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I glanced at him and quickly whispered, “Do you take the throne with me tonight?”
He shook his head ever so slightly. “I cannot, not until we are wed. But fear not, I will be with you, as your consort, until then.”
Glancing to the side, I saw that seated near the throne were Luna and Peyton, Chatter and Rhiannon. Rhiannon wore a dress like mine, only as Druise had told me, it was of gold and green, and her cloak was woven of leaves and roses. Her hair had shifted, and I realized that it was no longer red but had changed to a honey gold, shimmering in the lanterns holding the Ice Elementals. And Lainule, her hair was deep red, almost mahogany.>She fastened the buttons of the skirt around my waist, and I immediately saw that I’d need to practice walking in it; the train trailed out behind me for a good ten feet. I raised my arms as she wrapped the bodice top around me, and then I held it snug while she began to lace it up. After she tugged and pulled it into proper alignment, she sorted out the skirt, draping it just right.
“Now if you’ll sit on the bed, I’ll put your boots on for you.” She held up the silver boots and I saw that they, too, worked on a lacing system.
“You people need to start using zippers.”
“I agree.” She flashed me a smile. “I have a feeling we’ll be moving more into sync with the rest of the world once you and your cousin take the thrones, and that isn’t a bad thing at all. There are so many ways we could help the outer world, and they could help us. Although the Weres do not like us at all, and the vampires fear us.”
That was the first time I’d ever heard one of the Fae say anything of that nature. Oh, I knew the Weres didn’t like the Fae, but the vamps—afraid of them?
“Really, now?”
She nodded as she tugged the boot onto my foot and began lacing it up. “Oh yes, my Lady. The vampires have long feared the Fae. After all, look at what happened with Myst when they tried to turn her. They can kill us, but our magic is strong. At least it is among a number of our warriors and nobles—and we know how to use illusion.”
Another thing I hadn’t thought about. “Druise, do you have special powers? I’m only now learning about my own heritage as one descended from the Uwilahsidhe. What…are you one of the Shifting Fae?”
She nodded. “All of us are—all in the Court of Rivers and Rushes, and those who were of the Court of Snow and Ice. This land, it lends itself to the Cambyra. The Great Seelie and Unseelie Courts—the majority of them are not Cambyra. We’re an offshoot. A variation. Did you not know that?”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. As I said, there is so much about your world—my world, now, I guess—that I’m ignorant on. My background…Druise, I had a very harsh childhood and seldom managed to stay in school. I learned on my own. I had to. I didn’t go to any academy like the New Forest Conservatory. I didn’t learn magic from my mother, even though she was magic-born and I am a half-breed. Rhiannon is probably better schooled than I am, but…I’m not sure how much she knew of the Fae either.”
“We keep to ourselves, Your Majesty. We always have. I doubt that many of your books teach much about us, though I may be wrong. As I said, I’m not very complicated. And while I can read and write, I had to work from the time I was fairly young.”
That could have been centuries, given the life spans of the Fae. I chose to leave that question for later, but did ask, “What do you shift into?”
She smiled again, beaming. “I am one of the Avonsidhe. I shift into a deer.” And with that, she finished lacing my boots and stood back, eyeing me up and down. “You are almost ready.”
“What about my circlet?”
“Ah, but you take the true crown tonight, so you go with bare head. Here, Let me fix your cloak for you.” She lifted the silver fur cloak and draped it around my shoulders.
“What is this fur?” I hoped it wasn’t wolf; that wouldn’t set well with Grieve. But she put my fears to rest.
“Rabbit. They were eaten, so the meat was not wasted, if that is worrying you.”
As she adjusted the cloak, I saw that it had been lined with ice blue silk and had a deep hood. I stroked along the nap of the fur. It was so soft my hand sank into the pile, and I wanted to rub my face against it.
“This is so…I would say beautiful, but that doesn’t do it justice. Is Rhiannon’s outfit like this?”
She chuckled. “Oh, Her Ladyship Rhiannon’s dress is as golden as yours is silver, with shades of green. But her cloak is not made of fur, but instead of delicate leaves and ivy vines and deep, red roses. And now…” She stood back. “I think we’re ready.”
Druise crossed to the door and peeked out, saying something I couldn’t quite catch. Then she opened the door wide, and a contingent of guards came in. I was positioned in the middle—with four guards in front of me, Druise right behind me, and four more behind her. Another guard stood to my left, and one to my right. We were completely blocked in by the warriors.
As we stood, waiting, Grieve appeared from the hallway. He was dressed much in the same colors as I was. He blew me a kiss, then sobered and stepped to the front of the guard. With a loud “Attention!” he started out of the room, and we followed.
The Barrow had been cleared, it seemed. Not a soul was stirring, and at first I thought they’d been told to keep to their rooms, but I couldn’t hear any movement at all—the Barrow was still.
When we exited, however, a ring of guards stood around the Marburry Barrow, guarding it from intruders. I wondered where the coronation would take place—would it be in the Court of Rivers and Rushes, just outside? But my question was answered as we headed through the portal in the Twin Oaks, back into the winter world. A horse, as black as the night sky, waited for me, its sidesaddle giving me pause. Black leather, with silver embellishments, it loomed as the hardest challenge I’d been through yet.
Grieve stood back as the guards broke rank. Check and Fearless approached me. “With your leave, Your Highness…”
I wasn’t sure what they intended to do but nodded and suddenly found myself hoisted up—very gently—into the saddle. Relieved to see a sturdy belt attached to it, I quickly fastened myself in as Druise gathered up my train and arranged it so it would trail in a fashion that wouldn’t trip up the horse’s hooves. She then made sure my cloak draped down in back and that it was snugly fastened in the front.
After she finished, the guards gathered to the sides of the horse. Grieve mounted a matching horse and took the lead, as the guards followed with me in tow. Druise swung aboard a horse behind me, this one gray dappled with white, and followed us, with one of my guards at her side.
Silver bells on the bridles jingled as we headed through the winter forest, the horses silently making their way through the falling snow. We wove through the woodland, through the towering firs, and I caught my breath when animals started to appear, standing at attention as we filed along the path.
