Eris Vanserra Fanfiction-A Land Of Lavender And Thistle-Book One

CHAPTER XXXVI

Ruth

Standing on the balcony of one of the House's smaller buildings, I watched the buzzing of low Fae servants as they began with the preparations for the upcoming festival. It still seemed apsurd, to think that just yesterday one of the Autumn Court princes died, yet the day after they were readying the royal home for the Holi festival taking place in two weeks.

I was not sure if I was more dumbfound by the latter, or the fact that the servants were so tense and swift in the decorations as if the festival was occurring in five days. I chewed on my lip while gazing down at the handful of female Fae who were ferociously cleaning the arched, stained glass windows three times their size. Beside me, Maud watched in silence, the late morning breeze lifting the hems of her peach-hued ghagra dress and the matching hijab.

Not long after our brief conversation, Eris carried me back to bed and I found myself back asleep minutes later. Upon waking up an hour ago, I was alone, and aside from Brux's company there was no one else at Eris' chambers. Free of my headache and weak feeling in my limbs, I hadn't bothered to wait for Samiha to come and help me don on some clothes. I had picked for myself a spring-green kurtis with gilded hems and a pair of light, loose salwar pants the color of moss before hurrying out into the hallways.

I had wandered about for good half an hour before stumbling upon the Lady's Maiden. At first, when the female joined me in my trek through the Forest House, I asked her if she knew where Eris was. To that, Maud had told me she had seen him earlier in the morning riding out with a few sentinels, but she knew nothing more. In the end, we had indulged ourselves in mundane conversation during which Maud informed me of the started preparations for the Holi festival, as well as what the event intailed.

Now, I looked over the polished floors of the glass breezeway about thirty yards below us, breathtaking swirling ornaments constructed of thick plates of gold adorning the glass. I couldn't help but feel bad about all the servants who I knew would have to be the ones cleaning after the High Fae once the festival was over. Nonetheless, the idea of an event which celebrated color and love, that included powdered colors thrown around and the whole world being painted by laughter and countless hues - I couldn't help but be thrilled to see such a scene.

Maud told me that it was specifically because of the plague and Kaen's death that the High Lord of the Autumn Court decided not to skip the festival this year. To bring the subjects some kind of joy, of hope. Those outside the royal home would celebrate in small groups and inside their homes, so the festival would not be half as lively and loud as it should be, but it would provide at least something.

"How is the Lady holding up?" I heard myself asking.

Maud interlaced her tanned fingers over her middle, gazing out at the horizon far beyond the waterfall. "She is quiet, which at first probably sounds like nothing unusual. But, there is a kind of quiet with that female that changes the energy of the room. The kind that tells you she is unwell."

"I see," I mumbled, scratching my wolfdog behind his ear. Before I could register what I was saying, the words were out of my mouth: "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Maud glanced at me, visibly surprised. I would have bet that her expression was the mirror of my own.

For a second, we just stared at each other. Then, just as the Maiden was about to open her mouth to respond, we both glanced behind us toward the long hallway leading to the balcony. The hurried footsteps we heard belonged to another Maiden whose name I did not know, but I recalled seeing her at the party that evening - the evening I became intimate with Eris while on the prince's lap.