A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows everybody! We have reached the third part of the story now so things are going to get a little rocky. Milori's idea will come in the next chapter or two also.
As for the names in this chapter for the Lord of Winter and the Minister of Spring and his apprentice, this is just what I thought/imagined their names are. The apprentice of spring is the Minister of Spring you see in the movies and his name is pronounced Eh-lie-us.
And I'm sorry to tell you this, but the next time I will update this will be next year. I'm just really busy and I don't think I'll be able to write until then.
And I've always thought that the Ministers had to be taught about their seasons before becoming a Minister…
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"But as their love grew stronger, they wished to be together and share each other's worlds…"
When Clarion awoke the next morning, she couldn't have felt more worried. She was to train with the Queen, who would fade soon and was very weak, and didn't know what to expect. She still hadn't gotten over what had happened yesterday, everything had seemed in a blur with the only exception being that of meeting Milori. So naturally, when she looked in the mirror while brushing her hair, she noticed that her blue eyes were dull and she looked as if she had had a restless sleep – which was true to a certain degree.
Flying out of her room, Clarion headed toward the Queen's study and found the same guard standing there. She nodded at him and was about to knock onto the door when he said, "The Queen is in the library."
Clarion froze before turning toward the guard. "I take it she's feeling better?" she asked hopefully, her spirits rising.
"No better, no worse."
Clarion's sprits dropped and she mumbled something incoherent to the guard before flying off to the library. Rapping on the door once she got there, she waited until she heard an "Enter!" before flying in. This time when she saw the Queen, she didn't gasp when she saw how ill she looked, but bowed her head and greeted her as if this was the usual way the Queen looked. "Hello Queen Alexandra."
"Hello Princess Clarion," the Queen used Clarion's formal name. "I take it you haven't slept well at all by the way of how tired you look."
"Yes, I had a restless sleep." It irked Clarion that she had to be formal and that the Queen, who barely knew her, could tell about how sleep-deprived she was.
"Hmm, well you better start sleeping better. Come now, we must fly toward –"
"Forgive me for interrupting and for this next question, Queen Alexandra," Clarion started, "but how can you fly when you broke your wing?"
The Queen's eyes narrowed at Clarion, who broke eye contact, and answered, "Pixie Dust."
"But doesn't traveling by Pixie Dust require wings too?"
"Are you trying to avoid your lessons?" Queen Alexandra accused.
"N-no! Never! I was just curious," Clarion objected sheepishly.
The Queen looked at her successor annoyed before carrying on, "Today, we are going to go to the border where spring touches winter so you can meet the Lord of Winter and his apprentice, and after that we will travel to spring where you will meet the Minister and his own apprentice. Any questions?" When Clarion shook her head in answer, the Queen ordered, "Good. Fly to the border and wait there."
"What about you? How will you get to the border?" Clarion asked worried.
"I have my ways, now go."
Clarion bowed her head in good-bye to Queen Alexandra before turning around and flying out of the Pixie Dust Tree and heading toward the Autumn Woods. As she flew past fairies, she waved and smiled at them and they did the same to her before turning back to their own work. As she flew into the Autumn Woods she looked at the leaves on the trees in front of her and made sure to stop to avoid a leaf when one fell before flying on. Clarion inhaled the musty scent and thought about how Milori seemed to like it when a breeze had blown through the woods and carried the smell to the border. She smiled at the memory.
When she reached the border, she landed on the log and looked around for other fairies. Seeing none, she briefly thought that she had been set up before eliminating that thought by reasoning that she had no reason to be and that the others were merely late or that she was early. Squinting through the snow to search for Milori and the Lord of Winter, she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach and pressed her hand on it to try and calm down the nerves. When that didn't help, she started to pace back and forth glancing at the border or behind her to see if anyone had arrived yet.
Still no fairy came.
