The Light of Asteria (34 page)

I changed into ruby red pajamas. The minutes
stretched to an hour, and I got out my sketchbook and sat on the
bed. Manes flowing like mercury raced through my mind. My muscles
tensed; the shape seemed foreign to my hand, but I now understood
how to channel power into art. Leaning back on the soft pillow, I
allowed my hand to take over.

The charcoal took on a life of its own, and I
closed my eyes in concentration. My hand worked furiously and when
it slowed, I gasped. Initially, I wanted to hide the sketch; I
wasn’t sure I would ever show this to anyone. The focal point was
the magnificent unicorn I had met in the field. I rode him
bareback, determination strong on my features. In the upper left
corner, shadows loomed around the periphery of the portal.
Murderous fury marred Gavin’s face as he chased after a
small-framed woman with long hair. Silhouettes swirled like smoke
around her figure; the darkness was disturbing.

The thought I would ever ride a unicorn was
ludicrous. I knew they would consider that the most egregious of
acts. Still, the only time I had ever cleared my mind and produced
a drawing was of the future. The pad fell to the floor as the
door’s handle turned.

Gavin’s eyes flickered, and surprise sliced
through me as he took in the new sculpture. His features went from
a grin to a scowl in the blink of an eye.

“Who brought this up here?” His voice was a
bit harsh, but I let it pass.

“I did. I’m stronger now, but I had to stop
three times on the stairs to make it. I wanted to surprise you.” He
raised an eyebrow.

“Want to arm wrestle?” I chuckled when I felt
his disbelief.

His features relaxed again. I opened the
gates wide as I thought of my time with Rena. His long, tapered
fingers slid sensuously over the hands, but his appreciation for
the work was quickly shrouded in misery.

“What’s wrong?” The timbre of his emotions
reminded me of our last visit to Michael’s room. It was as if he
had grieved for something and now accepted its loss.

“It does feel that way,” he agreed, as he
kissed the top of my head and sat next to me. “The queen and I had
a productive visit. She is not being quite so unreasonable when she
saw for herself my improvements. Even with the late hour, she asked
that I accompany her to see Mia. She has been with her every day
since I left. Mia is broken, but she remains alive. Had I taken
care of this when we were small children, she may have been able to
heal.” Initially I wanted to dispute his responsibility, but
instinct whispered to stay quiet. He squeezed my shoulders.

“You must be starving. In all the events of
the day, I forgot to get dinner.” He paused for a second and
continued. “I will not have your ribs showing again, my lady. I
like them just the way they are.” Within the minute, there was a
knock at the door.

“Good evening, my lord and lady.” Elaine
bowed, handing him the tray.

“Thanks Elaine, I owe you one. I’m so hungry,
I could eat a goat,” I said, as one of Edna’s random sayings came
to mind. Both Gavin and Elaine looked stunned, and I chuckled.

“Not literally, of course.”

Elaine saluted and left while Gavin brought
the tray to the bed.

“That was simply the best meal I’ve had since
Edna’s veggie stew,” I sighed, as he took the tray and placed it
out the door.

Gavin showered and I giggled as he came out
of the bathroom. We matched. It was sickeningly sweet; I loved it.
He chuckled and got under the covers. I snuggled next to his warmth
with my mind open, just happy at the moment to be surrounded by
webs. One hurdle was down—I made it into the castle without an
angry mob at my heels, and Gavin was getting through to his mother.
I would worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 21—Queen
Lera

Diaphanous blue strands blazed around me as I
stirred.

“I’m sorry,” I sleepily mumbled. “I remember
some of what I dreamt, but not all.” His knowing eyes twinkled.

“Please don’t apologize. I am just glad to
have the webs. Our room was extremely bright last night. Your
dreams were so powerful that you surely would have shared your
essence with the entire kingdom,” he half teased, trying to calm
his desire running freely through me.

We need to thank the spiders
.

