A/N I had a few people comment that the transition from Supper to Knock at Night was choppy and rough. I looked back and decided that I completely agree with them. So I'm adding this chapter in and another mini chapter from Grayson's POV. For those of you who were honest, thank you and can you please comment again telling me if what I have now is better?
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I was starting to get to know the elves more than I ever really wanted to. They had requested that I go to dinner with them nightly because, as Sora says, "Mother just loves having you over. You always add an extra layer of amusement with your blunt speech and she is getting old, even for an elf. Would you deny an old lady something that she adores so thoroughly," and as Eros says, "We are only here and doing so well because the elves think we'll be an asset in the near future. Don't piss them off or we're going to have to fight with some kind of supernatural creature when we invade their land." So, I was stuck waking up at four thirty and dragging my sleep deprived self through the woods and into fairyland to have a meal with people that I don't particularly like.
Most days I was so tired that I go to bed at eight o'clock when Colla does.
They were trying to get me to be the face of a campaign to bring out supernatural creatures but they were doing it in a slightly round about manner. They weren't outright saying they wanted me to run the campaign; instead they were pointing out what was wrong with the current way of doing things.
Tree nymphs get their trees cut down by unwitting humans who don't know to ask the tree if it will kill someone for them to cut it down. Water nymphs die of the toxins that people dump in the lakes and rivers. Dwarfs get run out of their homes because humans have mining accidents. A lot of the werecreatures accidentally get shot during hunting season, and on occasion they get put in zoos. Dragons are starting to get their caves explored. Fairies get their homes stepped on. Some of the less intelligent supernatural creatures are unable to live in the wild anymore so they are used as pets for the higher ranking supernaturals. Above all, the earth is starting to die because the humans are careless and the supernaturals can't do their jobs as well while dancing around the human population.
Humans didn't have it so great either. When they stumbled into dragon layers they either got eaten or kept as pets. Some werewolves make a living kidnapping human children. When they accidentally caved-in dwarf homes the dwarfs would usually cause a cave-in that would leave people wondering in tunnels until they starve to death. Fairies who get their homes stepped on don't make sure the plants in their area get pollinated because they are busy rebuilding. The potato famine in Ireland was caused by someone who pissed off the fairies, elves and nymphs in their area, their revenge spread quickly.
There were more deaths than necessary on both sides and the elves were trying to get me to care just a little more by making me come to dinner, which was really breakfast for me, at a ridiculous time of the morning.
And that is why I am dragging my feet through the forest behind Sora.
"Do you need me to carry you?" Eros asked, looking at me with concern.
"No," I said yawning, "I'm good. The walk helps to wake me up."
"If you say so..." he replied looking at me with concern.
"How are you guys doing?" Sora asked looking back at Eros and I.
"I still get my daily flowers," I replied trying not to think about how much this felt like prying.
"And..." Sora asked with curious eyes, "I know all the physical things. I already knew he still gets you flowers every day. I know he walks home with you everyday. I know that he is always the one who ends up guarding you. I even know that he has not yet asked you to go on a date, which is unwise if you asked me. What I don't know is if your feelings have changed for him."
"I'm still unsure of my feelings."
"However, you have not turned him down in any way."
"No. I do feel bad that we have this kind of discussion in front of him, though. Usually it is considered mean to talk about someone as if they weren't right there."
"I am sorry," Sora said looking at Eros, "I am not use to human or werewolf rules of society. I was unaware of my breach in etiquette, forgive me."
"Of course, Princess," Eros said with a slight bow, "I take no offense, on the contrary, I find your daily checkups quite interesting."
Sora smiled at him before looking forward again and changing the subject, "Chayton wanted me to inform you that we have another guest tonight. The nymph who belongs to the oldest tree in this forest. Because nymphs get their status based on age Maple is considered a princess as well. I was informed that Eros should know the proper greeting," she looked at Eros questioningly until he nodded, "however you Rosie probably do not."
"Why don't you enlighten me?"
"You simply hold your arms open above your head and then bow."
"It shows that you are open to the light that is, wisdom, and you come recognizing that the older tree will have gathered more light," Eros explained when he saw the funny look I was giving Sora.
"Ah," I answered with understanding.
