Viviane rolled over, clutching the fur covering her closer to her chest and snuggling deeper. She'd talked to Kal until the sun rose, until it had been impossible to keep her eyes open a moment longer. Viviane had nestled firmly into the fur rug on the floor in front of the hearth. Boris at some point had crawled next to her, curling up on the pillow she'd laid her head on. The journey had been longer than she'd expected, not all in her family could winnow, and by foot it was icy and restless. But when the High Lord called, her father came, that's how she'd left the Hall of Crystals to begin with.
Vivian shifted onto her back and looked at the sky. She'd slept only an hour or so, despite the exhaustion. They talked until dawn, she thought again fondly, looking over at his sleeping figure. He was sprawled across his half of the rug, the elegance of him gone with his sleep. She was sure that if she got any closer she would see a small trail of drool fall from his mouth, like it had years ago. When Kal slept it seemed to reverse time, he looked young when he was quiet, regardless of the scruff, or his floppy blonde hair. As a child he'd been lanky, too tall for his own good, with no footing. There'd been many times when she had witnessed him plant his rump firmly on the ice (ice that he had begun to control mere weeks before she'd left.)
It was strange to think that she had once lived in these halls with the High Lord and his kin, here there had always been enough to eat, and the fire always had enough kindling, and the beds had always been filled with the soft down goose feathers. She had once been the kind of girl that lived in a palace. Not anymore, she sighed.
Viviane lugged herself off the floor, scooping up Boris and her boots before glancing at the clock on the mantel. She had more than an hour before she needed to join her family at the High Lord's table to Solstice breakfast. Viviane hesitated, she knew she should wake up Kal, but their conversation, though it had gone well, had drained her. She didn't know how she could look at him just yet in the light of the full morning. She wanted a bath first, a hot bath warm enough to pinken her skin and make her hair shine. She needed that luxury before she met him again.
Eira, she'd have Eira wake him up. Though Kallais had stopped writing years ago, Eira had not. She'd been a constant after Viviane had relocated to the border. A constant when her body changed, and when she'd had her first crust on a brutish winter soldier training her. Eira would wake him up in due time.
Viviane, however, deserved a bath and clean clothes before she'd next face her old friend.
"Kal! Pst! Kal, wake up," He groaned and opened his eyes to Eira standing over him. "Hi sleepy head," she sang at him, bending down to fluff his hair.
"Leave me alone," he moaned back. His eyes shot open. He was in the Globe. It hadn't been a dream, he'd slept here. Kal whipped his head around quickly to see if Viviane had received the same rude awakening he had.
"Oh, brother she isn't here," Eira smirked, "Viviane had the good sense to wake at a reasonable hour, though she was kind enough to let me know that you might have fallen asleep in the Globe last night, and suggested I wake you before you miss breakfast."
Kal groaned, he and Viv talked until sunrise, relaxed or not he slept very little.
"What time is it?" He said, rubbing the sand from his eyes.
"Nearly ten."
Kal quickly sat up, "When does mother want us in the dining room?"
"Half past ten," Eira smiled and let out a sigh looking down at the delicate silver watch that wrapped around her wrist, "I think you'd better run brother."
Kal took off at a near sprint, making his way from the eastern corridor, across the castle, to his bedroom tucked away in the north wing. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit he
repeated in his head, trying his best to make a mental plan of action when he hit his bedroom.
Shower, pants, tunic, boots, cloak and run, he thought. He could do that.
Making it to his room he hurled open the door and not unlike a tornado he grabbed clothes from the armoire and climbed, albeit begrudgingly, into an icy shower, lathering and rinsing with a speed he'd never before achieved.
He pulled on his dark grey pants, struggling to get them on over his half dried legs, and forcefully tugged the light blue tunic over his head. With only one glance, and finger combing his hair, he grabbed his boots and cloak, and ran, barefoot still, down the hall towards his parents private dining chamber.
It was when the clock struck half past ten that he was tugging his boots on outside of the door, hair dripping wet into the hall.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, and slipped in the door.
"Ah, Kallias, nice of you to finally join us," a voice came booming from across the room. The High Lord of the Winter Court sat amongst his friends and family, with a twinkle in his eye he peered at Kal from across the table.
"Father, mother," he greeted, taking the seat beside Eira quickly, trying not to flinch at the awkwardly loud sound the chair made scraping against the floor. He made himself busy by twisting his napkin between his hands, and avoided the scowl his father no doubt had for him.