Clarion, now more worried than ever, wondered if she should have just stayed with the Queen and tried to help her. With guilt she realized she should have, but a voice in her head told her, The Queen told you to go, so don't fret. But what if it was a test? Clarion agonized. She sat down on the log and put her head in her hands and took deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Don't panic…
Slightly calmer after a few moments of breathing she looked about again but saw not a single fairy. She waited, and waited, and waited some more, looking every now and then at the snowfall or at the falling leaves.
But still no one came.
Right as she was on the brink of hysteria and wanting to cry because she was almost positive that she had indeed been set up or that she had failed a subtle test that Queen Alexandra had put together, she heard voices. Blinking rapidly to hold back the tears, Clarion stood up and looked in the snowfall, where the voices had come from, and saw two sparrow-men coming closer to the border. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw one was Milori and guessed that the taller sparrow-man with the reddish brown hair was the current Lord of Winter. Clarion looked back at the Autumn Woods but noticed that the Queen still wasn't there. She started to wring her hands nervously.
When Milori and the Lord of Winter stopped a few feet from the middle of the log, Clarion turned her attention toward them and tried to act composed and calm when she was truly nervous. She realized that Milori would see through her act and ask her why she was upset later, but the best she could hope for was that the Lord of Winter wouldn't notice. She looked at Milori first, who was looking at her in suspicion as to why she was alone and not with her mentor and why she was upset, and then to the Lord of Winter, who looked down at her in a thoughtful glare before speaking, "Good day to you."
"Good day to you too sir," Clarion said respectfully and bowing her head.
"You must be Princess Clarion. So where is the Queen?" he mused in a deep voice.
"Yes, and I-I do not know. All I had were instructions to come to the border. Are you the Lord of Winter?"
"Yes, aren't you a smart one! This is Milori, my apprentice," he introduced Milori to Clarion.
"Hello Clarion," Milori said.
"Hello Milori," Clarion smiled.
"It seems you two already know each other, would you care to explain?" The Lord of Winter asked noticing the easiness between the two.
"We met –" Clarion started.
"-At the border –" Milori went on grinning.
"-One day," the two finished together smiling at each other and the memory of how their relationship had started.
The Lord of Winter seemed relieved that he didn't need to go through the formalities of further introductions and asked now curious, "So you two are friends then? Alright, that's fine since its best if you two are already on good terms before you two rule. Ah, there is Queen Alexandra." Clarion could have sworn she had seen him flinch.
Clarion turned around to see the Queen who was walking out of the Autumn Woods wearing her cloak to hide her damaged wings. Another pang of guilt swept over her and she wondered if Alexandra was furious at her for leaving her behind. She probably is, Clarion thought grimacing slightly.
The Queen jumped up on the log and stalked swiftly toward where Clarion standing, her mouth in a tight line making Clarion wonder if it was her own self she was angry at, or if it was Clarion. Secretly the Princess hoped the former. "Lord Bernard," Queen Alexandra greeted the Lord of Winter grimly.
"Queen Alexandra," the Lord of Winter acknowledged somewhat afraid.
"How is it faring in the winter region?"
"Pretty well, thank you. And the other seasons?"
Queen Alexandra waved her hand dismissively, "It fares well. I take it you have met Princess Clarion?"
The Lord of Winter grinned. "Yes, and she and Milori here already know each other."
Raising an eyebrow, the Queen asked, "Do they?"
"Yes, they say they have met on the border already."
"Did they now? Hmm, Clarion here takes off at sunset, for an odd reason. Clearly when one of the tutors had asked why, she had told him it was none of his business," Queen Alexandra reported.
"Milori does too," Clarion and Milori glanced at each other in alarm, "but I think it is to study. Although…" Lord Bernard looked off in the distance pondering something.
"Enough about what our apprentices do, I have come to tell you something of upmost importance," the Queen said changing the subject. Clarion silently thanked her.
"Really? And what is that now?"
"I have three seasons until I fade because I broke my wing."
Lord Bernard's eyes grew wide. "Is that so?"
"Yes, so until you die, Clarion will be Queen after I fade. Although for you it may be only for a season or two, seeing how old you are," she teased him poking him in the stomach.
