. “You killed them both with your shiny claws in the dining room of the High King and Queen, but I hold no grudge. Aodh did get forceful with you, wanting to eat your flesh and all.”
“Wanting to what?” I had a flash of blood dripping down my head and I lifted my hand automatically to wipe it away. “Was I... uh... did I put a cap like that on my head?”
“Och, yes'm, you do remember,” he turned forward but I continued to stare at him, so he turned back. “It was grand to watch, though we lost Patraicc and Aodh. You're a fierce fighter, me lady.”
“I am?”
“Of course,” Muirenn added, “no human has ever laid goblins out like that and then to put the red cap upon your brow,” she shuddered. “You're made of braver stuff than I but then you are a dragon-sidhe.”
“Stunning,” agreed Damhnait. “A more beautiful fight, I've never seen. You, so delicate looking, and then the way you dove between the legs of that red cap and beheaded him from behind, it was breathtaking.”
“Oh, thank you,” I answered breathlessly and turned back around to let Fearghal lead me the rest of the way, my thoughts lost to confusion.
Maybe I wasn't going insane. Maybe I was starting to remember. There was still so much I couldn't seem to recall though. Arach had been helpful but I'd lost hope of ever regaining my full memory. After hearing what I'd done in my past though, I wasn't sure I wanted to remember. Maybe I'd made myself forget.
We exited the tree onto a terrace overlooking a large garden filled with white flowers and pale trees. Little mirrors hung from the tree on silver cords, flashing light everywhere, and a sparkling mist covered the ground. The flowers released a heady scent, something like jasmine and rose combined, and I took a deep breath of it.
The crowd that was spread out before us hushed and turned toward us. They filled the garden, except for the center aisle I was to walk and the far end, where only Arach and the High King awaited me beneath an arch of lush green vines spotted with bright red berries. Fearghal descended the stairs first, taking all three at once and then helping me down. Soft music from stringed instruments started to play, and I saw the musicians hovering in the air on my right, their large wings beating rapidly like insects.
Fearghal left me at the beginning of the aisle and the ladies merely spread out my train before they too, backed away. I walked the petal strewn path alone, feeling a little bereft, like someone was supposed to be there to walk beside me. Wasn't that how it was done? I tried to smile through my confusion and I finally reached the end in one piece, if not mentally at peace.
Arach took my hand and led me up the remaining step to the little dais the High King was on. Arach turned to me and lifted my veil, pausing a moment to stare into my eyes. His eyes were soft, a tender look that I hadn't expected. I felt myself go soft with them, my anxiety slipping away. This was my wedding day and I should be enjoying it. I renewed my smile and he returned it with one of his own.
“We are so blessed,” the High King began and I looked over to him. He was familiar looking, I'd met him before. “Joining in marriage today are the last two remaining dragon-sidhe. Against all odds, they have fallen in love and are here to pledge their commitment to honor and cherish each other forever. This is not just a marriage we are witnessing but the salvation of a race and for that, I raise my voice in good cheer.”
The High King shouted a joyful sound, the crowd joining in with him. I looked over at Arach in surprise but he just smiled at me and shrugged.
“King Arach,” the High King began again. “Here, beneath the Holly and the Ivy, do you declare your love for this woman?”
“I do,” Arach declared strongly. “I love her above all others.” The words struck a memory... above all others. I had a flash of a beautiful, dark-haired woman in a white dress, smiling at me. She was important to me and I felt an ache take hold. I missed her.
“Do you declare that she will come first in all things for you?”
“I do, her happiness is more important to me than my own.” Again, the words were familiar.
“Do you declare yourself her protector, to guard her life with yours?”
“I do, I vow to lay my own life down for hers.”
“Your death, would be my death,” I interrupted before the High King could continue, the words leaving my mouth of their own volition. “I release you from your vow and bid you instead, to live for me.”
The crowd gasped, the High King's mouth fell open, but Arach shuddered and let out a harsh sigh. He shook his head, his intense gaze holding my own as a tear escaped one burning dragon eye and slid down his cheek. He laid a hand against my face and smiled tenderly as he stared into my eyes. Before I knew what he was about, he dropped to his knees, his hands taking mine.
“I will live from now until the end of time for you and your love,” he vowed, his soft, awed voice carrying over the silent crowd. “There's nothing else fo
r me to live for anymore. I kneel here before you, and offer you this vow; that I shall be yours forever if you will have me.”
