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When Eris winnowed right in front of her in the carriage, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Ever so stubborn, at least one thing had not changed about the Heir.
"Fucking hell, Vanserra!" She seethed. "At least knock."
"Knock?" He said baffled. "You're in a moving carriage."
"You have legs, don't you?" She raised an eyebrow. Eris just put his bag down and leaned back, crossing his muscular arms over each other. "You agreed with me."
"No, I said I understood." He ran a hand through his red locks. "Just -" He sighed. "Let me escort you to Velaris, if you want to part ways after that... fine.
"Do I look like I need an escort?" She said, crossing her legs, so the sun that shone through the window, reflected on several knifes that were strapped on her body.
"Alright, you are escorting me then."
She snorted, raising her eyebrows. "The future High Lord of the Autumn Court, with fire in his veins, needs an escort. What will people say when they find out." Eris didn't comment, he opened his bag and took out a book. She eyed him. "What's your business at the Night Court?"
"What is yours?" He challenged; his book still closed on his lap.
She held his gaze. Those amber eyes of his wholly fixed on her. There were two reasons she was going to Velaris. And since she hadn't seen him in three hundred years, he wasn't privileged to that information. She wasn't sure she could trust him anymore. "Fine, to the Night Court. That's it."
He gave her a slow nod, his eyes never leaving hers. "I need a name though."
"We'll pass through Winter, Dawn and the Day Court. I have different names at each Court. I'll tell you before we arrive." She said taking a book from her bag herself.
"What do I call you in private, when we're alone?"
"We won't ever be alone, Vanserra." He sighed deeply, his nails digging into the leatherbound book. She waved her hand in defeat. "Call me whatever you like."
"You must have had a favourite name over the years?" He asked, his fingers sprawled relaxed over the book now.
"Not really." She shrugged. "They all felt... off." It wasn't a lie. She had many names over the years, but each and every one of them never felt like it belonged to her. And she never got close enough to someone to hold on to a name. Only once that had happened and she made sure it never happened again. Eris was watching her. Scanning her face for whatever history he might find in there. She reeled back all of her emotions.
"I'll -" His voice sounded gruff as if he had found something in her expression. "I'll think of a name."
"Something better than Green, I hope." Just before she looked down at her book, she could see the slightest tilt of his lips.
#
They rode in silence for a while both reading in their own book, but she could feel Eris's eyes on her more than once. It was past noon when she glanced up from her book and out the window. They were still in the woods but in the distance, she spotted the Mountains that marked the border between the Courts. It would take until nightfall to reach the border, at least. More likely midnight.
She leaned forward and Eris stiffened but she just knocked on the carriage wall next to him. "Walt, we'll be taking a break."
"Yes, miss Terrin." He said and the horses slowed.
"Terrin?" Eris asked, putting a bookmark between the pages. "Another chosen name?"
"No. I forgot my name, but I remember my parents, their names. Their last names were Terrin." She sat back down and looked outside as Walt searched for the right spot to stop.
"I know my parents said everyone forgot your name, but there must be a record of you somewhere. All high ranked members of our Court need to fill in a birth certificate. And if it's true that we were once close, and Lucien... We must have had written your name somewhere."
"My name wasn't only wiped from everyone's mind, but also from every document or paper it had been written on. The only thing that would show you there was something amiss was the blank spot on the paper where my name used to be."
"I just don't know why someone would do something like that." He said. "Can you tell me about Ellopé?"
"You forgot about me, not her."
"I don't know if it's a side effect of the curse or something else but..." He frowned. She tilted her head a little, taking him in. "A lot of my time back then is... blurry. I remember her but maybe it's because a lot of my memories with her involved you."
"Ellopé was beautiful, probably still is. She's that kind of beautiful you can't help but gape at. With copper curls that reached her mid back, big cognac eyes and a button nose. Many males and females were after her, including your brothers." She couldn't help but snort.
"Like your mum said, she was jealous of our friendship. And the fact that you were the only male that didn't fall at her feet, made her want you even more." She looked out the window, her finger tracing circles on her book. "She hated me. Truly and fully hated me. She always put on an act when others were around, but you and Lucien always saw right through it." She smiled a little when she thought back about it. "She made sure to know where we were, especially when it was just the two of us. I don't know how she always found us, but she did. We started to sneak out at night after that because she wasn't allowed on the property at night. I never thought she would go that far, I didn't think she was smart enough, really. But here we are."
"I'm sorry."
She blinked at him, seemingly forgotten who she was talking to. Her voice was quiet when she said, "It was not your fault."
His amber eyes flittered over her face. "Can you tell me about... us?"