“That we do, love, that we do.” He softly
kissed me and headed for the closet. When he emerged through the
curtains, I gasped. A silk cream tunic hugged tightly across his
broad frame. Herringbone twill, threaded with gold, adorned his
waist. Pendants made of precious gems cascaded down the wine sash
that fell from his right shoulder to his left hip.

“You look very … princely.” I stammered,
insecurity suddenly running amuck.

“You need not worry. My mother will be
absolutely taken with you. She understands the significance of the
unicorn’s pledge,” he murmured.

What on earth do I wear to meet her?

“Elaine has brought you several formal
dresses so you may choose.” I just gawked at him; his smile widened
as he headed out the door.

I jumped up and dressed in the first outfit
that hit my hand. As I ran down the stairs, Rena’s laughter filled
the sitting chamber.

“Okay, we have to get this
what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-wear-to-meet-the-queen issue out of the
way.” A wide array of the festive materials hung gracefully over
the back of the couch.

“Any of these are befitting a princess,”
Elaine reassured me as I searched the pile. The gowns were made of
the finest materials and varied in color. I chose a bright pink
sleeveless dress that fell to the floor. The v-neck had a small
design embroidered around its edge, which continued to the plunging
V in the back. The material was slippery like silk, but was even
softer, almost like air.

“What made you choose this one?” Rena’s
curiosity rang in her voice.

“The pink is the color of Edna’s favorite
nail polish. Personally, I’d like nothing more than to surround
myself with her grace and wisdom.” I took in a deep breath and
exhaled, smiling at the vast space above. “I wish she could see
this place; she would be absolutely beside herself.” They both
looked down; their emotions coursed with caution.

It struck me that our views of grief were
vastly different. I embraced all of my memories of Edna. This not
only honored her, but also gave me comfort. Here, the elves refused
to think of their fallen ones, fearing the energy depletion that
surrounds loss. The outcome was polar opposites. Every time I
thought of Edna, I was filled with the joy of knowing her. Every
time they thought of Michael, sorrow over the loss drained
them.

“I’m going to try these on,” I mumbled,
deciding not to dwell on deeper issues. The bathroom off of the
sitting room was as opulent as the rest of Gavin’s suite, and the
large gold mirror helped tremendously.

I threw my ponytail in a sloppy bun to get it
out of the way. The pink gown fit like a glove, clinging in the
right places and then gracefully falling to the floor. The neckline
was a bit lower than I was used to, and the feel of the air
whooshing around my spine made me feel as if I was naked.

“What do you think?” I asked, holding my arms
out for inspection. Elaine walked around several times.

“You must wear your hair up,” she stated. “I
will put it in a traditional braid wrapping around your head, like
so. I think if you wear your emerald necklace it will complement
the ring, and I will have similar earrings brought to you this
afternoon. That should do for the extras,” she declared.

“What do you think, Rena?”

“Elaine is right, but you could always leave
your hair down if you are more comfortable with the styles of
earth.” Elaine winked at Rena.

“Nora, please turn around and show Rena the
full view,” she requested. Confused, I turned; Rena laughed.

“No, Elaine is right; you must wear your hair
up.” She grinned mischievously.

“Okay, like do I have something hideous on my
back and you both aren’t telling me? What is it?” Now paranoid, I
tried to twist my head around to see what was causing all of the
commotion. Neither one of them said anything; maybe I’d wear the
green. Rena, feeling my intent, sighed and let me in on the
secret.

“Nora, our world views physical form
differently. Your world looks at the human form with eyes for
momentary pleasure. Our world views the physical form with intent
and essence. Your spine is the central part of the body, holding
every nerve that flows through you. All of the formal dresses of
this land expose some part of the woman’s back to signify their
unique, special qualities. This dress accents your spine all the
way to its end. It is positively stunning,” she explained.

“The queen won’t find this offensive then?
This is her son after all,” I said, and they both laughed. I
wondered if I was ever going to catch up.

“She would appreciate your beauty, as I am
sure her son will. You should definitely wear this dress, and your
hair must be up.”

“All right, you know what you’re doing.” I
mumbled. I took the emerald dress as well, hanging them both in the
closet. If Gavin thought the pink was too bare I could always
change.