The crowd seemed to hold its breath as I considered him, his striking face so earnest, his wide shoulders so determined, and beneath it all, the heart I'd already claimed.
“I will have you,” I whispered and pulled him to his feet.
Everyone cheered as he leapt up and kissed me, lifting me up so that we were even in height. He gave me his fire and I gave him mine, the exchange feeling almost as binding as the rings we gave each other immediately afterward.
High King Cian was thrown for a loop, trying to save the botched wedding by making me vow to love Arach, while Arach slipped a delicate band of gold on my finger. The right hand's ring finger. It felt wrong to me but I let it go and slipped one on Arach's right hand as well. Of course his band was thicker, more masculine, and it shone on his hand like a banner announcing our new relationship.
“May blood flow and fire burn,” King Cian placed his hands on our heads. “May brine preserve and water cleanse. May breath surge and air renew. May stone defend and earth sustain. And may Spirit unite us all.” He paused after every blessing, allowing the fey of that element time to repeat it, but the last blessing was spoken by all the fey.
The High King gestured for us to turn to the crowd and we did, smiling out at them as he proclaimed our new status as King and Queen of the House of Fire. Arach held out his arm to me and I took it, letting him lead me back inside, where a spiral table waited to be navigated, laden with food and adorned with two more thrones than usual; the bridal thrones, set next to the High King and Queen's.
We walked the spiral, without having to make a single stop because we were only the second couple to enter, the first being the High King and Queen, who led the way without pause, to the center of the spiral. When we finally arrived, as it was a very large spiral, Arach helped me into my throne before taking his own. He smiled at me like he'd just won the lottery and I paused to contemplate what a lottery was.
“I can't tell you how pleased I am that you changed your mind,” King Cian said to me.
“Oh?” I smiled at Arach, though he seemed a bit concerned over the King's comment. “Arach told you how opposed I was to it, did he?”
“You told me yourself, Queen Vervain,” he frowned.
“I did?”
“My lady wife has had some memory loss recently,” Arach explained with lifted brows and King Cian's eyes narrowed on him. “It couldn't be avoided, we've tried everything to bring back her memories but they remain elusive.”
“Ah,” the High King nodded and shared a glance with his wife, who stared at me sympathetically. “What a hard thing to lose, our memories are a big part of what makes us who we are.”
“Yes,” the High Queen agreed, “and I have such fond memories of you,” she pulled a blood-stained handkerchief from her sleeve and sniffed at it daintily. A shiver went down my spine at the motion but I subdued it.
“I wish I could share them, Queen Meara,” I said instead.
“Maybe some day they will return,” she waved away the melancholy, “but until then we will have to endeavor to make new ones. Better ones.”
“Yes,” Arach firmly took my hand. “We've already begun.”
Across the expanse of table, I saw Roarke sitting at a curve further out. Yes, Roarke was the cat's name. I recalled meeting him, twice. I frowned as he stared grimly at me. He shook his head and a memory returned, of him telling me that he'd tell my lovers where I was and that he'd try to find a way to bring them here. My lovers? Plural? What kind of woman took multiple lovers? Besides, I was married now.
I looked away from him and back to my husband, who had been following the exchange. He looked anxious and I leaned over to kiss him and allay any fears he may still be harboring about me being human.
“Stop frowning,” I whispered into his ear. “I love you, you big lizard.”
“You do?” He grinned as if he didn't know it.
“I guess so,” I smirked but my smile drifted away when I caught that cat staring morosely at me again.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“What exactly does a Queen do?” I adjusted the Fire crown on my head.
Now I had two crowns; the diamond, dragon, bridal crown, and the Queen of Fire's crown. It was pretty but kind of sharp. The entire piece was made of gold, shaped to look like flames were shooting up from its base. It was adorned with yellow diamonds and rubies forming flames within the gold flames. Very fiery.
“Pretty much whatever she wants,” Arach pulled his dark red hair back into a ponytail and tied it with a piece of leather. “But there are responsibilities. To your people. To your King.” He grinned and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. Another face flashed over his, another set of arms that used to hold me the same way.
“What kind of responsibilities?” I swallowed hard and he misinterpreted it.
