I sat at my vanity while Wairen artfully braided my long brown hair. I gave her, him, them, free reign to do what would be appropriate, as long as my ragged ears could remain hidden. Thain leaned against the wall, going over what I was expected to know in the presence of a king. His lifetime of court etiquette shoved into an hour of mind numbing lecture.
"And since you'll be the youngest in almost every situation you find yourself in, you'll want to make sure you bow exactly as low as the person you are introduced to." Thain scratched his chin.
"Unless it's royalty, in which case I make sure to bow lower." I added.
"Very good." Thain grinned. "You're ready."
"As ready as I can be." My calloused right hand twitched. "I don't suppose an axe at my hip is proper court attire?"
"We'll all be right there with you, Wren." Thain cleared his throat. "Besides, Baeleon is easy to please. You'll be the most interesting thing in the room. I promise."
"I wish I wasn't." I sighed and stood, thanking Wairen.
"Would you rather be looked down upon by the humans again?" Thain asked gently.
"No." I mumbled.
"I know it's hard to believe there are people out there who might like you, but I promise there are. I'm one of them. Eb is another. Schula is another. And you're about to meet more." Thain pushed his weight off the wall and offered me his hand as Wairen signaled they were done with my hair. "I promised you a welcome, let's go have it then."
I couldn't help but grin at him. Handsome in his court attire, but no doubt uncomfortable outside his road worn tunics. I took his hand to stand and I glanced in the mirror, impressed at the braid my hair was now spun into.
"Wairen, it's beautiful!" I touched the soft curls over my ears that drew back into the braid further down. My ugly ear tips were hidden beautifully, and it looked to be by design all along.
"I'm glad you like it." They stepped back so I could spin in front of the mirror, admiring the new clothes and hair.
"Thank you, that will be enough for now old friend." Thain dismissed them.
Wairen nodded and retreated out of the room."Well, are we ready to go? Eberon will scold me if you're late."
I smiled and let him lead us outside.
Thain kept a steady pace. I was glad for the Autumn court clothing, if I were in skirts I wouldn't have been able to keep up with him. Fewer eyes lingered now that I didn't look so out of place, but some who scented what I could be still gawked. We crossed several bridges and a wet maple leaf managed to fall right on my forehead while we were walking, but otherwise we had a silent walk to the grotto.
"Looks like we're the last to show up." Thain nodded towards a bench where Schula sat and Eberon paced in front of her. When the golden fae spotted us he stopped in his tracks, then stomped towards Thain.
"About time you showed up! You can't just waltz in to the King's own parlor whenever you feel like it." Eberon ran both hands through his fiery locks, messing up someone's hard work of putting them in order. "Do you know how hard it was to quell his impatience? To get him to wait until today? The court is in an uproar in there right now, waiting to see her!"
"You are going to calm down right now, before you scare Wren and I have to silence you." Thain said quietly. Eberon's mouth snapped shut and a fierce blast of warmth hit me, then extinguished like a candle.
"You're right." He resumed pacing and fidgeting with the obsidian ring on his thumb. "I'm sorry. Wren, I'm sorry."
"We aren't even late." Schula snorted. "If it would make you feel better Eb, we can go inside and wait where the staff can fret over us."
"You said yesterday the palace was inside the grotto?" I nudged the subject away from the courtiers and to where I was about to be paraded around. The grotto opened up only yards from us. A cavern mouth that was surprisingly clean and polished. A lazy arm of water swept through it, and the only access further in was a golden bridge. The ballroom floor and decorations lay just beyond the bridge, and even now several high fae were being entertained there.
"Yes, beyond the mouth of the cavern there. We can't see it behind the corner yet, but it's quite a sight." Eberon stopped his pacing and approached me, straightening my shirt and inspecting me.
"She's fine, Eberon." Thain growled. "Get your hands off of her."
"Let's just go inside if you're going to mother hen us." Schula stood and brushed off her brown leggings. She wore a yellow shirt in a similar style to mine, her long white hair was loose.
"Right, sorry." Eberon cleared his throat. "Yes, let's go."
The air in Thanantholl always had a slight crispness to it. It was a land of a never-ending season after all. The grotto however, breathed a chill into my skin as we crossed the ornate bridge. It was wide enough to trot six horses at once. The embellished stones underfoot were carved lightly to look like a bed of leaves.
"How old is this place?" I found myself whispering. Eberon and Schula looked to the dark fae at our backs.
"I don't remember a time when it wasn't here." Thain said. A shiver crawled across me.
This place was... old.
The water under us carried leaves away silently. On the other side of the bridge, the floor came into view. A shiny white stone lay in a pattern to make a large dance floor. Tables and chairs were arranged around the grotto for a party, decorations and all. A few courtiers drank tea and chatted by the water as servants scurried around them cleaning. As we finished crossing the bridge, many curious eyes followed our path.
Past the dance floor and around a bend in the slick cave wall opened a breathtaking palace façade. More of the shiny white stone, cut into gold-embellished bricks, walled the back of the cave off. A door, two stories tall was left half open and well guarded. The white wall held balconies, windows, and columns just as a real palace might. Red and gold banners hung from several places, displaying a maple leaf and crown.
"This, is the Autumn palace." Eberon said. "The wall is ten feet thick. This is the only way in or out. The rest of the interior is carved from within the cave and surrounded by the cliffs around Thanantholl."
"I've only seen one human castle when I went to Sulls. This, this is beautiful. It makes the jewel of the plains, Sulls, look like one of the mountain villages." A tear crawled down my cheek. I took a calming breath as the magic in me danced and cried to leap out of me. The urge was so strong it was painful. Schula looked at me sideways, a knowing sadness in her eyes.
"I felt the same way when I first came here." Schula put a warm hand on my back, rubbing along the seal under my clothes, soothing it. I sighed in relief.
As we came closer to the doors, Eberon walked ahead and spoke to one of the decorated guards. After a brief exchange we were waved inside.
"It seems dangerous to have only one exit." I said as we walked down the polished halls.
"From your eyes, that may be so. You've seen a lot of war in your lifetime. More than most fae, despite the difference in age." Thain gave me an odd look. "We haven't had war between the courts in centuries. Disputes? Constantly. But little bloodshed."
"Besides," Eberon added. "I wouldn't dare attack a king in his own palace. The magics of the Wyldes have a way of working with those who care for the land. Even the very rocks can surprise you, if they like you."
I didn't know how to feel about that. My heart aches for Mila and I wish I could have at least brought Puko along but he had flown off this morning and hadn't returned yet.
"That's the throne room, at the end of the hall." Schula pointed to a set of obvious golden doors with mother of pearl inlays that looked like willow trees.
"Just breathe, we're here with you." Thain whispered in my ear as we approached. A pair of guards crossed an arm over their chest in unison, fists hitting their left shoulder. Then, they swung the doors open.
"Hells take me." I squeaked, and Schula's hand firmly guided me in the room.
"ANNOUNCING LORDS THAINALAN, EBERON, AND LADY SCHULA." I hadn't seen the herald, and I nearly jumped out of my skin as he shouted. "ACCOMPANYING THE YOUTH, WREN OF THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS."
You could hear a pin drop in the cavernous hall. That and I'm certain my heart racing echoed off the walls.
"Come in, friends. Please, join me." At the end of the long room stood an ancient stone throne. The round dais held only the throne and two guards, below that was a lower dais that surrounded the first, and the floor below that was more polished stone. Red carpet made a path from the door to the dais. It was the onlparton of the floor not covered in a huge mob of fae nobility in extravagant clothes and jewels.
I nearly fainted.
Eberon tugged my elbow forward. "Welcome to the Autumn Palace."