XVIII

Elanor opened her eyes when the sun was high up in the dull sky. The bed was soft, submerging her into the featherbed like it was a coffee foam. 

I wish I could have some coffee right now. 

Lumi was not in the room, probably bored waiting for her for so long. Bits of the dream suddenly flashed in her mind. 

Oh, was that knight the Winter King? And if it was, what has he forgotten at the waterfalls and in the forest last night? It could have been one of the commanders of his armies, a scout, or a recruiter. I wonder if it was a war from the past or just a fever dream. I'll take it anyway rather than dreaming of those horrible wolves. 

She picked up the mug from the floor, thinking back to the events of last night. 

Lesson learned, always have a penny with you in the Faery land...

She dressed in her human clothes, lost in thought, opened the window and sat on the frame, looking into the ash grove. It seemed so tranquil and innocent; nothing was hinting at the malicious fauna dwelling inside. After having a cup of tea and a can of sardines from her pocket, she finally left her room to find Mira and Lumi.

Both of them were outside, playing with elvish lights, sparkling in random spots when Mira or one of the servants snapped their fingers, and Lumi chased after them with great joy. Elanor approached her friend and greeted her, sitting down on a pillow at her feet. Today Mira was wearing a green top with impractical but spectacular flared sleeves, exposing her long freckly neck and collarbone. A pair of brown shorts were tied in gaze bows on each leg and continued wrapping her legs down, transitioning into light shoes. 

"Good morning!"

"Finally! Please join us, we are enjoying this beautiful weather before heading to the library. Did you sleep well?"

"Mostly, I just wanted to warn you that I heard wolf howling in the grove during the night," awkwardly said Elanor.

"Wolves? I've never met any here; this is so bizarre. We shall inform Uncle tonight once he is back from the shop. He already sent some food for you, by the way!" 

Elanor immediately felt in better spirits, especially with the taste of sardines of an unknown age still present in her mouth. 

"Mira, may I ask you what the Winter King looks like? If I can find him, perhaps I can get him to help me get back to the human world," inquired Elanor cautiously. She was very pleased with coming up with such a delicate excuse, but Mira seemed amused by her words somehow. 

"To you, he would look very alien. As a monarch, he takes the qualities from the land itself; his beauty is striking like Winter and majestic like Frost. Human features appear to be relatively uniform. Almost every fae has some unique element, like I have my feathers, he has the horns."

At that, King's frost seemed to have reached Elanor, and something fearful rose in her chest. 

I was hoping to make a bargain with him, and instead potentially indebted myself to his mercy. All in one night's work...

"Anything the matter?" asked Mira softly. She picked up on her friend's anxious silence.

"Do faery bargains ever get annulled?"

"Not to say never, but it doesn't happen naturally. The fae holding the bargain must die. And in the case with rulers, even then you would not be free, since the rights pass to the heir, and they might revisit or change the terms." 

Elanor decided to worry about it later, for to be of any help to Talvi, she simply has no time to regret something that has not happened yet. The women spent some time running around with the happy Samoyed until the light drizzle arrived from the skies, and they had to retreat inside. 

***

The library was delirious. Elanor would never describe it like that to the generous hosts of the house, but "chaotic" is not cutting it close enough. One of the doors simply opened into a spiral staircase, and once you start walking, it continues, containing small nooks with books and scrolls all along it. If you wanted to find a book, you would simply keep walking, and, according to her friend, concentrate on the book you are seeking. 

Well, there goes my plan to go and look for information about curses in some historical section. There will be no sections, and this staircase is a curse of its own. 

Trying to convince herself that just because it's different from those on Earth does not mean it's bad, she walked up and down, pulling out random tomes. Lumi followed her, running back and forth between Mira and his human, asking for treats. The fae picked a tome and set up a cozy reading spot, sitting on the step, while one of the maids read it for her out loud. She picked a romantic story, and it was hard for Elanor not to listen in as well. 

To get some focus, she walked further up and spent a while studying a volume of poetic prophesies of old. Every prophecy was followed by quite biased insight on how it played out, probably written by their secretaries or relatives, and Elanor drew the conclusion that fighting against prophecies historically only brought self-fulfillment to the hero. As much as the book was entertaining, desperation grew in Elanor's heart, and she ended up shoving the tome away and hiding her face in her palms.

Today we learned that bargains and prophecies are inescapable. What a shocking turn of events... 

She knew it was time to wrap up for the day when she could not stop her inner monologue from sarcastic commentary. She joined Mira and Lumi, and the trio returned to the flat surface of the living area to have dinner with Hazel. They all sat down together at a table; Elanor was served a delicious platter of vegetables and cheese, and she even got lucky in the pocket gamble, pulling out a pack of pretzel crackers (after finding a plastic keychain and an expired credit card a bit earlier that day). 

The atmosphere was not as merry as the Oak Inn, since it was just the four of them, counting Lumi, but it was very warm and heartfelt. Hazel, in particular, seemed to adore being a model of a host, and kept insisting in helping them search the library tomorrow, when someone knocked on the door. 

Without waiting for servants, the door opened, and all of them cheered after seeing Talvi's lean figure on the porch. He, however, was only able to look at Elanor and say: "Excuse me, I'm late-" before sliding against the doorframe onto the floor. Once his limbs were folded with swan-like grace, he fainted.