This world belongs to Kendare Blake, but the characters are original.
THREE
Greavesdrake Manor - Cadence
Cadence stumbled inside the lavish house and was immediately greeted by a tidal wave of conflicting interests. For a moment, she forgot about her sisters. Half the manor was decorated with cool blues and greens, water spurting out of the almost every crack. The other half of Greavesdrake blazed with fire and deep reds. Her eyes were still blurry with tears, but she wiped them away to get a better look at her interesting new home.
Ember and Rain were in front of her, Ember wincing as she realized how overwhelming this was for the young queen.
"I-" Ember started, but Cadence cut her off.
"Wow. Are Caitlyn and Calista staying in places like this? Why aren't we in Rolanth? I thought that was the elemental city. I am an elemental, right?"
"Slow down there," Ember laughed. "One question at a time. Let's start at the beginning. Caitlyn and Calista are staying in their own cities. We aren't in Rolanth because Terre, your grandmother, was an elemental, and so was Jilalta. But yes, Rolanth is the elemental city. And, you are an elemental. As well as an oracle."
This just caused a barrage of questions, which Rain and Ember answered as best they could. And by the end of it, they were all laughing.
...
Prynn - Calista
Calista never cried, not once during the whole journey to Prynn. Isa was delighted and Althea had already made a new friend.
At the manor, Calista, Isa, and Althea were immediately greeted by many Arrons, all hoping to get a glimpse of the queen they were responsible for raising. Calista let them, standing tall and proud, face impassive.
Nicholas departed to his rooms as soon as the Arrons could part long enough to let him through. So, Isa took Althea and Calista to her study, where poisons were labeled and neatly stored away. The space was cleared, so Althea and Calista took seats across the desk from Isa.
Isa poured herself a glass of tainted wine, then gave Calista untainted milk. She didn't touch it, or look at it.
"So, as I said before," Isa started. "I'm Isa Arron, matriarch of the Arron family, strongest poisoner on Fennbirn. I'll be your foster mother. This is my daughter, Althea Arron.
Calista was glad they weren't trying to use Althea to replace her sisters. It was a small comfort, even though she shouldn't show her feelings. Not here, not ever.
"Hey," Calista offers, still tense. Althea noticed this.
"Lighten up," she said. "You're home now. There's no need to be afraid."
After an awkward silence, Calista gestured towards the untainted cup, her six-year-old expression and mind seemingly too old to match her looks. "Are you going to taint it or what? Isn't that what this is all about?"
Isa gave her a rare smile and offered her a hemlock-infused drink. Calista downed it in one gulp and looked up at the delighted Isa and Althea.
"Now, where do we really begin?"
...
Wolf Spring - Caitlyn
Still sniffling and wiping at her eyes, Caitlyn pushed open the door to the Milone house in Wolf Spring. As soon as she stepped in the room, she was almost bowled over by a golden retriever, which jumped up and licked her face, erasing any evidence of tears by covering them with slobber. Caitlyn smiled wetly at the dog.
"I see you've already made friends with Cassen," Gia said from behind her. "Cassen's my familiar. And she's very particular about who she likes."
"She's so cute," Caitlyn replied, petting her ears. Gia smiled and looked at Lyr and Ora, gaze sharp. Lyr and Ora nodded quickly. Anything to get Caitlyn's mind off of her sisters.
A coyote and a red fox came barreling in, yapping at Caitlyn for attention. Cassen happily padded back to Gia, who stroked her familiar, and watched Caitlyn anxiously.
"That's Jessa," Lyr said proudly, pointing to her familiar. "She's really friendly." As if on cue, the coyote rolled over and begged for a belly rub. Caitlyn laughed again.
"And this," Ora added, so as not to be outshined. "Is Ress. He's a red fox if ya couldn't tell." Ress wound his way around her feet and settled himself on a sunny patch of floor nearby, dodging the coyote still begging for attention.
Outside the Milone house, everything was chaotic and loud and messy, unlike the the quieter, orderly Black Cottage. Strange as it was, Caitlyn loved it in Wolf Spring. When she turned to the nervous Gia it was all shown in her expression. Gia relaxed and smiled with relief.
Then, much to Caitlyn's surprise, Gia said, "let's see if we can find you a familiar."