Chapter 56 Rose
Two blissful weeks after her wedding to Shen Lo, on the night of her return to Anadawn, Rose slipped from her bedroom in the east tower where her new husband slumbered, and clambered out on to the palace roof.
It was good to be home, her face feathered by the river wind and bathed in the starlight of the glittering sky. Her sky. Rose loved every inch of her kingdom, but it was the stars of Eana that most enchanted her. First, as a young girl trapped in her tower, peering out at the great wide world, and now as a new queen looking to her future.
She smiled as she lay back on the roof, listening to the palace wind down for the night. The moon was full and bright above her, and Rose blew out a breath, marvelling at its immense beauty. How lucky she was to have the sky all to herself. To get to spend the night out here, swaddled in her warmest nightgown with a woollen blanket draped around her shoulders, listening to the song of the nightingale in the trees and the quiet patter of—
‘Hissing seaweed,’ cursed Wren, as she clambered out of a nearby window. ‘It’s freezing up here.’
Rose sighed. ‘I did tell you to bring a blanket.’
‘I got distracted,’ said Wren, as she crawled across the slats in a pair of silk pyjamas and sheepskin slippers. Her hair was messy as a bird’s nest and her cheeks were slightly pink. ‘Tor was teaching me how to—’
‘I really don’t need the details,’ said Rose, quickly. She lifted the edge of her blanket. ‘Here. You can share mine.’
‘Thanks,’ said Wren, snuggling in beside her sister. She removed a napkin from her pocket and opened it to reveal two crushed yellow macarons. ‘I brought you a snack.’
Rose plucked one from the napkin. ‘You truly are a good sister,’ she said, biting it in half and relishing the burst of citrus.
‘Almost as good as you,’ said Wren, nibbling at the edges of the other.
They lay back on the roof, turning their gaze to the stars.
‘Our birthday is coming up soon,’ said Wren.
‘Yes,’ said Rose, who had been discussing it with Celeste earlier that evening. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve already started planning our party.’
Wren snorted. ‘Of course you have. And here I thought you’d be distracted by your honeymoon.’
‘A capable queen can handle more than two things at once.’ Rose smiled coyly as she polished off the rest of her macaron. ‘Especially when one of those things is very enjoyable.’
‘I really don’t need the details,’ said Wren, perfectly mimicking her sister from a moment ago.
Rose’s laughter soared, her heart lifting with familiar joy. ‘Just make sure you get me a good present.’
‘You mean I have to get you a present for my own birthday?’ said Wren.
‘I’m afraid so,’ said Rose, starlight refracting off her ruby ring as she dusted the crumbs from her fingers.
Wren blew out a breath. ‘Very well. But the same goes for you. And I want an elk.’
Rose chuckled, entirely unsurprised by the request. Then she turned to her sister, the joviality fading from her voice. Thoughts of their upcoming birthday were making her feel pensive and, more than that, grateful for how far they had come. ‘It’s hard to believe everything that’s happened to us these past twelve months. All these years, I thought I had no magic. No family. And now, here you are, like a wish sprung from my wildest dreams.’
Wren found Rose’s hand beneath the blanket and held it. ‘Growing up in Ortha I always thought of myself as unlucky. A witch with no parents, a girl who would have to sneak around and steal her way into a life that didn’t truly belong to her. I’m so glad I failed, Rose.’ She let out a small laugh. ‘I’m so glad that we decided to do this together. To rule. To fight. To lead. I always thought Anadawn was my destiny, but I see now that it was you all along.’
Rose smiled at her sister’s words. They warmed her heart, chasing the chill from her toes. ‘How strange it is to think that this time last year I didn’t even know about you,’ she murmured. ‘I thought my life was going to turn out entirely differently. I’m so thankful that it didn’t. I’m so thankful that you found me.’
Wren squeezed her hand. ‘We found each other.’
‘At long last,’ said Rose. ‘And that’s the best gift of all.’
Wren perked up. ‘Does that mean—?’
‘You still have to get me a gift,’ she added, hastily.
They peeled into laughter, their breath making clouds in the air.
‘I wonder what the next year will hold for us,’ said Rose after a while.
‘Peace, I hope,’ said Wren.
‘I hope so, too.’
They watched the sky a while, until a flock of starcrests came from the east, soaring over the distant forest and casting silver pinwheels across the horizon. Perhaps it was Rose’s imagination, but she thought the birds seemed happier than usual, freer.
She studied their shapes in the sky, frowning as she tried to divine their meaning. ‘What do you suppose they’re saying?’ she asked Wren. ‘I can’t seem to figure it out.’
Wren was smiling at the birds. ‘That’s because they’re not prophesising. They’re playing.’
‘Oh.’ Rose closed her eyes, overcome by a burgeoning sense of relief. She loved the starcrests of Eana just as she loved all its creatures, but for the first time in her life, she was happy not to know what lay beyond the full moon. For Rose, the future was finally unwritten and she found she liked it that way.
By the serene look on Wren’s face, she knew her sister felt the same way. They lay there for another hour, talking and laughing as the starcrests danced above them and the moon bathed the kingdom in its soft and steady glow.
‘Do you think we’ll still do this when we’re old and grey?’ said Wren.
‘Of course we will,’ said Rose, feeling the sureness in her bones. ‘In fact, I think we should do this every full moon, so that no matter what happens in our lives or how they might expand to welcome new love and in time, new family, we’ll never stray too far from each other again. What do you think?’
‘I think I’d like that,’ said Wren, with quiet relief. ‘So long as there are snacks.’
‘There will be so many snacks,’ said Rose, solemnly.
‘Good.’
Yes, thought Rose. The plan was good. Their life was good.
As the wind stirred and the night grew colder, the starcrests scattered into the west. Exhaustion tugged at Rose. It was approaching midnight and tomorrow she meant to rise at dawn. After all, she had a kingdom to run. Two kingdoms.
Wren yawned as she sat up. ‘We should head inside.’
‘Good idea,’ said Rose, casting off their blanket.
They were just about to crawl back into the palace when a new gust stirred, and a shadow moved in front of the moon. Rose looked up, her breath catching in her throat. There was an enormous bird gliding above them. Its wings were as large as Rose and Wren, its feathers a perfect mix of tawny and gold, aside from its tail, which was a magnificent emerald green.
‘Stars above!’ she cried, leaping to her feet. ‘It’s a green-tailed hawk!’
Wren stood up to get a better look at the creature. It possessed a magic all of its own, like something from a fairy tale or a bedtime story of old. But Rose knew it was even more ancient than that. Long ago, when the earth was young and still unformed, Eana the first witch had left the stars on the back of a green-tailed hawk and come to land in the sea, where the creature changed and grew to become the very country in which they now stood. If Eana was the creator of this kingdom, then her magical green-tailed hawk was the very heart of it.
And now, after thousands of years, another hawk had come.
‘It’s incredible,’ said Wren, unable to tear her gaze from the bird. They watched in muted wonder as it came to land on a nearby turret. It turned its head, gazing at them with its large golden eyes. ‘What do you think this means?’
‘It must be a sign from Eana, our ancestor,’ said Rose.
Wren turned back to her, excitement catching in her voice. ‘Do you think she’s smiling down on us?’
Rose nodded, her grin spreading to match her sister’s. ‘Yes, I do.’
The two sisters leaned against each other, like mirror images, and watched the hawk lift into flight, soaring through the sky, towards tomorrow.