These three chapters take place a few months after the winter fairies can cross into the warm side.
These chapters are Hyacinth x Snowflake focused. I've always wanted to write on their story but didn't get to much in Afterglow so they were mostly just mentioned. But here we are :)
Hyacinth was an observer. He always prefered to sit back and listen to other fairies when they speak. He never thought his opinion mattered that much anyway. When he was still a lost garden fairy working in Springtime Square, making friends was hard. So he focused on work and perfection. He did it until the sun set and started again when it rose. Thus, he was promoted to minister of spring after his hard work was recognised. No one wanted to be a minister then, not with Queen Maeve's wrath hanging over their every mistake. But of course, he didn't have the courage to say no.
Only then did he meet Princess Clarion and the other ministers. He didn't know any of them personally but Redleaf and Sunflower got along quickly after they met, leaving him awkward and feeling outcasted. At that point the best case scenario was that they would be cordial business partners. Nothing more. Until she came along.
He still remembered the first time he met her. It was together with Red and Sun. The then princess was dressed in a short yellow sundress with her straight chestnut brown hair draped over her shoulders. Her tiara sat high on her head and her wings stood proudly on her back. Her posture was so proper, it made him straighten his back too. Her posture had always been that impeccable. Hyacinth had seen her around Pixie Hollow occasionally and knew that she used to visit his workplaces as she was acquainted with a few of his fellow garden fairies but he'd never been this close to her before.
Minister Dayton's hands were placed on her shoulders, as if he was guiding her in or else she would fly away. Was she nervous meeting them too? He couldn't tell if she wasn't or if she masked her true feelings that well. Guess he'll never know because the next moment, she's smiling sweetly at him and introducing herself. Clarion's voice is like silk as she bows and extends a hand out to him first. It was unexpected to say the least, and he definitely stared at her hand for too long because he felt Redleaf's foot lightly kick the back of his heel, and when he looked back up at her, her weariness and doubt was apparent in the way her smile dropped slightly and her eyes wavered. So he quickly shakes her hand, stuttering his name.
Red and Sun obviously understood interaction better than him. They fed her compliments, Red saying that he liked her eyes and Sun agreeing and adding that yellow complimented her skin tone or something. He felt bad, maybe he should have said she was pretty but perhaps that would come off as creepy. Still, he noticed that her ears would blush too.
Hyacinth was an observer. He saw that Sunflower was a social butterfly. She loved to talk and would talk to anyone who would listen. Redleaf was a free spirit. He said what was on his mind whenever he wanted to without a filter. Clarion was different. She wasn't extroverted like the rest but maybe she was more like him. She was mindful of everyone's feelings and always ran things through her head before speaking her thoughts. Perhaps she was an observer too. When they ate together, whenever someone's teacup ran dry, she would refill it, sometimes without them even realising. She read people really well too, it's like she takes one look at a fairy and knew exactly what they were feeling and thinking immediately.
So it was no surprise that the first one to approach him properly that day was Clarion.
"Are you alright?" She asked, Sunflower and Redleaf chatting animatedly a few paces in front of them.
"Yeah, it's just late and I'm getting tired." Hyacinth rubs the back of his neck.
She chuckles lowly, "It's hard isn't it? Having to be social like this? I know how that feels."
He focuses his gaze on the floor. She was right and he was embarrassed. "I'm wasn't good at talking to people too. It's scary. But you get the hang of it with practice." she said. "If you want you can practise on us. But if that's too much too you can practise on me." Clarion adds.
Hyacinth glances at her. "What if I say something that hurts your feelings?"
"Then I'll let you know." She smiles the same sweet smile, "It's okay to make mistakes and say the wrong thing sometimes."
And for the first time that day, his smile was genuine.
In a way, the reason the four of them were so close was because of her. The reason he can have banters with them without any hard feelings was because of her.
Ever since that day, he always admired her. Everything she did was done perfectly in his eyes. She was perfect.
He was not.
He chased perfection but it could not be attained. And when Milori came along, they were the perfect match. He had never seen Clarion so happy, how her eyes would light up when she saw him… It used to make him bitter that he fit with her.
But then, he met Her.