Chapter 38 #2
“What about—” A woman by the door, one who had been too timid to step forward, cut herself off and snapped her gaze to the mosaics as she fiddled with her magenta belt.
“What about forgetting?” Helena asked on behalf of her friend. “Some of us would rather not remember.”
George nodded, hoping the bob of her head would loosen the tightness in her chest. She let her gaze sweep over each of the eight women before her, a small subset of those held by the king, his cadre of personal aides.
“Anyone who wants mindmolding can have it done. The choice is yours. The choice is always yours from now on.”
She couldn’t stop the tears from welling up then, and she didn’t bother. Helena’s glistening gaze met hers, and they shared a moment of quiet understanding: They’d all been captive here.
“Would you stop that! It’s distracting me,” Wynnie scolded Isahn, who paced in their periphery.
“He’s only nervous.” George smiled in the mirror at Wynn, who wound together an artful tangle of plaits at the nape of her neck.
“Isahn, go be nervous in the other room.”
He chortled, but did stop pacing to grab a chair from George’s desk... so he could sit right beside her.
“Deiwa hathemi.” Wynnie borrowed one of George’s favorite phrases.
“Walk me through this one more time.” Isahn clasped George’s hands, rubbing small circles on the inside of her wrist.
“I become queen.”
Wynnie barked out a laugh.
He eyed them both, exasperated.
Feeling slightly bad about teasing Isahn, George launched into her forty-ninth explanation of the ceremony to come.
“We’ll all depart from here and process to the central atrium, where the viceroys, their families, all the fae, and anyone else who can find a spot are invited to watch from the terraces above. ”
He nodded, squeezing her hand in a silent bid to continue.
“You’ll all file in. Ean first, Hildy last. Then I enter the circle between the two of them.”
“They’re the heavens and physical realm, right?” Isahn checked.
“Exactly. I’ll walk around the circle to receive the blessings of the gods, starting with Hil representing Enoth. She’ll give me the oak scales for justice and dominion over the physical realm. Then, Burke representing Vites, the underworld, music, art, and general mischievousness—”
“It’s really the perfect role for Ean, instead of Burke,” Wynnie quipped as she turned George slightly and began to line her eyes with kohl.
“It is, but this works too. He’ll give me a flute carved from willow. Then you come next, Wynnie. Appia, the mother herself, gifting me enhydro quartz.”
“And the weird water-filled rock represents life?”
“A child in the womb.” George smiled at Isahn, although her eyes remained closed for Wynnie to work.
“I’ll go to you fourth. You’re Lellin, death and rebirth.
You’ll carry a sickle and satchel of seed to bestow upon me, so I might rid us of the old and usher in a new era.
Then I go to Bina, the pixie, standing in for Ahninia, the goddess of the hunt and harvest.”
“And the moon!” Wynnie added.
“And the moon. She’ll give me berries. But I heard from Ean that she’s planning to wrap them in pixie dust to make them glow.”
“I want to see that.” Isahn grinned adorably, his dimple popping. She wanted to stick her tongue in it, but that would have to wait for later. “How are you going to hold all of this stuff?”
“I won’t. Between gifts, I’ll put them on the dais in the center of the circle.
” She continued walking through the ceremony.
“Adda comes next, followed by Dunstan, as Lewkotis and Keyotis, respectively. Adda will give me the diamond representing light, Dunstan the onyx, for darkness. Thus ensuring the realm will sleep and wake each day, with me on the throne.”
Wynnie interrupted briefly, asking George to stand so she could wrap her in a stunning, silk toga.
“I go to Ean last, who I’ve asked to represent Demir.” George lifted her arm per Wynnie’s hand-tap request.
“Admit you’re doing it for the magic. There’s no other reason for him to be Demir,” Wynnie groused.
George sputtered. “Oh, I’m definitely doing it for that.
He’ll come empty-handed, and when I kneel before him, he’ll magic the crown in, right onto my head.
Then, I’ll move to the middle of the circle.
Hildy will make her voice loud and do the whole ‘long live Georgetta’ thing.
You all say it back, and that’s it. I’m officially, ceremonially confirmed queen.
I’ll leave the circle first, out where I entered, between Demir and Enoth.
And you’ll file out in reverse order with Hildy following me. ”
“So, at first, you enter after us, the gods. Then we elevate you, and you leave before us?”
Isahn was too adorable with his detail-obsession.
“Mmhm.” She barely contained her mirth. “You, as gods, give me dominion to enact your will on Duhra. Rather, in Domos, these days.”
“Do you think there was actually a time when the gods bestowed power to kings and queens?” Wynnie mused, securing the final fibulae on Georgetta’s attire.
“My father claims—claimed that he convened with them after his coronation. But I don’t believe it. Maybe long ago, before they were dead.”
“You really believe the gods are dead?” Isahn joined George at the mirror, studying their joint reflection.
She shrugged. “I’ve never seen anything to suggest otherwise.”
“Yet you still invoke their names?”
“Better safe than sorry.”
He chuckled.
“Are ye coming? We’re all waiting out here!” Ean’s voice boomed through the sitting room door. Helped by Hildy, he sounded far louder than humanly possible.
Wynnie jumped in surprise, Isahn laughed, and George adjusted her stays before turning toward the door.