His mother, with her high, clear voice called out across the table, "Thank the Cauldron we're all together again. I'm so thrilled to see our oldest and closest friends at this table once more. Eat up, we've a lot planned for Solstice!" A shimmer lazily crawled across the table and gilded trays of hot pastries, warm porridge, meats, hand pies and honey cakes appeared. Kal's mouth began to water, the mug next to him filled with rich, black coffee, and finally after his first sip he looked up to see Viviane smiling at him from across the table.
She somehow looked even more lovely in the daylight. Her hair now almost seemed to glitter, though it was half tied back and neater than the night before. The deep blue of her sweater made a stark contrast between her pink flushed cheeks and the paleness of her eyes.
Eira elbowed him sharply in the side, making him let out a small yelp, "Stop staring at her, weirdo, she's a guest not the entertainment." Kal instantly flushed.
Kal let out a small grunt and nod in agreement, and turned to grab a hand pie. They were perhaps the best thing about Solstice, his nurse had shown him how to make them when he was a boy, and there was something that almost made him feel important while eating something this perfect. He understood how the flavors merged, and how the ginger somehow balanced with the caramelized pear, how the vodka from his father's storage made the crust lighter, crisper. To Kal, it was nearly a spiritual experience when they showed up at his family's table.
"So, Kal," the general, Viviane's father, called across the table, "How are you taking to your training?" The spell of the pie was over, Kal quickly tried to chew, preparing to answer.
"He's taken to sword fighting like a polar bear to fishing," his father called out, beaming with pride, "and damn if he isn't half bad on a polar bear at that."
Kal smiled broadly, his father's compliments were rare. "Thank you, father, I've had good teachers, though I'm sure I'm not as well trained as your men at the borderlands," he smiled over to the general.
Kal's father turned his attention to the general, and even far down from the head of the table where the High Lord sat, Kal could just make out him asking the general about Viviane and Viola's training.
"You trained at the border?" Kal asked, to which Viviane quickly chewed, moving her hands about to cover her mouth as she swallowed a great mouthful of honey cake.
"I did, everyone does."
"How? What was it like? Who trained you?"
She smiled brilliantly at him, and Kal could almost feel his heart skip a beat, "I trained with the soldiers, the soldiers sent to the boarders-"
"You mean the giants we send?"
"Yeah!" She took a deep breath, "And they taught us how to use a blade, how to hide, how to hunt and ride. What else would we do to pass the time? Make sure the snow was clean?"
Kal couldn't help but smile, "Do you better hunt with snares, or with an arrow?"
"Well, traps can be a pain, the triggers can freeze shut, and then you're out of luck, and a day's work wasted. I enjoy tracking, the snow makes it easier to stay on your prey's trail."
"I'd never thought about triggers freezing shut, I know the borders are colder than here, but I'm surprised we've not employed magic to keep the traps from freezing," Kal trailed off.
"We tried to strengthen the steel, but any other alchemy and it shatters on an animal and they get away. We've tried heating it, and then it melts through the permafrost. It's a particular area of interest for my sister to find a new way to trap." Viviane leaned over to nudge her sister playfully.
"That's fascinating," he looked over to Viola, "We've got a whole section of the library dedicated to different types and styles of magic, maybe there'll be something there that could help?"
Viola smiled, she looked almost like a mirror to her sister, "By the Cauldron, I would love that."
"You have the run of the library, then. You both do," he said, nodding to Viviane.
Viviane cleared her throat, "So, you, Kal, what is your weapon of choice?" She smiled cautiously at him.
He chuckled. "Swords. By far, though I haven't done more than sparring and training here, there's been no need for battle of late, thanks to father's fine managing of Winter's relations," Kal's father nodded at him from down the table.
"Kiss ass," coughed Eira under her breath, earning a glare from their mother. His mother's ears were sharper than a wolfs, if you whispered the wrong thing, she knew.
Kallais quickly cleared his throat and returned to the pleasantries of the conversation.
"I should like to spar with you sometime, I think," Viviane looked at him sturdily. "I wish to see if you are as well trained as my father's men." A smile spread across her face.
Kal grinned widely at her. They'd sparred with sticks as children, and played pretend, that they were the part of the High Lord's battalions, those who rode into battle with wolves, and elk, and bears, and ravaged the enemies of Winter, banishing them from the land.
Melia's eyes widened from where she sat, "Kal, do you mean to fight our guest?"
"If she wants to," he nodded towards Viviane, "Why should I not spar with our guest?"
Melia's mouth dropped ever so slightly into a tiny O, "Because Kal…"
"Because why, Mel? Because I am a girl?" Viviane stared her down, earning a glare from his sister.
"Because you're a lady, and because it's improper," Melia settled on, shifting in her seat to direct her conversation elsewhere.
"I think you should fight him," Eira said softly to Viviane in a mock whisper across the table, "I want to see you knock the big oaf on his ass."
