Slumming at the Festival

"I would never wager on a woman's reaction to anything, even less a fey female," she laughed. "However, if I had to guess, I would presume indifference." Her merry countenance slipped as she considered the ramifications of being united with someone completely apathetic. It seemed even more awful than if there was open dislike.

"Please do not give up, Your Majesty," Wynn whispered as he gathered himself to leave. "Never stop trying to win her. At least then you will know that you have done all there is to be done.

"Perhaps I am simply projecting, but how stirring would it be for an unresponsive heart to see that there is a man who feels she is worth fighting for? Even if she does not or cannot reciprocate. . ."

"Cannot?" the king responded thoughtfully. "I'm not even sure what that means." It was possible he supposed that this fey was bound by rules or laws that he didn't understand. "As ever, I shall maintain hope. After all, I'm devoted to wiping out all evil and hunting down spawn of Rovagug... "

"What's one more impossible quest," he said with wink and a grin as he finished off his mug of cider.

His chuckling stopped as he heard a murmmer from the crowd. Looking about in curiosity there were some furtive glances his way and the occassional half hidden chuckle.

"Did I miss something funny?" He asked to no one in particular. Thomas came bounding up immediately.

"You have no idea sire," A tall man wearing the red cloak of a Knight of Novastasia answered. He snapped a respectful bow to the king and gave one to Wynnsarren.

"Lord Thaddeus, Lady Wynnsarren."

"Sir Dagor," Thaddeus acknowledged with a smile. "What's the news?"

"Ohhh... Well, it appears the future queen was showing a few more of those fey dances." the knight said with a mischevious look in his eye.

"That's... good I suppose." Thaddeus replied warily. There was something about this jovial knights look that concerned the king. He didn't think that the queen would have stripped down to nothing and danced amongst the court in his absence... he was fairly certain that he could count on that not happening... but what..

"The Lady Sarala... asked her to teach her." Dagor answered the unasked question.

"By the dawn...." Thaddeus exclaimed eyes wide. One wasn't known for putting on pretenses for patience... and the other not known for taking instruction well.

"Oh yes..." the knight said with a grin. "It was... interesting to see. For what's it worth, I thought Lady Sarala did a fine job imitating the dance. At least better then I would have any human would."

Thaddeus looked over toward to Wynn with a bemused look that said he found the situation humorus... but was sure he'd pay for laughing.

"With that, it sounds like I may need to get back. Though, I'm not entirely certain who I'll be rescuing anymore..."

A pang of jealousy lanced through the aasimar at the thought of a personal lesson from Feluanil herself!  The fey queen danced like the stars sang.  Effortless.  Flawless.  Magnificent.  Wynnsaren had wept at the sight of her that first night of the festival and then wept again at the sheer frigid, joylessness of it all, for it was a grievous atrocity that she should not find pure pleasure in such an exercise of skill.  

Wynn didn't buy it for one moment. . .  

Whatever else Feluanil might have said or done since her first meeting with Matsuro Shi, no one could physically move in such a manner and not also be emotionally and spiritually moved.  No one.  The oracle was more convinced than ever that her queen-to-be's cold and aloof demeanor was purposeful in order to achieve some yet unknown objective.  She hoped only that this objective could be met with minimal suffering for her king.

Wynnsaren stood as King Thaddeus got to his feet and allowed his contingent to file out of the tavern before him as the entire clientele of The Raging Owlbear cheered their farewells to their liege.

"Your Majesty," Wynn spoke to him in the language of the angels, her resonant voice cutting through the din with no need of amplification.  "If you are willing, perhaps I might meet with you later this evening in the library when the festival has drawn to a close.  There is something I have been wishing to show you."

"Of course," the king said with a curious nod of his head. The celestial language surprised him, and he assumed it hinted at something important. However not crucial enough to speak of now.

I suspect I'll be free by the eleventh bell. I'll meet you there. The festival was winding down little by little, but there always seemed to be someone who wished to obtain favor with the king. Petitions and requests in this less formal of setting then usual.

