COF Special: The Season of Wishes

Eight

Children flocked the Nyxis the moment he shut the door to his house. Xanthy stepped back to avoid colliding with small bodies as she watched her friend smile and hug the children as if they were his own.

"Now, we don't want to exclude the High Queen." Nyxis turned to Xanthy after hefting a child no older than three into his arms. "What do we say to Her Highness?"

"Welcome to our house, Your Highness," came quite the chorus of different voices but the same monotone.

"You forgot one thing," Nyxis tapped his chin.

The children bowed as one. "Welcome to our house, Your Highness," they said again.

Xanthy blinked. Oh, they're referring to her? "Y-yeah," she laughed weakly as she waved her hand in the air. "There's no need to do that with me, okay? Don't listen to what your father says."

"Hey," Nyxis shoved his hand in his hair. "Don't make it harder for me!"

Xanthy winked at him. "What? I'm a fun aunt."

She paused, gauging Nyxis's reaction about what she just said. He didn't seem to mind. He just jerked his chin towards the arch leading to a wider room to his left. She didn't even notice it the first time. "Come on," he said gently. "I know you're dying to sit."

She snorted. Well, doctor's orders.

As soon as she was settled on a high-backed, dining chair, she turned to find at least ten small children staring up at her with wonder. Twenty eyes of various eye colors and sizes blinked at her. Mouths parted slightly in awe.

"Are you really the High Queen?" a girl no older than six asked. How was she able to tell their ages anyway? Bright blue eyes met Xanthy's brown ones without much fear. Rather, curiosity painted her expression.

Xanthy smiled and propped her hands on her thigh as she leaned closer to the girl. "What's your name?"

"Daria," the girl averted her gaze to pick at the hem of her pretty dress. Ah, the girl who almost ran into Xanthy the other day.

"That's a very pretty name," Xanthy reached out and pinched the girl's cheek. Oh, damn, her skin was so smooth.

The girl shrugged and stuck her bottom lip out. "Dad came up with it, according to Mom," she said. Judging from the trail curling in and out of her, she's going to manifest as a fire sprite. Now, how in the world could Xanthy also tell? Ah, whatever.

"Really?" Xanthy smiled. "To answer your question," she took a deep breath for emphasis. "Yes, I am, indeed, the High Queen."

A collective gasp rang from the children gathered. One boy with bright red curls and tanned skin ran towards the arched partition separating the dining room and the holding room. "She's the High Queen. Get the book!" the boy shouted to someone beyond the arch.

From the pattering of feet and the excited chatter thundering from the arch, it couldn't be good. Xanthy whirled to Denara who was silently stirring some sort of stew from a cauldron over a weak fire. "How many do you have here?"

"Hmm?" Denara looked up from her dish. The smile that painted her face couldn't have been more amused. "A little over fifty."

Saliva went back Xanthy's throat the wrong way. "Fifty—"

"I'm kidding," Denara chuckled as she sprinkled a pinch of something into the cauldron. Several clutters of utensils later, the sprite's voice dropped a little. "We only saved thirty children for now but it always feels like there's more who need our help."

Xanthy licked her lips as the cold wind had turned chappy. "If you want, I can get the Seelie Court to provide you with support," she offered. "This is something we need more of in the whole island."