Kal let out a short snort, earning a quick glance from his father.
"I should like to see you kick my ass too. Should we meet this afternoon? Before we leave to dress for dinner.
"Perfect, I'll have my man sharpen my blade, unless you're afraid of a little papercut."
"Were it anything less than deadly, I'd be offended," Kal laughed at her. "I'll come find you, be ready around two."
Melia looked at them incredulously, "You're actually going to spend time freezing outside just to fight each other? No thank you. It'll be cold enough when we have to go to fulfill the blessing. I'll be inside and warm until then."
"Oh, I don't know Mel," Eira said, reaching for a slice of quiche on the table. "I think it could be fun. We could make an afternoon out of it!" Under her voice she said,
"Snag a couple bottles of wine, maybe make a little cheese plate. What do you say, Viola? Willing to go outside after your long trek?"
"You said a cheese plate? Tell me more." Viola beamed at Eira.
"Oh, you'll have to trust me. I make a mean cheese plate." Eira smiled deviously, returning to her quiche.
"I'm in," Viola said, looking over to her sister, "that is, if you are."
"Let's do it," Melia, are you sure you're not interested? The best part of going out into the cold is coming inside to warm up after."
Melia looked up with surprise, "You want me to come?"
"Of course," Viola nodded fervently.
Mel looked over to Kal and Eira with confusion, "Do you want me to come too?"
"Always, Mel," Kal put a hand on her shoulder.
"If I come, what will we do when we return? If the most fun is warming up, then we should make an evening of this whole activity, shouldn't we?" Her fingers nervously went to pick at the skin on her nails.
"She's got a point," Viola said, looking at Eira.
"Can I make a suggestion," Mel said, a soft smile reaching her cheeks. "I think it might be fun to host a girls night in the globe. Eira and I really don't get the company of women, other than the daughters of courtiers who've been sent to beg for their parent's favor."
"I know what you mean," Viviane looked at her thoughtfully. "Viola and I are mostly alone, everyone at the border has a purpose, and while there are women, we're often kept separate from them." She exchanged a glance with her sister.
Kal looked around for a moment at the women who surrounded him. He'd never thought of Eira and Melia as lonely because they'd always had each other, but he was realizing that while he had made the acquaintance of many of his father's soldiers, they had been nearly isolated in the palace.
"I think I can sacrifice one night away from you both, dear sisters. Somehow," he quipped, laughing to himself over his coffee.
"It's settled then," Eira said with a single clap of her hands. "We're going to watch Viviene hurt our brother's pride, and then we're going to have a night in, thank the Cauldron."
Kal turned to Viviane, "We'll meet at two, do you have your own weapon, or will you want to borrow something."
"Psh," Viviane laughed. "Do I have my own weapon? What do I look like, a newborn calf?"
Kal put his hands up in defeat, "Alright, alright. I'll come for you at two."
Kal shoved the remaining bite of pie in his mouth, and looked to his mother. "Excuse me, but may I be excused, mother?"
"Of course, you've got to get a little rest if you're going to fight a seasoned warrior like Viviane." She smiled at him, and with a wave of her hand, the plates before him disappeared, glamoured away.
Kal walked around the table to kiss his mother on the cheek. "Thank you, mama." He smiled at his father as he strolled out and back in the direction of his rooms, determined to get a short nap in before he went against Viviane.
Breakfast had been better than he could have hoped for. He'd been strengthened by the presence of his sisters. He couldn't help but be in awe of Eira's ability to quell tensions and rope people into her folds. Melia had stepped in it, but she'd always been more reserved than her siblings. Mel had been born into a different world, one where their father was fighting a war and where their mother was holding the Winter Court together by the silvery threads of her skirt. Tradition had been so ingrained in Melia's survival that Kal knew she operated differently than either he or Eira did.
Kal made it to his rooms finally and opened the door to see his bed, waiting and welcoming him in. It took him less than a second to strip down and climb into bed, under blankets of fur flannel. Solstice started the day after tomorrow, and for twelve days after the longest night his family and his people would revel in their power, they would drink, eat, and celebrate the Cauldron's blessing of winter. There was no taking a fae to mate as the barbaric Spring Court's rituals required, there was celebration of life continuing on in the frozen climate, and the celebration of the way of life winter had granted to them.
Kal called from the wall a frost fae, who seemed to melt and reform from the very walls. The puddle soon formed and refroze into a young woman, a lower fae with milky glass eyes and sharp ears dripping with icicles.
"Would you be so kind as to wake me before two o'clock?"
The frost fae took one long look at him and nodded, closing her eyes before walking seamlessly into the wall.
Kal fell into his nap swiftly, to the thought of clear blue eyes.