And the king was correct. The remainder of the festival was less enjoyable then he would have preferred, and having missed the encounter between his betrothed and his sister there were little other highlights.

Still, by the end he counted the Fall Harvest Festival a resounding success. The commoners were happy, the nobles were content, and the future queen had blended in quite well. If this was a vision of how the future would be, he could certainly imagine worse fates.

Wearily he entered his library and stoked up the fire. The autumn chill was starting to be more noticeable. and he pulled off his entirely-too-fancy shoes.

"Days like this I miss a decent pair of riding boots..."

"My personal preference is none at all," came a familiar voice from behind the stacks. "I urge you to try it someday Your Majesty. It is very freeing."

A dark head lit with starlight at this hour peeked around the corner of one of the long shelves and grinned with mirth at not having been noticed. Sneaking was not a skill with which Wynnsaren was gifted. Snapping shut the book in which she held, she shelved it neatly and emerged to greet the king who was taking his ease before the fire.

She'd changed out of her heavy festival attire and opted for a gauzy, diaphanous shift that floated about her rather than fitted precisely and was designed for simple modesty rather than offering any protection at all from the elements. After a pretty curtsy, she glided over to her liege. Her bare feet never touching upon the ground.

"Greetings, King Thaddeus, and congratulations on the conclusion to a most delightful festival!" The aasimar beamed a smile. "I hope you do not find yourself overly fatigued at this hour. . ."

"Not overly," Thaddeus replied with a grin.

"Though I think I miss the days when I could simply attend the parties," he chuckled lightly. In a battle he was comfortable being front and center, drawing the focus of everyone else in the room. In a fancy dance hall or walking down the path, not as much.


He raised an eyebrow as he watched her float across the room. He still recalled the strange voice she used to speak with some time ago... now floating above the ground. How much was there about his friend that he didn't know?!?

"You're looking ummm... well, can I say light on your feet tonight? Is everything all right?"

"Most definitely," she nodded enthusiastically with a puckish look in her eye before taking a seat on the edge of the nearby desk. "And thank you for agreeing to meet me here. After my earlier stuffiness at the Owlbear I was afraid you might choose otherwise but considering the situation and the audience, I thought it best to exercise caution."

Wynnsaren smiled and swung her dangling feet back and forth a manner more suited to one a quarter of her age.

"After all, I could not very well spirit you away on my own under all those prying eyes and wagging tongues, so now that we have a few minutes to ourselves, I was hoping to do precisely that. By your leave of course!"

"Oh?" Thaddeus was quite surprised. When Wynn had asked to meet him again in a specific place like the library, he had not expected that was simply the first stop.

He stood up and returned her grin twicefold. Her giddy enthusiasm was contagious. "What did you have in mind? Will I need to bring anything? Sword... shoes?"

"Your subjects are bundling themselves against the chill of the season, Your Majesty. Might I suggest you do the same?"

Wynnsaren hopped off the desk, inky waves flouncing about her shoulders as she padded toward the shuttered window upon six inches of nothingness. She pushed open the panes and poked her head outside.

"I wonder if you remember an outing we took some time ago when you said that you wished I could see Akiros as you see her. Not long after, you painted these landscapes. . .and now I can." Indicating the art displayed upon the walls, she smiled and turned in his direction though her weak eyes failed her at such distance as was between them. "Now I would like to show you. . . perhaps a glimpse of how she appears when I can look upon her, arrayed in all the splendor of the evening.

"In addition, it gives me the opportunity to ask with a bit less awkwardness if I might see your wings." The aasimar blushed through a chuckle. "Sarala mentioned that your goddess gave you the ability to fly!"

Thaddeus laughed aloud at that.

"Did she," he couldn't help to ask as he shook his head in wonder. "It's a wonder she mentioned them at all... It's the most amazing spell I've been... however, she REALLY doesn't seem to like it. I think it has to do with the unpleasant memories associated with the first time she saw it. "

"Wings, resistances, vision,... it does so much that even despite her discomfort I still need to keep it in the repertoire." He grinned a bit giddily. "It'll be nice to see an unbiased opinion.