The sitting room was a riot of camaraderie and color. All of the gods wore bold embroidered togas. With her bright decor, they were practically camouflaged against the furniture and throws.
George stood out, dressed in pure white.
During the ceremony, she’d use sight magic to add color to her clothing, a splash more with each blessing.
By the time the crown of Domos was magically lowered onto her head, she’d appear clad in all of the colors of the universe alongside the gods.
Her friends. Her family. It was going to be magnificent.
A memorable experience to usher in a new era for Hepikoru, and the kingdom beyond.
“My queen.” Bina buzzed up on purple wings, her chin-length, matching hair vibrating in the breeze.
“Thank you for joining our group today.” George gave her an earnest smile.
Bina worked in the kitchens beside Adda for many years and was a close friend of Ean’s, which made her the perfect person to join the ceremony.
It was important to George that a pixie be included in the group.
Same with the elves, though Ean would’ve been included either way.
The move was monumental since no fae had ever been part of a monarch’s ascension ceremony.
Not in the recorded history of Domos, which went back several thousand years, though accuracy diminished with age.
She was ready to make a number of momentous changes; this was only the beginning.
“Thank you, Queen Georgetta. You’re giving my people the gift of freedom. In return, we have a present for you.” Bina stopped on the back of the couch and beckoned Ean to her side.
“From the fae?” Burke asked, and George was glad he had, because she was curious what the purple pixie meant.
“From the pixies. Ean’s going to procure it,” Bina explained.
A tinkle accompanied the arrival of a glass bottle, half the height of the faeries, and far too large for either of them to carry. The crystalline glass held glittering golden powder, full nearly to the neck. Georgetta accepted the gift, plucking it out of the air.
Wynnie gasped.
George had never seen so much pixie dust in one place in her life. The little girl within her wanted to open her eyes wide and study it closely. The queen in charge made her nod once, approvingly.
“Pixie dust,” Bina announced. “Think of it as the embodiment of our magic. When it drifts off of my kind in flight, it’s beautiful, but benign. However, when we make a gift of it...”
“Wait, what are you saying?” Burke interrupted.
“Shh.” Dunstan elbowed him in the ribs.
“When we give it freely, it retains its gentle abilities. And we can infuse it at will.”
George couldn’t keep the look of surprise from her face at the revelation. “With your pixie magic?”
Bina nodded.
“Did you know about this?” Burke asked Adda, whom Bina reported to down in the kitchens.
Ceadda shook his head, eyes wide and looking delighted as he studied the pixie.
The information was astonishing, but Georgie wasn’t surprised they’d kept their dust, and their healers, private for as long as they had. Pixies and elves were more than entitled to their secrets. They weren’t hers to share, nor would she demand to learn them all. She could ask, though.
“What are you able to infuse it with?” she ventured, her voice soft, though excitement colored her tone.
Bina shared a smile with Ean, then turned back to George. “We can discuss more in the weeks to come. As wonderful as your friends may be, I’m not permitted to speak on the finer details at this time. I can say, your gift will empower you to glide.”
“Wait, like... flight? Can Georgie fly?”
“Burke!” Hildy snapped.
“Not fly, just glide.” Bina let out an adorable twinkle of laughter. “Try it,” she said to George. “You’ll sparkle and glow. It’ll mark you as accepted by the pixies, by all the fae.” She glanced at Ean, who bobbed his head in agreement.
For once, his shaggy curls didn’t bounce with his motion.
The elf had cut them short. “To look more mature,” he’d said.
He wanted to be a viceroy, badly, and was not happy that George was making him wait a few years.
It was the opposite of Adda’s situation.
He’d rejected the offer, preferring to continue on as the palace’s head pastry chef, a position she happily bestowed upon him in lieu of the political title.
“Try the pixie dust,” Wynnie urged with barely contained excitement.
“All right. What do I do?”
“Uncork it, pour a sprinkle into your hand, and dust your hair with it. Or anywhere. You could leave it in your palm,” Bina amended. “But I think it would look pretty on your head.”
“Definitely do the hair,” Wynnie agreed as George opened the bottle.
“She’s got loads. Can we use it too?” Burke inquired.
“No. Only the intended recipient can access the magic; otherwise, it’s just sparkly dust.”
Burke pouted, as did the rest of them.
The moment the pixie dust touched her skin, she felt lighter, and it made her shimmer, as promised.
“Move. Please? If you don’t mind?” Bina walked her demand back to a squeaky question upon remembering she was speaking to the queen.
George laughed.
“Walk! Let’s see!” Hildy encouraged from her spot by Wynnie’s side.
Georgetta crossed the room like it was her coronation ceremony.
“Ooh,” Wynnie breathed.
“Her arse doesn’t sway,” Isahn lamented, voice full of humor.
“Aye, but ye have to admit she’s looking right regal,” Ean countered.
“Very much so,” Dunstan agreed.
“Yes, regal. Where can I get some pixie dust?” Burke stared down Bina, who tossed back her purple hair and laughed.
Looking around at her people, her family, her Selwassan love, warmth gushed from Georgetta’s soul. Even in her darkest hours, she’d never been alone, and she never would be.
A steady arm came around her shoulder, followed by a kiss to the top of her sparkling head. Isahn’s lips came away dusted in gold, and he smirked. “Now, let’s go get your crown.”