The Lord smirked. "Yes well, at least I didn't cheat my way out of my duties," he teased back.
Clarion saw a hint of a smile appear on her mentor's face before it was washed away by the mask of indifference. She looked over at Milori, who had been watching the banter between the two, and when he caught her looking his way he smiled and shrugged at the older fairies' actions, which made Clarion grin and roll her eyes. "All jesting aside," the Queen started. "I just wanted to tell you and introduce Princess Clarion. But we have to leave to see the Minister of Spring now, so may the wind be at your back while you fly."
"Yes, yes same to you," Lord Bernard said before saying to Clarion, "Until next time then."
He flew off as the Queen started walking away and Clarion waved at Milori in good-bye promising, "I'll see you later at sunset."
Milori nodded and said, "I'll be here." He then grinned and flew off into Winter Woods.
Clarion smiled and flew to the Queen and landed next to her. Falling into step with her mentor, they walked together into the canopy of the trees and Clarion noticed that Queen Alexandra seemed uptight and on edge, but she dared not say anything. After a few moments of silent walking the Queen said, "I want you to fly to Butterfly Cove in Spring."
"And you?" Clarion asked.
"I will walk. You use your wings while you have them."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Clarion, reluctantly, started to fly to Butterfly Cove and when she got there, she noticed that another fairy was already there, a sparrow-man. While Milori was a little taller than her and had white hair that almost fell to his shoulders but the front part was pulled back, this sparrow-man was about her height and had straight hair that stopped at his shoulders and wasn't pulled back. Instead of light-blue clothing made of leaves from winter like Milori, he had vibrant green clothing made of leaves from spring. But what Clarion noticed the most was how worried he looked, almost paranoid that something bad was going to happen.
"Hello," she said landing on a flower next to the flower that the odd sparrow-man.
The other jumped and let out a yelp before looking at Clarion. Seeing her, he visibly relaxed and dusted off his shirt from the pollen that had flown up while he had started before replying, "Oh hello."
"What's your name?"
"I'm supposed to be the next Minister of Spring."
Are the Ministers supposed to be paranoid? Clarion mused before saying, "That doesn't answer my question."
"Of course it does!" the sparrow-man replied indignantly his voice rising up an octave.
"No it doesn't. I asked for your name, not your talent."
"Oh well, my name is Elhas," Elhas said calming down again. "What's yours?"
"Clarion," Clarion replied.
Elhas' eyes grew wide and he squeaked, "Y-your Princess Clarion?"
Clarion cringed and answered, "Yes…"
"Where's the Queen?" Elhas started looking around frantically.
Clarion didn't know how to answer and mumbled, "She's walking here."
"What?" he asked turning to her.
"She's coming," the fairy said louder. "Don't worry."
Elhas relaxed again and asked, "So what do you in your training?"
"Study, and learn mostly. What do you do in your training?"
"Learn about the season of spring. So have you by chance learned anything about spring-time?"
"Yes, it was quite interesting. Other seasons can't function without it because it renews life and such. Of course there are other things in spring-time that make it unique too."
"What is your favorite season?" Elhas asked curiosity evident in his voice. Clarion looked in his eyes and saw something like hopefulness there, also.
"Winter," she replied looking in the direction of the Winter Woods. It was, after all, the season Milori was from and it grabbed at her curiosity and interest the most. Clarion found herself fantasizing about what it would be like to cross the border and go in more than usual before the Queen had become ill. She found it funny that only a season ago she would said, "Spring," and not winter.
"What's yours?" she asked breaking out of her reverie.
When Elhas didn't say anything, she looked back at him and saw that he looked dejected and disappointed as he glared down and kicked the pollen. A silence followed before he said, "Summer, actually."
"That's unusual," Clarion mused.
"Yes, because I'm supposed to be the Minister of Spring and yet my favorite season is summer," he looked up and cracked a smile at Clarion. He suddenly stopped smiling when his eyes focused on something behind her and asked, "Is that the Queen?"