"The water nymph is also coming. She has had so many names over the years that she cannot remember them all but she says we may call her Starlit. Each water nymph has a different way of greeting people because their water has different ways of moving. Some are slow and graceful, some are high energy and violent. You never truly know. She will not hurt you though, she has more manners than that."
Great, I am going to meet a homicidal water nymph and a know-it-all tree.
Probably sensing my tension Eros grabbed my hand and started walking closer to me. I would never admit it aloud, but I was actually happy for the silent show of companionship; it made me feel like I might not drown in an unexpectedly deep puddle tonight. My shoulders started to relax and I squeezed Eros's hand back. A slightly grim smile made its way onto my face; I wouldn't have to say anything aloud, Eros knew.
"And just so you know," Eros mumbled quietly, "it is impolite for Princess Sora to talk to me according to elf customs. She is recognizing that I belong to you and sticking to the custom that when you are with a couple that belong to each other, werewolves would say matched, you only talk to the one who is of the same gender. It makes people feel less threatened. She is only trying to be nice when she pretends I'm not there. Normally, Princess Sora would be required to bring a male companion so he could talk to me, but because she is a princess she is not required to spend any time with male elves unless she wants to or the king orders it."
I nodded slowly, wishing I had paid more attention in class.
"He is right," Sora said stopping and turning to smile at me, "That is the reason I am your guide instead of Mingan. He was horribly rude to your heart, but it would have been rude to your title if he were to talk to Eros and not you. So I am sent, and what a happy distraction this has been!"
Without warning she turned around and jumped into the air.
I groaned, finally noticing that we were standing at the foot of the lignum custodire.
Eros picked me up bridal style and jumped, making the climb up and down mercifully quick.
Walking through the city was starting to become uneventful. Elves would still stop what they were doing and stare as we walked past but they no longer whispered as we walked past, no longer would they follow us as we went. It was mildly creepy to have everyone just staring at us as we walked by, but compared to the whispers from before it was relatively peaceful.
The walls of the castle hadn't ceased to hold wonder for me, but because of the knowledge that I might be walking into an unusually hostel environment I was distracted from my usual curiosity about the strange ways that the walls moved.
Eros squeezed my hand before dropping it when we were finally standing in front of the wall that I knew would move to reveal the dining hall.
Sora, as per her usual, threw open the doors recklessly and strode into the room with all the confidence of the princess that she was.
I cautiously stepped into the room behind her and examined the strangers.
Sitting in the spot that Armaros occupied the first time I was forced to come to dinner here, was a creature that I could only assume was Maple. Even with her sitting down I could tell that she was tall, she seemed to be reaching for the sun even while she sat and stared absently in front of her. Her head wasn't shaped like a human's. Instead, she had the roundness of a human head, and even all the features that a human would possess, all the way up to the top of her head where what looked like branches came directly out of her head, reaching upward in and impossible to follow tangle. I almost expected to see leaves at the top of her head, but there were none, almost giving the strange features the appearance of a crown. Her eyes were slightly startling at first, they were completely black, but it didn't give her the demonic look like I would have though. Instead, it simply made her exotic. Skin the color of living wood made me think that if she closed her eyes I would mistake her for an unusual tree. The dress that she was wearing looked slightly tattered, there were some rips and tares in it, but at the same time, it seemed to fit her. It would have been more strange to see her dressed in something that was whole.
Movement directly in front of me took my attention from the tree nymph and brought it to another creature entirely.
"Rosie," she cried happily in a voice that somehow reminded me of the lapping of waves against the shore, "I have missed you! Why haven't you come to visit me recently?"
There was something familiar about her but I couldn't put my finger on it.
It definitely wasn't her looks that seemed familiar; I could say with certainty that I'd never seen someone like her.
Her hair was varying shades of blue, from the color of the deepest part of the ocean to an almost white that had just a hint of blue. It floated around her as if she were in water, always moving in thick sections that looked more like rivers than strands of hair. Her face reminded me just a little of Snapdragon's face, it had the same delicate features, but I'd never seen eyes like hers. They were constantly changing. One second they would be nearly black, the next they would almost match the blues in her hair, and then the would be the color of ice. Not always in that order though, the color would jump around, one minute a nice medium blue, then a dark blue then white. They were ever changing, just like the water. She was also wearing a dress, but hers seemed to flow around her like her hair did, making it hard to notice any design in the garment.
