“Hello, Sistina. I asked if I could call on you tonight,” the man replied, his voice deeper, but still familiar as he smiled at her. “Call me Uvar? I like it a little better.”
“I . . . you . . .” Sistina blinked at the man in shock for a long, long moment. It took a moment to ask. “Why?”
“May I come in and explain?” Uvar asked softly, looking at the floor, his hands clasped behind his back. “I don’t feel comfortable speaking of such out here.”
“Of course, come in,” Sistina replied, feeling dazed as she stepped out of the way, and Uvar stepped inside, waiting for her to close the door.
“I told you before that I always felt out of place, and it was more than just feeling more comfortable in the Eternal Wood. It was also how I felt growing up. Everything felt . . . subtly wrong. I’ll admit that part of my goal in joining the Knights was the hope I might correct that, but it was you and Grace that made me realize that it was more than even that,” the man explained softly, turning to meet Sistina’s eyes. “I never realized what it was that I felt toward other women, not until then. I knew that I liked you and appreciated your company, but Grace . . . she led me to realize that it was more than just that. She also made me realize that I was frustrated, because my body felt wrong. I was going to tell you either way, but after the transformation, after I woke up like this, I realized why I felt that way. This feels right.”
“I . . .” Sistina began, only to pause, feeling almost without words. The abrupt change was shocking and sudden, as was the deluge of information. How was she supposed to feel about this? She’d long known she liked both men and women, and such wasn’t frowned upon in Everium, but this was just so sudden. Finally, she asked softly. “Are you . . . are you happy now, Uvar?”
“I think that I am,” Uvar replied, shrugging as he continued, his voice growing even more nervous. “I was going to ask, though, would you mind staying a few more days? I would like to get to know you better, and to talk. Perhaps nothing will come of it, but . . . will you?”
“Becoming a man has made you bolder, hasn’t it? Or is it the fey blood?” Sistina asked, regaining enough of her mental balance to tease him, and smiled as she continued. “And certainly. I won’t say that I’m entirely comfortable with things yet, but I’m willing to stay a few extra days. Just don’t try to overstep the bounds of courtesy, hmm?”
Uvar grinned at that, his teeth pearly as he nodded and laughed, offering an arm. “Of course, milady. Might you accompany me to dinner?”
“I believe that would be lovely,” Sistina agreed, and slid her hand into the crook of his arm.
Chapter 10
The following few days were a strange near-blur for Sistina. At a certain point, all the oddities of the fey city began to blend together, like when a group of swan maidens returned from a trip up north in the middle of the city’s public baths. Contrary to popular belief, and her own research, swan maidens were not all women, nor were all of them beautiful.
Uvar had proven a delightful man, and far more willing to talk to her than he’d been as a woman, a change which Sistina had found confusing. After consulting Mekal, Sistina had learned that it was more the product of new confidence in the man’s new body and his success at the trials to become a knight. She’d felt somewhat torn, at least until she learned that tracking and killing a primal drake was something that even the Knights of the Wild preferred to dispatch a half dozen of their number for. It certainly put the difficulty of the task in perspective, and made her even more impressed that Uvar had succeeded.
Eventually the days of their visit came to an end, and it was time for them to leave once more. Vanessa was with them still, and the nereid’s mood had obviously brightened over the days that she’d stayed with Alain in the city. As they prepared to leave, Uvar leaned over Sistina’s hand and gently kissed it, before straightening and speaking seriously. “I truly wish that I could escort all of you back to Everium, but my training as one of the Knights cannot wait, so I must simply wish you a safe journey.”
“Thank you, Uvar . . . and I expect you to come visit once your training is complete,” Sistina scolded gently, smiling at him.
“I’d like to spar with you at that point, too,” Bevall added. “I’d like to know just how good a Knight of the Wild is.”
“You could always ask Mekal to spar with you before we left,” Ryvan suggested, smirking as Bevall blanched and shook his head.
“No, no . . . I’d rather take on a relatively new knight, not one of the most skilled of them. I don’t want to spend a month in convalescence at best,” he quickly rejected the notion.