"Though, I have to warn you, they don't last particularly long. I think I'll have them about seven to eight minutes, so when they come, it's best to leave."

"Plenty of time to get us to the top of the cathedral dome, with some to spare for closer inspection." A shy smile accompanied her hop up onto the window sill where she sat to wait. "I am ready at your leisure if you wish to do some bundling. While I do not believe it possible for you to catch something as mundane as a cold, you may as well be comfortable and I guarantee there is a bit of a draft. . ."

Thaddeus stood up and slipped his shoes back on. He reached for a coat near his desk with a grin.

"You're correct about that... I don't even remember the last time I was sick. It's nice in a way, Saranrae wants her champions healthy I suppose." It was a power that was given to him that he rarely thought about till someone else brought it up. It was easy to take for granted. So many others didn't have that luxury. Still, the ability to remove their sickness too did alleviate some of that misplaced guilt.

"Interestingly enough, gaining the wings also grants me some resistance to cold as well." He chuckled as he moved back into her field of vision and donned the coat. "Again, for about seven or eight minutes. No sense being uncomfortable."

He looked around the room and tried to turn where he wouldn't make much of a mess. He'd only cast this spell a couple times now, but they had always been in much larger rooms with much higher ceilings.

Thaddeus spread his arms out wide and called upon his goddess in hushed tones and then the change happened. Great white feathery wings shot from his back and spread wide in glory. That wasn't all that changed either, the kings eyes, once a bright blue, now shone with an inner fire that seemed more silver or white. His skin seemed to glow, yet without actually giving forth any light. A sense of pure goodness just radiated from him. It was obvious that he was infused with a higher power and designed for the destruction of evil.

"Well, What do you think?"

Wynn, who had scooted off the windowsill during the prayer to get a better view of the transformation, now continued forward with her eyes wide and fingers held trembling over lips parted with shock.

What she had expected were wings. No more, no less. As if such a gift wouldn't be enough! What the divine magic had granted him was much, much more. Not only had he gained the wings, but he had been granted angelic countenance as well and there was something about the unexpected sight that shook her usual composure to the foundation. . .

Bereft of speech she circled the paladin-king, examining the huge white wings and ruffling the downy feathers with her fingertips. The six inches of air beneath her feet aided in her inspection of the tall fellow as she made her way to the front of him. His silver eyes blazed with a righteous light, while her own silver orbs emitted the cool, lambent glow of the moon. Reaching out, the aasimar smiled and tucked a lock of ebony hair -- so much like her own, back behind his ear.

"You look. . ." Wynn swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat just as tears sprang to her eyes. "It suits you." She stepped back and turned abruptly toward the window, embarrassed and a bit bewildered by her show of emotion.

"Let us put those new appendages to the test. No time to waste! I will meet you at the top of the cathedral dome!"

At that, she sprinted toward the window and without breathing so much as a single word of a spell, leaped through the portal twisting like a corkscrew in the air before she surrendered to the pull of the Song of the Spheres and flew off over the sleeping city.

With hardly any hesitation at all, the king leapt out the window after her. He couldn't help but laugh aloud as he thought about the chairs that had used this path before him, but more than that he just felt alive. There was a brisk breeze as he flapped his mighty wings after the oracle, but as the spell promised, he didn't feel it as his hair whipped behind him.

As he twisted in the air and stumbled he realized something had been missing. Practice. He could maneuver the wings and they worked just fine, but so far he had used them only sparingly and in enclosed areas. A few quick flaps to get to the next enemy.

This... was different. This was flying

And he wasn't very good at it. Still, awkward as he was, he couldn't help but enjoy himself as he dove and swooped through the night sky.

As for the race, that wasn't much of a race at all. The oracle had more skill with her spells (did she cast a spell? He couldn't remember her casting...) then he did with his. She moved nearly twice as fast as he did, and didn't take long to outdistance him. Which didn't upset Thaddeus. He was flying. He was still laughing when Wynn circled around to meet him again.

