“Your graces, I am honored to serve you both. My Prince, we are glad to see you home once more.” He bows to us all, deeply and with the reverence one would offer a great royal party. I am embarrassed to remember that this is exactly what we are.
Wren and I are led into the stable where we are greeted by the whinnies and sighs of all the horses of the royal house. Every color of beast is represented here, and I marvel at all of the spectacular mounts therein. Chiron takes us to the back of the long barn, where a tall, bone-white mare is housed.
“Perhaps my mother would have liked to share her with you first, but we are so late and already here. This is Rhiann, and she is for you, Netta.” As he lifts the hatch on the gate to her stall, her full glory is unveiled to us. She is not purely white, as I first believed. While her mane is pure as fallen snow, the gradient of white flows to cool, dark grays running the distance of her long legs. Her ears, too, are tipped darkly. Smokey black eyes look back at us as Chiron leads her out from her stall. She is, quite simply, the most breathtaking creature I have ever seen.
And she is mine.
I am overcome, in truth. I tentatively reach out my hand to her long face, allowing her a moment to sniff at me before placing it on the velvety soft skin there. Her eyes are large, and her breath is warm and sweet on my face as I move closer to her.
“Blessings, Rhiann. You are a stunning creature, are you not?” I whisper to her. Her grunts and snorts are foreign to me, but I take it as a good sign that she allows my fawning.
Chiron is behind me now, his warm breath close to my ear.
“I believe she likes you, wife. I wrote to my mother when we were in Nerine. I asked her to pick a steed worthy of a Queen. Did she choose well for you?” His warmth sends shivers up my spine. When I first took to riding on the first leg of our journey, I had no idea that one day I would have a mount of my own to ride. Now that the prospect is in front of me, I feel such immense joy about it.
“She chose perfectly. I think I love her already,” I say to him, leaning slightly into his warmth before closing the distance to place a soft kiss on Rhiann’s snout. Her chuffed response is moist on my skin, and I cannot help but laugh. She will be a great friend indeed. “Thank you, Chiron. I look forward to spending time with her.” I whisper, turning my body to face him.
Wren stands near, a bright and beautiful smile on his face. It’s a rare one, full of shining teeth that light up his ocean eyes. They dance, really. This, too, is a gift.
“I’ve not forgotten you, Wren. But your gift is inside,” He says, mischief laced in his tone. Wren’s eyebrows raise, creating deep lines in his forehead. Gifts and gestures of grandeur are as foreign to him as they are to me.
“I see, won’t you take us there then, Prince?” He questions.
We are brought to a small door on this side of the palace wall. Two heavily armed guards stand watch here, steel armor shining against the light of the silver moon. They have long spears in hand, at the ready. Chiron steps forward.
“Gentleman, the Trinity have come home.”
The guards step aside in unison, smacking their weapons into the ground in two heavy beats. This must be some sort of call, because the door opens with a heavy click, and we are bid to enter. Chiron turns to Wren and me, trepidation filling my chest for the first time since arriving. His grin is wide and excited.
“Let me show you our home.”
The castle is dimly lit, sconces lining each wall as we pass quickly through them. These are not the main halls but the ones used by staff and guards to move through the great structure. We are led up narrow stairways and through wooden doors, a maze of tunnels, really. We pass many guards and servants, all who bow or curtsy in varying degrees of severity. We are addressed in whispers as “Trinity” or “Your Graces.” I do my best not to look shaken by the sheer number of greetings we receive as we make our way up.
If there was any hope of finding my way through here, it is lost long before we reach the double doors where Chiron nods at the men stationed there. They step away from the entry, moving to the walls at either side of the entrance. Chiron takes an ornate key from one of them and turns to Wren and me once more, giddy to show us whatever awaits us within. With a sharp click, the doors unlock, and Chiron swings them wide.
The room within is almost as large as the grand Atheneum on Caelestis. Windows line the far wall, diamond-paned and reaching from the bench underneath up to the ceiling. On every wall in between, shelves of books and ornate doors do much the same. Settees and fine high-backed chairs are scattered throughout the grand space. Everywhere I look, I can find the spiral symbol of the Trinity carved into the dark wood furniture.
Did Chiron bring us to a library?
I look to Wren first, knowing what I will find there. His face is…it is breathtaking in the light of the oil lamps. He is cast in hues of orange and shadowed where hair has started to dapple his square jaw. His eyes are wide and full of wonder, the blue a thin ring around the black pearl of his pupils. They scan the room with great interest, unable to stop in any one place. I imagine this room is where we will most often find Wren, and that makes me smile widely.
“This is our wing, our private quarters are just beyond those doors,” Chiron notes, pointing to the right side of the library. He walks to the door there, another expertly crafted entrance. He turns the silver handle there and looks back at us both behind him.
“Welcome home.”
The doorway unveils a room so spacious and beautiful that my breath catches in my chest. The windows from the main room continue into this one, but sheer curtains of deep purples fall over them like a gown. To the right, a large fireplace takes up the middle of the wall. The stone is a marbled grey and black, and a fire roars within it as if someone spotted our arrival and set the room ablaze for us. Its heat is a welcome comfort, blissful after the many days we’ve spent in the elements of late.
In the center of the room sits a sprawling bed built of dark oak wood. It is without a doubt the largest bed I have ever laid eyes on. The headboard is ornate, and I move toward it to inspect its design. I pass my fingers over the shining wood of the posts. They are as thick as the trunk of a young tree, but smooth and stained to match its former bark. At the head, there is yet another Trinity symbol, three spirals winding in the same direction.
The Land, the Sky, and the Sea.
The bed is stacked high with thick pillows of purple hue and rich quilts of both fabric and fur. It is not unlike the nest of our earthen cave from the Rite.
I walk to the side of the bed, where a large wardrobe is stationed. I open its doors and see that gowns flow down from silver hooks within. To the right, a familiar purple cloak hangs clean and comforting. I gather the fabric into my hands and bring it to my face. Sadness rises when the scents of the Isle and Vestera do not come to me. This small piece of my home is with me, but no longer carries its notes with it. I let the flowing cloak fall back into the wardrobe.
I spot a row of folded shifts on the shelf toward the bottom, and the whole of this experience washes over me with exhaustion. Sleep calls to me with urgency now.
Chiron shows us to the washroom, a small but equally lavish room with a fine metal tub and a mirror that spans the wall behind it. Chiron offers to summon Jessah for me, but I decline. It is late, and I wish only for rest this night. We will meet again tomorrow, I am sure.