Clarion stiffened and looked back and saw the Queen walking toward them. "Yes." Another wave of guilt washed over her.
"Why isn't she flying?"
"Elhas! We do not ask such personal questions about Queen Alexandra!" A voice boomed as the Minister of Spring came and flew down to his apprentice.
"Yes Minister of Spring," the smaller sparrow-man obeyed bowing his head.
"You must be Princess Clarion. I take it you have gotten acquainted with Elhas, my apprentice?" When Clarion nodded at the Minister's question, he seemed content.
No one said anything as all three of them watched Queen Alexandra walk brusquely towards them. When Clarion squinted as the Queen came closer, she thought she saw tear streaks upon her face before she wiped them away. Turning towards the Minister she advised, "Perhaps we can go and meet the Queen on the ground. She had a long walk…"
"Excellent idea, Princess! Come Elhas, let us go down," the Minister agreed before flying down towards the ground with Elhas following suite. Clarion looked at the sky before flying down and saw it was turning red and promised herself that it would be quick and she could see Milori as soon as this was done.
When she landed, she saw the Queen had caught up with them and was talking with the Minister about something. Clarion fluttered next to Elhas and whispered, "What are they talking about?"
"She was very forward about saying that her wing was broken," Elhas answered. "She wants to know if she could use a butterfly as transportation until she fades."
"Do you think they will notice if I slip out?" she asked looking at the two who seemed to be oblivious to anything around them.
"No, I don't think – Hey! Clarion!" He whisper-shouted at her as she was beginning to fly away. Clarion gave a simple wave before zooming towards the Autumn Woods.
Elhas, not knowing what to do, flew after her.
Clarion landed on the log and looked behind her to make sure no one had followed, when she was sure no one did, she let loose a sigh of relief and waited for Milori. She fluttered over a little closer to the snowfall and placed her hand in it and watched as the snow fell onto it. She smiled and inched her hand a little deeper, and she noticed that it steadily and gradually grew colder the farther in. When Clarion opened up her palm, a small snowflake landed on it and she slowly pulled her hand out of the cold and back to the warm side to see the snowflake, but she became disappointed when it melted only a second later and became wintry water.
"I think, Clarion," a voice started. "That the air on your side is a bit too warm for the snowflake."
Clarion snapped her head up and replied to Milori, "I know Milori, but I couldn't resist."
Milori smiled and noticed that her eyes sparkled again, much to his enjoyment. "And I can't resist but to notice that you are in a much better mood than earlier. So tell me, what happened?"
"How it got better, or why I was so upset?"
"Both."
"I was still perturbed about yesterday, and when I came to the border I was afraid that I had been stood up or that something had happened to the Queen while I was flying here and she was walking. I felt guilty for leaving her even when she had told me to go and wait for her at the border, I felt like I had failed a test of some sort. Then I saw you, and the day seemed to go well from then on," Clarion told him.
Smirking and raising an eyebrow he asked, "Did it now?"
"Yes."
"Well then I'm happy that I made you happy," he said leaning in.
Clarion smiled and closed the space between them and they shared a kiss. When they pulled apart, Milori took Clarion's hand gently and they both sat down on the log. "So," Clarion started feeling lighter than air, "how did you like the Queen?"
"She seemed a bit uptight, but I'm assuming that was because she had lost her wings," Milori answered.
"She was slightly on edge the entire day, but I couldn't help but notice how the Lord of Winter seemed afraid of her."
"That's because he is."
"Really?" Clarion asked astonished.
"To a certain degree. He told me that she intimidates him, but since they have been friends for a few hundred years, it doesn't really qualify as fear," Milori explained.
The two talked and chatted and held hands for the remainder of the sunset. Clarion had never felt as happy in the past couple of days as she was now and Milori swore her eyes looked as if they had all the stars held in them from the way they shone. When the sun set and it was dark, neither of them left but enjoyed each other's company for a while longer. "I wonder," Clarion thought aloud at one point, "if Queen Alexandra and Lord Bernard know about what we are doing."