She was happy that the carriage came to a halt and Walt called out. "I'll get the things, miss Terrin."
She opened the door and hopped out, leaving Eris behind in the carriage.
#
He watched as she stepped out of the carriage. In such a swift and fast movement, it looked like she wanted to escape from him. Or at least the question he had asked. He stepped out after her and waited for her courier to put everything ready and start a fire. It was clear that they were getting closer to the border, the air already much chiller here. But when he leaned against a tree waiting, the sight in front of him surprised him.
Terrin, that's how he's calling her until he found a fitting name, was helping Walt out. Even shooing him away when the elder Fae tried to haul a trunk from the back of the carriage. She was whispering to him, giving him a broad smile. With her hair tied back, her features were even more prominent. A dimple in her cheek made her look so much younger. That smile was so breath-taking, so real, that he would do anything for her to smile at him like that.
He watched as they unpacked a few blankets and food before the two of them went to get firewood. About ten minutes later they were back, still talking. Who was Walt to her? Terrin insisted for him to sit down as she kneeled in front of the branches and took out two fire stones. The fire was burning within in a minute. He walked over and sat down on one of the blankets, opposite of the pair. She was still smiling at the older Fae. He must be really old then if he showed signs of aging. Walt got some bread and cheese out of the bag at his feet and handed it out, giving Terrin an extra piece. He watched them interact as they ate, stayed quiet as he surveyed them. They were talking about his family, but he wasn't really listening. He was watching her. The way she tilted her head, the way her hair fell to one side. Trying, trying and failing to remember her.
She stood up before her plate was finished. She stretched her arms over her head and nudged her chin from her plate to Walt.
"Eat up, old man." She grinned and Walt huffed out a laugh. "I'm going to take a walk to stretch my legs and then we'll be going. I want to reach the border before we set up camp."
Eris scrambled up. "I'll go with you. I should stretch too before we're on the move again."
That smile she had on her face the whole time vanished the moment her eyes turned to him. It was like he was dosed with ice water. "I want to go alone." She said and walked away without looking back.
He watched her weave through the trees until she vanished. He heard the clang of the dishes and he turned. Walt was already cleaning up. He worked with skilled efficiency, the plates and blankets packed in a few minutes. He handed him a water bottle before dosing the flames with another. A few minutes later, everything was packed up and Walt went to take care of the horses. He scanned the trees again, no sign of Terrin. When he turned back to Walt, she was standing at the back of the carriage, like she came out of nowhere. She rummaged through the trunk on the back and pulled out a thick fur cloak.
"Let's go." She said without looking at him. She pulled the cloak over her shoulders as he stepped in the carriage. She stepped in front of the open door, but instead of stepping in, she closed it. Due to his Fae hearing, he heard her step towards the front of the carriage, caressing the horses before she took a seat next to Walt. He glanced behind him, through the small opening that made him see them. She was placing a second cloak over Walt's shoulders, knowing it would get cold the higher up they went. He looked at her back, the black fur cloak resting on her shoulders. She didn't spare him one glance as the carriage started moving.
#
An hour went by, then two. Three, four. He glanced out the window, the mountains so close now they could almost touch it. Still, she sat outside, in the cold with Walt. He tried reading a book, but he couldn't focus. He took her former seat, so he could look at their backs. But neither looked back at him. They didn't talk much, but when they did, they talked about his life, not hers. About his Mate, their children, his life in the Day Court. The Day Court. Is that where she met him? For whatever job she was doing? She still hasn't breathed a word about what that entailed. About why she needed to go to Velaris.
They didn't stop for dinner, kept riding. Like Terrin said, she wanted to keep going until they reached the border. The border. He knelt on the bench before him, peering up at that small window. Even through that small gap, he could feel that ice cold wind on his cheeks. They must be freezing.
"We should stop before the border." He said, they didn't turn around. "It's freezing, we should set up camp." Again, no reaction. "They have white bears that patrol the border." He tried again.
Terrin huffed out a laugh. A dry and cold one. But Walt was the one that answered. "They won't be a problem."
"You have fire in your veins, High Lord." She said the title in a mocking tone. He rather she called him poor little High Lord than his true title in that kind of tone. "You can't be cold."
"But you can." He snapped.
"We're fine. We've made this trip over a dozen times." She adjusted her cloak a little, keeping her eyes on the path before her. He sat back down watching them sitting in silence. He saw her shiver but still didn't say anything. Stubborn woman. He conjured a flame in the palm of his hand, heating it up so it could warm them both and let the flame fly through the gap. Neither of them spoke or moved when the flame appeared between them. But he saw her shoulders relax, like they have been tense from the cold the whole time. Yes, she was a damn stubborn woman.