Chapter 287

Elain and wanted to stay where she was, curled against Lucien's side with her head on his shoulder. She could have, she thought. She could have stayed there all day, but then she had heard movement out in the hallway and she knew that Feyre and Rhys were up. Lucien had pressed a kiss to her cheek, his warm hand moving up and down her back and he had whispered to her that they would have stayed if they wanted to, but that if she wanted to go back to the Day Court they did need to get up.

Also, Elain recalled, she had promised Feyre that they would speak at breakfast, and she couldn't do that if she remained in bed. It would be the last time she would get to see and speak to her sister for a while, she knew, and she didn't want to miss out on it. As she had gotten dressed and brushed he hair, Elain wondered how frequently Feyre and Nests would find time to visit the Day Court. Nesta would have the time, she supposed, whenever her sister wanted to come, but Feyre was the High Lady of the Night Court and she knew that the position had come with responsibilities. They would make time, Elain knew. The three of them were important to one another, and Elain knew that they would all make time to see one another. Feyre would visit whenever she had the time and, while she didn't know where Nesta would be making her home, she knew that her elder sister would be frequent guest of the Day Court.

"What are our responsibilities back home?" Elain asked, looking at her mate in the mirror as she braided her hair up about her head like a golden brown crown. Lucien approached her, coming to stand behind her as he held her eyes in the mirror.

"Why's that, Petal?" he asked.

Elain finished the braid and pinned it in place. "I… you're the heir, and I am your mate." She said, "I know that those positions will come with responsibilities and time commitments…"

"That's true…" Lucien agreed, nodding. Elain blinked and she just looked at him. She watched him pluck several small orchid flowers from a stem sitting in a vase on her vanity. He then began arranging them in her hair, tucking the stems into her braid so it looked as if she wore a flowered crown. Elain's heart fluttered at that thought, and the look of concentration that settled onto his face as he focused on what he was doing.

"I was thinking about my sisters." She told him, unable to take her eyes away from his clever hands as he worked. "I know that they will visit when they can, but I was wondering about what kind of time I will have to visit them…"

"My love…" Lucien said, his eyes shifting from the braid to meet hers once more in the mirror. "You will be able to visit them whenever you like." He smiled at her, "I am the heir, and I will have things that I will be compelled to see to. But, you will not be held to the same obligations. As my mate you will have the chance to do many things that may not have been options to you before. Having eyes on you in that way gives you a voice… you will be able to use that power however you like… but you won't have to be as involved in the politics of it all like I will be."

"Will I not?"

"No. You will be welcome at gatherings and official visits, of course, but if you chose to not be present because you wanted to see your sisters, nobody would say a thing…"

"I will have more freedom than you will…" She tilted her head, her eyes holding Lucien's intense gaze.

"Indeed you will, Petal."

"Are you okay with that?"

"How could I not be okay with you being free?"

"No, I meant with the fact that you will have obligations that prevent you having freedom…"

"I…" she watched him think for a few moments, "I think having my mother there, and you… and the chance to know Helion as my father… a home… all of that makes up for having to attend meetings." He smiled then, "Besides, I have always enjoyed those. Now, I won't just be representing someone else and their power. Now, I will have the chance to make a difference, I have the power to make choices and get things done."

Elain turned in her chair to look up at him. "Do you have ideas already?" She could feel his excitement down the bond, and she liked that he was so excited.

"Do you remember?" he began, "I once told you about a book I was reading about the stories of those who had escaped the war and moved among the Courts of Prythian through trade fairs as they searched for work and a place to find it?"

"I do…" Elain said. "It was interesting that fairs like that were necessary… and that so many faeries were displaced. I hadn't known that."

"Indeed." He said, nodding as his metallic eye clicked and whirred and Elain could just about see his brain thinking. "I… I think that I would like to follow up with them. We could begin those fairs again, not for the movement of fairies, but to go with the trade routes. Trading not just goods, but services that these talented faeries and craftspeople can offer. If that leads to new opportunities for them, even better…"

"That sounds wonderful."

"If possible, I would like to track down those who shared their stories last time and see how they have gotten on…"

"Is that possible?"

"I don't see why not." He held a hand out to her, and Elain took it. She let him pull her to her feet and then she heard Feyre calling them from down the stairs. "I suppose we shall have to pack after breakfast." He smiled at her and Elain nodded her agreement. They would, she knew, be home in the Day Court within the hour.