“Nothing too difficult for you,” he met my eyes in the mirror and his bright yellow irises changed, becoming warmer, the color of honey. I blinked and it was gone. “Right now we have to hold court, reintroduce you to the House of Fire as their Queen. Then we will hear any grievances, settle disputes, usually petty ones but you must not treat them as such, and we will address any issues regarding our kingdom, which extends back from the Mountains of Serenity, which Castle Aithinne is a part of...”
“Castle Aithinne?” I frowned, how could I be Queen of a castle whose name I hadn't even known? Had I heard the name before? I couldn't remember.
“It will come back to you, I'm sure,” Arach smiled gently at me. “Our lands extend back, ending in the Tine, we call it a lake but really it's a collection of hot springs, I'll take you there soon for a relaxing soak.”
“What's beyond the Tine?” I had a flash of something round and mostly blue. The world, that's what humans called their realm.
“Beyond the Tine?” He cocked his head. “There's nothing beyond the Tine, it's the end of Faerie.”
“Faerie just ends in a lake?”
“No, each kingdom ends in the element which does not border it,” he smiled as he got into the explanation. “It completes the circle and creates a barrier to the realm. Since we have Earth to one side and Air to the other, we end in Water. The Air kingdom ends in mountains, Water in a volcano spewing lava down its back, and Earth in mist. Each kingdom is contained but yet influenced by the others. Air feeds our Fire and Earth keeps our volatile volcanoes stable. It's a way of being unified yet still separate and content.”
“Separate and content?” I thought about it. “So no fighting between different kingdoms?”
“No, there's fighting,” he chuckled, “but the mountain range helps to prevent it from turning into war. Most fey are happy in their own element and don't wander outside of their kingdom except for High Court, which is neutral territory. However, skirmishes do arise and we may have to deal with a fair bit of unpleasantness from time to time. That is what being a ruler entails and I think you'll be a wonderful Queen. You've already helped me become a better King.”
“So you don't want me to just sit there and look pretty?” I smirked at him.
“Well maybe just for the first few courts,” he held out an arm to me and I took it.
“You should have married an Air sidhe then, my King,” I smiled. “I'm not the easy, breezy, beautiful kind.” I frowned, wondering where that line had come from.
“Bite your tongue,” he laughed. “Me with an Air? Hardly. Talk about fanning the flames. There'd never be peace in the kingdom.”
“You don't seem like the type of King who truly wants peace.”
“I do, I just want everyone to leave me in peace to burn and kill whomever I want.”
“Oh, you so didn't say that,” I hit him.
“I most certainly did,” he leaned in close as we left the room and headed downstairs. “If all goes well, the High King will lower the wards and we'll be
able to hunt outside of Faerie again. The Wild Hunt will ride the night.”
“And the screams will ride the wind,” I stopped and looked at him in horror. “You hunted me.”
“Of course I did,” he began to look nervous.
“No, I mean you led the Wild Hunt after me!”
“My love,” he put his hand on my cheek and stared into my eyes. “That is nonsense, dearmad gac aon rud, forget it all, let it go.”
“Let what go?”
“Nothing,” he smiled and led me into the throne room of Castle Aithinne.
It was a massive open space of polished black stone with a ceiling soaring to a peak above our heads. There were flames burning in tall braziers along a central path which we walked, the fire fey gathered to either side of us. At the end of the aisle, a dais of more black stone crouched, two stairs cut into its width, leading up to the thrones.
The larger throne was placed on the left side, made of solid gold and carved with designs of dragons. It had a central arch peaked with a faceted ruby the size of my fist. On its seat was a padded, red, velvet cushion. To the right was a smaller throne, as gold as the first and with carvings to match, but with a yellow diamond at its peak. It had the same cushion though and I knew I'd be grateful for it if the court went on too long.
Arach led me to the top of the dais and then turned us around so that we were facing the crowd as we stood in front of our thrones. A leanan-sidhe slunk out of the shadows, her black hair wild around her shoulders and her sharp teeth gleaming at me when she smiled. She held a large book in her hands and she came to stand with it open, on the bottom step of the dais.
She spoke in a language I didn't recognize and I looked over to Arach in dismay. How would I rule if I couldn't understand what everyone was saying? He caught my gaze and nodded.
“English from now on, Isleen,” he said to her and her face went blank. He looked out at the crowd and continued. “Our Queen has not learned the language yet, you'll respect her and speak English in her presence until she does.”
“Yes, my King,” Isleen nodded and continued in English. “I present to you, House of Fire, your King Arach and your new Queen Vervain. May blood flow and fire burn for them.”