"I'm not sure who," I said in answer to her question before getting cut off.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. You are here now! How did you get yourself involved with the elves? You never mentioned them before... I'm sure you have your reasons. This is Eros, hun? I wasn't sure which one he was, but now I know! Purple eyes, not one of the ones who has a mixture of green and brown. Purple," she said smiling as she walked toward me, "Have you ever been ice skating? I think you would be good at it. Water likes you and ice is just frozen water, I'm sure you can skate as well as you swim, your so graceful."
When she was standing in front of me she finally stopped talking, but I think I would have preferred the talking to the frigged embrace that she pulled Eros and I into. Her dress, like her arms, seemed to wrap around me, causing all my clothing to cling to me as if it were damp.
"I have missed you," she said pulling back just a little before kissing both Eros and I on the mouth in turn, "Where have you been? The land is not so fun that you wouldn't come visit, is it?"
She is from the lake near Birdsong. There's no way she could be from anywhere else, unless she was from the river by the HMH but if that's where she was from then she wouldn't know who Eros was.
"I'm sorry, Starlit," I said when she pulled back just a little more, "I didn't realize that you wanted me to visit. It's never occurred to me to try and go ice skating, either."
"It's okay," she said pulling me over to the table, "Come sit by me. I'll introduce you to Maple. She seems like a mean old creature, but she's really not. You just have to get to know her."
I pulled my arm out of Starlit's grip when we got over to the table but she didn't really seem to notice, she just kept talking.
Trying to ignore the background noise, I put both my arms up above my head and bowed to the tree nymph before turning to the head of the table where Chayton sat looking extremely amused. I did the appropriate greeting for him and then went around the table, putting three fingers over my mouth and then on my heart for each elf.
"I see you are already acquainted with Starlit," Chayton said with a slight smile.
"Yes I am," I replied, trying to hide the annoyance in my voice, "but I thought that babbling was for brooks."
"And the waterfall fed," Sora put in.
The elves who served dinner came and put trays in front of everyone, distracting Starlit for just a second.
"So," Eros said, "how is your lake, Starlit?"
I felt like punching him, just a little.
"Someone tried to go ice skating before it was cold enough and they fell through the ice. I helped him out, but only a few people have been to see me since. At least I'm not getting the usual wrappers from snacks people bring."
"And what about you, Maple?"
The other nymph slowly turned to look at him, "I do not wish to speak with a wolf."
"What have the wolves done?" Starlit asked, looking shocked at how impolite Maple was being.
"They upset a dragon, and in her rage, the dragon burned down a whole forest. The children of the sky should not be disturbed."
"It's not the wolves' fault that the forest got burned down. It is the dragon's," I defended with a slight scowl.
"Do you know how your father reacted when he found that you were gone, child?" the old tree asked.
I shook my head wondering how she knew.
"He searched for you for a year. Asking the trees if they had seen the ones who took you and searching the forest for you. Willow was the only one who saw anything and when she told him what she saw he began his mourning. He has been mourning you ever since because he knows that he could never get you back. If you were to go back to see Willow at noon today you would find your father because he is there everyday, crying with Willow because it broke her heart to see you taken and her being unable to help you. She knew she did not stand a chance against two full grown werewolves."
"The weeping willow in the park?" I asked with shock.
Maple nodded her head once very slowly, "The dragon mourns her child, as well. I cannot fault her for the burning of the forest. Her heart will cry until the day she sees her little Fire again."
When Maple stopped talking a sad silence fell over the table, not even Starlit seemed interested in uttering a word.
After dinner I stood up with Eros and bowed graciously to our host, "As always I am honored that you invited me to dinner, but I would like to make a request, if I may?"
Chayton tilted his head curiously, indicating that I should continue.
"I would like to request that we make this a once a week occurrence. My work is suffering with the strain that this is putting on my sleep schedule."
"Of course, Rosie. If it would please you we can do this once a week. I will send a note the night before to invite you to dinner."
I nodded once to him before walking out into the hallway.
He wanted my sense of justice to be hurt but it felt like he'd shot it close range with a fifty caliber shotgun.