I headed back downstairs to find Gavin
sitting on the couch. Appreciation ran through me as he watched me
walk down the stairs. He met me at the bottom, his hands found my
waist and he pulled me to him. His lips tenderly found mine.

“I spent weeks in this chamber certain I
would never again hear your thoughts, and yet, here we are …” His
voice so close to my ear warmed my heart. A knock softly tapped on
the door; he kissed me once more and then let go.

“I believe lunch is in order, my lady,” he
said, walking to the door. A servant held a large silver dish with
his gaze cast downward. Gavin took the tray, and the servant’s bow
deepened. I sighed. The whole never-look-me-in-the-eye thing was
going to take some getting used to.

“I said thank you,” Gavin said a bit
defensively as he shut the door.

“I know. It’s just that I can’t hear them,
and from my perspective it seems so submissive. I recognize you are
the future king, and they honor you with their manner.” He turned
with one eyebrow raised, expectation running through us both. Of
course they honored him—he was the prince.

We reached the top landing. Brilliant
emeralds burned through my topaz.

“Edna always preached that I was as good as
everyone else. Even though I was in foster care, I was special
anyway because I was uniquely me.” I opened the door and he walked
through and set the tray on the bed. I thought for a moment, trying
to get to the bottom of what the issue really was. “I guess what
bothers me is if I were born here, I would never be allowed to look
into your eyes. I would be the one on the other side of that door,
staring at your feet. I’ll get used to it, but it’s so new … it
makes me uncomfortable, that’s all.” His eyes narrowed; he looked
away.

“You cause me to view my life in a new way,
Nora; sometimes it’s unsettling.” He murmured, truly conflicted.
“Did you find a dress?” he said, obviously changing the
subject.

“Actually, I found two. I’m going to show you
the one I chose, but if you would rather, I do have a plan B.” My
shield flew up for a second when I thought of the dress. I learned
this trick when I worked on his Christmas gift.

“Minx,” he grinned, recognizing the signs. We
ate lunch on the bed with our circle going, loving every minute of
our time together.

“I have to go, but I’ll be back in a while.”
He started toward the door, and paused. “This afternoon, you will
be speaking with Elaine about your garments for the mating
ceremony, which will take place three weeks from today, with or
without the queen’s blessings.” I bolted off the bed and jumped in
his arms.

“I apologize about the long wait, but
everyone in the kingdom will want to come and participate in the
festivities, and that will take a while to coordinate.” Gavin
murmured huskily.

Are you sure? Won’t the queen get
mad
?

“Honestly, right now I don’t care. We will
ask for her blessing, but one way or the other, in three weeks
time, I will claim you as my own.” Desire surged through our
circle. When he left for his meeting, his features were sharp, just
the way I liked them.

“You are literally glowing Nora. I love to
see you so happy.” Elaine commented.

“Where’s Rena?”

“She will be here in a moment, but first, I
must braid your hair for this evening.” I blanched, and Elaine
busied herself with rustling through a bag that lay inconspicuously
by the door. She held a hairbrush and two pink and green shell
combs. She brushed through the long tresses, and within a few
minutes my hair was up. She smiled, placing the combs on either
side of the braided crown resting on the top of my ears. I wondered
if she left them exposed for a reason. Rena came through the door
carrying a billow of white material. My mouth suddenly went
dry.

“Here is a sampling of traditional mating
gowns. We will have yours hand woven, but we do need to discuss the
basic style. If there is something you would prefer from your land,
we can sketch it and have a prototype constructed.” Rena said,
laying several across the back of the couch.

“These are gorgeous.” I marveled at the feel
of the elegant material. These were not overdone with poufs and
bows like wedding dresses I had seen before, but they were simple
in design.

“The ceremony will be held in the courtyard.
As the winter season is not upon the land, you do have several
options to choose from.” Elaine held up another, but the one that
caught my eye was a dress that had a sweetheart neckline and simple
thin golden straps attached far on the sides that met around the
neck.