“I promise, I’ll visit after the training period. It could be as little as a year, or as much as two decades,” Uvar promised, chuckling and smiling in return at all of them. “It all depends on how quickly I learn what they have to teach me. I have a lot to learn, after all.”
“You do at that, but you have promise, Uvar,” Mekal boomed, stepping near and smiling as he dropped a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, grinning at all of them as he continued. “All of you will reach the forest border safely. A knight will be shadowing you the entire way. I do hope that the pilgrimage did you all good.”
“It was truly enlightening, Sir Mekal,” Sistina replied, bowing her head for a moment. “I will treasure the memories I gained here for all of my life.”
“As shall I,” Ryvan added, while Bevall nodded his own agreement.
“Excellent. Then, in the name of the Eternal Empress, I bid you farewell and a safe journey,” Mekal told them, with an abbreviated bow of his own.
With a last glance to Uvar, Sistina climbed into the carriage and let out a soft sigh as she settled back in the seat. As the carriage left, she closed her eyes and murmured softly. “Sometimes it all feels like it was a dream.”
“We haven’t even left the forest yet, either,” Bevall’s agreement was obvious, with the sound of the horses’ hooves striking the road as a backdrop to their departure.
A part of Sistina was sad to go.
Compared to the journey into the forest, the journey out was uneventful. Each night they paid the local fey for company and food via song or craft, and the parties were memorable in their own right, but there was something bittersweet about them, as they drank fireberry wine that glowed in the night, even as faeries played tag with the fireflies in the boughs above them.
They stopped the night next to Rainbow Waters, and Queen Quara welcomed them into her court once more, this time in full possession of their faculties as they were invited to a feast consisting largely of the lake’s bounty, ranging from freshwater oysters to fish and rare underwater vegetables. To be more accurate, they were in possession of their full faculties at first, right up until the first siren spoke. Sistina didn’t ask whose bed either of the young men had woken up in, as she was far too embarrassed at ending up in Quara’s bed once again.
Vanessa left with them, a large clam somehow containing all of her belongings. At Sistina’s odd look, Vanessa explained softly. “It’s a spacial clam. Unique to the Eternal Wood, to my knowledge, as it can contain dozens of times what it appears to hold.”
At long last, they reached the border of the forest, and Sistina felt both relieved and sad as they dropped off Bevall and Ryvan, as well as a letter from Uvar to his father.
“‘tina!” Mara’s voice echoed through the courtyard as Sistina stepped out of the carriage.
Sistina barely had time to brace herself before her mother all but tackled her, catching the older woman as she embraced her. Her voice was startled, but warmth and affection washed through her as she spoke. “Mother, it’s good to see you! But what’s this? You look like you’ve been exercising more.”
“It’s more that she hasn’t been eating properly since you left,” Nekir’s voice was amused as he approached and laid a hand on Sistina’s shoulder, smiling. “How’d it go?”
“I would say it went well. The journey was most enlightening as a whole, and I lear
ned things I had never thought to consider,” Sistina admitted, and smirked impishly as she added. “Though perhaps I should take trips like this more often, if it’ll convince mother to take better care of herself.”
“Don’t you dare!” Mara exclaimed, pulling away to glare at Sistina, tear tracks obvious on her face as she poked Sistina firmly in the shoulder. “I expect you to give me grandchildren before you pull a stunt like that, ‘tina!”
“Speaking of such, did you meet Vanessa?” Sistina asked, grinning broadly as Alain flushed bright red. “She’s Alain’s beloved, I believe.”
“Someone finally caught him, did she? Good job, Vanessa,” Nekir’s smile was infectious, and Sistina couldn’t hold back a giggle as he added. “Keep an eye on him, though. Alain’s too obsessed with work, and might need some wrangling.”
“Thank you, Lord Constella, but I think I can manage,” Vanessa’s voice was amused, and she slipped a hand into Alain’s as she asked gently. “Won’t I, Alain?”
“Yes, dear,” Alain’s voice was subdued, which prompted laughter from everyone else in the area.
Sistina couldn’t help but smile more as she considered things. As wonderful and dream-like as the Eternal Wood might be, it wasn’t home. This was her home, and it was where she belonged. And with that in mind, she started to unpack the carriage.
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