"They suspect things, yes, but that is only a speculation and can't be counted as a fact," Milori replied.
"But it is true."
"Yes, it's true, but they can only suspect the truth while we know the truth."
"And if it's not forbidden, what we are doing, than why would they speculate?"
"There's a variation of how you look at the word forbidden, Clarion."
Clarion sighed. "I know," she said. "I know."
There was a silence before Clarion said, "I met the Minister of Spring and his apprentice, Elhas."
"How did that go?" Milori asked genuinely interested.
"The Minister was slightly commanding and Elhas I think was paranoid over something…"
"Why would he be paranoid?"
"I don't know, Milori. He always looked worried over something and disappointed when I said what my favorite season is."
"Why would he be disappointed? I thought it was spring."
"It changed."
"So now it is…?"
"Winter."
"Winter?" Milori repeated raising an eyebrow and looking at Clarion, who blushed scarlet and looked away.
"Y-yes. It interests me to no end. I'm curious about how things are on the other side of the border," she explained.
"Well, it's cold and there is a lot of snow and ice," he described.
"That's knowledge every fairy and sparrow-man knows."
"Then why would you want to cross?"
"I never said I wanted to cross!" Clarion defended.
Milori, amused and smug looking, replied, "But you were implying it."
"Alright, so maybe if I wanted to cross, do you think I could?"
"Yes, but what about your wings? They would break because of the sheer coldness," Milori pointed out.
"I could wear a coat to cover them," Clarion argued.
"I still don't want you to break them and living half of your normal life, Clarion. You're too important to me for me to allow you into that risk."
"What about you? Haven't you ever thought of crossing the border, Milori?" Clarion asked switching tactics.
Milori hesitated at the question before hanging his head and saying, "Yes, I have. Many times, but still Clarion, for you or me to cross the border could run the risk of permanent damage."
Clarion thought about this for a moment and watched the silver moon's reflection dance across the surface of the ice and water in the stream. She sighed a moment later and agreed, "Your right. I'm sorry for ignoring that part."
"Don't be sorry, you were merely voicing your opinion."
Clarion nodded before standing up, and Milori did so too. "It was nice to see you twice in one day," Clarion remarked. "It's a shame we have to live in two different regions, though."
Yes, Milori thought. It is a shame that we can't truly be together, but I love you too much to run the risk of you getting hurt, Clarion. Don't be angry at me for it, please. "I agree on both terms," Milori said instead. "Goodnight Clarion."
"Goodnight Milori," Clarion answered softly before turning away and flying off. Milori watched her go before doing the same himself.
As Clarion flew into the Autumn Woods a sparrow-man flew in front of her and blocked her way. She blinked in surprise before realizing it was Elhas and covered her hand with her mouth in shock. "Princess Clarion!" he hissed before she could say anything. "You absolutely cannot – how could you – what do you think you were doing – why, how, are you falling in love with a winter fairy?"
"How did you know?" Clarion asked in surprise.
"I tagged along. Oh my goodness the Queen is going to be displeased! The Queen! This is not good!" Elhas started to panic and flew back and forth.
"You tagged along?" Clarion echoed.
"Yes, what else could I do? I was curious, but Princess Clarion –"
He stopped when he saw Clarion's hand go up to silence him. Calmer and could now piece together things, she said in answer to his other question, "Because I love him, that's how. I'll take you to meet Milori, perhaps tomorrow, but I do not need reprimanding Elhas. But please do not tell anyone, I would rather this be kept secret and private. Please?"
Elhas, at war with himself, finally huffed. "Alright, but only for you Princess Clarion."
"Thank you," she said. "Meet me here at sunset tomorrow. Goodnight Elhas."
He nodded and said, "Goodnight Princess Clarion."
She smiled and waved before flying off to the Pixie Dust Tree leaving a stunned and somewhat dejected apprentice of spring.