The Cathedral wasn't far from the castle, and it didn't take long to see the spires and dome of the mighty hall. The sight usually took Thaddeus' breath away, but that was from the ground. Here, he hadn't seen this view since he had approved the makeshift model over a year ago. That was nothing compared to seeing it in real life.

He swooped around the dome and looked down unto the courtyard. The stones were a white marble imported from... somewhere expensive, while the columns were decorated with carvings of empyreal lords as if they were holding up the balconies (his own personal box included), with their mighty wings forming the supporting arches.

Finally, the two story tall column and the long stair case that circled it leading up to the alter and the sun. A glorious sight for all who attended, though Thad winced a little as he thought about that staircase. High Priestess Traica had approved of the design with gusto, but he suspected after a few decades she would be eager to retire that to a younger priest.

Toward the back, were the living quarters and the areas that were necessary to keep the temple functional. Along with a more personal shrine protected from the elements. There he came to rest on the great golden dome and looked at the Oracle with face beaming.

"That... that was fun."

"A king should be allowed a bit of fun now and then." Wynnsaren laughed, appreciating his enthusiasm. "Not too much however, lest he fall into the covetable trap of actually enjoying his position, and that I fear we cannot tolerate.

After presenting him a scowl of mock disapproval complete with a sharply raised eyebrow and pursed lips, she sighed happily and watched as her liege observed his massive cathedral from an entirely different perspective.

It was startling to see him this way. So. . .celestial. It stirred her mind toward thoughts she'd not considered for many years. Family. Namely her own. Did she have any brothers or sisters? Were her mother or father still alive? What were they like? Why did they leave her on the mountain? The aasimar wasn't even sure what type of celestial blood she possessed or to what extent! Old questions best left buried assailed her mercilessly and she felt like a little child again just struggling to know, 'What am I?'. 'Who am I?' Even such basic answers had ever been out of reach. All she'd learned of her assumed heritage had come from dusty old tomes, those most oft without illustration, and now a powerful illustration stood just beside her in all his divine -- albeit temporary, radiance! She was fascinated. Entranced. And suddenly quite lonely.

Yes, Wynn knew something of the struggle Sarala faced, but she would give up nearly anything to have a brother so devoted. Gods, to have anyone so devoted! Blood or not, Thaddeus and Sarala were family. It was plain to see that even when the trials of life created strife between them, there would always be a bond. There would always be love.

The Oracle tore her eyes away from the king and looking out over Akiros, breathed in the cool night air to steady her thoughts.

"See, Your Majesty," she said softly, indicating the cityscape before them, "cast with your eyes a wider net and appreciate the extent of your view. Could she be any more lovely than she is beneath the moonlight?"

"I don't see how..." he said with a soft sigh. The city practically glowed from where he was he sat. The festival had ended, but there were still a few stragglers wandering the streets... but not like it was in the daytime.

"Normally, I'm more of a daytime person. I like the light. I like the way it brings warmth and life to everything... There's something about listening to the city wake that gives all new meaning to 'New Begininngs.'"

He shook his head a little in amazement at the night view. Everything was settling down. The holiday was over and tomorrow was another day of work. Kids were tucked in, the fires were burning low, and outside the few still about, everything was quiet.

"I can't deny the peacefulness though... It's really... just amazing..."

As the waxing moon climbed higher in the sky, there was no further discussion of familial troubles or the burden of the crown. No mention of business, be it political or martial, nor the callous demands of Fate. There were only the simple things -- those things in the absence of which, a man might go slowly mad. The soft light of the moon. The bracing breeze of an evening late in the season. The crisp smell of autumn with just a hint of impending winter to sharpen the edge. And of course the stars which faithfully sang, heard and unheard, seen and unseen, overhead.

Peace was what Wynnsaren found upon this perch many nights and peace was what she hoped King Thaddeus found there as well that evening, for in the midst of life's tumult such things ever remained. A serene and unchanging bulwark in even the most desperate of times.