6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six:
~Keida~
Melrose wanted an answer. It wasn’t the one either of us wanted, but it was better this way. If she hated me, then there was no way she felt for me like I felt for her. I just wish… Wishing was for fools. Instead, I focused on the task at hand. And not the woman I thought I broke.
I finished carving the blessing into the candles for the throne room and pulled the chain to hoist the chandelier up into the ceiling once more.
A massive iron contraption that had to be lowered and set on a table to replace all the candles in it.
Then I took up the long lighting stick. Stepping back to see where I was aiming, I lit the massive chandelier candle by candle.
As it swung gently, offering more candles for me to light, a soft aura of protection and bliss crept down the walls.
Candles offered the best conduit for long standing blessings, as they could be carved and left to burn down to the wick, which allowed for such magic to settle into the stone of the room.
Not to fluff my own ego, but those were some of the best enchantments I’d made.
And the air filled with the sweet scent of sugarplum jam and buttery cake, hot out of the oven and still steaming.
Humming as I worked, I set all the candles ablaze then gingerly stepped down from the table the staff of the castle gave us to do the work.
Many of whom were bustling around me, making sure the throne room was prepared for the oncoming festivities.
The second the chandelier was securely in place, and I was back on the ground, they removed the table.
I put out the light between my two fingers.
The ashen scent of smoke filled my nose, and I inhaled a little deeper than I should have.
But I have a secret love for the smell of candles just put out.
“Last one,” Melrose sighed, dusting off her hands on the apron covering her gown.
I peered at her as she tugged it off her body and handed it over to one of the many staff members.
They bowed their head to her and muttered their thanks.
Most were too busy to stay and chat. I noticed the distinct difference in the attitude around the castle, especially around Melrose.
Then again, her attitude was somewhat dourer too.
I studied her as she undid her hair, clipped up and away from her neck, then worked to undo any tangles it suffered.
While I expected her to come along and heckle me the entire time I worked, nary a mock nor tease was thrown my way.
In fact, she asked for an apron and immediately went to work removing old blessings.
It made my work infinitely faster…and nowhere near as satisfying.
“There is one more task we are required for.” I pulled my gloves out of my pockets and handed them over to her. “It will require going outside.”
“Then won’t you need these?” she rebutted with raised brows and an incredulous look.
“I cannot cast as well with gloves, nor does the cold actually hurt me,” I lobbed the conversation back at her, hopeful for any semblance of a snide comment or witty remark.
“Suit yourself,” she huffed, tugging the gloves over her fingers. My heart sank into my feet. This is my punishment. Right. I asked for this. I was the one who did this to us.
I told her our dalliance meant nothing. I lied to her face. I gave her what she wanted and ruined anything we had with my cowardice. Because I would not risk my position to be with her?
Maybe she was right to call me a coward.
“This too.” I pulled my cloak off my shoulders.
Melrose said nothing to counter my request and pulled the cloak on over her shoulders.
She closed it with a sharp, metallic click of the clasp then motioned for me to lead the way.
I bowed my head to her and took the first step.
It was agonizing for her not to be on my arm.
What I considered to be torturous before was now my folly.
The real torture was not having her prattle off about castle gossip or incessantly greeting every person who passed us in the hall.
We wound through a maze of halls and open rooms in a tense silence.
Damn, I need her to grab something. I halted my march, under the archway leading out to the gardens. I twisted around and caught her as she collided with my chest. “Melrose.”
“What? I wasn’t following too closely, I’ve yet to step on your heels despite the intrusive inclinations to do so,” she muttered with a puppy dog pout on her face. She stumbled back only to freeze as my hands caught the back of her elbows.
“Is that how you solve all your problems?” I cocked a brow.
“No, thus why I haven’t done it yet,” she huffed, slipping out of my touch and standing firmly in front of me. “What do you want?”
“I need lavender oil. I always grab it on the way here while your father starts on the ritual.”
Melrose sighed softly, her shoulders sagging and I regretted how tense I’d let us become.
I wanted to give her space to work through emotions, and clearly, she was putting up a barrier.
But…if this was going to work, if we were going to continue to live in each other’s space, we needed to return to some semblance of normalcy.
“I’m sure you can manage not to get into any mischief while getting a simple vial of lavender oil from the kitchens? ”
Her gaze filled with playful sparkles as she immediately cocked out a hip. “I promise to be on my worst behavior, actually.”
“You’re always on your worst behavior,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Pivoting away from her, I headed for the center of the gardens. “Try not to need saving, my hands will be full.”
Her harrumph mixed with the patter of her hooves against the stone floors told me my words motivated her correctly.
I hated that she was my favorite brat to tame.
No one else compared and it wasn’t fair.
But life isn’t fair. So, I pushed up my sleeves in the thick gardens and started to prep the harvest ritual.
The soil in the castle gardens was the easiest entry point for the harvest blessing.
Avaris’ slumber was cast upon the ground, trapping new growth safely beneath the surface until spring.
From then, the seeds would sprout with vigor with all the magic that was stored with them.
While the trees and bushes hibernated, their roots would soak up magic throughout winter.
It was a massive ritual and usually one the Hierophant was solely responsible for, but something I was trained on.
In the off chance he was needed elsewhere, or in this case, he was injured.
It started with finding a space of soil in the garden.
I dug around till I had a good five by five square of empty dirt.
Climbing to my feet, I kicked off my boots so my toes could dig into the dirt.
I felt its dry texture between my toes as I rooted myself.
My magic hummed within my chest. I let its song trickle out of my lips.
A soft melody that floated around my head.
Snow swirled over me, and I felt the moon’s presence even though I couldn’t see it.
My wings flashed out behind me, hands spread out, I let Avaris’ blessing come to me.
I was bathed in it, feeling her gentle blanket of magic envelope me.
Everything about me was cold, from my crown to my toe.
My eyes closed as I let the blessing from our goddess flow through me like I were the watering can she was filling up.
When the magic nearly overflowed, I began to spread it to the earth.
I didn’t hear Melrose approach, simply felt her presence as the wind buffered slightly in front of me.
The only other person who knew the ritual better than me, other than the Hierophant himself, was Melrose.
A tender hand drew a wet sigil onto my opened palms. She took up my position in the ritual, using the lavender oil for calming, and a seed we’d brought with us from the cathedral for regrowth.
I slowly closed my hands together, coating the seed in the lavender oils.
“Our Lady Avaris smiles upon us this day,” I croaked.
“Blessed be the soil,” Melrose chimed in.
“Grant us your gracious slumber, keep our crops nestled in your protective hands while the earth slumbers.” I continued the hymn, crouching without opening my eyes.
Pressing the seed into the soul with my thumb, I felt the magic dribble out of me.
A little trickle turned quickly into a sharp downpour as the blessing rushed into the dirt. When I opened my eyes, the world spun.
The one part of the ritual I forgot…the lightheadedness.
Every year Leonardo kept a stool nestled in the garden bed behind him to sit back on when the blessing left his body.
It was always done so routinely I’d forgotten that I would need one.
My world danced and I stumbled forward. Melrose squawked, rushing to catch me.
I toppled into her warm embrace and took us quickly to the soft, albeit frostbitten, flowerbeds.
Leaves and stems of dead brush crunched as I pinned my satyr to the earth beneath us.
My hands felt like limp appendages I couldn’t control, but at least my palms were flat to the ground by her ears.
Knees pressed into the dirt outside her knees—thankfully not rubbing her fancy fabric into the dead flora—I couldn’t move even if I wanted to… and I was desperate to move.